How hard is it to become "good" at DD play?

[centarina]

We do know that DDs have higher skill ceiling to become competent. I am wondering how high a ceiling.     I definitely struggled with each DD line as I moved up and  my ability has evolved over time to a point   where I feel fairly good about my playing ability.    it has taken me quite a number of battles though.    It took me 150+ battle to feel competent in IJN DD to a point where  I was willing to go to mutsuki.   Mutsuki is still my favorite IJN DD.    For VFM,  it took me to    End of Ognevoi (150+ battle) before I felt like I can do well,  While I do decent with Kiev,  I don't seem to enjoy the run and gun style as much.       US DD coming after RU DD grind  was quicker to find my competence,        I restarted at nicholas  and only took 50 game to feel like I was doing well.     My playing is still evolving, but I am loving US DD  the most now.  Mahan is really good  DD for me and I love how it plays.    currently my favorite DD, even more than fubuki.

 

how about you guys?

[Mizzerys_Fate]

It seems tier 2 is were you develop your skills.

Russian destroyers take a turn at tier 4/5.

 

 

The premium polish stands alone and is very good.

[J30_Reinhardt]

You need an I don't have US DD option, or this/that DD for each nation.

[The_GoDDfather]

Stats V. Experience is going to be a rift here.

[10T0nHammer]

I recently restarted my VMF DDs again, still at the Izyaslav and boy do I suck in it lol I think VMF might be a little harder for me just because I am also bad at captaining cruisers. I personally feel the skill ceiling is the easiest for this class.

 

If my Fujin numbers are any indication, I also suck at IJN DDs Maybe I'll get more accurate numbers if I get to the Fubuki but part of me has a problem just launching torps after torps and missing even some of the worst players out there. That is the reason why I haven't pushed up much that line. I think I haven't quite figured out how to use the torpedoes in a more skillful matter.

 

USN DDs, I've had mixed success with them. When I am on the ball, I can usually influence a battle. However, its such a high risk/reward class that sometimes it feels like I'm just failing at this class as well

 

If I were to rate the difficulty of the 3 DD lines from easiest to hardest, it would go:

VMF DDs

USN DDs

IJN DDs.

 

Of course, just because I call VMF easiest doesn't mean it doesn't take skill, its just easier than the other two lines.

[10T0nHammer]

It seems tier 2 is were you develop your skills.

Russian destroyers take a turn at tier 4/5.

 

 

The premium polish stands alone and is very good.

 

If you use your tier 2 skills you developed, you are going to have a really bad time at tier 6-10. The game is completely different. Secondaries can kill you very easily and reach over 5km most of the time. CA weapons are very accurate with flat arcs so they can peg you up to 12km easily. BB players are not as dumb, for the lack of a better word, so landing any kind of long range torps are more of a gamble than anything and enemy DDs become smarter as its harder to fail your way to higher tiers thanks to your very small health pools, compared to the other classes.

[Falls_USMC]

I think that USN DDs take the longest to master, personally. IJN DDs and VMF DDs have pretty carved out, set in stone kind of roles. IJN are the ninjas. Your job is to cap, stay unseen, and shoot torps. VMF DDs harass with long range guns, set stuff on fire and generally be a pain in the butt while supporting the capital ships. 

 

USN DDs are a hybrid, especially after tier 6. You can stealth torp, you can gunfight, you can hunt DDs, you can cap. You aren't great at any one role, but are good at all of them. I think this in and of itself makes it take the longest to really figure out the dynamic of the class. I know it took me until the Benson to really figure out USN DDs and what they were good at and how they needed to be played to be effective. 

[J30_Reinhardt]

I would say across the board 50-100 fights to learn the mechanics and aiming torps.

[OneTonGun]

You are asking a question that can't be quantified in a poll.  But to answer this question it comes down to what nation and what tier.  The Umikaze and Isokaze are a great place to learn how to torp and eventually become good because you can be extremely passive while you learn the DD world and yet be effective.  Next comes shooting where RU DDs take the stage.  You can labor to get AFT and eventually become good by virtue of their superior guns at range.  Lastly come US DDs which is an acquired taste.  IJN torps and detection is better.  RU DD guns and speed are better.  The US DDs are a little of both but take more time and experience to excel at.

 

I always recommend starting with the Umikaze and Isokaze for brand new players.  OR for seasoned players that are just trying DDs, go the RU route because you should understand gun play already.

[sushimaster]

I voted for 500+ battles for each lines, i still learn new thing and correcting my mistake every day and i have over 1.5 k games in DD.

[DelroyMonjo]

What do you mean by "Good"?  You mean running around the long route to cap a point before bothering to spot for the rest of the fleet and getting killed anyway?  You mean like hiding behind rocks for 4 minutes waiting for that BB kill which may never happen?   Or do you mean like spotting for the fleet so they can determine the direction of the enemy and locating other DD's for the Cruisers to kill and living long enough for your fleet to kill enough of the enemy where you CAN go cap in relative safety and seal the WIN.  Patience to wait for the fleet to catch up and engage the enemy before catching those BB's and cruisers engaged in battle and launching torps and throwing the enemy into disarray is good in my estimation.

[Grevester]

How long it takes you to be good in something is entirely dependent on you and what you think 'good' is. There is no experience bar to being a good player.

 

That being said. Transitioning to DD's is easier in the US line as you will be more gun based and still be able to practice ambush/stealth torpedoing with them.

[OneTonGun]

I voted for 500+ battles for each lines, i still learn new thing and correcting my mistake every day and i have over 1.5 k games in DD.

 

If there was nothing to learn or improve on, the challenge is over and so is the fun .

 

[J30_Reinhardt]

My guess is by good he might be referring to a warships.today rating or some such.

[Swine_007]

I was pretty bad grinding the IJN and USN DD lines.  Perhaps too aggressive, perhaps just no skill but I think the time with them made me much better with the VFM DDs.  It could also be that the VFM one's gunboat style suits me better.  But my stats definitely show better with the Russian DDs.  

[OneTonGun]

I was pretty bad grinding the IJN and USN DD lines.  Perhaps too aggressive, perhaps just no skill but I think the time with them made me much better with the VFM DDs.  It could also be that the VFM one's gunboat style suits me better.  But my stats definitely show better with the Russian DDs.

 

You have a lot of cruiser play.  The RU is a great transition line for such.

[centarina]

Good is what you think is good/competent.    its a personal feel. most people will judge themselves harder than others in my experience.       I feel competent about  IJN and US DD and do well in both.   I am competent about  RU DD but not great or enjoy it.      sushimaster's standard is "great"  but that is ok too.    I am still learning as well.

 

I just wanted a conversation to show that this isn't that easy.    and I enjoy the challenges of the changes over time.     We tend to adapt and conquer more than whine.   why I like DD.

[vanFrozit]

Low tier, mid tier and high tier DDs have quite different styles.   And the number of different tactics and strategies you can do, especially with IJN DDs, means that you won't learn them all quickly.

 

It really depends on what "good" means.  I tend towards "expert", where there is very little you haven't seen, you are mostly in the top 5 positions in a battle report, and the enemy fears you.

 

(At least 1800 DD battles here.)

[MrDeaf]

Easiest: VMF, but starting from T5 with 130mm guns

Moderate: IJN, but don't expect great results in T6/7

Hardest: USN, but it gets a bit easier from T8

 

USN is hardest, because your ship is average and has no outstanding qualities, which means you have to learn a whole new style of game play to keep alive.

[Caucasian_Fury]

Easiest: VMF, but starting from T5 with 130mm guns

Moderate: IJN, but don't expect great results in T6/7

Hardest: USN, but it gets a bit easier from T8

 

USN is hardest, because your ship is average and has no outstanding qualities, which means you have to learn a whole new style of game play to keep alive.

 

USN DD boats are amazing knife-fighters though, that's their best quality. Up close they can go toe-to-toe with VMF DDs and then some especially with the nerfs to VMF's 130 mm guns, and annihilate IJN DDs.

 

Had a game last night where a full-healthed Hatsu engaged my Mahan with 1100 health left at 6.5 km thinking I'll be an easy kill, while I was distracted with torping a BB. I sank that Hatsu 20 seconds later for one hit in return.

[sbcptnitro]

I'll let you know when I get there, although I'm about to give up on it as it is very frustrating at times. 

[Wulfgarn]

I haven't played IJN yet, but I'm T8/9 in the VMF and USN.

 

I honestly have fun with both of those lines and I don't consider one or the other being better or worse compared to each other.

 

I am showing 877 battles in DDs. I can be good/great in a one battle, and completely flop out the next one, however I feel best in the VMF line. I will say that I have 13k exp left before I get the Fletcher, and Ive done that in a STOCK Benson. Well, almost stock, I do have the Batt mod 1. I am willing to bet its the ship and not my ability.

[sushimaster]

I also always look at player's stat of tier 6+ for US and IJN DD, if they did well in those tier then imo, they are good, amazing stat in Minekaze or Clemson doesn't mean anything to me.

[centarina]

it always takes me 20-30 battle    on each tier to get settled in (including upgrading/retraining)    so, i will see a bit of uptick after that but mostly stable  as I hit my skill ceiling.     With farragut,  last 25 games  allowed me to have 75% winrate with very steady  dmg rate.   it was mostly anti DD work  plus gunning with occasional torp hit.    in my experience, Good scouting and  Suppressing enemy DD do contribute a lot  to winning games more than just pure dmg.     for me, I don't care as much about   pure dmg or kills, but I do want to win matches.   I feel that  US DD allows me that more than other DDs.  Consistency can also be a mark of being competent.   

[MrDeaf]

 

USN DD boats are amazing knife-fighters though, that's their best quality. Up close they can go toe-to-toe with VMF DDs and then some especially with the nerfs to VMF's 130 mm guns, and annihilate IJN DDs.

 

Had a game last night where a full-healthed Hatsu engaged my Mahan with 1100 health left at 6.5 km thinking I'll be an easy kill, while I was distracted with torping a BB. I sank that Hatsu 20 seconds later for one hit in return.

 

Dunno, I managed to really hurt a Benson with my Fubuki inside of its effective range and I hardly took any damage.

 

I think it really comes down to personal skill level and having enough backup firepower from nearby ships.