Updating Submarine Guide

[Laguna Queen]

I made a submarine guide not too long ago and updating sections with the recent updates.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2823583841
What other information would you like me to add?

[Jackson]

Looks good. Nice job!

[R[e]venge®-uk*]

Noooo Do not show them how to Sub! Noooooo!!! hahaha

TBF I could learn a thing or to! haha! Nice Job!"

[Beast of War]

I think it is worth mentioning using pings probably will sink you, and it is much better to forgo that whole pinging mechanic by using all types of torpedo's unguided per default, and on the surface or at periscope depth so you have no need of pings to let them rise to the correct depth. Exactly as it was in the day. This changes you in a DD that can escape under water.

Submarines need to be stealthy to work and survive, giving away where you are only results in a DC bombardment of several BB and heavy Cruisers or even a DD if it can get away with it because it is somehow not under threat by your comrades.

Dueling with other Submarines has the effect of sinking you or both too. That is why it is probably advisable in general to try not be near the enemy Submarine so you won't be lit up when it's surveillance comes off CD. Being lit up results in DC bombardments too AND incoming torpedo's form the enemy Submarine. I-56 even has no means to do underwater combat at all. When you are lit up by submarine surveillance you had better be 6+ km away from enemy ships to emergency surface as that will break underwater detection.

My humble opinion and experience makes me conclude submarines in general need to be played like an Asashio DD. Stealthy, slippery, avoiding contact and delivering a salvo of torpedo's from no where that often cannot be avoided until too late.

Ofc there are exceptions, if a sub obviously has other subs on the menu with a very short CD submarine surveillance. Still that is much riskier then sinking unaware enemies.

On my surface ships i have invested in larger explosion radius and heavier damage on most ships since submarines have become much more common. This proves to be very lethal with often enough a kill in 1 or 2 ( airborne ) drops, it prevents the submarine getting away often.

Knowing the power of the combined ASW captain skills and modulesn and the fact i probably will not be the only one doing that it is much better to not be DC bombed at all.

[Jackson]

Originally posted by Laguna Queen:

You can still ping non-stop and be okay as long as you are moving and not too close.

As long as you're ok with telling the enemy team exactly where you are and how you're moving (by watching your pings move).

[Beast of War]

If you are paying attention you only need about 2 successive ping locations to estimate where the sub is heading.

And a sub moving sideways from it's ping location will get a DC air drop crossing it's path. That means evading to left or right isn't going to avoid taking damage.

A risky tactic is to actually reverse from your ping location, as most will assume you have forward speed and drop in front of you or some distance next to you. But you can't do that more then twice either or they will have figured out what you are doing.

In fact i only use pings when fighting Destroyers trying to cap ( guided torpedo's work so much better on them ) counting on the BB and heavy Cruiser to be still some distance away and out of DC air drop range, and obviously other submarines as there is no other way.

But i rather try to emergency surface when detected by a sub then fight it, as when the whole map is aware of both your positions it is very likely you both get sunk by others.

A successful sub is a sub with ample opportunities to strike unaware ships. Secrecy and stealth being the whole point of the class. For ample opportunities you need to live long enough. Getting caught in ASW surveillance has a way of shortening your life a lot, as mass DC bombardments likely follow and any surprise to where you might strike from is gone.

[Beast of War]

And obviously when you miss a capping Destroyer and backup is failing ( hiding behind some damned island or sailing away as they know you will dive and not spot ) the roles of the hunter and hunted are reversed and DD DC are VERY lethal.

Before attempting it at all the player should have knowledge what DD carry hydro and/or radar. A spotted sub is a dead sub.

[Kameleonic]

"Dueling with other Submarines has the effect of sinking you or both too. That is why it is probably advisable in general to try not be near the enemy Submarine so you won't be lit up when it's surveillance comes off CD."

I've turned off team chat altogether. The toxicity towards submarines in particular is startling, though commonplace in online gaming: I never, ever, complain to other players - so with chat switched off, I'm having a better experience.

Anyway, the other day I had a person screaming at me for calling out the location of an enemy sub and not chasing it down: it was too long before my sub sonar could be available, and I was having difficulty keeping a visual track of it while enemy surface ships were closing in. It seems a LOT of players do not realise how incredibly hard operating a submarine is, while on the surface e.g. a Battleship can literally sit there waiting to fire at long range. I play only submarine, I'm learning, trying to improve, but the other players have expectations that often cannot be met.

[Ace42]

Eh, no.

First priority for sub is countering the enemy sub. At least until the rework hits, and until more surface ships get the submarine search consumable.

The concealment, the on-demand immunity to artillery, the good range on the surface scan, and most crucially the submarine search consumable are all unique to subs, and they're the tools most suited to countering the enemy sub.

The "I'll try to outfarm the enemy sub" strategy isn't unworkable or anything, but it's a combination of selfish and passive. If you're ignoring the enemy sub to go kill enemy DDs, then I guess that's kinda comparable in terms of battle impact and credit to team, although somewhat arguable depending on teammates.

Also subs are not particularly hard to play - concentrate on the basics (surface as much as possible, positioning for vision and impact, not telegraphing your position unless it's safe and you're generating value (say by overwhelming DCPs) then it doesn't play particularly different to stuff like DDs.

Periscope depth is for improving concealment temporarily (at the expense of partial vision); submerging is for gaining temporary immunity to artillery, or potentially avoiding hydro if you can get deep enough. Once you understand this, it's not at all "hard" to operate, it's pretty straightforward.

Originally posted by Beast of War:

and DD DC are VERY lethal.

Hah, nope. Less lethal than the sub just surfacing below them and guaranteeing an even trade from the ram...

https://youtu.be/f5bQAaPibyI