Current verdict on radio location?

[Jakajan]

I used to and sometimes still think that radio location is for bad players, on the other hand it allows for destroyers to blind fire torpedoes against unseen targets which has been pretty handy because it ups the number of possible torpedo hits per game.

But is it worth giving up skills for? Tough one.

Right now I am experimenting with a destroyer build that feels good, not sure if I will keep it on all my DD but it feels good for USN.

PM, AR, LS, BFT, SE, CE and RLF

Seems pretty good, I'm running BFT but then using the torpedo reload module instead of gun firing module so I kind of get some of both faster torpedo reload and faster gun reload without being king of either.

What do you all think? Worth it or not?

[IKU19]

I still consider it wall hacks.

It's extremely powerful for anyone that is proactive rather than reactive.

That said, proactive players are rare as evidenced by the torpedoes.

 

I use RPF on my DDs, it denies ambushes, tells me when to enter or leave a cap, and it makes ambushing easier.

[MrDeaf]

It is such a stupid [edited]skill and deserves to be removed from the game.

Here is the problem with this skill.
Newbs don't comprehend how to use it
Experienced players can abuse it against newbs to huge extents
Experienced players are totally unimpaired playing against it

That, in and of itself, says the skill is [edited]broken.
Who's [edited]hair brained idea was it to add this skill in the first place?

[_Rumple_]

Honestly, I rarely see anyone using it, well, that's when I am out front in a DD, the rest of the time I really can't tell if someone has it or not. But from a capping perspective(in a DD), I have seen the RPF location sign maybe once in the last 20 matches I have played. If it were more prevalent, then I could see it being a problem, especially at end-game, but for me at least, it's so rare it's not really a factor.

[Peo01]

53 minutes ago, MrDeaf said:

Who's [edited]hair brained idea was it to add this skill in the first place?

Same person that thought Priority Target was a good idea, when it's basically a better version of the Incoming Fire Alert.

 

[_WaveRider_]

Why did they ever put it in!

 

Good players make full use of it, bad players waste 4 points on it, it prevents flanking manoevers (strategic play), and causes unrest amongst the community.

 

Why WG didn't listen to that communuty and not bother with it is what I find confusing.

[Teahee]

Contrary to the suggestions some of the angry pitchfork-wielders, RPF has not broken the game, and surprisingly, the sky hasn't fallen down either. RPF is at the end of the day just a tool which provides the player with information. It is up to the player to interpret this information and make use of it, and a degree of skill is required to use it proficiently. The fears that stealth gameplay would be destroyed due to RPF were mostly unrealized, and the majority of ships gain very little from RPF. If anything, it has simply added another dimension to DD gameplay, since the main ship lines which use it are the IJN and USN DDs. Personally, I find that it has made the game more interesting overall, since the skill allows you to predict the (rough) movements of enemy DDs, and hence to find openings and weaknesses in the enemy lines. 

[Umikami]

It's is a total cheat; late in the game, when I want to track down CV's; no hope of hiding. It's broken, as broken as radar thru islands.

[Grevester]

I never used it. Not in PTS, not in the 'free experiment period' during release, and not anytime after that.

From what I could tell, it is the equivalent of incoming fire alert. I have always been very good at determining what ships are where and when with good accuracy, so when this skill came I decided it would be a poor use of 4 points. There are far more important skills that are related to survival and longevity in a match.

I've been on the recieving end though, most notably a 3v3 tournament I was a part of that my team won. Our opponent in the finals used it, and it did basically nothing for them because we accounted for it in the plan we took.

Never been used effectively against me in random either, because if I know i'm being located by it, I've determined that it's acceptable for them to know.

[_WaveRider_]

1 hour ago, Teahee said:

Contrary to the suggestions some of the angry pitchfork-wielders, RPF has not broken the game, and surprisingly, the sky hasn't fallen down either. RPF is at the end of the day just a tool which provides the player with information. It is up to the player to interpret this information and make use of it, and a degree of skill is required to use it proficiently. The fears that stealth gameplay would be destroyed due to RPF were mostly unrealized, and the majority of ships gain very little from RPF. If anything, it has simply added another dimension to DD gameplay, since the main ship lines which use it are the IJN and USN DDs. Personally, I find that it has made the game more interesting overall, since the skill allows you to predict the (rough) movements of enemy DDs, and hence to find openings and weaknesses in the enemy lines. 

Exact opposite for me really, as I think it does break the game - I don't know how many engagements throughout history involved a flanking manoeuver that surprised the enemy.

 

With RPF predicting the enemy's movements isn't so much using sight, the minimap and experience, but rather using a tool that says 'he's over there!'

 

The fact that few use it is the saving grace; along with the liklihood that 50% that do, don't use it to full effect and the other 50% don't communicate to their team lol. My thought is just because it's not used does not mean it isn't a tool that breaks a fundamental element of the game - concealment. 

[ClockworkSpectre]

Not really that powerful of a skill.  In most cases there are better captain skills to pick, and with a limited number of skill points, it just isn't worth taking over other more useful skills.  Also, it is very very situational, and more often than not, isn't needed at all.  There are times when it is very powerful, but not often.   I'd rather they get rid of it, and replace it with something else.

[Khafni]

1 hour ago, Pulicat said:

I never used it. Not in PTS, not in the 'free experiment period' during release, and not anytime after that.

From what I could tell, it is the equivalent of incoming fire alert. I have always been very good at determining what ships are where and when with good accuracy, so when this skill came I decided it would be a poor use of 4 points. There are far more important skills that are related to survival and longevity in a match.

I've been on the recieving end though, most notably a 3v3 tournament I was a part of that my team won. Our opponent in the finals used it, and it did basically nothing for them because we accounted for it in the plan we took.

Never been used effectively against me in random either, because if I know i'm being located by it, I've determined that it's acceptable for them to know.

'nuff said...

[Landing_Skipper]

RPF was a bad idea. Not quite as bad as radar that "sees" through islands because that requires no skill at all, but close. 

It requires a high skill floor as has been said already. Most players either don't understand how to interpret the information it provides, or they don't communicate with their team. 

Every once in a while I have a CV teammate who pays attention to where I click the minimap while saying " RPF". We usually win because I've just told him where to send planes. 

I've been playing Yugumo with the torpedo reload booster instead of smoke. RPF is invaluable because it helps me avoid DDs with guns. And I've been successful with this build. It's great for Fujin/Kamikaze too. 

Last Ranked season, RPF became more and more common past Rank 10. It is very powerful with only 7 players per side. I've been told it's worthless by competitive players. However, the opposing team was using it in the first clan skirmish I played in. Regardless of what you think about Flamu's personality, he is a great player and advocates RPF for many DDs. 

And then there's the Belfast with RPF who chased down my DD toward the end of a battle. Why not add another broken skill to that ship's toolkit?   Personally, I think the 4 points can be spent elsewhere for Belfast.  However, he had an awesome anti-DD build. I've run into Clevelands with RPF too. Not my choice, but scary when you're in a DD. 

Here's a new Flamu video with Yugumo:  

Torps are a limited resource. RPF helps you make the most out of them. Sure you could make that blind shot at the corner of the island without RPF, but you'd just be guessing that the DD was there. With RPF, Flamu knew where the DD was. A little later, he knew which smoke cloud the Neptune was sitting in. And in a cyclone, RPF can be the difference between surviving vs. stumbling into multiple enemies at close range. 

 

P.S. How can you judge its utility without ever trying it?  I refused to use RPF until it became prevalent in Ranked. Then I tried it and concluded that it gave me a competitive advantage. 

[Capt_Mexib]

Well, I have the opposite view. I find RDF pretty darn useful for high Tier IJN DD play. The whole point of Japanese destroyers is to not be seen, unless it's advantages, and launch torpedo attacks. It's especially helpful in the Yugumo, it helps offset it's dismal speed.

 

All that being said, yes, I can see it being useless for most other classes and lines.      

[Doomlock]

It has it's merits, mainly for high tier destroyers. I personally have not used the skill.

[Jiggiwatt]

It's a useful skill for the player who has it and knows how to use it. It's not particularly useful for the rest of the team (like radar) since it's difficult to communicate to your team because you either need to guess at which map grid to click based off the direction you're given, or you need to convey the information via chat. Either way, your teammates rarely pay attention in pub matches.

 

As for playing against RPF, I assume the enemy knows where I am anyways and play accordingly.

[Landing_Skipper]

P.P.S. RPF can be a liability, but only in very rare cirmstances. A division of DDs working together and talking can locate you with triangulation. I missed a Solo Warrior once because of that. Would've gotten it if the 2 enemy DDs weren't actively talking and taking turns being "located" to zero in on me.

Much more often, RPF lets me escape from enemy DDs. It's also fun to push forward with RPF and a friendly radar cruiser behind you. The Fletcher thinks "Well I'll just gun down that IJN DD noob" only to find himself in port needing a new pair of pants. 

[Flashtirade]

When I was testing RPF on my Akatsuki, I found that I could actually be pretty ballsy with her and use less smokes. It, along with other information like detection ranges, helped me make better guesses on which DDs I was going to encounter and plan accordingly. I despecced it later since I was really hurting for CE, but it is a pretty strong skill that I'm hoping to get back eventually.

 

RPF actually makes for a more active style of gameplay on the part of the user, but it also encourages passivity for those DDs on the receiving end (that aren't Russian) who don't have it equipped. I still think the skill as a concept is retarded and other things should have been changed to encourage cruisers to hunt DDs, instead of making DDs better at hunting each other.

[Exciton8964]

Can't believe people are still exaggerating the strength of the skill based on a few successful usages.

 

I think the skill is very well-balanced with 4 skill points. Played with this skill on my Fletcher for a while. It is situationally useful but the trade-off is not worth it for me. Basically I was using RPF+AR and now I swapped to SI+Vigilance.  With SI, I feel okay to use an early smoke for my teammates to push up close to the cap. Vigilance let me go for DD knife fight with more confidence. High tier torps are very fast and I like some extra insurance.

 

RPF+AR option is not bad but just doesn't give me their benefit consistently enough.

[Seamus_44]

have and use it on all my upper tier USN and IJN dds. Didn't use it on the RUs since they are mostly gunboats.

[WidochMeirker]

My personal view is that it changes the game too much.  I won't say it's broken, but basically it's a must have for most destroyer captains.  If another destroyer has it and you don't you're at a very difficult disadvantage.  To be perfectly honest, if they took it out of the game, I think things would be better.  It's not needed, but falls into a bit of a catch-22.  It's needed now because it exists. You need it to counter others that have it.  But if it wasn't in the game, no one would miss it. 

[chewonit]

If nothing else, it's the continue erosion/punishment to smart and creative game plays. Basically every gimmicks WG added in the past year have been aimed at reduce the variation of play style, making it easier for mindless long range gun plays.

 

Every change so far directly or indirectly favors guns or defending against torpedoes. Which benefits more from these: radar, hydro, spotting planes (x2), RDF? All of them helps gun plays or reduce effectiveness of torpedoes.

 

Not one single thing broke the game. They just keep tilting the sea in favor of guns.

[Psicopro]

I don't like playing DD's without RPF, I have come to like having the information it provides as I have gotten better at making use of it.

[Merrillz]

RPF is a trap.  Its a shinny 4 point skill that is not useful for the majority of the player base.  And steals those 4 points away from skills that would actually be a benefit.  

 

What is good about RPF?   Good players will have no need for RPF because you can judge where an enemy DD is hanging out 95% of the time.  Bad players will still get obliterated by other DD players, so knowing where the DD are located isn't going to help much.  There are really only two groups that benefit at all from this skill.  The first is the super Unicum players, which can use the added information to sneak up on targets, or torp them without the need to detect the enemy.  The second are average players struggling with their map awareness skills.   I would say about 3-5% of the player base would find benefit from this skill over the loss of other skills that could be purchased with 4 points.  

[Umikami]

14 hours ago, Merrillz said:

RPF is a trap.  Its a shinny 4 point skill that is not useful for the majority of the player base.  And steals those 4 points away from skills that would actually be a benefit.  

 

What is good about RPF?   Good players will have no need for RPF because you can judge where an enemy DD is hanging out 95% of the time.  Bad players will still get obliterated by other DD players, so knowing where the DD are located isn't going to help much.  There are really only two groups that benefit at all from this skill.  The first is the super Unicum players, which can use the added information to sneak up on targets, or torp them without the need to detect the enemy.  The second are average players struggling with their map awareness skills.   I would say about 3-5% of the player base would find benefit from this skill over the loss of other skills that could be purchased with 4 points.  

Disagree

IMHO (only) this skill is a game breaker late in the game. You are correct when you say a good player will have a good idea of where the enemy survivors are located, what this does for them is literally pinpoint to the course to sail to find them.

Hiding enemy carriers? Found.

Elusive DD trying to stave off defeat? Located.

BB hiding to try and protect his cap. Illuminated

When the map is full of targets, it tells you where not to go; when the map has few targets, it tells you where to go.

B R O K E N !