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Brahan44
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NOTE: THIS IS **NOT** MY GUIDE...I COPY/PASTED IT FROM ANOTHER TOPIC. I can't
find who wrote it..I copy'd it along time ago..its for IJN but I think that the basics for
SS1 work will all subs.
"Now that the new SS rules have been in practice for a while (increasing shell
damage for SS on the surface), I thought a comprehensive guide for SS would be
nice to write. I currently have a level 89 SS BO.
It is my favorite ship to drive. It fits my personality. BBs are generally more
challenging game play -- SS fighting is a lot of patience packed with moments of
excitement. I like it, because played well you can impact most games and in a
moment change a losing game to a winner for your team.
It is much more difficult to bring up a IJN SS crew in the current rules. The grind out
of SS1 is unbearably bad. You are generally too slow to chase any ships down and
you are too vulnerable on the surface. There are only two ways to gain good exp at
this level. If you are on the weak side of your team, you wait for your line to
collapse and then attack any rushing ships. If you are on the strong side of the line,
you wait for attacking SS's. Try to take them out while they are trying to attack the
BBs. If you do damage on the enemy before dying, your team will appreciate your
contribution. Many players will charge the middle. For a SS1 this is a suicide tactic.
Otherwise, wait till your BO is at least high enough for SS2 and then do a ship tree
reset.
Be aware of scouts. Often I will go under water when enemy pilots are above
so the other team doesn't know I am in the area.
Early on, check where clouds are in the game. Clouds are nice for hiding while taking
on
air. Also, if you fire torps through clouds, the enemy will most likely not see them.
For crew, don't become a SS driver until you have two support which can convert to
sonar and planesman. I started without a planesman and it takes forever for your
O2 tanks to fill. I also play with a Seaman -- he is GREAT. He makes up for the lack
of crew slots.
SS2, SS3, SS4 are fairly similar and the tactics used are similar. The SS2 (Junsen) is
awesome -- I love all of the torpedo tubes. I stayed in it, even after my BO could
command the SS3, until my crew sizes didn't fit in the ship. SS3 (Kadei) is the best
ASW ship, though the 4 tubes up front are limiting. The SS4 (Hei) with 8 tubes up
front is awesome, but don't get caught in close with an enemy sub -- it can be very
difficult to win. It is also very hardy, even on the surface a BB5 can't sink you with
one hit.
3 Keys to beating other subs. First, use the initial scouts to determine where the
enemy subs are going and how fast they are going. You want to predict where
they are before they reach your sonar, because your torpedos are the fartherest
firing. Secondly, you know exactly where you torpedos explode. You are trying to
replicate the proximity explosions of the KM and UK torpedos. Even if you don't hit
the enemy sub, you can still kill him with 2 or 3 torpedos exploding at max range in
his vicinity. Thirdly, don't get in a close range battle with enemy subs. They will
have proximity charges, more speed, and turning. Its what I call "Flying Tiger"
fighting. Just as the Flying Tigers in WW2 never got into dogfights with the
Japanese Zero's, I never get into a dogfight with an enemy sub. As such I have a
very high kill ratio, something like 10:1.
With SS2 and 3, fire an early salvo to explode where you think the enemy sub will
appear. Then turn around and be ready to run. If you don't hit him with the first
salvo, he will probably turn to attack you. At that time you run away from his
torpedos while launching your aft ones. His will explode before they reach you and
he should die from your shots.
In SS4, I only fire 4-6 of my tubes with the first salvo and then I stop moving. At this
point, I wait to see the enemy. As he charges, I shoot my remaining torpedos AFTER
he has fired his. I then crit dive if needed. Usually, I will kill him with my shots or
force a crit dive. Because I shot my torpedos after his, I can come out of crit dive
first and pepper his position with torpedos. Almost guaranteed to win, even against
KM SS4.
But your real role is as a BB killer. I have killed more BBs than any other ship type.
To be most effective, you need to get to the enemy line as soon as possible. Decide
which direction you want to attack and move as quickly as possible to that point
without using OH. (Save OH for when you are in the BB line or closing on a high
value target) Hide in any clouds that are along the way. You can either dive
before scouts appear, thereby hiding your presence from the enemy, but reducing
your time underwater in the enemy line or you stay on the surface until you think
the enemy can hit you. I don't like taking damage from shells early on. I find having
full DP when infighting gives you significant staying power.
When attacking BBs I like to work with a BB5/6 on the enemy BB line. I can scout
enemy BBs for them with my sonar and having them lob shells in on enemy prevents
them from just focusing on me. A good teammate will take out any CLs or DDs
making you invisible to the enemy. (TY to all of those good teammates!) Multiple
times, with a good teamate or two, we have been able to wipe out one side of the
enemy.
When attacking a BB I almost always use maximum velocity mode. You don't have
many opportunities to hit BBs. You want to kill them if you do have an opportunity.
Against any other ship I use Gradual Firing and use a spread of torpedos. IF the
ships are running away from you, take advantage of the torpedos exploding at max
range to cause them damage. Rarely does it pay to run after ships unless you have
a support BB behind you. Usually you will run out of air before killing them.
If there is a particularly sweet target (BB/CV 5 or 6, or FLAG) in the area, I often hold
my fire hoping to get a full salvo off before anyone knows I am in the area.
Otherwise, they will run away. Of course, if there is a DD or CL, you have to get rid
of them or their sonar will pick you up.
If on the surface, always turn you sub toward or away from any attacking ships. Its
a lot harder for them to hit the sub's narrow profile. If you have a DD with DC's
attacking you, sometimes it is best to surface. DC's have less damage on surfaced
ships. I like surfacing when on top of CVs with the HEI. It gives my AA a chance to
shoot down their planes. Once, I had severely damaged the CV and was out of
torps. I
surfaced "inside of the CV" He decided to shoot me while there and sunk himself!
Every
time he hit me, he also took damage. It can be a lot of fun.
You either need to go banzai at the beginning of the game to kill as many BBs early
or you should be ready to retreat into the protection of your lines to get additional
air. It is more difficult to be effective using strategy #2, but if the battle is even
handed, you can kill the enemy subs, retreat, get a full tank of air and then go out
and get that high level BB who is pounding your team. Once you get him, your team
will probably win. I actually enjoy playing this way as it takes more skill, but when
you are the only sub remaining, you can drive the other team nuts.
Finally, remember, this is a game! Have Fun!!!"
NOTE: THIS IS **NOT** MY GUIDE...I COPY/PASTED IT FROM ANOTHER TOPIC. I can't
find who wrote it..I copy'd it along time ago..its for IJN but I think that the basics for
SS1 work will all subs.
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