Ships that are unplayable stock

[Thracen]

Hey there everyone,

 

These troublesome grinds maybe old hat to most players here as they probably have long since suffered through them. I'm newish and level a broad line of ships. I seem to have hit the rough patch in several lines at once.

 

I am currently leveling the pensacola, colorado and tashkent at the same time. The tashkent in particular is completely useless with 10.5km gun range 2km extra spotting distance on all it's dd counterparts and 4 km torps. Honourable mention goes to the fuso with a stock range of something like 13km.

 

So whats the point of this thread? I thought it might be comforting at least to hear others tales of woe in these ships along with the possibility of a few tips that might help people. That and a little awareness that some of these grinds are needlessly punishing.

[GeneralIKrizmuz]

I always fully upgrade my ships with Free XP. My enjoyment is more precious to me than my money

[Devi1]

The only ship that for me was a nightmare was the stock Fuso... being matched with tier 8 was a nightmare.

[Syrchalis]

If you don't want to spend money, use Papa Papa flags from missions and new year camo to get free xp. Use free xp only on ships that are really unplayable in stock setup. E.g. Fuso without the hull upgrade. The hull gives it like +6km range, so it goes from "less range than cruiser" to "outranges nearly anything".

 

There are some other ships who have similar upgrades that you just >need< if you don't want to suffer, but many ships can do okay in stock setup - and those you just grind out.

[shadowwolf9705]

Fuso is the worst stock ship no others come close as you can atleast manage with them well except the Pensacola but she is a mess since ever most likely the only ship where the predecessor laughs about its follower

[Srle_Vigilante]

Yorck is bad. Not even a ship stock.

But, Roon was a really annoying grind.

[mtm78]

Stock ships, what is this 'stock ships' you talk about? I don't even buy a ship I unlock before I have enough free xp to get the modules needed to make them playable. If that means I got to play 50 games in premiums just get enough free xp, so be it. At least most premiums are 'pretty competitive', and don't have needed upgrades  

 

Ok that's a bit off a troll comment, ofc I played stock ships. But when I did, I always played different then I would with an competitively specced ship. It's like playing Pensacola, you are never the first one going in, instead you wait until your team is engaging and then pick on distracted enemies. Does it suck, yes it does, your team in effect has half a player less, but often times there are also people on the enemy team who also aren't fully upgraded. In fact I used to actually check during battle loading which ships on enemy team were stock or not, now I don't do that anymore as I tend just rely on my observations in the actual battle but it can still help make one feel less 'insignificant' ( or .. it can reinforce this feeling instead ). 

 

Yorck is bad. Not even a ship stock.

But, Roon was a really annoying grind.

 

Roon was ok with the range module free-xp'd

[Shirakami_Kon]

From my experience, Pensacola and Fuso. Yorck wasn't pleasant at all, but compared to those two it was still bearable.

[Gnirf]

Use premium camos w exp 50/100%, Flags Equal Speed Charlie London and Premium time gives more XP/game. Try to grind several ships to max the benefits from first win bonuses. Use free XP. Especially on the stock hull. But as ithe XP demands rises for all the tiers use the wisely. Accept horrible grinds in some ships because there are even worse grinds maybe. But Fuso is a ship you can use some Xp on. I often combine take a few Days in the stock grind on the weekend at least as freeXP is so tough and then take freexp. Accept that it takes time to grind higher tiers

[Thracen]

Honestly, I don't begrudge the ginds too much. with careful use of of a lot of the suggestions above they are manageable most of the time save for those nasty bottom tier games. That said now the missouri exists free exp is now much more precious so when I would usually cherry pick the most helpful upgrades now I tough it out. It was the first time playing this game I really noticed the free to play/pay element even while running a premium account. I think this was further compounded by the fact that I haven't been able to play as much as I usually can because of the holidays. When the 1 hour you get to play with double or triple exp  going on gets put towards bad stock ships because it's too good to pass up leaving your favourites unplayed is a hard choice to make.

[ollonborre]

Roon stock is still way ahead an elite Hipper.

 

Worst stock grind for me was without a doubt the Fuso back in the old MM. Iowas, Izumos, tier 9 carriers and torpedoes that could almost 2 hit you. Anything after that felt like easy work.

[ColonelPete]

There are no unplayable stock ships. Adapt.

[eliastion]

Fuso is the worst stock ship no others come close as you can atleast manage with them well except the Pensacola but she is a mess since ever most likely the only ship where the predecessor laughs about its follower

 

Well, I beg to differ. Have you seen the new Fubuki/Hatsu with 6km torps? IJN DD with no capability for stealth torping - so much fun... In my humble opinion these things are Fuso-level of painful stock grind...

[MoveZig]

Torp-focused DDs that don't get to stealth torp until the upgrade (which requires the hull upgrade first). T-22, old Mutsuki and new Hatsu come to mind. Captain skills can also be a big hurdle as some ships absolutely need EM to be workable, and LS for most DDs. Least painful stock grind I've seen was Nicholas, if you exclude not having Last Stand.

[159Hunter]

There are no unplayable stock ships. Adapt.

 

 

Of course they are still playable, what OP meant was that they are vastly underpowered to their upgraded versions. And yes those ships can be a pain to play.

So next time, actually read what he's saying before giving such an 'adapt' comment....

[ColonelPete]

I read it. Maybe he should chose different words than "unplayable" and "useless".

[CaptainNorse]

I would say that the Fuso is the only ship I found being near unplayable in the stock hull. 

[RenamedUser_92906789]

To be honest.... I dont play stock ships. It seems a dissadvantage for the whole team. mtm, i like your first paragraph .. just to be clear.

[cro_pwr]

Hatsuharu hands down.

[havaduck]

Roon stock is still way ahead an elite Hipper.

 

 

 

No doubt about that since elite Pensacola is way ahead of elite Hipper ......... hell, even stock Hipper with a heal would be > elite Hipper since you are a expandable target ship anyway ......

 

 

 Maybe he should chose different words than "unplayable" and "useless".

 

We can replace those words in " " with stock-Pensacola, stock Fuso, old-Furotaka, Shi7berg and Karlsruin in general, etc .... but the it might become hard to read while retaining the same meaning.

 

 

 

I played a lot of stock- or at least mostly stock ships. Most have only a few key-upgrades. Take NY: Stock hull would be manageable .... but worse shells on a BB? No thx (I did that one in co-op). Same with old Izumo ...

So far I only used earned free xp.

 

A exception is Pensa: Its has A LOT of downsides, and without all 3 upgrades not a single advantage:

 

- You need the range or else you have drive around in effective gunrange of even T 4 BBs - in up to BT 9 games with your "great camo" .

- You need the Hull because your manoeuvrability (and faith in RNG-dispersion ) is your armor.

- You need the Hull because your AA is crap anyway, but it would be nice keep at least T5 CVs away .....

- You need the Gun upgrade for the better shells because the Guns, and here esp. the AP, is all the ship about. crap AP with really bad pen -> Useless ship.

 

And yeah I did a stock grind on Pensa ..... my recommendation: DONT!

 

With the upgrades it might be the best T 7 cruiser if you know how to play it - and get lucky with the double cits through the bow/stern, and if the Skycarcinoma lets you play in general ofc.

[Exocet6951]

I read it. Maybe he should chose different words than "unplayable" and "useless".

 

Captain semantics strikes again!

If you really want to go down that road, that sentence isn't correct. It's "he should have chosen different words".

 

There, now that everyone is unhappy with that and your pointless interlude that solved nothing, back to the topic.

 

I would say that stock Kiev was a hard pill to swallow.

As was the new stock Hatsuharu and Fubuki. Slow, extremely frail ships with poor firepower that bleed speed, and can't stealth torpedo because have 6km torpedoes spotted from 1.6km away, giving a reaction time of well over 10 seconds? lol no. Stop spoiling us with awesome new IJN DDs pls WG.

 

Honorable mention to the stock Shchors who literally less maneuverable than the Gneisenau. Since you can't dodge, you'll be eating those 15km citpens all day. Which is a shame, since it only takes two citpens from 406mm+ AP  to leave her with a couple of thousand hp left.

 

[havaduck]

 

Honorable mention to the stock Shchors who literally less maneuverable than the Gneisenau. Since you can't dodge, you'll be eating those 15km citpens all day. Which is a shame, since it only takes two citpens from 406mm+ AP  to leave her with a couple of thousand hp left.

 

 

In Soviet Russian ship, you dont dodge shell anyway, shell dodges you!  (Its called dispersion ...... and bias)

 

 

[Exocet6951]

 

In Sojvet Russian ship, you dont dodge shell anyway, shell dodges you!  (Its called dispersion ...... and bias)

 

 

 

That's pretty much accurate!

 

Using gud "soviet starved supermodel" tactic to be so thin that no one hits you!

[txtspeak]

Gneisenau.

because it's unplayable stock or elite

(or at least very unpleasnt to do so even if you are doing well)

[deadly_if_swallowed]

The Russian thing does not work for me. Shchors and Kutuzov still get rekt everytime an enemy looks at them.

Hipper and Eugen, on the other hand, serve me very well. Where does all the hate come from? Yorck, Hipper, Roon, and Iowa were probably the most enjoyable stock grinds ever.

 

Pensacola, Tashkent, Fuso, New Mexico, and Colorado are very painful... and so is every CV. Got a Shokaku recently and tried a battle with the stock ship. Hiryu planes, Ryujo flight deck. Oh joy. Stock Lexington, same joke. But hey, we all have to start somewhere.