Stealth Nerf - Imperator Nikolai MM

[TheDreadnought]

Did the change the matchmaker value for the ship?  I seem to get nothing but Tier 6 games now.

[_Sarcasticat_]

I hear the better you do, the more harder MM you get. 

[BelgaraththeSorcerer]

I hear the better you do, the more harder MM you get. 

 

If so that completely explains why Im only in T6 games in my Nikolai....

 

[Pugilistic]

Yup, seeing almost nothing but Tier V and VI BB on the opposing team. 

[dbs1701]

If I remember correctly all premium ships have slightly less preferential MM - they can get +2 much more often. I have noticed, however that MM still applies the recent changes over time - if you are out-tiered for several games, you will get a couple where you are top tier as well. That still works for the Imperator, I will get 2-3 tier-V/VI matches and then a tier III/IV match a bit later. Just stick with it.

 

I do think that because it is -1/+2, your average match will probably be a bit higher tier than you.  However I have also noticed that MM usually brings some other poor Tier IV sod on the other team to share in your misery and give you something to shoot at you can actually hurt!

 

[Xero_Snake]

Foreshadowing: Soon you would be in the same situation when you get Gangut/Sevastopol.

[Captain_Hindgrinder]

Same here. I gave up playing mine after being burned to the waterline constantly by Tier 6 cruisers who would just spam HE at me outside of my main battery range. Being nearly one-shotted by a salvo from a Fuso isn't much fun either. It does reasonably well if it's put into Tier 4/5 matches but the turret traverse is just bloody awful.

[LittleWhiteMouse]

If I remember correctly all premium ships have slightly less preferential MM - they can get +2 much more often.

 

Preferential matchmaking is an all or nothing thing for Premium Warships.  Either they have it or they don't and all it does is restrict the tiers of opponents they face.  For example:

 

• Ishizuchi, tier 4 Battleship with Special Matchmaking.  Sees a maximum of tier 5 opponents.
• Imperator Nikolai I, tier 4 Battleship with normal Matchmaking:  Sees a maximum of tier 6 opponents.

 

Any 'feelings' of seeing more tier 6 is all in your head.  It's just your human brain trying to see patterns here none exist.  It's very good at doing that.  It's how you can see faces in cupboard knobs and drawers or find what looks to be a t-rex's head in wood grain or see the invisible flying spaghetti monster in your burnt toast.  If you're especially paranoid about it, start taking screenshots of every battle you have in your Imperator Nikolai I from now on.  After several hundred games, you should see a pretty even distribution of max tier 4, max tier 5 and max tier 6 games.

[HalfPastZulu]

Just another reason to NOT spend money on any premium

[Captain_Hindgrinder]

Just another reason to NOT spend money on any premium

 

Yep. Why spend real money on a premium to make in-game credits when you get screwed over by the MM and get +2'd all the time? Imperator Nikolai I is an early WW1 dreadnaught and most of the Tier 6 ships are WW2 designs. It's not even remotely fair to throw it in with them all the bloody time. I know people argue that the power levels of ships don't scale as extreme as they do in WoT but that's not the point. Tier 6 ships out-range and out-gun Tier 4 ships, have superior handling, speed and armor. You just are not going to do as well and earn as many credits if you constantly get +2'd by the MM.

 

IMHO, all premiums should get preferential MM so they can perform their function; making the owner a decent amount of credits.

[Captain_Hindgrinder]

 

Preferential matchmaking is an all or nothing thing for Premium Warships.  Either they have it or they don't and all it does is restrict the tiers of opponents they face.  For example:

 

• Ishizuchi, tier 4 Battleship with Special Matchmaking.  Sees a maximum of tier 5 opponents.
• Imperator Nikolai I, tier 4 Battleship with normal Matchmaking:  Sees a maximum of tier 6 opponents.

 

Any 'feelings' of seeing more tier 6 is all in your head.  It's just your human brain trying to see patterns here none exist.  It's very good at doing that.  It's how you can see faces in cupboard knobs and drawers or find what looks to be a t-rex's head in wood grain or see the invisible flying spaghetti monster in your burnt toast.  If you're especially paranoid about it, start taking screenshots of every battle you have in your Imperator Nikolai I from now on.  After several hundred games, you should see a pretty even distribution of max tier 4, max tier 5 and max tier 6 games.

 

You're wrong. Sorry. Whenever I take out my Nikolai, I get dumped into a Tier 6 match. I've only played a handful of games in it because I kept getting screwed. Same thing pretty much happens when I try to play my Arkansas as well. It's incredibly annoying.

[LittleWhiteMouse]

 

You're wrong. Sorry. Whenever I take out my Nikolai, I get dumped into a Tier 6 match. I've only played a handful of games in it because I kept getting screwed. Same thing pretty much happens when I try to play my Arkansas as well. It's incredibly annoying.

 

You'll have to prove it for me to believe it.  My Nikolai gets a nice even spread of 4, 5 and 6 games.

You've also only played 5 games in it.  That's not even enough to measure a pattern.

[Captain_Hindgrinder]

 

You'll have to prove it for me to believe it.  My Nikolai gets a nice even spread of 4, 5 and 6 games.

You've also only played 5 games in it.  That's not even enough to measure a pattern.

 

I don't have to prove anything to YOU. I admitted that I only played a handful of games in the Nikolai. That's because I got tired of being put against Cleveland's, Nurnbergs, Fuso's and New Mexico's every match I took it out. It happens all the time in my Arkansas.  Seeing as you are one of those annoying people who like to pick apart people's stats, you'll see I've played a LOT of games in it and I almost always get +2'd recently.

[LittleWhiteMouse]

 

  Seeing as you are one of those annoying people who like to pick apart people's stats, you'll see I've played a LOT of games in it and I almost always get +2'd recently.

 

Yes, people who like facts backing up claims are super annoying -- getting in the way of all of that contrived, paranoid anecdotal evidence holding the proper emotional weight it should!  The nerve!

[atPrick__]

Haven't been in that many matches yet, I play it usually a maximum of 2 a day when I play, but I've been seeing a pretty even spread. Honestly the ship is pretty great, even in matches with T6 ships, I for one enjoy the challenge.

 

The only BB that given me much trouble is the Fuso, you can put a hurting on her by going straight at her and trying to smack her in the middle, pretty much always ends badly but you can take 2/3 of Fuso's health pretty reliably. As far as Cruisers lighting fires, what else is new? Try running the fire signal it's worked pretty well for me, it balances out since Imperator murders every Cruiser she sees.

[Xero_Snake]

Did someone speak of Fusou? I'm afraid that her belt armor is impenetrable by the Tsarist 12in guns at a certain angles.

[WWWWWWWWWWWVWWWWWWWWWWWW]

Depends on when you play it.  You will get more balanced matches during peak play times.  At obscure hours there are not enough people in t4/5 sometimes to make a game, so you get dumped into a t5/6/7 game.  When I play between 6pm-12am eastern I get very fair and balanced games I'd say 80% of the time.  The other 20% of the time I feel I deserve to earn a win anyway, this thing destroys everything t5 and lower.  I get more one salvo kills on this thing then any other ship.  Russian bias and whatnot.  /tinfoilhat

 

 

 

Murmansk is more op imo with my 17 point captain.  Completely unfair.  Even thrown into a t7 match you can sit back and light up some BBqs, just don't give up the CIT.

[_Tinyfury_]

Same here. I gave up playing mine after being burned to the waterline constantly by Tier 6 cruisers who would just spam HE at me outside of my main battery range. Being nearly one-shotted by a salvo from a Fuso isn't much fun either. It does reasonably well if it's put into Tier 4/5 matches but the turret traverse is just bloody awful.

 

I had 3 tier 6 in a row yesterday, the 1st I got singled out by both tier 6 carriers from the start.

The emperor is strong, but a less obvious problem with tier 6 matchups is getting the bigger maps where it takes you forever to get to key positions.

[Hans_Von_Lohman]

I assume you are running an EU account as well as a North American account?

 

I ask because I must have missed when the Imperator Nikolai went on sale here on the NA server.

[atPrick__]

I assume you are running an EU account as well as a North American account?

 

I ask because I must have missed when the Imperator Nikolai went on sale here on the NA server.

 

same weekend Warspite was re-released, black Friday weekend.

[Hans_Von_Lohman]

 

same weekend Warspite was re-released, black Friday weekend.

 

Well, I missed out then.  I wasn't home for the holliday weekend.  I didn't even know there was a sale.

 

Not that I would have bought the Imperator myself.  It's statistically just another Arkansas Beta that I already have.

[goldeagle1123]

If I remember correctly all premium ships have slightly less preferential MM - they can get +2 much more often. I have noticed, however that MM still applies the recent changes over time - if you are out-tiered for several games, you will get a couple where you are top tier as well. That still works for the Imperator, I will get 2-3 tier-V/VI matches and then a tier III/IV match a bit later. Just stick with it.

 

I do think that because it is -1/+2, your average match will probably be a bit higher tier than you.  However I have also noticed that MM usually brings some other poor Tier IV sod on the other team to share in your misery and give you something to shoot at you can actually hurt!

 

 

You say that and yet 80% of the battles in my Atago I've been top tier

[Retnav54]

 

I don't have to prove anything to YOU. I admitted that I only played a handful of games in the Nikolai. That's because I got tired of being put against Cleveland's, Nurnbergs, Fuso's and New Mexico's every match I took it out. It happens all the time in my Arkansas.  Seeing as you are one of those annoying people who like to pick apart people's stats, you'll see I've played a LOT of games in it and I almost always get +2'd recently.

 

Just a suggestion - try playing co-op battles with the Nikolai for a while. At least the AI team is locked in to a mirror image of whatever is on the player team. And the MM usually tends to be "kinder" as far as the tiers of player ships it throws together, from my experience. Might give you a better chance to get a feel for the ship, what setup and tactics work best for you, before diving into random or ranked battles again.

 

 

[Capitan_Incognito]

Honestly, the Nikolai isn't so fun against tier VI. You have bad AA and not enough range/speed to deal with Clevelands and Nurnbergs at max range (not to mention Fusos, Kongos, etc.) If I'm in a IV facing VI, I'd much rather be in a Phoenix or Kuma.

[madmikey77]

No change. My first 3 games in the ship were Tier 6 - and I bought it the first day it was available.

 

It gets standard MM - you're going to see quite a few T6 games. And you probably should because it's arguably the best Tier 4 BB.

 

I haven't played mine a ton because I've been grinding credits in Tier 8s, but it's a fun ship to play. Definitely less fun against T6s, but you can still have an impact on the game, as long as you're not too aggressive.