PSA: A destroyer's primary mission is to cap and spot

[gurudennis]

Take it from someone who perhaps knows a thing or two about how to play a destroyer.

 

As a DD in Domination, be it a gunboat or a stealthy torpedo ninja or anything in between, your primary, secondary and tertiary role is to contest capture points and spot the enemy destroyers trying to do the same. Whether you directly engage the enemy DDs on those points depends on the situation as well as your class and nation, but spot and contest you must because no other ship type (in the absence of carriers) can or likely will perform this role. It is therefore crucial that your mindset be built around securing the objectives and suppressing, removing or helping remove the enemy DD threat. After this is accomplished, or while accomplishing it, a destroyer can deal damage to other ships, but never would a good destroyer player consciously sacrifice their primary objective for damage whoring unless a win can no longer be theoretically secured.

 

There are no exceptions to this rule. There are however quite a few weak excuses. Some of them are, for instance:

 

1. "I'm a stealthy IJN DD and I must therefore hunt the enemy battleships or carriers by sneaking around the objectives". Bull[edited]. Your detection range allows you to spot enemy destroyers and assist your team in removing them from the map without getting in too much trouble. You can also stealth cap better than anyone else: once the enemy threats leave a cap, it's your chance to take it back right there and then. Your torpedoes are great for keeping the larger enemy ships away from the objectives and scoring occasional hard hits.

 

2. "I'm a Russian DD that is not really a DD but a cruiser". True, but in many cases you are still the smallest and stealthiest thing around an objective and therefore your job is clear: take it. This doesn't mean that you must suicide into a superior enemy force with your inferior concealment, but you can certainly do your gunboat thing from mid range until such time when an opportunity presents itself, and then do your job instead of sniping strictly from max range.

 

3. "I'm outgunned or outspotted". Well then play smarter and either take another cap or otherwise assist your team and do damage until an opportune moment comes or until enough support arrives in your area for a push to be viable.

 

4. "There's a carrier in the match, I can't afford to be spotted". Oh, man up already. Look for openings, keep trying, bait the planes into friendly AA, do what you can.

 

If you aren't contributing to the team's effort by doing your job as a DD (see above), you are directly and materially detrimental to your team's chances of success because the enemy DDs are likely doing their job with impunity. Don't be a noob. Improve the server average destroyer win rate by doing what you are supposed to be doing, not what you think will net you more damage or will keep you 100% safe. Of course, this applies to all ship types, but DDs being crucial as they are it's paramount that DD players realize how they can win 70+% of the time by simply working the objectives and spotting.

 

See also:

 

 

 

[Misniso]

Until the cruisers and battleships actually come up and support the DD...

 

...a DD's role is to do whatever they can given a ****ty hand.  If it means staying back with the fleet, so be it.

[Seraphil]

Mostly agreed.

[poeticmotion]

I wholeheartedly agree, with the exception of late-tier Russian DDs. I still often attempt to cap in Khab if there's no one else around to do it or if I can do it without getting focused thanks to terrain, but it's not as much of a no-brainer tactical decision as it is in USN or IJN DDs. 

[poeticmotion]

Until the cruisers and battleships actually come up and support the DD...

 

...a DD's role is to do whatever they can given a ****ty hand.

 

lol DDs don't always NEED support. I cap and defend caps whether I have cruisers and BBs or not. That's why I'm a DD main; it's the one type where I can do well even in randoms where I can't count on support. 

[BlazerSparta]

A destroyer's primary mission, like the primary mission of every other class is to earn enough credits to cover costs, and try to not lose more credits than they can cover.

 

WG for whatever moronic reason has decided to but the games' focus on progression and earnings, rather than putting the games' focus on ...... the game.

 

As a consequence, a huge number of team behaviours that are critical to winning are disincentivized, while a number of profitable non team behaviours are incentivized.

[Misniso]

 

lol DDs don't always NEED support. I cap and defend caps whether I have cruisers and BBs or not. That's why I'm a DD main; it's the one type where I can do well even in randoms where I can't count on support. 

 

I'm a DD user too and 90% of the reason why I'm dead is because I'm up there trying to cap or spot.  The rest of the fleet...?  Pulled back and offering token shots while I'm being triple teamed.

[Venom81]

Take it from someone who perhaps knows a thing or two about how to play a destroyer.

 

As a DD in Domination, be it a gunboat or a stealthy torpedo ninja or anything in between, your primary, secondary and tertiary role is to contest capture points and spot the enemy destroyers trying to do the same. Whether you directly engage the enemy DDs on those points depends on the situation as well as your class and nation, but spot and contest you must because no other ship type (in the absence of carriers) can or likely will perform this role. It is therefore crucial that your mindset be built around securing the objectives and suppressing, removing or helping remove the enemy DD threat. After this is accomplished, or while accomplishing it, a destroyer can deal damage to other ships, but never would a good destroyer player consciously sacrifice their primary objective for damage whoring unless a win can no longer be theoretically secured.

 

There are no exceptions to this rule. There are however quite a few weak excuses. Some of them are, for instance:

 

1. "I'm a stealthy IJN DD and I must therefore hunt the enemy battleships or carriers by sneaking around the objectives". Bull[edited]. Your detection range allows you to spot enemy destroyers and assist your team in removing them from the map without getting in too much trouble. You can also stealth cap better than anyone else: once the enemy threats leave a cap, it's your chance to take it back right there and then. Your torpedoes are great for keeping the larger enemy ships away from the objectives and scoring occasional hard hits.

 

2. "I'm a Russian DD that is not really a DD but a cruiser". True, but in many cases you are still the smallest and stealthiest thing around an objective and therefore your job is clear: take it. This doesn't mean that you must suicide into a superior enemy force with your inferior concealment, but you can certainly do your gunboat thing from mid range until such time when an opportunity presents itself, and then do your job instead of sniping strictly from max range.

 

3. "I'm outgunned or outspotted". Well then play smarter and either take another cap or otherwise assist your team and do damage until an opportune moment comes or until enough support arrives in your area for a push to be viable.

 

4. "There's a carrier in the match, I can't afford to be spotted". Oh, man up already. Look for openings, keep trying, bait the planes into friendly AA, do what you can.

 

If you aren't contributing to the team's effort by doing your job as a DD (see above), you are directly and materially detrimental to your team's chances of success because the enemy DDs are likely doing their job with impunity. Don't be a noob. Improve the server average destroyer win rate by doing what you are supposed to be doing, not what you think will net you more damage or will keep you 100% safe. Of course, this applies to all ship types, but DDs being crucial as they are it's paramount that DD players realize how they can win 70+% of the time by simply working the objectives and spotting.

 

See also:

 

 

 

 

All gud things.

 

+14

 

[Triela50]

We don't get spotting damage so why should we risk our ships so you can sit in the rear and snipe for xp?

[Aduial]

(In response to OP) I know what you're trying to say, but the whole argument depends on the presumption that teamplay exists in this game. For example, what happens if you go into a cap in a Mutsuki (for example), and you are attacked by a Farragut? You will mostly likely die, or you will have to retreat, and hand over the cap to the enemy. This is why IJN DDs cannot cap properly. They can use their detection to their advantage, only if they have support. 

[gurudennis]

(In response to OP) I know what you're trying to say, but the whole argument depends on the presumption that teamplay exists in this game. For example, what happens if you go into a cap in a Mutsuki (for example), and you are attacked by a Farragut? You will mostly likely die, or you will have to retreat, and hand over the cap to the enemy. This is why IJN DDs cannot cap properly. They can use their detection to their advantage, only if they have support. 

 

Of course. I'm not being dogmatic about every DD rushing into every cap at the start of the match and not leaving it until it's taken or they are sunk. Everything is subject to common sense, i.e. whether you are going to walk away from any likely encounters vs whether the game is at a crossroads and action simply must be taken for fear of imminent defeat.

 

But - where there's a will there's a way. My point is, the will has to be there.

[DokturProfesur]

We don't get spotting damage so why should we risk our ships so you can sit in the rear and snipe for xp?

 

That's coming next patch.

[Triela50]

 

That's coming next patch.

maybe WG is still trying to juggle the CV part of it

[Astralite]

 

Of course. I'm not being dogmatic about every DD rushing into every cap at the start of the match and not leaving it until it's taken or they are sunk. Everything is subject to common sense, i.e. whether you are going to walk away from any likely encounters vs whether the game is at a crossroads and action simply must be taken for fear of imminent defeat.

 

But - where there's a will there's a way. My point is, the will has to be there.

 

There isn't much of that to go around, which explains why so many people struggle to figure out what to do in a DD. 

[Kuckoo]

Surviving late into the match is important for destroyers, too.  You're no good to the team at a later, critical moment if you mindlessly yolo-rush into the guns of multiple ships and die within the first three minutes of the match.  Destroyers usually have the biggest influence in the middle and later stages of the match when there are more unsupported, isolated enemies around...

[Raven114]

I disagree with your statements about DD's. I have been in a lot of games when your team has 4 or 5 DD's and 4 minutes into the match there all dead. Because they all rushed to the cap and died there. But I have been in games when several DD's got together and hunted. Those were much better games and at the end they were in the top 5 exp. and most of those games we won. DD's Capts should be part of the attack strategy and not Cap fodder.

 

[gurudennis]

Surviving late into the match is important for destroyers, too.  You're no good to the team at a later, critical moment if you mindlessly yolo-rush into the guns of multiple ships and die within the first three minutes of the match.  Destroyers usually have the biggest influence in the middle and later stages of the match when there are more unsupported, isolated enemies around...

 

I disagree with your statements about DD's. I have been in a lot of games when your team has 4 or 5 DD's and 4 minutes into the match there all dead. Because they all rushed to the cap and died there. But I have been in games when several DD's got together and hunted. Those were much better games and at the end they were in the top 5 exp. and most of those games we won. DD's Capts should be part of the attack strategy and not Cap fodder.

 

While true, this is no excuse for throwing a game early by allowing the enemy unrestricted access to caps and key areas. Again, I'm not advocating YOLO. I'm saying that capping and spotting takes absolute undivided priority if and when possible.

[aether_tech]

I'm aether_tech, and I do what I want!

[Sir_Godz]

I agree. A DD should always be in front capping, contesting and scouting.

 

If a DD is not going to do those things then play another ship.

[Silver_not_grey]

Have to agree with the OP.  Even if you only get one "cap assist," you'll get enough credits to cover your repair costs (mostly-ish).  One caveat though, you need to spec your DD for concealment; if not, trying to cap can be suicide.

 

To the mighty T-8 Fubuki - All Hail and Rest in Peace

[atPrick__]

PSA: A destroyer's primary mission is to cap and spot

[AHeadlessChicken]

Until the cruisers and battleships actually come up and support the DD...

 

...a DD's role is to do whatever they can given a ****ty hand.  If it means staying back with the fleet, so be it.

 

This, I will play how I dam well please with BB's and Cruisers not wanting to move up and support the DD's 

[Valdez_Raptor]

Until the cruisers and battleships actually come up and support the DD...

 

...a DD's role is to do whatever they can given a ****ty hand.  If it means staying back with the fleet, so be it.

 

Wish I had the screen shot of 3 DD's (friendly) in front of me by 5km as I was in their smoke with them in my yamato, shooting the enemy DD's with my secondaries.  In a cap to boot... was glorious.

[Raven114]

I got an idea get rid of caps, just search and destroy games.

 

[gurudennis]

This, I will play how I dam well please with BB's and Cruisers not wanting to move up and support the DD's 

 

You do want to improve your results with destroyers, right? Well, take the advice and think about it.