ranked Ranked Tactics: New Dawn

[Carrier_Lexington]

Playing Ranked, I've seen many a team struggle on the New Dawn map. People who spawn in the North location want to head South to B, and routinely get annihilated, and then don't understand why what they are doing is getting them killed. I've seen players refer to the North spawn in chat as the "bad spawn," or to "rigged spawnpoints" in-general.

 

And, to all of these, I have one answer. No.

There are no "rigged" spawns, you just aren't playing them right. To help, I've attached a few pictures.

Now, to my more experienced eye, this minimap shows you everything you need to know about the map at a glance, including which Capture Point I should go to and what my general path should be. But, to help people understand what I'm talking about, I'm going to put this edited picture up.

 Okay, so that's a bit easier to demonstrate on. Now, do you see the way the islands curve? Those curves are more than just decorations, they provide natural bullwarks against enemy fire, and they're constructed in just such a way as to create defensive positions for each team.

You'll also notice that I've marked up "Fatal Funnel" areas. These are areas where any ship within them is caught exposed to enemy fire from several directions without the benefits of nearby islands. Notice how almost the entirety of B is a Fatal Funnel area.

 

See, this picture doesn't show everything, though. Fatal Funnels are directional, not two-way. Just because my ship from the Northern Spawn is in the Fatal Funnel does not mean that the enemies are necessarily within that. They don't (usually) have to worry about their allies shooting them; but, for you, their allies are not your friends. For one thing, the corridors, which I'll hit in a minute, direct you to being broadside-on against them, and they also require a thinner push, meaning that fewer ships can fit in the smaller North-South B Corridor than can fit in the East-West B Corridor. Which means that the Southern Spawn has the advantage at B in terms of the ability to mass their firepower.

 

But what are corridors? Corridors are channels between islands that create pathways for players to go through.I've highlighted several below.

Now you see what I mean about Corridors. Sure, they aren't mandatory, but going outside of a corridor removes you from the action for a significant portion of time and/or puts islands in your way rather that where they can be of use. And, all other things equal, a 6 player team with one player miles away will lose to a 7 man team.

 

You'll notice that, From the Northern Spawn to B, the corridor is very thin. This means you can get maybe 2-3 ships at a time through there and still have them be able to fire at the enemy. Yes, you can fit more ships in there, but that's where you start to lose effectiveness because some ships can't fire without hitting allies or islands. Also, and more importantly once you get down to that funnel, you're broadside-on to the entire enemy team.

 

Now, let's consider the A point. The A point is a little more accessible to both teams, but the advantage goes to the Northern Spawn. Whereas B is devoid of any cover, A has an island that can be used to shelter 1-2 ships while capping. And, likewise, the Northern Spawn gets much more room to maneuver around A, while the Southern Spawn has to go up a corridor. This means that the Northern ships can space themselves apart so that it is impossible to angle against all of them.

 

Also, two last things: the High Cover Area and the Dead End. Well, the Dead End is pretty self-explanatory. Find yourself here, and you're trapped between a bunch of islands which can block your shots and make maneuvering while shooting a challenge.The High Cover Area, meanwhile, is perfect for destroyers to fight it out or to sneak-up and set-up for torpedo ambushes. It can also be a temporary haven for a cruiser that's been caught-out of cover. But I wouldn't take a battleship in there until the enemy team's destroyers are dead. Even then, it's still risky, as you could find yourself being torpedoed by an enemy cruiser, and the islands can block your shots and generally make you pretty useless.

 

That's all for now. Please discuss and post all Questions, (constructive) Comments, and Concerns below.

[Estimated_Prophet]

2 hours ago, Carrier_Lexington said:

Also, two last things: the High Cover Area and the Dead End. Well, the Dead End is pretty self-explanatory. Find yourself here, and you're trapped between a bunch of islands which can block your shots and make maneuvering while shooting a challenge.The High Cover Area, meanwhile, is perfect for destroyers to fight it out or to sneak-up and set-up for torpedo ambushes. It can also be a temporary haven for a cruiser that's been caught-out of cover. But I wouldn't take a battleship in there until the enemy team's destroyers are dead. Even then, it's still risky, as you could find yourself being torpedoed by an enemy cruiser, and the islands can block your shots and generally make you pretty useless.

 

First game this morning my team actually followed your advice; knowing it or not. Thing was half our battleships and a cruiser started to run away towards Dead End; so I just got disgusted and pushed up with our remaining cruiers, (New Mexico.)

 

Wound up in the High Cover area after helping a cruiser with a DQ, and didn't really do much damage, (beyond my apparent pnchant for finishers,) but it was still a win, with no losses. Enemy wound up doing the A - B split; and despite running and scattering a bit we were still effectively in your North Spawn cover area, and like I said, got the win.

 

Bit lucky for me though, not many torpedo cruisers (and no destroyers) on the Red team. In that case it let me use the high cover area as exactly that; a place to circle and fire out through the gaps ay the slowly spreading out enemy.

[Beatty_10]

Great analysis - thank you for putting in the time and effort you did to explain this map and how to deal with it. I've played it more than a few times in Ranked and your insights are spot on. The Northern spawn should (and I ask the team usually) go to A and then use the islands for cover. 

I've had my BB torped to death in the High Cover Area because I went into it too soon and/or without DD/CL assistance. just as you predict.

 

Good stuff, very helpful.

 

[Carrier_Lexington]

@Estimated_Prophet 

@Beatty_10

Thanks guys. I have to find a different name other than "High Cover Area," though. That becomes a mouthful after a while... hmm...