How to Z-31?

[asalonen]

How am I supposed to make a difference in battle in the Z-31? If anyone feels like they've got this thing to work well, tell me how?

 

To me, the ship feels like a complete one-trick pony, and the trick are the AP salvos. The gun dispersion is stellar and the AP shells are very, very nice. But... that's ABSOLUTELY ALL the ship has:

• It's slow.
• It has nice HP but no repair, so it can't take any special amount of damage.
• The AA is average even for a tier 7 DD.
• The torpedo armament is altogether one of the worst of tier 7 DD's. 
• With the poor concealment, clumsy handling and slow turrets, it can't reasonably contest caps in the first line.
• With no hydro and no defensive AA, it's not very valuable to nearby team members in the second line.

So you're likely staying a bit back, relying on your accurate AP salvos to hopefully get some nice damage. If you're lucky you get presented with a light cruiser broadside that you can punish hard, but this won't be happening too often. And if this is the way to play the Z-31, it just doesn't have the DPM to make a difference in battle. Chances are that the enemy has a real DD in your place, being much more useful?

[lafeel]

Hate to say this but..everything I have seen about the Z-31 and indeed this entire line tells me..

 

You absolutely nailed it there.

[Spartan_Renegade]

17 minutes ago, asalonen said:

If you're lucky you get presented with a light cruiser broadside that you can punish hard, but this won't be happening too often.

 

That about sums it up.  Z-31 is not like conventional DDs, it can't contest cap zones and the only ships that you can hit with her torps are slow american BBs, AFKers, or beached ships. 

[lafeel]

2 minutes ago, Spartan_Renegade said:

 

That about sums it up.  Z-31 is not like conventional DDs, it can't contest cap zones and the only ships that you can hit with her torps are slow american BBs, AFKers, or beached ships. 

Anyone not paying attention and driving in a straight line, which happens more than you might think, been guilty of it myself.

[Verblonde]

21 minutes ago, asalonen said:

How am I supposed to make a difference in battle in the Z-31?

Unless you're really good (unlike me), by taking Z-31 into battle you do make a positive difference. Unfortunately, it's to the opposing team.

 

I strongly suspect that the main purpose of Z-31 is to get people to spend their free xp (and ideally spend doubloons to get said free xp), and not much else...

[lafeel]

1 minute ago, Verblonde said:

Unless you're really good (unlike me), by taking Z-31 into battle you do make a positive difference. Unfortunately, it's to the opposing team.

 

I strongly suspect that the main purpose of Z-31 is to get people to spend their free xp (and ideally spend doubloons to get said free xp), and not much else...

The sad/funny thing is they all have the same fundamential issues she has, they just get progressively better at their one trick.

[Verblonde]

Just now, lafeel said:

The sad/funny thing is they all have the same fundamential issues she has, they just get progressively better at their one trick.

I'm playing the T9 a bit at the moment; she's not remotely good, but tier-for-tier she does seem to be rather less awful than the T7.

 

This is definitely a line for completists only (unless the T10 turns out to be a miraculous improvement over what's come before)!

[lafeel]

3 minutes ago, Verblonde said:

I'm playing the T9 a bit at the moment; she's not remotely good, but tier-for-tier she does seem to be rather less awful than the T7.

 

This is definitely a line for completists only (unless the T10 turns out to be a miraculous improvement over what's come before)!

Should come as no surprise that I am in no rush to go up this line, although yelling "Schultz!!" at any Schultzes on my team hasn't gotten old yet..

 

But hey at least the Zf-6 has potential..

[SodaBubbles]

It's no fun to grind in coop either. An obvious free XP grindwall. I grew so frustrated with its complete lack of fun that I did what WG wanted and FXPed to the T8. The torps remain godawful, and it takes a real touch to make it work (I play it as  a mediocre jack of all trades DD), but at least I am winning grinding it in Ranked. However, as others have noted, a real DD would be more useful to your team. 

[asalonen]

1 hour ago, lafeel said:

The sad/funny thing is they all have the same fundamential issues she has, they just get progressively better at their one trick.

But when I look at the Maerker, at least it looks significantly better at that one trick. It has one more gun and much faster reload, so the DPM is substantially better. Also, the firing angles are better, and the torpedoes hit quite a bit harder.

 

In short, Maerker has got the firepower. It looks like it could be an OK'ish tier 8, while the poor Z-31 feels more like a tier 6...

[SodaBubbles]

 

1 hour ago, asalonen said:

But when I look at the Maerker, at least it looks significantly better at that one trick. It has one more gun and much faster reload, so the DPM is substantially better. Also, the firing angles are better, and the torpedoes hit quite a bit harder.

 

In short, Maerker has got the firepower. It looks like it could be an OK'ish tier 8, while the poor Z-31 feels more like a tier 6...

It's a definite upgrade, the guns being workable, though not good. But, she only has six slow torps a side, so slow that you are unlikely to get in killing blows on cruisers and BBs like you might with a more useful DD.

[Taliesn]

3 hours ago, lafeel said:

Hate to say this but..everything I have seen about the Z-31 and indeed this entire line tells me..

 

You absolutely nailed it there.

 

I skipped the Z-31 and suffered the Maerker but I have to say the Schultz is a good DD/cruiser once you adjust to the playstyle.

 

[Bybernd]

The z-31 fluidly switches between light cruiser or DD role, either you give firepower support or you do dd stuff, compared to other light cruisers it can flank ships easily and safely without having to worry about eating a cit.

[Camperdown]

As a DD main I have not touched Z31 yet and the whole new line seems very unpromising. 

[Beastofwar]

4 hours ago, asalonen said:

How am I supposed to make a difference in battle in the Z-31? If anyone feels like they've got this thing to work well, tell me how?

 

To me, the ship feels like a complete one-trick pony, and the trick are the AP salvos. The gun dispersion is stellar and the AP shells are very, very nice. But... that's ABSOLUTELY ALL the ship has:

• It's slow.
• It has nice HP but no repair, so it can't take any special amount of damage.
• The AA is average even for a tier 7 DD.
• The torpedo armament is altogether one of the worst of tier 7 DD's. 
• With the poor concealment, clumsy handling and slow turrets, it can't reasonably contest caps in the first line.
• With no hydro and no defensive AA, it's not very valuable to nearby team members in the second line.

So you're likely staying a bit back, relying on your accurate AP salvos to hopefully get some nice damage. If you're lucky you get presented with a light cruiser broadside that you can punish hard, but this won't be happening too often. And if this is the way to play the Z-31, it just doesn't have the DPM to make a difference in battle. Chances are that the enemy has a real DD in your place, being much more useful?

 

It is supposed to be used to escort another DD in the role of a light Cruiser, and support that allied ( real ) DD against the enemy DD and it's ( real ) enemy support Cruiser.

 

It fills a Light Cruiser role with a DD slot......Long and short of it.

 

There is also the thing of failed mechanisms because the conditions they were designed for in game are not met in reality : just like the AP rockets of the German CV line get spoofed by all Cruisers knowing about it at simply not fall victim to it by angling slight toward the rockets - thus a failed mechanism - the new German line is probably supposed to meet a lot of other 25+ mm armoured belt DD in game : and that is not happening as they are unpopular and other DD of that kind extremely rare.

 

 

 

 

[GarrusBrutus]

[N00Boo7]

3 hours ago, Verblonde said:

Unless you're really good (unlike me), by taking Z-31 into battle you do make a positive difference. Unfortunately, it's to the opposing team.

 

I strongly suspect that the main purpose of Z-31 is to get people to spend their free xp (and ideally spend doubloons to get said free xp), and not much else...

Yep, i coudnt take it any more, i freexp it till tier 10, and never touch it again. I am sure WG will buff them after enough ppl freexp  them. Like they did with Italian battleships. I struggled to grind them, then after i finished, they buff them :). True, not much but still.

[Panocek]

7 hours ago, asalonen said:

How am I supposed to make a difference in battle in the Z-31? If anyone feels like they've got this thing to work well, tell me how?

 

To me, the ship feels like a complete one-trick pony, and the trick are the AP salvos. The gun dispersion is stellar and the AP shells are very, very nice. But... that's ABSOLUTELY ALL the ship has:

• It's slow.
• It has nice HP but no repair, so it can't take any special amount of damage.
• The AA is average even for a tier 7 DD.
• The torpedo armament is altogether one of the worst of tier 7 DD's. 
• With the poor concealment, clumsy handling and slow turrets, it can't reasonably contest caps in the first line.
• With no hydro and no defensive AA, it's not very valuable to nearby team members in the second line.

So you're likely staying a bit back, relying on your accurate AP salvos to hopefully get some nice damage. If you're lucky you get presented with a light cruiser broadside that you can punish hard, but this won't be happening too often. And if this is the way to play the Z-31, it just doesn't have the DPM to make a difference in battle. Chances are that the enemy has a real DD in your place, being much more useful?

Z-31 was designed to be Free Exp sink and thats how you play her

which I guess applies to entire line as well

[RossijskijAxisFlot]

I use it only in coop, because she is a good looking DD  but I don't even dare to try her in random.

[HTN02]

i like it in ranked. torps are fine for preventing people rushing you, and you can do alot of light cruiser duty's as well. it cuts tru the enemy cruisers ,outruns BB's, and can hold its own against another DD as well (help be usefull, but i generally win 1-to-1 duels). since the CV nerf, they are not a problem anymore. (you get T6 carriers anyhow, so they are never that big of a problem for a T7 DD)

[totally_potato]

13 hours ago, asalonen said:

How am I supposed to make a difference in battle in the Z-31? If anyone feels like they've got this thing to work well, tell me how?

 

To me, the ship feels like a complete one-trick pony, and the trick are the AP salvos. The gun dispersion is stellar and the AP shells are very, very nice. But... that's ABSOLUTELY ALL the ship has:

• It's slow.
• It has nice HP but no repair, so it can't take any special amount of damage.
• The AA is average even for a tier 7 DD.
• The torpedo armament is altogether one of the worst of tier 7 DD's. 
• With the poor concealment, clumsy handling and slow turrets, it can't reasonably contest caps in the first line.
• With no hydro and no defensive AA, it's not very valuable to nearby team members in the second line.

So you're likely staying a bit back, relying on your accurate AP salvos to hopefully get some nice damage. If you're lucky you get presented with a light cruiser broadside that you can punish hard, but this won't be happening too often. And if this is the way to play the Z-31, it just doesn't have the DPM to make a difference in battle. Chances are that the enemy has a real DD in your place, being much more useful?

Its not even that clumsy, and 6.3km isn't too bad

But yes. You are supposed to support allied DDs with support fire

Don't worry it gets, better at T9 and T10. You aren't playing Z-31 for playing it. You play it to grind for Felix and Eling and then throw it away like a lil trash can.

Its a second line DD that has one purpose, its teaches you a bit more about AP usage, for the higher tiers.

[asalonen]

9 minutes ago, totally_potato said:

But yes. You are supposed to support allied DDs with support fire

Don't worry it gets, better at T9 and T10. You aren't playing Z-31 for playing it. You play it to grind for Felix and Eling and then throw it away like a lil trash can.

Its a second line DD that has one purpose, its teaches you a bit more about AP usage, for the higher tiers.

I can absolutely appreciate the concept of the line. It may not be fun for all players, but it is something new. Likewise I enjoyed the French and European DD lines a LOT when they were released.

 

My complain is specifically about the Z-31. It seems to lack the DPM to be competetive as a tier 7, but maybe it'll receive buffs... But regardless, I'll just do my time in it and progress towards the Elbing.

[totally_potato]

12 hours ago, asalonen said:

I can absolutely appreciate the concept of the line. It may not be fun for all players, but it is something new. Likewise I enjoyed the French and European DD lines a LOT when they were released.

 

My complain is specifically about the Z-31. It seems to lack the DPM to be competitive as a tier 7, but maybe it'll receive buffs... But regardless, I'll just do my time in it and progress towards the Elbing.

Agreed

European DDs was a torp boat line in what seemed like ages. That was different. French DDs were unique when first introduced, but WG removed the ambush playstyle by increasing the conceal and turned them into better Khabas. Aka another HE spammer line. Have I enjoyed them? Yep. Did I feel new when playing the French? No. It reminded me of Khaba. 

 

These DDs take the whole gunboat concept through a different approach, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. The GJM (later in the games), the Felix and in particular the Elbing. Z-31 is not the mini cruisers the T8-T10 are. She is more of a big gun DD. 

 

There are certain things, I would like Z-31 to have. GJM reload first of all. Give back the torp reload. Give the 14.4K alpha the main line has. That should fix her. Also since this is the transition from DD to mini cruiser, it would be nice, if only the Z-31 had Speed boost. 

[SV_Kompresor]

I play it just like any other cap contester since its concealment is still workable. I'm just a bit more cautious since the ship doesn't really have any strenghts.

[SV_Kompresor]

Double