How to use Smoke

[Labedoyere]

ok....I am sort of new to this game....But i was just in a game and someone told me that i just smoked for the other team. Could someone explain the do's and do nots as far as smoking ? Do not understand what i did wrong.

Thanks

 

[Edselman]

Don't smoke, it damages your lungs

[Unabletony]

1 minute ago, Edselman said:

Don't smoke, it damages your lungs

This.

 

In a DD, to smoke is to drop cover either for yourself or your team. However, if you're in smoke and nothing is spotting, ie planes or another ship, then you can't see out of it. Contrary, the other team can't see you in a smoke screen, other then your muzzle flash, and either hydro or radar.

[Horama]

If you drop smoke for the team, make sure there is still a way for the enemy to be spotted.  That may mean that you yourself stay outside the smoke or there may be another ship outside the smoke that can still spot.  when you are in smoke, do not just sit there.  It makes it very easy for the enemy to drop torps on you.  try to have the engine running at all times so that you can turn to avoid the enemy torps quickly.

[Carrier_Ikoma]

To elaborate a little bit on what the others said...

 

Is the smoke between your and the enemy? If it is... is there anyone either far off to one side, or on the other side of the smoke, or that can somehow spot the enemy team?

If not then you very possibly just helped out the enemy.

 

For example, if it's more or less... [your team]<--->[smoke cloud]<--->[enemy team]... then, yes that's not good.

OK or even good:

                          [friendly DD*]

[your team]<--->[smoke cloud]<--->[enemy team]

 

very bad:

                          [enemy DD*]

[your team]<--->[smoke cloud]<--->[enemy team]

 

 

* not in smoke

[Greenday4537]

Try not to be broadside to the enemy while in smoke, especially sitting still. You won't notice torps fast enough to move and turn. By being narrow to the target, the chances to get torped is much smaller.

 

But if you are going to smoke, make sure it helps your team by either letting the big ships sit in smoke while you spot or some such.

[Aimbot_nerd007]

frytubinomp,[.

 

[Destroyer_KuroshioKai]

Heres a new video I did where I make good use of one of the best smoke sources in the game, the Gearing.  The focus of the game is mainly about not abandoning smokes where possible, instead using their long duration to create an area you can use to immediately get undetected when scouting by sailing just outside the clouds (make sure the setting to make smoke visible to checked) and if spotted, just turn back into the smoke.  You can use this to be extra sneaky like I do and bait a DD to shoot at you, then farm them from smoke where allies keep the spotted. 

The quick smoke lesson I can give you right now is the two different types of smoke, offensive and defensive.  Obviously on is used primarily to attack, the other to defend.  Nothing earth shattering.  For instructional purposes I break these down further based on how I intend to use the smoke. 

First for you to be able to smoke ships up correctly you need to have a good grasp of line of sight, the likely enemy radar coverage (use a properly set up mini map with the max gun and torp ranges on your DD to give you a pretty good idea of stand off from likely enemy radar positions), lastly the smoke firing debuff on the intended smoked up ship.  This doesnt need to be super accurate, I usually round up to the nearest whole number to save space in my brain, like Des Moines has a 8.18km debuff when shooting in smoke, I just remember it as 9km to give you and your ally some wiggle room.

The first subcategory is a simple smoke.  This is the usual smoke where you or the ships you intend to smoke up are inside the smoke concealing them from surface and sea spotting. 

The second is creating a line of sight break.  I refer to them a smoke curtains so I have a way of expressing the different nature of the smokes deployment.  Smoke curtains only work against surface spotting, but is more kind to concealing ships with large smoke firing debuffs like Hindenburg.  The idea is to deploy the smoke in a manner that breaks line of sight to all enemy ships within the max range of your intended smoke ship (using islands to help where possible).  An advantage with this kind of smoke is you can set things up so team mates can kite large distances behind the smoke while being to bombard the enemy at little risk to themselves, that freedom of movement makes the threat of torps reduced.  It is important to maintain vision on the enemy for this to work, and that can mean placing yourself in position to block any sneaky DD spotting play to get inside the smoke debuff range.

The video below I believe I use offensive and defensive smokes, as well as simple smokes, and smoke curtains.  Also defensive smokes I came back to later became offensive smokes based on how I used them.

Here is a link to my vision control play list where I discuss the fight over vision.  Feel free to ask me any questions if I didnt explain things thoroughly, I'm typing this up between cleaning up and chasing Birthday cake fueled Dinosaurs.