Colorado frustration

[Avrova1904]

I am now at Tier VII Colorado with USN Battleship line and I am so frustrated with this ship... I am just about to quit from USN BB line. I know USN battleships are slow but Colorado acceleration is simply irritating. With 50,000 HP sometimes I see cruisers with more HP than Colorado. Firing range is good as well as secondaries firing range but in average I really suck with this ship and I want to like it. Please, any tip will be accepted.

 

Thanks.

[Unabletony]

Don't quit just yet.

 

 

North Carolina is VERY WORTH the grind from Colorado.

 

Again, practice makes perfect. One of the older WoWs members will help you out.

[My_Other_Car_Is_A_Tank]

Just try and kill cruisers at medium range. Angle a lot. The guns are big, but turn slow and are inaccurate, just try and avoid sniping because you won't hit anything even if you aimed right. Nagato is a better ship but the Colorado leads to the North Carolina so it's worth it.

[SergeantHop]

I don't think a tier 7 will ever see a cruiser with more HP than Colorado. There are cruisers with more HP, but that's fine. Really, the secret to the Colorado is to keep a good angle and use her quick rudder to sneak in the aft turrets when it's safe. She has excellent armor and relatively accurate guns, her major downside is that big superstructure is fire bait, which will quickly whittle away your health.

 

I found the best way to play Colorado is to either use cover or don't be the biggest threat, and while people aren't paying attention to you, get close. 

[ZombieFlanders]

hmmm...i used to hate the lolarado, then it got buffed. since then its a good ship, it just plays differently than the whole line up to it. only 8 guns, low health etc...it is slow, cant change that. 

 

my advice is to stick with other BBs, going solo, much like other ships, gets you roasted. colorado has good armor and the guns are devastating against equal tiered ships and can still compete at T9. 

 

since it is slow, it is easy to strand yourself if youre not paying attention. stick with it, the experience will help you later in the line. 

[HazeGrayUnderway]

If reliably hitting is an issue, get good in your leading or simply get closer.  Remember that just because a BB lists a max range, that doesn't mean that value is also its effective engagement ranges.  In very generic terms 15km is good area, give or take a few km to engage with.  Feel free to creep closer but I would shy away from 10km because a number of DD torpedoes and IJN Cruiser torps are around that value, which gets more dangerous if you are advancing into it.

 

In addition, with Scharn-ageddon and other BBs flooding the queues right now, I've been seeing IJN & USN BBs wanting to Brawl with the Germans.

DON'T.

All the advantages of the German BBs are for Brawling.  Their secondaries will take a heavy toll and a few have torpedoes.

JUST DON'T.

Pummel them with range, keep them at bay as best as your slow 21kts can allow.  Push back that Brawl part of the fight as much as you can and let Colorado's superior, more powerful guns do their work.  Some of those German BBs are very fast and turn well.  Do not let them slip BEHIND your main battery.  I've maneuvered Scharnhorst in a way where I rush the USN BB, then keep speeding past the stern or bow, then find myself looking at the BACK of the USN BB's turrets.  Use Colorado's excellent turn to keep the German BB in your sights, don't let them get behind you.  Colorado may be slow, but she can turn.  And watch for torps.

 

As for Colorado's movement's she's slow like the previous tiered USN BBs.  The only thing you can do is get good in reading the battle on the minimap and move your ship accordingly, decisively.  She's too slow to constantly change course.  Pick a part of the map, an engagement, or where you anticipate a fight will be, and just GO.

[GrandAdmiral_2016]

Did not like Colorado during my T7 grind up to North Carolina. I still don't, but getting anywhere in NC requires at least a 12-point captain, and the artillery,fire control, both damage controls, hull and engine upgrades, amongst others, or you will find the learning curve just as steep and a whole lot more expensive. Colorado repair costs are bad enough., but bearable. Master it. If you can beat T8s regularly and T9s in it on occasional basis and survive, that is about as good as it gets. The problem with it in high tier matches is staying away from the small fry as you draw them like a magnet and can't run away.

[poeticmotion]

No matter how much you hate Colorado, stick with it. I liked Colorado but it's not everyone's cup of tea. But the transition to North Carolina is HUGE and you may very well find it was worth the grind; NorCar is as much better than Colorado as Colorado is better than Wyoming. Huge step up.

[Balck_]

That acceleration has cost me a couple of games where I had to slow down to avoid torps but couldn't pick up speed fast enough to land the finishing blow at a critical point.  Even toyed with mounting the acceleration module on it to try and combat this problem.

 

Though I sold my Colorado as soon as I unlocked my North Carolina, she was a much better ship than she used to be.  Her speed is both a blessing and a curse.  If you get caught in a bad spot, you're done for.  However, being slow also keeps you from getting into a bad spot, most of the time.  Her guns are pretty accurate and punchy.  To the point that I'm actually struggling to hit with the NC shots which I would not have a problem landing with the CO.  Do get that hull upgraded asap because it will give you better AP.

[Dunnik]

I recently got into the Colorado - aka "Lolrado" aka "Trololorado" with some trepidation because of it's reputation as a terrible ship. 

 

But I did my homework to make sure I had an optimized loadout and I found out that I was wrong: it's not as bad as its reputation suggests (but then again, I've been away from the game for a while, so maybe they buffed it). 

 

I have something like a 65% win rate in the Colorado, and have hit all sorts of 'cheeves with it, including Double Strike, Close Quarters, Dreadnought, Release the Kraken. When upgraded and spec'd correctly, it's also one of the best AA BB's out there. 

 

So yea, it sure is slow, but all the Standard type BB's are. It's one thing that should motivate you to go for the next tier. 

 

It may also go without saying, but the unupgraded WWI-era hull is obviously crap. Burn whatever bonus xp you have on getting the A hull, which you should get right after engines since 18 knot speed is a nightmare. 

 

As for the loadout, just look around and you'll see some tips on the Colorado, here's what I use: 

 

Main Armaments Mod 1

Artillery Plotting Room 1

Damage Control System 1

Steering Gears Modification 2

 

Skills (Commodore):

 

Expert Loader

Ship Survivability

Expert Marksman

High Alert

Advanced Firing Training

 

Good luck and happy hunting!

[Hangoverhomey]

It's all about it's guns, AA and Armor, that's it.  Use that to your advantage and reap the rewards.  

 

All of that being said, it still has poor stats, I believe it could use yet another small buff of some kind.

[CaptainRon023]

Yea, just gotta stick it out... once you get into the NC, it'll be worth it. Save all your free XP to bypass the Colorado anyway you can.

[Vindicationn]

I hate this ship. People say it has good armor but I get penned all the time while angled, almost laughbly so. I don't see what the strength of this ship is suppose to be at all. The guns are good, but its not like its auto-pen at any angle either. Certainly not good enough to make up for terrible speed and "good" armor. 

 

And said armor is supposedly why I have less HP than my New Mexico...

[Balck_]

I hate this ship. People say it has good armor but I get penned all the time while angled, almost laughbly so. I don't see what the strength of this ship is suppose to be at all. The guns are good, but its not like its auto-pen at any angle either. Certainly not good enough to make up for terrible speed and "good" armor. 

 

And said armor is supposedly why I have less HP than my New Mexico...

 

She's got the "all or nothing" armor scheme.  If you show too much of your bow, they'll go right through the forward bulkhead of the citadel.  She also has little to no armor at the super structure.  Like you, I found this out the hard way.  Third game in her, NC shot me down the bow for a double cit.  Never went bow in from that point on.

[Hangoverhomey]

 

She's got the "all or nothing" armor scheme.  If you show too much of your bow, they'll go right through the forward bulkhead of the citadel.  She also has little to no armor at the super structure.  Like you, I found this out the hard way.  Third game in her, NC shot me down the bow for a double cit.  Never went bow in from that point on.

 

Yeah the Bow gets over matched by 15 inch+ guns.   You will be surprised how much of your side you can show however with only a slight angle and you can take some serious punishment.   People will fire a full broadside at you almost flat on sometimes and they either bounce or just so crappy 2k hits.  Then you slug them back with 8x16 inch guns for 20,000....

 

 

 

The ship isn't great by any means and again it's performing poorly in the statistics, it needs some love WG.

[Panhandler62]

Angle angle angle... (in case it hasn't been mentioned enough!) lol

Effective range on the big guns is around 11K and under. Yeah, you can fire across most maps, but good luck hitting anything that way. Sure, if you're on the other side of the world go ahead and put your plane up and snipe, but only because a random hit is better than a no-hit.

 

Close range and squeeze of quality shots. Fully upgraded; the AA is pretty good so as long as you're not out paddling around all by yourself; you're not too, too vulnerable to CVs. Your greatest foes will be CAs. Always prioritize the CAs. Don't let them stand off and pour HE all over you or you'll beat the "R" key right through the bottom of your keyboard and burn down anyway. Bull rush them and hit them with the 45 cals.

 

Pay attention to where you're going so you don't drive yourself into a pickle or isolate yourself out of the fight.

 

You will learn to hate Atlantas and sneaky "noseum" DDs.

[Vindicationn]

 

She's got the "all or nothing" armor scheme.  If you show too much of your bow, they'll go right through the forward bulkhead of the citadel.  She also has little to no armor at the super structure.  Like you, I found this out the hard way.  Third game in her, NC shot me down the bow for a double cit.  Never went bow in from that point on.

 

Yes I'm aware. I was citadel's through my bow from a Warspite in my first game. But I love playing the Scharnhorst and she has similar armor - where she can't go bow on but prefers to show an angled side. I try to do this in the Colorado as well but I still feel like I get penned every time. 

 

And her being so slow makes keeping angling more difficult. 

 

Despite all my complaining I have healthy above average damage and k-d ratios. My problem is an abyssmal 37% W/R. And while all of that may or may not be out of my control, the Colorado is fully incapable of influencing the entire match - especially on the bigger maps she sees. She's too slow to go anywhere but one side and win or die on that side and hope your team is competent on the other. She can't snipe the other side either like an IJN BB could if it also was as slow (say Fuso, even though she's faster too lol). 

 

Hopefully the North Carolina will be every bit as worth it as everyone says. The Colorado is just extremely frustrating. 

[Ericson38]

Used to like mine, until the Scharnhorst came out. Now I don't play it anymore, not worth the frustration against even one Scharnhorst.

[Balck_]

 

Yes I'm aware. I was citadel's through my bow from a Warspite in my first game. But I love playing the Scharnhorst and she has similar armor - where she can't go bow on but prefers to show an angled side. I try to do this in the Colorado as well but I still feel like I get penned every time. 

 

And her being so slow makes keeping angling more difficult. 

 

Despite all my complaining I have healthy above average damage and k-d ratios. My problem is an abyssmal 37% W/R. And while all of that may or may not be out of my control, the Colorado is fully incapable of influencing the entire match - especially on the bigger maps she sees. She's too slow to go anywhere but one side and win or die on that side and hope your team is competent on the other. She can't snipe the other side either like an IJN BB could if it also was as slow (say Fuso, even though she's faster too lol). 

 

Hopefully the North Carolina will be every bit as worth it as everyone says. The Colorado is just extremely frustrating. 

How long have you been playing the CO?

 

If it coincides with the Scharnhorst's arrival, that explains the WR.  I was at 70% WR in my CO before Scharnhorst.  Then in four days after it was released and before I unlocked NC, dropped down to 60% WR.  The ship didn't perform any difference, she's still one of my top damage dealers.  But game quality dropped substantially after the shiny horse arrived.  This was very similar to my experience when Tirpitz came out while I was grinding Amagi.  65% WR, Tirpitz arrives, drop down to 50% WR.  Half the people in the premium ships aren't capable of using them right.  So it's a crap shoot as to which of them are on which team.  Seems that you keep drawing the short straw.

[Panhandler62]

I agree; Colorado is rarely a keystone player. If your cruisers don't support you it's all over but the finger pointing in the chat box.

 

North Carolina is a beast but she play very differently than pre-war brawlers. If you keep her angled properly you can tank it up good and hold off T10 BBs. She gets powned if the red guys put you in a spot where you can't angle properly though cause her side armour is pretty sad.

[Balck_]

I agree; Colorado is rarely a keystone player. If your cruisers don't support you it's all over but the finger pointing in the chat box.

 

North Carolina is a beast but she play very differently than pre-war brawlers. If you keep her angled properly you can tank it up good and hold off T10 BBs. She gets powned if the red guys put you in a spot where you can't angle properly though cause her side armour is pretty sad.

 

My problem with the NC are the guns.  Very temperamental.  One game they have super tight spread, next they straddle everything.  Had three cruisers broadside to me last night, under 10km.  Aim where we always aim for the juicy salvos.  Shots landing short or long, not one citadel.  It drove me nuts!  If I was in Amagi, CO or NM, they would have been deleted.

[SaveMeTomCruise]

Don't quit the NC is awesome.  I played some games in the CO hated it aND free xpd my way to a great ship.

[Ujenele]

 

Screw the AA dont get the C hull keep the secondaries and get a fighter plane instead of the spotter.  Get up close, tank damage and sink Cruisers.  Thats how you play the 'Rado right.  If you loose a match and your still alive, you did it wrong.

 

And yes, the German BBs with torps do require an adjustment to your tactics, but they are not invincible.  Just play them like you do a Tripitz avoid them all together or stay bow on and as soon as they give you broad side to launch torps hit them so hard they will never try that again!

 

Know that wherever you head to YOU ARE COMMITED its too slow to change plans. So communicate to your teamates your intentions, most teams are happy to support an aggresive BB willing to tank some damage.  If they get scared and run away, DO NOT turn tail and run, you will not get away and will only quicken your demise.  Bow on wiggle and take as many of them down with you.  This is how you win games in the 'Rado.

[Vindicationn]

How long have you been playing the CO?

 

If it coincides with the Scharnhorst's arrival, that explains the WR.  I was at 70% WR in my CO before Scharnhorst.  Then in four days after it was released and before I unlocked NC, dropped down to 60% WR.  The ship didn't perform any difference, she's still one of my top damage dealers.  But game quality dropped substantially after the shiny horse arrived.  This was very similar to my experience when Tirpitz came out while I was grinding Amagi.  65% WR, Tirpitz arrives, drop down to 50% WR.  Half the people in the premium ships aren't capable of using them right.  So it's a crap shoot as to which of them are on which team.  Seems that you keep drawing the short straw.

 

30 games. So maybe a week or two at most. You're actually not the first person to suggest this to me. But I've done splendid in my own Scharn, statistically and in W/R. 

 

 

[Balck_]

 

30 games. So maybe a week or two at most. You're actually not the first person to suggest this to me. But I've done splendid in my own Scharn, statistically and in W/R. 

 

 

 

Yeah, you started right when the sausage invasion began.  You're winning the team make up draw on  the Scharn and getting royally screwed on the CO.  Give it a couple more weeks then pick up the CO again.  Things should be closer to normal.  Use that time to grind credits because things get expensive once you get to NC and higher.  Very, expensive.