Just got the Donskoi, I'm not very good in it...

[bubbleboy264]

Hi, I just recently unlocked, bought, and equipped my 2nd tier 9 (1st being the fletcher) and my first tier 9 cruiser, the d.m. Donskoi. Although i don't have any of the upgrades yet, I do have modules for all 6 slots, and was lucky enough to get a radar module from a super container. I also have my 14 pt captain from my chapayev (PT, EM, DE, CE, IFHE). I picked the reload mod rather than the range one, and so far I think I'm regretting it. I'm not good in this ship. I've only played 4-5 games in it, but I'm not doing well at all. I've tried to stay at range and use the rail guns but the rudder shift is so bad that it's very hard to dodge shells and I only have 16.2km range. I'm close to unlocking the range mod but I need another 2 million credits to unlock it, and me being the stupid person that I am, I sold several ships including my chappy to get the Donskoi. I hear it's a good ship, but I really hate how unlike the tier 8 it doesn't have great concealment to make up for it's lackluster armor. It's like a moskva but without the tankiness. Any tips to using it, help with getting through the stock grind? Is the range or the reload mod better? What's the best playstyle for this ship? I want to do well and want to get the Moskva as my first tier 10 (gearing doesn't seem worth it to me, fletcher is perfect). Thanks 

[bubbleboy264]

Also, I don't have a premium account, so I'm losing money a lot in this ship. Is it just because I'm not doing well or are all high tier cruisers that expensive? I can usually earn a profit in my fletcher, but not so far in the donskoi.

[AtlanticRim]

Very high tier ships actually make you lose money. That way the middle tiers are still populated, as you go back down to earn money.

[EmGee42]

Stay at range. Dont fight alone, support someone elses battle. If you must fight 1v1 then get them to chase you while you burn them down.

Range is by far more important than reload.

[bubbleboy264]

1 minute ago, EmGee42 said:

Stay at range. Dont fight alone, support someone elses battle. If you must fight 1v1 then get them to chase you while you burn them down.

Range is by far more important than reload.

Well I just wasted 3 million credits...

[Bill_Halsey]

Okay for the upgrades here is what I have:

1, Main Armaments Mod 1

2. Aiming Systems Mod 1

3. Main Battery Mod 3

4. Damage Control System Mod 1

5. Steering Gears Mod 2

6. Concealment mod 1

Co Skills:

Level 1: Priority target 

Level 2: Expert Marksman, Jack of all Trades, Adrenaline rush

Level 3: Superintendent, Demolition Expert, vigilance

Level 4: Concealment Expert

 

Those are the useful skills. Note that JOAT and Superintendent stacks with each other.  You can play the ship 2 ways: Hump an island and HE spam. Relocate if they start shooting at you. Or move at high speed and not in a straight line and HE spam. You pick a target, dive in, make 1 or 2 firing passes and then pull out while still firing. Go silent, take a look and do it again. What is great about the ship is the shell velocity and tight dispersion allows you to shell accurately at long range while dodging and kiting. It's a progression from the schors to chapayev.

 

And yeah T8-T10 play is not cheap. I recommend play T5-T7 to build up your credits before playing too many high tiers.

 

[centarina]

I break even  with Donskoi and free account (I do use  2 consumables).  I average about 75k dmg  per match.     at t10, i need to do about 120k dmg to break even in hindenberg. 

[MrDeaf]

Donskoi is not a good ship. Period.

If you put MBM3 on it, you MUST put SGM3 on it, because of its horrid agility.
If you put GFCS on it, you still want to put SGM3 on it, because you will never get close to a cap to support it with radar.

 

Donskoi: stay at range and spam HE. Your Radar is decoration
If you want a useful Radar ship, bring Chappy

[centarina]

dual rudder and smart use of cover does plenty for donskoi.   it isn't as strong as roon, but it is usable ship.   I use ROF mod combined with dual rudder and it works ok.    I use cover initially to get close enough to use my radar.   I've wrecked plenty of DD in support by this.  

 

 

[hangglide42]

Hey Bubbleboy!  Don't dispair!  I would agree w/ a number of the posters that the Donskoi has a number of quirks that make it seem like a step down from the Chappy, but she can be a good ship - I wound up w/ a 55+% rate in her & from looks of your signature you have a Unicum level of stats so it should be possible for you to do well in her.

 

Here's what I found when I went thru her -

 

1) I had almost the same Captains skill you're using so that's good news & we're comparing apples to apples.

 

2) The B-Hull upgrade w/ the rudder shift and the slot 5 rudder improvement are also key.  She still will feel less maneuverable than the Chappy, but without these 2 upgrades, she turns like a truck.

 

3) I took the concealment upgrade in slot 6 instead of the further 40% rudder enhancement because being able to disengage & drop from detection is also critical.  Tho her concealment is not great due to the high superstructure, having the CE captains skill & the slot 6 concealment upgrade was key for me.

 

4) She is very vulnerable if you show any of your side & she can't deflect any BB AP if she gets too close if the BB player is halfway decent.  When I played her, I kept her at range (not max, but usually at least 12+ km away so I could maneuver & keep her constantly turning & weaving.  The only time I intentionally got close, was when there was a obvious enemy DD in cap or smoke type scenario during which I would try to setup behind island cover.  Because of this, the gun range  upgrade was the one that was key for me.

 

5) When I played her as described, I found her to be an excellent kiting cruiser that made life miserable for many a BB.  She did pretty well if you were outnumbered on a flank and had to fight a delaying retreating fight.  I used HE a lot - but if a Cruiser or BB showed its side, you can do an awful lot of damage w/ the slightly larger 180 mm guns.

 

Hope this helps!

[Lillehuntrix]

It gets better once you have the upgrades - if you had the cash/doubloons, I might suggest mounting the range upgrade module at least until you you get the 10% range upgrade, but it seems you don't.  Just so you'll have a full diversity of builds, I play mine with range and double rudder.

[Skpstr]

2 hours ago, bubbleboy264 said:

Also, I don't have a premium account, so I'm losing money a lot in this ship. Is it just because I'm not doing well or are all high tier cruisers that expensive? I can usually earn a profit in my fletcher, but not so far in the donskoi.

 

Could be a combination, plus what you're shooting. I'm guessing you're shooting at (and damaging) more DDs than with the Donskoi.

 

2 hours ago, bubbleboy264 said:

Well I just wasted 3 million credits...

 

Only 1.5 if you sell it. Or else it'll end up being useful on something else later.

[TheKrimzonDemon]

I haven't moved up from Chappy, which I hate, to DD yet, not because I can't, but because as bad as Chappy has been for me, I can't see a cruiser that's the size of a BB being any better on my nerves. It ain't St Louis, it ain't actually a BB that looks like a cruiser, it's a cruiser that can be seen from space and you can't miss, and it doesn't soak up damage at all. I've played it on the PTS, and it was as horrid for me as chappy has been. Of course, the RU cruisers, except MK have been horrid for me. Obv I just don't play them well. I don't know why, but I feel the turning speed is a big part of it.

[Bill_Halsey]

It tok me a whie but you can have games like these.

[Herr_Reitz]

Just snagger Don today... watched an older flamu video relating to modules/cmdr skills... so i'm curious now @Bill_Halsey have you had more matches like the one above? 

 

[vak_]

On 9/4/2017 at 4:35 PM, MrDeaf said:

If you put MBM3 on it, you MUST put SGM3 on it, because of its horrid agility.

 

Eh, I put concealment module in, and have CE. That way you only have a half-kilometer window between detection and radar, and it's much easier to disengage. But yeah, if you're caught broadside unawares and need to initiate a turn as the shells are already in the air, you're pretty boned.

[Xlap]

I use range mod on my cruisers, IMO range is better most of the times. Reload is good but is useless if a BB DS you, you cant use reload if you are dead. Range, concealment and WASD are cruiser life IMO.

[IronMike11B4O]

Donskoi is a friggin beast when you learn how to angle and throttle Jockey at range. Reload mod is the way to go. Rule #1 of high tier play is make sure a friendly is a better target than you. The radar is marginally useful unless you are Div'ing with a friendly DD it's super situational.

[05Chopp]

On 9/4/2017 at 2:51 PM, bubbleboy264 said:

Hi, I just recently unlocked, bought, and equipped my 2nd tier 9 (1st being the fletcher) and my first tier 9 cruiser, the d.m. Donskoi. Although i don't have any of the upgrades yet, I do have modules for all 6 slots, and was lucky enough to get a radar module from a super container. I also have my 14 pt captain from my chapayev (PT, EM, DE, CE, IFHE). I picked the reload mod rather than the range one, and so far I think I'm regretting it. I'm not good in this ship. I've only played 4-5 games in it, but I'm not doing well at all. I've tried to stay at range and use the rail guns but the rudder shift is so bad that it's very hard to dodge shells and I only have 16.2km range. I'm close to unlocking the range mod but I need another 2 million credits to unlock it, and me being the stupid person that I am, I sold several ships including my chappy to get the Donskoi. I hear it's a good ship, but I really hate how unlike the tier 8 it doesn't have great concealment to make up for it's lackluster armor. It's like a moskva but without the tankiness. Any tips to using it, help with getting through the stock grind? Is the range or the reload mod better? What's the best playstyle for this ship? I want to do well and want to get the Moskva as my first tier 10 (gearing doesn't seem worth it to me, fletcher is perfect). Thanks 

use the range module, stay at range and basically annoy the enemy (to death) when she's fully upgraded shes a good boat - i spam HE but AP broadsides with those rail guns - see screenshots (13 citadels) and just aggravated alot of captains... (her range,speed and guns are her assets - a good support cruiser ) 

[Bill_Halsey]

On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 11:36 AM, Herr_Reitz said:

Just snagger Don today... watched an older flamu video relating to modules/cmdr skills... so i'm curious now @Bill_Halsey have you had more matches like the one above? 

 

It's a matter of watching and creating the conditions for each map. My play style is to keep moving and 3/4 to full speed and plan out the route I am taking. The Don is perfect for the long range sniper role. Stay at 14-17 km and pump lead. You have a 12 km visibility and 11 km radar. If I get detected and I don't see anyone, hit the radar and start kiting. Do that and 70-80k matches is not unreasonable. The highest I ever got was 134k.

[Herr_Reitz]

Thanks much! Saved me some effort on determining a workable style for her. Much appreciated. Upvote.