Wolfswetpaws

I figure Japan will build carriers to suit their needs and performance criteria. That they'll build them "in house" makes sense, too. They'll use metric sized parts and won't have to retro-fit components to fit a used U.S. Navy carrier with inch-pattern fittings. The hull design will be modern (to deal with modern weapons) and to benefit from lessons learned by Japan and Japan's allies via the ships that have been in service for the past several decades. Will Japan build nuclear-powered ships? I suppose they could, if they wanted to. They have nuclear fueled electrical power generation plants. But, perhaps they're concerned that Gojira (a.k.a. Godzilla) will be tempted to eat nuclear powered ships? ;-)

I saw some larger German ships in battle and noticed they were equipped with torpedoes. I began researching the German tech-tree (which I had previously overlooked) and liked what I saw in certain ships. In this case, the Königsberg. I've since purchased the Konigsberg and have enjoyed sailing it on a number of occasions. The capability to sink multiple ships in a torpedo-range engagement is wonderful. (Four torpedo launchers, two on starboard side, two on port side, with three torpedoes per launcher, provides up to six torpedoes per 'broadside'.) As TychoDog mentioned, the Konigsberg isn't invulnerable and can be sunk by heavy naval gunnery or some combination of damage from various types of weaponry. The Konigsberg's own gunnery isn't too shabby for her size, but don't expect to win any long-range accuracy contests. So, between her guns and torpedoes, her best punches are likely to happen within medium to close ranges. (So, plan your attacks and sail to appropriate map locations accordingly.) The turret placement and rotation characteristics are interesting and enable one to angle the ship somewhat (to give her armor a better chance against incoming projectiles). For a cruiser, she has decent speed and maneuverability, in my opinion. The spotting plane helps locate other ships & planes. With her cruiser-sized hit-points, she can survive secondary battery fire long enough to give battleships some torpedo-shaped tickets back to port, and keep destroyers and other cruisers wary of approaching too close. I suggest giving the ship a sail, to see for yourself. :-)

Earlier tonight, the connection to the server failed (after the match-maker placed me in a co-op game wherein I was the only human player) and the connection couldn't be re-established soon enough. I say "soon enough", because the game, once I was able to re-connect, informed me that I'd been given a 3-game penalty for unsporting conduct (leaving a game early and being away from keyboard) even though I did not intentionally do so. After being a "pink ship" (to raise breast-cancer awareness?) for the three games, and playing another battle, the WoWs software locks-up/freezes and my computer required a complete re-boot. The WoWs software & server system acts wonky and then players are penalized for it (adding insult to injury). World of Warships, I am disappointed with the game's performance and its' unreliable connection service. I expect you, WoWs, to diagnose the problem(s) and improve your performance.

I've been playing the Zuiho for a few months. I've learned that Japanese fighter planes are in need of commander skill point(s) upgrades to make them competitive against other Zuiho carriers, let alone against US carriers of the same or a higher tier. (That doesn't mean that IJN fighter planes don't get shot down, by superior numbers of enemy planes or in conjunction with heavy AA fire. It just means that they last longer and have a higher chance of scoring kills.) I've also learned the having two torpedo squadrons is useful. I use the one bomber squadron to hunt destroyers or to supplement the damage done by the torpedo planes. Sending all your planes at once to the same ship offers a higher chance of them surviving a wall of flak (though losses still happen). Timing the torpedo drops to force a ship to commit to a turn and then hitting them again (1 torpedo wave followed by another torpedo drop after a ship has begun its' turn) while they're committed to a course they can't easily change has provided some measure of success (in co-op and sometimes in random). As a famous anime Captain said, "Aim carefully, men. Those are <insert-name-of-enemy-here> ships out there". Otherwise, use the more classic tactic of having the torpedo planes come in via the two O'clock and 10 o'clock viewing angles of the target ship and timing the two squadron's drops to happen at the same time. Having friendly fighter planes nearby to draw AA fire or to engage enemy fighter planes also helps.

I followed the link you provided, which led me to the source of my information which was mentioned in the post you quoted. Quoted from the link you provided: "... Now aircraft carriers will only be on even tiers (tiers IV, VI, VIII, X). The tier gaps allow for a more dramatic increase in effectiveness as you ascend: better performance at the new tier, more aircraft per squadron, better weapons and, more damage and opportunities to influence the battle. But, with great power comes great responsibility, and the price of making an error rises: enemy air defense will be stronger and maneuvering a large squadron between the gaps of anti-air fire will become increasingly difficult. Of course, this change will affect the efficiency of the matchmaker. It will be faster to join battles with an aircraft carrier because the players in this class will be concentrated on fewer tiers. Changes will also affect the economy: the moving from tier to tier will be more expensive both in experience and in credits; however, it will be less than the old transition between two tiers. For example, the transition from the new tier VI to tier VIII will be, in total, cheaper than it is now. Why did you decide to leave only even tiers of aircraft carriers in the game? There are three main reasons for that: ..."

The USS Boulder found her "namesake" when she ran aground not far from Norway in the late 1980's. Every shipwreck is a life-threatening situation in my understanding. Gallows humor may help us cope with that, but I still subscribe to Mister Miyagi's wisdom: "Best block, no be there".

Zuiho, a Tier-Five Japanese aircraft carrier, is the first carrier I purchased. Now, I learn that w.o.ws. wants to delete it and all odd-tiered CV's. I've got a lot of battles under that ship's keel. Don't expect me to be happy about having the entire CV game play nerfed and entire ships deleted. Command of a Carrier is a complex activity. Dumbing it down is going further away from historical realism. The more this game goes away from history, the more it alienates good players. Yeah, we know it is mostly a "first person shooter" style of game. Mostly. But it doesn't *all* have to be in f.p.s. mode. The carrier interface, would benefit from a key/switch to toggle between three modes of view (map mode, view-from-the-helm/just-overhead-of-the-ship, and a "god's eye view") Also, why can't a carrier send the same radio messages, using the "B" key, as every other ship? "But they want to implement a console/phone-app version of the game.", you say? Well, the only things the game needs to communicate are positions of ships/planes/projectiles and terrain features. Having a console version that has limited options wouldn't prevent users of computer versions from having more options/features. Bottom line? It's world of warships, not world of warplanes. I want to command a Carrier in all its' complexity and not be nerfed down to merely being a squadron pilot.