Why do I suck?

[CJMars]

Greetings,

Been playing SH5 TWoS for over 60 hours give or take on full realism (not real nav though). And I would say my torpedo attack success in all that time is no better than 20%. I don’t know how many videos I’ve watched on how to approach targets, four bearings method, RAOBF, how to use the attack wheel, how to use the TADS computer, torpedo depth settings etc ; nothing has improved my game.

Request some help from seasoned players. It bugs me now to watch my favorite YouTube skippers pull off seemingly textbook shots and I can’t.

Thank you in advance.

[les green01]

what range are shooting from

[CJMars]

I try to shoot from 800 - 1200 meters or so.

[les green01]

aob could be off even speed forgetting to open the doors with the 20% hits you had was you aiming at mot and hit the stern and which eels was you using

[CJMars]

I would say AOB is my greatest challenge. I try to use ROABF for that. I use the ship ID mod to help. I do try to make sure I open my tubes. Currently using good ol’ T1 G7a torpedos. I like to set magnetic pistols with detonation between .5 - 1.5 meters under the target depending on sea conditions.

[les green01]

aob can be hard until you get better at it then able to eyeball it also if your speed is off them two will make a miss even at close range there been a couple of times i thought i had the tubes open just to find out i didn't oops

[les green01]

this how i taught myself i setup differnt single missions with differnt aobs and speed and range and kept doing it until i could judge it all with just using my eyes don't get me wrong them methods they use work i like to keep it simple some of them methods wants you to pause or be dead stop when i watch a video and the person is stop at periscope dept i just lose interest in watching it

[bstanko6]

AOB is the most difficult! Keep practicing. I’ve been playing this series since SH1 came out. Takes time.

[Foeke1]

If you're shooting from that range, I highly recommend just positioning your U-Boat on a perpendicular course and using the "Tabelle für Gerade Schüße" if you've got it.

It's a list of the target's speed and corresponding bearings to time your shots so they hit at a 90° angle. The angle itself may not be important (especially with magnetic detonators), but the hit chance with this method is incredibly high.

If you're unsure what I'm talking about, it's basically a list that says: "If target T is travelling at 8 knots and your torpedo speed is set to 44 kn (fast), fire your torpedo when the target is at bearing X'

[CJMars]

ok, is that part of the TWoS UI? I notice a ton of extra stuff when I open my charts interface. Oh, I found it. I see the knots, bug, and Achstern for 30/40/44 knot torpedos. Soooo, how do I use this chart? The offsets appear to be for stern shots. Looks like I’ll have to do some quick math for boats approaching from starboard. Port approaching targets are covered.

Update: disregard. I get it now. I’ll give it a try. Thank you for the assist.

[Compans57]

Get in a 90 degree position and use fixed wire attack (google it if you don’t know it already). It simplifies aob and really all you need is an accurate speed reading. Having a seasoned crew also helps. Make sure you’re at battle stations and morale is up. I just completed mission 4, my crew is pretty good and achieved 8 out of 11 torpedo hits.

[CJMars]

Pretty sure I need to play with map contacts on. Tried the above suggestions and 0 hits of 5 torpedos. Something is off. Need some training wheels lol

[kapuhy]

Originally Posted by CJMars

Pretty sure I need to play with map contacts on. Tried the above suggestions and 0 hits of 5 torpedos. Something is off. Need some training wheels lol

You can always record your attack approach with Fraps or Bandicam, upload it to Youtube and post here - I'm sure experienced players would be able to see and tell you what went wrong.

Another option is to enable map contacts and external view to see for yourself what happened to your torpedoes after firing.

TWoS also includes a RAOBF tutorial, that allows you to first estimate shooting parameters with RAOBF and then make the game check and give you accurate result. This could also be helpful.

[Foeke1]

Originally Posted by CJMars

Pretty sure I need to play with map contacts on. Tried the above suggestions and 0 hits of 5 torpedos. Something is off. Need some training wheels lol

Oh yes, if you're a beginner or trying out some new methods, I highly recommend playing with map contacts and external camera on. Follow your torpedoes, keep an eye on your target and see what goes wrong.

It could be that your solution is top notch correct, but the torpedo was spotted and your target adjusted its course accordingly. It could be any number of factors actually.

If you are using the Table for Straight Shots, be sure you're looking at the correct column. I had fired torpedoes which were set to fast, but I was looking at the column for a slow speed torpedo, so that was an obvious miss.

[derstosstrupp]

Another quick way to calculate the lead angle for a fast 90 instead of using those tables if you don’t have them available, but you have a calculator, is just simply take target speed divided by torpedo speed, and then press “tan -1” for the arctangent. That will give you the number of degrees of lead angle.

So then, make sure the gyro angle is set to zero, set yourself on a perpendicular course, and when the target crosses the bearing corresponding to that lead angle, fire. If the target is coming from the right, the lead angle is the bearing, if the target is coming from the left, subtract lead angle from 360 to get the bearing.

If you want to shoot a straight shot at a target where the impact angle is not exactly 90°, the formula is a little different, but also not hard:

arcsin ( target speed / torpedo speed * sin ( AOB ) )

Arcsin being “sin -1” on the calculator.

Just remember that the TDC is only there to make your life easier and give you more options. For instance in a convoy attack, it is irreplaceable because it allows you to shift fire quickly between targets, and also for high gyro angle shots because it computes the parallax correction for you (accounting for the torpedo’s turn and distance from the optics). It also made shooting at a zigzagging target so much easier, since the firing data didn’t need to be re-calculated by tables quickly in a changing situation. But in the case of a single unescorted target that is going on a straight course, there’s almost no reason to use the TDC, so it’s good to get familiar with the mechanics of shooting just a simple straight shot “by hand” because it is very easy to perform and teaches you about how the torpedo triangle works in its simplest form.