6 archebuster Member 28 posts 565 battles Report post #1 Posted July 25, 2017 Hello everyone. I have been following this game for 2 years now. But only managed to get my hands on it very recently. And First up I love this game. It's a blast. At present I have only hit tier 4 with my Kaiser. So putting the brief intro aside, I am have always been interested in Aircraft Carriers, from the time I have seen Flammu, Aerron and many others putting up videos about it. My basic question would around what line should I choose between USN and IJN. But I am sure this is answered several times and I have gathered IJN CVs to be superior due to their Torpedo Bombers and more Squadrons. So, my question would to be whether there are any reasons to actually invest on US Cvs. As I have gathered they are good for AS builds but they don't seem to be that rewarding. If there is any reason why I should try an invest on the carrier line, how on earth should I play it. Really want to know feedbacks from people who play them and been with them in a game and those that actually got bested by US CVs. Just want to start with an unbiased opinion on the US line, if it is possible. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1,801 icy_phoenix Super Tester_ 7,897 posts 10,290 battles Report post #2 Posted July 25, 2017 Even though I don't play CV, I can give you one advice that everyone will agree with.. BUY SAIPAN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
9 [ANZMC] Dire_Venom Member 112 posts 2,646 battles Report post #3 Posted July 25, 2017 Yeah... the Saipan isn't really a carrier for beginners XD I purchased it a month or two ago, and really havn't had much fun (despite doing well) in it. I find CV play to be a bit lacking in it's current state to be honest. Back to the OP, in general both lines are perfectly fine for a few tiers, and you can definatly have a good lot of fun in both. However at tier 6 and above the IJN just get superior loadout choiches, which really gimps the USN in cv play. (not to mention the IJN get ridiculously low re-arm times compared to the USN). USN has higher hitpoint planes and a lot more of then per squadren, but IJN get a lot more squadrens (with fewer planes) and have more loadout flexiability. IJN don't have to give up much to get decent fighter cover, but the USN have to give up most of their striking power for it :/ (USN defualt loadouts should really be 2/1/1 imo) That being said, I've heard that some of the latter tier USN CV's can be good, but the grind is pretty painful :/ Unless you REALLY enjoy and want to grind the US CV line (and can still say this after playing a few weeks of playing CV's) I would not recommend buying the saipan at all. Its not a ship thats fun for you, or your opponents. Best to skip past tier 7 as fast as you can. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
528 [REPOI] LordTyphoon Member 1,099 posts 21,389 battles Report post #4 Posted July 26, 2017 5 hours ago, archebuster said: Hello everyone. I have been following this game for 2 years now. But only managed to get my hands on it very recently. And First up I love this game. It's a blast. At present I have only hit tier 4 with my Kaiser. So putting the brief intro aside, I am have always been interested in Aircraft Carriers, from the time I have seen Flammu, Aerron and many others putting up videos about it. My basic question would around what line should I choose between USN and IJN. But I am sure this is answered several times and I have gathered IJN CVs to be superior due to their Torpedo Bombers and more Squadrons. So, my question would to be whether there are any reasons to actually invest on US Cvs. As I have gathered they are good for AS builds but they don't seem to be that rewarding. If there is any reason why I should try an invest on the carrier line, how on earth should I play it. Really want to know feedbacks from people who play them and been with them in a game and those that actually got bested by US CVs. Just want to start with an unbiased opinion on the US line, if it is possible. YES. Do invest your time. If you play them, you know and will be familiar with what they can and can't do. If you don't play them, you won't truly understand their limitations/strengths. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2,997 [TDA] RalphTheTheatreCat ST Coordinator 5,731 posts 8,208 battles Report post #5 Posted July 26, 2017 Best bit of CV advice anyone can give you is don't play CV. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
33 THUNDERCOMMANDER4 ∞ Member 303 posts 4,122 battles Report post #6 Posted July 26, 2017 unless u have been playing strategy games and i mean like hardcore strategy and know how to micro manage then dont touch cv besides even with economy changes cv rarely get much unless u do awsome Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3,407 [REPOI] Drakon233 Member 6,714 posts 27,077 battles Report post #7 Posted July 26, 2017 9 minutes ago, THUNDERCOMMANDER4 said: unless u have been playing strategy games and i mean like hardcore strategy and know how to micro manage then dont touch cv besides even with economy changes cv rarely get much even if do awsome fixed 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1,801 icy_phoenix Super Tester_ 7,897 posts 10,290 battles Report post #8 Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) 9 hours ago, Dire_Venom said: That being said, I've heard that some of the latter tier USN CV's can be good, but the grind is pretty painful :/ Unless you REALLY enjoy and want to grind the US CV line (and can still say this after playing a few weeks of playing CV's) I would not recommend buying the saipan at all. Its not a ship thats fun for you, or your opponents. Best to skip past tier 7 as fast as you can. I didn't tell him to play Saipan, I told him to buy Saipan while she is on sale. He can always play later!! Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's a dull CV. And who think's about enemy's fun, I don't. I want to make battles as much un-fun for enemy as I can. Edited July 26, 2017 by icy_phoenix Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2,229 [MRI] Thyaliad Member 3,668 posts 15,897 battles Report post #9 Posted July 26, 2017 While IJN are indeed superior for many tiers, IMO beginners should start with the USN CVs. They have fewer squadrons and are easier to manage. Plus they have beefier squadrons so you don't get punished as hard as IJN for straying over AA. I find at tiers 4-5 USN CVs are better than the IJN. Tier 6 Independence with the balanced loadout can beat a strike Ryujo. Ranger and Lexington is where the USN CV line suffers greatly due to their over-specialised loadout. Tiers 9-10 it gets better it seems but I am not sure (I don't have those CVs and I am still grinding my stock Essex in Coop so can't really comment here). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6 archebuster Member 28 posts 565 battles Report post #10 Posted July 26, 2017 Quote 10 hours ago, icy_phoenix said: Even though I don't play CV, I can give you one advice that everyone will agree with.. BUY SAIPAN At the moment I don't really think I am getting any premium ships or consumables. 9 hours ago, Dire_Venom said: Yeah... the Saipan isn't really a carrier for beginners XD I purchased it a month or two ago, and really havn't had much fun (despite doing well) in it. I find CV play to be a bit lacking in it's current state to be honest. Back to the OP, in general both lines are perfectly fine for a few tiers, and you can definatly have a good lot of fun in both. However at tier 6 and above the IJN just get superior loadout choiches, which really gimps the USN in cv play. (not to mention the IJN get ridiculously low re-arm times compared to the USN). USN has higher hitpoint planes and a lot more of then per squadren, but IJN get a lot more squadrens (with fewer planes) and have more loadout flexiability. IJN don't have to give up much to get decent fighter cover, but the USN have to give up most of their striking power for it :/ (USN defualt loadouts should really be 2/1/1 imo) That being said, I've heard that some of the latter tier USN CV's can be good, but the grind is pretty painful :/ Unless you REALLY enjoy and want to grind the US CV line (and can still say this after playing a few weeks of playing CV's) I would not recommend buying the saipan at all. Its not a ship thats fun for you, or your opponents. Best to skip past tier 7 as fast as you can. Those are some of the things I usually get to hear in videos on from one of my friends in the NA server. He says how he hates seeing a USN CV in his team specially in t7-t8 matches. 1 hour ago, THUNDERCOMMANDER4 said: unless u have been playing strategy games and i mean like hardcore strategy and know how to micro manage then dont touch cv besides even with economy changes cv rarely get much unless u do awsome I played Age of Empire 3 and Command and Conquer. I like those games, but get repeatedly gang banged at harder difficulty 26 minutes ago, Thyaliad said: While IJN are indeed superior for many tiers, IMO beginners should start with the USN CVs. They have fewer squadrons and are easier to manage. Plus they have beefier squadrons so you don't get punished as hard as IJN for straying over AA. I find at tiers 4-5 USN CVs are better than the IJN. Tier 6 Independence with the balanced loadout can beat a strike Ryujo. Ranger and Lexington is where the USN CV line suffers greatly due to their over-specialised loadout. Tiers 9-10 it gets better it seems but I am not sure (I don't have those CVs and I am still grinding my stock Essex in Coop so can't really comment here). I heard the Devs want to hand out AP Bombs to the higher tier USN cvs. Specially from t7 onwards. But all in all, I sold my chester by mistake without researching the next tier cruiser. So, I'll have to buy it again to get on with US CV. however, I have already researched the t3 IJN bb lthough haven't bought it because playing German BBs Thank you for the feedbacks so far everyone. I just hope they tend to unfuck the Late tier cvs and make em less painful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1,801 icy_phoenix Super Tester_ 7,897 posts 10,290 battles Report post #11 Posted July 26, 2017 (edited) @archebuster, btw, as you have mentioned premium consumables, many new players miss this. If you click on the doubloon option, there is a dropdown, which will let you select in game credits (or silvers). That way you can use premium consumables even without golds. Oh and one more advanced warning, most of the CCs (people posting videos in general) are from NA / EU region. Strategy working there not necessarily work here in Asia. You just need to play along and see which works for you better. Edited July 26, 2017 by icy_phoenix 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6 archebuster Member 28 posts 565 battles Report post #12 Posted July 26, 2017 5 hours ago, icy_phoenix said: @archebuster, btw, as you have mentioned premium consumables, many new players miss this. If you click on the doubloon option, there is a dropdown, which will let you select in game credits (or silvers). That way you can use premium consumables even without golds. Oh and one more advanced warning, most of the CCs (people posting videos in general) are from NA / EU region. Strategy working there not necessarily work here in Asia. You just need to play along and see which works for you better. Oh, I did not even know that. Thank you based resident of gulag. While I can agree with you, the fact that RNG dive bombers still sort of pose a problem. Imagine landing on 2 -3 hits on a bb after 3 squadron attempts. That is one persistent complain everyone has Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1,804 [151ST] S4pp3R Member 2,919 posts 11,002 battles Report post #13 Posted July 26, 2017 USN dominates tier 5 with an Air Superiority (AS) loadout. Apart from that, IJN are generally better but as always comes down to the player. USN you have bigger groups but less of them. IJN is the opposite. My advice would be to pickup tier 4 IJN and tier 5 USN and see how you go. Biggest problem with playing [content removed] is there's imbalance right across tiers, particularly with AS loadouts. AS loadouts rule the sky and then spot for your allies. The sad part is this means less damage and fun for CV players. I don't play them anymore outside scenarios. So it's worth getting IJN tier 6 Ryujo for scenarios as it's Strike (anti-ship) and AS loadouts are king. Inappropriate. Post edited. ~dead_man_walking Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1 Chilrend Member 13 posts 5,942 battles Report post #14 Posted July 27, 2017 If you like shooting down planes, i suggest you pick usn line. USN fighters got more ammo and have a lot of planes per squadron that benefits from recent CV changes. You can disengage from fighter dogfights at the cost of 1 plane instantly destroyed. Use this if your fighter is swarmed by IJN superior number of squadron. I have Ranger and i already liked her. Especially for the AS loadout. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6 archebuster Member 28 posts 565 battles Report post #15 Posted July 27, 2017 Another issue people seem to have with the US CVs are Dive Bombers RNG damage. Seen people complaining about how they miss db drops both manually and auto. Are they that bad? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2,229 [MRI] Thyaliad Member 3,668 posts 15,897 battles Report post #16 Posted July 27, 2017 The problem with USN CV DBs is that their drop circle is a lot bigger compared to IJN's for some reason. With IJN manual drop you can get the circle 100% inside a BB, but for USN maybe about 80% of the circle is covered by the BB for example, and then RNG decides to screw you by dropping 4 out of 6 bombs in that remaining 20%. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6 archebuster Member 28 posts 565 battles Report post #17 Posted July 27, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Thyaliad said: The problem with USN CV DBs is that their drop circle is a lot bigger compared to IJN's for some reason. With IJN manual drop you can get the circle 100% inside a BB, but for USN maybe about 80% of the circle is covered by the BB for example, and then RNG decides to screw you by dropping 4 out of 6 bombs in that remaining 20%. Maybe because more planes per squadron right? Should have been opposite. With American DBs being more skilled. IJN DBs should have had bigger circles due to fact that the IJN DBs are mostly used to use up opponents damage control and then fucking em up with the cross drop tb hax If WG reduces the circle, then DB would be Op. Specially the 1000 lbs ones. Well this doesn't help in forming an unbiased opinion. Edited July 27, 2017 by archebuster Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
143 [TDA] Kamanah Member 430 posts 10,705 battles Report post #18 Posted July 28, 2017 On 7/26/2017 at 5:07 AM, archebuster said: Hello everyone. I have been following this game for 2 years now. But only managed to get my hands on it very recently. And First up I love this game. It's a blast. At present I have only hit tier 4 with my Kaiser. So putting the brief intro aside, I am have always been interested in Aircraft Carriers, from the time I have seen Flammu, Aerron and many others putting up videos about it. My basic question would around what line should I choose between USN and IJN. But I am sure this is answered several times and I have gathered IJN CVs to be superior due to their Torpedo Bombers and more Squadrons. So, my question would to be whether there are any reasons to actually invest on US Cvs. As I have gathered they are good for AS builds but they don't seem to be that rewarding. If there is any reason why I should try an invest on the carrier line, how on earth should I play it. Really want to know feedbacks from people who play them and been with them in a game and those that actually got bested by US CVs. Just want to start with an unbiased opinion on the US line, if it is possible. U.S CV is fairly weaker compared to to the IJN of the same Tier. Your strike load out as U.S is pretty meh, but AS is decent until you get to a point where there are no more planes to kill, therefor your only spotting and doing what you can with your DB which isn't a lot really as your relying on fires to stick rather than alpha strike damage - again no manual drop so your DB can splash anywhere. Bogue really chews up planes at T5 and you can be an Zhuio worst nightmare - but seeing they got rid of the manual strafe ability, that really hurt the fun of the ship. Past that i'm slowly grinding the XP and money to kit out the Independence and get enough XP to get the Ryujo. If i were you i would grind to Independence and Ryujo and then make your choice to peruse which line that suites your play style. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
75 karrablaster123 Member 816 posts 4,299 battles Report post #19 Posted July 28, 2017 A suggestion, play both CV lines on the Public Test server. While the server is a poor representation of the live server, you can play with both lines of CVs and figure out which one you like more. You can also practice basic tactics and get a hang of CVs before you proceed on the live server Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
75 karrablaster123 Member 816 posts 4,299 battles Report post #20 Posted July 28, 2017 25 minutes ago, Kamanah said: Bogue really chews up planes at T5 and you can be an Zhuio worst nightmare - but seeing they got rid of the manual strafe ability, that really hurt the fun of the ship. The removal of manual drops/strafes only made the bogue easier. Now you don't have to worry about the Zuiho's fighters strafing your fighters and can easily gain air superiority. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
772 [LBAS] IJN_Katori Member 3,177 posts 15,160 battles Report post #21 Posted July 28, 2017 (edited) On 7/26/2017 at 6:29 AM, icy_phoenix said: Even though I don't play CV, I can give you one advice that everyone will agree with.. BUY SAIPAN 100% balance You might buy CV-6 as well, since it has AP Bombs. Edited July 28, 2017 by BIGCOREMKP0I Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
143 [TDA] Kamanah Member 430 posts 10,705 battles Report post #22 Posted July 28, 2017 13 minutes ago, karrablaster123 said: The removal of manual drops/strafes only made the bogue easier. Now you don't have to worry about the Zuiho's fighters strafing your fighters and can easily gain air superiority. Easy doesn't make it fun though. After Bogue that's where the issues of how lack luster the U.S CV line actually is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
75 karrablaster123 Member 816 posts 4,299 battles Report post #23 Posted July 28, 2017 5 minutes ago, Kamanah said: Easy doesn't make it fun though. After Bogue that's where the issues of how lack luster the U.S CV line actually is. Aye, but most people in this game have fun when they are absolutely superior. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
6 archebuster Member 28 posts 565 battles Report post #24 Posted July 28, 2017 Wait. Manual drop was killed off? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3,407 [REPOI] Drakon233 Member 6,714 posts 27,077 battles Report post #25 Posted July 28, 2017 for T4-5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites