The CV Captains Cabin

[sharpie65]

I'm going to be honest here: I'm not the biggest CV player by a long shot (I only have up Hoshou, which probably isn't the best one to start with). Mid-tier play isn't particularly big on AA, but even then I find that I'm struggling. I haven't touched Hoshou for a couple of weeks because I feel like I prefer the more "hands-on" play of BBs, DDs, and CLs.

 

Even then, I don't exactly pick the easiest trees (IJN, RU and RN)..so I guess that's kind of on me for being impulse with that..there is definitely a learning curve involved, but I think I just need to play all the lines to find out which tree suits me best. I guess I'm just going to wait for the RN CVs before I commit to any sort of CV hoarding.

 

 That'll probably be a while the way things are going.

 

[Redcap375]

Cheesy as hell but knowledge is power m8. More so for CV captains than anyother line. Why? Because we have something that other line don't, situational knowelege i.e the good old birds eye view and power of communication. 

 

Knowledge + communications = bloody good shot at winning chaps

 

Your doing the best thing m8, playing other lines first. This will give you knowledge required to be a descent CV captain in the long run, trust me. 

 

example from yesterdays match:  

 

1) 3 cruisers turning the flank pushing onto A.  Out fleet lemming training (again) but doing OK. Asked the two shinny horses to get ready to turn and sort them out, which they did, brutally so. So what did I know in that couple of seconds before I sent the text?

 

1) Sharns are the ultimate crusier killers

2) fast enough to get back in time

3) Two are quite capable in fending off any planes that head there way, trust me.

4) They were in a div so we likely to follow each other and wanna win.

5) a sharn captain never turns down a chance to sink cruisers.

 

Could have asked the whole fleet back? (No point) Or the Col? (too slow and over pens) 2 IJN dds (fast but would get smashed) catch my drift. 

 

I know not all people wanna listen which is cool, or they just wanna play a casual game which is also cool. Nor am i a self appointed leader all of a sudden, but you have to pipe up on the massages as your in the best position to guide your team.

 

Just a simple one at the start like "no fighters, close up for aa support". Already you have given your team a tactical advantage over the enemy, maybe. Who cares if they don't listen and bbs mince off one by one but at least someone might have taken your advice, hopefully a few cruiser captains.

 

You've played that ship so you know how to sink it best.

 

Knowledge regarding using your CVs only is endless if you grind other ships first. You will know the turn rates, the aa capability, the speed for torp drops, the consumables ( plane fighters, defensive aa) and the torp belts. You know that hitting the fat waffer thin deck of a tirps is better than hitting the deck of a NC, because after being a  captain of one you know it hurts. Or that picking on certain US dds with defence aa isn't the easiest then the others. Which ships can only take a few torps and others that can take them all day. Risk vs reward. 

 

Playing other lines first is a good idea. Youll be like a little old sage in his ivory tower by the time you captain CVs 

 

As for the RN Carriers when they come out? I Cant wait. They will be the closest to the front carriers you can get (armoured decks), which I'm unsure about to be honest   but if WG stick to original history, then maybe chaps, we might see the first interchangeable planes during the battle! British CVs got rid of dedicated bombers!! Love to see how WG imperment that one. Only fighters and torps? Plus the old string bags(swordfish) will get a bonus when fighting in a cyclone ( they could take a pounding).

IMHO 

 

 

[Sea_viper]

Looking at the History of WW2 RN carriers, they were specialised with extremely efficient radar directed interception and all weather search and strike capabilities.

It is very often that a pair of fighter would be assign to deal with a whole squad of  bombers. And the most famous results by the swordfish where done in Night/foul weather. Some swordfish was running around with radar since 1940!

In game wise... maybe Swordfish with radar, 2 plane fighter squad to be the most annoying AS set up ever, ships themself having air search radar, early use of F4Us... Hope the line would be an interesting addition

 

Source: http://www.armouredcarriers.com

[Redcap375]

Interesting. But 2 fighters per group wound be so weak it would be pointless.

 

One thing I'm sure of chaps, they will have smaller groups and less planes with armoured decks.

[El2aZeR]

maybe Swordfish with radar

 

Imagine the tears if planes get radar. 

And I'd be among those whining because that'd be OP as *edited*.

[Sea_viper]

Well... consider it would be a T4/5 plane with radar getting thrown in T8 CV (Which is a nice example of what FAA have to work with lol)

Actually, I know that it is possible to pull a somewhat normal line with what RN have. Armored carriers are going to be immune to any bomb in game exept the USN 1000kg bomb. And the very impressive fire fighting system would also warrant a normal fire damage instead of CV ones. With these in mind, a smaller reserve is off set by being able to sail closer to the front. The plane of RN CV is going to be as sturdy as US ones but with focus on TB instead of DB.

With that said, I still hope to see Swordfish running with radar and 6 squad of 2 Fulmar that tackle bombers till Kingdom comes... Just for the lols

Another problem is the lack of decent, dedicated Dive bombers. Let me list them out to show what I meant.

Skua: Fighter/Dive bomber. 500lb Bomb (decent for low tier)

Swordfish: TB/DB. 6*250lb (total WTF load, annoy the hack out of DD though)

Albacore: Same as above 

Barracuda: TB/DB. 1600lb (730kg) bomb (Which is decent)

Spearfish: Similar with above but faster

Note* From Swordfish onwards all started to run with Radar

Dauntless: See US tree

I did not include any fighter bombers here because they don't have dive flaps to make them speed stable in a dive, which restrict them to glide bombing.

Oh and most of the mentioned planes are rather slow too!

The problem here is not just about having the same plane for TB and DB, they are also not very good at scouting. So if these flights can't switch load out, they will just be rather poor at being a DB...

There are a few solution to the problem

1. make RN very TB heavy (meh)

2. make DB carry radar (Just take it as a joke, it will never happen)

3. make ability to switch DB and TB in game (Involve core rework, unlikely)

4. Combine DB/TB plane count. So losses in bombers are drawn from a common reserve (Still a rework, but easier to do and balance)

5. Use US plane to cover whatever is lacking 

So what do you guys think is better?

 

 

 

[Redcap375]

Did a indepth thread a long time ago detailing a lot of RN carrier planes. Anyway...

 

Armoured decks will be the flavour of RN carriers. Which means closer to the front positions than any CV captain could only dream about. But...WG will have do something that makes that work? Because no CV captain in this bar will been seen on the front lines, armoured or not (a lot of AP knocking around), ever. 

 

Armoured decks from enemy bombers you say? Hardly happens nowadays as we all know, unless your one of the two standing. anti fire will be the perk of RN Carriers, not front line fighting so things will remain the same IMHO.

 

Smaller groups with smaller reserves will be off set by good planes with more torp bombers, you watch. Just like the groups from the Saipan but same tier planes.

 

 

[Redcap375]

What do we think of the new German DD lads?

 

Yet another problem for us? 

 

[deadly_if_swallowed]

The TX one? Most certainly. Those 55mm AA guns are beasts, only second to the Des Moines' after-war-guns. The others... not sure. I did not take a closer look at them yet and I am trapped in the office.

[Redcap375]

Typical, on leave (without tower) at the same time they release new line.

 

Well any tips or aa reviews will help chaps..

[T_H_0_R]

Finally met a name I know when sailing my Hak, and out of all people it was Pape:

 

The game started off good. We both took out other team Gearings, and I won the first air duel vs. him. But then his team (division) pushed hard while our team split on two groups, first being T-X ships trying to hold B cap vs. other being a T-VIII group consisting mainly of Bismarcks and Tirptzes pushing in the vague direction away from the main fight, escorted only by Prinz Eugen. I had to help vs. the push and took out their Yamato (divisioning with Pape) but couldn't be at two places at the same time. Sander93 got outflanked while T-VIII group were easy pickings for Pape and before you know it the team melted faster than you could say dafuq.

 

GG and I hope to meet some more of you in the WOWS skies.

[Cadelanne]

Yeah l already met Pape once since I bought my Hakuryu. And tbh it was quite good as I didn't get shredded as I expected to be. But yeah he was in a division and there was an other division of the same clan in game, they steamrolled quite easily. I'm really happy that I bought Hakuryu because now I'm often meeting good CV players such as Pape, Thisheep or AnEpicDude and it'll surely force me to step up !

[sharpie65]

So, I've just picked myself a Zuihou up. First game didn't go terribly well, although I did manage to sink myself a Koenig via autodrop postmortem...I wasn't expecting it to actually do anything, so that was quite a nice surprise. I also had a couple of good games in Houshou earlier on, which helped get me towards Zuihou.

 

Any tips for novices using DBs for the first time? Thanks in advance. 

[Cadelanne]

Not much to say. Preferably drop from the front of the ship so you spend less time in AA, then it's a matter of getting used to it. Of course maximize your flood / fire effect by using your TBs and DBs desynced. US BB repair duration is 20, 15 for Germans and 10 for Japanese, afaik 5 for anything else.

[Ferdinand_98]

Hi, I'm an average player that doesn't performs pretty well in general, but I remember some very good matches in my Bogue. Specially last ones before getting Independence. That was like...2 weeks ago. I haven't lived the CV Golden Age, but still can't understand why people say that they are crapnow. I find them pretty useful and funny most of the time. Just...punishing hard the enemy's planes with the Air Superiority build and one-salvoing top tier BBs with the Strike build. Also, I heard that there is going to be a CV rework recently. Could you explain to me the changes, both objectively and subjectively? 

 

Also, gimme that Irish Cream!

[Cadelanne]

Hi, I'm an average player that doesn't performs pretty well in general, but I remember some very good matches in my Bogue. Specially last ones before getting Independence. That was like...2 weeks ago. I haven't lived the CV Golden Age, but still can't understand why people say that they are crapnow. I find them pretty useful and funny most of the time. Just...punishing hard the enemy's planes with the Air Superiority build and one-salvoing top tier BBs with the Strike build. Also, I heard that there is going to be a CV rework recently. Could you explain to me the changes, both objectively and subjectively? 

 

Also, gimme that Irish Cream!

 

T5 and T5 they're really potent. It's 6-7 where CVs are total crap, and given the MM at higher tier you can get fucked too.

[Ferdinand_98]

 

T5 and T5 they're really potent. It's 6-7 where CVs are total crap, and given the MM at higher tier you can get fucked too.

 

So, at Tier VIII-X the things get better? 

[El2aZeR]

Marginally. Depends on whether or not you apply those hard earned lessons at T6-7.

[Cadelanne]

 

So, at Tier VIII-X the things get better? 

 

A lot better. It's worth it.

[Sea_viper]

Actually, Independence is not Bad at all IF you keep in mind that it is a CVL. It have trouble covering different area of the map because of the small squad number and long turn around time. But the plane are not as paper as IJN and can strike through some AA.

Some tips:

1. Don't throw away your first wave into concentrated AA, the second wave is NOT ENOUGH for the remaining battle.

2. Warn the far flank from you to expect no Air cover. Simply because three squad have lots of trouble keeping large area covered. For IJN CV, a DB spotter or Fighter cover is often possible even for the furthest corner of the map.

3. Use fire and flooding wisely.

4. Use 1/1/1 and learn to strafe with the fighter.

In a more general note, T6-7 CVs are not in a terrible place.

RJ and Hiryu are flexible. Independence is easy to work with, Saipan have very good planes. The only CV that is in a rather bad spot is the Ranger...

[deadly_if_swallowed]

RJ and Hiryu are flexible. Independence is easy to work with, Saipan have very good planes. The only CV that is in a rather bad spot is the Ranger...

 

So much yes. I used to like strike Ranger very much. You can eventually outplay a Hiryu and snipe her back to port with the first wave. And if you fail you have the reserves to try again. But the introduction of Saipan messed with the only asset strike Ranger had. The T9 planes are so damn fast, they are everywhere on the map. And the ammo buff enables Saipan to do 2.5 strafes in a row per squad. Nowadays, you need a strike Ranger against Hiryu, or AS Ranger against Saipan. Her stock setup will lose against both.

[Redcap375]

So chaps, what do we think about the new captain skills and how it will effect us CV dogs?

 

I know what i think and its not good, not good at all.  

 

 

[deadly_if_swallowed]

I did not play PTS this time so what I know of the new captain skills I know mainly from Flamu and his recommended builds.

Not sure if life as a CV gets significantly harder now. The additional fighter plane on BBs and CAs (lvl 1 skill) will probably mess with a lot of bombing runs; but aside from that I think there will be less AA monsters around. They will either have reduced dps because BFT is more expensive, and/or reduced range because there are great alternatives to AFT and manual AA. If you set up a dedicated AA ship you will miss out a lot of other options, much more so than now.

[Gaunter_O_Dimm_]

New CV skills are garbage and AA is getting buffed again . No not coming back to CVs to torture myself.

[ilhilh]

So chaps, what do we think about the new captain skills and how it will effect us CV dogs?

 

I know what i think and its not good, not good at all.  

 

 

 

I was just posting elsewhere about this - there will be more and more ships running AFT post patch and as such AA bubbles get bigger and as such plane attrition increases.  You will lose more attacking a target and losing more before you drop reduces your damage output and affects your reserves - this makes you less able to soak up losses attacking the tougher targets and so they are free to do whatever you want.

 

And this is before you consider the 2 catapult fighters (this might have a huge effect in requiring you to use your fighters to get them so they don't panic all of your TB planes!) and the increase to the effects of BFT.

 

The new CV skills are garbage.  Evasive Manoeuvre is designed to actively reduce your damage output and Emergency Takeoff is very situational, and the 100% service time could easily lead to times where your planes take longer to service than the fire lasts.

 

I guess the ability to get Air Supremacy for a 10 point captain will make you see CVs with that skill lower in the tiers generally which will help Hiryu/Ranger at least but it doesn't change too much in the grand scheme.

 

If 2017 is supposed to be year of the CV then they are starting it in an odd way by making CVs more unattractive than ever in the first month!  Given the low CV population generally I don't know why they are implementing changes that will definitely nerf CVs.