SHOOTING

Maximize your damage output and top the scoreboard

Related Article:
Damage and Ammunition

Preparation: Before Shooting

Always remember than when you’re shooting at the enemy, the enemy can also see and shoot you. The trick is to be able to shoot while taking as little damage as possible. When you see the enemy, there are three things to analyze:

Is it safe to shoot?

If there are a lot of enemies ahead and your ship is still exposed, it’s better to angle your ship and choose a good position before shooting. If you shoot then die 30 seconds later from the return fire, you’re just wasting your life. For example, you’re using Des Moines, and you’re still in open water not detected. You see there are 3 enemies in front of you. The best course of action is find a hiding spot behind island or angle your ship properly. Only after that, you shoot. A battleship has more armor and HP than a cruiser, so it can be more aggressive than cruisers. Still, if you’re careless, you’ll be sunk in less than 5 minutes.

Can I inflict a meaningful damage?

Understand the properties of your ship and its main gun. If the enemy is too far or hidden behind island, your shells might not even hit the enemy. Even if those shells hit, will they inflict damage or just bounce? Understanding the capabilities of your main gun will answer that problem. For example, if you’re using a Des Moines and there’s a target at 16 km range maneuvering at full speed, you probably won’t hit it. Des Moines’ guns have slow shell velocity and bad accuracy at long range. In that case, moving closer before shooting might be a better idea. On the other hand, if you’re using Super Yamato, even at maximum range it can still penetrate the enemy ship because the gun caliber is very high.

Ammunition Choice

While positioning yourself, analyze whether your ammunition is correct. If you’re going to shoot at a broadsiding enemy, better use AP. If you have HE loaded and don’t have time to switch ammunition (for example the enemy is going to run), aim at the parts of the enemy ship that you can penetrate (for example, superstructure).

To minimize the risk of using the wrong ammunition during critical moments, it’s better to plan ahead what ammunition that you need. For most battleships, AP is the safer choice. When the enemy just detected is the most critical moment for a battleship because usually the enemy is still broadsiding. The only exceptions are British K2 line (HE) and L3 line (MAP) because their AP is bad. For most cruisers, HE is the safer choice because their AP won’t devastate enemies anyway. The only exception is Edinburgh (MAP) and Mikhail Kutuzov (SAP). If the situation necessitates the usage of another ammunition type, only then you switch.

Aiming and Shooting

Aiming requires a lot of exercise because many aspects cannot be explained with just words. Moreover, it’s heavily influenced by your ship’s performance. In this article we will guide you to the basic aiming mechanism.

Zoom at the enemy ship. In this game, there are 3 zoom levels. Pick one that allows you to see the range, direction, speed, and the surrounding of the enemy ship comfortably. The second zoom level is usually the best for most players. To estimate the enemy’s speed, look at the wave pattern below the ship, the smoke from the funnel, and ship’s position related to nearby islands. Longer wave and smoke indicates faster speed. If the enemy is moving fast, you’ll need to lead further ahead of his ship.

On the zoom view, you’ll be shown the range of the target and the time it takes for your shells to hit the target. Both are extremely important when aiming. If your shells will need a long time to reach the target (for example, more than 13 seconds) you have to lead your aim further. Each ship has different shell velocity. Even in one ship, the shell velocity between each ammunition type can be different.

After you get a rough idea to where you aim, be more specific on the ship part that you want to hit.

• If the enemy is broadsiding and you’re using a battleship, always try to citadel the enemy. Aim at the waterline and hit the enemy ship at the center. Cruiser and destroyer AP rarely can citadel battleships, so it’s better to aim at the superstructure, bow, and stern where it’s armor is thinner.
• If the enemy is angling or sailing perpendicular to your ship, aim at the superstructure. However, if your guns can overmatch the enemy (for example you’re using Super Yamato with AP loaded or L3 with MAP loaded), aim at the bow or stern. Sometimes you can citadel the enemy that way.

After Shooting

After shooting, examine your position again. Is it safe? Is there anyone shooting at you? If you’re under attack, you must evade quickly and reposition. Don’t forget to look at the mini map once in a while to see the movement of the entire team. If you already confirmed that you’re going to be safe, zoom into the target that you shot and see if your aim is accurate. Also, see the shell penetration after each shot. If the damage is low, maybe your aim is bad or the ammunition choice is wrong. Use these information to guide your next shot.

If you’re confused, you can check out my Youtube channel where I post hundreds of battles. You can learn how to aim by seeing how I play.