A basic guide for new BB drivers or those who need some help with the strange world of capital gunships.
Must haves for BB drivers (and CA) in a Great Battle and beyond: -> Rookie Pilot > (lvl 25+ special forces sailor) on the support slots of your ship > only rookie pilots can fly a scout so dont turn them into a fighter/bomber
-> Scouts (as many as possible) > You can only avoid or shoot things things you can see
-> L guns, with at least 2 binds LIGHT HE and 1 bind AP > range is everything
-> Manual FCS > yes learning this is hard but the spread is A LOT better and you will get used to it eventually. It is hard the first days but once you learned it you will be a better player, dont change back to auto it will only make the learning process longer.
Things that DO NOT belong on a BB and why: -> Torps > Your goal is to stay at range and most torps dont have any (ijn torps do but thats another story) > The space for torps on a BB is 0, so you can only put 1 charge of torps in the lauchner, thats 1 shot after wich your torp launchers are useless.
-> huge amounts of belt armour > The only ships that might get close are DD`s, they will try to torp first and should die quite fast due to your superior firepower > only put 0,2-0,4" belt armour on your ship for crew (just a rumor, but it might help afterall) and torp protection
-> D guns and heavy shells > range is everything, if you cant get in range you cant hit anything, but you will get hit by any ships that has more range than you while you try to get into range to shoot. > yes there are few D guns that can be used but since this is a beginner guide just stick with this general rule
Things that can be usefull for your BB -> AA guns > general rule for all KM BB`s, put the Lv 30 3.46" AA on your ship and learn to use it > for the other nations its not that easy AA is always usefull, more for some nations than for others, check your nation guides in the forum to learn more about what ship can and should use AA.
-> Armour > Bulge, anti torp armour You need to find a balance between speed and protection. Bulge is usefull, but avoiding a torpedo hit is obviously better. > Deck Most hits that will land on your ship will hit the deck so thats the place you want to put armor on, but not many ships can fit enough armor to give enough protection against BB shells. Again the guides on the nations forum will tell you wich ships can be armoured. > Belt It only helps against ships that are close, so its mostly if not completly useless when you are fighting CAs/BBs
And now some simple tactics you should remember and follow while playing a Great Battle with your BB/CA.
- scout as much as possible, you can only shoot what you see
- never drive into dark unscouted parts of the map, you dont know wich giant ship, that might 1 shot you, is hidden there
- keep clear of other capital ships, they need space to maneuver
- dont rush into the middle after the start, you will either die to torp walls or 1 shot from any high level battleships in the game
- ships on wich your shells deal 0 dmg are most likely armoured, to confirm that watch your attack score closeley, if you only get a little attack or non at all change to AP ammunition
- 2 golden bars or more next to the players name indicate he has quite a high lever already. Even if you dont know exactly what ship he is driving expect it to be tougher, harder hitting and equipped with guns that have a lot more range than yours. DONT fight those players alone in your lower BB you will most likely die, wait for support from your CV or the higher battleships around you.
- if you can`t spot your shells at max range yet, try to shoot south in the start to get some indicator dots of your max range
- never shoot when ships are crossing you, if you have to cross another ship write so in the teamchat but try to avoid corssing other ships if possible
- try to avoid driving in a second line parallel to the main battle line, you will block the escape routes of the fighting ships. Try to enter the main battle line, if you are not strong enough to do so give the fighting ships enough space to maneuver
- if you are to weak to fight in the main battle line try to give flak support to the main line, but keep enough space so those ships can maneuver
- protect the high lvl carrier vessels of you team at all costs, even if you have to sacrifice yourself to do so, a living high level CV is far more powerfull and important than a ca/bb1
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