USN DD Captain Skills in 0.6.0

[Zogash85]

So, as I'm sure we all know, RPF will pretty much be a must-have skill for USN DDs come 0.6.0. What other skills will you go for, considering some of the previous 'duh, of course' skills will be moved around quite a bit. How would you progress a 'fresh' captain? Here's my (preliminary) take:

 

#1: Preventative Maintenance - the new 'duh, of course' skill at tier 1 for DDs if you ask me

#2-3: Last Stand - duh, of course

#4-6: BFT - I'd really like to have SI and/or SE, but a 10% DPM buff is just too powerful to pass on, imho

#7-10: CE - as imba as RPF is, being as stealthy as possible still takes priority, imho

#11-14: RPF - good night, IJN DDs...

#15-17: either SI or SE - I'm not sure on this one... additional smoke or extra health? Tough call...

#18-19: Jack of all Trades - of all the (rather mediocre) tier 2 skills, this one's the best

 

What do you think?

[EmilyFara]

I will probably not take RPF. I can't see the use for me. I generally tend to have a pretty good idea where enemy dd's are located and don't need this crutch to tell me as well. I'd rather have a skill or 2 that directly help me in a combat situation when the shooting starts.

 

I also won't have an 18 point captain for quite some time.

 

That said, I'll need to do play testing and that might change my mind. However I'm currently at sea and won't be able to play for quite some time. So no testing for the foreseeable future

[tmGrunty]

 

My recommended builds for all high tier destroyers

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iCCOHVM4kw5aBIKDYi0Ym6LnNBiFPcFrGI_89m2B_Rg/edit?usp=sharing

 

[xX_HeXeR_Xx]

As long as the respec does only cost 1 dubloon/skillpoint i will first try (Gearing with Main Battery Modification 3) :

1 - Preventative Maintenance

2 - Last Stand

3 - BFT

4 - CE

5 - RPF

6 - SE

7 - Adrenaline Rush (if i lose half my HP that would be a reload of 2.1 sec on the main guns and 122,4 sec on torps - could be fun)

 

and then (Gearing with Torpedo Tubes Modification 3):

1 - Preventative Maintenance

2 - Last Stand

3 - BFT

4 - CE

5 - RPF

6 - Torpedo Armament Expertise

7 - Adrenaline Rush (if i lose half my HP that would be a reload of 2.4 sec on the main guns and 88,4 sec on torps - could also be fun)

or perhaps without RPF but with SE + Priority Target? Choices, choices... I guess i have to post again when i tried a few new skills (especially RPF) and combinations

 

I wont take SI or Jack of All Trades because i use premium consumables and i think thats good enough. I rarely use all of them and a 5% reload bonus is (in my opinion) not good enough.

[ThePurpleSmurf]

I'll probably go with this torpedo insanity build on my Gearing (with torpedo reload upgrade): Commander Build

Still capable of contesting cap zones and once the ship lost 50% HP the torpedo reload of the 71ktn torps is down to 95 seconds, more HP loss means even faster torpedo reload. Toward the end of the battle i'm very very often down to 10% to 20% remaining HP, so i could profit from it. I also consider something similar on my Fletcher. I mean, what BBs do not like high damage, long range, 66 ktn fast fish with a 70 second reload on enemy DDs?! 

[GulvkluderGuld]

Not sure about RPF being mandatory.

I will probably test it on my Fletcher (taking it after CE) 

 

For ranked I guess smth like this below will be my choice 

1: Priority target (knowing how many people aimat me = when to press smoke)

2: Last stand 

3: Vigilance (more needed than ever since RPF will let people target their torps perfectly into my smoke)

4: CE

5: SE (Better to have 15-20% hp than 10% dpm)

6: BFT 

7: Adrenaline rush (might even take this before BFT)

 

Dont know about you guys, dont you think BFT has gotten a bit too pricey?

Adrenaline rush seems the better pick.

 

And do you guys plan on running things like DE or RPF in ranked? 

It's a tough call, as I think brain and skill can substitute quite well for RPF

[_Teob_]

This will be my spec.

Last 2 points will be Adrenaline Rush or Jack of all Trades (or Torpedo Acceleration on the Gearing) - I am not 100% which is the best but currently I am leaning towards Adrenaline Rush.

 

Edit: Or Priority target instead at tier 1 - I am not sure if preventive maintenance affects torpedo tubes because if it does, then I am deffo taking that.

[xX_HeXeR_Xx]

BFT is pricey but if u want to hunt dds it could be the advantage u need in a close fight. Also its now a 20% buff to AA and i noticed more CVs are playing lateley (at least in my games).

 

I think in ranked RPF is almost mandatory (and i hate it).

Sure brain & skill can tell u where the enemy destroyers are but I have lost games on points because the last dd did just hide and we couldnt find him.

Also in the first minutes you just know where to aim your guns. Thats the 1-2 sec edge you could need to get the first kill.

 

I guess Preventive Maintenance does effect the torpedo tubes. Its a module.

Ill take it mainly because engine and steering gears should become more durable this way.

[_Teob_]

BFT is pricey but if u want to hunt dds it could be the advantage u need in a close fight.

 

I think BFT is too expensive now. I'd love to take it but I can't justify 3 points. I don't care about the extra 20% AA dmg that much.

[ThePurpleSmurf]

I just played 2 games with this build in my Gearing and i must say that i expect a nerf of Adrenaline Rush pretty soon. At the game start i rushed to a cap zone and contested it, in both games i have lost about 70% HP. From now on i had to play a bit more careful, BUT ... torpedo reload is down to 86s and main battery reload 2.5s. I could launch torps again before my old set ran out. On Fletcher this will be even more 'fun' for the BBs, because gun reload remains similar but the torp reload will go down to what, 70s? Ten 19k damage torps every 70s in the water? I'll take it. 

 

[xX_HeXeR_Xx]

@Teob_VG

I guess its mainly how you want to play your DD. If you want to be a specialiced DD-hunter its worth the 3 points (in my opinion) but if you want to play like a "Jack of all trades" its probably not.

I realy would like to have 2 captains for my american DDs. 1 for DD-hunting (ranked & team-battles) and 1 for a more on guard torpedo-boat playstyle (randoms).

But lvling another captain sounds like to much effort..

[_Flyto_]

 

Dont know about you guys, dont you think BFT has gotten a bit too pricey?

Adrenaline rush seems the better pick.

 

 

I might be missing something here, but surely Adrenaline Rush is guaranteed worse than BFT for small guns? AIUI it will exactly match BFT (10% buff) at the moment when you die (100% health loss), and be worse up until then?

[Nethraniel]

 

I might be missing something here, but surely Adrenaline Rush is guaranteed worse than BFT for small guns? AIUI it will exactly match BFT (10% buff) at the moment when you die (100% health loss), and be worse up until then?

 

Adrenalin Rush equals BFT at 50% health. However, I think a combination of both could get pretty evil... with 25% remaining health you would get 25% faster reload.

[_Flyto_]

 

Adrenalin Rush equals BFT at 50% health. However, I think a combination of both could get pretty evil... with 25% remaining health you would get 25% faster reload.

 

Ah, I must have misremembered AR. Both would indeed be scary, but also expensive...

[Nethraniel]

 

Ah, I must have misremembered AR. Both would indeed be scary, but also expensive...

 

It's 'only' 5 points... that is still viable.

[KaraMon]

My Gearing

 

1/ Priority target

2. Last stand, adrenaline

3. BFT, Survival expert

4. Concealment, Radio Potato finding

[Z_OnkelE]

For me there will be three kind of builds: strong DD-Hunter (Lo Yang) with build-in High Calibre flag, torpedo focus (Fletcher -> who wants a T9 in a Clan Battle anyways?!) and gun insanity for the Random rounds (Farragut, maybe even Benson; note: I prefer to stay healthy before I get to the sub 3 s gun reload and play with fire, thus BFT over AR).

 

Gearing will be another story though. Probably similar to the Lo Yang thing.

[romarkov]

 

Adrenalin Rush equals BFT at 50% health. However, I think a combination of both could get pretty evil... with 25% remaining health you would get 25% faster reload.

 

And Adrenalin Rush also affects your torps. I rarely end the match with more than 50% HP and good chunk of that is often lost in initial cap fights. Adrenalin Rush is better choice for me.

[_Flyto_]

 

And Adrenalin Rush also affects your torps. I rarely end the match with more than 50% HP and good chunk of that is often lost in initial cap fights. Adrenalin Rush is better choice for me.

 

Oh, that's an interesting point..... of course, the initial cap fight might not have cost so much health with BFT.... :-P But torps... hmm.

[romarkov]

 

Oh, that's an interesting point..... of course, the initial cap fight might not have cost so much health with BFT.... :-P But torps... hmm.

 

Flamu had a battle in Gearing yesterday on NA server where he ate two torps in the beginning of the match and was left with about 3% HP. After that his gun reload was about 1,8 secs and torps were at 90 secs. It was ridiculous.

[romarkov]

I can see a psychological effect in Adrenaline Rush. After I eat a random torp, I can always say: "Adrenaline Rush engaged! You're going to regret this ..."

 

[Z_OnkelE]

I can see a psychological effect in Adrenaline Rush.

 

I think I changed my mind on AR, too. It simply compensates for the HP losses and frees up one point. Additionally it works for both guns and torpedoes. Thus it is possible to include RL (or: make the three builds I presented the same). One down-side: I miss the 20% AA boost from BFT, which may be useful for Clan Battles, because you are quite likely to team up with one carrier. Maybe I will alter the core framework to a variant with BFT then.

[romarkov]

 

This will be my Torpedo boat  Fletcher build (with TTM3).

 

PM, LS, SI and CE standard first 10 points. Than TAE for torpedo reload and SI (still too good to drop it). AR for additional firepower as the match progresses.

 

And the last one, a real gem, Priority Target. Most DD players are skipping it but I think it is a really great skill. When I'm fighting a DD, I usually have a good idea if I am winning or losing and when to disengage. The real damage usually comes from cruiser salvo or a BB AP shell or two which I couldn't properly evade because I was focused on a DD. With PT things radically change. If the number is 1 and DD is shooting back, he is the only one targeting you, continue as planned. If it is 2, it is time for harder turns because someone else is also targeting. If it is 3 or higher, it is probably time to pull back. And this is a standard initial cap contest, DDs on each side with some support in the back.

And it gets even better. If you are detected, but there is no number on screen, nobody is targeting you and there is no need for immediate action because there are no incoming salvos or torps. It can be even used in specific situations. If a Kagero or Yugumo are the only ship in front of you (and you usually know that because they are the only ones with better concealment), when 1 changes to 0 there is a high probability that he has dropped torps and turned to gain some distance. So, it is time for a hard turn.

And with time, I'll probably learn how to even better react to number change in different combinations. For a 1-point skill, that is a ton of useful info.

 

No RPF, this is torpedo build. And 'LOCATED' warning with a bit of map awareness should be enough.

 

No TA because it gets too risky with 8,5 km torps. I'd rather have 2 100k damage games than one with 190k and one with 10k damage.

 

[ThePurpleSmurf]

This will be my Torpedo boat  Fletcher build (with TTM3).

 

 

This is 1:1 my Gearing build and i use something similar on my Fletcher. It's actually insane how effective it is if the ship is below 30% HP, but it's also very risky.

[affie]

I need some assistance from players whom has gotten further into the USN DD line than me. Just got the Mahan thanks to Santa's Convoy and aiming for the Benson where I guess I will focus my attention so the captain will be Benson captain currently sitting at 11 skill points.

 

I have chosen for now:

1. Preventive Maintenance

2. Last Stand

3. Superintendent

4. Concealment Expert

 

I am not sure about the 3 point skill however, Superintendent vs Basic Firing Training vs Demolition Expert vs Survivability Expert. There is the extra smoke or would the Benson benefit more from 10% flat DPM boost, 18% extra hitpoints or 40% increased RNG-based fire chance?

 

Then at 14+ points the question about Radio Location will come but let's start with the first 10 points and take it from there, looking at Adrenaline Rush and thinking that could be pretty sweet when reaching 16+ points maybe.