Whats the Incentive for guarding a base ??

[Combat_Kitten]

I'm a new player but steadily improving  still learning the ropes.. as such I want to help the team and create a non-selfish team style of play...

 

Was in a recent random match....All the other players split and skedaddled for the far ends of the earth.....  I was moving with them and noticed that no one stayed to guard the base, not even close, it was abandoned like an old shoe..........   Anticipating the usual chat message that "someone needs to guard the base" (which never came) I sent a message that  would guard the base, then I lumbered around my New Mexico and made the slow return....   Considering we were outnumbered with DD's I asked for some backup, not that they had to return, but someone to hang halfway back just in case.   Didn't get a single response, everyone continued to BFE...   A DD tried to take the base, and I got lucky with  an angled shots using my spotter plane and took him out.  He was 75% already toasted so very few points for the kill. 

The rest of the team cleaned up in BFE and wiped out their fleet... I couldn't get a shot into the battle, too far out of range. 

  

Ya, there's a question in here somewhere......   What's the net positive in sitting  back and guarding the base?   I received next to nothing (points) for staying back, while the other players got fat.  My calls for assistance went unheeded, and no one even slightly hung back just in case.  Yes, we received a win and that's good, but where's the incentive "next time" to sit back and "do the right thing" ?    I want to keep a positive attitude and keep the 'sacrifice' for the team type attitude, but as a new player its difficult to not get jaded and become part of the problem.        My apologies if this post sounds rather whiny, and perhaps it is, but my intent is to gather some positive vibes/advice from those more experienced rather than doing as many other newcomers have done and say "screw it, I'm looking out for myself from now on".

 

and a thanks to those that take time to maintain/mod this board and those that provide positive answers, as a newcomer its a gold mine of information and it is appreciated

[Amogussy]

If the enemy team takes your base then it's an automatic loss.

[Rusty_Bucket__]

In some cases there are two bases. If the enemy captures your base, you loose. In other cases, there are 3 or 4 bases. The team that holds more bases generates more points. No bases, no points from base capture.

[CylonRed]

So many conflicting goals in the game and forums where the only mantra seems to be push, push, push - which is viable when there are more than one base.  I have hung back and taken shots/dealt damage from a distance and if needed - turn to try and protect the cap when it is a standard game.

 

There is no incentive other than making sure the other team does not cap the base.

[4bRbyHSSzZ6pk]

There's no incentive for being inside the base to block the capping of the enemy.

 

I know I'll get a lot of stick for admitting this, but I found that base defense ribbons give out quite a bit of EXP if you can bag several, so if an enemy is going for a cap and it's not a destroyer or a ship that can easily hide itself within the cap, I let the enemy get inside the cap, grab a bit of capture progress and then take those away with a few shots for the base defense ribbons. The downside to this greedy play is that my team is not scoring points until that enemy is dead. Don't do it, don't be like me! Those several point ticks your team misses out on can cost you games later on as it happened to me.

[Lert]

"Whats the Incentive for guarding a base ??"

 

Winning.

 

One has to make a distintion though between 'guarding' a base (IE camping, staying near a base the entire match) and 'protecting' a base (IE, watching the minimap, flexing back to protect when the base is under pressure). The first one takes you out of the battle until it's too late, the second one means you're being a good teamplayer with an eye on the prize.

[Skarp_AGW]

If you damage a Red that is try to take either your "Base" (standard battle), or a Cap that is "owned" by your team, you will receive an XP bonus. If you are damaged while in your Base or owned Cap circle you will receive an XP bonus as well. It can add up.

 

And you were absolutely instrumental in your teams win. Acknowledged or not, that is a good feeling.

[Moksie]

Each guy that sits in the back at the spawnline/cap is a team with one guy short.

Each guy that heads straight sideways to the wall at the start is on a team with one guy short.

You're dealing with children that don't know how to try, all they do is follow to the wall.

You're dealing with learned sociopaths from regions, that think it's ok to throw people under the bus for personal gain. 

Your dealing with people without morals.  They haven't learned them yet, or are from regions where morals are wrong.

Try different classes, types of days, to work around these problems.

I just play IJN DD when the campers get out of school or are in force say like on a weekend.  I AM FREE OF CAMPERS I HUNT CAMPERS IM FREE!!!!!

During weekdays and inside of sleeping hours you can find some pretty fun dedicated guys that are willing to try.

Don't give up.  It's human nature.

Use tactics to use their lack of tactics against them.

[Combat_Kitten]

 

Just for the record...it was a two base scenario...

 

I didn't receive any damage, I was able to take out the enemy DD with my spotter (again a lucky shot)....the DD definitely would have taken the base had I not been there.     The battle was so concentrated to the North that I couldn't do both, perhaps if I was a cruiser or DD I could run back really fast, but with my USN BB it was all or nothing.      

 

Again, While I appreciate the candid answers they really don't totally provide a clear path for a new player to encourage team play.  The overall composite of the responses is that you get basically nothing for being the good guy other than a few extra XP points as a consolation prize.      I don't see any extra bonus points in the post-battle detailed report, although perhaps its consolidated in the total...    

 

 

[Combat_Kitten]

During weekdays and inside of sleeping hours you can find some pretty fun dedicated guys that are willing to try.

Don't give up.  It's human nature.

Use tactics to use their lack of tactics against them.

 

Wow...that spoke in truckloads and to the root of the problem .....     I have noticed that play is much more team oriented during weekday 'school hours' (if I have the time to play).....  I thought it was just an illusion...  Ha!   mystery solved!

[CAPTMUDDXX]

just mark that as a job well done for a win and move on

[VTAdmiral]

"Whats the Incentive for guarding a base ??"

 

Winning.

 

One has to make a distintion though between 'guarding' a base (IE camping, staying near a base the entire match) and 'protecting' a base (IE, watching the minimap, flexing back to protect when the base is under pressure). The first one takes you out of the battle until it's too late, the second one means you're being a good teamplayer with an eye on the prize.

 

Flexing back to protect the base if the enemy gets into the circle is a lot harder in a slow ship like the OP's New Mexico.

[Combat_Kitten]

just mark that as a job well done for a win and move on

 

​Mud... and I will....  but what about the hundreds/thousands of new players that don't have the maturity to "move on"?  My question covers something that hundreds of other new players will experience eventually; will they take the selfish fork in the road or become a better team player?   Hundreds of new players will read these responses, and perhaps many could be encouraged into following the correct fork in the road with some positive guidance and feedback.         Would I stay back again in a similar situation, ya probably would because I'm older and can see the big picture, but most younger players would not.   Teamwork is not an inherited trait, it has to be learned from others. 

[IronWolfV]

"Whats the Incentive for guarding a base ??"

 

Winning.

 

One has to make a distintion though between 'guarding' a base (IE camping, staying near a base the entire match) and 'protecting' a base (IE, watching the minimap, flexing back to protect when the base is under pressure). The first one takes you out of the battle until it's too late, the second one means you're being a good teamplayer with an eye on the prize.

 

^this, so much this.

[LemonadeWarrior]

You made the right call. It is very annoying when you use chat and noone responses. Not even with the build-in voice commands.

 

Lately I spam the chat with commands though, with pointing targets or selecting areas where my team is and than yell in capslock that they need to push towards the cap instead of chasing a single ship... Not very neat, but seems to work out okay when no one reacts in chat ;P

[hoom]

 the second one means you're being a good teamplayer with an eye on the prize.

 This.

 

On an individual battle you may get low dmg/xp but in the long term that situational awareness & doing something about it will pay off.

[Combat_Kitten]

You made the right call. It is very annoying when you use chat and noone responses. Not even with the build-in voice commands.

 

Lately I spam the chat with commands though, with pointing targets or selecting areas where my team is and than yell in capslock that they need to push towards the cap instead of chasing a single ship... Not very neat, but seems to work out okay when no one reacts in chat ;P

 

 

and you keep doing exactly that.....despite the bad eggs, there are many new players (myself included) that appreciate the guidance of someone calling out targets/areas.....

 

 

I know some players grumble when higher tiered players "play down" into lower levels, and while a few are there to pad stats most are really helpful.  I actually prefer having more experienced players on my team, it provides direction and training for the entire team. 

[AVR_Project]

One game, I kept hitting the F3 on the base cap and nobody responded - or even came back to the cap.

They simply formed a lemming train and headed straight for the enemy cap - suicide'ing half way there.

No answer in chat.  It was me in the Ranger alone against the enemy Ranger, two BBs, and a cruiser (Cleveland).  Needless to say, I lost that one - but I put up one hell of a fight.

... looked at the after battle score...

....

That's what I get for playing Co-Op after-hours.  My team-mates were all Bots.

[Macabe]

Nothing but the xp/credit bonus for winning. The cap defense ribbon seens to give minimal benefits.

[Combat_Kitten]

 This.

 

On an individual battle you may get low dmg/xp but in the long term that situational awareness & doing something about it will pay off.

 

​and this

Thanks +1

 

[Venom81]

You just need to learn situational awareness, and I'm not referring to the old captain skill.  Recognizing when to flex and when to push are things which are learned through hundreds of battles, and thousands of mistakes.

 

It comes in time.

 

Another thing to learn is what ships are suited to running back to base, and what ships should press on and ask for assistance.

 

For future reference, don't sit back and guard your base in a battleship if it puts you out of LoS/range of the enemy.  Putting your very big guns out of the fight is already a win for your enemies.  Let faster ships flex back to the base, ideally fast cruisers and destroyers, while you continue to hold the front lines and bring pain and death.

[B_Wilco]

with Venom and Lert. Defending the base is important, but it doesn't need a baby sitter. every Map has 3 avenues of approach. Left, right, center. So long as you have ships in all 3 approaches then you have no need to concern yourself with the safety of the base.

 

Ideally a BB should be focused to the left or right and moving forward or otherwise engaging the enemy. a DD is open to lead on the flanks, but really shines in the center where they can fight other DD's and put pressure on the enemy cap. CA's can support DD's or BB's on all three fronts, but should usually avoid the center due to drawing some unwanted attention from enemy on the flanks. If you notice on the map that one flank is falling, your team committed no resources to a flank, or if you see the enemy committed more resources to a particular flank then it might be time to defend the base or push harder.

 

For base defense the first line is your DD's (CV's are not being included in this) they are fast enough to relocate  with out drawing too much attention. The DD's primary job will be to get back to Cap and spot the enemy for the team. The CA's are the second line of defense. They are slower than DD's and will take longer to respond and will be noticed by the enemy. Their job is to engage what the DD spots. BB's can turn to defend if there is a need for bigger guns, but usually they will be far enough away that they wouldn't make it regardless, and they should focus on pushing to the enemy cap. This sounds like they are not getting involved in defending, but they are. They are tasked with keeping the rest of the enemy team from intercepting your Base defenders.

[Combat_Kitten]

 

 

For future reference, don't sit back and guard your base in a battleship if it puts you out of LoS/range of the enemy.  Putting your very big guns out of the fight is already a win for your enemies.  Let faster ships flex back to the base, ideally fast cruisers and destroyers, while you continue to hold the front lines and bring pain and death.

 

 

Venom/Wilco    .. Yes, your strategy is the correct one....  but in my defense I was using sit awareness, and apparently the only one doing so...    I think even a very experienced player would have made the same move.

 

I was moving myself in midrange to support as I usually do, and repeatedly called for someone (anyone) to fallback at least part way to guard a totally open base.   No one heeded the call, the chat was silent...   Because of the layout/distance the faster ships (actually ALL the ships) had overcommitted to the far fringe.          I felt an obligation to return my BB to the base under the circumstances, and if I had not that lone DD would have captured easily.

 

Dunno---Maybe this is a good thing.... Perhaps my skillset & Sit Awareness are improving to the point where I can now spot mistakes that others are making.  This stuff didn't bother me before, probably because I was oblivious to the mistakes and was doing the same thing. 

[SandraSmiles]

"Whats the Incentive for guarding a base ??"

 

Winning.

 

One has to make a distintion though between 'guarding' a base (IE camping, staying near a base the entire match) and 'protecting' a base (IE, watching the minimap, flexing back to protect when the base is under pressure). The first one takes you out of the battle until it's too late, the second one means you're being a good teamplayer with an eye on the prize.

 

This^

 

The op needs some clarity here.

Defending your base mean patrolling a perimeter on your base.

In short, don't stray further away from your base than 1.3 times the max range of your main battery.

This figure allows for marginal errors in the boat's max speed, max range, max rate of fire, etc.

Look at it as a basic axiom for base patrol.

[Venom81]

Dunno---Maybe this is a good thing.... Perhaps my skillset & Sit Awareness are improving to the point where I can now spot mistakes that others are making.  This stuff didn't bother me before, probably because I was oblivious to the mistakes and was doing the same thing. 

 

Ah ha.  Welcome to my world. 

 

One very important thing I've learned recently, is trying to babysit potatoes and compensate for their poor decisions is fine, if it doesn't have you screaming all over the map not actually doing anything to the enemy ships.

 

Otherwise, you're actually hurting your team in the long run by trying to cover too much by yourself.

 

After learning this additional information, I'd say your right on....although I still wonder if you, as a slow and sluggish battleship, might not have better served your team if you had continued pushing.