In the current state of beta, NF2 is VASTLY different from NF1.
There are elements that are the same, and the gameplay is, to an extent, similar.... But aside from
"You control a ship,"
"It's Top-down,"
and
"Shoot the enemy,"
How you go about your objectives has changed.
FIRSTLY:
There are several capture points on the map.
"Well Golly, what do they do, Thor?"
You might ask, with a distinctly 1950's approach to your language.
First off, the simple ones.
Army bases,
Team bases.
What do these two do?
Both of them provide an anti-ship battery, firstly...
And the team base seems to be a victory critical structure. (MORE TESTING NEEDED!)
Then, how about the airfields?
Those are a little different.
An Airfield provides flagship access to two little features-
"Recon support", A brief lightup of a small area (About the size of a sector,) on the map...
And "Bomber support". Pretty much what it says on the tin.
And then there's Radar towers. Again- pretty much what it says on the tin. Periodic reveal of ships within a certain radius.
GENERAL GAMEPLAY TIPS TO COME, STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
Part 1:
Amunition.
HE. HE. HE. HE. AP.
Simple, right?
By that, I mean 80%, (more or less) should be HE. The AP should pretty much only be for your opening salvo against a CA, or larger. They're likely to have some armor. Usually one, or two salvos, at most, will take care of it, though, and you can switch right back to HE, at that point.
MORE TO COME.
Battleships:
Kings of the ocean, right, Billy? (No wait, stop the 1950's instructional video!)
Ha ha ha. That's right.
But what IS a battleship... and how do we use one?
A Battleship is built for firepower... and not much else.
Carrying a main battery of at least 10" (or bigger) guns, with at least four (Or more) barrels, and usually at least a secondary battery, of much smaller guns, (Usually more of them, than the primaries,) the battleship is, essentially, a Gun-carrier.
Your main objective, in a battleship, is to deliver large shells... to large targets.
ALWAYS BE AWARE: You are a large target, as well... the primary objective of an enemy battleship is to deliver shells to YOU.
What does that mean? How do I go about that, if the Enemy is just as focused on me, as I am on them?
Well, little captain Billy, let me give you a few little tips.
ALWAYS:
Sit towards the back of the line, to make difficulties in the enemy finding you..
Remember your Priority targets, and engage them FIRST- Even if you're being plinked by a destroyer.
Fire on gradual- or at LEAST separate by Fore, and Aft batteries, for your MAIN guns.
Employ your secondary battery, when possible, both against capital ships, OR to get rid of the destroyer plinking you, as you're shelling a capital ship.
Estabilsh a Weaving course, so you do not remain stationary to an enemy's guns.
NEVER:
Overuse your secondary battery- It's called your SECONDARY battery, for a reason. It should never be your focus, or your damage, and gunnery, will suffer for it.
Discontinue your weaving course- This makes you an easy target, and allows easier gunfire, or torpedo hits. Weaving is dodging, and dodging is surviving.
Ignore your ship, for more than 40~ seconds at a time. Without glancing at, at least, the map periodically, you can be caught unaware by a ship (Or a Sub) getting to close proximity- scouting you, and potentially attacking as well.
At Level Observations, KM BB's 1, 2, 3:
Well, little billy, You've gone German! Heil-o to you too! The German nation, in NF2, seems to be built around speed. Although the reloads are rather quick- they do not out-reload any other nation, on their main battery- Aside from the U.K., and some late-game IJN ships. The US, on the other hand, usually matches the KM For Reload time- and Exceeds them, on Damage, and Range.
Why would you pick the Germans then? The US holds all of the advantages, right, little Billy? That's up to you to decide. Every last ship in this game has minute differences. These differences lead to different playstyles- even though some parts are universal, Such as Don't get hit, and shoot them more than, and before, they shoot you.
The KM Seems to be, overall, extremely well suited to an OFFENSIVE role. With the lower angle guns that most of it's BB's have- it does not suffer as much of a range loss for chasing, as something like the 45 degree angle guns of an Iowa, or a Yamato...
KM BB1 Deutschland 1903:
The KM BB1 is, at the same time, the very best BB1... and a Mediocre BB1.
Lacking the tertiary armaments of the Katori, The KM BB1's secondaries instead deal more damage, at a higher number of guns- 7 as opposed to 6, per side. Additionally, the Primary guns of the Deutschland 1903 out-reload those of the Katori.
The secondary battery is smaller in caliber than the Lord Nelson- and deals less damage, as a result. However, the range is similar, and the primaries of the Deutschland are slightly superior- a full 2 seconds faster on the reload, slightly more accurate, and NEARLY the same damage per shot, with more shots outputted in the same amount of time, means that the Deutschland, on primaries, will outshoot a Nelson. Additionally, the smaller, faster secondaries are much more useful for engaging DD/CL targets, than the large, cumbersome guns of the Nelson.
With nearly 100m more range, and a much smaller profile, The Indiana will be your largest problem. The smallest of the BB1's, it, like the Katori, carries three batteries of armaments. This is as much of a DISADVANTAGE, however, as it is an Advantage. With three batteries to switch through, one's gunnery WILL suffer as a result- either in quantity of fire, or quality of fire. A usage ruling I abided by was- Primaries and secondaries for Capitals- Secondaries and Tertiaries for CL's or smaller. The Deutschland out-damages the Indiana- based on it's MUCH faster reload, and slightly more accurate fire... However, the indiana is small enough that a small mistake in aiming translates to a rather easy miss.
That stated, time for direct observations of the KM BB1:
The Accuracy at level is rather satisfactory- I went into the ship with 80 accuracy between my gunnery officers, and that served me well enough to hit targets as small as a destroyer, or even submarine, with little, to no trouble.
The combination of a low angle, and large range, makes for a relatively flat, and more importantly, FAST trajectory- Very little airtime is needed, and I would find myself leading a ship by almost exactly a destroyer's length, at maximum range, in order to get consistant, 80%+ accuracy.
With the Lowest reload time of any of the BB1's, The Deutschland is EXTREMELY well equipped for dealing with smaller ships- By the time he thinks he's safe from your first salvo, you're already firing your second. 10.8 second reload, BEFORE the reload skill modification, is extremely quick, and extremely deadly.
The secondary battery is extremely satisfying to use- Seven guns per side make very short work of even Heavy Cruisers, when employed with good, accurate fire. Additionally, their layout means that the minimum you will have is 2 6" guns and 2 11" guns, pointing at any facing... Plenty to outgun even the most stalwart of destroyers, making an attack on your ship.
Although a little slow, the small size innate to all BB1's serves the Deutschland well, making it nimble enough to evade incoming fire, when used properly... However, as with all BB1's, nearly 60,000 hull backs up it's agility, making it more than capable of taking some fire, if required to.
Overall, the Deutschland holds a few advantages, and a few disadvantages over the other BB1's, and it's a very satisfying ship to play.
KM BB2 Moltke:
On initial glance, the Deutschland does quite a few things BETTER than the moltke- it holds higher shell damage, at the same range, a MUCH smaller profile (A Deutschland is less than HALF the size of A Moltke), and it even houses a larger secondary battery!
Do not let first glance fool you- The moltke is easily the TOP BB2, with very little contention. Only the Nevada comes CLOSE to matching it's performance... and that's only in good hands.
What makes the Moltke so good?
Let's talk about the guns, first.
As a Dreadnaught type battleship, 5 turrets of 11" guns seems pretty stock standard. They do deal a little less than the Deutschland's guns- and you have less shells than the Nevada... But do not let the offset turrets fool you- ALL FIVE turrets can be employed in the broadside role.
On average- you will need 5-6 hits from your 11" shells, to kill a destroyer. On Average, you can kill a destroyer, and a half. Every time you fire. Backed up with 6, high velocity, and low trajectory 6" guns, per side, the Moltke is easily a team-breaker. The guns are VERY accurate- do not let the "D" rating fool you... I have personally landed full salvo, after full salvo- and this ship will bring in an average game of 135k attack, when used with a little bit of patience, and a good eye for target lead.
A VERY good engine, mixed with a good support crew, and then an boiler upgrade, will get your Moltke running at Near 40 knots, for a quarter of a minute. No battleship will outrun a Moltke- None. This allows YOU to dictate when, and where the battle will happen. Mixed with your heavy hitting 10 shells of HE- Critting as high as 8000 per shell, with a minimum hit of around 3000, You can see how a Moltke can take a losing battle, and laugh it right off to an easy victory.
Do not let it's large size fool you- the Moltke is just as nimble- if not MORE so, than the Deutschland. A Higher speed, and a very quick turn rate, allow you to almost Throw your ship, from side to side. No other ship has been as successful, for me, at evading dive bombers, or torpedoes. A Destroyer trying to circle you will be in for a very rude awakening- Most likely of the fatal kind. You can afford to miss with Two entire turrets, and STILL sink most destroyers... and assuming you miss with more? A quick shot from the secondaries will take care of whatever paltry amount of hull remains.
Down to direct comparisons:
A Base overheat of about 34 knots is very good for it's type- Faster than the Nevada, and Kongo- although not quite enough to outrun a dreadnaught.
The Ten 11" guns, much like their earlier counterparts on the Deutschland, have a startlingly fast reload- only 10.8 seconds. A full two seconds faster than the Kongo, or Nevada, You WILL get the second shot off, first. As well as the third. Although the british guns reload faster than the IJN, or US guns- they are STILL outmatched by the Moltke- by a Full SECOND. What this means, is that you will, 100% of the time, outshoot ANY other BB2 in the game. The first salvo is NEVER the deciding salvo- even for a Nevada, with it's 12 guns. Instead, the second, and sometimes even the third salvo will determine who survives. As you get your salvos off quicker, assuming you keep your aim steady- because these guns will NOT fail you in accuracy, this means that in an even fight- or even at a slight Disadvantage- the Moltke still holds ALL of the cards.
Although the secondary battery is not as large as the Kongo's, or the Nevada's, they are of a larger caliber, with more range than the Nevada's secondary guns, and are equal to the Kongo's secondaries, as well. Versus small ships, the Moltke still holds a larger advantage than the Kongo, even though the Kongo has more secondaries- In exchange for one less 6" gun per side, you get a full Primary turret, instead, which serves as Much of a heavier punch.
Matched with the Kongo, and Nevada in hull, the Moltke DOES have less health than the Dreadnought, but it makes up for this in being a generally more useful all round ship- It simply won't take as much damage as a Dreadnought will.
Overall, the Moltke is rather cleanly superior to EVERY other battleship in it's teir, when used properly, and a real joy of a ship to use.
KM BB3: Mackensen
W.I.P. Still in mid-grind through this ship.
Quick notes:
At level accuracy is sub-par- 200 Accuracy skill combined is NOT enough to reliably hit a target.
Secondaries effective at keeping destroyers at bay, but Tertiaries are inefficient for anti-aircraft.
Primaries useless against destroyers, past angle 13, at level. Spread too large to guarantee hits.
Slower, and Larger than Moltke.
Starts with Scout selected, as weapon, preventing any control of ship direction until deselected. (Bug? Seems like a bad armament to start with selected.)
Plenty of ammunition- but hard to select an amount of AP/HE combination which results in a full salvo multiple, for AP, at lower percentages. Minimum seems to be 48, for more than 1 full salvo, leading to slightly low HE carrying.