Fun and Engaging Mechanics

[HaachamaShipping]

It's 2020, we soon having another anniversary of the game, WG is working on so many new things, yet we still have to deal with the great feature that is going from anywhere below 75% hp straight to dead - detonations.

 

Why does this still have to be in the game? It adds basically nothing. It potentially ruins games if ships just randomly detonate, which can happen already if the first part of a salvo reduces a ships hp below 75% and the rest just blows it up. Unlike other RNG events like cyclones, it also does not add any interesting gameplay dynamics that can can be used to adapt tactics, it just straight up blows someone up. It obviously affects certain classes way more than others and one class isn't bothered at all. WG removed mechanics like team ramming doing as much damage as ramming enemies years ago, because it was way too problematic and ramming an island also doesn't do anything to a ship. But this utterly garbage mechanic has to survive and just be a Russian Roulette where every so often your ship just blows up?

 

And because it isn't stupid enough, obviously detonations often occur when a shell hits the part that is magazines and thus citadel, so it means certain ships just blow up instead of taking a cit (which is fun when your ship has no way to tank the shells, so you angle to not eat as many and yet the one stray shell blows you up), but as detonations are linked to module damage on a magazine module, you can just explode from HE blast radius, meaning a BB shooting HE at a cruiser does not even need to hit the citadel, it can just catch it in the blast radius and suddenly it blows up. This mechanic just exists to grief people and make it so we have to buy a signal to mount on our ship.

[samuelx43a]

a signal, which you can get for free every time you detonate... so I don't see why you complain really.

In fact, it is rather unlikely unless you are playing a DD without a detonation signal, in which in that case, you kinda asked for it

[Kenjiro_]

AFAIK detonation requires a penetration in magazine. So you cannot detonate on HE blast.. 

[ColonelPete]

5 minutes ago, Kenjiro_ said:

AFAIK detonation requires a penetration in magazine. So you cannot detonate on HE blast.. 

Depending on armor, HE can reach a magazine.

 

Blew up plenty of DD with HE shells from my DD.

[illy]

6 minutes ago, Kenjiro_ said:

AFAIK detonation requires a penetration in magazine. So you cannot detonate on HE blast.. 

you can certainly cause detonations using HE

[SeaWolf7]

It can be a pain in the arse at times especially when done by a torpedo, but because its one of the more realistic aspects of dealing with, and representational of explosives in a real life situation, im happy to accept its part of the game. 

 

[HaachamaShipping]

4 minutes ago, samuelx43a said:

a signal, which you can get for free every time you detonate... so I don't see why you complain really.

In fact, it is rather unlikely unless you are playing a DD without a detonation signal, in which in that case, you kinda asked for it

 

Ah yes, I can explode once, screwing my game and then mount a signal in 10 games. Maybe I wouldn't have exploded anyway, maybe I would have, who knows. Afterwards I can explode again. And no, DDs are not the only class to randomly blow up. Cruisers and BBs can blow up too, which is very fun when that CV torp hits your ship and detonates a magazine. Also, there obviously is a difference in how susceptible different ships in these classes are to detonations, depending on where modules are located and how they are modelled. Huanghe for example is way easier to blow up with magazines outside the citadel than the Petropavlovsk that has 300 mm of plating inbetween the outside and the magazine.

3 minutes ago, Kenjiro_ said:

AFAIK detonation requires a penetration in magazine. So you cannot detonate on HE blast.. 

Nope, while magazines are often part of the citadel, they need not be. For example Huanghe forward turret magazines are not citadel, but exist. And like all modules, it takes damage from HE blast. You can blow up in a Hipper that cannot be HE citadelled the same way a HE shell will not ever reach your engine room, yet Hipper regularly will lose its engines from BB HE shells.

[HaachamaShipping]

6 minutes ago, SeaWolf7 said:

It can be a pain in the arse at times especially when done by a torpedo, but because its one of the more realistic aspects of dealing with, and representational of explosives in a real life situation, im happy to accept its part of the game. 

 

Realism doesn't excuse an absolutely terrible game mechanic. CVs crapped all over surface ships IRL and guess what, it doesn't make the state of CVs more enjoyable or excuses it from a gameplay perspective. Just like BBs cannot just absolutely annihilate DDs with secondaries that realistically would match the DD main battery range and accuracy. Also, regarding realism, the one class in the game that carried the most amount of fuel and ordnance with the least amount of protection when considering the amount of explosivs and flammables it carried is totally immune to detonations and always has been. CVs do not have magazines, thus they do not detonate. They burn for five seconds, which makes you wonder if game mechanics were meant to be realistic, how the hell did Japan lose 4 fleet carriers at Midway? 

[Verblonde]

I don't mind detonation either (for the 'realism' reasons that @SeaWolf7 mentions); on the rare occasions I do get detonated, I usually just utter minor imprecations and just move on to the next battle - no biggie.

 

It's worth remarking again that they're pretty rare anyway: at time of writing, I'm showing 53 Detonations from 4,767 randoms - that's an incidence rate of 1.1% (plus change). FWIW about 3/4 of my battles were in DDs the last I looked...

 

 

[SobanRe]

If detonations are an important, immersive aspect of the game, then Juliet Charlie has no place in the game to prevent detonations because ... magic.

If Juliet Charlie has a place in the game, why have detonations in the first place?

[piet11111]

I only wish detonations where more spectacular.

 

I want a huge mushroom cloud and debris flying everywhere.

[GarrusBrutus]

"I like detonations in this game." - said no good player ever.

[Miragetank90]

I've always seen its inclusion as a nod in the direction of history and naval warfare in general. 

 

I just accept it, either way. It's not something that I find bothersome or something that needs to be removed. 

 

[Bellegar]

1 hour ago, samuelx43a said:

a signal, which you can get for free every time you detonate... so I don't see why you complain really.

In fact, it is rather unlikely unless you are playing a DD without a detonation signal, in which in that case, you kinda asked for it

 

The fact that there is a way to (partially) mitigate a game mechanic doesn't make the game mechanic any less moronic. In fact, just the mitigation being present in the game proves the game mechanic shouldn't be there in the first place since a good game mechanic wouldn't need a mitigaition. 

 

1 hour ago, Kenjiro_ said:

AFAIK detonation requires a penetration in magazine. So you cannot detonate on HE blast.. 

I've seen ships detonate from HE blasts from shells that hit the water, not even the ship. It all depends on blast radius and armour. 

[SV_Kompresor]

I've been saying it for a long time. Give the detonation a massive animated explosion and a bang that can be heard from every corner of the map and I'm happy.

[Bellegar]

7 minutes ago, domen3 said:

I've been saying it for a long time. Give the detonation a massive animated explosion and a bang that can be heard from every corner of the map and I'm happy.

Yes because visual fireworks make a fundamentally flawed game mechanic suddenly be good 

[DFens_666]

1 hour ago, HaachamaShipping said:

meaning a BB shooting HE at a cruiser does not even need to hit the citadel the ship

 

FTFY. Yes, ships can detonate without actually getting hit - did that with Orion against Kuma (i believe it was).

 

I think i know why WG keeps holding on to that mechanic:

Over the years, it became more and more clear to me, that WG doesnt like skill or skilled players. Everything needs to be casual or heavily influenced by RNG. A mechanic like detonations essentially removes skill. The worst player can "instakill" the best player by a RNG roll.

[SV_Kompresor]

4 minutes ago, Bellegar said:

Yes because visual fireworks make a fundamentally flawed game mechanic suddenly be good 

It would certainly be more fun to see.

[Jvd2000]

I thought WG already nerfed detonation. WG made ships immune for detonation if the are below above x% of HP. I thought that was 50% not 75% though.

[BruceRKF]

Just now, Jvd2000 said:

I thought WG already nerfed detonation. WG made ships immune for detonation if the are below x% of HP. I thought that was 50% not 75% though.

You have that backwards, ships are immune to detonation as long as they have over 75% health.

[SobanRe]

Let's imagine WG removes detonation without telling anybody. Do you think somebody would notice and care enough to actually complain about it on the forums?

Edit: Just a general question, not directed to anybody in particular.

[Ew0kman]

just pay to win, buy premium ships they kan detonate any ship  without hitting the ship,  even with the no detonation flag mounted, go for russian ships, you see this game is russian therefore their ships are indestructible,  i just fouht a the massachusets yes its american but a pay to win ship, therefor its secondary hit me and took in 2 sec. 75k xp, and it can do this, i saw the moskva  take out 6 ships in ranked and every time someone hit it no damage the xp bar was full entire game. WG is doing this on purpose. to make you pay to win. 

[DFens_666]

1 minute ago, kenalb said:

just pay to win, buy premium ships they kan detonate any ship  without hitting the ship,  even with the no detonation flag mounted, go for russian ships, you see this game is russian therefore their ships are indestructible,  i just fouht a the massachusets yes its american but a pay to win ship, therefor its secondary hit me and took in 2 sec. 75k xp, and it can do this, i saw the moskva  take out 6 ships in ranked and every time someone hit it no damage the xp bar was full entire game. WG is doing this on purpose. to make you pay to win. 

 

 

[Verblonde]

1 hour ago, SobanRe said:

Let's imagine WG removes detonation without telling anybody. Do you think somebody would notice and care enough to actually complain about it on the forums?

I suspect it might take a while for anyone to notice, although if they removed anti-det signals at the same time, any half awake DD player should twig immediately!

 

Of course people would complain - someone always complains about *any* change to the game, regardless of how inconsequential! That said, I imagine the bulk of people who benefit the most (the not skilled) never visit the forum, so the wailing + gnashing of teeth would be pretty muted...

 

I'd be sorry to see detonations (and associated nods to RN battlecruisers etc.) go, but not enough to have conniptions over the matter.

[Verblonde]

4 minutes ago, kenalb said:

<stream of consciousness>

Alas, I fear your tin foil hat may be restricting circulation...?