Seeking clarification on torpedo mechanics in Rule the Waves 3

[TheBlade1]

Greetings fellow Rule the Waves 3 players,

I recently encountered a situation during a battle where one of my ships launched three torpedoes, while another ship failed to launch any torpedoes at all. Unfortunately, I'm unsure why this discrepancy occurred, and I'm seeking clarification on the mechanics of torpedoes in the game.

Could anyone provide me with resources or explanations that delve into the workings of torpedoes in Rule the Waves 3? I'm particularly interested in understanding the factors that determine when a ship launches torpedoes and how to optimize their usage effectively.

Any assistance or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

[Lakel]

Cant say i know the hard numbers, but as I recall the main factors are going to be how many torpedoes you have on your ships, more torpedoes makes them more willing to fire a salvo, and torpedo tech, fast/long rranged torpedoes they fel more confident to hit with.
Combine that with the torpedo training doctrine to make it more likely and effective.

I have seen them occasionally fire a single torpedo into disabled or already likely sinking ships which isnice, a finisher to be sure, though they do also just fire a whole launcher sometimes. by the 30s running with 6+ torpedoes on board they tend to be pretty willing to throw them around in my experience.

Also helps to turn on the torpedo range circle, top left of the buttons in the tactical view, and mind they really dont like firing at max range.
Thats my 2 cents on getting them to actually fire them, effectively comes down to the AI and chance at that point given thats exactly what its waiting for a reasonable chance to hit for.

Edit: to add, torpedoes as always are going to be far less effective when chasing as well, almost never will get one off unless you can outrun them.

[ulzgoroth]

I have the impression that having destroyers ordered to attack by their parent formation may increase their tendency to launch, though it could be that that's only happening as a function of their more aggressive positioning.

It's very likely that there's a random factor in play so your initial 'one ship launches, the other doesn't' is entirely unremarkable.

I strongly suspect better crew will be more willing to launch.

[Torpex]

It's the hit chance decision. As you get more launchers and faster/better torpedoes it goes up. Having speed advantage on DDs helps too as they can get into a favorable launch position easier.

Ordering division torpedo attack works wonders if you are being pursued. DDs don't even have to launch anything, AI start avoiding like crazy. Just order your DDs back asap.

[Skrain]

So from what i've seen in this forum, no one really seems to know what, how, or why certain things affect if your ships will fire torpedoes. That seems like very bad game design to me, because there has not been a single straight, solid answer as to what the factors are.

[ulzgoroth]

Originally posted by Skrain:

So from what i've seen in this forum, no one really seems to know what, how, or why certain things affect if your ships will fire torpedoes. That seems like very bad game design to me, because there has not been a single straight, solid answer as to what the factors are.

There really has, I think. It's the details that are inconsistent.
-Destroyer has a good shot.
-Destroyer knows it has a good shot.
With a possible on
-Destroyer is in sufficiently aggressive state.

So things that can prevent taking a shot include:
-Poor visibility (all weapons hesitate to shoot at unidentified targets, especially without night training.)
-Poor positioning (which high target speed aggravates)

...Which has the often undesirable result that sinking targets are torpedo magnets - being stopped they're easy to get a good look at and trivial to get a good shot at, so you can lose a dozen torpedoes blowing an already dead CL into smaller pieces.

Furthermore, like most things in the game, outcomes are likely not deterministic - even if you could run through the same exact position twice, you should not expect identical behavior.

[Lakel]

From a historical/realistic perspective, at least one tbatch of torpedoes into a disabled target isnt unreasonable, to ensure it goes down instead of being saved akin to Big E or Yorktown so many times.

Of course with you have 10 DDs decide to lay all 10 torpedoes into it that is a bit excessive.

[Andrew Cree]

Presumably you are talking about above deck torpedo tubes as opposed to the submerged tubes?

It's an RNG thing. We don't know precise parameters - but then we don't need to. Just call it a confidence check - that the OiC of the ship is confident enough that a hit will be generated to expend one or more valuable torpedoes.