Reading between the lines and highlights of the new 0.4.1 patch note

[Happy_Thoughts]

1) 2 new maps, ppl wanted diversity, there you go. Solomons was in alpha, and by far it's an amazing map, very enjoyable. The other map, I'm not sure.

2) CV matchmaking is now balanced, so there is no longer (this cv will wreck everyone a new one). However, I question how matchmaking will work at tier 10 without peak hours (as at the 5 minutes mark, you are forced to be put into a game)

3) Fighters having strafing. This is obviously a high demand, and is welcome in all ways shapes and forms. Having a 3rd set of manual drop opportunities will address issue 4.

4) Low/mid tier JPN cvs get the same treatment as the high tier ones (Yes they lost a torpedo bomber for a fighter on their 0/3/3 config. Everyone say hurrah) (Edit: same thing happened with the USN strike package, but they lose a dive bomber for a fighter, similar to essex and midway)

5) sims and yubari (two severely underpowered ships) get a new function, being an AA escort with defensive fire

6) Ranked battles exclusively for 6/7 (with the balance changes at tier 6 and 7, imo this is a very healthy point in the game for competition. After countless cleveland nerfs, and an upcoming nerf to myoko, everyone has fair footing (except MAYBE mahan)

7) Minekaze nerf on torp range (everyone whose played tier 5 would understand this)

8) Destroyers having defensive fire and hulls offering more AA diversity (There, now if you really hate cvs, make the trade off and quit complaining about them being op)

9) Other changes (quality of life not much to be said)

10) Border adjustments (If the patch notes are worded correctly, this didnt change anything except for noobs. The whole reason why border scumming was really an issue is because of the ability to steer torpedoes without losing displacement forward, and the fact that manual drops cannot be done beyond the border, making them obsolete (unless you out of border drop but that's another issue altogether)) So, this may have not fixed a thing with borders but we'll see

 

tl;dr 

WG gave ppl what they wanted in gameplay changes and looking forward to seeing it in the public test.

 

[crzyhawk]

All things being equal I like the changes.

[Grizley]

6) Ranked battles exclusively for 6/7 (with the balance changes at tier 6 and 7, imo this is a very healthy point in the game for competition. After countless cleveland nerfs, and an upcoming nerf to myoko, everyone has fair footing (except MAYBE mahan)

7) Minekaze nerf on torp range (everyone whose played tier 5 would understand this)

 

 

Problem with that being EVERYTHING USN sucks at T7.

 

Look at it.  Colorado, just barely above Furrytaco status, maybe.  Pensacola, vastly inferior to any T6+ IJN CV and probably the Cleveland too.  Mahan, the Mahahahahan, worst DD in the game and since dd are also the worst class that's saying something.   Aaaaand the Ranger.  Yep.

 

It's funny they would pick the tier where USN is so horribly underpowered for the cap, oh well, I guess there will be a lot of 7 IJN on 7IJN fights.

 

The Minekaze nerf was stupid, it was closest to being what a DD actually should be.  A sneaky little threat that picks off people who are tunnel visioning and driving in a straight line for a minute.  It's extra stupid since the Isokaze is exactly the same thing a tier lower, just not QUITE as quick in the turn, I've never heard anyone complain about the turning ability of the Minekaze.

[Hualalai]

The nerf to the Minekaze is not to the torpedoes, I have been using the faster 7km ones all along.  The nerf is to the detection distance.  I might sell the Minekaze and buy back the tier 4.

[InspGadgt]

Well it's both...some of us use the 10k torps some preferred the 7k torps.  Both worked for me so I stayed with the 10k torps to offer a bit more diversity.  But the spotting range is devastating for the ship.  DDs already struggle with spotting from aircraft, now we're spotted right as we launch torps...I'm strongly re-evaluating even continuing to play this game.

[KTcraft]

The nerf to the Minekaze is not to the torpedoes, I have been using the faster 7km ones all along.  The nerf is to the detection distance.  I might sell the Minekaze and buy back the tier 4.

The thing about the 7 km torps is that although they do travel faster, the 10km torps have a shorter detection range ultimately resulting in less reaction time to dodge them on top of the added flexibility due to the longer range.  They are almost objectively better.  So yeah, the torps were a huge nerf.

[KurganSPK]

isn't this just reading the lines, not between them? 

 

[ravenouscorvidae]

 

 

Problem with that being EVERYTHING USN sucks at T7.

Pensacola, vastly inferior to any T6+ IJN CV and probably the Cleveland too.  

 

Speak for yourself. The Pensacola is a lightly armored heavy cruiser. It isn't meant to be played the same as nor is it fair for it to be compared to a more armored light cruiser. I personally will take the Pensacola over the Cleveland any day. Its more agile, has better shell damage, better shell velocity, penetrates better, and just feels good when it's played right. Everything feels more deliberate.

[Grizley]

 

Speak for yourself. The Pensacola is a lightly armored heavy cruiser. It isn't meant to be played the same as nor is it fair for it to be compared to a more armored light cruiser. I personally will take the Pensacola over the Cleveland any day. Its more agile, has better shell damage, better shell velocity, penetrates better, and just feels good when it's played right. Everything feels more deliberate.

 

Don't forget it has a drastically reduced rate of fire, less armor, larger citadel.

 

Cleveland	45.73	970	31814	0.86	4.11	28088
Pensacola	42.54	1111	25643	0.57	4.14	25390

 

 

On average it's dealing 20% less damage a game.  It gets into higher tier matches which might or might not result in less damage done, it's getting a larger available hp pool to draw from but it's getting a smaller slice of the pie.  It averages .3 less ship kills in a game and .03 more aircraft kills.  

 

I will say that at standoff ranges for 13+ km it's a hell of a lot easier to land shots on target with the Pensacola, it's beyond frustrating to try to hit anything outside of 10km with the Cleveland just because of that shell speed, got to love having a 14s flight time, even the slowest BB can nearly fully shift their rudder in that time and you're unlikely to score any hits.

 

The USN CA 7-9 are just bad compared to either earlier USN CA or anything from the IJN line.