Requesting General Battleship Advice

[Rion12]

Alright, so, I recently got the Kawachi and...inaccuracy and my lack of fire control upgrade aside....I absolutely stink with the thing.

 

I think the key problem that I'm having right now is that I just don't know where the battleships are supposed to be over the course of any given battle. Am I supposed to be taking position near the front lines, or am I supposed to be keeping myself more at a distance and trying to utilize the guns' range (which the Kawachi with stock fire-control doesn't exactly have)?

 

Should I be working to stay close to my team's cruisers?

 

Just...how do I work with battleships?

[Sinboto]

Oh the kawachi is the worst ship in the game, it's not your fault. 

 

Have fun with her, learn to angle your ship at this stage, knowing how and when to push and pull back will come in time, it'll help you as you move up in tiers.

[Doutech]

Your primary targets as a BB should be CAs and then other BBs while avoiding DDs. IJN BBs are not really "brawling" ships but with the Kawachi's short range you will have to get up close and personal to hit anything and even more so to be a little more (not much) accurate. Be sure to constantly change course to avoid torps and be alert at all times. Try not to get tunnel visioned and pay attention to the mini map for changing events and sneaky DDs.  Angle your ship to CAs that can out range you as well. The Myogi is a little better. More range but less guns. IJN BBs don't get good until the Kongo.

[Big_Spud]

Kawachi is bad, but a short grind. No way around it, no special tactics. Your guns are crap and innaccurate, secondaries are useless and the range is short. Your only real advantage is the amazing resistance to HE through the lack of any real superstructure and rather thick bow and stern armor.

 

Push through it to the mediocre Myogi which teaches you how to handle a battlecruiser, a lesson which will serve you well with the Kongo. Just forget the Kawachi ever existed.

[MexicanPanda]

Best tip I can give for the Kawachi is to free xp past it and get yourself the Myogi. It's kinda hard to develop any sort of skills with the Kawachi since you're going to spend most of your time trying to get within range to start firing and then trying to stay in the fight.

 

General BB tips though, are don't give your broadside to anyone. You don't have you have your side directly towards the enemy to use all your guns. Stay as angled as possible at all times. You can even angle so much that your rear guns aren't even able to shoot at the enemy, then just swing them out to fire once they're reloaded.

 

Another tip is to remember that dodging torpedoes can't be done as a reactionary thing. Once you hear the torpedo warning, it's already too late. Watch where enemy planes are and try to keep your bow or stern towards them as best you can if they are coming in your direction. Also watch the minimap and avoid islands where DDs have been spotted. (avoid islands anyways, but especially when there are DDs in the area) Also try to keep your bow or stern towards DDs as best you can too.

 

Third, fire AP at everything, yes even at DDs and CVs. AP overpen damage is actually slightly greater than HE damage, but HE does have the chance to knock out modules. If a ship is angling against you, then feel free to whip out the HE, especially if your target is a higher tier BB. HE does have it's uses, but it shouldn't be your main ammunition.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but those are some nice basics.

[Fishrokk]

One tip to prepare you for when you get out of the Kawachi - it is unusual for a battleship in that it has wing turrets (the two on each side of the hull).  This makes it a lot more forgiving in comparison to most other battleships when you suddenly need to come about - you'll always have at least two turrets pretty close to on target.

 

Once you get past her (and I can't remember off the top of my head of the South Carolina is the same), all your battleship turrets are center line, and usually have a pretty slow traverse rate.  In those, as soon as you figure out you want to be firing off the other side of your ship, aim where you want your turrets to be pointing, then either hold down the right mouse button or hit ctrl-X on the keyboard to lock that point of aim (relative to your hull) - THEN shift your rudder.

 

By the time you've come about, you won't have to wait so long for your guns to train on target.  

 

If you use ctrl-X, tapping the X key again cancels it - very important to remember this!  (I would hate to know how many salvos I've sent off who knows where because I forgot I'd locked my aim.)

[BlazerSparta]

Best tip I can give for the Kawachi is to free xp past it and get yourself the Myogi. It's kinda hard to develop any sort of skills with the Kawachi since you're going to spend most of your time trying to get within range to start firing and then trying to stay in the fight.

 

General BB tips though, are don't give your broadside to anyone. You don't have you have your side directly towards the enemy to use all your guns. Stay as angled as possible at all times. You can even angle so much that your rear guns aren't even able to shoot at the enemy, then just swing them out to fire once they're reloaded.

 

Another tip is to remember that dodging torpedoes can't be done as a reactionary thing. Once you hear the torpedo warning, it's already too late. Watch where enemy planes are and try to keep your bow or stern towards them as best you can if they are coming in your direction. Also watch the minimap and avoid islands where DDs have been spotted. (avoid islands anyways, but especially when there are DDs in the area) Also try to keep your bow or stern towards DDs as best you can too.

 

Third, fire AP at everything, yes even at DDs and CVs. AP overpen damage is actually slightly greater than HE damage, but HE does have the chance to knock out modules. If a ship is angling against you, then feel free to whip out the HE, especially if your target is a higher tier BB. HE does have it's uses, but it shouldn't be your main ammunition.

 

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but those are some nice basics.

 

Bad first tip. You want to save your free exp to skip stuff that really sucks, like stock Fuso. Skipping Kawachi just isn't worth it.

[MnemonScarlet]

 

Bad first tip. You want to save your free exp to skip stuff that really sucks, like stock Fuso. Skipping Kawachi just isn't worth it.

 

I concur. Stock hulls don't really teach you anything as a grind that you can't get out of a couple training room sessions or coop matches to figure out the handling. Playing through Kawachi is worthwhile if only to discover what it feels like being unable to influence the battlefield easily and instilling a desire to do so later. However you're gonna do it.

[kjarri]

Yeah, don't judge BB's off of that PoS. Myogi is where you get your first taste of BB play and learn how to use AP. I almost always run AP even in the US tier 3 BB, but could not get it to work in the kawachi. Had to just HE spam which I hated to do because I can't stand BB'S who use HE. Lol

[MexicanPanda]

 

Bad first tip. You want to save your free exp to skip stuff that really sucks, like stock Fuso. Skipping Kawachi just isn't worth it.

 

Matter of opinion. I have zero patience for useless and near useless equipment, so I tried 3 battles with the Kawachi, realized how much it sucked and then free xp'd to the Myogi.

[Fiona_Marshe]

Take a quick look at the matches you won and lost.  Many times there will be a theme.

 

 

Loss?  The friendly BBs were hugging the map edge.

Win?  The friendly BBs range circle barely touched the map edge.

 

Lesson?  If your guns can reach the edge of the map, you are not close enough to the enemy.

 

It would help if the friendly cruisers and destroyers were closer to the enemy as a screen (but that rarely happens).  Usually the fast ships run off and leave you to die to the enemy fast ships on the racetrack.

[Rion12]

Wow, a lot of advice to work through, and it all seems very solid. 

 

I guess there's one more particular question I'd like to ask:

I'm not all too familiar with map specifics as of yet, but in future when I'm working with BBs that have actual range...do I generally want to tend towards working towards the sides of the map, or working more towards securing a center position near some islands for cover? Or somewhere in between?

[Fiona_Marshe]

Don't go dead centre of the map (too vulnerable from all sides), but see above comment about control range.

[MnemonScarlet]

Wow, a lot of advice to work through, and it all seems very solid. 

 

I guess there's one more particular question I'd like to ask:

I'm not all too familiar with map specifics as of yet, but in future when I'm working with BBs that have actual range...do I generally want to tend towards working towards the sides of the map, or working more towards securing a center position near some islands for cover? Or somewhere in between?

 

If your team is contesting the center, it's not a terrible idea to help them with it; in general follow and assist the team without suicidally exposing yourself. I would say don't remove your BB's firepower to one side too much unless other BBs have got it covered. They may drop the ball, but that's the perils of a team game: no matter how well you do, sometimes it just won't matter for the overall match.

[BlazerSparta]

Take a quick look at the matches you won and lost.  Many times there will be a theme.

 

 

Loss?  The friendly BBs were hugging the map edge.

Win?  The friendly BBs range circle barely touched the map edge.

 

 

Lesson?  If your guns can reach the edge of the map, you are not close enough to the enemy.

 

 

It would help if the friendly cruisers and destroyers were closer to the enemy as a screen (but that rarely happens).  Usually the fast ships run off and leave you to die to the enemy fast ships on the racetrack.

 

Another bad rule of thumb. When your BB's main battery takes a minute to turn 180 deg, you aren't going to want to be changing engagement sides constantly. You pick a side to have your guns, and they stay there. Sometimes, in order to keep them on target means going to the edge of the map.

[JojoTheMongol]

One thing I had to learn to do is take my shots when I have them. With the slow reload you really can't sit there and just spam the mouse button. If an enemy BB is at a bad angle, wait a bit before you open up. He might just give you a broadside. Also, keep in mind of where every enemy ship is. The BB you might be dueling might have turned away from you giving you a less than ideal shot, but a CL could all of a sudden appear with a juicy broadside. Sometimes this means engaging the less threatening target, but if you can kill it quickly you are still helping your team.

 

Stay out of tight islands too. Unless absolutely necessary to cap, but that's a good way to get ambushed torped by a DD. I've been stuck between two islands before with no chance to dodge torps.

 

Change speed and heading every 10-15 seconds. Doing so will make it really hard for a DD to get a good torpedo firing solution. You'll see a lot of torps harmlessly pass your bow by doing this.

[Rion12]

Well, I took a lot of advice here, and I have to say that I've been feeling noticeably more confident with BBs. Still stuck with the Kawachi, but at least I'm not being a complete embarrassment all the time. 

 

I wonder how you're supposed to deal with HEs, though. APs can be bounced, but HEs...well, fires all around. And torpedo bombers...still not sure how to deal with those.

[Omars_Comin]

Deal with HE spamming cruisers by putting a round or two into thier citadel. Knock out half thier health in one salvo and they will turn tail away.

 

I almost always target cruisers before BBs. Hold your shot until they show thier side, then unload.

 

Key with BBs is just because you are loaded, doesn't mean you need to take a shot. Always look to see who is showing you their side and shoot them; with some exceptions.

 

I agree with Fiona above. Except in the very beginning you should always have something to shoot at. Too map centered is quick death, to far to the edge and you did the red team a favor by taking yourself out of the match.

 

Movement and speed. The ships have 5 speeds; reverse through full. Use them all. If you are throttling up at the start and not changing after that... well just keep in mind there is no rule that you always need to by full speed ahead.

[HARDCORE_BR]

Well , its the tier 3 BB , you can't expect much. I've suffered more on South Carolina then with the Kawachi but to resume the experience , they are just bad . They are a resistence test for your future as a BB captain . If you can't take it , i'll let you know that you might struggle later on , on ships like Colorado . For now , you gotta learn the basics , the right ammo for the right moment , armor mechanics , priority targets , navegation (where to go/dont overextend) , do the right moves... be patient with the lower tiers , things gets much better later on

 

[4wilds]

For the love of God, use AP shells, anyone that tells you HE is more powerful is an idiot.

 

Only time a Battleship should be firing HE is when targeting a Destroyer and even then, in the higher tiers AP works well.

[Rion12]

Well, I'm happy to say that I've now moved on to the Myogi. Unfortunately, there's now a stock grind I have to look forward to.

 

At least I'll be able to hit things that are more than 10 km away now.

 

I'd like to thank everyone for the tips. It has really helped a lot. 

[Admiral_Ballsey]

Open water is your friend. Set your course to angle your attack line with future evasive maneuvers in mind. If you are going in at an angle, you are already roughly 1/3 of the way through an evasive escape turn if things start to go badly. Angle angle angle! I only fire full salvos if I have a perfect shot that I can't resist. Otherwise,I fire my forward guns, then kick my rear out to fire the rear guns. This takes more time, but many times your opponent will think your first salvo is all you had and show more broadside for your second shot as they attempt to maneuver. It also helps pace my shots so I'm firing more often.The mini map shows you the angles of the enemy ships, pay attention to them,  the sights can fool you when you are zoomed in for longer range shots. It helps your aim to know if a ship is angling towards are away from you. Try to anticipate well in advance what you will do based on current information. If support ships start to flee, you better think about running too, as you will become the primary target of focus fire because of your slow speed. I don't worry about kills too much,  my goal in every match is to do more damage than my own HP value. If you can do that, kills will come, and your stats will improve.

[JoeBlue]

With the Kawachi I just played the DD killer role. With guns on all the sides it was easy to just run around with HE loaded and blast everything that comes near. 

[alexf24]

Air torpedo attacks

 

One question you asked, but was not answered is TBs. Keep an eye for them in the mini map.

At low tiers, BBs do not have much AA, if any. If you do not have a cruiser to help you fight AA (or even a friendly Nicholas which has Defensive AA ability), you are on your own. Anticipate. If you hear the torpedo warning you are too late.

 

When you see them coming your way in the mini map, look at them. Once they are  <7k go full speed and start pointing at them. By 5km you should be pointing towards them (or at least away). Minimize your profile. They want to do a broadside. If they turn, you turn with them. It is always better to encounter them in open sea. If they catch you near islands, where you can't maneuver, then you are done. BBs should always be in the open seas.

 

Once you see the planes do a little "dance", then they are releasing. At full speed, and already almost pointing at them, you can probable weave by them, and at most take only one.

 

Air bombers

 

Their best bet is to hit you from front or back, along your axis (the opposite of TBs). Try to maneuver to show them your broadside if possible, giving them the lowest possible surface to hit.

 

Fire and repair

 

Never use repair party for one fire. Let it burn itself out. You can always heal it. The worst time is to repair a fire, and be in cooldown when the next fire (or torpedo) comes around. Two fires burning? Do repair those. Torpedo? Depends. Only repair when flooding. Flooding is serious. Use your healing ability once you are below 1/3rd HP and keep using when needed, it until used up. Not only it keeps you healthy, but lowers your repair bill in port.

 

For higher tier BBs, you should purchase the rudder shift improvement upgrade. The faster you can turn, the easier to avoid torpedos. It will make it harder for your turrets to traverse and re-adjust, but it is a small price to pay, and you can always help your turrets by turning back with a faster rudder shift.

 

BB trained captains should get the Superintendent skill, to give you more charges on your heal ability.