WG killed AA boats

[Apophisos]

SO, my AA boats who really didn't have anything else to carry are now just cannonfodder.

[thiextar]

13 minutes ago, Apophisos said:

SO, my AA boats who really didn't have anything else to carry are now just cannonfodder.

Yup. The best aa ships before the patch are now the worst aa boats, and vice versa.

 

Since previously, the best aa ships were the ones with strong long range aura, but that aura is now completely useless as it doesnt overlap.

 

The non overlapping auras has to be the most stupid change of this entire rework, literally inverting the power-scale of aa ships.

[AgarwaenME]

However it was never worthwhile to go all in on AAA (besides maybe playing in an unicum div with a CV). And no AAA heavy ship of yore weren't also good at other things.

 

Though still.. AAA should still be adjusted to fit what ships should have as advantage, though it does make a lot of sense for long range AAA to be less effective up close.

[Tyrendian89]

the other thing is that, from what I've seen, it doesnt even really matter that much anymore how good your AA is - what really counts is how good the enemy CV player is, even more so than before the rework. A dipstick will get himself wiped on even mediocre Flak bursts, while a really good pilot can (mostly) weave through even the worst barrages. So yeah, it's more skillbased - but gives even less influence to the "victims"...

[Affeks]

1 hour ago, Apophisos said:

SO, my AA boats who really didn't have anything else to carry are now just cannonfodder.

Can you give examples of what ships?

 

My designated AA boats were Kidd, Sims, Atlanta, Jean Bart.

 

Kidd is super strong even without the AA

 

Sims was buffed and has some real strengths going for it

 

Atlanta is difficult, but has insane DPM and radar if you play it correctly.

 

Jean bart specced for AA was way stronger before the patch, but now you have pretty insane AA even without a single module or skill specced towards it.

 

 

Anyway, this patch killed AA builds. All the new AA skills and modules are beyond bad compared to their former selves. So while yes AA ships ARE nerfed from this patch, I cant think of a ship that is now weak or underpowered because of the patch..

[elblancogringo]

1 hour ago, Tyrendian89 said:

the other thing is that, from what I've seen, it doesnt even really matter that much anymore how good your AA is - what really counts is how good the enemy CV player is, even more so than before the rework. A dipstick will get himself wiped on even mediocre Flak bursts, while a really good pilot can (mostly) weave through even the worst barrages. So yeah, it's more skillbased - but gives even less influence to the "victims"...

I don't like this concept at all, I hope WG will make AA values at least partly useful again.

That makes no sense and is counter intuitive.

I'm not against some skill-based evading of flaks, but at this point it's too much, permanent damage is too low compared to flak bursts.

[JaiFoh]

no, the AA boats have evolved and the traditional big AA ships are not longer as 100% effective as the old. 
Now the Worcester and Minotaur is are King, But Minotaur has a slight edge imho. 

HMS Minotaur Association
 Si id moritur quod refugit
If it Flys, It Dies

[ClappingLollies]

1 minute ago, JaiFoh said:

That makes me wonder wtf the CV's where doing in that game? Like. Wtf. Just flying over you not avading the flak? 

[JaiFoh]

8 minutes ago, MortenTardo said:

That makes me wonder wtf the CV's where doing in that game? Like. Wtf. Just flying over you not avading the flak? 

https://replayswows.com/replay/41378#video 

at the end of it trying to defend themselves

[ClappingLollies]

9 minutes ago, JaiFoh said:

https://replayswows.com/replay/41378#video 

at the end of it trying to defend themselves

Yep. No clue how to avoid flak. But that is good. Maybe they will learn after a while. 

[Floofz]

Worcester seems pretty fine for absolutely wrecking enemy aircraft still. Even more so than before it feels like. 

[hgbn_dk]

I still think AA should be manual lead by the player to remove the RNG factor. But that is just me I'll guess.

[159Hunter]

3 minutes ago, hgbn_dk said:

I still think AA should be manual lead by the player to remove the RNG factor. But that is just me I'll guess.

Problem with that is that a player can only focus on one item (dixit WG). So he/she cannot keep track of main guns and AA guns (or secondaries for that manner).

[hgbn_dk]

1 minute ago, 159Hunter said:

Problem with that is that a player can only focus on one item (dixit WG). So he/she cannot keep track of main guns and AA guns (or secondaries for that manner).

Exactly my point. You have to choose defending yourself or be offensive. Just like the CV's

[RUSSIANBlAS]

USN AA got nerfed yes...

 

The current camp meta favours Yam now as you can snipe at long range whilst bow in surrounded by a blob. Even if a CV gets through, 100k HP with a decent TDS means Yammy can laugh off a lot of CV attention.

[ORAC_1]

I have to agree with the original post, had a full AA spec Zao with fighter plane and AA consumable all active and got my arse kicked by a single squadron. It would not be so bad if we could manually target the squadron or the fighter plane was of any use. I could at least hold my own out on the flanks, now it is just a joke. The ship AA needs some major rethinking.

[HotshotJimmy]

I am definately shooting more planes down in the my Minotaur, Conq and Kurfurst. One chap at the beginning of the match was like hey guys i'm gona wreck in my CV. Never got hit with anything the whole match. I sold all my CVs lol.

[159Hunter]

10 hours ago, hgbn_dk said:

Exactly my point. You have to choose defending yourself or be offensive. Just like the CV's

Except that the CV is sitting safely in the back, whilst any other ship (should be) in the front under attack from other ships. I guess if you want even more campy meta then sure, why not. It's not like it can get any worse than it is now...

[TerTerro]

Atlanta went from GOD of AA, to a ship that can be taken out by CV easy.

CV's dont need to be afraid of AA now it seems.

 

[AgarwaenME]

12 minutes ago, TerTerro said:

Atlanta went from GOD of AA, to a ship that can be taken out by CV easy.

CV's dont need to be afraid of AA now it seems.

 

 

There's no CVs in the range of an atlanta that can take it out "easy".

[hgbn_dk]

1 hour ago, 159Hunter said:

Except that the CV is sitting safely in the back, whilst any other ship (should be) in the front under attack from other ships. I guess if you want even more campy meta then sure, why not. It's not like it can get any worse than it is now...

No I want RNG to go away and reward the player for good skilful aiming and good  play. I want the different ship classes to have a dedicated role. And AA cruiser is one of them. Besides the campy part will go away if CV is seen as a little threat.

[Beastofwar]

Did you guys actually fly aircraft in said nerfed AA at all ??

 

On the one hand i lose squadrons of 6 aircraft in a single explosion so far as 4 km from target. That can't be called weak AA. On the other hand since the patch i did not lose ships to aircraft, and previously i certainly did due to torpedo walls that are now no longer exist from aircraft.

 

Still you complain.

 

 

[ColonelPete]

My plane kills went up significantly since the patch. AA is now much more important than before.

[EdiJo]

11 hours ago, ColonelPete said:

My plane kills went up significantly since the patch. AA is now much more important than before.

No, it is not. Look at iChase's video. If dodging AA is impossible or there is too much of AA, good CV player just recalls planes after attack, and soon arrives with the new squadron. Planes at high tiers fly so fast, that his torpedoes were still in the water while he was approaching with the new wave. No AA resistance possible, just stupid af. 

 

There is also Flying Conqueror

 

 

current plane recalling mechanism and infinite plane reserves are totally unbalanced vs victims AA consumables/efficiency for some carriers. 

 

[dapprman]

Problem is every video I see from the likes of iChase is on the test server where as on the real servers AA seems to have been seriously nerfed.  My Minotaur and Worcester both had AA ratings of 100+, now both are mid 80s and struggle to shoot any planes down if they are tier 10.