Why bother playing USN DD's? Gunboats that do little to no damage?

[x2_Weekends]

Why bother?  Land 93 out of 152 shots for a paltry 174 points of damage per hit. 

[SACEUR]

Just because YOU do little or no damage does not mean the rest of us are clueless on how to DD

[Lert]

Why are you shooting HE and phoenix's and Omahas?

[SACEUR]

Why are you shooting HE and phoenix's and Omahas?

 

Being at sea for 15 minutes can be very hard on the body with the fidget temperatures so I use HE to keep the fires going.

 

 

[Doutech]

American DDs are fantastic when used right but they require more tactics than IJN DDs due to their torp range. Remember each ship and class requires different skill and tactics

[Xenomancers]

The damage is pretty pathetic I must agree. Something I notice is a lot of the "hits" I get actually deal 0 damage. I assume these are shots that are actually misses but the aoe effects of the he shell still give you a hit. Sometimes I'll get like 6-7 of these in a row and it really makes me angry. I think it has 100% to do with the angle the shots are coming in from - usually - straight down.

[x2_Weekends]

Why are you shooting HE and phoenix's and Omahas?

 

Lert, not sure if you're asking if I should be shooting AP or asking why I chose to target them and not other ships.  All I can say is that my team left an entire flank open and the CV was slow to react so I was the lone ship left on that side and was trying desperately to hold them off while help came back and was trying to keep our CV alive. 

Edit: I tried torping the Furutaka but he dodged my torps...right at 5km distance away.  Pathetic.  I still say Helen Keller can dodge DD torps in this game. 

 

[Xenomancers]

 

Lert, not sure if you're asking if I should be shooting AP or asking why I chose to target them and not other ships.  All I can say is that my team left an entire flank open and the CV was slow to react so I was the lone ship left on that side and was trying desperately to hold them off while help came back and was trying to keep our CV alive. 

Edit: I tried torping the Furutaka but he dodged my torps...right at 5km distance away.  Pathetic.  I still say Helen Keller can dodge DD torps in this game. 

 

I was going to help you out and say that he was the better choice because you were pobably at 10km + from your target. At 5km though. Shoot AP at their citadels. I kill CA like this all the time.

[x2_Weekends]

Just because YOU do little or no damage does not mean the rest of us are clueless on how to DD

 

Says the guy with a 49% or lower win rate in the Sims, Farragut, Mahan, and Mitsuki.  The only DD you know how to play is the Gremyashchy which I'd wager it being Soviet has more to do with it's win rate than your skill.  But that's ok.  Keep making personal attacks your first response and keep making an [edited]out of yourself. 

[kjarri]

98 of those shots are against a furutaka which has surprisingly good armor against HE. Have a hard time doing significant damage against them in a cleveland even. That's part of your problem right there.

[x2_Weekends]

I was going to help you out and say that he was the better choice because you were pobably at 10km + from your target. At 5km though. Shoot AP at their citadels. I kill CA like this all the time.

The Furutaka wasn't always at 5km away, he worked his way in towards me.  I was trying to keep my distance but once an enemy Omaha started making his way in as well, I didn't have much time left.  I closed the gap and fired a few series of torps at him and he dodged them all.  All 12.  At 5km range or less. But I wasn't aware to even bother with AP against CL's because I didn't think a DD had enough penetration to get past a CL's armor.  Guess I'll have to try that next time. 

 

Edit: It's kind of hard to know whether your DD's AP shell will pen when that data isn't provided to you.  At least in WoT I know what the pen of my shells are so that gives me information to make an informed decision with.  In WoWS you don't get that data.  All you get is max damage data.  That's it.  So it's kind of hard to know whether or not your AP shell will pen an enemy ship when you have no pen values upon which to make an informed decision. 

[DemonsofRazgriz]

Idk why all defending WG in this decision (keeping USN DD guns really gimped, well maybe not defending but lots of excuses on justifying low damage) I've had games where I've landed over 200 shots and only walked away with 20k damage, and since this game bases income on percentage of enemy health rather than total damage done,that means DDs in general are royally screwed. Landed 4 Torps on an Iowa (not an easy feat btw) and only did 1/4 of its health? You're gonna have a bad time cuz he will kill you before you get away unless he's hugging an island and is an idiot (very rare). All of the game mechanics really punish those who like tin cans lol also the 127s the Benson get start having a read hard time doing any damage once the enemy superstructure is damaged (scarred black) had a game where my Benson was only rolling 60 damage a shell vs a BB :/

[G0lfSierra1]

The main purpose of the American DD's is to hunt and kill the enemy DD's and ambush distracted enemy ships. You need to pick your battles more carefully and not try to slug it out with ships whos sole purpose is to end you in a salvo or two. If there are no enemy DD's to hunt, you should be spotting targets for your team to shoot at.

[DemonsofRazgriz]

The main purpose of the American DD's is to hunt and kill the enemy DD's and ambush distracted enemy ships. You need to pick your battles more carefully and not try to slug it out with ships whos sole purpose is to end you in a salvo or two. If there are no enemy DD's to hunt, you should be spotting targets for your team to shoot at.

It's nice in theory but in practice it's not that easy. IJN DDs out spot you, out run you, out torpedo you,  and at tier 8,have the guns to match you in a slug fight. For a DD killer,  USN DDs are kind of at a disadvantage at every tier except maybe tier 6 and definitely 10, maybe 9 depending on skill levels involved 

[Das_Schlippo]

Why bother playing USN DDs?  Um...

 

 

Also, are you aware that shooting sections of an enemy ship that have turned black gives you half and eventually zero damage?

[Rage_Frost]

The DD's in game are the snipers of this game they hit hard and run.

once you learn to play the DD's lines and yes even the US ones it really fun..

 

Also only 12 Torps launched? if you think you can gun as a DD your wrong and playing the class wrong.

[x2_Weekends]

 

This community.  It's half good and half bad.  You get people that come on here and act like you have never even played the game before.  You'd think looking at someone's profile would give you an idea of what the player has experienced - what they've played and how well they've played it.  I have 239 battles out of 462 in DD's.  I have an overall decent win rate and XP in DD's.  Not God-like, but ok.  So I can do an honest assessment and know that I need to tweak my DD gameplay.  But the assumptions that a player has no clue how to play the class just because of a post...amazing. 

 

Why, it's like they don't even read the thread.  It's just read the title then click post reply.  Yep.  Pretty much that.  The few of you who actually offered informative help (Xenomancers, et al.) thank you.  Nothing else needs to be said.  To everyone else, glad I could give you a thread to get your post count up.  Because that's what it seemed to be here for you to do.  Glad I could help you out. 

 

[DerGrafSpee]

Because I like it, and I am a masochist, that's why.  There just isn't a better answer from me.  

 

That game looks like you were in a very bad spot, though, Multiple CL on DD action without team support (and while knowing that you just can't cut and run without dooming your CV) is just never a good time. I sympathize, and wish DDs got some more buff love, but I'll still keep coming back to take my beatings.

 

Seconding Xeno, though.  Citadel hits on cruisers (especially the Phoenix and Omaha) will make your day every time, they just never see it coming from a DD.

[Fishrokk]

The damage is pretty pathetic I must agree. Something I notice is a lot of the "hits" I get actually deal 0 damage. I assume these are shots that are actually misses but the aoe effects of the he shell still give you a hit.

 

The information you seek is here.  Basically, try and land your shells on a different section of the enemy ship.  You've burned all the HP off the section you're hitting.

[x2_Weekends]

I have no clue how to play the Nicholas...please explain it to me again...

[cdnguy_eh]

Why bother?  Land 93 out of 152 shots for a paltry 174 points of damage per hit. 

 

The important number you seem to be ignoring is you fired 12 torps and missed with them all. That is the DD's main weapon, not their puny deck guns.

[DerGrafSpee]

You get people that come on here and act like you have never even played the game before.  

This is a bit of an issue, I agree.  Posts about legitimate issues get bogged down with people who just want to tell you how to play, and then as the OP you feel you need to defend yourself rather than stay on-topic.  

 

I will say that things are generally civil, at least.  The suggestions, while misplaced, are normally civil and don't devolve to "Git Gud noob".  That is somewhat reassuring.

[DemonsofRazgriz]

@Anthronole

 

I'm sorry but cherry picked screen shots do not represent good play (not calling you bad,  calling the class weak, look at date at top corner) but don't get me wrong, I love my USN DDs and I will fight with anybody to the end if they want to nerf them even more but I'm also realistic, the guns on these gun boats suck after tier 5-6. Enemy armor gets much better and fire resistance goes up so these little mosquito pricks don't really bother the Bears that are the tier 8-10 BBs or the CAs. Still, I enjoy these annoying Lil tin cans (love speed, hate slowness of most of the ships in game) and will do until WG nerfs them further into the ground, then I will leave lol

[Oliver_Clothes_Offenbed]

Wait a minute... "Why bother?"

The answer is all in the screenshots you've posted. USN DDs have the potential to wreck enemy ships big or small just like any other.

 

I think the case here is closed, ladies and gents.

Just like any ship, you can miss here and there. As long as RNG is a factor and the fact that we are mostly (some bots) are human.. you're gonna get those days where you miss a bunch or others get the upper-hand in killing you first before you make use of the ship's full potential.

You may or may not care about how I play or why I play USN DDs but I play it for the thrill in being up close and ruining the days of numerous Minekaze and Mutsuki players. Oh, and ambush torpedoing Clevelands and other other BBs around islands are added bonuses and being a great support to the fleet.

 

Hope this helps you.

[SACEUR]

 

Says the guy with a 49% or lower win rate in the Sims, Farragut, Mahan, and Mitsuki.  The only DD you know how to play is the Gremyashchy which I'd wager it being Soviet has more to do with it's win rate than your skill.  But that's ok.  Keep making personal attacks your first response and keep making an [edited]out of yourself. 

 

Ohh a stat [edited]eh? Remember YOUR the one who came on the forums crying about an entire class of ships being bad based on YOUR crappy performance. But go ahead and be mad that everyone else seems to figure out a ships strengths vs it's weaknesses and plays to them.

 

 

Why bother?  Land 93 out of 152 shots for a paltry 174 points of damage per hit. 

 

I have no clue how to play the Nicholas...please explain it to me again...

 

lol I love how you contradict yourself "it's bad" no no it's good. SHUT UP!!