Kami's Torpedo Use Tips!

[Kami]

Tips on Torpedo Use!

Hey Captains,

Today we are going to go over a topic that comes up quite frequently on the forums: Torpedo use. We will attempt to cover most things on torpedoes (will probably miss some things, so feel free to help me out). Torpedoes are an armament that DDs (CVs to a lesser extent) utilize to deal damage to enemy ships. A well placed torpedo spread can devastate an enemy ship or even multiple enemy ships. Let us get into the meat and potatoes of the guide. We are going to cover the topics listed below and there will also be some other odds and ends mixed in.

This guide will include:

• General characteristics of torpedoes and their role.
• How to properly use torpedoes.
• The two types of torpedoes.
• Strength and weaknesses of torpedoes.
• How to avoid torping teammates.
• General tips to torpedo use and how to protect yourself from them.

Torpedoes characteristics and role:

• Torpedoes are carried on all DDs in the game, some cruisers and if you are playing the correct BB you will have them as well.
• There are also some DDs in the game that their main form of armament is guns, while they have torpedoes, they are mainly for opportunistic use. The Khabarovsk is a ship that fits this description.
• Torpedoes are meant to deal big damage to enemy ships (there are some exceptions) and to deny areas of the map.
• There are two distinct type of torpedoes: regular and deep water torpedoes. Airdrop torpedoes are also a thing but they will be talked about in the CV guide.
• Damage is different per type of torpedo and can be further reduced by torpedo protection of your target. All of this can be seen when you are looking at the stats of your torpedoes. 
• You can see the torpedo reduction % under the survivability tab in port.
• 
• This is an example from the Cossack's torpedoes. You can see all the relevant information that you need.

Two Types of Torpedoes: 

1. Regular Torpedoes:
   • These torpedoes are capable of hitting all targets.
   • Most ships that have torpedoes have regular torpedoes.
   • The range on these torpedoes vary by tier and ship.
   • You will find that it takes time to properly learn to aim these.
   • You can hit teammates with these so be careful!
2. Deep Water Torpedoes: 

• These torpedoes are on Pan-Asian DDs, IJN DD Asashio and Irian.
• These torpedoes can only hit cruisers, BBs and CVs (Asashio can only hit the last 2).
• The Asashio has 20km deep water torpedoes (perfect for TA).
• The Pan-Asian DDs have varying ranges depending on the tiers.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Torpedoes:

• Strengths:
  • Can deal large amounts of damage.
  • Can catch unaware players and make them sad (dev strikes or massive damage).
  • Typically medium to long range and fast.
  • Can force enemies to go where you want them to go.
  • Can stop pushes if deployed correctly.
  • Root out ships that have been holding positions if you can get the angle. 
• Weaknesses:
  • Long reload time.
  • Some torpedoes can only hit certain ship types.
  • Can hit friendly ships.
  • Lower tier ships have torpedoes with shorter range than their ship detection range.
  • RNG gaps in torpedo spreads can lead to frustration.

How to Use Torpedoes:

These screenshots are of the Cossack and taken in a training room to highlight the two different torpedo spread types.

• With certain ships you can have a narrow cone and a single launch cone. (RN ships)

These screenshots are of the Anshan and taken in the in a training room to highlight the two different torpedo spread types.

• The green area is where you can launch torpedoes and the green indicator is where your torpedoes will go.
• If you aim the torpedo launchers outside of the green arc you will not be able to fire them and it yellow instead of green.

Captain Skills and Consumables:

• Torpedo Acceleration: You can use this captain skill to make your torpedoes faster at the cost of range. This is a great skill on the Shimakaze or Gearing that have long range torpedoes. Asashio also benefits from this.
• Torpedo Armament Expertise: This is a skill that reduces the reload time on your torpedoes. I would suggest checking checking each ship individually to see if the payoff is worth it.
• Adrenaline Rush: You take damage and it helps your reload =).

 

1. Torpedo Reload Booster: Some IJN ships have this but they have to give up smoke (IJN torpedo boats). The gunboat line has this as well as smoke. 

How to properly use torpedoes and avoid teammates for the most part: This is important so please read this part!

• Remember the rule: You fired your torpedoes, you are responsible for the end results.
• The second most important thing is: Do not torp from the backline, this can cause a myriad of issues.
• If you are going to launch torpedoes that have a chance to hit teammates, make sure you let them know in chat. Use their name or ship type and warn them. 
• If you are using a ship with long range torpedoes, remember that friendlies could maneuver into your range and take friendly torpedoes.
• Sometimes it is not possible to be 100% safe with your torpedo launches but do the best you can to avoid torping teammates or in their vicinity.
• If you do torpedo a teammate, make sure you apologize and learn from it.

General tips:

• Learn the ranges and types of torpedoes and try to memorize them. This will take awhile so don't try and do it overnight.
• Avoid torping from the behind your teammates, this is dangerous and can cause your teammates undo stress.
• When maneuvering, make sure you vary your speed and direction of travel to make it harder for DDs to torp you.
• Remember 1 flood is not as deadly as it was before so you can plan accordingly.
• Try to take torpedoes on the bulge if possible because the damage will be less.
• Do not always follow the torpedo indicator, learn to predict enemy movements and you will be quite successful. This is something that is learned over time. 
• Typically do not "stack" your torpedoes on top of each other and fire them separately and on different paths.
• If you are playing Pan-Asian or Asashio: You cannot torpedo other DDs!
• When in a DD that can torpedo other DDs, look for smokescreens and put torpedoes into them. 
• NEVER sit broadside in a cap in a DD! Smokescreens are a perfect target for an aware DD and you can expect torpedoes.
• As pointed out, aiming your torpedoes to hit the bow or stern will do more damage. 

Thank you for reading this and if I missed anything please feel free to add it! I know I missed some things so please help me lol!

 

[mobryan]

A RN torpedo tip:

If you know a ship will be coming past a certain island/ choke point, but you don't know WHEN, use the single fire setting to throw out a stream of fish on the same bearing 5-7 seconds apart. You can lock down that area for 30-60 seconds, hopefully land a hit or two, and really disrupt their mobility. Even if they pull a Tactical Notser and avoid all your torpedoes, they still have to get off the beach and moving again.

The same tactic can be especially helpful from the flank in herding cruisers and BB's into showing broadsides to your team. Fire alternately on either side of them, and you can force them to move in a predictable path until your guys can delete them.

 

Matt

[Visidious]

A tip for ships that have torpedos is to not forget that you also have guns, guns can be used in combination with torpedos as sometimes you can cause a ship to make a predictable move when you fire at them that can increase your chance to get torpedo hits.

By the same token you may have to avoid using your guns if you have a great torpedo set out that is on target because most ships will make a speed or course change upon spotting a nearby DD, same concept applies to using smoke, it will cause a reaction.

Also even if your torpedoes are on cool down your enemy may not know, so strategically just becoming visible by making opportunity shots that are low risk for yourself can sustain the herding affect that torpedo boat presence projects.

[GhostSwordsman]

Hey, @Kami One thing that I think is important to note about torpedoes is when they actually arm and become live(capable of damaging other ships).

On the aiming wedge, where the green cone starts is where the torpedoes will arm and be live.

This isn't to be confused with the green arc that is displayed showing the torpedo tubes' firing angles. On some ships this arc is set farther out or closer in(seems to depend on how wide the overall firing arc is for the tubes), and the aiming wedge usually starts closer to the side of the ship.

It's something that I feel confuses players, especially ones that get into a CQC fight and fail to torpedo a target, such as a ship charging for a ram. It's also something that I've had to explain a couple of times, as players thought they were safe from torpedoes due to proximity, but were taken by surprise at how short the arming distance is for ship launched torps.

[WuYixiang]

8 hours ago, Kami said:

Torpedoes are an armament that DDs (CVs to a lesser extent) utilize to deal damage to enemy ships

Many cruisers use torpedoes to devastating effect as well, especially Tier VII and higher Japanese cruisers like Myoukou, Atago, and Zao. Royal Navy ships Neptune and Minotaur also have devastating torpedo possibilities.

8 hours ago, Kami said:

Strengths:

Can also force an enemy ship to turn, thereby revealing their broadside to friendly battleships.

8 hours ago, Kami said:

Weaknesses:

Torpedoes are fairly slow, and there are many torpedo spotting tools including friendly ships, Vigilance, Acquisition Mod 3, and Hydroacoustic Search. This makes landing torpedo strikes difficult in the best of situations, especially if a Destroyer passes over and spots a Deep Water spread.

8 hours ago, Kami said:

Torpedo Reload Booster: Some IJN ships have this but they have to give up smoke (IJN torpedo boats). The gunboat line has this as well as smoke. 

Some United States Navy premium destroyers also have access to a weaker version of this consumable (notably 2-gun Monaghan).

8 hours ago, Kami said:

If you are going to launch torpedoes that have a chance to hit teammates, make sure you let them know in chat. Use their name or ship type and warn them. 

I usually go one step further and ping the minimap with the torpedoes' bearing.

8 hours ago, Kami said:

General tips:

Be aware of your target's consumables. German Battleships, HMS Duke of York, HMCS Haida, British and German Destroyers, and most Cruisers have access to Hydroacoustic Search, which gives them significant early warning for dodging torpedo spreads.

Also, try to stagger torpedo launch spreads if possible. If a ship takes a flood, uses Damage Control Party, and takes another torpedo spread, it will likely also prevent flooding from the second spread. Against Cruisers and Destroyers, I like to wait 5-8 seconds before dropping a second set of fish in the water. With Battleships, however, the wait may not be worth it unless you have 3 sets of torpedo tubes.

Torpedoes also have an arming time. This is a short window where torpedoes cannot do damage after a launch and is indicated by a space between your ship and the aiming wedge. I have used the arming distance to great effect in Harugumo before, nailing a Shimakaze for a Die Hard achievement.

Torpedo Counterplay:

1.  If you see an incoming spread of torpedoes from the front, turn bow in to mitigate damage. If they are incoming from the rear, turn away to minimize surface area. Be aware that stern hits from torpedoes can and often will disable your rudder.

2.  Be aware of enemy torpedo ships' locations and ration your Hydroacoustic Search charges appropriately. Early warning is key to avoiding devastating damage. Key "hints" that a torpedo ship may be nearby are...

  a)  You are detected but do not detect anything in return.

  b)  There is a suspicious smoke screen nearby with no friendly ships nearby to lay the smoke.

3.  If there is an enemy torpedo ship nearby, do not sail in a straight line. Rather, alter your speed and heading to throw off predictive torpedo spreads.

4.  The 'N' key allows you to blow your ship's horn. I use it as a quick nonverbal alert in addition to minimap pings and chat in order to get people's attention when I spot hostile torpedoes.

5.  For Pan-Asian Destroyers and Asashios on OpFor's team, if you are confident your ship is untargetable by their torpedoes, try to place yourself between the DD and friendly ships that can be targeted. This way, you can spot the torpedoes early and give larger, slower ships more time to evade. (Applies to DDs, CLs, CAs, and CBs.)

[Bill1923]

.

[Kingfishercritic]

When firing torpedoes at a target's bow, it's usually best to use narrow or single spreads, and to fire any launchers after the first with horizontal offsets, and a delay of a few seconds. This ensures that when the target wiggles to avoid torps from the first launcher, they will pass into the path of the follow-up shots.

[Doomlock]

6 hours ago, WuYixiang said:

Be aware of your target's consumables. German Battleships, Duke of York, Graf Zeppelin, and most Cruisers have access to Hydroacoustic Search, which gives them significant early warning for dodging torpedo spreads.

As far as I can tell, Graf Zeppelin does not have DWT, and lost her hydro. 

 

Aside from that, well done post Kami! 

[WuYixiang]

8 minutes ago, Doomlock said:

As far as I can tell, Graf Zeppelin does not have DWT, and lost her hydro. 

 

Aside from that, well done post Kami! 

I had no idea Graf lost her hydro. I shall adjust accordingly.

[Doomlock]

48 minutes ago, WuYixiang said:

I had no idea Graf lost her hydro. I shall adjust accordingly.

No prob, something that's probably not been high on people's radar is all. Her secondaries are still wicked mean though.

[Landsraad]

5 hours ago, Doomlock said:

As far as I can tell, Graf Zeppelin does not have DWT, and lost her hydro. 

 

Aside from that, well done post Kami! 

Oh good, I'm not the only one that noticed that.

5 hours ago, WuYixiang said:

I had no idea Graf lost her hydro. I shall adjust accordingly.

Yeah, it would be kinda pointless anyway now that you can't control the ship directly while keeping planes in the air. That plus all the ship-side consumables being automated.

[IfYouSeeKhaos]

13 hours ago, Kami said:

If you are going to launch torpedoes that have a chance to hit teammates, make sure you let them know in chat. Use their name or ship type and warn them. 1st…don't fire the torps & then warn them...warn them 1st...& wait for an acknowledgement (finished that for ya).

Don't assume the person is paying attention to chat just because you put a warning in chat...especially if they are brawling w/the ship you are targeting...assume they are not just gonna straight line & are intending to make sudden course changes as they cut to avoid fire & then cut back to bring their guns back around.

Also remember that at any time while they are brawling (or just sailing on if not brawling) an extra red ship (or torpedoes) can show up unexpectedly & they may need to maneuver to avoid being broadsided (or torped) from them. Just as a reminder:

13 hours ago, Kami said:

Remember the rule: You fired your torpedoes, you are responsible for the end results.

 

13 hours ago, Kami said:

Captain Skills and Consumables:

• Torpedo Acceleration: You can use this captain skill to make your torpedoes faster at the cost of range. This is a great skill on the Shimakaze or Gearing that have long range torpedoes. Asashio also benefits from this.
• Torpedo Armament Expertise: This is a skill that reduces the reload time on your torpedoes. I would suggest checking checking each ship individually to see if the payoff is worth it.
• Adrenaline Rush: You take damage and it helps your reload =).

   & Upgrade:

          -   Torpedo Tube Modification 3: Also reduces the reload time on your torpedoes.

 

13 hours ago, Kami said:

Torpedo Reload Booster: Some IJN ships have this but they have to give up smoke (IJN torpedo boats). The gunboat line has this as well as smoke. 

The IJN gunboat line gets the TRB because it only has 1 rack of torps...the IJN ships that have to give up smoke each have 2 racks of torps...as do all T6 & above tech tree DDs except the IJN Fubuki at T6 & the IJN Shimakaze at T10 which gets 3 (for premiums the Shinonome...which is the Fubuki clone...has 3 but I'm not sure if any other premiums get 3).

On the other hand...lower tier DDs have a wide variety of torp combinations & some cruisers (all tiers...not just the lower ones) have 1 rack on each side of the ship & others cruisers (as well as some lower tier DDs) have 2 racks on each side of the ship...& the T3 Russian Derzki has 5 racks.

 

 

[WuYixiang]

1 hour ago, Landsraad said:

Yeah, it would be kinda pointless anyway now that you can't control the ship directly while keeping planes in the air. That plus all the ship-side consumables being automated.

That was the main reason I ever considered buying her in the first place despite not being a big CV player. Hydro + Secondaries was her whole gimmick for pushing smokescreens. :(

[sapient007]

19 hours ago, Kami said:

These torpedoes are on Pan-Asian DDs, IJN DD Asashio and the GZ (CV guide in the future for this).

Doesn't GZ get regular torpedoes after rework? I remember hitting a dd 3 days ago.  Or does WG planning to give them back DW fast torpedoes?

[WuYixiang]

4 hours ago, sapient007 said:

Doesn't GZ get regular torpedoes after rework? I remember hitting a dd 3 days ago.  Or does WG planning to give them back DW fast torpedoes?

I haven't seen GZ drop DWTs post-0.8.0, so I'm pretty sure you're correct. @Doomlock said something to similar effect in a previous post in this thread.

[Landing_Skipper]

Your torpedoes, your fault. 

That said F9 often gets the attention of friendly in the line of fire. And apologize immediately. 

Reaction time is how long your target has between spotting your torps and getting hit. Torp concealment and speed affect reaction time. That’s the big benefit of deep water torps - very good concealment. However, your target’s course relative to the torps also affects reaction time. If they are charging at you reaction time is much lower. If they are angling away they have more time to dodge because the relative speed of the torps is reduced. 

I often see DDs making the mistake of launching torps from max range. If you have 5.8 km detection and 9.2 km torps, you can get a lot closer to your target and improve the chances of multiple hits. Obviously radar needs to be considered, but consider Asashio. She has 16 km torps even with torpedo acceleration. Early game I tend to dump torps when ready and close to max range for area denial. However, 5.4 km concealment means Asashio can get really close to BBS later in the battle. Not only is there less time for WASD hax to make any difference, your torpedoes are closer together increasing the chances of multiple hits.

 

[War_Maggot]

If you want to be successful in a DD, be where they least expect you. It's pretty simple.

[Kami]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:10 PM, GhostSwordsman said:

Hey, @Kami One thing that I think is important to note about torpedoes is when they actually arm and become live(capable of damaging other ships).

On the aiming wedge, where the green cone starts is where the torpedoes will arm and be live.

This isn't to be confused with the green arc that is displayed showing the torpedo tubes' firing angles. On some ships this arc is set farther out or closer in(seems to depend on how wide the overall firing arc is for the tubes), and the aiming wedge usually starts closer to the side of the ship.

It's something that I feel confuses players, especially ones that get into a CQC fight and fail to torpedo a target, such as a ship charging for a ram. It's also something that I've had to explain a couple of times, as players thought they were safe from torpedoes due to proximity, but were taken by surprise at how short the arming distance is for ship launched torps.

Hey GhostSwordsman,

Thank you for pointing that out! See I told you I would miss some things =). Good call and thank you for letting other players know this.

• Torpedoes have a minimum arming distance and yes it is quite small but remember if an enemy ship is that close the torpedoes will not arm and do no damage.

On 5/18/2019 at 12:06 AM, Doomlock said:

As far as I can tell, Graf Zeppelin does not have DWT, and lost her hydro. 

 

Aside from that, well done post Kami! 

Hey Doomlock,

Thank you for pointing that out about the Deep Water torpedoes on the GZ! GZ does not have deep water torpedoes anymore so that leaves the Pan-Asian DDs and the Asashio as the only ships with them, you can correct me if I am wrong again lol. 

On 5/18/2019 at 11:48 AM, sapient007 said:

Doesn't GZ get regular torpedoes after rework? I remember hitting a dd 3 days ago.  Or does WG planning to give them back DW fast torpedoes?

I was mistaken when I put the GZ on there =(. That is my fault. 

 

[Doomlock]

18 minutes ago, Kami said:

• Hey Doomlock,

Thank you for pointing that out about the Deep Water torpedoes on the GZ! GZ does not have deep water torpedoes anymore so that leaves the Pan-Asian DDs and the Asashio as the only ships with them, you can correct me if I am wrong again lol.

Pretty much right. Just forgetting Irian but that's it. 

[Hurlbut]

@Kami It should be pointed out that TDS does not cover the whole of the ship and the far ends of the ship are very good targets to hit and increase chance of flooding.

[Kami]

14 minutes ago, Doomlock said:

Pretty much right. Just forgetting Irian but that's it. 

Oh yes! The Irian. Tooooo many ships to keep track of. I will add that one as well. 

 

9 minutes ago, Hurlbut said:

@Kami It should be pointed out that TDS does not cover the whole of the ship and the far ends of the ship are very good targets to hit and increase chance of flooding.

Hey Hurlbut,

That is a good point in mentioning what parts of the ship to hit with torpedoes. Great catch!

[skillztowin]

On 5/17/2019 at 6:10 PM, GhostSwordsman said:

This isn't to be confused with the green arc that is displayed showing the torpedo tubes' firing angles. On some ships this arc is set farther out or closer in(seems to depend on how wide the overall firing arc is for the tubes), and the aiming wedge usually starts closer to the side of the ship.

I've successfully done this once AND WOW WAS IT an absolutely EXCITING battle. like a scene cut straight out of the hunt of the red October. 

[Destroyer_KuroshioKai]

Just going to drop the video that is the best I have found on YT.

 

[Bill_Halsey]

On 5/17/2019 at 5:25 PM, Kami said:

If you are playing Pan-Asian or Asashio: You cannot torpedo other DDs

Lol. Yuo probably spooked them if they don't know you can't torp them either. Or laugh at you,

On 5/17/2019 at 5:25 PM, Kami said:

NEVER sit broadside in a cap in a DD! Smokescreens are a perfect target for an aware DD and you can expect torpedoes

Once you smoke up expect torps in 20-30 seconds,

[Leslie_Reigart]

one great bit of utility on ships where their torp launchers are laid out to the sides, even when all your guns are facing west you can quick hit the 3 key and torp east then go back to your west facing guns with minimal disruption to your gun aim, handy when you get caught in a potential crossfire. also torp launchers for some reason often have faster traverse than your guns, take advantage of it. but when caught like that it's equally important to either 1 shot your foes or get the hell out of Dodge