Free Holiday Commander Respec! Where You've Put The Points and Why?

[Warspawned]

Ok, so I'm wanting some opinions from veterans here about some of the options and why they're chosen.  Let's start off by saying everyone in my reserve is getting reset....yay!  We can change them as needed down the road...

Let's assume a 10pt Captain at the helm.  Definitely include caveats such as "with DD's I'll grab Survivability but with BB's I have to grab Superintendant"

For me...I'm been neglecting Priority Target for most builds...I'm paranoid I guess!  I assume when I see Detected that there's incoming...so I mostly pick Preventive Maintenance.  That 30% reduction to my engines/props and main damage modules from being knocked out seems to be a no-brainer.  I seem to be in the minority here at the first skill choice (especially when it seems Preventive Maintenance seems to work in synergy so well with Last Stand).

Any input here is so helpful! What skills belong together (Expert Rear Gunner and Evasive Maneuver, but was told to drop the last because I couldn't re-strike as fast.  Hmm...why not let my CV returns float a bit and give a huge HP bonus as my AA ships and fighters roll in...?)

 

Thanks!  

 

<S!> War

[cheereereerios]

BB: PM/PT depending on mood at the time. EM/AR next, depends on turret traverse, really. SI every time at 3 points. More heal = more time in battle = more time to cause damage. CE for the most part, exception would be a German secondaries build if doing that. Can break detection easier to run off and use that extra heal, blink out between shots, etc.

CA/CL: PT, AR, and CE. The 3 point skill really depends on the tier and consumables. Something high tier with a heal I would pick SI, otherwise it would likely be DE.

Regular DD: PM, LS, SE, CE

Russian ultra light cruiser: PT, LS, AFT.

For either style, again the three point skill is the tougher one. SE is often good. SI depending on team play and/or heal availability. DE for flamethrowing gunboats never made anyone but BB drivers cry. TAE for torpedo focused boats can't hurt. So many good options in this skill tier.

[DreadRaybo]

Personally, I think priority target is a must for cruisers.  If you see you're being targeted by 1 ship, you can usually tell who it is and respond accordingly.  If you see you are being targeted by 5 ships, it might be time to stop firing and try to go dark, lest you get blapped by a BB.

[OgreMkV]

In general, I'm pushing ships (all ships) more toward survivability than offense (my usual preference). 

[VannKraken]

I run priority target on every cruiser and some bb’s now, too.  Always nice to know when you can keep shooting and when you have to go dark.

[Fishrokk]

Okay, so given that there are a limited number of ways you can spend 19 captain skill points, I think I have illustrated them all here in this chart.  The 'V' row at the bottom is for 'viability'.  An 'N' on this row means 'not' - I may have been fairly generous, but I don't think any captain would benefit from spending more than 5 skill points in the one or two point slots.  The numbers rank best to least (low being best).

Build 34 obviously gives you the most four point skills, but at the cost of taking at least two skills in the two and three point range, if not more skills at lower ranges.  For my own purposes, I've determined that except under certain circumstances, build 33 is probably the best one to use.

This leaves me with a single skill point to spend in the one point level.  For all my surface ships, that puts Priority Target in direct competition with Preventive Maintenance.  While I do take Priority Target on some DD's and CA/L's, it's tough to give up an additional 30% survivability to all my ship modules.  If you have a secondary or AA build, or even a DD (torpedos, main guns as well as engine and rudder), how could you possibly sacrifice that (over the life of the captain in all the ships he may drive) simply to know something you can more accurately see just by looking around?  I mean, Priority Target doesn't show you how many people are *actively shooting* at you - just how many have a target lock.  On the ships I do run Priority Target, I'm often locked by people who never open fire.  As the OP states, most times you are spotted (depending on the ship you're driving) it is safe to assume at least someone is actively shooting at you and you should take appropriate measures.

So, that's my calculation.  I'd like to hear from Priority Target proponents (calling @Lord_Zath) how you figure it.  If your reasons are compelling, I may change my mind about this.

OP - I'm not trying to hijack your thread.  If you'd rather, I can make this into another thread on my own.  I've been kind of meaning to, but this thread looked like a good opportunity to bring it up.

[slokill_1]

32 minutes ago, Fishrokk said:

Okay, so given that there are a limited number of ways you can spend 19 captain skill points, I think I have illustrated them all here in this chart. 

Um....er...golly!

[Lovebugjunkie]

Can't help you on which to pick, but I am very happy we get to reset the skills.  Wanted to reset some for some time now but was low on my list.

Now I have reset all of them and $0 cost.  Thank you Wargaming.

[Parliament_Funkadelic]

Probably a few causes to respec for ranked battles as you wont be bottom tier, Will look into that over the next day or so.

[Fishrokk]

2 hours ago, slokill_1 said:

Um....er...golly!

Well, it's not like I sat down and did that in response to this post. 

Full nerd disclosure: I have spreadsheets covering both my WoT and WoWs accounts (well, you know, same account really but one for each game).

[Glyn47]

Might have missed it in release notes etc but when does the free respec period end? Thanks!

[Taylor3006]

BTW I did an experiment and want to report my finding. I had sold my Pensacola and moved the captain to another ship. When the cruiser rework was announced, I bought her back and assigned one of my Atlanta captains to her. I wanted to see if assigning that captain to one of the rental ships would bypass the retraining so put him in the Gearing. When he was dumped back into the reserve, he was an Atlanta captain again so it was a wash. Was kind of hoping for a free retraining, guess it is back to the grind!

[Warspawned]

8 hours ago, Fishrokk said:

 

This leaves me with a single skill point to spend in the one point level.  For all my surface ships, that puts Priority Target in direct competition with Preventive Maintenance.  While I do take Priority Target on some DD's and CA/L's, it's tough to give up an additional 30% survivability to all my ship modules.  If you have a secondary or AA build, or even a DD (torpedos, main guns as well as engine and rudder), how could you possibly sacrifice that (over the life of the captain in all the ships he may drive) simply to know something you can more accurately see just by looking around?  I mean, Priority Target doesn't show you how many people are *actively shooting* at you - just how many have a target lock.  On the ships I do run Priority Target, I'm often locked by people who never open fire.  As the OP states, most times you are spotted (depending on the ship you're driving) it is safe to assume at least someone is actively shooting at you and you should take appropriate measures.

 

 

Hey Fish, thanks!!

 

One thing I've noticed as well...and I'm sure others have...is that you can sometimes use an opponent's Priority Target against them 

 

I was in smoke tonight dead as hell with nothing but prayers.  Soon as I targeted the cruiser rolling in and hit F3 , the red was running for island shade; torps were about 20s out from a recycle, heh.  Of course, at that point I had nothing to lose so I started cycling through bad guys while I waited for friendlies to engage...and sure enough, about half started evasives shortly after my mains rotated towards them.  Funny stuff! 

[Warspawned]

Holy crapoly...total derail side note...

 

Just decided to buy a 5-pack mega and got a Blys, Gremmy and Arizona and some flags and camo.  Thank you RNGeeezus!!

[slokill_1]

9 hours ago, Fishrokk said:

12 hours ago, slokill_1 said:

Um....er...golly!

Well, it's not like I sat down and did that in response to this post. 

Full nerd disclosure: I have spreadsheets covering both my WoT and WoWs accounts (well, you know, same account really but one for each game).

Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I think what you did is awesome.  I've spent more time than I should have pondering the sometimes ineffable effects of these skills and wondering if I could squeeze another win with a build suited to my play style.   

And yes, I put 33 on my Missouri with Seagal (and most ships), but my NC I went with 34 - the 2,1,1,3 for 2ndaries and the fire prevention thing.  It seems to work well in random, but for ranked I've thought doing the AA build instead of 2ndaries.  I think from rank 10 to 1 we'll see more CV than we usually do in random.  But we almost always see DD's so I'll probably stick with the 2ndaries.

[TheDreadnought]

14 hours ago, Warspawned said:

Ok, so I'm wanting some opinions from veterans here about some of the options and why they're chosen.  Let's start off by saying everyone in my reserve is getting reset....yay!  We can change them as needed down the road...

Let's assume a 10pt Captain at the helm.  Definitely include caveats such as "with DD's I'll grab Survivability but with BB's I have to grab Superintendant"

For me...I'm been neglecting Priority Target for most builds...I'm paranoid I guess!  I assume when I see Detected that there's incoming...so I mostly pick Preventive Maintenance.  That 30% reduction to my engines/props and main damage modules from being knocked out seems to be a no-brainer.  I seem to be in the minority here at the first skill choice (especially when it seems Preventive Maintenance seems to work in synergy so well with Last Stand).

Any input here is so helpful! What skills belong together (Expert Rear Gunner and Evasive Maneuver, but was told to drop the last because I couldn't re-strike as fast.  Hmm...why not let my CV returns float a bit and give a huge HP bonus as my AA ships and fighters roll in...?)

 

Thanks!  

 

<S!> War

I reset every commander that wasn't actively on a ship, so I have quite a few idle captains sitting around.  Some with now 15 or 16 unallocated skill points.

By not taking Priority Target you're missing out.  You'll quite often be detected by not targeted.  That skill is probably the single most useful skill in the game.

[Warlord_Deadeye_Pete]

commander build depends on tier.  but your given a limit in the form of a 10 point commander.

Preventive maintenance as your first pick one point skill.. simple really 30% reduction of the chance of ANY module being knocked out..Engine, rudder, and specific gun, torpedo, or AA mount.  Basicly this commander skill will keep you fighting at full capacity longer.. how ever that long is.   Some say Priority target is more important but really honestly, if your exposed always assume anyone who could hit you are aiming their guns and about to fire.... On You.  Might be worth a point down the road but for a new commander PM is THE first skill to take as it gives you a defensive bonus to every system on the ship.  If you want to know if someone shooting at you get out of gun sight view and use your eyes!  If there shell splashes beside your ship.. someone is shooting at you!  Does it really matter how many are taregetting you?  Because if they got you zero'd in its really NOT gonna matter.  Especially in Destroyers and Cruisers.    Better to go defensive the moment you come under fire then to wait untill more then one ship is shooting at you

 

Your first 2 point skill s problematic as you have a lot to choose from.  It really depends.  Last stand is very useful for DD's  but not always because all to often you end in a situation where your not running away anyway.  These days I much prefer Adrenaline rush.  The ore damage I take the more often my guns and torpedo's fire.  Torpedo's especially are strongly effected due to the much longer reload times typical of torp launchers.  Something to keep in mind.  If your not going to get away, then when not buff your damage out put as you take damage?

 

3 point skills.  Superintendent for BB and possibly other types.  But think carefully on that.  Your only rarely going to use up all your consumables in a fight.  If your running premium consumables your always going to get and additional charge beside them having a shorter cool down. SO there is a possiblity of taking those 3 points and putting them else where..buffng secondary and AA (or main guns in the case of a DD) with BFT, or additional HP 350 hp per tier of ship) with survivability Expert.  Improved fire chance with demolition expert, 10% reduction in torpedo reload time (-20% reload time for torp bombers).. many possibilities.

 

4 point skill some say concealment expert for DD's but I've been changing my mind on that and starting to almost always run RPF on my DD's.  Fire prevention for BB's is really the best first choice, though you could consider AFT for secondary and AA builds.  this also works for cruisers.  Ceratin specialy ships suck as the Akizuki at tier 8 get a slightly different treatment.. as she really benefits from AFT's range buff to her main guns and AA

For carriers I have nada.  I don't run one and really don't feel qualified to advise on

 

[Fishrokk]

2 hours ago, TheDreadnought said:

I reset every commander that wasn't actively on a ship, so I have quite a few idle captains sitting around.  Some with now 15 or 16 unallocated skill points.

By not taking Priority Target you're missing out.  You'll quite often be detected by not targeted.  That skill is probably the single most useful skill in the game.

So knowing the few times you're detected but not targeted is more valuable to you than your ship's modules surviving 30% longer when you are under fire?  Does the first case happen often enough for you to sacrifice that survivability?

How many games do you get to take advantage of not being targeted when you're detected vs. how many games does your ship get hit by enemy artillery?

I'm honestly interested in the reason behind your opinion - not in arguing with you over right or wrong.  By gently challenging you on it, I'm trying to find out if your reason is compelling enough to make me change my mind.  Would you elaborate, please?

[TheDreadnought]

6 minutes ago, Fishrokk said:

So knowing the few times you're detected but not targeted is more valuable to you than your ship's modules surviving 30% longer when you are under fire?  Does the first case happen often enough for you to sacrifice that survivability?

How many games do you get to take advantage of not being targeted when you're detected vs. how many games does your ship get hit by enemy artillery?

I'm honestly interested in the reason behind your opinion - not in arguing with you over right or wrong.  By gently challenging you on it, I'm trying to find out if your reason is compelling enough to make me change my mind.  Would you elaborate, please?

I find that my modules don't get damaged all that often.  When they do, I can usually do without them for a bit until they repair *OR* use Damage Control Party to fix them right away.  Often, they will get damaged in conjunction with some fires that need to be extinguished or something anyway.

Now I don't really play DDs, so that might be part of it.  But overall, I just find it to be of lower value than the targeting indicator which I use to inform a lot of my play.  I use it constantly - and if I use it right. . . my modules won't get broken that much anyway.  ;)

[FleetAdmiral_Assassin]

I consider both a must (but priority target gets taken first), and the other taken only after i've achieved at least 1 level 4 skill.

 

Remember that the 30% reduced chance of module damage isn't really 30%. It's 30% less. Let's say you get hit and the chance of module loss from that hit is 10%, a 30% reduction in that changes it to 7% (a change of only 3% total). It's not the huge benefit you may think it is.

[Fishrokk]

2 hours ago, TheDreadnought said:

I find that my modules don't get damaged all that often.  When they do, I can usually do without them for a bit until they repair *OR* use Damage Control Party to fix them right away.  Often, they will get damaged in conjunction with some fires that need to be extinguished or something anyway.

Now I don't really play DDs, so that might be part of it.  But overall, I just find it to be of lower value than the targeting indicator which I use to inform a lot of my play.  I use it constantly - and if I use it right. . . my modules won't get broken that much anyway.  ;)

Do you pay attention to things like losing AA mounts on an AA-specced ship?

1 hour ago, FleetAdmiral_Assassin said:

Remember that the 30% reduced chance of module damage isn't really 30%. It's 30% less. Let's say you get hit and the chance of module loss from that hit is 10%, a 30% reduction in that changes it to 7% (a change of only 3% total). It's not the huge benefit you may think it is.

Yes, that accurately describes a 30% increase in survivability.  Your modules should live an average of 30% longer under what you describe.

[TheDreadnought]

24 minutes ago, Fishrokk said:

Do you pay attention to things like losing AA mounts on an AA-specced ship?

Yes, that accurately describes a 30% increase in survivability.  Your modules should live an average of 30% longer under what you describe.

Yes, but the modules skill doesn't help with AA mounts.   So I take the ship upgrade that improves their survivability.

[Fishrokk]

24 minutes ago, TheDreadnought said:

Yes, but the modules skill doesn't help with AA mounts.   So I take the ship upgrade that improves their survivability.

I did not know that!  Still, the list of stuff it does protect is vital.

Alright - thank you very much for engaging with me!

[FleetAdmiral_Assassin]

1 hour ago, Fishrokk said:

 

Yes, that accurately describes a 30% increase in survivability.  Your modules should live an average of 30% longer under what you describe.

What i'm saying is that in my example in 100 cases in which your module would have been destroyed with the numbers I used in my example, you'd only notice a difference in 3 out of 100 games. Yes, I know it is 30% reduction of the previous chance, but I'm saying that isn't as much as most people think when they hear "30%". They may be expecting 30 out of 100 hits, and that's not how it works. 

[TheDreadnought]

30 minutes ago, Fishrokk said:

I did not know that!  Still, the list of stuff it does protect is vital.

Alright - thank you very much for engaging with me!

Trust me if it protected AA mounts I'd be all over it.  Lol

Not because I'm that worried about AA rating most of the time... but you take a lot of damage when they are destroyed.