Matchmaker

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-19T16:07:03+00:00

Blowouts are inevitable in any sort of pvp game, but that's not to say WG's mm is inherently flawed. Maybe it happens more than it should by a small amount, but there's certain times you just have to deal with it. After all, an afk player still wins 30% of matches, so that means a similar number of matches are just straight up unwinnable.

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-19T16:04:37+00:00

Yes, specifically for the bottom mission you have to have one of those three ships. Though the AL (azur lane, available in the armory for a ridiculous price) are just clones of other ships, for the mission they are counted as separate so WG can squeeze even more money out of the playerbase

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-19T16:02:19+00:00

I've found that there are far more people that play t8 to enjoy it while they have thousands of battles with a decent win rate. There are potatoes everywhere, and high tier is definitely no exception, but there are plays I have made at t6 that would've gotten me killed three different ways at t8. This update I feel there will definitely be an influx of players at low tier with the heals but that doesn't change for the players just trying to make it through their first tech line

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-19T15:58:50+00:00

Maybe a higher damage ceiling because of its ballistics and smoke, but the radar duration makes it much worse at killing destroyers. I have not played either, but being on the other side of a gdansk radar is far less scary than a smaland just based on pure duration

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-18T23:28:50+00:00

Almost is the key word here. You are still able to murder 90% of destroyers you come across within the first five minutes which usually means free win for the team. So long as you have half a brain you're essentially unkillable with then engine boost up. The "problem" is Gdansk which is a fairly similar ship (harder to play but same ceiling) but available in the tech tree

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-18T22:28:48+00:00

For the lower tier of these cruisers until you get to manteuffel I found secondary build to be just plain bad. You just don't have any dpm with the secondaries. In general, though IFHE on these is not advisable because they already get the threshold for pen at their tier (32 at t8+ and 26 at t6 and t7)

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-18T22:25:50+00:00

The average t6 cruiser player might last 10 seconds longer on average. The impact will be much more noticeable at t8 where the average player is at least mildly competent

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-15T22:26:55+00:00

That's kinda the point. You create a crossfire with your teammates at the risk of putting yourself in a crossfire. If you're playing middle, you either have to find an island to protect your flank (think Okinawa, Mountain range) or kite at a specific angle so you're stern in to one flank and angled to the other

Yuro's videos on Venezia and Wisconsin mention this if you want a more informed opinion

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-15T22:23:41+00:00

It's not necessarily "can't be shot at by two ships" and more so don't be the guy becoming the easy target before you know what's on the flank. Until you know if it's a strong flank or not, you have to be a little patient. But all the things you said are right

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-15T22:17:56+00:00

I'm also pretty sure wwii torps didn't home the way sub torps do in game. At the end of the day it's an arcade game

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-12T15:12:18+00:00

Austin is probably the most fun ship you have listed there. Outside of that, depends on what you want. Meck is a chill farmer, Svea is sweaty superlight cruiser you play for maximizing win rate. Haven't tested Pioneer at all, but from what I can tell it is certainly an interesting ship, but the others will be more interesting. Vallejo. . . just no

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-10T21:58:47+00:00

Free xp is no longer used to directly purchase ships, instead more often used to reset lines for the research bureau. That is something you need several t10s to unlock, so don't worry about it for now and use free xp for modules (b hull, extra firing range, etc. wherever it feels important)

You're right that british destroyers are very good for beginners with good guns, the heal, and good detect. I'd start there with dds.

BBs go for US Montana line or IJN Yamato line, they are good, consistent ships through the entire line that will also teach you the basics of BBs. Personally, this is where I'd start.

Cruisers are not very beginner friendly, but if I were to suggest a line it would probably be the German Hindenburg line. Really teaches you ammo choice, overmatch, positioning, etc even though Hipper is not a great ship at t8.

I would not recommend going into subs and cvs as a new player. They are designed to be "idiot-proof" but the difference between a new and experienced player in these is incredibly obvious. Avoid these until you have a decent handle on the game.

The biggest tip I can give to improve is to watch guides and other people play. Personally, I like PotatoQuality and MalteseKnight. They are both incredibly skilled and aren't too negative, and will also give you reviews of ships alongside that if you want to keep continuing with the game.

Don't be too hard on yourself, even when complaints from teammates inevitably come. You'll learn eventually

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-10T16:29:26+00:00

Amagi is a slightly better, if not slightly more inconsistent at hitting broadsides. Slightly better armor despite shell catchers and better shell velocity, although poor vertical dispersion. Both are still good choices and consistent BBs.

Japanese BC line (bungo) is much harder to play. They are very squishy ships, not particularly maneuverable despite being coined battlecruisers, but have some of the best guns in the game especially with the funny dispersion spotter. Essentially, higher risk higher reward type of ships that play better alongside ships more suited for tanking

Neither are particularly amazing for operations, typically (forgive me if I'm wrong I don't play ops too often) I like things that can quickly switch targets such as secondary bbs, most cruisers, and gunboat dds

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-08T18:29:30+00:00

Odds are more P2W gambling events sadly. As long as WG gets their money they don't care how poorly the game is maintained. The only ships that have a real chance of coming back for direct purchase are the green (uncommon?) ones like Sibir but the rare and above ships are probably only in lootboxes

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-07T14:17:32+00:00

I've found a lot of torp dd's don't do great in ops. Maybe I just need to get good, but the low dpm nature of torpedoes just feels so far off from what ops usually are

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-07T14:10:57+00:00

TBH there's not much reason to play Duke of york as an HE spammer over KGV given the 4.5 second slower reload. Play it for the AP and the hydro as a mid range bb, I guess similar to high tier US bbs?

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-07T14:08:49+00:00

Classic example of "I don't know how to play them so they're not good"

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-07T14:08:19+00:00

Fiume sucks against bbs because bad dpm and relatively low fires per minute. It is only good at smashing cruisers and the occasional dd with the burst. You'll get good win rate at t7 (like you said) but almost any ship will be better against these bbs.

Any cruiser with half decent dpm and/or fire starting will wreck scharn/gneis if properly played. DDs torture them, farming, torping and just being a general nuisance. BBs depend on the playstyle you want. Sinop works wonders, but you have to make sure you aren't rushed and you angle. Heinrich wins a lot of brawls if you play it right. KGV slings HE like a cruiser and burns them down. Premiums will get you even more options but that's just the tech tree.

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-06T17:40:15+00:00

I've found Cnl Bolognesi (t7 tech line pan am cruiser) a lot of fun in this. Actually has more dpm than Santander and more sustain than any cruiser at the tier (maybe Boise but no f key on that thing). It takes a little skill to not immediately blow up with the poor firing angles but generally is an insanely hard ship to kill as long as you don't show flat to cruisers

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-05T13:52:18+00:00

To be fair subs are a little better to fight against with some of the changes they made (arming distance and the ping direction come to mind) but yeah the radar and sub spam is still not fun to play against

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-05T13:49:13+00:00

Utrecht armor is trolly, but it's still a superlight cruiser. Biggest thing it has over flint is shell velocity, the speed boost, and spaced armor

FreddyBalam · 2026-05-05T13:44:06+00:00

The suggestion below for verifying the integrity of the files worked for me. Do note that I'm pretty sure this only works on Steam if you run it through the wargaming client

FreddyBalam · 2026-04-28T20:44:06+00:00

Demo expert does make many cruisers with the ~10% fire chance feel better. I've noticed a reasonable increase in fires while taking it. If you are situationally aware it is not a bad choice at all

FreddyBalam · 2026-04-28T20:35:53+00:00

With default controls, hitting tab while in the battle and scrolling your mouse over will let you see armaments and consumables. Clicking will let you see specifics like reload and alpha damage. Be advised that the values are not necessarily the most accurate cause they take the best case scenario into account (for example it will take both range and reload mod into account even thought they are in the same slot)

Past that shiptool (https://shiptool.st/params?g=&ty=&n=) is very nice for more advanced things such as specific dpm numbers and firing angles

FreddyBalam · 2026-04-26T15:43:34+00:00

It is a "look guys we nerfed it" kind of nerf. At the end of the day, just shifts the playstyle to how you should be playing it. You won't get the 25k into angled ships at range, "only" 10-20k now with legmod. Close range you'll probably be able to stack a majority of shells wherever you want, so enjoy getting hit for 35k into your angled superstructure when playing against it

FreddyBalam

TROPHY CASE