What’s up my fellow sailors. So I got the qualification for the French Coastal tree tester, by getting 10 stars through sinking ships all days.
So I wonder, if you get any extra bonuses or battle trophies if you grinded out all 40 stars?
Furthermore, what “characterizes” French boats? Would appreciate a run down on the general playstyle, performance, and just information on the boats.
Thanks guys!
By the way: I put this thread as “general” and “events” because in the future, some tester events may not be about navy.
Your bonus is being able to play French Coastal!
Be prepared to be disappointed. The early boats are outclassed by everything - they are either faster, have thicker skins, or bigger guns (or all of the above!). Spam the reserve to at least have 360deg coverage for you weak MGs (with API belts). Still not great but at least you can shoot when running away avoiding direct combat where possible. They are pure cap runners.
Not completed the tree as I’m finding it rather depressing, but there is enough feedback that points to most boats being over-BR’d. The LCM seems pretty much universally dispised, Arras at least has big guns and a thick hull but eats torpedos and is a sitting duck for reserve DDs. It’s pretty much continues in the same vein with every boat being a tough ask. And don’t think grinding out those endgame SS11s will help as they have too short a range to be anything but situational.
My advice - expect nothing and then you can fake surprise every time you get enough RP for a mod/boat.
And staying positive - at least you’ll now have a cap runner available.
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I found it kind of fun going right back to 1.0 - the boats are pretty rubbish, but that’s 1,0, and they are competitive with what you are facing up through the low ranks, although there’s nothing peculiar about them.
The 2 most interesting boats are the Arras and L9059 - these are unique in coastal and look like rubbish, but I have found both of them can work really well - their guns OHK most PT boats, and the L5059 especially simply annihilates the 2 twin hull flak barges - the barges must have their ammo on top, and the high trajectory of the 25pdrs at any range seem to invariably detonate it if you can hit the central superstructure.
La Surprise is also pretty good despite getting a DD spawn - the 2 x 4" guns fire so fast that it will kill all the reserve DD’s in a straight 1:1 gunfight, even with just HE. And it gets VT ammo for them too for AA work.
However the VLT-1 and VLT-2 are both severely over-BR-ed - compare them to what US PT boats get at 3.7 and you’ll see why!
I don’t see Combattante being very useful - the larger coastals above 3.7 see too many good destroyers if you try to use them in a coastal lineup - you have to use them as auxiliaries in a Blue water lineup
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Thanks. I think I’ll give them a try when I have some time. Sounds similar enough to Japanese coastal boats.
The OHK boats you speak about sounds like the more powerful version of the Japanese 2.3 subchaser with a 8cm gun. Definitely a “derp gun” for sure.
Even more so due to larger calibre weapons :)
The Arras is reasonably fast for a “slow” boat - hitting over 60kph in Arcade, and as was noted it can take torpedoes fore and aft of the centre section without much bother.
The L5059 has a decent secondary armament too - either for AA work or vs close in fast moving targets that the 25pdrs can’t follow.
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