Priority Target and Incoming Fire Alert

[Celtic Frost]

Just wondering how many people out there use these commander skills. I never take either of them and try to use my situational awareness and wits. Sometimes I think they may have have made a difference. But overall, I seem to do well enough without them.

[Nepgear]

I never use them either. I rather just pay attention and take skills that make my ship stronger.

[Boomer]

I take priority target on a lot of cruisers, i worked the usn line and haven't completed any others yet and most of those ships seemed to be tin cans with paper hull and no way to heal. as soon as I know I'm a pain or an interesting target, i begin to make moves to hide. I don't take it as much anymore after the skill rework and my battleships dont, its kinda hard to hide some of those :p

[Firewalk]

Priority Target on every ship except DDs and CVs for sure. Knowing how many guns are pointing your way is very good to know.

Incoming Fire Alert is redundant.

- RA -

[Jackson]

I use Priority Target on many ships, but fewer now that it's 2 points. I kinda see Fire Alert as a waste.

[dakin1]

Incoming fire can be less than useful if say a DD or CA with fast reload pops up >5 km away and starts farming you--the alert will pop up over and over and become more of a distraction than anything else. PT is more useful to me as it helps to know if I'm getting overextended and becoming the focus of the enemy team.

[Totally Innocent Chatbot]

Back when I first started playing, I avoided Priority Target as much as I could. But once I started using it on one or two ships, I couldn't live without it. The skill provides absolutely vital information about your surroundings, information that in my opinion shouldn't even need to be locked behind a commander skill in the first place. People will claim that a skilled player can simply use their own situational awareness as a substitute, but that absolutely cannot cover all situations where this skill is useful - for example, when nearby enemies should be aiming at you but aren't, indicating that you may be able to make maneuvers that would otherwise be too risky. I would even go so far as to argue that the information provided by Priority Target is nearly as important as that provided by last-known-position markers on the minimap.

I believe that nerfing the skill by making it cost 2 points instead of 1 was one of the many serious mistakes encapsulated in this recent skill "rework". They should instead have incorporated that skill into the game's basic functionality, and replaced it in the skill tree with something that could actually be considered optional for the vast majority of players.

As for Incoming Fire Alert, its main use is for kiting cruisers, allowing them to more effectively time their dodges. In any other situation, the skill is lackluster at best.

[DeciNinja]

I use both on cruisers, and find them very helpful.

PT lets me know when I've drawn too much attention and need to escape, before I get multi-citadeled by a BB or torped by an invisible DD (AFAIK targeting with a torpedo director also targets with the main guns).

I use IFA to time evasive maneuvers and in long-range fights as a last warning of when I have just enough time to angle away from an attack. Of course, it can theoretically be replaced by good awareness, but I know I don't have enough awareness to replace IFA in every situation.

IMHO, DDs make good use of IFA and poor use of PT, while BBs make good use of PT and poor use of IFA.

[Jackson]

Originally posted by Totally Innocent Chatbot:

Back when I first started playing, I avoided Priority Target as much as I could. But once I started using it on one or two ships, I couldn't live without it. The skill provides absolutely vital information about your surroundings, information that in my opinion shouldn't even need to be locked behind a commander skill in the first place. People will claim that a skilled player can simply use their own situational awareness as a substitute, but that absolutely cannot cover all situations where this skill is useful - for example, when nearby enemies should be aiming at you but aren't, indicating that you may be able to make maneuvers that would otherwise be too risky. I would even go so far as to argue that the information provided by Priority Target is nearly as important as that provided by last-known-position markers on the minimap.

I believe that nerfing the skill by making it cost 2 points instead of 1 was one of the many serious mistakes encapsulated in this recent skill "rework". They should instead have incorporated that skill into the game's basic functionality, and replaced it in the skill tree with something that could actually be considered optional for the vast majority of players.

As for Incoming Fire Alert, its main use is for kiting cruisers, allowing them to more effectively time their dodges. In any other situation, the skill is lackluster at best.

I don't think it was a "mistake" to make it 2 points. It's a crutch skill. I use it, but all the really good players say it's a waste of points. Literally EVERYONE who wasn't a pro player seemed to use it before. Now they made it so not everyone uses it... that's all. I've started to pull away from it. Maybe eventually I won't need it at all. Right now I'll just admit I'm a crutch player lol