How to USN DD?

[Skeem689]

Got a Clemson. 

 

Not sure what exactly what the USN DD's purpose and tactics are.

[The_GoDDfather]

Try my sig.

[Special_Kay]

The short version:

 

Spend the first half the match trying to ambush IJN destroyers with your superior guns (this is tricky: you have to read the map well). Spend the latter half of the match ambushing other stuff, or pelting ships while they're busy responding to bigger threats. Don't be shy about making a suicide run directly at battleships, but do be shy about showing them your broadside if you believe they have their big guns loaded.

 

Damage is worth more against small ships and on higher tier ships, so you don't have to try to do the same damage numbers as other ships in order to progress.

 

When you're ready to grow your game, there's a lot of reading that can help. I imagine 0.4.1 is going to make things change, too.

[madmanthan21]

Also, while making torp run on BBs, make sure you know which way there turrets are pointing, i myself prefer to run head on toward them, bow to bow, and then turn the way their turrets arent pointing, and launch torps at less than 1km. Guaranteed kills, though this only works on lone BBs, if they have cruiser support, look for other targets.

[faenorlas]

I prefer to use American DDs as fast mobile escort gunships.

 

I use a 3 phase approach:

 

Phase One: When the battle starts I try to stick with our BBs and fight off any attacking destroyers or provide some additional AA.

 

Phase Two:  Once the battle progresses more and the enemy cruisers and battleships start closing in, I'll start taking shots at them with HE trying to set a few ships on fire in an effort to get the enemy to focus on me, distracting them from doing damage to my team's larger ships. I can usually dodge most incoming fire so the enemy shots are wasted.  Meanwhile the large ships on my team can now dish out damage without taking return fire for awhile since most of the enemy is focused on trying to hit me.

 

Phase Three: Usually after a few salvos from the enemy, they get irritated that they aren't hitting me and move their guns back to our capital ships. Once they are tunnel visioned on our BBs and cruisers, I'll charge in for a torpedo run on the most isolated target. 

 

Just my play style. But has been pretty effective for me. Just have to experiment with the class and find out what works for you.

[sushimaster]

At that tier, you will find alot of BB who would go around island, wait there and ambush them.

[DerGrafSpee]

The short version:

 

Spend the first half the match trying to ambush IJN destroyers with your superior guns (this is tricky: you have to read the map well). Spend the latter half of the match ambushing other stuff, or pelting ships while they're busy responding to bigger threats. Don't be shy about making a suicide run directly at battleships, but do be shy about showing them your broadside if you believe they have their big guns loaded.

 

Damage is worth more against small ships and on higher tier ships, so you don't have to try to do the same damage numbers as other ships in order to progress.

 

When you're ready to grow your game, there's a lot of reading that can help. I imagine 0.4.1 is going to make things change, too.

 

This.  Clemson's upgraded main guns (get them ASAP, don't even question it, they're amazing) will melt IJN DDs, and other DDs will seem to forget you have torps after a couple salvos of HE.  I've gotten a number of kills from shelling a DD for a bit, then quickly switching to torps and laying a spread out in front of them.  If I'm going ham on one DD, I'll fire a wide spread, then follow with a narrow spread behind the lead indicator since they will start to maneuver as soon as they see the first torps, putting them into the path of a more difficult to dodge grouping (or your HE could have taken out their propulsion and left them coasting).  Even if you don't hit with torps, you severely limit their mobility options and make them an easier target for follow up HE shots.  In all this, keep your eyes peeled for their torps, too.  Clemson's pretty nimble, and a turn away from the target can both dodge their torps as well as bring your opposite-side tubes to bear. Guns, guns, guns, torps, guns, guns, torps, guns.

 

Your AP rounds will penetrate same-tier cruisers, and Kuma/Phoenix have massive citadels, so that's a pretty fun bonus.

 

I also very much agree with watching a BB's main guns. Seeing a BB with its guns pointed in the other direction feels like Christmas, because there's a pretty solid chance that they're tunnel-visioned and you can get danger-close to prosecute/sink.

First 8 minutes is "where are the DDs?" Past about 8 minutes, the game becomes "do I want to survive this one, or do I want to crush some heavies?"

 

Remember that you're an ambush ship, so use whatever cover you can, and hammer them. 

[TheGhostCat]

The short version:

 

Spend the first half the match trying to ambush IJN destroyers with your superior guns (this is tricky: you have to read the map well).

 

 

 

I'm not seeing this work. At all. I play IJN DD's - and I do a fair job, I've found simply spotting them for your cruisers in an IJN is more the adequate for removing the USN DD threat.  

I'm trying to play USN DD's, but I don't see how they even have a change against the superior camo rating of IJN's - you're spotting so stupidly fast.

 

There there is the 'gun boat' part - I'm super not buying it. Firing just means you're racked apart by cruisers - and the new accuracy means close on BB's simply doesn't work. And lets not forget how you ship is both easier to spot, and less maneuverable then IJN DD's  ...

 

So I have to ask: wth is the point of USN DD's?  

[DerGrafSpee]

 

 

I'm not seeing this work. At all. I play IJN DD's - and I do a fair job, I've found simply spotting them for your cruisers in an IJN is more the adequate for removing the USN DD threat.  

I'm trying to play USN DD's, but I don't see how they even have a change against the superior camo rating of IJN's - you're spotting so stupidly fast.

 

There there is the 'gun boat' part - I'm super not buying it. Firing just means you're racked apart by cruisers - and the new accuracy means close on BB's simply doesn't work. And lets not forget how you ship is both easier to spot, and less maneuverable then IJN DD's  ...

 

So I have to ask: wth is the point of USN DD's?  

 

I see their role as killing other DDs and then dying spectacularly when confronting larger ships.  USN DDs are primarily knife fighters, and you can't run them and expect to still be floating at the end of a majority of games.

 

(Edited to remove stuff I'd said before) Your points are valid, but at the end of the day I can fairly reliably bore in on IJN DDs, put a lot of HE into them while we are both lit up for our cruisers, and limit their mobility with a higher volume of torpedos than IJN DDs can bring to bear.  Then I run like hell under smoke cover and choose where I'm going to ambush/die to the larger ships.  Stealth-plinking from range is a thing, but it's not a big part of my game.

 

It's a very niche tree that, I think, demands more gambling than most, but damn do I enjoy it when the gambles pay off.  I'm a fair player as well, and I like both DD trees, but I find the USN branch to be more definitive.  You have to commit fully to do any damage, and that gets my blood pumping even though it means I die a lot more than in a Minekaze.

[Special_Kay]

I'm not seeing this work. At all. I play IJN DD's - and I do a fair job, I've found simply spotting them for your cruisers in an IJN is more the adequate for removing the USN DD threat.  

I'm trying to play USN DD's, but I don't see how they even have a change against the superior camo rating of IJN's - you're spotting so stupidly fast.

 

There there is the 'gun boat' part - I'm super not buying it. Firing just means you're racked apart by cruisers - and the new accuracy means close on BB's simply doesn't work. And lets not forget how you ship is both easier to spot, and less maneuverable then IJN DD's  ...

 

So I have to ask: wth is the point of USN DD's?  

 

You won't have the opportunity every match, and if you try to force it when there are cruisers close enough to reliably hit you, it won't always turn out well. You're counting on imperfect deployment by the enemy (e.g., on Fault Line when destroyers try to sneak the caps before their help arrives). I'd upload some Clemson replays where I did well, but I'm not sure there'd be any value in that for you, and my Gremlin replays aren't as relevant since she's got better range and survivability, so when she duels cruisers and wins it isn't really salient in a USN discussion. I haven't played T6/7 USN DDs since the OBT wipe, so I don't have any replays there but I will say it gets harder to find those opportunities at higher tiers.

[Sierra1968]

Playing both US and IJN DDs, play styles are dramatically different.  While in U.S. DDs, I spend the first part of the game either hunting enemy DDs, capping points, or scouting.  Typically, hunting DDs is a more exciting/nail biting experience.  If there are a lot of land masses to hide behind, you get into danger close situations a lot.  With IJN DDs, I usually scout or cap points, the little metal ninjas are great for lighting up the enemy ships, and taking long range torpedo shots at an unsuspecting clump of enemy ships.  Mid to late game is when you go hunting for focused opponents, and blow them up with joyful glee.  The DPM of US DDs is unsurpassed, and usually I can dodge a torpedo salvo, all the while filling the opponent full of holes.

 

[RPG_Guy]

Personally, i just use my guns to hunt other DDs and then i torp ambush the battleships that are stupid. also, you earn xp by the PERCENTAGE you do to an enemy ship, not the damage you do. Just discovered that. can confim that i am making more money. 

 

[Savage_Bunny]

After reading other posts for tips and playing around I am a gunboat for the first phase of the battle going for DDs.  Sometimes it is nice just me and the other DD but I am often having to dodge cruiser fire while doing it.  I am surprised how many USN DD's do not fire back at me and act like pure torpedo launchers.  The second phase if possible I shall ambush attack (rare for me)  or I will try to slip through their lines and go for their carriers.  When neither of those are options at that time I will look for a BB and get as close as I can while staying away from other ships.  Once I am detected I boost and go all suicidal PT boat and rush the BB until I am around 3km (highest I have is a T5 Nicholas) popping both sides and then skedaddling.

[dahdah325]

There is no simple tactic for US DD's. They are an opportunistic ship, and respond best to flexible use. I see lots of people trying to shoe-horn them into roles like gun-boat or counter-DD. While they can be effective in either role, you should not limit yourself. US DD's excel at mediocrity. They are not great at any one thing, but they can do a number of things very well. The real difficulty for many players is that to play a US DD well, you need to great situational awareness in the face of relatively close range fighting. 

 

US DD's are opportunistic predators. Where they excel is in short, sharp engagements against isolated opponents. Early game, this often means counter DD, but you have to be very careful not to over-commit. Too many US DD drivers think counter-DD means you have to kill the enemy to win an engagement. Just damaging a IJN DD and forcing him to abort an attack and regroup is a win. Pursuing the target often means you just over-extend; even if you kill the enemy DD, you often lose most if not all your HP. Learning how to control engagements and not trade HP unnecessarily is a HUGE skill. 

 

MId to late game, a US DD is all about harassing fire and attacking the weak, isolated opponents. Harassing fire is when you move to a flank and attack enemies engaged with your own CA/BB. Look for targets that have to make substantial gun/hull adjustments to engage you. Attack these targets until they start to shift fire (usually from ~10km) and then break contact and vision. Done correctly, this can yield modest damage but more importantly forces the enemy to expose himself to your CA/BB. 

 

Attacking isolated opponents is what US DD's live for. To do it successfully is a bit of an art, and is always highly situational. Ideally, you want a situation where an enemy is approaching you from behind terrain. At all costs avoid tail chasing enemies. I see way too may US DD's get fixated on a target that is running away. Unless he is sub-5k HP, you do not have the guns to win that fight, and torps are useless in a tail-chase. CV's fall into this same category. Don't be that guy who decides to leave the main conflict to tail chase a CV in a t6+ match. Most of the time you will die to the CV for no result, and even if you kill him, you are out of position. 90% of the time a US DD is better off looking for target closer to the main fight to finish off. 

[Cobraclutch]

There is no simple tactic for US DD's. They are an opportunistic ship, and respond best to flexible use. I see lots of people trying to shoe-horn them into roles like gun-boat or counter-DD. While they can be effective in either role, you should not limit yourself. US DD's excel at mediocrity. They are not great at any one thing, but they can do a number of things very well. The real difficulty for many players is that to play a US DD well, you need to great situational awareness in the face of relatively close range fighting. 

 

US DD's are opportunistic predators. Where they excel is in short, sharp engagements against isolated opponents. Early game, this often means counter DD, but you have to be very careful not to over-commit. Too many US DD drivers think counter-DD means you have to kill the enemy to win an engagement. Just damaging a IJN DD and forcing him to abort an attack and regroup is a win. Pursuing the target often means you just over-extend; even if you kill the enemy DD, you often lose most if not all your HP. Learning how to control engagements and not trade HP unnecessarily is a HUGE skill. 

 

MId to late game, a US DD is all about harassing fire and attacking the weak, isolated opponents. Harassing fire is when you move to a flank and attack enemies engaged with your own CA/BB. Look for targets that have to make substantial gun/hull adjustments to engage you. Attack these targets until they start to shift fire (usually from ~10km) and then break contact and vision. Done correctly, this can yield modest damage but more importantly forces the enemy to expose himself to your CA/BB. 

 

Attacking isolated opponents is what US DD's live for. To do it successfully is a bit of an art, and is always highly situational. Ideally, you want a situation where an enemy is approaching you from behind terrain. At all costs avoid tail chasing enemies. I see way too may US DD's get fixated on a target that is running away. Unless he is sub-5k HP, you do not have the guns to win that fight, and torps are useless in a tail-chase. CV's fall into this same category. Don't be that guy who decides to leave the main conflict to tail chase a CV in a t6+ match. Most of the time you will die to the CV for no result, and even if you kill him, you are out of position. 90% of the time a US DD is better off looking for target closer to the main fight to finish off. 

 

Not to mention that tier 9/10 CV's take absolutely no HE damage from USN DD's. 

 

Well written +1 

[sushimaster]

 

Not to mention that tier 9/10 CV's take absolutely no HE damage from USN DD's. 

 

Well written +1 

Tier 9 Essex can take dmg from 5 " HE tho.

[Harv72b]

 

 

I'm not seeing this work. At all. I play IJN DD's - and I do a fair job, I've found simply spotting them for your cruisers in an IJN is more the adequate for removing the USN DD threat.  

I'm trying to play USN DD's, but I don't see how they even have a change against the superior camo rating of IJN's - you're spotting so stupidly fast.

 

Assuming your captain has situational awareness (and if you're driving a DD, he should), you will know that there is an IJN destroyer nearby even if you haven't spotted it yet.  Then it just becomes a case of predicting where it's likely to be, maybe launching a torpedo salvo to cut off one angle of escape, and then closing to a range where his guns can't track you if he's maneuvering at all.  Of course you still have to be wary of stumbling onto more than one IJN destroyer at a time, but that's what your smoke is for.

 

I had a recent game in a Nicholas, on Ocean of all maps, where I killed all four of the enemy team's DDs using that tactic (3 of them were IJN destroyers).  I'll readily admit that the enemy DD drivers weren't exactly getting the most out of their ships' strengths, but pounding them into oblivion while maneuvering madly to take advantage of your superior turret rotation & reload speed definitely does work.