Battle tactics

Hi folks!

After some live-battle last time, today, I'll elaborate more on some common and effective tactics for World of Warships Blitz.

It's a good idea to understand the style you like to play, practice it, and outfit your ships accordingly. Equipment and modifications can make a huge difference in supporting the way you battle.

Distance

Consider the range of your weapons. A destroyer will have some mid-range main guns, but its primary, devastating weapon is the torpedo. Those aren't really effective at long range, even though Japanese torpedoes run for about 8km - hitting anything at that range requires the enemy to either stand still or strictly stay on course, which, inconveniently, they usually do not do.

So torpedo attacks happen at much closer ranges. This means for the destroyer captain that they need to get into a favourable position to launch, especially that it takes about 30s to reload, so once you've launched, you better not stay right next to a cruiser or battleship. While destroyers have the natural advantages of low observability and high speeds, they require a playstyle matching these strengths to be effective.

On the other side of the spectrum, we've got cruisers, battleships and especially carriers who usually have very little desire to be anywhere near their targets. Their main guns usually have a range of 10km and more, and for carriers, their planes can really go anywhere on the battlefield. Cruisers, being the jack-of-all-trades, are often more in the thick of it (especially if they carry torpedoes).

Cover

All maps have islands on them, which act as natural cover. They shield you from view, as well as enemy shells, making them the obvious ally of destroyers and light cruisers. Ambush torpedo attacks are deadly, as you can get close without being spotted (and subsequently shot at), giving you the element of surprise, and the enemy very little time to react. Imagine 9 torpedoes crashing into your side, doing 3000 damage each.

Now, you're not playing destroyer, so why should you care? You've got to be prepared for those kind of attacks, and avoid them. Keep track of enemy destroyers. The game tells you how many there are, so make sure you have an idea where they are. And generally try to stay clear of cover, since you want to spot destroyers while they're still too far to hit you.

Don't sail in a straight line

This is one of the most common mistakes. You've got an enemy ship in your sights, you're zoomed in with your binoculars, just waiting for the guns to reload for that next, devastating broadside - and boom, you're getting hit by a battleship, and off you go to Davy Jones' Locker.

How did that happen? You've stayed in a straight line, sailing forward at full speed, giving that enemy battleship a clear and stable target.

Consider the time it takes for shells to fly some kilometres. True, much less than it takes torpedoes to swim that far, but your ship still moves a considerable amount between shot fired and shells landing. So if you're looking at long-range, indirect artillery, you've got to range and lead your shot - you've got to aim at the point the enemy target will be by the time the shells land, not where it is right now. The further you shoot, the further the target can sail.

Now if the target sails in a straight line, that's fairly easy - you'll get a feel for how much you have to lead your shots pretty quickly. But if they sail unpredictably - varying their speed, turning here and there, they easily dodge most or all of your shells.

So if you're being shot at, don't sail in a straight line. If you're the one doing the shooting, try to predict your target's movement. The closer you get, the easier it is to hit - but don't forget about the torpedoes.

That's it for today, more coming up next time.