Zenn3k

The "average player" gets like 30,000 damage in a T10 CV too, "average" is all relative to the class. I've seen replays and videos that had CVs in them that couldn't hit a barn with a nuclear weapon. The brutal AA makes the skill floor on CVs just as high or higher than a DD. Do you need to pre-fire half your weapons into the water before you attack in a DD? Cause its a CV requirement that MANY players don't actually do, because the "average" player is a total moron. You cannot balance the game around total morons. CVs were originally balanced around "total morons" and thats why they were so grossly overpowered in 8.0, they had to raise the skill floor considerably bring them in line and the average player stopped using them entirely, because the stuff you NEED to do to be successful in a CV is totally unintuitive, like pre-dropping and proper slingshot technique, the latter being something a large part of the playerbase doesn't even understand or know exists. Sure, everyone on the forums and reddit knows about slingshotting....but these forums and reddit are maybe 10% of the playerbase? The average DD will accomplish more than the average CV. A good CV will murder an average DD. A good DD will dodge and avoid (and probably sink) an average CV.

I play a lot of CV and DD, so I know this experience from both sides of the coin. You can stray, you just have to know what the enemy CV is doing with his planes before you commit. If you see planes coming to your cap, then yeah, you best hang back, let the CV try to scout for you, get frustrated they can't find you and give up to try another cap. If you charge forward with planes incoming and make yourself easy to find, yeah, you're gonna go back to port pretty fast, everyone now knows you are there and is looking for you, the planes just have to keep you spotted, or force your smoke, which then gets radar'ed. If the CV has his planes on the other side of the map (they can't be everywhere), you are free to contest your cap as you normally would, you need to be mindful of where those planes are though, if they're coming your direction as a result of trying to cap (good chance) and such. You see planes coming for you, the best action to take is a full speed retreat towards your cruisers, if you have the cap uncontested and not much time left, by all means, smoke up and finish the cap, but you should bail and seek friends soon after that. The "I can't do what I want with total impunity" complaint is weak. Adapt your play style and find ways to succeed, or play another class. DD is the most cerebral of the classes in this game, it takes the most thought to play well and has the most things to worry about. If you can't hack it, stop playing it, or "git gud"

Bolded part: Caps always matter, and caps actually mean a LOT more late game than early game. There is no rule in the game that says if you don't cap by 5 minutes, you auto-lose. All you have to do is prevent the OTHER team from capping and it doesn't matter if you capped or not. I've seen many a game were the DDs yolo, cap, but die, then the other team just re-caps and wins. Again, capping early doesn't matter, preventing the other team from capping early is what matters. As long as you own the cap EVENTUALLY (as in, before the game is decided), you are fine. Far too many DDs think they must cap ASAP and thats all that matters, and its patiently false.

12km, no torp acceleration is the way to go.

As someone who will ONLY touched ranked right now only if I'm playing Kitakaze, this makes me laugh. Not my fault DDs are the most important class in the game (when CVs don't exist) and that having an above average player in one increases your chance of victory 10 fold. The ONLY way to stop this problem is to allow CVs to keep the DDs in check, otherwise DD is the most powerful class without question.

I'm up to Rank 10, all Kitakaze as well, its the only ship worth playing for me, if I don't play DD, the ones I get will be brain dead, so I have to play DD so we have a chance to win, luckily Kita is a monster at T9.

I've ONLY opened free ones, and I got the same T5 and T6 DDs as you did. Don't buy crates people, its really not complicated. If you want the damn Bayard, just buy the Bayard itself.

Lone random exceptions are just that, exceptions. Exceptions are not "proof" that something isn't generally true.

An individual game, sure, this happens, but over thousands of games, it does mean a lot, a better player will generally contribute much more to a possible victory than a bad player, over time that adds up to a better WR. Personally, I consider anything over 50% over ~1000 games to be pretty good, if you are in that range, you're a good player. Sub 45% WR over that many games, you generally have a lot to still learn about how to be "good" at this game.

Maybe a little manipulation, but only in the fact you wanted something NOW instead of just waiting for it to be available for free, so its really on YOU. In a couple weeks every ship is free to grind through the tech tree, no money required, you just didn't wanna wait, thats YOUR FAULT and nobody elses. The odds are meaningless, you paid for something thats free because you are impatient.

Play stupid games; Win stupid prizes. Don't buy crates. If you willingly screw yourself, over and over, who is really at fault? Them or you?

He is pricey, but he is also the best USN CV captain in the game.

Just play anything, you'll unlock the ship, then you can use it to complete its specific objective as well.

They usually fly over me, wiggle around strangely in the air above me (something I've never seen outside of this) then run off to try to attack again, and repeat until all planes are dead. The only ordinance they seem capable of using are torpedoes.

Edit: Nevermind.