PSA about smoking for your team

[Lert]

One of the things that brings a smile to my face more than almost anything else is when I'm getting pounded and a friendly destroyer lays down his smoke to cover me. I always thank him and throws a 'plays well' at him. Seriously, if you do this for a fellow green, you da man. If you are that kind of player, this thread is not about you.

 

One of the things that infuriates me more than almost anything else is when a friendly destroyer lays down smoke to cover his team, and at the same time obscures the red team ships, making them disappear too. Even worse is when he does this the moment he drives into a cap zone, while still unspotted.

 

So, if you lay smoke for your team, please make sure the red boats remain spotted so we can have something to shoot at. One of the primary roles for destroyers is to light up the big bad red boats so the green ones have targets. Giving them a helping hand by laying your smoke screen so we can't see them is counter to that mission statement. Especially if you then sit in your own smoke and camp there, while they remain unspotted. That's just giving the red team a free smoke screen.

 

Please, if you lay down a smoke screen either ensure that someone else is still spotting the red ships, or drive outside of your own smoke to spot the enemy team.

 

Thank you.

 

Ofcourse, this all goes out the window if you're being shot at and have to lay smoke to G the F O or be sunk. Live to spot another day rather than give your ship away.

[BelgaraththeSorcerer]

If only more people would do this....

[MrEndeavour]

I try to lay smoke for my allies when I can. I know what it's like to be caught out in the open with half the enemy team shooting at you. 

 

[pewpewpew42]

I try to equip premium with the following setup in mind:

 

1 for myself

1 for my teammate

1 for emergencies

 

It works rather well.

[LemonadeWarrior]

One of the things that infuriates me more than almost anything else is when a friendly destroyer lays down smoke to cover his team, and at the same time obscures the red team ships, making them disappear too. Even worse is when he does this the moment he drives into a cap zone, while still unspotted.

 

​A destroyer that smokes only himself, while laying next to you, while you are taking a pounding

[Lert]

 

​A destroyer that smokes only himself, while laying next to you, while you are taking a pounding

 

 

[1SneakyDevil]

Well said, as a DD main it drives me nuts when I'm playing other ships and DDs don't do this.

 

When I point this out, I usually get well you/they didn't ask. Then I explain they don't know how to DD if they see a teammate getting focus fire and not smoking them which usually leads to all types of salt and butthurt.

[Herr_Reitz]

Many a dd driver thinks they must smoke a cap as soon as they enter it. Another group of them feel they are in a gunboat dd and cannot sneaky sneak about so they automatically smoke up. Some of them do it accidentally at the start of the match. I reckon many a dd driver to an octopus... if they get surprised by something they automatically squirt smoke.

 

What rubs me the wrong way is the dd driver who has smoke, sees you getting pounded but rather than smoke for you, they run away on boost to let you die. Had a guy yesterday in a Blys who, upon seeing red at his very first cap of choice, ran away to the next cap. You guessed it - red there, so he ran to the third cap which had already been capped by us. The majority of our ships were there too. He then proceeds to smoke, while in the midst of the cap and play Belfast, firing HE at reds hovering around the edge of his gun range. 

 

So many lessons learned in the low tiers MUST be unlearned when hydro and radar come into play. Unfortunately, most do not educate themselves using this forum. Too bad there's no way to get them reading the forums. 

[Crucis]

One of the things that brings a smile to my face more than almost anything else is when I'm getting pounded and a friendly destroyer lays down his smoke to cover me. I always thank him and throws a 'plays well' at him. Seriously, if you do this for a fellow green, you da man. If you are that kind of player, this thread is not about you.

 

One of the things that infuriates me more than almost anything else is when a friendly destroyer lays down smoke to cover his team, and at the same time obscures the red team ships, making them disappear too. Even worse is when he does this the moment he drives into a cap zone, while still unspotted.

 

So, if you lay smoke for your team, please make sure the red boats remain spotted so we can have something to shoot at. One of the primary roles for destroyers is to light up the big bad red boats so the green ones have targets. Giving them a helping hand by laying your smoke screen so we can't see them is counter to that mission statement. Especially if you then sit in your own smoke and camp there, while they remain unspotted. That's just giving the red team a free smoke screen.

 

Please, if you lay down a smoke screen either ensure that someone else is still spotting the red ships, or drive outside of your own smoke to spot the enemy team.

 

Thank you.

 

Ofcourse, this all goes out the window if you're being shot at and have to lay smoke to G the F O or be sunk. Live to spot another day rather than give your ship away.

 

 

Yeah, this bugs me too.  If you're gonna lay "offensive smoke" for your team, you have to be certain that someone is spotting the enemy, even if that someone is the ship laying the smoke. 

 

Heck, if you're in a DD and you lay this sort of smoke while you're unspotted, you have no need to park yourself in your smoke.  Keep spotting the enemy for the ships you've protected with your smoke.

 

 

 

 

[Crucis]

Many a dd driver thinks they must smoke a cap as soon as they enter it. Another group of them feel they are in a gunboat dd and cannot sneaky sneak about so they automatically smoke up. Some of them do it accidentally at the start of the match. I reckon many a dd driver to an octopus... if they get surprised by something they automatically squirt smoke.

 

What rubs me the wrong way is the dd driver who has smoke, sees you getting pounded but rather than smoke for you, they run away on boost to let you die. Had a guy yesterday in a Blys who, upon seeing red at his very first cap of choice, ran away to the next cap. You guessed it - red there, so he ran to the third cap which had already been capped by us. The majority of our ships were there too. He then proceeds to smoke, while in the midst of the cap and play Belfast, firing HE at reds hovering around the edge of his gun range. 

 

So many lessons learned in the low tiers MUST be unlearned when hydro and radar come into play. Unfortunately, most do not educate themselves using this forum. Too bad there's no way to get them reading the forums. 

 

Honestly, Herr_Reitz, if I'm in a DD and there's a BB that I feel is as good as dead whether I lay smoke or not, I'll often leave him to die and preserve my smoke.  This is a very situational judgment call.  Sometimes the friendly can escape and heal, sometimes not.  But I'd rather not waste a smoke charge and a long cooldown on a lost cause.

[RivertheRoyal]

Even worse is when you're in another DD, and one ahead of you gets into the cap first and immediately pops smoke without spotting anything or being spotted.

Great, now you don't know if anything's coming, and the enemy team is likely to have fired torpedoes into that smoke should they be playing intelligently.

When this happens, I always push out of the smoke to spot whatever's coming, and it's intensely terrifying exiting the smoke's relitive safety and not knowing what's there on the other side. Could be anything. Could be nothing. But you don't know, because the....less than optimal player in the other DD's denied everyone line of sight.    

[BladedPheonix]

I swear, when ever I lay smoke down to assist allies, It always seems like they're about to cry because I'm actually using teamwork and they don't expect it.

 

[QJW]

Oh God I still have done that in recent times where I like "I'll lay smoke for you," and then like 15 seconds later after I lay it and leave, I am like "What have I done, I'm gunna die spotting. I have [edited] up." 

[Admiral_Thrawn_1]

One of the things that brings a smile to my face more than almost anything else is when I'm getting pounded and a friendly destroyer lays down his smoke to cover me. I always thank him and throws a 'plays well' at him. Seriously, if you do this for a fellow green, you da man. If you are that kind of player, this thread is not about you.

 

One of the things that infuriates me more than almost anything else is when a friendly destroyer lays down smoke to cover his team, and at the same time obscures the red team ships, making them disappear too. Even worse is when he does this the moment he drives into a cap zone, while still unspotted.

 

So, if you lay smoke for your team, please make sure the red boats remain spotted so we can have something to shoot at. One of the primary roles for destroyers is to light up the big bad red boats so the green ones have targets. Giving them a helping hand by laying your smoke screen so we can't see them is counter to that mission statement. Especially if you then sit in your own smoke and camp there, while they remain unspotted. That's just giving the red team a free smoke screen.

 

Please, if you lay down a smoke screen either ensure that someone else is still spotting the red ships, or drive outside of your own smoke to spot the enemy team.

 

Thank you.

 

Ofcourse, this all goes out the window if you're being shot at and have to lay smoke to G the F O or be sunk. Live to spot another day rather than give your ship away.

 

I do this a lot actually in my Destroyers

Love making good use of smoke pretty much every DD battle I have I use smoke if I get the chance.

[Sir_Davos_Seaworth]

A quick note of; "Big guys stay in smoke, I'll spot!" Goes a looong way. I don't do it as much as I should, but I'm usually waaay ahead of the BBs knifefighting over caps. Something I need to work on I think...

[rutilius83]

i have been doing this a lot in ranked. when the team works with it it is great and i get a star. when they don't  i loose a star. i say " i will smoke on detect ( they know someone is there if i die soon ) or if asked. " i also try to include an island to block the torps that smoke attracts. 

then after i spot  so the big guns can get to sending the large caliber love. it's not like i'm killing or cit a BB in my Sims. 

 

what i don't get is the other DDs on the team not working so a continous smoke hides at least some of the team. we could set it up so there is smoke while the others are on cool down.  

 

well see you all out on the high seas

 

[BB_Bosun_Mate]

I love those red DD driver drop a smoke and hide in it.  

1.  if I have torp, I would just blindly torp those smoke and may end up with a kill

2.  if I have detection gears, I use that and make a good solid hit on the seating duck in the smoke.

3.  and this is the thing I love to do to them if I have none of the above is the bow in into the smoke, watch and dodge the torp they throw out at me,  once I am in the smoke with them, most of those DD are dead duck,  with 1 or 2 salvos in their side.

 

One of the best time I had is kill a Belfast seating in smoke and hammering at my team BB, I loaded with AP, zoom in with my guns and watch where the 2 stream of fires come out, aim right in the center to those 2 and give it a full salvo, BOOM 3 citadels and he sunk, it was a lucky shot but there always a way to counter those red DD smoke up and hide to hammer as your team.  Second best is I got 2 DD hiding in smoke and hammer at my team.  I was just happen to be on the other side of the island next to their smoke, so I quickly turn and sail right into the smoke, drop my torp on 1 ship sink him and then pound on the other with my main guns and make him panic that he have to run out and get blast to cinder by my team.  So, PPL that hide in smoke be warn, you are not as safe as you think you are.

 

[Landing_Skipper]

While I completely agree with Lert's post, I've wasted a lot of smoke since Ranked got me more attuned to this. "Slow down, ill smoke for you". I drive past (?) I'm trying to help laying down smoke and make sure I'm still spotting, only to realize that they've plowed through the smoke and are being focus fired. 

 

WG why not just enable smoke rings for everyone always?  

[crzyhawk]

I just had a game where a Colorado was getting focused by a Nagato and a Cleveland.  I smoke, him, knowing the Cleveland is likely going to hammer me for it (did not survive), battleship promptly drives out of the smoke (all enemies still visible) and into a position where the rest of the enemy's battleships could hammer him.  So frustrating, I died for him, and got thanked by ignoring my protection.

[Madwolf05]

Oh man, you couldn't be more right Lert! A little Benson totally made my night yesterday on Hotspot after a horrible start.

 

It was just one of those days where not only did I feel the teams were playing poor, but my situational awareness was bad, and as a result I was playing poorly as well. So I went to my 'comfort ship,' the Pensacola for the first time since Ranked Season 6 had started. I just noticed that he was headed to C and decided, given the island cover, We had another Cruiser and BB behind us, but trailing. Given our positioning, and the islands I knew I could keep him safe as he spotted an enemy Kiev. I gave him a 10 gun salute and down he went. Pensacola shows up trying to crush my buddy, I rocked him with 2 citadels and our BB let lose a killing blow. Another DD moves in on me, and he opens up on him, I lose the 5 forward guns and bring him under.

 

Then I see death coming, while killing the enemy DD I beached myself just slightly avoiding his death torpedoes, and get rocked by an enemy BB. With over half my health gone and nearly dead in the water trying to get off the island, I'm just assured of my own destruction, until the sweet caress of white smoke billows over my Pensacola and I vanish from the BBs view.

 

After such a rough night, I sung that guys praises in chat and used every single Compliment I had on him. We were able to eventually sortie out of C and join up with our team to mop up the remaining forces. It totally made my night, and I played 2 more games, both wins, before I called it a night.

 

Friendly smoke is the most amazing gift you can give.

[CLUCH_CARGO]

This is the Smoking Lounge? { lights up }

Oh wait not that kind of smoke