PSA to Langley and Bogue drivers (but other CV drivers as well)

[Lert]

... But Langley and Bogue drivers in particular.

 

Pay attention to the minimap. Pay attention to the flow of the battle.

 

If you sit there stationary for the first half of the match while one flank slowly collapses, then spam F7 and F8 when enemy destroyers start pelting you with packing peanuts, I have very little motivation to actually come and swat those pesky flies away for you.

 

A flank collapse takes time and is quite obvious if you look at the minimap. Use your engine. Move away from the collapsing flank.

 

"But we're so slow, we can't run away from destroyers! We're the two slowest ships in the game!"

 

All the more reason to pay attention and start moving early, before the flank collapses.

[MrEndeavour]

CV gameplay for the nuubs is quite hard to learn sometimes. Lots of going on at once but I understand your frustration.

[Lert]

CV gameplay for the nuubs is quite hard to learn sometimes.

 

Yep!

 

But situational awareness is perhaps even more important for CV drivers than for other classes.

[SeaKnight_1990]

If you're in a Bogue, it helps to try and lure DDs into your rearward quarter, as that's where your secondary guns are located. Even in lower tiers, carrier secondaries can do some crazy things; my first kill in the Langley was a DD with my secondary guns. 

[Volron]

Now, now Lert, use of brain is taboo.  Bad Lert!  BAD!  You dare to bring logic into this!?

 

 

 

 On a side note:  You forgot; they tend to get all potato with the team "for not helping them".

 

[ckupf]

I'm new to CVs, but understanding you should be moving to a less dangerous and more advantegous position is a pretty simple and obvious concept that far too many CVs forget about. Thanks Lert for lending your authoritative voice to this issue.

[Doomlock]

Do I need to link the Jingles video with the carrier player that said he didn't move because "He has planes?"

[alexf24]

Well said Lert.

 

I have little sympathy for CVs that do not move at all and get surprised by a cockroach about to torp them. How did they not see the DD coming miles away? Don't they have planes moving constantly back and forth? Ever heard of map awareness? There is no reason whatsoever for a CV to be surprised to find a red DD nearby. None. Just as I am aware and keep track of all DDs till dead (I do not play CVs but DD/CL/CA), so should CV drivers. More so.

 

I have little sympathy for CV drivers that do not light up red DDs, less for the ones that "form up" and circle their planes around them instead of scouting early, and even less for the ones that early on send their whole load of planes to the edges of the map to "surprise" the red CV. Right. Like nobody thought that one before. How about forgetting the red CV, concentrating on objectives, and reading the map?

[SireneRacker]

Do I need to link the Jingles video with the carrier player that said he didn't move because "He has planes?"

 

Yes please!

[Mikenstien]

Well said Lert.

 

I have little sympathy for CVs that do not move at all and get surprised by a cockroach about to torp them. How did they not see the DD coming miles away? Don't they have planes moving constantly back and forth? Ever heard of map awareness? There is no reason whatsoever for a CV to be surprised to find a red DD nearby. None. Just as I am aware and keep track of all DDs till dead (I do not play CVs but DD/CL/CA), so should CV drivers. More so.

 

I have little sympathy for CV drivers that do not light up red DDs, less for the ones that "form up" and circle their planes around them instead of scouting early, and even less for the ones that early on send their whole load of planes to the edges of the map to "surprise" the red CV. Right. Like nobody thought that one before. How about forgetting the red CV, concentrating on objectives, and reading the map?

 

I agree, it's rather frustrating when your CV is crying for help and you look at the minimap and he's nosed up to the island that he moved to at the beginning of the match!  I've seen some smart CV captains though, they move behind the lines, but follow the area of the most push. This makes their flight time shorter also. I also love the CV driver who if he runs out of planes will smartly either cap, or ram if he can to help out.

[Doomlock]

It's around the 9 minute mark, an Isokaze replay.

[SgtBeltfed]

CV skippering for Dummies.

 

1. Before you hit the battle button, know what you can do, what you can't, what ships to keep your aircraft away from, and what ships you should be gunning for.

 

2. While you're waiting on the match to start, look over your team, and the other guys. Find your targets, ships you'll have to defend, and AA ships that you want to fight over.

 

3. When the game starts, get moving, and get behind the biggest group of ships in your fleet. Stay moving. They're more likely to spot DD's and Aircraft that you miss. Also, massed AA guns is a great place to drag enemy fighters.

 

4. Get your aircraft up, get them spread out, and see what the other CV is doing. Don't get your fighters too far from yourself until you know what the enemy strike aircraft are up too. If your bombers see fighters, try and drag them to friendly cruisers before intercepting them with your fighters. This is where you spot and hunt DD's that got too far from the fleet, DD skippers hate this.

 

5. Once you see enemy strike aircraft, get your fighters after them, prioritizing torpedo bombers. If you can strafe them, all the better, if all you do is make them drop wide, you've still done one of your jobs. 

 

6. Start attacking lone or distracted ships, preferably the targets you picked at the start of the match. Nothing pisses off a Battleship or Cruiser captain like getting hit in the back with a bunch of torpedoes because he was focusing on his gun sight, and not watching the world around him.

 

Doing this will usually keep you out of the "Stupid CV Captain, Uninstall you Noob" category, and that's always a good thing. If you luck out, your team might mistake you for a good CV captain.

(told from the standpoint of a lousy excuse for an IJN CV skipper, so remember two things. No plan survives contact with the enemy, and that wreck your mooring next to in your favorite hiding spot is the last guy to hide there.)

[SireneRacker]

It's around the 9 minute mark, an Isokaze replay.

 

Even as a german I couldn't help but laughing about that level of stupidity.

[Warped_1]

I was paired with a Bogue while I was in my Hosho.  I followed the team going counter clockwise and he went by himself to hide behind an island in the lower right.  The hungry DDs soon found him and the captain spent the rest of the have raging how in real life the team followed the carrier and announcing my position to the enemy.  Course, I was fine with that because by that time I needed more targets closer to the ship

 

[JustAnOldDude]

CV skippering for Dummies.

 

1. Before you hit the battle button, know what you can do, what you can't, what ships to keep your aircraft away from, and what ships you should be gunning for.

 

2. While you're waiting on the match to start, look over your team, and the other guys. Find your targets, ships you'll have to defend, and AA ships that you want to fight over.

 

3. When the game starts, get moving, and get behind the biggest group of ships in your fleet. Stay moving. They're more likely to spot DD's and Aircraft that you miss. Also, massed AA guns is a great place to drag enemy fighters.

 

4. Get your aircraft up, get them spread out, and see what the other CV is doing. Don't get your fighters too far from yourself until you know what the enemy strike aircraft are up too. If your bombers see fighters, try and drag them to friendly cruisers before intercepting them with your fighters. This is where you spot and hunt DD's that got too far from the fleet, DD skippers hate this.

 

5. Once you see enemy strike aircraft, get your fighters after them, prioritizing torpedo bombers. If you can strafe them, all the better, if all you do is make them drop wide, you've still done one of your jobs. 

 

6. Start attacking lone or distracted ships, preferably the targets you picked at the start of the match. Nothing pisses off a Battleship or Cruiser captain like getting hit in the back with a bunch of torpedoes because he was focusing on his gun sight, and not watching the world around him.

 

Doing this will usually keep you out of the "Stupid CV Captain, Uninstall you Noob" category, and that's always a good thing. If you luck out, your team might mistake you for a good CV captain.

(told from the standpoint of a lousy excuse for an IJN CV skipper, so remember two things. No plan survives contact with the enemy, and that wreck your mooring next to in your favorite hiding spot is the last guy to hide there.)

 

Great guide for noobs like me. Appreciated immensely.

[Seraphil]

The slower your ship is, the further ahead you need to plan.

[Shadeylark]

I never understood how a ship played entirely from a top down view of the map could possibly be lacking in situational awareness...

[CorvetteKaptain67]

On 2017-03-13 at 9:26 PM, Shadeylark said:

I never understood how a ship played entirely from a top down view of the map could possibly be lacking in situational awareness...

I know right? I just think some of the load outs are odd. My friend who has a Bogue in particular is there some secret to dive bombing? I play the Hoshu and Zuiho and enjoy it. 

[Kyralee]

4 hours ago, CorvetteKaptain67 said:

My friend who has a Bogue in particular is there some secret to dive bombing? I play the Hoshu and Zuiho and enjoy it. 

The dive bombers are inherently inferior to torpedo bombers on nearly all carriers.  This has been one of the issues with American CV for a long time.  They do less damage and are RNG based whereas torpedo bombers drop exactly where you tell them to and do more damage.

The Bogue is a really odd ship due to its loadouts and limited hanger.  You don't have a 1/1/1 balanced loadout like the Langley before it did.  The strike loadout has no fighters unlike the IJN CVs do and the air superiority loadout has no torpedo bombers like the IJN CV do.  Your best bet is to go full AS and just protect your team mates.  Use the dive bombers on targets that you know have taken torpedo hits so that your fires might do some damage to them.

[LadyJess]

On 2/19/2017 at 6:43 AM, Lert said:

... But Langley and Bogue drivers in particular.

 

Pay attention to the minimap. Pay attention to the flow of the battle.

 

If you sit there stationary for the first half of the match while one flank slowly collapses, then spam F7 and F8 when enemy destroyers start pelting you with packing peanuts, I have very little motivation to actually come and swat those pesky flies away for you.

 

A flank collapse takes time and is quite obvious if you look at the minimap. Use your engine. Move away from the collapsing flank.

 

"But we're so slow, we can't run away from destroyers! We're the two slowest ships in the game!"

 

All the more reason to pay attention and start moving early, before the flank collapses.

Not only Tier 4 & 5 CV players, I;ve seen parked tier 8+ CV in battle all the time. 

[ZARDOZ_II]

True all this.  But cut the Langley and Hosho drivers a little slack.  CV UI is not very intuitive.  And those players may be in one of their first CV games.  I'm such a potato in the Langley that I need a captain named Fred Schneider.