Since I had a bit of spare time in my schedule to mess around, I thought that I'd go and make a BB guide to

gloss over some of the simplest base tactics and concepts of general BB usage. It is by no means

comprehensive, much less so since the biggest ship I actually have is only a BB4, so if you're looking for

advanced tactics, better to ask a fleet mate who knows more about this kind of thing.

So anyways, let's get the show on the road.

-------------------

INTRODUCTION

-------------------

First things first, let's get you started on what a BB is and what a BB isn't.

In NF, a BB, or battleship, is the primary fighting capital ship in the game. Now, before

I go on, I'll remind you that NF is a game first and historically accurate never, so don't

try and spout anything about how CVs are the true fighting capital ship in this game; the

design and balance simply doesn't work that way. This, by no means, is suggesting that CVs

are useless, quite the opposite; more often than BBs, a CV can quickly turn the tide of a

battle. But again, I stress what I said, they aren't the primary *fighting* capital ships;

they can deal out a load of damage over the course of a game and sink a lot of ships, but

normally function more as support than anything else. Of course, they're far more flexible

than BBs, and a good CV driver can switch between fighter support and heavy hitter as the

situation calls for it. But regardless, in your generic GB1 a CV will mostly use fighters

to control the skies, which is often one of the key factors in winning a battle, the

reason for which we will see later.

Anyways, as I said, a BB is the primary fighting capital ship in the game. It carries

heavy guns with extremely long range, is extremely tough, and is (hopefully) commanded by

the best players in the game. Of course, because there are so many different BBs in the

game, the degree to which these statements apply to each individual ship will vary widely

(especially the last one given how XP works nowadays). But regardless, what determines the

outcome of a battle will almost always be the BBs. Assuming evenly matched numbers and

ships, the primary factor in deciding who wins and who loses is the skill of the drivers

of each individual BB.

And that brings us to the reason for being of this guide: to take the beginner or lousy BB

player and teach him/her enough to allow him/her to become a deciding factor in whether

his/her team wins or loses a battle (admittedly the "her" part of that statement is rather

iffy, but hey, can't do much wrong being politically correct here). If you're tired of

being a burden to your team and want to try to make a difference, then this guide is

for you.

------------------------------

INFORMATION SOURCES

------------------------------

Now that you know what a BB is supposed to be, it's time to learn how to get information

on this game.

First off, if you haven't already, go to the following site and read up on all of the

basic information there:

www.nf-guides.com

I consider this as required reading for all new players, since Obst does a fantastic job

at teaching the newbies the basics of how this game works, and in my opinion every

aspiring BB player has no excuse not to know the bare-bone basics. Read it, memorize it,

know it!

The second site (first for more advanced players) that you should have memorized in your

heart is Trainworld:

www.trainworld.us

If you have any questions about game-specific information such as ship equipment or sailor

growth values, this is the place to go. While there are some inconsistencies here and

there and outdated data in some places, Trainworld is still, bar none, THE best place to

get data on the game. Plus, it saves you some time if you can look up the data yourself

instead of posting a thread to ask, then waiting for somebody to answer.

If all else fails, be sure to use the Search function on these forums, as there are many

threads on these forums that hold vast amounts of information. For Firefox users, this may

be confusing, since you actually have to use your mouse to click on the "Search" button

instead of entering the word you're looking for then pressing "Enter". Also, be warned

that the Search function is highly specific in how it works, so when you enter a term in

the box, it will search for EXACTLY that phrase or word, and will skip anything that

doesn't exactly match (for example, if you title search "BB guide", you'll get all results

with that exact phrase in the title, but nothing with only "BB" or "guide" will show up).

Simply be as broad as possible in order to minimize the chance of the Search function

skipping something important.

The last straw is, if you've looked on Trainworld, searched these forums (in all the

relavent sections), and found nothing about what you're searching for, then make a thread

and ask your question in a clear and polite manner. While not exactly a last resort, it

does help to know as much about the issue that you're asking about before actually asking.

Be sure to post it in the relavent section as well. This will minimize all the risks of

somebody interpreting your question as spam and not answering it at all.

----------------

BASIC SETUP

----------------

Now, assuming that you know all the basics of this game and where to find information,

I guess it's time to get ready to cut your teeth on some of the real stuff.

The first thing you should do, before moving on, is reading the following thread by

greattak, "BB guide for beginners":

http://www.navyfield.com/board/view.asp?Num=107210&Sort=D07

While that's not the original author, it's still a good checklist for going over what you

should and shouldn't be doing with your BB. I will assume that you've read it before

continuing.

So, first thing, you have your BB. What to do with it? How to set it up? Well, because of

the sheer number of BBs in this game (more than any other ship type combined), I can't

give you a specific setup for each individual ship; do a search in the nation-specific

subforum for that type of information. But regardless, there are a few things that will

apply to every ship no matter what.

1. Use Aiming FCS

By my standards, a competent player should have already started learning manual aiming at

the CL stage, or even the DD stage. Anything higher is simply a disgrace. Not only does an

Auto FCS give you far less accuracy, it also makes it impossible to use AA guns, weakens

your own aiming skills, and can be a nuisance to work with after a while. If you don't

know how to use an Aiming FCS, go to NF-Guides and learn how! Any BB that carries an Auto

FCS does not deserve a place in any battle room.

2. Carry a scout

Honestly, this is a really big one. Unless you are in a Nelson, DO NOT go into battle

without a Rookie Pilot in one of your support slots! Even at the CL stage, you should have

a scout pilot and several recon planes to help pinpoint the enemy's location for your

team's BBs. The team that doesn't scout properly is, 9 times out of 10, the team that will

lose.

3. Don't carry torpedoes

Another mistake I see even at the CL stage, this really merits mentioning in this guide.

While torpedoes may have been extremely useful in your DD and maybe even your CL

(assuming that you're IJN), they become completely useless by the CA stage and beyond

(with the exception of a few ships like the Ise CV). Best case, you'll stop using

torpedoes by the time you reach your final DD, and maybe it's excusable to use them on

your CL1, but beyond that, unless you are in an IJN ship that can really exploit them, you

should not be using torpedoes, period. Not only do they require you to get extremely close

to your target in order to hit them, but they also reduce the amount of XP that your

gunners will get, which will hurt you in the long run.

Using them in Blitzkrieg to keep enemy DDs at bay is not an excuse. You should be using

your superior guns and range to hit them where they can't hit you. If you can get used to

that, then you'll be well suited to not using them in a BB (which they are dead weight on

anyways).

4. L guns and LHE/AP

9 times out of 10, this should be the setup you should be using for the main guns on your

BB. Search in your nation-specific forum for which specific gun to use, as it can be

confusing sometimes. Also, be warned that some ships can't carry the L variant of a gun

due to lack of gun space, the Alaska being an example; it's relegated to carrying the

triple 12"/50 Mk 8 N's instead of the L's.

Remember, what determines the setup of a ship should NEVER be limited by the level of your

gunners. If they're too low-level to use the recommended guns, then don't use the ship at

all until the gunners are of the proper level. If your spread is too horrible with those

gunners, go to the NF store and upgrade them, or simply use them in a different ship for a

few levels until their spread gets better. With an improper setup, a BB is far more likely

to be a liability than an asset.

For ammo, LHE and AP should ALWAYS be the two types to use. As I will elaborate on later,

range is the main important factor for engagements. Don't use HHE for the extra damage, as

it will cut your range down unacceptably and allow lower-tier BBs to range you. Also, with

the exception of the USN 14" guns (for the time being anyways), carry at least 1 bind of

AP on each gun to take on armored enemies.

5. Anti-Air guns

This one will vary widely with each nation and each individual ship, due to the way that

the T mounts on these ships vary and the types of guns and sailors that are used between

each nation. Be sure to search in your respective nation-specific forums for more information.

In my opinion, any BB that has the ability to carry AA, should. Having AA gives you an

extremely powerful edge, simply because you have the ability to shoot down planes on your

own without having to rely on anybody to do it for you. If you can blind the enemy and

keep them from seeing you and your allies, then you've already won half the battle.

Of course, there's also the other issue at hand, speed. Speed, like range, is a major

factor in determining how easily you can defeat your enemy, and some players value it over

everything else, sometimes even over range. Whether you strip your AA down to gain extra

speed, or lose a few knots of speed for the ability to AA, is entirely your choice.

6. Armor

In general, unless you are in one of the select few ships that can really exploit armor,

don't bother using it. In this respect, the general rule of thumb is to not use armor

unless you're RN. Remember that because BB battles will almost always take place at max

range, deck hits are what you need to watch out for, not belt hits; if you can't mount

enough deck armor to bounce the same caliber shell that you fire, then don't bother trying

to armor up. Of course, in GB1 rooms, you also have to watch out for torpedoes, so bulge

is also important, even more so since BBs will almost always be the target of enemy

bombers, DBs and TBs alike.

And before I continue, I'll say this: a two-turret deck-armored South Dakota is NOT a

viable setup, due to the inherently uneven spread with the guns themselves, the low amount

of firepower provided by only six barrels, and the horribly slow speed at which it cruises

at due to the weight of the armor. Trying to turn a South Dakota into an armored BB will

only result in you being eaten for breakfast by a BB1.

--------------------------

GENERAL CONCEPTS

--------------------------

So, now that you (hopefully) have a scout-carrying, torp-free, optimally-set-up BB, let's

move on to the next step, learning how to use your BB.

Now, in NF, for various reasons like an extremely odd physics system or odd game balance,

there are various tricks that you can use to give you an edge in battle. These tricks are

largely dynamic though, as they can be used by your opponents as well as yourself, and

it's up to you to adapt to the situation to give yourself the advantage, or to minimize

the advantage gained by your opponent.

1. Know Your Role (And Shut Your Mouth)

The first thing you should know is what tier your BB fits into. In NF, BBs are divided

into five tiers, with the first tier being the introduction level BBs and the highest

tiers being end-game ships (well, at least until the BB6s come out). The category names

are (unimaginatively) BB1 through BB5, and the ships in each category are listed in many

places, Trainworld being one of them. But simply knowing a ship's designation isn't the

same as knowing what its capabilities are:

BB1: at its base root, this category is composed of the very first ships that you can get

that are classified as either a BattleCruiser or BattleShip. In terms of power balance, a

BB1 is initially only little better than the CA that you used to drive, due to poor

at-level performance. Your shell spread will likely be horrible, your support capabilities

are similarly poor, and your range is laughable. So then, what's so good about these

ships? Well, to put it one way, you can wipe the floor with anything smaller than you.

Unless you're stupid enough to let them into range, even a BB1 should have little trouble

keeping a CA at arm's reach away and blast it to smithereens with its heavy guns. While

those guns normally don't have the punching power to reliably sink bigger BBs in an

optimal amount of salvos, they can still tear through anything within a tier or two of

them and sink them with fair reliability, under the right circumstances. Still, these

ships are normally relegated to supporting the bigger BBs due to their lack of range and

durability.

BB2: this is where the game starts to pick up. At this point, most players' gunners and

supports start getting better; shell spread becomes more consistent, SD starts to rise,

range and shell damage increase, and overall battlefield viability is considerably higher.

Played right, a BB2 can sink anything else in the game under the proper circumstances.

While they still aren't the true heavy hitters of the team, they're dangerous enough that

they can't simply be brushed aside like a BB1. While durability is still an issue, most

BB2s can still take something of a beating and return enough pain to make its opponent

regret engaging it.

BB3: the players who command a BB3 are expected to be competent in general BB usage,

since anything else would be a liability. While durability is still an issue, most

at-level BB3s will have enough support abilities to be able to absorb damage reliably and

return the favor as long as they don't do anything stupid. Range, again, has increased,

and so has damage potential, but at this point players should begin to rely more on

tactics to put themselves in advantageous situations against their opponents. Properly

commanded, a BB3 can be a major threat to anything on the enemy team.

BB4: by now, the BB crew and the player should be good enough that an explanation really

shouldn't be needed. A BB4, with a good crew and a good player, can easily change the tide

of any battle under the right circumstances. Most players will have hit the 900 SD cap by

now, so they can absorb and shrug off damage far more easily than can any lower tier BB,

and they should have enough repair ability to be able to quickly bring the ship all the

way back from the red zone in the event of a crippling hit. Furthermore, the gunners

should be almost at their peak performance, and the guns themselves should allow any good

player to cripple, if not outright sink, anything else in the game from long range with a

single salvo. With a good player, any BB4 can completely dominate the battlefield against

almost anything that can be thrown at it.

BB5: exluding the BB6s (which I won't discuss here since they're not normal BBs), the end-

game BB of every nation. A properly set up BB5 will have the longest ranged and heaviest

hitting guns, enough durability to shrug off any attack directed at it, and (at least with

the exception of Ruger) a driver that can easily exploit any tactical situation and wipe

the floor with anything else in the game. Properly used, a BB5 should not lose to anything

else in the game, period. BB5s will almost always be the flagship of any battle, and will

constantly be the ship that decides the outcome of that battle (even for Ruger this is

true, though in a different way than you might think).

2. Range is Life

This concept may seem redundant or obvious, but it really bears emphasizing, especially

for DD-style players and those fresh out of Blitzkrieg. BB engagements take place at

extremely long range, ranges far beyond that which ships can see each other in their

regular sight-range radius. As a result, scouts are extremely important (more on this in a

second), and so is the range of your guns. Obviously, being in a BB1 will mean that your

guns will have less range than the bigger BBs, and being in a BB4 means that you can keep

anything smaller at arm's length away from you. Remember: it doesn't matter if you have to

constantly fight at maximum angle, as long as your opponent can only splash or miss you.

If he/she can't hit you but you can hit him/her, then you will be the winner of that duel

as long as you can keep your range advantage. Always engage an enemy at maximum range

and keep them there; never let them any closer, or they may be able to hit you. It's not

exactly fair, but those are the breaks.

Also, keep in mind, when you're engaging an armored enemy, keeping them at maximum

range is always desirable, for two reasons. First, an armored enemy will be extremely

slow, so at maximum range you always have the option to break contact if you find yourself

losing (well, as long as you don't get crippled, anyways). And second, AP shells will work

best at maximum range, but their effectiveness will start to degrade at lower angles, and

within a certain angle bracket they will start to skip off of your opponent's deck,

meaning that you'll be forced to either try to increase your range so that you can break

through at higher angles, or close the distance and go for their unarmored belt (not

highly recommended, since you'll have to take the time to switch to LHE in order to

maximize your damage output, and it risks putting you within range of the other enemy BBs).

3. Speed is Life

This runs in the same vein as range. If you have a ship with a good overheat speed and

time, you can easily outrun and outmaneuver your opponents. Not only does more speed let

you catch up with a running ship more quickly, it also increases your maneuverability,

which can make it easier to dodge enemy shells (more on this later). If you lack range,

then having more speed can more than make up for it, depending on how high your speed

advantage is; a ship like the Guam or Penn43 can sit outside of enemy range, wait for a

blinding opportunity (or create one with AA) or for the enemy to get distracted, then rush

into range and engage them amidst the confusion. Furthermore, a higher overheat speed and

time lets you reach hot-spots faster; if you're fighting on the battle line when suddenly

one of your team's CVs gets attacked by a DD, you can break off from the line and engage

the DD quickly before the CV is crippled or lost; similarly, if one of your team's BBs on

the line is crippled, you can quickly maneuver into place and shepherd them out of danger

and give them a chance to repair.

4. A Blind BB is a Dead BB

One of the most important factors in battle, and sadly one of the most neglected, is that

you have to see your opponent in order to lead them and hit them. For this reason, having

a scout handy to spot your targets is extremely important. Not only will this prevent you

from walking into an ambush and getting ripped to shreds, it also lets you spot targets

and get into a favorable position from which to engage them. Situational awareness is one

of the biggest assets you can have in this game, and scouts are the biggest contributors

to that.

If the enemy is blind and can't see you, they can't shoot at you; best case scenario, if

you're in a BB1 facing a blinded and scouted enemy BB5, with luck, you can close the

distance and take them out while sustaining minimal damage, if any at all. While this is a

best case scenario only, the point remains that a blinded enemy is far easier to sink than

one that can see you, and one that would otherwise sink you before you even get into range

can be engaged on terms advantageous to you.

For this reason also, equipping AA may also give you a decisive advantage in both BB rooms

and GB1. Creating a blinding opportunity is one of the most underestimated abilities in

this game, and given the right circumstances, can turn a game completely around.

5. Mark Your Range

More a time-saver than anything else, firing a ranging shot from your BB will allow you to

exploit the centering and shot-tracking features of NF to their fullest potential. The act

simply consists of turning your guns broadside, elevating your main guns to maximum angle,

and tossing off a salvo to mark on your guidelines (assuming that your Bridge Operator has

enough ability to spot your shells). This does two things:

A. It marks your maximum range on your guidelines, which lets you easily see when an enemy

ship enters your range

B. It gives you a point to switch to with shot-tracking; by pressing G, you can

alternatively switch between viewing your own ship and where your last shot landed (in

this case, at your maximum range)

A couple things to consider though. First, make sure that there are no friendly ships

crossing your ship when you fire your ranging shot. Not only does this have the potential

to cripple or sink an allied ship before the battle even begins, it also cuts your gained

XP in half, which pretty much obviates your playing in the battle at all. And second, make

sure that there are no friendly ships at the business end of your salvo either, for

similarly obvious reasons.

6. South Ranges North

More a result of the NF graphics system than anything else, this is another basic concept

that is very important. Assuming ships of equal range, when you are south of an enemy and

fire north to engage them, and they fire south to engage you, you will have more range

than the enemy ship. This is best explained by Deathy in the thread "NF's strange physics

question(s)":

http://www.navyfield.com/board/view.asp?Num=100493&Sort=C06

Simply put, because of the way NF's graphics work, gun turrets are actually displaced a

few pixels above (or rather, north of) their mounts. So a ship firing north will have a

few pixels' advantage, while a ship firing south will have a few pixels' disadvantage.

When the two are combined, this can turn into more than just a minor advantage. Be sure to

remember this whether you're on the north or south end of the engagement.

7. Running Ranges Chasing

This comes as a result of NF physics, and is actually fairly easy to understand. Again,

assuming two ships of equal range, and one chasing the other, the ship that is running

away will have more range than the ship that is chasing. How much range will vary widely,

including but not limited to the angle of the guns (which translates towards the time the

shell spends in the air) and the speed of the ships themselves. The way it works is to

remember that shells take time to reach their destination, and while the shells are

moving, so are the ships, both the ship that took the shot and the one that is the target.

By the time the shells land, the shooter and the target will both be in different places.

Consider the following picture:

The running BB is moving away from its point of firing, and the shells fly in a trajectory

relative to where they were fired from. Furthermore, the chasing BB is moving closer to

the running BB's original point of firing. The green arrow indicates the running BB's

distance from the point of impact, and as you can see, between when it fired the salvo and

when it landed, the length of the green arrow has increased.

Now consider the opposite situation:

In this case, the exact opposite thing is happening: the chasing BB is moving closer to

the impact point of the original trajectory, and the length of the green arrow has

decreased somewhat between the salvo firing and it landing.

Keep in mind, as I said, that the angle of firing and ship speeds will determine how much

range is gained and lost. The higher the firing angle, the longer the travel time of the

shell, the more range is gained or lost. The faster the ship, the greater the distance

traveled between the salvo firing and landing, the more range gained or lost (keep in

mind, though, that without speed, a chasing ship may as well not chase at all, even if it

does lose less range by being slower). Obviously, a running ship with high speed and a

high firing angle will gain more range, but a chasing ship with a low firing angle (such

as one equipped with RN RP12's or USN 14" guns) will lose less range.

8. To AP Or Not To AP?

This sort of question really bears answering in context of how people tend to use AP

in-game nowadays, which is "not well".

The first thing I will say is this: do NOT mix ammo! Always fire either full salvos of LHE

or full salvos of AP, never fire half your guns with LHE and half with AP. In doing this,

you are severely reducing the effectiveness of your salvos; a BB that can take 8 full

salvos of mixed ammo would have sunk to 4 or 5 full salvos of unmixed ammo, and the time

and ammo saved could have been better used to track and fight another BB, which you can

kill more efficiently as before. If ammo shortage is your problem, then use a gun that

gives you more binds of ammo per gun.

In any case, 7 times out of 10 you should use LHE on a target, unless it shows some

telltale signs of armoring:

a. It's an RN ship

b. It's missing a turret or two

c. It's cruising extremely slowly

My general recommendation is, unless the target is somebody that you KNOW is carrying

armor, your first salvo should ALWAYS be HE. If the shells bounce, only then should you

switch to AP. Some players like to speed-whore their ship and pretend that they're

armored, since AP shells will do reduced damage against unarmored ships; they'll move into

battle with their 2-turret ship at a suspciously slow speed, shrug off a few salvos of AP,

then increase speed and charge in at 47+ knots once they're close enough. This can be

dangerous if done properly, but depends largely on their opponent still thinking that they

are armored.

9. Maneuvers Take Time

It may not be obvious right off the bat, but be sure to remember that it takes time from

when you issue a course change command and your ship responding to it, and that the ship

has to move while changing course. The two main factors to consider turning force and

speed. While lag can also affect maneuverability, it is random and unpredictable;

regardless, you should be careful and increase your attentiveness if struck with a lag

spike. Turning force and speed also affect how quickly the ship maneuvers to respond to

the course change, as well as the radius of the turning circle. For this reason, a

slow-maneuvering ship will have a harder time dodging salvos or maneuvering into a

favorable position, and this deficiency will have to be accounted for in course change

commands. Having high maneuverability will make you harder to hit, cut down on the size of

your turning radius, and will let you pull off some nifty tricks with the right timing.

-------------------

BASIC TACTICS

-------------------

So, with the concept of BB driving out of the way, let's move on to the actual tactics

that can be used in order to outwit and outplay your opponent.

1. Scout maneuvering

Rule number 1 of scout usage, NEVER just send it to a target at default height. Not only

is this asking to lose a plane and black out the area it was in, it's just plain stupid.

When you launch your scout, make sure to keep it BELOW the default height, and never let

it within AA range of the enemy ships. Because the sight-range of most scouts in the game

are far beyond most AA systems (barring the IJN 4.7"), it is pathetically easy to keep a

scout from being shot down by AA as long as you keep your eye on it and keep it from doing

stupid things like chasing an enemy plane into enemy AA range.

That brings us to rule number 2, ALWAYS keep tabs on your scout; know where it is and

where you want to send it. Even in the heat of combat, it should be relatively simple to

switch to your scout between salvos and maneuvers, redirect it to an important location,

and switch back to your ship and target in less than 2 seconds. This keeps your scout from

being lured into AA range of enemy ships, and greatly increases its survival rate if you

can watch for enemy fighter positions and steer clear of them.

Rule number 3 of scout usage, cooperate and coordinate with your team! In GB1 rooms this

simply means knowing when an area is already scouted and putting your scout where it's

needed, or keeping it in reserve until an opportune moment to use it arises. In BB rooms,

this is even more important, since scouting is what determines who wins and who loses most

of the time; know when your allies need to refuel their scouts and use yours to take its

place, and know when to put a scout where it's needed. In a BB room, keep tabs on your

allies and watch when they say "ref" (short for refuel), because that means that your

scout will be needed to fill the gap soon. Personally, I like to play as a second echelon

scouter, keeping my scout in reserve until the first echelon scouts run dry, so that my

opponents are consistently scouted. How you play, your scout, though, is up to you; just

make sure that you have a good reason for doing what you do.

2. Take advantage of blinding opporunities

While I know that I mentioned this already, this is an extremely important idea to grasp.

If you see an enemy scout nearby and either (1) it runs out of fuel and has to turn back

or (2) something shoots it down, exploit the temporary blindness and close with your

opponent. Remember, if they can't see you then they can't shoot at you as easily, and if

you're good enough you can take them out before they even know you're there.

Of course, for this to work, you have to be absolutely sure that the enemy is blind. Scan

the area around your ship, listen for plane sounds, and see if they're coming from

friendly planes. If all you hear and see are friendly planes, then take the initiative and

close the gap. Otherwise, if you see an enemy scout nearby or hear plane sounds in a

nearby cloud and see nothing, then it's not safe to exploit the opportunity until those

enemy planes are dead.

This ties in partially with carrying AA; if you can create your own blinding

opportunities, then you can close with the enemy at will whenever you want after shooting

down their scout. Of course, conversely, carrying AA usually means foregoing a knot or two

of overheat speed, which means that it will be more difficult to close that gap if your

opponent is fast.

One more thing: be sure to watch for incoming scouts! If you see your opponent launching

another scout or you hear plane sounds approaching you from the darkness, then it's best

to break contact and move back out of range, unless you're definite that you can finish

off your opponent before you're spotted, or that you can take him/her out in an ample

enough time after being spotted. The moment that you are spotted, your blinding

opportunity has ended and you are in full view of your opponent again, and are far easier

to target and hit. Unless you're confident that you can still defeat your opponent, you

may find yourself in a highly disadvantageous situation.

3. Zig-zagging

Another basic tactic, this is a trick that every competent BB player uses and exploits to

its fullest. The basic concept behind this trick is to hit the overheat, then constantly

change course to keep your opponent guessing. Remember that no matter what ship you're

aiming at or its distance, it has to be led in order to be hit, and zig-zagging makes it

considerably harder for you to be hit. Of course, on the flip side, it also makes it

harder to aim, but since you're the one doing the course changing, it's not nearly as hard

as it is for your opponent to predict where you're going to be next. Just remember not to

be too predictable in your course changes, or else you risk showing a pattern that your

opponent could pick up on.

4. Enemy scout spoofing

Some consider this trick more of an exploit than anything else, and it can be performed by

any ship with a scout really, but if it wasn't so ridiculously easy to spot and counter,

then I would see their point. This trick, simply put, is using your own scout to catch the

attention of an enemy scout near you, then netting it in to take it down. The method of

termination usually involves anything from picking it off with your AA (make sure that

your own scout is well below the default height for this) to killing it with your AAW if

it's low enough (and if you're in a USN ship with good AAW) to just dragging it into a

cloud of friendly fighters. In the case of a BB room only the first two options are

available; if you don't have AA then dragging it into range of any allied BB with AA will

suffice.

The problem, again, is that in a BB room, your opponent will probably be keeping a close

eye on his/her scout, and will almost always be able to easily pull their scout away from

yours. If you're persistent and patient enough though, you'll eventually be able to drag

his/her scout to its death, and create a blinding opportunity. Conversely, this is why you

always keep an eye on your own scout, to make sure that nobody spoofs it and costs you a

plane.

5. Hit and run

If you're in a ship that can't take hits worth beans, or simply need to quickly exploit a

blinding opportunity that might not last long, then this trick, also sometimes called the

"Drive-by" or "Fade-away jump shot", can be useful in a pinch. While you don't really need

a blinding opportunity to pull this off, having a blind opponent can rarely ever hurt. The

concept behind pulling this trick off is, if you and your opponent have approximately

equal range, you can pull quickly into range, take a shot, and pull back out of range

before he/she can respond. It's (hopefully) best illustrated in the following picture:

In the above picture, the dark red line indicates the maximum range of the BB on the

right. The BB on the left maneuvers close to the edge, makes a pivot to turn broadside

right at that range, fires a salvo, and is already in the process of turning away before

the salvo is even fired, ensuring that it executes the turn right at the edge of the range

line and no later, so that by the time its opponent responds, it will already be moving

away. Generally, overheat is used in the process of this trick in order to shorten the

turning radius and ensure minimal exposure to the opponent. This trick requires acute

knowledge of how your BB maneuvers, the size of its turning radius, and the exact moment

at which to make the shot. However, used right, it can mean that you will get a salvo in

on your opponent and make a clean escape in the process. If it can be pulled off

repeatedly, you can theoretically take out an equally ranged opponent while taking next to

no damage.

One of neater ways to do this was suggested by Ledan, a two-part attack which, if used

properly, can maximize the efficiency of the maneuver: during the turn, when your bow is

still pointed towards your opponent, press "Z" and fire only the forward turrets at your

target, then switch to your rear turret by pressing "C" and fire that during the run phase

of the turn, when your stern is closer to the enemy. For ships that are longer in length

(like an Iowa or Montana), make a turn back TOWARDS the enemy to pull your stern away out

of range, or else you might still catch part of the enemy's salvo. After this, you can

elect to either pull out of range altogether or continue your turn towards the enemy to

pull another hit and run.

6. Profile manipulating

This trick goes hand-in-hand with zigzagging. Simply put, this trick involves maneuvering

your ship to be in a favorable angle of opposition against your opponent at the moment

that their salvo connects with you. When you fire a salvo, you may notice that it usually

lands in an area similar to the area of the turret layout on your ship. For this reason, a

salvo will usually land in a shape that is almost parallel with the position that your

ship was in when the shot was made. The trick here, though, is that if you know this, and

see an enemy salvo coming at you, then you can maneuver your ship into an opposing angle

such that either the fewest number of shells land on you, or you end up in the dead-zone

of the turrets in the case of a blocking opponent. In most optimal case, you will be

exactly perpendicular to the enemy's point of fire and only catch a few shells:

As you can see, simply by maneuvering the ship into such an opposing angle, only 2 of the

opponent's shells out of 9 land, and 1 shell splashes; considering the alternative of

eating at least 5 of those shells, and you can see why profile manipulating can be

life-saving. And because raking fire isn't modeled in this game, there's no worries that

doing this will cause more damage to your ship. This is also one of the reasons that a

charging two-turret ship can be a nuisance to deal with head-on, since it's harder to drop

shells on a small widthwise profile. For those special cases, engaging them from a more

favorable angle (that is, not right in front of them) will be easier.

Remember, though, that your own return salvo at this point will be deformed against your

opponent's direction, so you may have trouble landing a salvo on your opponent as well.

However, this varies case-by-case, and is rarely a problem for two-turret ships. Also, if

you can maneuver your profile into a position parallel to your opponent at the moment of

firing then quickly maneuver again into a perpendicular position, you can more easily

dealwith straight-line cruising opponents.

7. Spotting muzzle flashes

If you ever get into a situation where you are blinded and are fighting an enemy that

isn't (which will almost always result in your demise if your opponent is a good shot),

there are ways to pinpoint your opponent's position without a scout. The trick is to

search for the flash and puff of smoke that happens when your opponent fires his/her guns,

then immediately lead from there:

Remember, the flashes will appear in FRONT of the muzzle of your opponent's turrets, so

you'll have to aim a bit behind the flashes to hit your opponent's hull; simply firing at

the flashes themselves will only result in splashes.

With 3-turret ships this is normally not a problem, since the odd position of the rear

turret will show you which direction he/she is headed in, but for 4-turret or 2-turret

ships, this gets tricky, since you will get an idea of your opponent's firing profile when

he/she looses a salvo but have no idea of the direction. The only solution to this is to

wait for him/her to let off a second salvo (while hoping that that salvo doesn't cripple

you) and compare its position to the first one, which then shows you your

opponent's heading.

This gets considerably harder if your opponent is zig-zagging, at which point you will

have to be either extremely good or extremely lucky to land a salvo at all. I don't know

of any specific tricks to countering a zig-zagging opponent while blinded, but the best

bet will always be to lead them and fire a salvo immediately after they fire theirs, and

hope that they go straight until your salvo lands. Alternatively, you can guess their

course from the positions of their previous muzzle flashes, but chances are that by the

time you figure out their pattern, either you'll have a scout on top of your opponent or

you'll have sunk.

8. Team cooperation

Not so much a trick as a mentality to get used to, this will determine, above most other

things, whether your team will win or whether it will lose. When in a battle, NEVER fail

to cooperate with allied BBs! If you see a scout lighting your allies up, pick it off with

AA or spoof it with your own scout. If an allied BB gets crippled, move in to support it

so that it has a chance to retreat and repair; take hits for it if necessary. If you have

a blinding opportunity and a BB or two next to you, seize the advantage and close the

distance together. Done right, a pair of BB2s can double-team and overwhelm an enemy BB5,

or a crippled BB5 could get a chance to slip away, repair its damage, and rejoin the fight

with almost-full DP. Never underestimate the power of teamwork.