I feel like I am playing the Chapayev wrong......

[AHeadlessChicken]

I either survive all game and do really well (And those games have been few and far between). Or I get instant killed. I try and just harass BB's with HE but they pen me when I am not even broadside to em :/. Any Tips/Tricks using this Ship?

[Mesrith]

I either survive all game and do really well (And those games have been few and far between). Or I get instant killed. I try and just harass BB's with HE but they pen me when I am not even broadside to em :/. Any Tips/Tricks using this Ship?

 

The Chapy is a finesse ship.  You have to be extremely aware of enemy team positions and pick your battles.  You should prioritize killing enemy destroyers, dealing big AP damage to broadside cruisers, and spamming HE at other cruisers and/or battleships, in that order.  You're vulnerable to enemy carriers and an inviting target for other cruisers and battleships, so you have to use cover, stealth, and good ol' fashioned player intelligence to manage your engagements and limit your threats.

 

It's a delicate dance, good luck.

[Czevak]

Play it as support, stick with your main fleet and stay behind a couple ships and lob shells over em.

 

Never show broadside. WASD to the extreme.

[Stauffenberg44]

I\m on the learning curve with her as well.

What I am trying is early DD support to use radar on an enemy DD using smoke in a cap. Then falling back to basically be a support ship with hellacious HE.

[HMSTog]

I don't have the Chapayev, just got the Shchors. I know that the Chapayev can invisifire though if you have the concealment mod and the 5 point captain skill. The Mogami with the stock hull can do that too but the turret traverse can make it difficult to invisifire while keeping your distance. Also the Chapayev has an 11+ km radar so if a DD is spotting you you can stop firing and if you're still being spotted hit the radar and you will know where the DD is. So ya just abuse your stealth to the max, that's how I played her on the test server. I actually did a ton of fire damage to a Yamato that couldn't see me, it was kinda hilarious.

[_Rumple_]

Stay at range and fire HE. Try and get a captain up to lvl 5 CE. The ship is a serious firestarter---14.7km with CE, sit at 15km out no less and harrass. Your actual HE dmg will double with the constant fires you can set. It's not uncommon to end the game with 12-16 fires(I have demolition expert + concealment expert). Have moved onto the D. Donskoi since.

[Valoel_Vegas]

Take the path of least resistance and get concealment expert then proceed to sit at 15km+ at 1/4 speed and hold down left mouse button at battleships

[Crokodone]

Take the path of least resistance and get concealment expert then proceed to sit at 15km+ at 1/4 speed and hold down left mouse button at battleships

 

​the problem is that I don't think the OP has a 15pt skipper and neither do I. Without CE, Chappy is a tough boat to sail. The biggest brick about Russian CA's is that they cannot perform any of the traditional cruiser functions. The biggest problem with the Chappy I find when I'm trying to support the DDs caping; that's when I get deleted the most because in comparison to the NO, this thing has neither armor or rudder. In order to use the radar you gota get to within 11km of the enemy. 11km is a death sentence for this boat. Truth be told, play it like a slow Schores up tiered. The AA is short ranged but its currently better than the NO: 120k xp to go till the Donskoy.

[_Rumple_]

Even if you don't have CE, you still need to stay at range. In my opinion, russian cruisers make bad backups for capping DD's. If the DD smokes up, you are next in line for incoming shells and you lack the agility to evade. If you still feel the need to back up capping DD's, at least do it from medium range, slow down, angle away and be prepared to accelerate and dodge incoming rounds. As an analogy, it's kinda like the Khabarovsk, just because it's a DD, doesn't mean it should be capping as a primary objective. It's actually better to let another stealthier DD cap and you support them.