I just graduated from the Farragut to Mahan. What do I need to know?

[Phoenix_jz]

Just as the title says. So, I just graduated from my beloved Farragut to a Mahan, although I'm keeping my Farragut because it's so bloody awesome.

 

So what do I need to know? My captain is set up as; PT, LS, BFT, CE.

 

The torpedo launcher setup is interesting, so I'm already trying to think of ways to utilize that.... although the lower speed of the ship itself kind of bums me out, as does the lower concealment. 

 

I'm guessing I should try to get the B-hull ASAP, right?

[SilverPhatShips]

Yep get to b refit she's a good ship not much of a one on one more a support ship but I had fun in her wait till you get the Benson though and you're really going to be happy

[Grevester]

BFT is not the worst option, but it's not very essential. it gives you maybe a quarter of a second to half a second.

In my opinion, skills that lead to increasing your survival rate are also going to directly impact your performance via damage much more than something like BFT or DE. Tier 7, with survivability expert, only gives you ~2500HP. If you plan on continuing this captain up the line, I would definitely recommend switching BFT to SE early.

I am also a firm believer in taking Vigilance as a DD. I have been in many voice comm rooms listening to people complain about dying to an unexpected torp in their DD, and all I can do is laugh. It is insanely difficult to die to torps while using vigilance as long as you follow this rule: Do not sit still broadside on to the direction torps will come from. In removing any chance of death to a torpedo in your DD, you have much more effect on your overall performance than taking a half second off your gun reload.

 

On to Mahan specifically, it finds itself in an awkward spot, being a tier just before DDs get access to the concealment module. This will result in a lot of DDs outspotting you when bottom tier. The best I can recommend is to try to never be spotted while advancing, but to turn around just when you think you'll be spotted and bait them to shoot you. Once they have shot, your concealment disadvantage goes away, and you now have the upper hand in positioning being turned away from them.

[vonKaiser]

I recently picked her up as well.  Like the Farragut I opted to get B hull and skip C Hull, just can't justify losing a turret for more AA in my mind.  The torps get me in trouble.  Tip I learned early:  If you want to get the 3rd launcher off at a target, turn AWAY not into them.  Turn circle, for me at least, usually will get me detected by the time I line up the 3rd tubes on the opposite side, turning away instead of into them opens the distance, gives me more leeway to get off the stealthy torpedo run. 

 

[Umikami]

You need to know your new DD can be spotted from the Moon.

You need to know that the third torp launcher will save your butt many, many times.

You need to know that like most other USN DD's, Mahan's "C" Hull is a joke, which is played out on the captain of the ship.

You need to know that Superintendent, and Premium Consumables, should be a part of your DD package. (detection)

You need to know there is safety in the herd, and death alone. (detection)

You need to know, and never forget, Benson is next, and the world will love you again.

[MrDeaf]

On 2017-06-12 at 10:23 AM, Pulicat said:

BFT is not the worst option, but it's not very essential. it gives you maybe a quarter of a second to half a second.

In my opinion, skills that lead to increasing your survival rate are also going to directly impact your performance via damage much more than something like BFT or DE. Tier 7, with survivability expert, only gives you ~2500HP. If you plan on continuing this captain up the line, I would definitely recommend switching BFT to SE early.

I am also a firm believer in taking Vigilance as a DD. I have been in many voice comm rooms listening to people complain about dying to an unexpected torp in their DD, and all I can do is laugh. It is insanely difficult to die to torps while using vigilance as long as you follow this rule: Do not sit still broadside on to the direction torps will come from. In removing any chance of death to a torpedo in your DD, you have much more effect on your overall performance than taking a half second off your gun reload.

 

On to Mahan specifically, it finds itself in an awkward spot, being a tier just before DDs get access to the concealment module. This will result in a lot of DDs outspotting you when bottom tier. The best I can recommend is to try to never be spotted while advancing, but to turn around just when you think you'll be spotted and bait them to shoot you. Once they have shot, your concealment disadvantage goes away, and you now have the upper hand in positioning being turned away from them.

Just about all of them outspot mahan.

In fact, since Kiev was moved to T8, Mahan has the worst concealment for DDs in T7.

The only destroyers with worse concealment in the T5-9 range are Kiev, Udaloi and Tashkent.

[Atariboy]

She's a competitive ship, including against the Benson such as this loading screenshot I took a few moments ago showing a ratings comparison between the two. You'll enjoy her if you ignore the reputation established in the earliest days of World of Warships, largely as a result of a certain YouTuber that a vocal number of fans took as preaching the Gospel. 

 

 

Even her maneuverability rating isn't as bad as initial appearances. Stock without the speed flag, we're talking 1.5 knots less speed than the Farragut and 3 compared to the Benson. But you really don't need to run from them and I've never once felt like I wish I was faster. And with the speed flag, you can almost reach 40.

 

The exalted Gearing on the other hand is only 1 kn faster than the Mahan. And the Mahan has an equal rudder shift time to both the Farragut and the Benson, along with a smaller turning radius than the Benson which matches that of the Farragut. The disadvantages basically amount to lesser top speed, but I can't stress how unimportant that has proven to be in her.

 

I can't even remember ever trying to outrun a determined Soviet destroyer, thanks to a reasonably quick torpedo reload that discourages chasing DD's in emergencies and smoke for more urgent danger. I don't even run superintendent on her anymore, since I was so often finding myself at the end of a match with a speed boost and smoke charge that I never had the need to deploy (What some do with premium consumables to up it to 4 charges each, I don't know). 

 

She's a hunter, not a runner. Radio proximity detection is the way I like to go in her since she's a good gunboat that is deadly to Japanese and US opponents, and it helps to hunt them down. You don't go in a 1 vs. 1 fight against Soviet boats, but then again, I don't in my Gearing, either. And just like in my Gearing, I run preventative maintenance, last stand. adrenaline rush, BFT and survivability expert, and radio location and concealment expert. 

 

Good consistent moneymaker for standard accounts, too. I think I lost 500 credits once in one disaster of a game, with no other losses. Gearing on the other hand is a break even boat without paying for a premium account for good players. 

[MrDeaf]

30 minutes ago, Atariboy said:

She's a competitive ship, including against the Benson such as this loading screenshot I took a few moments ago showing a ratings comparison between the two. You'll enjoy her if you ignore the reputation established in the earliest days of World of Warships, largely as a result of a certain YouTuber that a vocal number of fans took as preaching the Gospel. 

 

 

Even her maneuverability rating isn't as bad as initial appearances. Stock without the speed flag, we're talking 1.5 knots less speed than the Farragut and 3 compared to the Benson. But you really don't need to run from them and I've never once felt like I wish I was faster. And with the speed flag, you can almost reach 40.

 

The exalted Gearing on the other hand is only 1 km faster than the Mahan. And the Mahan has an equal rudder shift time to both the Farragut and the Benson, along with a smaller turning radius than the Benson which matches that of the Farragut.

 

The disadvantages basically amount to lesser top speed, but I can't stress how unimportant that has proven to be in her. I can't even remember ever trying to outrun a determined Soviet destroyer, thanks to a reasonably quick torpedo reload.

 

I don't even run superintendent on her anymore, since I was so often finding myself at the end of a match with a speed boost and smoke charge that I never had the need to deploy. 

That's a stock Benson without a 10pt captain or captain under retraining.
You can easily tell this because the Benson has less HP, worse concealment, worse torpedo and equal gun ratings compared to your Mahan.
If the Benson were fully kitted out, Mahan would be behind in every single rating there.

Mahan's 6.9km max concealment is astoundingly bad and combined with its 35 knots top speed, it means that you have to gun down every DD you meet. Otherwise, you will get outspotted and permaspotted by a DD with better concealment and equal or greater speed than Mahan, which is almost all of them. Giving chase in a slower ship is also disastrous, should it come to that.

As for the Gearing, that ship has its own set of problems stemming from that poor top speed.

[Atariboy]

And what's the maximum concealment for Soviet and German Tier VII destroyers? I'm sure that the Soviet equivalent is comfortably worst, and the German is probably within 1/10th of a km of the Mahan. 

 

I've never been "perma-spotted" in my Mahan. It's what radio detection is for, anyways. If I'm being spotted by a opponent with much better concealment than I am, it means it's likely a Japanese boat. If I'm running away instead of engaging, I'm playing it wrong.

 

If it's a Benson, I have good enough armor and firepower to engage, without feeling doomed. 

[MrDeaf]

13 hours ago, Atariboy said:

And what's the maximum concealment for Soviet and German Tier VII destroyers? I'm sure that the Soviet equivalent is comfortably worst, and the German is probably within 1/10th of a km of the Mahan. 

 

I've never been "perma-spotted" in my Mahan. It's what radio detection is for, anyways. If I'm being spotted by a opponent with much better concealment than I am, it means it's likely a Japanese boat. If I'm running away instead of engaging, I'm playing it wrong.

 

If it's a Benson, I have good enough armor and firepower to engage, without feeling doomed. 

It used to be Kiev had the worst concealment in T7, but Kiev is now T8.

There are only a handful of DDs with worse concealment or speed than Mahan.

DDs that cannot outspot Mahan

• Kiev
• Udaloi
• Tashkent

DDs that are slower than Mahan

• Shiratsuyu 34.0 knots
• Akizuki, 33.0 knots
• T-22, 34.5 knots

So, all the DDs with worse concealment are much faster than Mahan and all the DDs that are slower than Mahan have more stealth

[Umikami]

19 hours ago, MrDeaf said:

It used to be Kiev had the worst concealment in T7, but Kiev is now T8.

There are only a handful of DDs with worse concealment or speed than Mahan.

DDs that cannot outspot Mahan

• Kiev
• Udaloi
• Tashkent

DDs that are slower than Mahan

• Shiratsuyu 34.0 knots
• Akizuki, 33.0 knots
• T-22, 34.5 knots

So, all the DDs with worse concealment are much faster than Mahan and all the DDs that are slower than Mahan have more stealth

ironic, ain't it?

[Canadatron]

I liked my time in my Mahan, that 3rd launcher made it a fun ride for me. That being said, it's not particularly strong, and you've gotta like your DD play to enjoy the time spent in it. I was initially excited to get into the Benson, but seeing Tier 10 in about 75% of the battles you get into is basically what's waiting for you. Benson is good @ T8, but isn't as awesome up tiered consistently which happens to be the case in the current environment.

 

Have fun!! I've taken to playing far less USN DD since the vision changes. They seem to have been snake bitten to a greater extent than some of the other lines with the changes in place.

[dust340man]

She may seem like a dud at first till you get her full upgraded but after you learn her strengths and weaknesses she performs well. I still prefer my Sims over the Mahan but I want a Benson so I keep grinding thru the Mahan. Then I will sell the Mahan.