Apparently the N Caro is made of gas....

[CylonRed]

Game after game - burned to death in about 5 minutes into the game.  Every decision I make is the bad one for weeks on end since before Halloween (but could still eeek out a decent game every 3-4 games),  Now it is a decent game every 7-10 games losing money all of the way (not helped by not being premium).

 

Every cap I go near have nearly the entire damn fleet and HE rains down.  Let it go, eventually put of 3 fires and next salvo of HE - 2-3 fires start right back up.  Can't get within 13 km of the other team and the ship erupts in flames at the merest sniff of HE.  Can't snipe accurately and when I try and get in closer - fires, fires, fires till dead.  Only way I can try and survive is to run and hope I can heal enough...

[DasBootcamp]

You need to know when to use Damage Control. If you use it on the first fire and you're still taking HE rounds, odds are they'll set you on fire again before you get into cover. Just wait until you have 2-3 fires on your ship, make sure you're on your way into cover, and when you're about there Hit R and the duration will put out the rest of the fires until the HE can't hit you anymore. Then use Repair Party to heal back up while you get into a new spot to fire from.

[Foxfire1337]

[goldeagle1123]

Stop pushing in your BB. When you see that there are 2 or 3 enemy cruisers lying in wait, stay out of range of them, because they can and will rain HE on you and burn you to death. Very common misconception seems to be that "BBs should always push, no matter what". Which is just a terrible idea, wait until enemy numbers are thinned before attempting an aggressive advance.

[Super_S1X]

Yeah it should be DDs in front, followed by cruisers, with BBs slightly behind. If you're yoloing in like a moron you're going to get sunk.

[CylonRed]

Not really yolo'ing as there are support ships but to stay father back I will be sniping at 17+ KM out which is pretty useless with dispersion and RNG,  Cover not readily available at all times and it is really rare that a single fire is put out - generally 2-3 going and losing HP fast.  Put them out - then another HE salvo (the merest whiff) more fires.

 

Very common misconception

Yep - I have always hated the "BBs should always push" but at times - someone has to. 

 

Took a break for a couple of weeks due to life and work and things are still crap.  Not the greatest player but I still remember the days of the Fuso, N Caro and the one previous (Colorado?) where on any given day my damage average/game was above server average.  Now - I am lucky to be half of the server average after 4 or more games.  Been frustrated before but good god this is...  silly to continue.

[Super_S1X]

My best advice is to stagger your repair party and heal, and try to make yourself a less appealing target. Most players are able to manage fire damage by tier 8 without dying in the first minutes of the game.

[Killjoy1941]

First, modules and captain skills: I run MBM1/AA2/DC1/DC2/CS1 for modules. DC2 is particularly important for BBs that can take it. Now, if you combine DC2 with BoS for your level 1 captain skill, you can mount India Yankee for fires that last around 30s or so.

 

The second point is far more important: you need to be able to limit the number of ships that can fire on you at any given moment. Using hard cover (islands) is vitally important in BBs and can often allow you to push into positions which are very compromising for the enemy team. If you can place yourself in a reasonably forward position which doesn't really allow HE-dependent cruisers to fire on you without unnecessarily exposing themselves, you're halfway to doing well.

[donaldEpott]

You should try the Warspite its made of gas soaked rags.

[Cpt_JM_Nascimento]

i wont comment a gameplay wise post, since i dont know your gamestyle, but i can give advice w/ what the game offers (problably you know many of them already):

 

Use your repair party to negate the fire damage you receive (fire damage is 100% repairable);

BoS is really usefull in ships that burn a lot, since if a player wants to put you some fires on u he WILL, since u can't avoid that at least it's possible to reduce the time you take from fire damage;

Fire prevention is really depedent in RNG while basics of survivability has no depedence on that, also it takes the double of captain points, i usually save this 2 captain skill points for something else;

A ship can have 4 fire focuses, the most likely areas are the mid-sections, since usually most part of the superstructure is located there and it's more vulnerable to be set on fire. The bow and the stern is harder to put on fire. Take that  in consideration for your damage control party strategy.

 

I hope i could help somehow w/ the HE spam problem u r suffering.

[BrushWolf]

You need to know when to use Damage Control. If you use it on the first fire and you're still taking HE rounds, odds are they'll set you on fire again before you get into cover. Just wait until you have 2-3 fires on your ship, make sure you're on your way into cover, and when you're about there Hit R and the duration will put out the rest of the fires until the HE can't hit you anymore. Then use Repair Party to heal back up while you get into a new spot to fire from.

 

Some times it doesn't matter what you do, they are starting fires so fast that you can't wait then out but they will just start them again as soon as the immunity period is over. Fire both how it starts and how it is fought needs a complete going over. Personally drastically lowering the chance of fire but allowing AP to start them too would fix most of the problems with how it works and feels to the players. I would boost damage for the smaller caliber, 6" and under HE but even without fires the 8" plus HE does plenty of damage even to BB's.

[CylonRed]

I run MBM1/AA2/DC1/DC2/CS1 for modules. DC2 is particularly important for BBs that can take it. Now, if you combine DC2 with BoS for your level 1 captain skill, you can mount India Yankee for fires that last around 30s or so.

I am close to that - MBM/AA2/DCM1/Steering Gears2/CSM1.  I do Steering Gears for torp evasion which I am decent at unless I get to focused.  I can always switch out steering for DCM2 and see how it goes.

 

Captains Skills:  SA, EM, HA, Super, AFT and I have 2 points to use...  Was going to try and go 5 point Concealment but maybe I add BoS instead...

[murf4321]

I'd flip out the steering gears. Eating a torp or two isn't that horrific.  So many people are petrified of eating a torp.

 

 

[Ace_04]

Stop pushing in your BB. When you see that there are 2 or 3 enemy cruisers lying in wait, stay out of range of them, because they can and will rain HE on you and burn you to death. Very common misconception seems to be that "BBs should always push, no matter what". Which is just a terrible idea, wait until enemy numbers are thinned before attempting an aggressive advance.

 

This is good advice.  

 

Strategic timing and knowing when to push is key.  My aggressive nature gets me in trouble with this all the time.

 

There is a time and place for when to push.  You just need to know how to read the battle and realize the opportunity when it arises.

[MrDeaf]

Basics of Survavability + -20% fire duration flag make fires much more manageable.

 

I'd flip out the steering gears. Eating a torp or two isn't that horrific.  So many people are petrified of eating a torp.

 

 

 

It's awful eating torps in a NC, since its TDS only does about 18% reduction.

3 hits from a Fubuki and you are sunk.

[CylonRed]

I'd flip out the steering gears. Eating a torp or two isn't that horrific.  So many people are petrified of eating a torp.

 

 

 

I have eaten many a torp - been detonated with a torp in the last month (can't remember which ship I was in though - it was either the NC or the Colo).  I have been on the torp slinging side as well.  Not a lot of fun eating torps.

[Killjoy1941]

I am close to that - MBM/AA2/DCM1/Steering Gears2/CSM1.  I do Steering Gears for torp evasion which I am decent at unless I get to focused.  I can always switch out steering for DCM2 and see how it goes.

 

Captains Skills:  SA, EM, HA, Super, AFT and I have 2 points to use...  Was going to try and go 5 point Concealment but maybe I add BoS instead...

 

I used to run SG2 on most ships, then I realized you don't need it in BBs because of vigilance, which provides nearly the same thing. Also, I'm much better at anticipating torpedo spreads than I had expected when I first tried using DC2, something that's also likely true of you due to DD play. Try it. See what happens.

 

As for captain skills, SA is a freebie, so you likely have BoS or BFT. Either are fine, but BoS is so much more important for BBs than other classes I'd consider it worth the gold to rebuild the guy. YMMV, of course.

 

I'm also going to repeat this: You have got to get up on top of cover if at all possible and start working over targets as they give you the opportunity or yield the field when within your range. Nothing you do is ever going to matter and mitigate fire damage if you're in sight of multiple cruisers which can hit you with impunity. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. Eventually you'll just start seeing those defilades below your direct sense of sight and automatically take advantage of them with a measure of grace and decisiveness. More than anything else, this mitigates fire damage because it's the only damage that is, at least to a greater degree than AP, dependent on volume.

[CylonRed]

As for captain skills, SA is a freebie, so you likely have BoS or BFT.

 

I hate it when I see the heading of the column abd not the name of the skill - yes I have BFT.  I will probably throw a point to BoS and see how it goes, along with changing out the SG. 

 

I am considering the half price premium as well - if I get a good 6 months of playing then it would be worthwhile.

[Killjoy1941]

I am considering the half price premium as well - if I get a good 6 months of playing then it would be worthwhile.

 

If you find you're often losing premium time to days where you don't play very often, if at all, you might consider buying doubloons when they're discounted. IIRC, it's 150:1 in doubloons to premium. The advantage here is you only convert for single days when you know you're going to be playing a lot of games in that day, so you lose nothing at all because you simply don't convert on those days when you're not going to be putting in very many games.

 

Obviously you'll have to decide which works best, but it's an alternative for premium time.

[CylonRed]

you might consider buying doubloons when they're discounted. IIRC, it's 150:1 in doubloons to premium. The advantage here is you only convert for single days when you know you're going to be playing a lot of games in that day, so you lose nothing at all because you simply don't convert on those days when you're not going to be putting in very many games.

 

Yea - I generally never play a ton of games.  On some Sundays I can get in 10-15 games between loads of laundry but more often than not - I get in 5 or so games after work provided no other issues that night.  Premium would get me more/better chances at making credit , of which I have been losing a pretty good clip since just after Halloween.

[Foxfire1337]

 

Some times it doesn't matter what you do, they are starting fires so fast that you can't wait then out but they will just start them again as soon as the immunity period is over. Fire both how it starts and how it is fought needs a complete going over. Personally drastically lowering the chance of fire but allowing AP to start them too would fix most of the problems with how it works and feels to the players. I would boost damage for the smaller caliber, 6" and under HE but even without fires the 8" plus HE does plenty of damage even to BB's.

 

HE saturates the superstructure module very quickly, and then the damage drops considerably.  It's actually incredibly difficult to bring down a BB using HE without fires due to this.  The entire purpose of HE is that it causes fire, producing a semi-reliable means of damaging BBs with guns that rarely penetrate their armor.  Fire is the only mechanic that keeps certain ship lines, both DDs and cruisers, from being even remotely viable. 

 

You have two independent cooldowns that 100% negate fire damage

 

You have a tier 1 captain skill that directly mitigates it by 15%

 

You have a module that directly mitigates it by 15%

 

You have a signal flag that directly mitigates it by 20%

 

You have a module and captain skill that reduce the chance of fire (albeit very slightly)

 

Conversely, there is no skill/flag/module that directly mitigates AP damage or citadel hits.  The latter is almost completely irreparable damage, and does not suffer from the issue of module damage saturation.  If you started handing out modules and tier 1 captain skills that lower the chance of citadel hits or flat out reduce the damage by a massive portion, the BB community would explode with tears.