Damage control priority?

[desirableroasted]

As a veteran skipper, I should know this. And I cannot find the answer in the forums.

1) What do the little symbols in damaged compartments mean? What relation do they have to the damage info being printed out (i.e., damage recovery in 00.01 while the number under the icon could be completely different).

2) How do you prioritize where to send the DC crew? All things being equal, I restore (if damaged) a) electric propulsion, b) diesel propulsion, then whatever else, but I would really like to know how to put buoyancy first.

Most of the time, if I last 3-4 minutes of gametime damage, I muddle through. But I rarely do so efficiently, and I am sure I am making wrong choices.

All advice gratefully accepted!

[K-61]

In the crew screen you will see timers. I believe one number refers to the amount of time left until the compartment completely floods. The other refers to the amount of time to stop the leaking. Stopping leaks should usually be your first priority, unless the leaking is fairly minor. Flooding will definitely kill you, so it should always be kept in mind. Try to have a few officers and petty officers qualifed as repair personnel, as these will be more efficient than seamen. After flooding, you should repair damage that affects your mobility, as most likely you are still under attack and need to move in order to evade. Personnel already in a damaged compartment will work at fixing damage, but putting your repair qualifed crew in the top left screen and then clicking on the compartment you want to have priority will assign them to repairing the damage there. Once that is fixed, assign them to your next priority repair, and so on.

Also, very important to know, setting orders for silent running stops all repair work, as it is noisy. If you have only minor damage but are still being hunted, it should be safe to stop repair work until you are away some distance and are unlikely to be heard.

You may also wish to consider a "realistic damage repair time" mod. The game's own damage repair model is too simplistic and not a fair depiction. Repairs will take longer to accomplish, but damage will also not kill you as quickly.

[Herr-Berbunch]

I couldn't have put it better.

Emphasis on the silent running bit, it's so easy to overlook as you were probably in silent running when you took the damage, and you man your damage control stations and sit back for them to begin...

[desirableroasted]

Thank you for the advice.

1) Which icon represents which value? I assume the "pump" icon on the left is the time left to stop to leak, while the rather ominous looking one on the right is the time left.

2) I had forgotten that crew in the compartment help with repairs, though it obviously makes sense. I normally have two repair qualified officers and two-three repair qualified petty officers; the extra repair qualified officer can be deployed accordingly.

3) "You can't make repairs in silent running" got drilled into my head many, many patrols ago, but it's always worth repeating. I always make attacks under silent running, with at least a skeleton repair crew already in place. It is very easy to forget to secure from silent running in those first seconds of taking damage.

[K-61]

Even after many, many patrols, I still occasionally make the same old mistakes: forget to retract the scope, forget I am still in silent running, forgetting to hit resume course, etc.