Mini Lorraine it looks like
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I dont undestand why Gaijin found it useful to add Arras ship. this is not really a combat ship…
FYI: It is a combat ship.
Unlike the British Q-ships, avisos were built from keel to mast to be warships.
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the Arras is an excellent combat ship in the game right now.
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What Aviso are we talking about? These ones maybe?
The Arras is just a « trawler » with two cannons that can’t even fire in the ship’s axis… let’s be serious 🤨
I’m glad for you…have fun with this floating target🤣😂
We are. Arras is not a trawler.
Arras is very much a combat ship, just not one that I believe will be at home in WT.
The class of Sloops was built to resemble merchant vessels but could deliver a good broadside to any WW1 U Boat that dared to attack their convoys.
They weren’t made for - speed & manoeuvrability, ship v ship, anti-air, countering PT boats…basically WT in general. It’s the type that people demand far too regularly, looks good on paper - “ooh, Big Guns!” - but ignore the rest of the stats that scream 'borderline useless:.
Never mind, you have to research her whether you want to or not so learn to love…
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a shame they used 7mm guns for most of the lower level fleet
not even the hard core coastal players will use them as soon as they are spaded
such a waste of time even coding them in
Nice pics but hey that last type shown had one vessel duel a Royal Navy invasion force for a day, The Bougainville class Aviso D`Entrecasteaux under service of Vichy France, it might not have sank anything but zigzagging through shell fire & torpedo barrages sounds incredible for a final stand (kinda equivalent to Hatsuzuki last battle).
That type would probably be a good 3.7 or 4.0 vessel (probably play better than the 4.0 SKR’s hah hah) & as a bonus could carry a floatplane.
Heh aviso being trawlers good one, as we already have a trawler in game & it rocks Isles class Naval Trawler HMT Liscomb T-285, & from my understanding they’re more closer to a sloop an good thing we have on in game K class Sloop K-2 (the French should get the dutch versions soonish).
calling it now, the tree is going to suffer
low tier MGs (7.7mm) are hard to use, but the decent speed on these boats make it at least workable
VLT-1 and 2 are a bit over BR’ed i think (same BR as albatros ?)
La combattante is definitely over BR though : take a VLT-1, add 2 12.7s, add the SS11, cut the speed in half, remove the torps, and you get a thing that gets eaten alive by every SKR-7 or frigates in the area
SS11 limited range also means that targetting destroyers ammo racks is almost impossible, as they’re too far away most of the time. The missile is also slow meaning high time of exposure
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Exact same dude.
I add:
You are the low tier each game with the VLT 2. Knowing thats a premium boat, i suggest 3.3 or 3.0 at least.
Even PT-59 (3.0) is better value in game in “dive in” on points or hide and seek with isles.
I dont try La combattante yet. But large map with 90% cruisers… let me doubt
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REAL AND TRUE.
- indeed, first match on it i’ve only got three assists, and there are three of the exact same boat making lowtier a truly desperate gamble until the VTB-13
- the VLTs are just faster wooden MC-490s, with the VLT-2 having the benefit of two oerlikons.
- that’s why i’ve always referred to it as an inbred saetta. i also feel like MCLOS missiles have no place in naval because they take time to aim and you’ll die in the la combattante before you even get to aim your missiles
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Hello all,
After some days spading the tree and starting the painful grind to La Combattante, here are my 2-cents take on the french coastals.
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The Darne-only gang (VTB’s 8, 9 (premium), 11, 14 have their speed for them, but that’s all. They are all nearly identical, and the rifle-caliber mg is close to unpotent. Try to aim for all the different hull modules with AP-ammo, and you can rack some victories over bots.
BR seems ok, just because 0.3 or 0.7 is not possible… Maybe you can use them in high-tier battles to troll crazy DD’s between islands, but the 2km-ranged torpedo won’t get you far. -
The VTB’s 13 and 19 bring something new to the game, a single 20mm Oerlikon that you should consider as your first real weapon of the tree. Stay back in these low-tier battles, support the AI-bots of the team and you should do ok. BR 1.3/1.7 is OK in my opinion.
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Now for some diversity, the MTB-96 is not really notable. It’s like the Vosper-2 in the UK-tree, but with… oh, right, 2x7,7 mg’s. Great for a continuous fire, but don’t expect miracle. BR seems ok for this one, but 1.7 would have been better though.
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The first really interesting boat of the tree is the L9059. Very diverse armament, with the 2 QF 25pdr, a 40mm Bofors and its 2x20mm Oerlikon companions. I really found that it was a well-rounded support ship. The slow-firing 25pdrs have a MORTAR behavior, so try to hide and make hell rain on the pesky huge barges you can find in the opposite team. These shells are slow, but have a really marked bell trajectory and can lead to some suprising hits on hiding enemies.
Best approach while advancing would be to tack while presenting as much as possible your left broadside (better firing angles with the 25pdrs). Most importantly, use your 40-mm AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE. It will be your main defense gun, but its firing angles are really blocked by the bridge.
BR seems ok for this one, you got a great weapon choice. -
The oddity in the tree is the not-threatening looking ARRAS, which is essentially a cargo ship.
History time here, the guns of the vessels during the monarchy were engraved with the motto : “ULTIMA RATIO REGUM”, meaning “the last argument of the King”. This sentence could be applied to the peaceful-looking ARRAS. If you manage to hit any coastal adversary you see, you will just blow it to pieces. Spaded, it’s also surprisingly maneuverable while going forward, but slow as a rock backwards.
You can also engage the reserve DD’s you see, but if they decide to target you specifically don’t try your chance. 138,6mm guns are great but slow, your 75mm is a “light” support, and the 8mm “AA defense” are negligible. If a plane targets you, once again you are dead. BR 3.0 seems ok too with this surprising boat. -
Next, La Surprise is a nice… surprise (ha, ha). You got the same guns than the HMS Brissenden, sided by trusty Oerlikons without many dead-angles.
I have to say that it’s my favorite in the tree. Her main drawbacks are her speed paired with the DD spawn. If you manage to sail to the center of the coastal-boats melee, you will be the main threat to them. AI-gunners keeping their attention on the approaching planes will be a relief too. If you second-spawn with her, you can even engage confidently the low-tier DD’s you meet. 3.3 is a really good BR when she can shine without being OP at all. -
Now for the greatest scandal in the coastal tree… VLT’s. VLT-2 got at least 2 Oerlikons (the same you see on your coastal vessels since BR 1.3), to maintain the rate of fire, but the only 2 slow-firing unstabilised 40mm bofors are lackluster when you trade fire with any PG-02, Albatros, Jaguar, PT-xxx, MPK… you see.
Compare these boats with the PT’s in the US tree. Maybe the US ones are a bit slower, but armed like any Texas firing range. When the US ones are packing torpedos, they bear 4 or them with a 5.2km range (vs 2km for the VLT’s)… Orientable tubes are a great addition, but once again you have to be at 2km only.
I really can’t see why the VLT’s are higher in BR than say a PT-810. Right now, even the premium one doesn’t feel reliable to grind. I used only “normal” ships to grind while having preordered the VLT2. My advice would be to let them aside while waiting for a BR-reduction. Grinding for La Combattante will be a loooong way, but even slower if I use VLT’s. -
I am really looking for La Combattante, because she looks gorgeous, but unfortunately I don’t hold high expectations for the SS-11 turret (maybe she needs her actually used SS-12 ?)
My opinion on this long-awaited tree is that it really lacks diversity for one part, but got some really hidden gems on the other. L9059, La Surprise, Arras are really great additions and I hope to see more coastal boats for France in the future, especially for numerous Avisos that the Royale employed, up to the mighty modern coastal ships.
Have fun with these new toys, and see you on the battlefield.
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A good summary, shows me once again that I haven’t missed anything. 🐌
Somehow the french battleships feeling bugged. I played germany and france high tier recently and while Scharnhorst and Bayern do massive damage with every salvo, the french ap grenades seem to do almost nothing, even with their large filler. OK, they have a bit less penetration, but really? While I do 10-15k damage with german ships, with france I mostly stuck below 5k. Also the french secondary batteries land their shots miles away from the crosshair if both ships arent standing still while the german 150mm are always spot on.
There seems something really fishy here…
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Hello there, fellow Naval enjoyers,
After ±1 week I unlocked La Combattante, and did some games with her and her mighty missiles (joking).
Well, apart for her gorgeous 3D model, I am not really enthusiastic. I will keep parading her until I’m spaded though.
You are not really fast, and the armament is the same as the VLT-1 (2 Bofors). SS11 are very, very situationnal, and I have yet to destroy someone with them (outside of the test navigation ofc). Bofors are quicker to dispatch speedboats, and I am really disappointed with their effects on medium coastals (like LE Orla, USS Asheville, MPK xxx). Maybe I am still not experienced with that weapon in a naval situation, I have yet to find where to aim them to use them at best.
Targetting Coastal trailers like the Drache will be disappointing, due to the emptiness of their hull.
However they have a fear factor when they hit an enemy, but that’s not really a great thing because that enemy will then target you. And you can’t escape fast enough, so you are just sitting there.
Using Bofors while a SS11 is flying is a bit tricky, because you often have to correct your deflection BUT center the aim on the target when the missile is about to hit. Do it too early and watch your 40mm shots land in the water. Do it too late and… well, the missile misses.
Overall, you have to play the french coastal tree as the bluewater one. If you are alone on the front, you are doing it wrong. Only the VLT’s can sometime have a miracle moment and get some kills if you are not targeted. I even did some games racking 6-7 kills without losing a VLT1.
Use your boats to cover your team, harass the enemy and hide.
@ Gaijin : mandatory demand : Moar french coastal boats please!
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if you’re calling for only ‘boat’ not corvettes or frigates, said news is that Gaijin has no chance. There are already most of French motor boats in game.
There’s an entire thread dedicated to the discussion about balancing of the French Coastal tree - French naval coastal tree BR should be this
and you can rack some victories over bots.
Wait, you have bots in BR 1.0 coastal battles?! Or are you just trolling the skill-level of other players 🤣