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stargazer
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Subs are difficult to balance as they are currently represented. Let me outline a few
salient points here:
1) Subs need to be able to close with a target.
- For their play-style, submarines need to get close to an enemy ship. This means
that a sub needs to see the direction an enemy ship is heading in an adjust their
course to intercept. This is where air versus speed comes into play. A sub must have
the -opportunity- to catch a battleship, but not a guarantee. Most people agree that
a BB should be able to outrun an SS, so this leaves stealth and positioning to enable
a sub to get in close. More air would let a sub stay underwater longer, avoid
detection, and creep up on an unsuspecting target.
2) People don't like being ambushed.
- This goes with any game. The sub is basically a rogue, and everyone HATES rogues.
Getting stabbed in the back out of nowhere is extremely irritating, but that's how
subs work. What this means is that, despite player perception, subs need -better-
stealth abilities. As it stands, a good portion of the enemy team can detect your sub,
and the -entire- enemy team can see your sub once detected. If we refer to point
#1, we can already assume that subs will be slower than their targets, so once
seen, their quarry will most likely turn, run, and escape.
2a) Sonar
- So, DD's and FF's receive auto-sonar, and once found, the sub is then exposed to
the entire team. This, I believe, is a mistake. Yes, DD's, FF's, and CL's should be the
core ASW ships. However, the auto-sonar should -only- allow -one- ship to see the
sub. The image would not be transmitted to everyone else. I propose that only with
the addition of a sonarman should the whole team be informed of the subs location.
In addition, CA's, BB's, and CV's should not be able to use any form of sonar.
3) Torp damage, bulge, and levels
- This is where I find myself in a quandary. A sub needs the chance to catch a
battleship, but should it be able to kill it once caught? As it stands, BB's have enough
bulge to completely absorb an entire salvo of torps. But the amount of bulge various
BB's carry will differ from player to player. The level of the sub versus the level of the
BB will also come into account. An SS1 versus a BB6 should not, I believe, result in
the BB6 dying unless it was already crippled or devoid of bulge. BB's also resent
dying in a single salvo.
3a) Damage
- As with #1, I believe that, according to the subs level, they need a -chance- at
killing a BB. An SS1, for example, should have a chance of killing a BB1. An SS2 for a
BB2, an SS3 for a BB3, and an SS4 for a BB4. A BB5 and BB6 should be the most
difficult targets, but should -not- be impossible to kill for a determined SS4 or a pack
of smaller subs working together. For a fully-bulged ship, 1-2 salvos should destroy
the bulge, with the 3rd and 4th either crippling or killing the ship itself. This will, of
course, vary on the ship and sub. An SS4 versus a non-bulged BB1 should probably
kill it in 1-2 salvos. An SS1 versus a fully-bulged BB5? Not so much.
3b) Levels
- I speak from experience when I say the SS1 is the most painful, annoying trial of
endurance and fatigue I have ever experienced in this game. It's horrendously slow,
it has no air, few torps, and is bait for practically every ASW that comes along. The
SS2 is much, much better by comparison, and the SS3 and 4 are more or less fine.
Now, if you bump up the levels of the subs to correspond with the ships they are
supposed to kill, namely BB's and CV's, this would bring the SS1 up to about level 50.
If this is done, then the SS1 would need some serious tweaking, not to mention that
the sub ship line itself would be a long, horrendous grind almost equal to that of
leveling a CV crew to its first CV.
3c) Splash
- Sub splash damage is a little...well, irritating. Seeing a torp sail well past the back
of my DD, exploding, and crippling me at a range a normal torp would have only -
scratched- me at is annoying at best. It needs to be reduced, no question.
4) ASW
- Subs should be afraid of DD's and FF's. They are the ships meant to hunt them,
after all. Now, all DD's and FF's would get auto-sonar, but it would be limited to the
ship that had spotted to the sub, as I noted in a point above. However, there needs
to be some way to tell which ships have sonarmen equipped so that subs know
which ships will transmit their image to the entire team and will therefore be able to
better avoid them. Since subs carry sonarmen anyway, perhaps the levels of
opposing sonarmen should become a factor? For example, if a sub has a level 50
sonarman versus a DD with a level 25 sonarman, the sub would be able to tell,
before it got in range to see him, that the DD was a danger. I'm not entirely sure if
this could be coded, but it's a thought anyway. Sonar should not function when in
overheat.
4a) Depth Charge damage
- ASW needs to be able to kill subs. As it stands, I think both DC's and Hedgehogs
are fine as they are damage-wise. However, I would drastically reduce the damage
they do to surface ships. DD's and CL's should not be able to nearly cripple
themselves when simply doing the job they are designed to do.
So, to sum things up:
1) BB's need to be able to run from a sub when it's spotted.
2) Subs need a better chance going undetected.
3) Subs need to be able to stay underwater longer, since that is their playstyle.
4) Auto-sonar needs to be personal only, with sonarmen required for team spotting.
5) Sub level should correspond with the ships they are meant to kill.
6) It should take a few salvos to kill a fully-bulged ship, depending upon level of both
sub and ship.
7) Torp splash damage needs to be reduced.
8) Torp damage needs to be adjusted based on numbers 5 and 6.
9) Subs need to be able to tell which ships are equipped with sonarmen.
10) Depth charge need to inflict less damage upon surface ships.
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