how to not be the only target

[txtspeak]

I'm just starting in ranked battles and its being extremely dificult for me to make any meaningful contribution to the team because I am the worst and I am a noob and I need to L2P  no! [edited]that! If your going to answer that just dont answer. Basically I cant seem to actually play the game as its meant to be played. taking out the omaha and following my teams orders to the cap point tends to result in me being shot to [edited]by 7 enemy ships. the only thing I can do to prevent this is to AFK for the first minute or so of the match but... [edited]NO! thats not team play! thats being selfish! that dragging my team back and preventing us from winning. does anyone have a solution of any kind?

[Xevious_Red]

Well the omaha isn't a great choice for ranked IMO - there's only 7 people on your team, some of which will be DD (and be hidden), some BB (probably behind you), and the rest clevelands/nuremburg (longer range, so probably behind you). With a pretty bad detection range and you get spotted early and are probably the easiest target.

 

Throw on the fact that the ship is squishy with a nice citadel and yeah you'd probably look like the best target for a team looking to quickly swing the numbers in their favour.

[AndyHill]

I don't have any very specific or especially good advice, but judging by your stats you are simply hyper aggressive. You could probably do more damage if you didn't die quite that early. I don't know if that helps any but in general I think you should look more into choosing more favorable engagements.

 

The most important tool for this is the minimap. Depending on the ship you are in you should be looking at the map 50% to almost all the time. Do not take unfavorable battles where there are more enemy guns shooting at you than there are friendly guns shooting at the enemy. When you're getting shot at (more than you can shoot back), go into survival mode and avoid taking the hits and let your teammates take easy shots at the ships firing at you (remember, we didn't go into an engagement where you don't outgun the opponent locally).

 

This is actually the first level of proficiency in WoWS (and all games like it): become hard to kill. Easy kills lose games, because if and when their ships go down with little effort the enemy gets points and your team loses them. Just about everyone can learn this skill, the drawback is that being hard to kill sometimes means being overly cautious and losing the game. It is still preferable to donating easy points to the enemy.

 

The second step to greatness is learning to be aggressive when the situation calls for it - but that's a much, much more difficult and relatively few players ever master this skill. I know I don't. So here's my one single piece of advice I can give without more specific questions, maybe it's a start maybe it's not but here goes:

 

Don't go into exchanges where the enemy outguns you and your teammates.

[txtspeak]

I don't have any very specific or especially good advice, but judging by your stats you are simply hyper aggressive. You could probably do more damage if you didn't die quite that early.

hah, by hyper agressive you mean I go with the other cruisers to the point that my team decide to cap.

Don't go into exchanges where the enemy outguns you and your teammates.

 

wanna explain how exactly? I mean... becides sitting AFK in spawn and waiting until the enemy has selected a target for destruction thats not me.

unlike random battles theres only two cap points always meaning that I have only a few potention scenarios. all of both teams go to the same point, I got there first and was the target for no exaggeration the entire enemy team. me and my team go to point A and the enemy team go to point B. in which case I am the first one they spot and they then all rape me. then theres all of both teams except for me goes to one point, I flank around and remain hidden for most of it almost like a DD, in fact this is what DDs DO in ranked battles and I would do better in my minekaze (but I want the cleveland) then theres my team goes to A, the enemy goes to B and I go to B. in which case they see me as a massive threat because I am really close and all target me.

this is the sort of things I am thinking that keep happening

[Tyrendian89]

I'm just starting in ranked battles and its being extremely dificult for me to make any meaningful contribution to the team because I am the worst and I am a noob and I need to L2P  no! [edited]that! If your going to answer that just dont answer. Basically I cant seem to actually play the game as its meant to be played. taking out the omaha and following my teams orders to the cap point tends to result in me being shot to [edited]by 7 enemy ships. the only thing I can do to prevent this is to AFK for the first minute or so of the match but... [edited]NO! thats not team play! thats being selfish! that dragging my team back and preventing us from winning. does anyone have a solution of any kind?

 

without having seen specifically you play but seeing many many others do it, and judging from my own play, you might actually need to L2P - in a very specific way: DON'T BE AN INVITING TARGET! As in, alwaysalwaysalways angle your ship as best you can (Omaha is fantastic for that, probably best among all ships in the lower ranked bracket, because she loses so little firepower doing it and she's such a narrow target). That will often take the attention of their battleships away from you almost as surely as if you weren't visible at all, and cruisers also much prefer to shoot glorious AP citadel volleys into juicy broadsides instead of hitting maybe 33% of their shells on the nose of an Omaha, of which 80% will bounce if it was AP. Once you're angled in, judge the situation - keep changing speeds and wiggle yo booty to throw off the enemy aim even more, reverse if you have to to keep some distance (much more healthy than turning and exposing your broadside in the sights of a Fuso or Nürmberg...), shoot targets of opportunity (as in, shoot any cruiser stupid enough to show you a broadside; Omaha AP can hurt a LOT if you aim it well into all those poorly armoured cruisers you're gonna face) but switch to any DD that happens to pop up because that's your main job in an Omaha, and when you think you do see an opening for a heroic torpedo run on that Battleship, feel free to take it

[Ton0kki]

hah, by hyper agressive you mean I go with the other cruisers to the point that my team decide to cap.

 

Unless you can hide behind an island, leave capping for destroyers. Otherwise it's just suicidal since you will be spotted all the time (and Omaha is made of tinfoil). Try to stay behind friendly destroyers in safe position to help them if they get spotted by enemy destroyers.   

 

edit: Capping later is fine ofc, but rushing to cap just get you killed in a cruiser.

[TheCinC]

-Let DDs do the capping, that is what they are for.

-Support your DDs, like they are your precious and no one else is allowed to touch them, by firing on any DD they spot or any cruiser targeting them.

-Choose position near an island that you can use as cover.

[AndyHill]

I referred to your random stats, you have too few ranked games to have any kind of statistical relevance and the game modes are similar enough so that I can take a guess at the kind of gameplay style I think you have in ranked as well. Ranked games do tend to be more focused and coordinated, which exaggerates the survival issue. Without seeing specific gameplay (and sorry but I probably won't have time to view replays) I can say that there are generally two reasons someone gets focused: you are either against superior force or you are presenting an easy target. If former isn't the case, then you need to be evasive, not show broadsides to the enemy and recognize focus fire slightly before it happens and concentrate on being as hard a target as possible, especially to the main threats.

 

Your cruiser is a soft target that relies on agility for survival.  If you are getting focused, but showing only small profile with fast, constant maneuvering and most shots are actually missing while your friends take hard, easy shots at the enemy focusing you, everything is fine and you're doing your job and winning the game for the team. If one of the things I mentioned isn't happening, you most likely screwed up somehow (sometimes teams just will fail you no matter what and don't take the easy shots etc. but there's nothing you can do about that).

 

There are no easy answers, everything always depends on the situation and it's often not that simple to read. Make use of the experience you get by playing games. Ask yourself what went wrong and what went right. What did the situation look like from the enemy's perspective, how would you feel if you were the opponent and someone played like you did? Did you make good plays or was it just an easy kill?

 

Here are a few extra tips for anyone interested:

- Do not go middle in Two Brothers.

- Stick with the team, but TURN BACK if it looks like a lemming train drifting off to the sides of the map.

- Avoid the middle lane of Two Brothers like the plague.

- Depending on game mode there are spots on maps where ships are simply wasted and their guns are out of play. Usually to the sides and corners in vertical two cap games and north and south edges when the caps are horizontal. As a general rule the spots where you need to be are next to and between the caps, that's the area where you can have an effect on the game.

- There may be situations when you need to go middle in Two Brothers, but this right now IS NOT IT.

[it3llig3nc3]

hah, by hyper agressive you mean I go with the other cruisers to the point that my team decide to cap.

 

wanna explain how exactly? I mean... becides sitting AFK in spawn and waiting until the enemy has selected a target for destruction thats not me.

unlike random battles theres only two cap points always meaning that I have only a few potention scenarios. all of both teams go to the same point, I got there first and was the target for no exaggeration the entire enemy team. me and my team go to point A and the enemy team go to point B. in which case I am the first one they spot and they then all rape me. then theres all of both teams except for me goes to one point, I flank around and remain hidden for most of it almost like a DD, in fact this is what DDs DO in ranked battles and I would do better in my minekaze (but I want the cleveland) then theres my team goes to A, the enemy goes to B and I go to B. in which case they see me as a massive threat because I am really close and all target me.

this is the sort of things I am thinking that keep happening

 

I share your disappointment feeling but still recommend to try to think about what the fellow commanders said.

Myself being a hardcore BB player started to try out myself in Ranked with Cruisers and I must say it is painful. Especially because of what you experienced - immediately becoming the center of the attention.

This is difficult but you need to hold yourself back at the beginning and try to team up with others in order to present more guns towards the enemy than pointing at you.

My best learning survival strategy was to stay around the BBs until the battle unfolds and once everybody gets engaged move out, take a few shots and try to disappear  

There are very basic things to watch when trying:

- as soon as you see that more than one ship is firing at you: try to DISENGAGE (turn-turn! run!)

- make sure you only engage enemy while NOT SHOWING YOUR BROADSIDE - cruisers showing broadside die fast. This is hard but use the minimap to select a good position with at least 45 degree angle

- while some players will shoot me for this I say: when you engage even if the enemy is a bit out of your torp range, LAUNCH them. It will cause the enemy to share focus and do maneuvers to evade...

- NEVER EVER SAIL IN STRAIGHT LINE for longer than 10 sec. Make it a routine to change course frequently!

 

Hope it helps.

[txtspeak]

without having seen specifically you play

 alwaysalwaysalways angle your ship as best you 

this. this is how I play. the only problem with it is that pointing the front of your ship towards the enemy means your running straight at them and being the closest. and... as andyhill said, that makes me seem hyper agressive.

That will often take the attention of their battleships away from you almost as surely as if you weren't visible at all, 

Yeeaaa- no

 hitting maybe 33% of their shells on the nose of an Omaha, of which 80% will bounce if it was AP. 

in about 30% of games I am citadelled in this position

 shoot targets of opportunity (as in, shoot any cruiser stupid enough to show you a broadside; Omaha AP can hurt a LOT if you aim it well into all those poorly armoured cruisers you're gonna face) 

you mean everybody 

[MartiniHenrie]

My advice would be to sit 5 or so Km behind your DDs and support them with your guns, you will need to close the range fast when they get engaged .  That's what I do with my Murmansk which is pretty similar.

 

The trick is to keep a good eye on the map, and note the locations of the OPFor big hitters.  You can also nip at distracted bigger ships, but getting focused in a low tier cruised is bad as you already know.  

 

If you can't support your DDs then stick with the big boys and save your Hp for the closing stages, you can always discourage DDs from getting to adventurous if you know what you are doing.

[txtspeak]

If you can't support your DDs then stick with the big boys and save your Hp for the closing stages, you can always discourage DDs from getting to adventurous if you know what you are doing.

 

thank you very much, I will try staying with the battleships (if they are not AFK)

[Admiral_noodle]

With an Omaha I would stay with BBs and not rush forward at all. If I'm playing in new mex or Fuso and I see an Omaha I start getting warm feelings inside. They are so squishy and easy to citadel.

 

My advice would be... Take a Cleveland.

[it3llig3nc3]

Hello my fellow  captain txtspeak 

Are there any success stories you can share with us about the games? was any advice useful for you?

[bloomoon11]

My advice would be to sit 5 or so Km behind your DDs and support them with your guns, you will need to close the range fast when they get engaged .  That's what I do with my Murmansk which is pretty similar.

 

The trick is to keep a good eye on the map, and note the locations of the OPFor big hitters.  You can also nip at distracted bigger ships, but getting focused in a low tier cruised is bad as you already know.  

 

If you can't support your DDs then stick with the big boys and save your Hp for the closing stages, you can always discourage DDs from getting to adventurous if you know what you are doing.

 

This.  The front line isn't a good place for cruisers, especially early game, leave that to the DDs with their concealment.

[GulvkluderGuld]

Couple simple things I do every match to judge who is outgunned by whom:

- count the number of enemy ships at each cap.

- Count the number of friendly ships.

- Compare: Push where we have a numerical advantage.

- If it is slight, compare battleships by tier and destroyers by nation

- if higher tier friendly bbs -> push, if enemy has higher tier, defend.

- if more USN/RU dds -> push/support them, if enemy has more USN/RU dds, fall back

 

I played a few games as Omaha back in S2 ranked, but ended up moving to the Ognevoi instead.

You need Advanced Firing Training to really make the Omaha work in ranked, since you want to use the B hull with more guns/torp tubes. If you dont have it, use the C hull for now, as it at least has 14 km range.

rule #1: Never get inside 10-12 km of more than one ship (unless it is a DD)

rule #2: Playstyle is kite kite kite, that is what your rudder is for. Change course every 2-5s.

rule #3: Keep you BBs safe from IJN dds. This will let them win the game for you. Usually you do this by sailing with the rearmost BB (behind and further from the enemy than the bb). Learn where IJN dds generally sail to, and find good ambush spots to kill them. That means places where they are overextended, eg. you can shoot them without their team shooting you back (islands in the way or out for range of their CA/BB). 

rule #4: Dont chase the DDs! Unless every enemy ship is accounted for (visible) and you know at most one can range on you, it will usually get you killed. Also, learn to deal with torps

general rule #5: when you have learned enough mapawareness to stay alive and know how to hit AP to citadels, you can start looking for oppertunities to get close and quickly take out an enemy ship with AP or torps.

 

About the Cleveland: It is a more noobfriendly ship, but it depends on you opponents being stupid enough to get inside 10 km.On the plus side, it is more resistant to BB fire. 

However, a wellplayed Omaha will kill a Cleveland in 1v1 every time by staying at 13-15 kms (requires AFT). Omaha has better shell velocity and maneuverability -> cleveland can't hit the Omaha, but the Omaha can easily hit the Cleveland. Usually I only lose 5-7k hp while killing a full hp Cleveland.

 

txtspeak, on 12 January 2016 - 07:17 PM, said:

in about 30% of games I am citadelled in this position

 

The Omaha can get citadelled from the front quite easily, it is something you just have to accept.

If you are < 10 km to a BB, you best bet is lots of small random course changes to throw off the BBs aim.

When he has fired, you choose whether to go for a torp run or break off (as there is now time to turn around = exposing the  broadside)

[KnightObilic]

my 2c:

- Manouver so you have most 1 ship able to shoot at you (not always easy, lots of illogical BBs, who let themselves get murdered in order to score at least 1 kill by targeting you)

- Let DDs do the capping, spotting. Never be first to be shot at; Also try to be keep cap in medium range of your guns in order to fight enemy DDs/support your own

- Destroy your SHIFT key: constantly zoom out to observe the minimap and other ship's position, then zoom in to watch BBs that can shoot at you

- Use the speed  - even if you sail towards the enemy, changing speed will make them undershoot/overshoot you

- Watch the enemy ship - never turn when you do not know if it is reloaded. When they fire, then turn unless you like being citadel' ed.

- Do not be overly aggressive in lower tier ship - you are already putting your team at a disadvantage, dying early will just increase this

[txtspeak]

My advice would be... Take a Cleveland.

this is why I took the omaha, I was grinding my way up to the cleveland

[Hauptbahnhof]

 taking out the omaha and following my teams orders to the cap point tends to result in me being shot to [edited]by 7 enemy ships. the only thing I can do to prevent this is to AFK for the first minute or so of the match but...

 

Make sure you are never:

- The closest ship to the enemy team by any big margin ( being tied or slightly closer is OK if your actively dodging/turning and making yourself hard to hit).

- In a position where all ships in the enemy team have a direct line of fire and are in range of your ship ( use islands and range! )

- Sailing broadside with ships that got bigger guns (Battleships or cruisers with 8" guns like the Japanese ).

 

If you fail at all the 3 above at the same time... your life will last less then 3 seconds in a ranked game...

 

To live long and prosper you should keep a look out for enemy destroyers (your target) and ways be able to shoot at them without many or any other enemy ships being able to shoot at you. Use minimap and look ahead to try to figure out where the rest of your team and enemy team is heading, so you can predict where you want to be and more important where you DON'T want to be. If there are no enemy destroyers you can either use destroyer tactics yourself and hide behind and island preying on their Battleships ( since omaha got torps ), or you can sail with the team hosing the enemy ships down with HE shells, while constantly turning back and forth so your much harder to hit.

 

Try to think like this when it comes to having enemy ships firing at you. GREAT they are firing at me, this means all my teammates can fire at them undisturbed as long as I focus on turning, dodging and evading their gunfire while drawing them into my teams firing zone. When more then one enemy ship is targeting you, your MAIN focus must be to evade their gunfire, shoot back only if you can do so without risking exposing yourself. Omaha is a great ship to be constantly turning around in circles with because you got guns pointing everywhere that can fire a little anyways, and your pretty hard to hit from long range while doing so.

[txtspeak]

ok I'm going to necro this thread again because this issue has come back again. in random battles this time.

every single time I go into battle I am the sole target of every single enemy ship.  I am usually not the first person to get spotted or shot at but as soon as I am spotted

EVERYONE! literally EVERYONE switches targets and pummels me to the bottom of the ocean in 10 seconds flat.

[Kurbain]

ok I'm going to necro this thread again because this issue has come back again. in random battles this time.

every single time I go into battle I am the sole target of every single enemy ship.  I am usually not the first person to get spotted or shot at but as soon as I am spotted

EVERYONE! literally EVERYONE switches targets and pummels me to the bottom of the ocean in 10 seconds flat.

 

Could you offer some replays to highlight this issue? I've a hard time believing the entire enemy team happens to be out to kill you without any wrongdoing on your part.

[txtspeak]

how do I get replays?

[Leo_Apollo11]

Hi all,

 

"Enabling Replays in World of Warships"

 

http://forum.worldofwarships.eu/index.php?/topic/19222-enabling-replays-in-world-of-warships

 

Leo "Apollo11"

[MartiniHenrie]

I think Aslains mod will turn on replays, but I'm away from my PC and can't check at the moment.

 

It very much sounds like you are showing far too much of your sides, and as Jingles would say...That's a paddling, right there.

 

Map awareness is key, and you have the speed to ensure you are not engaged from multiple directions. I will always switch fire to a cruiser that is broadside, and mostly get good citadels as a result.  Cruisers suffer the most as everyone wants them dead, DDs so they can get at the prizes, Cruisers for obvious reasons and BBs/CVs because they are so squishy.

[txtspeak]

it very much sounds like you are showing far too much of your sides, and as Jingles would say...That's a paddling, right there.

you do know what they say about assuming dont you?

it makes an [edited]out of you and me

[edited]-u-me