I need help with this slow as crap Colorado

[wonglymark]

I'm seriously frustrated with this ship. I've watched almost all guides and tutorials available on youtube, I'm willing to tank, brawl, push or, specifically, be in the central . But first, I need to get to that position and 21 knts isn't helping at all.

 

A) My spawn is in the opposite edge of where my team wants to push. You can guess, It takes me like 10mins to re-position, assuming my team ain't half dead by that time.

 

B) T8/9 aggressive enemy team and I'm left to the other side? I'm doomed. Enemy would've pushed the cap near me and spotted me, while I'm still sailing to rejoin my team with no cover. I could angle/bow tank and survive a bit longer, but I still rendered completely useless to my team.

 

C) 'Be in the central' - usually have very little cover, or that the position will be overwhelmed really soon, leaving me being focused or attacked by CV. 

 

D) Finally in a proper spawn, but all of our CLs/DDs are gone within 5mins, even before I get into supporting range to the cap next to me. And there's nothing I can do about it.

 

Totall of 25 games so far, average dmg is 60k,.

 

I love the guns, it punches hard. And things usually get a lot better and I could carry no problem when in smaller maps like Estuary. But other than that? I find it heavily dependent on teammates, hoping that they'd survive a bit longer until my arrival. Or that, BBs would push together instead of me tanking for a bismarck sniping 18km away.  

 

As we all know that the first 5/10 mins is very important to a game. But that's how long I have to take to get in a proper position and the game has usually been decided even before I have the chance to do something useful. And by the time I died, the game has almost come to an end. 

 

Any advice?

[MexicanPanda]

You could do what I did and get the Alabama and Missouri and call it a day. . I haven't touched my Colorado since I got the Missouri, and especially not since I got the Bama.

 

As for advice.... Just grit your teeth and grind during XP boost events like you probably did with the rest of the standards before it.

[Seraphil]

It sounds like you're trying too hard to follow your team.  Sometimes you have to step back and look at the situation and realize that in quite a few cases that's a waste of time.

 

When I play a Colorado or Arizona or any slow battleship, my goal is to get into a position where I can put vital damage on the enemy, even if that position is detrimental to my own health.  And not necessarily the most damage, but damage that matters.  For me, that's mainly either AP penetration on enemy battleships that they cannot heal back, or hits on cruisers that either kill them or leave them so damaged that they either risk immediate death or have to play extremely cautiously to stay alive.

 

I'll try to predict the typical paths the enemy takes to the flanks or neutral caps, and be in a position where I can shoot them broadside whenever possible.  I will usually use my spotter plane as soon as targets become visible so I can get as many early hits as possible.  While doing this, I keep gradually closing distance to the middle line of the map; whether I'm going the full 21 knots or cutting speed down depends partially on how many enemy DDs there are and if I can predict or confirm where they might be.  After the first spotter plane, I save the rest for either torpedo spotting in a pinch, or revealing enemy ships on the other side of islands.

 

Sometimes you will spawn on the position furthest from the push.  Fate decided that you are the guy who is going to be the rearguard.  The idea here is to survive and delay the enemy push; get close to an island if possible, and use it to cut line-of-sight from the most dangerous opponents.  Ideally you want to make people evade or slow down; sometimes just targeting cruisers will get them to start dodging due to Priority Target.

[BlailBlerg]

Yeah.  I ahve this crazy plan for Arizona and it works everytime.  I think its on that map with ABC spawns, and C side is cut off except for a tiny river thing through the middle.  

 

anyay, i go 1/2 speed towards A, letting my team push AB.  Usually they end up speeding past me.  But i only go 1/2 speed.  from there i can retreat if my team dies, kiting all game, dealing massive damage, or push B if my team wins A.  Or speed up and help contest A.   But i tend to be in the middle of the map, towards like 1/3 mid.  Huge increase in winrate.

[RTR78]

I'm one of the cast outs that love the Colorado. Yes, you get a spawn that will lead to your early demise sometimes. Two big mistakes I see people make in it are, just because it goes 21 kts, doesn't mean you have to go that fast and just because it has rear guns doesn't mean you have to use them. A retreat in Colorado is next to impossible so try not to get in a position where you must. When uptierd, don't be 1st. Colorado can also tank well quartering away. When you get caught in a bad position, use it. 

[RTR78]

Add me if you want and I will run mine with you sometime.

[old_radagast]

All the above users have good points. When playing an American Standard BB, which I do a lot, I always try to get near the center of the map on our side. Not to be confused with dead center on the map, but the center on our side of the map. Since most teams tend to split up unequally or wander around a bit until some clear battle direction appears, this allows me to be a position where I'm most likely to do good. You can't effectively retreat in those ships if you're the main target, so don't over commit, but also don't stay too far from the fight because you're too slow to rush to it when it appears. It takes some practice to figure out where you can loiter so that you'll be close to almost any major fight that breaks out, but not so close that you get focused down (too slow to retreat)

 

That being said, some games you just lose. I had one yesterday like that in my Texas, which suffers the same problems as all American Standard BB's - slowest thing on the field. I spawned at the far west end of our fleet, and our whole team decided to rush like lunatics east, abandoning our base and slower BB's in the process. I spent the whole game fighting an ineffective rear guard against 8+ ships that drifted in and out of range until they killed off the 1 cruiser or DD that didn't rush east - then, they killed me. Meanwhile, my team had nicely bottled itself up on the eastern edge of the map, abandoned our base, and lost the game. While my aim was poor that game and random number Jesus hated me, even under better conditions, I still was doomed. This type of thing happens even more often in the Colorado since it's often married up to teams full of faster ships.

 

Honestly, I accept the fact it is slow. It is historical and I wouldn't like it if Wargaming just made the thing faster for some random reason. But I do wish it was a better ship. An appropriate hitpoint bump would help - no idea why it has fewer hitpoints than the New Mexico since that is inaccurate based on displacement. Heck, my Texas has almost as many hitpoints as it. Sure, the armor is better, but if the ship is basically going to be a slow tank, give it the hitpoints to tank. Oh, well... good luck!

[Edselman]

Pretty much every U.S.N. battleship before it moved at the same speed or slower so the speed should be nothing new to you by now. I actually like the Colorado as it is a very tanky ship that would be the best brawler of the tier if the Germans didn't have torpedoes. You angle so that the edge that makes a point with your belt armor and frontal bulkhead armor is pointed towards the enemy, so that your citadel becomes sort of a lopsided diamond. An angled Colorado can easily hurt a Nagato while all the other tier 7 battleships, including the Germans with their much smaller or less numerous guns, will not have the easiest of time hurting you. The only flaw of the Colorado it its hit points which makes no sense whatsoever. The Colorado should get at least 58,000 than it would be fine. The Arizona at tier 6 has 57,200 and had a lower displacement.

[1Sherman]

I'm seriously frustrated with this ship. I've watched almost all guides and tutorials available on youtube, I'm willing to tank, brawl, push or, specifically, be in the central . But first, I need to get to that position and 21 knts isn't helping at all.

 

A) My spawn is in the opposite edge of where my team wants to push. You can guess, It takes me like 10mins to re-position, assuming my team ain't half dead by that time.

 

B) T8/9 aggressive enemy team and I'm left to the other side? I'm doomed. Enemy would've pushed the cap near me and spotted me, while I'm still sailing to rejoin my team with no cover. I could angle/bow tank and survive a bit longer, but I still rendered completely useless to my team.

 

C) 'Be in the central' - usually have very little cover, or that the position will be overwhelmed really soon, leaving me being focused or attacked by CV. 

 

D) Finally in a proper spawn, but all of our CLs/DDs are gone within 5mins, even before I get into supporting range to the cap next to me. And there's nothing I can do about it.

 

Totall of 25 games so far, average dmg is 60k,.

 

I love the guns, it punches hard. And things usually get a lot better and I could carry no problem when in smaller maps like Estuary. But other than that? I find it heavily dependent on teammates, hoping that they'd survive a bit longer until my arrival. Or that, BBs would push together instead of me tanking for a bismarck sniping 18km away.  

 

As we all know that the first 5/10 mins is very important to a game. But that's how long I have to take to get in a proper position and the game has usually been decided even before I have the chance to do something useful. And by the time I died, the game has almost come to an end. 

 

Any advice?

 

I loved my Colorado to pieces before I sold her to get the NC and yes, the speed is an issue. However, just keep pushing, watch what your team is doing and react accordingly, and always be looking for targets to shoot at. Try to engage at mid-close range, from 16 km inward. That's where she starts hitting the hardest. Use your German BB-esque armour and your fast rudder shift to tank shots inbetween salvos. Don't be afraid to spearhead a charge, just make sure your team is supporting you when you're at the front.

[Psycodiver]

Here's my simple but effective how to Colorado guide

 

http://forum.worldofwarships.com/index.php?/topic/114101-how-to-properly-colorado/

[willob]

I did quite well with the Colorado, but I didn't touch it until it was fully upgraded. Went back and played a game after I got Iowa and couldn't stand it, I'll never play it again. So better days ahead for you. Alabama is my highest scoring BB, Might Mo then Iowa as far as the USN line goes.

 

[Dartinbullets]

Colorado:  lover her not very fast but fun and effective.  1Sherman knows how to play her read again what he said.   If I need extra credits I use the Colorado.  One of the few ships I won't let go of.  IMO a great BB that is fun to use in both Coop and random battles.

 

For it's level it's more durable than the Iowa and like the NC not great at the it's own extreme distance.  It can be great fun in a coop battle it you know where the action is going to be and head for it otherwise the speed will be a problem and on most maps it is predictable.   Random battles are fun too, just have to know how to play her and that is not hard to do it takes no special skill.

[inktomi19d]

One suggestion: if you spawn on one edge of the map and your team goes the other way, DO NOT FOLLOW. If you do, the only thing you will accomplish is to take yourself out of the game.

 

Fight your position, but if you end up alone retreat slowly (slower than the Colorado goes) keep wiggling, and inflict as much damage as you can. You will die, but at least waste the enemy's time as you do.

 

Any player who sees an ally in a USN BB and goes full speed to the opposite side of the map is too stupid to deserve a win anyway, so it's not your fault if you do that.

 

If you need to (like in ranked) mention that the suggested point is too far for your 20 kt speed. They might complain, but players who want to win will adjust.

[Hangoverhomey]

 

I loved my Colorado to pieces before I sold her to get the NC and yes, the speed is an issue. However, just keep pushing, watch what your team is doing and react accordingly, and always be looking for targets to shoot at. Try to engage at mid-close range, from 16 km inward. That's where she starts hitting the hardest. Use your German BB-esque armour and your fast rudder shift to tank shots inbetween salvos. Don't be afraid to spearhead a charge, just make sure your team is supporting you when you're at the front.

 

German BB-esque Armour?  LOL what?  this thing is softer than gasoline soaked toilet paper.

I see them melt away time after time with crap scores.  It's hot garbage.

 

It's that tired old typical argument "if you get a good captain the ship shines"  Sure... and if you give that same captain something else they will shine brighter.

 

 

People get attached to ships, I get it.  The Colorado looks cool, it has an interesting history but unfortunately in this game, it's literally the worst possible choice for a battleship at tier 7.  Dedicate yourself elsewhere and you will do better, simple as that.

 

I would take the New mexico, Arizona or Warspite in tier 7 over the Colorado.

 

 

 

 

[inktomi19d]

 

German BB-esque Armour?  LOL what?  this thing is softer than gasoline soaked toilet paper.

I see them melt away time after time with crap scores.  It's hot garbage.

 

It's that tired old typical argument "if you get a good captain the ship shines"  Sure... and if you give that same captain something else they will shine brighter.

 

A good captain doesn’t make the Scharnhorst's armor better. A good captain does make the Colorado’s armor better. The thing has a ridiculously tight turning radius, and can virtually neutral-steer to angle it’s armor or dodge torpedoes. Its bow can’t bounce 16” shells, but it can angle to bounce them.

 

German BBs have a skill floor that is low and sturdy enough to carry all the potatoes you can stuff into them, while IJN and USN BBs have comparatively high skill floors, but just because a ship is potato-compatible does not mean that a great player is going to do any better in her. With the German armor scheme, angling isn’t the dramatic difference for them that it is for other nations, since the parts of a German BB that are actually vulnerable are exposed from most angles. In a Colorado, angling is the difference in whether you can or can’t be citadeled — it’s huge. A player who is competent at maneuvering and putting their aft turrets on target without exposing their broadside gains no real benefit in a German BB, but the same player can vastly outperform unskilled players in a Colorado, Nagato, or Hood. 

 

I wouldn’t usually compare the Colorado’s armor to German armor because it’s a different armor scheme, but it can be a tough little ship. The NC/Bismarck comparison is much the same, where they have very different armor schemes, but many players love the NC’s forward deflector shields. I’ve typically been tanking 1-1.5 million potential damage in the Colorado lately, and I generally tank over 2 million in at least one match a day, so it’s definitely a survivable ship. It just has a high skill floor.

[Skipper_Tom]

Wanted to love this ship, but it is just too slow for me to be useful in a match.  I sold it and have no regrets.

[holycrazyasian]

For slow ships it is not purely what ur team does but also what the enemy does thus you are at the mercy of early information. 

 

1) at the beginning hope ur dds or cv scout early and go to the flank where the enemy is concentrated.

 

2) you do not necessarily need to stay till an engagement ends. You need to move before an engagement ends and pre move to the next POTENTIAL engagement. If it is alrdy a current engagement u r most likely too slow to help.

 

The above two tips rely heavily on map awareness and experience. Listen to teammates and hopefully you can improve. It took me over 3k battles on bbs and a combined 7k battles of all ship type before I am now confident about my decisions. It will take time so fight on.

[KnightFandragon]

On 5/21/2017 at 9:22 PM, Edselman said:

Pretty much every U.S.N. battleship before it moved at the same speed or slower so the speed should be nothing new to you by now. I actually like the Colorado as it is a very tanky ship that would be the best brawler of the tier if the Germans didn't have torpedoes. You angle so that the edge that makes a point with your belt armor and frontal bulkhead armor is pointed towards the enemy, so that your citadel becomes sort of a lopsided diamond. An angled Colorado can easily hurt a Nagato while all the other tier 7 battleships, including the Germans with their much smaller or less numerous guns, will not have the easiest of time hurting you. The only flaw of the Colorado it its hit points which makes no sense whatsoever. The Colorado should get at least 58,000 than it would be fine. The Arizona at tier 6 has 57,200 and had a lower displacement.

Yeah, but by T7, 21 knts is a little long in the tooth.  It's basically like still using a Musket in the age of the Mauser. 

Its also stupid how the Colorado only gets 50,000 health... 

Colorado is in a tier and faces tiers where 21 knts just plain dont cut it anymore.  The Colorado might be a good ship......if it was 1 tier lower, or got special MM to where it only saw T8 max, or, or, if they gave it the Maryland or WV upgrades?  Or, if they went all frankentank and buffed it's speed to like 24 knts just because, and added like 10,000 health to it. 

[SteveT44]

When I spawn away from the main group in my CO, I'll just start heading to the nearest cap.  I'll pass the word "CO covering B".  Usually a dd and a cruiser or two will cut off with me.  If the whole red team ends up coming your way, run a delaying action and do as much damage as possible before your sunk.  Keep angled towards (or away from) the BB's and concentrate on the cruisers and DD's till the end game.  If a red BB shows you a broadside, of course take the shot.

 

56% WR with the CO.

[Edselman]

Colorado can be very potent in a fight, the armor can easily defend itself against anything in it's tier when angled properly. The dispersion on it's 16" guns seem pretty good, in mine I can hit enemies even at max range pretty reliably compared to most other ships.