Any possibility of a Dive Bomber 'buff' for the Graf Zeppelin?

[ColaholicA]

I'm wondering what Wargamings' stance is regarding the current state of the Graf Zeppelin.
My own opinion is that her Dive Bombers could use a buff since the AP alpha is the lowest per strike among the Tier 8 CVs on top of having a very RNG heavy drop pattern.

 

Does Wargaming have any information that they could share regarding Graf Zeppelins' performance compared to her peers?

 

If some kind of buff is warranted would it be possible Engine-wise to add HE Bombs to the bomb loadout? A pair of wing-mounted 50KG bombs could make the bombers feel less RNG-based due to more bombs dropped on target.

[1MajorKoenig]

WG specifically nerfed GZ by:

 

- changing the drop pattern to a shallow dive =no meaningful pen during dive

- applying the Midway HE Bomber nerf so bombs drop mostly in the outer parts of the reticle 

 

 

As it is a premium ship they applied two placebo changes an they hoped nobody would notice:

 

- increased AP pen which is useless as the angle of impact prevents pens anyway unless you drop before the dive with the worst possible accuracy

- slightly reduced the overall reticle size which isn’t doing much either because of the Midway HE nerf 

 

Summary: AP bombers are mostly useless fillers and WG conveniently ignores all feedback on these 

[ColaholicA]

30 minutes ago, 1MajorKoenig said:

WG specifically nerfed GZ by:

 

- changing the drop pattern to a shallow dive =no meaningful pen during dive

- applying the Midway HE Bomber nerf so bombs drop mostly in the outer parts of the reticle 

 

 

As it is a premium ship they applied two placebo changes an they hoped nobody would notice:

 

- increased AP pen which is useless as the angle of impact prevents pens anyway unless you drop before the dive with the worst possible accuracy

- slightly reduced the overall reticle size which isn’t doing much either because of the Midway HE nerf 

 

Summary: AP bombers are mostly useless fillers and WG conveniently ignores all feedback on these 

I agree with you that Graf Zeppelins' AP Dive Bombers are useless, the other AP Bombers not so much. I really hope Wargaming would at least acknowledge that certain changes made throughout the CV Rework balancing have made things really wonky. The AA change to target 1 plane at a time had a PROFOUND impact on the Adrenaline Rush skill and Torpedo Bomber Heal to the point where they're almost useless. I really hope Wargaming can admit to unforeseen consequences like this and act accordingly.

[LemonadeWarrior]

Actually everyone is wondering what WG's stance is on the entire CV rework. 

But yea, imo the GZ AP DB's could be made a bit more useful.

[Astolfo_Is_My_Waifu]

Imo, GZ AP bombers are the worst DBs in the game, and that includes the change that replaced the Stukas they previously launched.

 

Their unique reticle/drop pattern is fairly useless when the 2 bomb dispersion leads to a 50% chance of no hits at all. It really is a shame.

[Bunny_Lover_Kallen]

2 minutes ago, Astolfo_Is_My_Waifu said:

Imo, GZ AP bombers are the worst DBs in the game, and that includes the change that replaced the Stukas they previously launched.

 

Their unique reticle/drop pattern is fairly useless when the 2 bomb dispersion leads to a 50% chance of no hits at all. It really is a shame.

This.

 

I take British carpet bombers over the GZ DBs. Because even if the job they do is kinda underwhelming, they at least do their job. GZ DBs are basically there when you ran out of everything else or if you need to sacrifice something to despawn an enemy fighter, because these things are absolutely horrendous:

• Their low number of bombs per drop make them RNG reliant.
• They dive very fast, so you have minimal time to aim before they pull up and you basically drop sideways. I heard you could potentially full pen DDs or drop sideways, but that's even more RNG and not worth it compared to reliably being able to drop like a normal CV.
• The aiming circle cares not about approach, but it's inaccurate regardless of how you go in.
• Given how the dive is modelled, unlike any other bomber, you get no real damage mitigation on the way in. Other bombers can start the attack sequence earlier and thus have an easier time with their run. GZ has to start ontop the ship.
• Bombs fall fast and there is almost no window of immunity, so you won't slingshot anything with these things.
• Sometimes bombs get thrown outside the reticule, making you wonder what the point is.
• Even when the stars align and you actually get a hit, the alpha per drop is pitiful, with 14k for two cits and 700 for an overpen. Even if you are an idiot and only hit one out of three torps, you at least get 2.5k damage on the most well-protected target and up to 15+k max damage if you hit three torps on something with no protection, which isn't up to pure RNG.

GZ was already underwhelming when it was rereleased in its reworked form and I said that the best buff would be to allow the DBs to drop three bombs per drop, instead of just two, but instead WG "buffed" the drop to basically make it absolute garbage. Good thing they buffed the torp alpha (which was just a fix to retain the torpedo dpm after speed nerf), so this ship basically plays as a torp spammer, which is kind of braindead and still makes it the worst T8 CV. It can only be hoped that one day the GZ DBs get a rework of their own to be actually functional. Till then, the GZ DBs are imo the best testament to WGs incompetence when it comes to understanding their own CV mechanics. 

[1MajorKoenig]

22 minutes ago, Astolfo_Is_My_Waifu said:

the worst DBs in the game, and that includes the change that replaced the Stukas

 

This deserves a +1

 

Why in hell WG replaced bad-[edited]Ju87 with high altitude interceptors is beyond me and incredibly dumb 

[Panocek]

41 minutes ago, 1MajorKoenig said:

Why in hell WG replaced bad-[edited]Ju87 with high altitude interceptors is beyond me and incredibly dumb 

Because Stukas didn't fit into gimmick WG wanted to press Graf Zepp into so they invented some . Same with Somers - instead making USN Akizuki gunboat out of prewar 4x2 armed destroyer, they tacked one of the better torps in game and brutalized gun reload. And then somewhere along the line torpedo reload also took a hit, as her quad launchers have longer reload than Gearing quints with the same fishes

 

Even more so, as Somers gun turrets were NOT dual purpose and she has prewar AA, consisting of few 28mm PewPewKanones and odd .50cal machine gun or two.

[Bunny_Lover_Kallen]

The state of GZ DBs...

Spoiler

At least the rockets got 40 mm pen.

[YOGA12]

wezcie sie za zmiane w dobieraniu zawodnikow bo w 1 drozynie goscie po 60 procent w 2 po 40 porazka na calego zrobcie cos z tym bo normalnie odechciewa sie grac

 

[Filipin00]

I think WG to all intents and purposes abandoned this CV and let it rot like a corpse unworthy of even a proper burial.

 

DB on Zeppelin are nothing but an empty siren gimmick, which would be convincing if they actually did any kind of tangible damage!

 

You know....jericho trumpets were a simbol of blitzkrieg and a cause of fear for anyone who heard it because it represented a threat and a possible death.

In this game you can laugh in their face because they can't do JACK DIDDLY to you no matter what ship you're playing and what kind of AA you have.