Which Tier X Destroyer Are You Most Comfortable In?

[Frostbow]

I would like to get your thoughts and opinions about Tier X destroyers that you are most comfortable in. As of now, I have almost all Tier X DDs, but I seldom play them (or DDs in general) in PVP environments. 

I am trying to venture out of my comfort zone (battleships and cruisers), and I am looking at destroyers. Aircraft carriers and submarines are currently out of the question. Perhaps I can learn a thing or two about your preferred Tier X destroyer and how your experiences have been so far.

Many thanks in advance.

[Yedwy]

My gut was telling me Yueyang but I went and checked my stats and yep she is my top WR one over 50 battles with 58.9% so I guess its her

[Aragathor]

It was and still is the Khabarovsk. It's an acquired taste and not an easy ship to play.

But it has strengths and capabilities other DDs do not have. And I'm talking standard Khabarovsk, not UU Khaba.

It really rewards controlled aggression and can tank more than any other DD at T10.

[New_Jersey_prpr]

I'll pick Elbing for its simple and straightforward playstyle

[Efros]

Harugumo I enjoy the most.

[dommo77]

I feel very comfortable in Druid, but I would not recommend to start your journey there. I'd say pick 2 DDs from opposite spectrum of styles (torp boat and gunboat) and see which fits you better. Or just take Daring, it's middle of the pack - good dakka and torps plus long hydro on top to avoid torps. GL. 

[EXEC_HYMNE_Ar_tonelico]

My Shimakaze, preferably using 8km torps. I'm 1000 battles in so far and she never gets old.

 

She has the speed to handle any situation on the map where she is needed unparalleled torp power and great concealment against most occasions. The speed also helps her to catch submarines.

I also played her in the recent WOWS Classic EU tournament. Our clan HAKUY still has a few more matches today. The fact that she is still used even in such tournaments speaks for her reliability.

[Yedwy]

3 minutes ago, EXEC_HYMNE_Ar_tonelico said:

My Shimakaze, preferably using 8km torps. I'm 1000 battles in so far and she never gets old.

i tip my hat to you dear sir, you have brass ba**s

[Admiral_Karasu]

I don't play tier 10 any more, but when I did it was very likely either my trusty old Shimakaze or either Halland or Småland.

[Verblonde]

Depending on how you interpret my stats, it's probably one of Shima or Smaland; that isn't terribly helpful though as the latter is no longer available. Besides that, said stats also say that I suck at T10!

That said, of those that are available, I'd probably pick one of Daring, Vampire 2, and LU Gearing (my results are less bad in Shima, but I find LU Gearing more fun). Daring is probably the most versatile though, as she has good dakka, usable (single fire) torps, a heal, and ludicrous defensive hydro.

Halland also gets an honourable mention: very fast torps, a heal, decent guns, and enough AA to shred an average CV's attacks.

[Ensign Cthulhu]

3 hours ago, Yedwy said:

i tip my hat to you dear sir, you have brass ba**s

When Yuzral was streaming WOWS, he used to do a thing called Bakakaze. This was back when the Torpedo Acceleration skill cost 25% of torpedo range, so he'd be going in with a Shima that had SIX KILOMETRE F3 torpedoes which went almost as fast as EU torps do now, except they hit like Tyrannosaurus Rex rather than Oryctolagus cuniculus.

It didn't always work for him, but when it did, it was spectacular.

[Wolfswetpaws]

8 hours ago, Frostbow said:

I would like to get your thoughts and opinions about Tier X destroyers that you are most comfortable in. As of now, I have almost all Tier X DDs, but I seldom play them (or DDs in general) in PVP environments. 

I am trying to venture out of my comfort zone (battleships and cruisers), and I am looking at destroyers. Aircraft carriers and submarines are currently out of the question. Perhaps I can learn a thing or two about your preferred Tier X destroyer and how your experiences have been so far.

Many thanks in advance.

Good question.
Which, admittedly, I'm still figuring out.  
Also, I don't have all of the Tier-10 DD's, yet.

Things that are turn-offs for me are large turning radius and slow rudder-shift.  A speed of less than 35 knots is also disappointing.
Essentially when a Destroyer's hull handles more like a Cruiser, that bothers me.

At Tier-10, it also helps to have torpedoes with a 12km range (or better) and with strong warheads.

I'm more of a "stealthy torpedo 'bote" enthusiast.  Though I recognize that some people prefer the fast-reloading pew-pew-pew gunbotes.

[Yedwy]

58 minutes ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

When Yuzral was streaming WOWS, he used to do a thing called Bakakaze. This was back when the Torpedo Acceleration skill cost 25% of torpedo range, so he'd be going in with a Shima that had SIX KILOMETRE F3 torpedoes which went almost as fast as EU torps do now, except they hit like Tyrannosaurus Rex rather than Oryctolagus cuniculus.

It didn't always work for him, but when it did, it was spectacular.

Yeah I used to to the same thing now and then as well with mixed results, you can do something similar in Yolo Emilio these days... 🤪

[Type_93]

Shimakaze is the first for me and I love it! 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Type_93

[SolitudeFreak]

I don't play a lot of PvP at T10, but if I extrapolate from my most successful T9 DD (Fletcher), it would likely be Gearing, though from what I hear, she is pretty powercrept.

There are many different ways to play DD, and the style I am the most decent at seems to be influencing by spotting, using my stealth to my advantage and using guns and torpedoes more as opportunity attacks rather than aggressive attacks. There are games I've influenced simply by chasing the enemy around and staring at them to death. In cases like these, it's very important to know the detection range of the DDs on the team's lineup, as well as who has radar.

[YouSatInGum]

Druid, Ragnar, Marceau, and Sherman.

 

All of those are non beginner DDs, BUT I'd also say that once you have achieved at certain level, you can be effective in all of them.

 

I actually think that Torps DDs like Shima, Gearing, etc. have a lower skill floor but also a higher ceiling.... but very few can reliably extract that from them....  part of the the reason is a Kleber with 100hp or less is more or less not combat effective but a Shima for the most part is still very dangerous even with 1 hp.  

That said.... torp boats will always be less consistent.  RNG and luck just plays a greater role in those boats.

 

[Daniel_Allan_Clark]

I only have one T10 DD...Hayate. I've never lost with it...but I haven't played it much.

My preference so far in terms of fun is gunboat style...so I'm working my way up the Russian and French trees slowly.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Daniel_Allan_Clark

[Type_93]

12 minutes ago, YouSatInGum said:

Druid, Ragnar, Marceau, and Sherman.

 

All of those are non beginner DDs, BUT I'd also say that once you have achieved at certain level, you can be effective in all of them.

 

I actually think that Torps DDs like Shima, Gearing, etc. have a lower skill floor but also a higher ceiling.... but very few can reliably extract that from them....  part of the the reason is a Kleber with 100hp or less is more or less not combat effective but a Shima for the most part is still very dangerous even with 1 hp.  

That said.... torp boats will always be less consistent.  RNG and luck just plays a greater role in those boats.

 

You hit the nail on the head sir. Shima is one of those boats who has been around since the start and can still have great battle impact. The newer lines are good ships for the most part, a good Shima player can still dictate the engagement. If your team happens to let a good Shima in the rear, your team is gonna have a hard time. 

[ZeuSueZ1337]

TL;DR

Start at t8 and figure out what kind of DD-style suits you, don’t rush to tX with no or little experience.

Allow me to elaborate: First let me to address the question from a slightly different angle:

You should not focus on what type of DD others prefer to play and/or feel comfortable in. Rather what style of play do you enjoy?

You write that your ‘comfort zone’ is BB/Cruiser main and really not a DD main. As a DD main I can guarantee that you’re gonna experience the game pretty differently. Usually you're the first point of contact with the enemy team thus you need to be hyper alert to detection range of enemy DD’s, radar/hydro on enemy ships, are CV/planes coming your way, etc. stuff that you’re not all that focused as the average BB/cruiser player, so this adjustment is crucial to learn - and my suggestion is to not learn it at tier X.

Instead I’d ready a few t8* DDs for action, like the few below as I remember them as fairly forgiving:

- Benson (the middle of the road DD)

- Akizuki (dakka-dak in smoke DD)

- Kiev (running+gunning DD)

- Hsienyang (the oddity with DW-torps and/or radar combo) 

- …..but other tech three ships can be used aswell - these are merely suggestions.

And then take them into action. All of them will play in a so/so similar fashion as their relevant tX end boats but chances are you won’t always get a shellacking for being a fish out of water. Facing a t6 lineup in any of the ships above will be a turkey shootout.

*) t8 for the specific reason you get access to the 5th upgrade slot = concealment module.

Once you’ve played maybe 5-10 games in each you’ll probably have a sense of what direction to continue. That would be my advice.

 

Now addressing what tX I’m most comfortable in there are two(three) answers. The DDs in the techtree:

- Z52, with LMU/UU a 6km hydro that last the better part of 3 minutes can drive any DD mad

…..that’s it really (even tho I have all the techthree tX DDs)

The DDs you still can get your hands on, for in game resources:

- Vampire II, a fantastic Daring-style monster & Z42, Druid style AP with, RN short burst smoke a KM 6km hydro *oh the joy*

Yeah and the ones not available atm - Smaaland and Somers^^

Edited August 27, 2023 by ZeuSueZ1337
Typos etc.

[Admiral_Karasu]

Incidentally, how many 'roles' can we come up for Tier X DD's? We know the 'basic' options, a torpedo build or a gunboat build, are there other specific or distinct builds or distinct variations on those two main roles?

[Verblonde]

8 minutes ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

Incidentally, how many 'roles' can we come up for Tier X DD's? We know the 'basic' options, a torpedo build or a gunboat build, are there other specific or distinct builds or distinct variations on those two main roles?

I'm not sure how useful this is (given that I'm not very good), but I tend to apply a 'vision control - yes/no' thought process to things, based around stuff like how sneaky the thing is, and/or whether it has consumables like hydro/radar.

To what extent a given DD ticks yes or no boxes in that context will commonly impact how I play it (also with reference to team make-up as well, of course).

[Wulf_Ace]

14 minutes ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

Incidentally, how many 'roles' can we come up for Tier X DD's? We know the 'basic' options, a torpedo build or a gunboat build, are there other specific or distinct builds or distinct variations on those two main roles?

AA build ☺️

[fumtu]

V2 and Daring. Objectively, Daring is better but I still prefer V2 for ranked.

[MidnightPhoenix07]

2 hours ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

Incidentally, how many 'roles' can we come up for Tier X DD's? We know the 'basic' options, a torpedo build or a gunboat build, are there other specific or distinct builds or distinct variations on those two main roles?

Although the builds are still mostly going to be torpedo build or gun build with some slight variations (for example, Kleber and Smaland are both probably using gun builds but not 100% identical selections). But there are five or six roles I'd roughly divide most of them into, with some actually fitting into or sitting more between two.

 

Gun boat -- Harugumo, Sherman, Druid, Kleber, Marceau, Elbing, Z-42, Gdansk, Ragnar, Khaba/Delny, Bazan (also includes the lower tier US DDs)

Torp boat -- Shima, Somers, UU build Kleber and Daring, Yueyang, Halland

Hybrid -- Higher tier US DDs (leaning a bit more toward the torp side), Grozovoi (probably leaning a bit more toward the gun side)

Cap contesters -- Daring, Z-52

Destroyer hunters and killers -- Sherman (kind of), Daring (sometimes), Z-42, Lushun, radar Yueyang in comp, Smaland, Ragnar, Regolo, Vamp2

AA escorts -- Halland

[Charley Nasca]

Well, recently I rarely play T10. But I used to play a lot my UU Gearing, Z-52, Daring or Yueyang (after all changes it's quite good boat). On the other hand I never liked Shima. It's weird because I like to play previous ships of the line and I reseted the line several times. These days there is no reason (motivation) to play T10. Once I get them I am loosing interest. In the past we had to play our T10 to get the UU if I remember well. And yes I am not willing to pay research points for UU...