I cant git gud!

[xXSpotted_HyenaXx]

Okay, so I am at the end of my wits with the Japanese Battleship line.

I got bored (for now) With my 'Murican steel and decided to play something different. Plus I like to collect battleships, just like I like collecting heavy tanks in WoT. To me, they are confusing. 

American Battleships are pretty linear when it comes to their play style. Get in close, Tank enemy shots, deal devastating damage. But it seems like the Japanese BB's are completely unable to do any of those things.  So I tried hanging back and using my superior range. What i got, was a few 1,000 per hit shots, and angry teammates accusing me of being a coward. 

So if I cant get in close, and I cant do anything meaningful at range, how do I command these things? Am i just picking the wrong ships to shoot at? Should I just be in support of other Battleships?? 

[Lert]

Play them at mid range. Keep your angles in mind. Target prioritization matters as well.

[Citrusss]

no, angling is far more important on IJN BB, just like NC or Iowa. Angle well and get closer - guns are much better at shorter range and can eat any other ship much faster than USN counterpart

[CapnCappy]

There is a space between brawling and sniping.

 

It's around 12km to 15km away. IJN are fast. So get in there, as you get close, slow, if that doesn't work, time your turn around. Kite away.

 

This is the exact same tactic used for cruisers. You're just bigger and slower to turn. If you get in a spot where showing your broadside would mean citadels, reverse. You'll still probably die but more slowly.

[xXSpotted_HyenaXx]

There is a space between brawling and sniping.

 

 

It's around 12km to 15km away. IJN are fast. So get in there, as you get close, slow, if that doesn't work, time your turn around. Kite away.

 

 

This is the exact same tactic used for cruisers. You're just bigger and slower to turn. If you get in a spot where showing your broadside would mean citadels, reverse. You'll still probably die but more slowly.

So Hold my guns until 12 to 15? can I not angle to use my midships and stern guns also? Am I just stuck using my bow mains?

[Citrusss]

So Hold my guns until 12 to 15? can I not angle to use my midships and stern guns also? Am I just stuck using my bow mains?

 

you can when no one is shooting you  

[xXSpotted_HyenaXx]

 

you can when no one is shooting you  

 

Joy

[Estimated_Prophet]

no, angling is far more important on IJN BB, just like NC or Iowa. Angle well and get closer - guns are much better at shorter range and can eat any other ship much faster than USN counterpart

 

If you say so... Might be nice if those center hull hits I find easy enough to get would produce some citadels instead of the garbage overpens that seem to constantly come my way instead.

[Citrusss]

 

If you say so... Might be nice if those center hull hits I find easy enough to get would produce some citadels instead of the garbage overpens that seem to constantly come my way instead.

 

Good no-citadel hit with 410 on just any USN BB will cause 12k damage. aim lower, just at or a bit above water-line

[Lert]

So Hold my guns until 12 to 15? can I not angle to use my midships and stern guns also? Am I just stuck using my bow mains?

 

No, by all means, use your guns. Shots not taken don't do any damage at all. Just don't stay at 20km and snipe. Get to the ~12km range, that's the sweet spot for IJN BB's. As for angling, 'angling' doesn't neccesarily mean 'go bow in to the exclusion of everything else'. You can use all turrets, just keep sharply angled.

[kerensky914]

 

If you say so... Might be nice if those center hull hits I find easy enough to get would produce some citadels instead of the garbage overpens that seem to constantly come my way instead.

 

No doubt.  Nothing more frustrating than to hit a Kongo with a full salvo and see one penetration, 4 overpens and 3 ricochets.

[TTK_Aegis]

As others have already said, angle your hull and fight at mid range. If you want to engage at extra long range, pop your observation plane and either switch to HE or pray for a good plunging fire pen through the deck. I've killed plenty of cruisers with a citadel hit at max range with Nagato and Amagi, so it can be done.

 

As for target priority, start with whatever is showing a broadside and sailing straight. If you have to pick between multiple ideal targets, go for cruisers first and then fellow battleships. It's far more useful to your team to delete a cruiser than to slug it out with a BB while the cruiser you could have killed keeps setting people on fire. Of course, only target a DD if they are dangerously close or you have nothing else good to shoot at. Swap to HE if your only target option is a heavily angled BB. Standard stuff... 

[CapnCappy]

So Hold my guns until 12 to 15? can I not angle to use my midships and stern guns also? Am I just stuck using my bow mains?

 

No, you'll be spotted almost immediately. What I do is fire up my spotter plane on first contact and take some "maybe I'll get lucky" shots as I close range. Sometimes you get a nice citadel on the enemy as they don't expect 20km shells coming in.

 

 

 

As for just bow guns, what you do is stay angled, not completely bow on. That's bad in an IJN as your bow armor isn't very good. You stay heavily angled. Then when you ready to shoot, swing your [edited]out, fire as many guns as you can get on target while staying angled, then get back heavily angled again.

 

 

Aeeroon has a nice Fuso video out he just released. Of course, that guy is a god when it comes to lucky RNGesus shots.

[khaenn35]

Play them like fragile US BBs. That's me speaking from bad experiences. I learnt (not) it the hard way (my Kongo stats are crap )

[Estimated_Prophet]

Good no-citadel hit with 410 on just any USN BB will cause 12k damage. aim lower, just at or a bit above water-line

 

I think my problem may have something to do with not being able to judge subtle closeure/departure correctly, even when seeing what the target is doing on the mini-map; which bizarre in a way, because I seem to do quite well at flinging shells towards oddly angles enemies, or making snap-shots though a gap or at enemies about to go behind cover, and getting good damage...

 

La, la, la... sigh... 

[xXSpotted_HyenaXx]

As others have already said, angle your hull and fight at mid range. If you want to engage at extra long range, pop your observation plane and either switch to HE or pray for a good plunging fire pen through the deck. I've killed plenty of cruisers with a citadel hit at max range with Nagato and Amagi, so it can be done.

 

As for target priority, start with whatever is showing a broadside and sailing straight. If you have to pick between multiple ideal targets, go for cruisers first and then fellow battleships. It's far more useful to your team to delete a cruiser than to slug it out with a BB while the cruiser you could have killed keeps setting people on fire. Of course, only target a DD if they are dangerously close or you have nothing else good to shoot at. Swap to HE if your only target option is a heavily angled BB. Standard stuff... 

Thats another issue I face with any BB, Destroyers. Lower tier captains are easily defeated by the whole Point my bow (Or stern at them) And thread torpedoes. But that tactic seems to not work well in these higher tier matches where Destroyer captains seem a bit more able. Is there no hope aside from my secondaries and maybe having time to switch to HE? 

[SgtSpud]

Everyone has an opinion I suppose. Personally, I try to learn from my mistakes, of which there are many. MiniMap and situational awareness are our friends.

Because of my tendency to be a little aggressive I end up spending a lot of time watching others play. I am constantly amazed at the players that pass up sure kills on almost dead enemies who are merrily sailing along at close ranges, to shoot at a full strength BB at 18k out. I am stunned when a BB passes up a nice juicy cit....er cruiser sailing broadside. to shoot at a fast moving DD 12k out.  Situational awareness, get your head out of your ....er get out of binocular mode frequently, check minmap constantly. Know what is going on around you at all times (not always an easy thing to do) When I am in a BB I try to target nice soft Cruisers until they are gone then I will go after BBs. When I am sailing DDs, Battleships and spotting other DDs are my priority. When piloting a CA I first support my own DDs by targeting the enemy DDs then I go after everything else. Kill the weak ones First

 

 

[Show_Me_Your_Cits]

It sounds like you're in the Fuso... You need to get in much closer because that thing is a shotgun. Angle when reloading and turn just enough to unmask the rear guns when you're ready to fire. Use your speed to control engagements. Nagato is pretty much the same with fewer, larger guns. Amagi is too. Izumo is bow tank everything and forget you have a 3rd turret, Yamato is bow tank everything and only unmask #3 if you think it's safe. 

 

Sniping is bad. Being too close is bad. You've gotta work to find each ships sweet spot. 

[Soshi_Sone]

I play both IJN and USN.  For me, it's the ship more than the each nation's motif.  That said, although IJN have the range, you really can't do much staying at range.  So you have to move up.  Depending on the map, you will often get the opportunity to launch multiple salvos as you are on the way to mid range. Take advantage of those opportunities.  Although you typically don't do a lot of damage, you can often do "some" damage and occasionally get a cit.  This gives you the upper hand in the attrition battle.  

 

The problem with snipers who remain at long range is their attrition rate is not sufficient to carry once the battle is in full swing.  Yes, snipers will continue to render damage (without being touched in return), but the damage amount rendered at snipe range pales in comparison to the damage being inflicted by enemy BBs in the mid range.  Hence, the early game sniper must get to mid range to maintain the attrition advantage established in the early game.

 

Once at mid range, protect your broadsides.

 

There are caveats.  The movement from long to mid range is a function of battle type (standard/dom), MM, tier, and where you are in the tier.  Knowing how and when to transition to the mid range mid game only comes with experience.  In general, in the mid tiers, you should transition relatively fast.  In the high tiers, it's more of a dance.

[alexf24]

Remember when comparing USN vs IJN BBs is USN are mostly Battleships and brawling tanks. IJN switches between Battleships (e.g. Nagato) and Battlecruisers (e.g. Amagi). They play a little different.

 

The advice given above on ranges is spot on. Angling in IJN BBS is more critical than most USN BBs.

 

Shoot from distance, often and early? Yes. A shot not taken is damage not done. LWM wrote some time ago that a Fuso or Kongo should have a minimum of 100 shots per game. You should be shooting at every opportunity. Misses will happen, but if you wait till the perfect shot you will miss more opportunities. You should still get close, to the sweet spot for your ship.

[xXSpotted_HyenaXx]

The sweet spot does seem to be at 12 Kilometers, I 3 citted a fellow Fuso and blew him right the hell out of the water from full health. Still, given Fuso's armor, I feel uncomfortable fighting that close. But if thats what the ship wants, then I suppose, thats what she gets.

[Caderius]

The IJN battleship line is something I like to compare to a FPS player that is using a DMR rather than a sniper rifle or assault rifle, need to stay at mid range. This is due to while battleships have extreme capable range that is not the same as EFFECTIVE range, the dispersion gets so bad it's very hard to land consistent damage. Find the middle ground, say about 15km, and keep yourself angled. Don't show your broadside to anything unless you have to or if you have a good opportunity (like some schmuck other BB just broadsided at your angled front, in which case you have around 30 seconds to broadside him then get angled again)

[Sovek1944]

Having played the Kongou and her sister Haruana, I can confirm that you dont close any closer than 10, and you're accuarcy starts to really improve at or below 15.

 

Also IJN BBs can angle well to get all her guns on target. And take shots at broadside cruisers or BBs even at 20km, Ive had more than a few citadels even at that range

[Cuesta_Rey]

I suppose the tier 4 premium BB, the Ishizuchi, can help acquaint with the Japanese BB's as its max gun range is only 12.9 km anyway.

[centarina]

ishi has sigma of 2.0  making the guns very accurate.  its my most accurate BB