North Carolina Armada "Sail straight"

[The_Moe]

I just finished watching the NC Armada video, and I was a bit surprised to hear them advise against angling with the NC. The highest tier US BB I have is the CO, and angling works quite well in my experience, at least with that ship.

 

Should I stop angling and simply put my bow to the BB's I'm attacking in the future, as I move up the US BB tech tree? Thank you.

[PcolaTy_1]

If I recall correctly, teh Colorado has somewhere around 350mm of armor which is at about 15' compared to the 305mm armor of the North Carolina which is about 12', so the rule of thumb is to either angle somewhat or go bow in as you will deflect a lot of shots with the superior bow armor.

[JojoTheMongol]

I actually do better when I angle a bit with the Colorado. Going bow on I've been citadel'd quite a few times from 16" shells. The Colorado's bow is actually pretty weak. I don't have the NC so I can't comment on it, but I don't recall ever citadeling one through the bow.

[goldeagle1123]

The secret to the NC and Iowa: Just sitting there bow on like a static shore battery.

[Lord_Zath]

North Carolina has amazing bow armor.  It's very hard to be citadeled from the bow.  Going bow-on also means less ship to hit, as NC is very narrow compared to the Colorado.  That said, be sure to reposition often.  If you don't, you'll get flanked by a BB (and citadeled) or a DD (and torped).  NC has terrible torpedo defense.

 

This is why I loved running a stealth build on her so much.  Fire from angled position, turn into your enemy (bow on), wait for you to blink out (20 seconds), then reposition and repeat.  So much fun!

[The_Moe]

The secret to the NC and Iowa: Just sitting there bow on like a static shore battery.

 

Wow. I'll have to look for some NC videos on YouTube and see this in action.

[The_Moe]

North Carolina has amazing bow armor.  It's very hard to be citadeled from the bow.  Going bow-on also means less ship to hit, as NC is very narrow compared to the Colorado.  That said, be sure to reposition often.  If you don't, you'll get flanked by a BB (and citadeled) or a DD (and torped).  NC has terrible torpedo defense.

 

This is why I loved running a stealth build on her so much.  Fire from angled position, turn into your enemy (bow on), wait for you to blink out (20 seconds), then reposition and repeat.  So much fun!

 

Fascinating. Well, you and Noster both like the stealth builds, then.

[PcolaTy_1]

 

Wow. I'll have to look for some NC videos on YouTube and see this in action.

 

Doing what Lord_Zath said will limit the amount of AP damage that you will take; however, most smart players will start lobbing HE shells at you and staying still will make the NC a torpedo magnet. iChase (I think it was him) summed it best saying that the NC strengths come in from her speed and near invulnerability from the front. I know from personal experience that when going bow in at an Amagi, you are near invulnerable and the turrets armor thickness is at 18.1 inches, so you have a very low chance of them being taken out permanently or temporarily (not taking into account a Yamato).

[goldeagle1123]

 

Wow. I'll have to look for some NC videos on YouTube and see this in action.

 

Same goes for Izumo and Yamato. Any ship that has decent bow armor and a main battery with firepower centered in the fore section of the ship is a bow on BB.  The Indianapolis can also do this with some success against enemy cruisers that rely on AP, IE only German cruisers.

[The_Moe]

 

Doing what Lord_Zath said will limit the amount of AP damage that you will take; however, most smart players will start lobbing HE shells at you and staying still will make the NC a torpedo magnet. iChase (I think it was him) summed it best saying that the NC strengths come in from her speed and near invulnerability from the front. I know from personal experience that when going bow in at an Amagi, you are near invulnerable and the turrets armor thickness is at 18.1 inches, so you have a very low chance of them being taken out permanently or temporarily (not taking into account a Yamato).

 

Thank you.

[alexf24]

My Colorado is 28k from NC so I watched the video with interest.

 

I have encountered countless North Carolinas in battle and have a healthy respect for it. I have citadeled them (broadside at range), and have been killed by many of them in cruiser and really hurt in BBs. I can confirm their bow is impenetrable to AP. I can also confirm I can easily kill them in a Fubuki or Fletcher with torps if they are in range and don't WASD.

 

I like Colorado but it will be time to let her go soon. I have Nagato and Amagi, which I prefer, so Colorado will go.

 

[IceSerpen7]

 

 I can confirm their bow is impenetrable to AP.

 

It's not impenetrable, but in order to citadel NC through the bow you need to hit it in just the right spot and RNGesus usually gives you a finger when you try to do it.

[BladedPheonix]

That movie got me riled up!

 

WG WHEN YOU GOING TO ADD USS WASHINGTON!?!?!?!!

[BladedPheonix]

That movie got me riled up!

 

WG WHEN YOU GOING TO ADD USS WASHINGTON!?!?!?!!

 

My WALLET IS READY!!!!!!!

[JohnBlackJackGeary]

 

My WALLET IS READY!!!!!!!

 

As is mine! I want all of the U.S. BBs I can possibly get my hands on lol. 

[Shadowrigger1]

Other than the Tirpitz.. Every T8 and above BB is the same thing, Nose on battle, another reason most fights turn into a camp fest, BB's can't maneuver or they will get wrecked by the camping BBs with further range.

[Menemy]

Don't go 90° straight bow on, an Amagi can overmatch your bow.

[The_Moe]

Thank you for the comments, folks.

[Goose21891]

 

My WALLET IS READY!!!!!!!

To be fair, they could have put South Dakota as the Tier 8 with NC as a premium.

(Pay no attention to me living 90 minutes from the NC)

[BladedPheonix]

To be fair, they could have put South Dakota as the Tier 8 with NC as a premium.

(Pay no attention to me living 90 minutes from the NC)

 

I'm going to pretend this comment never happened nor this opinion was made public! the NC is a far better tier 8 than the south Dakota would have been! That and south Dakota will most likely be the starting point for the 2nd USN!

[PolarWolf32]

Just remember to WASD when you are plotting your course ;)

 

I have almost never* had a problem with putting a slight angle in the NC's bow. For a fairly thin horizontal belt, the slope makes the bow remarkably resilient, especially with a slight angle.

 

At distances, your best bet is to take plunging shots at out of position BBs or CAs and let the spotting mechanics do their work, and relocate. Really it's about moving somewhere to line up your next shot. Be mindful of the specifics of where your bow is pointed.

 

Once the battle presses on and the gaps are closed, drop to 1/4 to 1/2 flank, tweak your angling for trigger happy DDs, and process targets of opportunity with extreme prejudice. Most AP rounds will do nominal damage at best depending on the specific angles involved, and mindful use of DC for HE rounds will mitigate what I can best consider a serious annoyance.

 

*Last night, RNG decided to piss on me. Got caught in a brawl with another NC to buy time for our CVs to escape a broken line on neighbors. We must've been about 4km apart when he fired. I was somewhere between front quarter and bow on when he penned my bow for 40k+ and my annihilation. Considering i just hit him for about 8.5k just seconds before and I get whacked like that, it cut my night short and left me hella confused.

 

 

[Killjoy1941]

I never bow-tank in any BB if I can in any way prevent it. It's a tactically passive move which hamstrings your team and massively limits your effectiveness.

 

What bow-tanking does:

1. Makes you very vulnerable to torpedoes.

2. Limits your firepower and increases your dispersion by preventing full salvos.

3. Makes you conveniently easy to angle against.

4. Negates your potential to lend weight to a push in another part of the map or a more dynamic defense against a push from another direction.

5. The enemy always knows where you are and can plan against that. Similarly, they can assume passivity on your part.

6. Makes you a fantastic target for HE.

7. Encourages flanking against you.

8. Makes you extremely vulnerable to carriers.

 

What aggressive maneuvering does:

1. Maximizes your potential to flank the enemy.

2. Allows you to push or defend dynamically.

3. Reduces your vulnerability to torpedoes.

4. Allows you to use hard cover to limit incoming fire and visibility.

5. Limits the enemy's ability to plan against your actions.

6. Allows you to evade incoming fire.

7. Maximizes your opportunities to surprise the enemy and get broadside targets.

8. Grants maximum defensive ability against carriers.

 

Outside certain specific situations where your presence as a floating fortress is needed to help your team win, static play is always bad play.

[motaz87]

sitting bow on makes this game so boring. these are not tanks but turning and exposing your broadsides gets you wasted. i love the NC but its play style is sooo lame.

[KaptainKaybe]

I'm more than okay being bow on with the NC. Being able to use two thirds of her gun in exchange for being very very tough to kill is a good tradeoff. It's also situational. Bow on is great when you're holding a point and tanking against multiple ships while your allies nearby wiggle around and throw fire at the enemy. As a BB, it's kinda my role to take hits so my cruiser friends don't. There are many players that are happy blowing their ammo against an easy to hit BB rather than a dodging cruiser. Even if it's pointless ;) 

 

All of this is situational, of course, but NC is very strong bow on, and if I didn't want to cater to that strength, I'd play another ship.

[motaz87]

catering or not. its still boring as hell. hopefully the south dakota class will have stronger belt armor and not so easy to citadel.