I'm an ex-serviceman of the Royal Australian Navy so World of Warships had immediate appeal for me. With more than a passing interest in all things World War II and as an outright addict of the original Company of Heroes RTS, falling in love with this game was probably inevitable. With this blog I hope to share my insights, discoveries, humorous and skillful plays and fails, and maybe the odd pearl of wisdom. I will of course be open to all forms of feedback, be they kind or not, so feel free to counter any position I hold, I'm open to all perspectives. With all that said, I'd like to start with a review of my most recent fleet requisition.
Tier VI Budyonny
This Tier 6 cruiser is part of the newly released Russian line, promising highly accurate fire at good ranges and high speed but with poor maneuverability, concealment and anti aircraft defences. Such a doctrine is very much in line with the already well established Russian Destroyers who share almost identical properties only in a smaller hull. I've progressed through to the Tier VIII Tashkent in the Russian Destroyer line, so it's fair to say I enjoy the play style they bring. They're very powerful where they specialize but are very much lambs to the slaughter if you get yourself into a less than ideal situation.
The Budyonny took me some time to adjust to. The lower tier cruisers don't really prepare you for what's to come, although many would argue that the Kirov at Tier V is similar. There are similarities, sure, but the ships themselves gain success in different ways, in my experience. Initially with the Budyonny I was using it very much as I did the Kirov; as a stand off weapon, taking advantage of my range and speed to engage and disengage at will, lobbing armour piercing shells with high accuracy at ranges beyond which my enemies could shoot back, searching for those elusive citadel hits. But they never came. Round after round I persisted, convinced I was doing something wrong or just plain unlucky, but the consistency of damage, or lack thereof, was soul destroying. A new tack was needed.
Early in the round I keep myself at ranges that are unlikely to make me a primary target, allowing destroyers and more agile Cruisers to draw fire and spot threats as they appear. Under such circumstances I'm picking out the largest targets and firing High Explosive rounds, trying to set ships ablaze and scoring consistent damage volleys that force my targets to either burn a repair consumable or withdraw from the battle or both. Astute attention to the mini map will undoubtedly show an attempted flank before long and this is when I think the Budyonny can really shine. One on one engagements are the kind I seldom lose, even with significantly less hit points than my opponent and it's very much due to the Budyonny's ability to charge down a target at high speed, head on whilst keeping two thirds of its primary weapons to bear on a target. Front on, it receives laughable damage from armour piercing rounds and in my experience it seems to be the ammunition of choice of my enemy when I'm faced with another cruiser. High explosive rounds are much more hazardous to the Budyonny, but with good angling on approach you can still bounce a good portion of incoming rounds. More often than not, in an effort to bring more firepower to bear or turn to maintain range, my enemies show their broadsides and at under 10km's, the Armour Piercing power of the Budyonny opens up opportunities for punishing citadel hits. Failing that opportunity I just keep charging down my quarry to around 5km's and open up my angle of approach slightly to launch a narrow spread of five torpedoes, finishing the fight in an instant.
If you've spent any time in Japanese cruisers you'll appreciate the benefit of Torpedoes on a Cruiser hull. However, at Tier VI & VII those torpedoes are rear firing, making their benefit very situational, especially when the lion's share of your turrets are forward, not aft. A similar problem exists with the German Cruisers. The Konigsberg and Nurnburg have better torpedo firing angles than thier Japanese couterparts, but their turret layout has one fore and two aft, so charging down targets means only one third of your guns are brought to bear. Moreover, the High Explosive damage is quite poor with the German ships, so you really have to hope your quarry panics and turns to run so you can get the broadside shot you need to punish them. The Budyonny may not get the 10km range of the Myoko and Aoba, but the ability to fire their torpedoes forward whilst keeping two thirds of their guns forward and closing at speeds in excess of 35 knots cannot be under stated. It enables you to protect your very fragile broadside and keep significant amounts of firepower to bear on your target, all the while closing the gap to get the lethal blow.
The situations to avoid are any that involve your broadside being exposed and whilst this might go without saying in Tier VI cruisers, it is especially important in the Budyonny. A Cleveland, for instance, has a notoriously difficult to hit citadel so the exposure of executing a turn in a Cleveland is greatly reduced. In the Budyonny, it's probably going to be fatal. Equally dangerous is air power. You can equip the AA consumable which will at least allow you to spread incoming torpedo bomber or dive bomber runs, but the AA guns are horribly inefficient and shooting down more than one aircraft in a squadron that's making a run on you is close to a miracle. Some might argue that such poor AA armament is a good reason to fit the Hydroacoustic consumable for hunting Destroyers more effectively but the turning speed of the Budyonny is so bad that you really do need to have your aggressors panic drop if you're to have any chance of avoiding the torpedos that hit the water. If I find myself in a situation with a lot of aircraft, I try to stick close to the Battleships in my fleet, they're usually a juicier target for the Carrier captain and I'm still able to maintain fire from similar ranges as the BBs.
Lastly, always fit the upgraded emergency repair unit. You'll be up against Myokos, Aobas and Clevelands who love nothing more than lighting your decks on fire all game. You need that cool down timer to be as low as possible.
Sail dangerously. =]
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