VC381

Nagato class as built could push 26 knots. They're the only IJN BBs that actually got slower (slightly) with their major rebuilds. Of course that would look stupid in the progression if stock was faster than fully upgraded, so the tech tree Nagato is slow stock, but I would assume/hope that Mutsu would get her historical speed, which is plenty for what she is.

Yes but now that's old because Bayern has them too. And as has been pointed out the shells would be pretty crap. Plus, MM changes mean it can't club T4s like Warspite would have when released. In fact, given how crap the MM is at the moment a T6 and a T7 ship will likely see 90% the same games, so it almost doesn't matter which she is (except for those other 10% where if she was T7 she would be facing T9, and that would just be awful).

"Empirical" simply means that it's a formula that was derived from actual test results rather than one that is purely theoretical. That's all empirical means... https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/empirical

Apparently there was also a practice of using boats to carry the anchor away and drop it in shallower water than the ship itself could go into. Not sure how this helps, you would end up with a very long and nearly horizontal chain/cable.

Lol, I did not know that, thanks for the amusing fact. I should have said "most BBs" anyway as I think, in the same way, some DDs come close with AFT and maybe some of the high tier but small gun cruisers, haven't done all the research there.

I can understand your view but there are a lot of people (me included) that really like how these ships looked early in their careers but aren't masochist to play really bad stock hulls just for looks. Premiums like this fill that gap beautifully, and I actually HOPE that they do the same for Yamashiro. As for T8, Mutsu in final configuration is not T8 material, in fact Nagato C hull already has more AA than a 1943 Mutsu would, there would be nothing to justify it. If they do give the IJN a T8 premium BB it would be another not completed ship, my guess would be Tosa.

I like your tree ideas but as we've agreed WGs rigid system won't allow even that tweak. However, it seems WG have hit on something I consider to be an acceptable solution: http://forum.worldofwarships.eu/index.php?/topic/69190-mutsu-the-slug-is-coming/ So Konig Albert, now this. If stock hulls don't fit the games concept of WWII setting and progression but premiums allow space for these to be implemented in an alternative way, I'm very much OK with it.

"Fuso A hull has been removed to improve 'gameplay comfort'..." A few weeks later: "T5 IJN premium BB Yamashiro coming" (copy paste Fuso A hull). I would not complain Also, I admit the camo on this is pretty but I still only "tolerate" it as I don't like WGs thing about forcing unrealistic camouflage on ships that never wore it.

True, but they will have to give her something else special then to make up for it (stock Nagato might hold its own but you'll sometimes be facing Iowas...). I was thinking T6 since the protected matchmaking for T4 means that T6 and T7 have a more or less equal chance of clubbing T5 but T6 won't see T9.

And they're giving it to us in 1920s wavy funnel configuration... My pulse may have just risen a bit... OK, more than a bit. But since that functionally makes her a stock Nagato, will she be a tier lower?

Warspite (as well as QE, Valiant and Renown) had her turrets modified to allow 30 degree elevation. This however should be more or less irrelevant in game as the range reduction (as I understand) is based on an arbitrary judgment of the positioning and quality of the fire control. Broadly speaking, big rangefinder on tall mast = long range and vice-versa, irrespective of the gun itself. As far as I can tell, the range is artificially limited in this way but the ballistics are not compressed into the reduced range. So nearly all ships are firing at well below their maximum elevation anyway. Nevertheless, thank you for a good analysis. It's good to know some variations of the famous 15" gun are viable across several tiers as many famous ships used them. As for T10, I believe Trainspite in another thread pointed out the final Lion design had something like 3 shots per minute, so that could be a novel DPS BB worthy of being top of the line even if the guns are "only" 16" (406mm), especially with some invented super-heavy shells.

Can I just ask why you think dynamic is better? I tried it briefly and gave up, I have no problems aiming with static. I just think if the answer is "practice" then it doesn't matter what you're practicing, may as well improve on what you're already comfortable with.

I got a devastating strike on a Bismarck at about 11km in Amagi. That would have needed to be at least 34,600 damage. OK I've only done this once but I don't play Amagi that much. 20k salvos on Bis/Tirp are not uncommon.

The issue isn't that Bismarck is OP or even noob friendly, it's that she's perfectly tailored to the meta. WG tried very hard to remove BB camping, make the game more closely ranged and dynamic. And that's not a bad thing, but then they make a line of ships that simply thrive in that situation. Amagi for example will s**t all over a Bismarck if he keeps the range at 12 to 15 km (so will NC). But guess what, that means the Amagi needs to sit 10-15km behind the cap while the Bismarck pushes in. Even if he gets obliterated he's still forced a position and cap advantage for his team. Then the Amagi gets reported by his cruisers and DDs for camping and no support.

Got a "two for one" on forumites yesterday. Was on the wrong end of cro_pwr in his Des Moines and even ilhilh's Taiho on my team couldn't stop him. I held my own as long as I could while the team fell apart around us, gg guys! o7

Very few people deliberately de-equip the premium camouflage from their Atago, while Takao with ARP mode off shows as plain grey. You can still make a good guess as to what it is...

OK so I investigated this a bit more (actually asked on another forum which is more history based and not gaming related at all). The answers were similar, could be a spare or used to hold the stern in certain situations. However, I did find these: Picture of IJN Tosa (incomplete battleship) held using a stern anchor. The near side has the anchor on the hull but you can see a cable going into the water from the far side (under the flag). And, similar anchor on USS Wyoming. So the US used the same practice on BBs in WWI, the thing isn't unique to IJN, in fact stock Wyoming should have one.

Because: - premiums tend to be in historical fit and that way they're more likely to be accurate and protected from fictional "upgrades" - we're really cynical and don't think WG will resist the cash grab - the ships may be tricky to balance, being premium makes it more likely that they will be tiered better (again without wacky modifications) and probably preferentially (see Belfast) - some of the ships may not fit whatever forced "flavour" WG decide for the tree, but premiums can be anything - some people want the ships without having to grind them or worry about keeping a captain on them take your pick.

I still think that they probably kept the cables stored away and only used the anchor rarely. They probably just moved it and hooked it up when needed, obviously putting the chain/cables somewhere sensible like through the "hooks" (correct term for those is chocks). Unfortunately the photographic record for the IJN is quite bad (a lot of pictures didn't survive the war and there probably weren't many to start with) so I can't actually find a picture of it in use.

As I said, kiting. A good trick with Myoko and other IJN cruisers is to rush to an island, turn and reveal yourself already heading away. The torps are great in this situation, as it effectively extends their range when fired at someone chasing you. Be careful with dodging randomly. It's better than nothing of course if you aren't sure what's going on, but it also wastes your speed and can become predictable to BBs who know your rudder shift and anticipate your turn back (a zig-zag isn't really random). Planned, deliberate dodging based on observing a BB that's about to fire at you is more effective, situation allowing. And remember dodging is speed change as well, but just rudder!

Plan your routes to get closer under island cover and know your way out of situations. Keep zooming in on enemy BBs and check who they are pointing their guns at. Harass targets that are already focused from a different angle to your main force to split enemy attention and force mistakes. Myoko has great damage and very useable arcs out to max range but is sluggish and doesn't react well to overly aggressive plays. The line with her is probably quite on the cautious side. Keep your eyes on the map and plan ammo changes and turret movements ahead to punish e.g. broadside cruisers with AP. Always be ready to focus a DD. Always be ready to wiggle and dodge. Myoko is also great at kiting, much more so than charging. It all boils down to situational awareness, planning and predicting the enemy. You basically need eyes in the back of your head, metaphorically. Get into a routine of checking visible enemies, friendlies, map, islands in order, then add to that routine predictions of where the NOT visible enemies might be. Don't think in terms of "can I damage X ship" but things like "can I flank here", "can I delay or stop this push" and "where will my presence have most impact". Where's the line? If you're in gun range you're not too cautious. If you're dead you weren't cautious enough. That's not very useful, but it changes a lot depending on situation. The closer you want to get the harder all the stuff above becomes but also the more impact you can have. It's not really about caution vs. uselessness, just balancing risk/reward against workload.

Except the game is tiered by power level not chronological order. The R class were meant to be "budget" QEs, they're ever so slightly worse (a bit slower, not much else). Really the difference is nowhere near enough to justify a tier difference and 15" guns would probably be a bit OP at T5 (that goes for Renown as well).

Always strafe US bombers, don't leave your squads to chase them. Free XP all the upgrades if you can't bear the stock grind. After that, enjoy! Similar strategies to Hiryu should work, but much better!

Good comparison but not sure about the conclusion regarding the J class. OK Blyska may be OP but J class is slightly worse. Can we get a comparison to Kiev? It also depends on how good the torps are, comparing gun DPS alone isn't the whole picture. Same for the EWP ships, they have worse gun DPM than Shiratsuyu but that thing has ridiculous torpedo power which they probably wouldn't have. But you would still place them at T7 where they would be strictly worse than competition. It depends on what other gimmicks they have but they look more like T6 to me.

Not necessarily, because of: - experience: someone who enjoys cruisers and does well probably plays them a lot and other classes less; "maybe" if they invested the same time in a DD/BB they would be as successful or more but if they don't enjoy it as much why would they? This brings me to: - playstyle: for some people the way you need to play to do well with cruisers just "clicks" even if most find it hard, which could mean they actively struggle to adapt to the BB or DD playstyle and won't actually do as well in them