Life at Tier II and the Wa of the Kawachi BB

[Deadeye_Pete]

That is Wa not way.. it loosly translates in context to harmony, or internal harmony...  A centered state of total awareness without without any specific focus, a ver "no" state.

 

I like the Kawachi... the Losange turret arrangement is quirky, but its a rare situation where you cant bring at least 3 turrets to bear on a target, and the off side turrets aren't useless.. I've pooped many a froggy DD and CA that came in againsts my unengaged side much to their no doubt shock and surprise.   She slow, and not terribly maneuverable and you have to think before moving through traffic like a sumo wrestler taking the subway in Tokyo.   She's out ranged by many a ship, but still, she is for most of us the first BB other then the Carolina's.

 

Kawachi Basics.

1. Never ever go broad side to a target if yo can do otherwise.

 

     Best angle is off your forward or aft quarters with the ship on the oblique to the target.  This effectively thickens your armor (world of Tanks players know about this).  Only battleships and some cruiser benefit from armor angling, and then only against certain types of shell fire.  Know your ship, know your guns, and make sure you know everyone else also... Information in this game really is ammunition..  Of course there is that small matter of putting it to effective use..  Its not going to happen by osmosis, you will have to study!

 

2.  Pace your gun fire!

 

      Full broad sides are great wonderful fun, but generally they are a total waste of firepower on anything other then a broadside on battlewagon due to shell dispersion.    Better to go with measured shots, one turret at a time against your Chosen target.. If your a good shot anyway you WILL find that you'll put more shot into the target this way instead of around it.

 

3.  DO NOT wander off all cowboy like and alone,  though you often have no choice in the matter as the rest of the team takes off to gawd know where!).  Though, I will note that some of my very best games in this ship were when I didn't have a friendly ship in range to support me.

No matter what though, if you get reasonably good you will find yourself all alone on the ocean on a fairly regular basis as everyone else has managed to get themselves sunk.

 

4. Try to arrange for a dedicated escort, and mutuall support with one other player on the team...  Preferably someone with lots of fast firing guns, and an AA rating better then 12 for those occasional matches with tier IV carriers..  (make friends with the german tier 1 cruiser players when they show... unless theres some changes down the road those are gonna be awesome tier 3 and 4 BB and CV escorts.. fast firing DP main main battery, and fast.  I'm excited about 'em.

 

5 Be Calm.   Getting worked up over what you have zip control over is foolish, and seriously kindergarten childish.  Expect nothing, accept everything.  

 

6. Be smart in your target selection.  This really is THE core decision you'll need to make in low tiers ships. I firmly recommend you always go for the target you can hurt or kill the quickest.  

 

Friends:  High ROF gun ships, and anything with an AA rating better then your willing to stay tucked in close under 2 Km (I much prefer them at 1 Km..)

 

Enemies:  Anything with torpedo's.  A ships, planes off a carrier.. if its got torps, its the worst sort of news for you.  The Kawachi is lumbering beast that's slow to respond to the rudder.  Dodging torps with twinkle toed grace is just not your forte!

 

Best targets:  Cruisers and destroyers!  What you say?  Honestly...a "single" shell hitting a tier 2 or 3 cruiser or DD can end their match right there.   I just had it happen in a game where a Omaha was closing dead on to me, I firest a single turret, and he was just out of range when I shot it.. I must have bulls eyes the forward magazines, BOOM.. instant kill.  I checked afterwards to make sure, and yep only one single shell hit.   I've done this to DD's also.. one HE round in the citadel/engine room and no more DD.    You know that BB are tough, and they can hurt you.  But your just as tough as they are.  Especially if your keeping your armor and aspect to them at an angle.  Cruisers how ever, even armored or protected cruisers just are not going to resist your gun fire.   They might be able to shrug off gun fire from other cruisers and destroyers but your 12" guns are another matter entirely. Its a coin toss as to which shell type you want to use...  HE damage is more reliable, but an single AP shell in the right spot even against an undamaged ship is a kill!.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is the map your fighting on.   You need SEA ROOM. stay out of tight clusters of islands with narrow passages between them.  They can be helpful in that they will channel ship movements around you into predictable patterns. But that sort of terrain also channels YOU into predictable patterns, and this really is something you want to avoid if at all possible.   always consider moving toward the area on the map that allows you to close with the bad guys and engage while giving your self plenty of room to twist and turn.  Remember your turret arrangement though quirky gives you quite a few engagement options.  It a rare situation where you cannot put three turrets on a target, even when you have turned away hard!

 

Now also keep in mind that if you must move into restricted waters, you are committed.  Don't be fancy, punch on through!  Get out to where you have some sea room again and can maneuver freely with being concerned about running aground or swapping paint with friendly ships.

Also understand that Battleships skippers are supposed to be AGGRESSIVE.. leavened with a little caution mind you,  but no navy wants to give control of one of its capital ships to someone who wont get out there and mix it up!   Move forward, engage the enemy, maneuver for a superior (and hopefully supported) position to cause maximum mayhem.  The reason your out there is to bring those 12" ship killers onto a target and give it the love.  Spread the love around, you will get those one shell wonders happening.   Make Chaos your friend,  but be aware that chaos only favors the bold.

 

Good Luck, Good Hunting!

 

Deadeye pete sends

 

P.S.   I would have loved to have attached a replay I have of a 6 kill fight in a Kawachi, (there were tier 6 bloody cruisers in it).. but its like before 4.0.1 and unless you have an older version of the game set up to play replays its not going to do you much good... But it does show each and every point I made above in action..Someday I gotta figure out this how to make you tube vids to post.. Meh, I'm too lazy!

 

P.P.S. oops on post title, ment to put "tier III" and of course didn't notice untill after I hit the save button.

 

[suleiman71]

I remember being an absolute pain to CV skippers in my Kawachi. For some reason I dodged all but one of the 11 TB attacks on me during my time playing it.

[NomaeTheJester]

IDK why people hate on the Kawachi so much. It has so much survivablity for a tier 3, and its firepower is nothing to sneeze at either. It seems to have a really good turning radius too.

[BlazerSparta]

2: one shot at a time is a lot easier to dodge than a shotgun salvo to a certain area. The only reason to not fire a full broadside at anything is if you're using sequential fire to shower an area. Firing, waiting to see what happens, and firing again is only useful if the enemy is too dumb to dodge, and in that case, you're better off firing the full broadside for max dpm and alpha anyway.

 

IDK why people hate on the Kawachi so much. It has so much survivablity for a tier 3, and its firepower is nothing to sneeze at either. It seems to have a really good turning radius too.

 

Because it's slower and shorter range than basically everything it comes up against. Firepower means nothing if you can't fire a single shot.

[suleiman71]

2: one shot at a time is a lot easier to dodge than a shotgun salvo to a certain area. The only reason to not fire a full broadside at anything is if you're using sequential fire to shower an area. Firing, waiting to see what happens, and firing again is only useful if the enemy is too dumb to dodge, and in that case, you're better off firing the full broadside for max dpm and alpha anyway.

 

 

Because it's slower and shorter range than basically everything it comes up against. Firepower means nothing if you can't fire a single shot.

 

I usually fire full broadsides and roll the dice on whether I'll hit and do damage. 

[Ares2890]

IDK why people hate on the Kawachi so much. It has so much survivablity for a tier 3, and its firepower is nothing to sneeze at either. It seems to have a really good turning radius too.

 

Because she's slow, short ranged, and poorly armored. The majority of ships at tier 3 and 4 can just sit out side of it's range and pound it to death, provided another BB doesn't cit pen it first. If the Kawachi had just an extra kilometer of range it'd be really competitive, as she is now, she's just ok.

[BlackBeard1987]

Anything on T2 or a Kawachi does not deserve more than one sentence. Its a ship you grind for a few games and move on. Im sure many of us dont even remember playing it after we sold it ages ago.

[Deadeye_Pete]

strange on that.  I find the low tier ships much more challenging and fun to play.  I'm hoping that eventually we see "historical" themes scenarios where we can get more use out of em.   The more I play this game, the more I see that constantly grinding JUST to get a better ships.. well, its feels oxymoronic to me.   The main point is to go out and fight, and have fun doing it.   Running higher tier ships isn't going to make you a better player.  Not ever.. Just look what happens every time a new premium ship comes out for folks to play with...  Tirpitz torpedo shooting gallery anyone?  Every single ship has its own little specific particularities.

 

Tier 1, the starter boat, usually great fun to play, I usually consider the tier II cruiser a down grade, not an upgrade  :-)

Tier II.  Pre great war to great war ships, coal burners.. generally tough, and fast for the period, but history passes them by quickly for..

Tier III Great war period early.  Transitional early dreadnaughts and pre dreadnought ships of the 20th century.

Tier IV post war and tween war period

Tier V pre 2nd war ships that soldiered on into the war

Tier VI early war ships

Tier VII mid war, with all the trimmings.

Tier VIII improved wartime construction for the most part.

Tier IX very late war and paper ships

Tier X almost all paper ships though some did indeed exist and were terrors of their time

 

Tier V and below though are the most fun to me..  Later on the ships start getting much more homogeneous in capabilities.  And everyone has analyzed the ships to death.  There are no surprises from tier VI onward.   Skill counts buy luck is a fairly major factor even when you do everything right (or wrong as the case may be)

 

My personal favorite ship in the game is the Kuma at tier IV.. turns on a dime, leaves change if it doesn't choose to take the entire dime.  7k torps, high speed and with full refits fantastic guns with good range.  I call it good range if you can get the shot off before you move into detection range.  That short for a cruiser detection range means the Kuma is quite capable of holding its own even in a tier X match..   Which I did once, kilt me a Montana just before the other guys team hosed me down for having the temerity to take down one cocky sucker in a tier X BB.. I still giggle over that one.  Its not the ship makes the player dangerous, its the player that makes the ship dangerous.

 

ok, back to shooting stuff on my Deadeye_Pete_clone account..  

 

Toodles!

 

[AdmiralPiett]

I have warmed up to Kawachi quite a bit. It is a lot of fun to play when you get reasonable MM.

[HyperFish]

I hate my Kawachi. I'm only playing it to open the Myogi and the CV line. It burns like it's made of paper. It's receiving damage and on fire before I'm in range to retaliate, and it just doesn't turn. 

 

No love for the Kawanchor here.

[Yasenpoi]

Feels too convoluted.  I would just recommend foresight and using islands effectively to close distance.Try to go areas where you have other ships that the enemy will target first and you have time to get your guns in range rather than be the one going up against 10km+ range ships alone.    The lower tier BB have pretty poor resistances and hp pools.

 

I personally don't think armor angling really helps you that often in t3.  Most people are still firing HE and you are best not getting shot at that much rather than angling to try to reduce damage.  I have seen very effective kawachi moving alone by knowing which areas are safer to go through to get into range for their cannons. 

[KTcraft]

While I appreciate the thought and effort that went into typing all this... It does not strike me as an effective guide for the kawachi.  The points that I agree with, i would consider rather basic skills to pick in in ANY game and apply to any ship really.  And the points I disagree with seem like novice tendencies.  

 

For example, firing your guns one at a time is really only useful if you are not certain you can hit your target.  If you know your aim is true (RNG asside) then there is no reason not to unload a full broadside and knock out your target quickly with one blow.  While firing in sequence would potentially give your opponent time to angle his/her ship to the rest of your guns, a full broadside will maximize your alpha.  Sometimes firing half broadsides is alright, the first set to force your opponent into a turn, and the second a moment later in anticipation of the maneuver since he/she is committed to the turn and cannot dodge. 

 

 

I also wouldn't worry too much about what kind of escorts you have at tier 3.  Honestly as long as there ships near your flanks to spot incoming destroyers or aircraft i wouldn't be too concerned with escorts.

 

 

Some great tips for players though would be for example:

What is the shell velocity on the kawachi like? Do I have to lead the target more in the St. Louis?

Does firing AP at light cruisers with 12inch guns result in too many overpenetrations?

Are there modules that get damaged frequently?

Are the secondaries worth speccing at all?

 

These are the kinds of things that I'd be most interested in-since I don't know them and aren't just available by looking at the stats.

 

[MyFingID]

I think the best way to deal with this ship and the next is to use free xp on the modules and wait for a free premium time promo.  You can then suffer through these awful ships and move on.

[10T0nHammer]

Kawachi is a beast and if anyone tells you other wise, tell them to git guygud lol

[Carrier_Taiyo]

I like the Kawachi. It's certainly better than the South Carolina; it's faster, more versatile, and has more guns. Also, it's shorter (lower to the water) making it harder to hit at close range.

 

Use the terrain to force the enemy in close when you can. Also, remember that trick where you can zig zag, allowing you to shoot the guns on one side of your ship at the enemy, then the guns on the other side.

 

 

[SPACEDUDE71]

Why are u playing tier 2? And then think yer good enough at it to offer advice? [edited]. Seal clubbing is for losers.

[atPrick__]

Kawachi is a terrible ship but it is good up close and because of the odd turret arraignment it is great at angling. Watching fired shells squirt around aimlessly like silly string can be a bit frustrating however, I'm guessing it would be terrifying to be on the other end of the fire as no one would have any clue as to where the shells are going.

[SPACEDUDE71]

Tier 2 is like 10 to 15 battles and then youre on 3. So how can u even have thoughts about any ships at 2

[TangledThorns]

Tier 2 is like 10 to 15 battles and then youre on 3. So how can u even have thoughts about any ships at 2

 

My thought exactly. Just level up, sell it and move on.

[dahdah325]

OP, you  have not played ONE game of BB on either your main or re-roll accounts. Add to that, the Kawachi is t3 (not t2) and the fact that most of your 'advice' is either incredibly vague or simply flat-out wrong, and I am just going to put you down as an attention [edited].

 

Before you try to write a mini-guide to running a ship, try actually running the ship in question. 

[Deadeye_Pete]

Why are u playing tier 2? And then think yer good enough at it to offer advice? [edited]. Seal clubbing is for losers.

 

why,, because low tier game play against GOOD players is a lot more fun then high tier fights...  you gotta get close.. you MUST play aggressivly tempered by hard earned wisdom..

 

And it gives me a chance to clue new players on what they need to no so they are not the bloody smear on the ground from a drive by seal clubbing.  I will talk to a player in game and help them with stuff they don't understand about the game...cursing someone out in a match because they did something dumb is STUPID.. and pure blind dumb selfishness on the part of the person doing it.  They person you curse out learn nothing.

 

It gives me a chance to teach good sportmanship.   I personally very tired of putting up in MMO, and online games the sort of trash talk [edited]that too many people have brought from venues such as XBox Live.

 

 Your an establish  player?.. Know the game?  Know the history of what in the game... SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW.  Lead by example!  Your in the role of a ships captain, entrusted with multimillion dollar naval assets.   Act like one.  

 

Its also enlightened self interest.   Better, smarter players mean better opposition later.

 

Likely more answer then you wanted, but maybe if a sufficiently large 2x4 is used, you'll get it.  See you in my gun sights in game.  

[Deadeye_Pete]

OP, you  have not played ONE game of BB on either your main or re-roll accounts. Add to that, the Kawachi is t3 (not t2) and the fact that most of your 'advice' is either incredibly vague or simply flat-out wrong, and I am just going to put you down as an attention [edited].

 

Before you try to write a mini-guide to running a ship, try actually running the ship in question. 

 

And what accounts would these be to your discerning knowledgeable eyes?

 

My accounts, if choose to look them up are...

TL_Warlord_Roff

Deadeye_Pete

Deadeye_petes_evil_twin

Deadeye_Petes_cousin

Deadeye_pete_clone

 

I'm sure your noticing a common thread there by now!

 

... and a few others besides...The reason I have so many accounts is to allow me to explore the differing ships tiers without spending a whole lot of real world money.  I did this when I joined the open beta.   The only person that has to keep it all strait in me.  I have accounts on the US, EU, and RU servers, and of course, the special test server on the RU service

 

At this point combined I have a little over 1400 battles under the belt, and a minimum 20 hours of play in the Kawachi alone.   I don't play this game for the high score or the ego stroke to "prove" how bad [edited]I am.  I play it for fun.   

 

I do hope that answers your question?  Feel free to PM me through the forums if you have anything else.

 

(and if you had actually read the first post entirely you would have seen at the very bottom a P.P.S. saying "Opps, that was supposed to be tier 3 not tier 2" or something to that effect, which tell me that you don't pay attention very well...

 

Deadeye_Pete sends

 

 

[Granitebeard]

Kiwi is one of my favorite BBs. I loved that thing every time I had to grind it. I feel it is better then the SC but that is me. Not sure why everyone picks on the range, as it isn't that huge for its tier.

 

And single firing turrets is goo to learn where an enemy is. But once you know, single firing vs salvo has no effect of dispersion. It might seem that way for CL/CA (I still find it funny that people just say CA....), but they are better off then BB any ways so....

[Yasenpoi]

 

(and if you had actually read the first post entirely you would have seen at the very bottom a P.P.S. saying "Opps, that was supposed to be tier 3 not tier 2" or something to that effect, which tell me that you don't pay attention very well...

 

 

 

Well you can get matched up to t2 at t3 bb.  And people might not reread your post every time you edit it...

[Sakuzhi]

 Tier VII mid war, with all the trimmings.

 

^ Last of the WW1 Ships actually when we are talking about Battleships. Both the Nagato and Colorado were laid down before 1920.