Getting frustrated by Escorts, What am i doing wrong???

[H0ggyd0g]

Okay so i am no stranger to subsims or basic uboat tactics, I run with as close to full realism on the wolves of steel mod as i can (with the external camera for cinematic shenanigans). I can id targets, use the relevant tools to get course, speed, range and AOB. and i can sink targets with modest torpedo spreads.

I am currently not even out of 1939 and any escort with an ASDIC system is impossible to shake. Oh and they seem to be able to multiply literally out of thin air!!! (Mid Atlantic, a type B destroyer manages to get visual on me from about 7000yds, no other ship in sight. I start to dive to 150m, start to get depth charged and lo and behold there are 3 destoyers circling me!!!)

Sneaking away using silent running at 1-2kts? Tried and failed!

Using the scripts to perform pump fakes with decoys? Shakes them for about 5-10 mins and then suddenly there they are again!!!

Any combination of speed, course and maneuver is countered by clairvoyant like ASDIC detection.

I seem to be unable to get anymore than 5000yds away before some magic elastic band drags them back in my direction.

After 8 hours they are clearly out of depth charges but still circle above me with what seems like 20/20 vision through the water waiting for my batteries to run out!

Seriously its like there is a 150m flagpole sitting above my boat that they can see and its not even funny anymore.

If this is what its like in 1939 I'm screwed if i get any further in the war!

This is not an isolated incident, this pattern happens every time I am detected.

What can I do?

[XenonSurf]

Hello H0ggyd0g,

In the early stage of war, the British East cost is full of patrol ships going along the coast, and they can hear you even when you are surfaced (if they happen to be close enough). Patrol ships are a meager target anyway and difficult to hit once they detect you, so I advice you to simply avoid them.

If they spot you, then before you dive don't forget to send a contact report, this may send in friendly planes to 'eleminate your problem'


Your sonarman is quite good if you go below periscope depth, it can hear loud sounds up to 40km. So you can plot a course to avoid patrols and identify good targets long before they are in sight.


As for evasion tactics when detected and when I'm submerged:
The closer the destroyer is, the less I need to be stealthy, meaning I will go a course at full speed directly towards him and making course change at the last moment, then I change to 30-60° at slow speed while he's still depth-charging elsewhere. I never try to sink a destroyer unless there are 4 or more and 1 happens to be on the opposite side far away from others, in which case if I sink the single one I can probably escape in the opposite direction of the other ones...Also always think about a surface escape first, and when at 3000m away from the next patrol ship, even if he spots you, you can gain time by going flank for a while, crush-diving and radically change direction.
These are just rough tactics that can work, but no guarantee, the AI in SH5 is smarter than SH3 I think

[vdr1981]

If one of the destroyers is able to detect your presence with her sensors (even periodically) they will never let you go, why would they? Nearby destroyers can also "communicate" with each other, don't forget that...And be very careful regarding your sound signature. Even the early escorts can hear quite well.

Try to convince them that you are already "dead" or that you somehow managed to leave the area...

Early escorts in TWoS are nothing special really but they are also not stupid...

[Spraki]

I thought I was the only one, but I did noticed this too.

Especially on patrol boats. I could be anywhere, and they'd circle over my head perfectly for hours. And usually, I have the "detected" music playing the whole time. ,_,

This is only an issue when I am not detected. Once it does happen, it is like the enemy has a double agent on my boat with a beacon >_>.

But oh well. The only real way to survive is not to poke the escorts at all. This does feel like my initial SH2 days, where stealth suddenly went poof and I ended up getting nuked by magic depth charges.

[vdr1981]

Originally Posted by Spraki

I thought I was the only one, but I did noticed this too.

Especially on patrol boats. I could be anywhere, and they'd circle over my head perfectly for hours. And usually, I have the "detected" music playing the whole time. ,_,

This is only an issue when I am not detected. Once it does happen, it is like the enemy has a double agent on my boat with a beacon >_>.

But oh well. The only real way to survive is not to poke the escorts at all. This does feel like my initial SH2 days, where stealth suddenly went poof and I ended up getting nuked by magic depth charges.

Sometimes I do feel that we aren't talking about the same game here...

"Double agent" on your boat is probably your sound signature. I don't know why is so hard to understand that enemy warships have hydro capabilities as well...

[XenonSurf]

I remember in SH1 the patrol ships had the tactic to shut down their engines and wait for you on the surface, also to go away from you at some speed and return at max speed


For knowing what they do exactly in SH5 one can put all contacts and sonar cones on in the TAI with the Option Editor. I did so a month ago and even then it was a hard time to evade...

[Spraki]

Originally Posted by vdr1981

Sometimes I do feel that we aren't talking about the same game here...

Ditto.

"Double agent" on your boat is probably your sound signature. I don't know why is so hard to understand that enemy warships have hydro capabilities as well...

Really? I could've sworn it was one of my crewmen playing drumsticks on my reserve torps.
XD


Regarding that TC bug, I wouldn't be surprisesd if sh5 also had some of it. I tend to reset TC back to 1x by going over the threshold for a sec. You do get 64x for a sec.

Anywaaaaaays