PQ North Carolina review/Learning from the mistakes of others.

[Ensign Cthulhu]

Potato Quality did a video on why you should choose the North Carolina for the Expedition to the North event if you're choosing a T8 ship.

If you're not a CV or sub enthusiast, I would agree with him that it's a solid choice for all the reasons he gives in this video. He gives a detailed breakdown of all of the ship's strengths and weaknesses, how to play around them, the skills you develop getting good in the ship, etc etc. Even outside of this event, the whole thing is worth watching for a detailed general discussion on the equal-oldest T8 BB in the game, including how and why he builds it and sets up the captain. All that is very high quality PQ at his best.

What I didn't expect to see was him getting done in by (IMHO) being greedy and inattentive.

4:58 Hatsuharu is visible dead ahead.

5:02 Hatsuharu shoots at him

5:03 PQ turns his attention to the enemy North Carolina

5:08 PQ seems to be looking at Hatsu less than 5km away

5:18 PQ turns to look at Hatsuharu again as it shoots him and disappears into smoke. 

5:23 More gunfire from the Hatsu

5:27 Hatsu torps him, he tries to comb the tracks and does a good job for a tight spread, evading all but one. (Torps were probably fired around 5:20 or so.)

5:40 PQ has turned his attention to the Hood on his port quarter

5:45 Gunfire comes in from the starboard fore quarter.

5:50 PQ looks at the smoke cloud

5:53 PQ looks at the angry smoke cloud that just shot at him, then back to the broadside Hood to port.

6:01 More fire from the starboard fore quarter

6:03 Hatsuharu pops up on the Minimap

6:08 PQ fires on the Hood

6:11 PQ finally turns his viewpoint to the Hatsuharu and tries to get his nose around

6:29 Hatsuharu gets its torps off

6:36 PQ swings his side into the Hatsu's torp salvo trying to get his turrets around and they kill each other.

 

Analysis: Between 6:03 (when the DD pops back up on the minimap) and 6:08 (when he fires on the Hood), he had the opportunity to let the BB go, kick his rudder hard right and start getting his guns turned around for the DD. I think not doing this made the difference between being able to sink it before it fired vs. what actually happened. He seems to have gambled on how long it would take the Hatsuharu to reload torps and lost.

 

 

Maybe I'm seeing this because I'm used to melee fighting in co-op. What would you have done?

Edited December 4, 2024 by Ensign Cthulhu

[Aethervox]

Normally, if I can see a DD anywhere near my BB, I'm onto that DD as much as possible. I'd be after the Hatsuhara to sink it, as fast as possible. 😁

[Frostbow]

40 minutes ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

What I didn't expect to see was him getting done in by (IMHO) being greedy and inattentive.

You label Potato Quality as "greedy" and "inattentive" yet in the same vein, right in the same post, you provide a blow by blow account of the decisions he made in a cut throat, dynamic PVP environment—while at the same time you anchor your "what I didn't expect" statement on being "used to fighting in Co-op".

46 minutes ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Between 6:03 (when the DD pops back up on the minimap) and 6:08 (when he fires on the Hood), he had the opportunity to let the BB go (he even missed the kill shot)

He destroyed the Hood. You can clearly see it in the video. Revise your analysis as it is clearly rife with inaccuracies and not so subtle bias. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YfF-kj9fms&t=368s

You should have mentioned in your analysis that Potato Quality destroyed both the Hood and the Hatsuharu. Both were worthy targets, both were clear threats, and he eliminated them both. 

That was not greed nor inattentiveness as your analysis have emphasized. That was the correct play: you have enemy battleships charging forward, he positioned and supported Malta using crossfire, and then deftly used those islands to his left as armor. He got both targets, before Hatsuharu's torpedoes got his NC.

 

[Itwastuesday]

He's pretty much dead there no matter what

[Ensign Cthulhu]

11 minutes ago, Frostbow said:

He destroyed the Hood. You can clearly see it in the video.

Well-caught; I have altered my post accordingly. The ribbon appears after he turns away and we don't see the actual explosion. I must have got confused with him getting denied the kill on the first salvo he fired at it. 

11 minutes ago, Frostbow said:

you provide a blow by blow account of the decisions he made in a cut throat, dynamic PVP environment—while at the same time you anchor your "what I didn't expect" statement on being "used to fighting in Co-op".

If anything, co-op is an even more cut-throat dynamic environment, but I still didn't expect him to be caught out like that. Even Aethervox is with me on this one...

17 minutes ago, Aethervox said:

Normally, if I can see a DD anywhere near my BB, I'm onto that DD as much as possible. I'd be after the Hatsuhara to sink it, as fast as possible. 😁

...which is highly unusual. 😎

 

15 minutes ago, Frostbow said:

and he eliminated them both. 

At the cost of his own ship. There were plenty of people left to sink the Hood for him. He had a Teng She (effectively a Sinop) and a heavily torpedo-armed cruiser between him and the Hood, but the DD was the immediate clear and present danger, was flashing extensive warning signals at him that he should have heeded, and should have been prioritized absolutely. He got selfish, wanted both kills, and lost his ship for it.

15 minutes ago, Itwastuesday said:

He's pretty much dead there no matter what

My analysis begs to differ. If he'd let the Hood go as soon as the DD became visible on the minimap again, he would have had five extra seconds at least to get his ship and guns turned around and blap the DD.

Like I said, he gambled on how long it would take for it to reload torps and lost. Perhaps he's accustomed to playing DDs with longer reload times - the Farragut, for example, reloads in 88 seconds as opposed to the Hatsuharu's 74 (per Wiki). If that had been a Farragut, he would easily have nailed it and lived (though he might have taken more torps on the first salvo).

[Frostbow]

1 hour ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

He got selfish, wanted both kills, and lost his ship for it.

An analysis such as yours that is based on personal attacks is no analysis at all. 

1 hour ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

If anything, co-op is an even more cut-throat dynamic environment

Co-op is cut-throat? Hilarious! Bots in Co-op are utterly stupid. We all know that. They even ram each other. They follow more or less the same paths. Countless games countless players have in Co-op and they feature the same "please shoot me now" type of bots. These bots even put out fires the moment they get it!

Co-op is dynamic environment? Even more hilarious!

To say that Co-op is a cut-throat dynamic environment is simply not true. Even Operations such as Raptor Rescue has more dynamic elements than Co-op.

Please stop this long-standing narrative of yours that Co-op is even more cut-throat than PVP because it is not. 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2024 by Admiral_Karasu
Guideline/policy issue.

[Ensign Cthulhu]

2 hours ago, Frostbow said:

To say that Co-op is a cut-throat dynamic environment is simply not true.

It would be interesting to know how many co-op games you've played, particularly how many that are very low on humans and where the green bots (and sometimes the other humans) are lacklustre and quickly deleted, or the sole other human in a heavy-lifting ship (e.g. Schlieffen) is AFK.

I guarantee you, it can get VERY dynamic in those situations and you can find yourself having to deal with two or more enemy ships at close quarters, plus or minus air attack (especially if you are in the only DD; bot carriers almost invariably come straight for you to the exclusion of all else).

I've had enough experience with Operations to know how ridiculously tightly scripted they can be, to the point where experienced ops mains in some scenarios (e.g. Killer Whale) are able to dump torps successfully on ships that haven't even spawned in yet. Next to that, neither the spawning nor the pathing of Co-op bots is anywhere near as consistent. Nor are the bots as dumb as you claim, being extremely perceptive with regard to torps fired at them and also reliably angling the instant you switch to AP to catch their broadsides. Support carriers can and will smoke themselves. Bot clumping to maximize AA fire and pathing around islands to make a Russian carrier's life more difficult is often seen. The forward rush means that a sub trying to get forward and do damage can easily find a fast bot DD inside her no-shotgun range. And so on. 

2 hours ago, Frostbow said:

An analysis such as yours that is based on personal attacks

I find your definition of 'personal attack' to be rather on the loose side here. If I'd really wanted to be personal about it, I wouldn't have enumerated the steps that led up to him being sunk. I wouldn't have tried to find the point where I thought he could have come out of it with his ship intact. I wouldn't have tried to find an objective reason why he didn't decide to forsake the BB and go for the destroyer the instant it became visible again. I would have just called him an idiot for losing his ship. But that's not what I did.

 

Now, rewind. You're in this situation at 6:03 and you see the destroyer suddenly become visible on the minimap. What would you do and why, KNOWING that a DD has just popped out of smoke very close to you on your disengaged side, and that this almost certainly means its torpedoes are ready and it's coming in for the kill?

Edited December 4, 2024 by Ensign Cthulhu

[torino2dc]

6 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Analysis: Between 6:03 (when the DD pops back up on the minimap) and 6:08 (when he fires on the Hood), he had the opportunity to let the BB go, kick his rudder hard right and start getting his guns turned around for the DD. I think not doing this made the difference between being able to sink it before it fired vs. what actually happened. He seems to have gambled on how long it would take the Hatsuharu to reload torps and lost.

The mistake that set him up for all of this occurred far earlier. At ~4:10 his friendly DD abandons his screening duties, leaving no ship between him and the enemy Hatsu. At this point, the cap is lost and being torpedoed to death is highly likely unless action is taken.

The correct move is to prepare to disengage, either by reversing behind the island, or risking a turnout. Pushing forward just accelerates the problem. 

Fortunately for him, his team was winning handily, so trading a T8 BB for a T6 DD and chunks of a Hood was perfectly fine. But if you are trying to learn how to be a good BB player, that is not good teaching tape. 

[Wolfswetpaws]

7 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

What would you have done?

~Prioritized the Hatsuharu as a target.
~Maneuvered more, as a method of pre-emptively avoiding torpedoes.

If I was being "smart" ...
~recognized that my ship was the closest ship to the Hatsuharu.  Nothing is screening my North Carolina, which isn't the most wiggly BB in my Fleet.
~ attempt to use the island as a shield from the red BB's and limit how many opponents that I must fight simultaneously.

At 3 minutes 16 seconds, the Hatsuharu becomes clearly visible.  But his guns aren't ready (they're reloading, and they're loaded with AP instead of HE).

So, the failure to deal with the opposing DD and support his friendly DD might be construed as contributing factors for the decisions by his allied Cruiser and allied DD making their retreats from the capture area. 
The Hatsuharu could then easily control their detection/stealth status versus a North Carolina. 
(That they didn't is their mistake, in my opinion.  But, moving along.)

This fight "went wrong" early, I feel.

At 4:27 timestamp, the allied DD is next to his BB.  The allied cruiser is about a grid-square away to the southwest.

I don't know whether or not the Hatsuharu player was trying to be "sporting" or simply frustrated with their own team.
But, neither they nor Potato Quality survive past the 6:42 time-stamp.

Edited December 4, 2024 by Wolfswetpaws

[Ensign Cthulhu]

1 hour ago, torino2dc said:

The mistake that set him up for all of this occurred far earlier.

True, but to paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke in a different context, I felt this moment represented "the final choice between life and death". 

[Frostbow]

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

It would be interesting to know how many co-op games you've played, particularly how many that are very low on humans and where the green bots (and sometimes the other humans) are lacklustre and quickly deleted, or the sole other human in a heavy-lifting ship (e.g. Schlieffen) is AFK.

More than 18,000 Co-op games with an average damage per game of more than 81,000. You can even find a Co-op thread I made at the PVE section here in DevStrike (1000+ Base XP Co-op Games).

When the 2 humans + 7 bots "bug" appeared briefly in Co-op a few years ago, I was delighted because it was a superb challenge and it upgraded the Co-op experience. I remember a lot of Co-op mains complained about, though. I also have a lot of games where I am the only human in a Co-op match (in the live server, not the PTS), and I get a lot of fun each time that happens.

However, as it is right now, NONE of that will match the cut throat and dynamic environment of a PVP mode. 

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

I guarantee you, it can get VERY dynamic in those situations and you can find yourself having to deal with two or more enemy ships at close quarters, plus or minus air attack (especially if you are in the only DD; bot carriers almost invariably come straight for you to the exclusion of all else).

I see your definition of dynamic is narrowed to fit the confines and limitations of Co-op. When you compare Co-op to PVP, that definition hardly stands, if at all.

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

I've had enough experience with Operations to know how ridiculously tightly scripted they can be, to the point where experienced ops mains in some scenarios (e.g. Killer Whale) are able to dump torps successfully on ships that haven't even spawned in yet.

Co-op is even more ridiculously tightly scripted compared to Operations. All we get in Co-op is rush forward to the feeding frenzy.

Compared to Co-op, Operations is more dynamic. You get upgraded super battleships in the 4th wave of Aegis if your team is too slow (which you never experience in Co-op). In Raptor Rescue, you have to contend with the various spawn points of the 5th wave of battleships; the variety of spawn points is something you do not experience in Co-op. Sure there are exploits in Operations, such as in Killer Whale (and I've done that many times using Leander, Aoba, and DDs) but then again, that is due to better, and more dynamic gameplay of Operations.

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Next to that, neither the spawning nor the pathing of Co-op bots is anywhere near as consistent.

Funny. All Co-op bots spawn exactly on the other side of the map and the difference in spawn composition is negligible. 

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Nor are the bots as dumb as you claim, being extremely perceptive with regard to torps fired at them and also reliably angling the instant you switch to AP to catch their broadsides.

That is something WG has implemented. I confirmed this with Tuccy of WOWS EU a few years ago.

But then these Co-op bots are still easy kills, even in late 2024. Of course, they can be difficult to destroy for a player who is new or is too relaxed to play, or is not used to the mode, or is too afraid to fight, or needs to get good.

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

I would have just called him an idiot for losing his ship. But that's not what I did.

You called him greedy and inattentive.

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

You're in this situation at 6:03 and you see the destroyer suddenly become visible on the minimap. What would you do and why, KNOWING that a DD has just popped out of smoke very close to you on your disengaged side, and that this almost certainly means its torpedoes are ready and it's coming in for the kill?

What would YOU do?

Given the following: 

- Points
- Team composition
- Time left
- Presence of friendly and hostile ships
- Location of friendly and hostile ships
- Shell type loaded
- Status of Repair Party and DCP
- Ship HP left
- Target HP left 
- Trading of ship and or HP for battle impact

Your 'analysis' should have focused and should have given these much more weight and discussion, rather than just narrowing on a specific part of the match and labelling a player's decisions made in the heat of battle as "greedy", "selfish", and "inattentive". 

Edited December 5, 2024 by Frostbow

[Wulf_Ace]

17 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Potato Quality did a video on why you should choose the North Carolina for the Expedition to the North event if you're choosing a T8 ship.

If you're not a CV or sub enthusiast, I would agree with him that it's a solid choice for all the reasons he gives in this video. He gives a detailed breakdown of all of the ship's strengths and weaknesses, how to play around them, the skills you develop getting good in the ship, etc etc. Even outside of this event, the whole thing is worth watching for a detailed general discussion on the equal-oldest T8 BB in the game, including how and why he builds it and sets up the captain. All that is very high quality PQ at his best.

What I didn't expect to see was him getting done in by (IMHO) being greedy and inattentive.

4:58 Hatsuharu is visible dead ahead.

5:02 Hatsuharu shoots at him

5:03 PQ turns his attention to the enemy North Carolina

5:08 PQ seems to be looking at Hatsu less than 5km away

5:18 PQ turns to look at Hatsuharu again as it shoots him and disappears into smoke. 

5:23 More gunfire from the Hatsu

5:27 Hatsu torps him, he tries to comb the tracks and does a good job for a tight spread, evading all but one. (Torps were probably fired around 5:20 or so.)

5:40 PQ has turned his attention to the Hood on his port quarter

5:45 Gunfire comes in from the starboard fore quarter.

5:50 PQ looks at the smoke cloud

5:53 PQ looks at the angry smoke cloud that just shot at him, then back to the broadside Hood to port.

6:01 More fire from the starboard fore quarter

6:03 Hatsuharu pops up on the Minimap

6:08 PQ fires on the Hood

6:11 PQ finally turns his viewpoint to the Hatsuharu and tries to get his nose around

6:29 Hatsuharu gets its torps off

6:36 PQ swings his side into the Hatsu's torp salvo trying to get his turrets around and they kill each other.

 

Analysis: Between 6:03 (when the DD pops back up on the minimap) and 6:08 (when he fires on the Hood), he had the opportunity to let the BB go, kick his rudder hard right and start getting his guns turned around for the DD. I think not doing this made the difference between being able to sink it before it fired vs. what actually happened. He seems to have gambled on how long it would take the Hatsuharu to reload torps and lost.

 

 

Maybe I'm seeing this because I'm used to melee fighting in co-op. What would you have done?

Worse streamer of Wows

[OT2_2]

12 minutes ago, Wulf_Ace said:

Worse streamer of Wows

True, he doesn't stand out with decent reviews. Most of his contents are overshadowed by personal prejudices and current outbursts of emotion IMO. 

[Wulf_Ace]

1 minute ago, OT2_2 said:

True, he doesn't stand out with decent reviews. Most of his contents are overshadowed by personal prejudices and current outbursts of emotion IMO. 

And very very bad knowlege of BASIC stuff about ships. Lucky we have a few good ones out there.

[Wolfswetpaws]

4 hours ago, Wulf_Ace said:

Worse streamer of Wows

Being the subject of a discussion topic doesn't make Potato Quality the worst streamer of WOWs.

[Ensign Cthulhu]

11 hours ago, Frostbow said:

What would YOU do?

What I would have done is quite clear from my analysis and critique, AND YOU KNOW THIS.

Repeating again:

Starting at 6:03 (as I put the question to you) I would have forsaken the shot on the Hood and swung immediately over to deal with the DD on my starboard side.

11 hours ago, Frostbow said:

- Presence of friendly and hostile ships
- Location of friendly and hostile ships

The Hood has a Leipzig and a Sinop clone to deal with and is unlikely to be bothered with me, and in any case I'm angling away to deal with the destroyer; he's not likely to be able to one-shot me, but the DD is.

11 hours ago, Frostbow said:

- Shell type loaded

...and...

11 hours ago, Frostbow said:

- Target HP left 

Note that PQ took the kill shot on the destroyer with AP. I go bow in and take the first shot with what's in my barrels then switch over to HE if I need another shot. While reloading, I concentrate on dodging as many torps as I can if he's lived long enough to launch them.

11 hours ago, Frostbow said:

- Status of Repair Party and DCP
- Ship HP left

Both irrelevant if he gets enough torps into me.

After that, I know I have at least a minute before I have to worry about his alpha strike again; I can concentrate on sinking him with gunfire at that point. Chances are the Hood is now dead to either Teng She guns or Leipzig torps, and the Leipzig (and probably the Teng She if it's already reloaded) will probably be looking to pick up the kill on the DD if I haven't already done it. 

11 hours ago, Frostbow said:

- Trading of ship and or HP for battle impact

Conclusion: the Hood and the Hatsuharu are still dead, but I'm still alive because I didn't get kill-greedy and try to do it all myself. You on the other hand seem ruthlessly determined to justify PQ losing his ship. Keeping alive means the points are higher for my side and we win sooner.

 

Now: I put a question to you. Stop deflecting. Answer it. And while you're at it, you might want to argue the point with @torino2dc, who if anything was even more brutally critical of PQ's tactical decision-making than I was. 

[Wulf_Ace]

39 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Being the subject of a discussion topic doesn't make Potato Quality the worst streamer of WOWs.

You do understand people comment here on their personal oponions not opinion of all people. 

[OldSchoolGaming_Youtube]

4 hours ago, OT2_2 said:

True, he doesn't stand out with decent reviews. Most of his contents are overshadowed by personal prejudices and current outbursts of emotion IMO. 

 

4 hours ago, Wulf_Ace said:

And very very bad knowlege of BASIC stuff about ships. Lucky we have a few good ones out there.

To be honest, the thing that is most "Nails against a chalkboard" for me when it comes to him is his very hollow, false laugh. That for me just sends shivers up my spine.

Only reason I watch him at all is because he is very quick in uploading videon on just now out of NDA ships (which usually also effects his quality). He also for some strange reason go for the most pants on head captain builds.....

 

When it comes to N.Carolina I think Flamu has said for years it one of the best "normal" BBs to practice being a "normal" BB captain in, but I dont know if thats true in todays WoW when every new BB is something totally different then a "normal" BB with either insane AI controlled secondaries, DD-ish torp loadout, flight deck deluxe that put CVs to shame or ability to launch submarines up its chimney!

Edited December 5, 2024 by OldSchoolGaming_Youtube

[Wolfswetpaws]

37 minutes ago, Wulf_Ace said:

You do understand people comment here on their personal oponions not opinion of all people. 

Of course, you're entitled to your personal opinion.
Though, I wasn't certain whether you were giving your opinion of Potato Quality's Twitch Streaming performances or the streams of the author of this topic.
Because both Potato Quality and @Ensign Cthulhu create Twitch streams.
And I wasn't sure if you knew that.  I get the impression that @OT2_2 does know that trivia, though.  

Edited December 5, 2024 by Wolfswetpaws

[Wolfswetpaws]

2 minutes ago, OldSchoolGaming_Youtube said:

 

To be honest, the thing that is most "Nails against a chalkboard" for me when it comes to him is his very hollow, false laugh. That for me just sends shivers up my spine.

 

When it comes to N.Carolina I think Flamu has said for years it one of the best "normal" BBs to practice being a "normal" BB captain in, but I dont know if thats true in todays WoW when every new BB is something totally different then a "normal" BB with either insane AI controlled secondaries, DD-ish torp loadout, flight deck deluxe that put CVs to shame or ability to launch submarines up its chimney!

I figure the North Carolina, in-game, represents a point in the development of US Navy battleships.
A significant improvement in speed (compared with her lower-tier ships in-game and ancestor ships in real-life) and firepower with the newer sixteen-inch main-guns.
Comparisons in real-life range, maneuvering and firepower with the South Dakota class, and the Massachusetts in-game, are interesting (in my opinion).
Yes, the in-game salvo dispersion is "wonky", in my opinion (derived from my experience).

Eventually, the Iowa class ships were constructed, further refining the US Navy's battleship "formula", accompanied by some design quirks which were necessary to squeeze the ships through the Panama canal.

I think the doctrine of usage for the Iowa classes in real life doesn't always survive the in-game environment or player's play-style preferences.
In-game, the Iowa class' does best when they don't have to maneuver very much and can keep opponents beyond 10km away, I feel.

The North Carolina's large turning radius isn't a big-deal in real-life. 
But, in-game, players like myself may perceive it to be a hindrance to brawling performance.
Which brings us back to their real-life design doctrines and parameters.  🙂 

[Ensign Cthulhu]

6 minutes ago, OldSchoolGaming_Youtube said:

When it comes to N.Carolina I think Flamu has said for years it one of the best "normal" BBs to practice being a "normal" BB captain in, but I dont know if thats true in todays WoW when every new BB is something totally different then a "normal" BB

I understand your argument, but I think it is still true because there's always a time when the gimmick is on cooldown, used up, not in range or knocked out (e.g. torps), and you have to go back to basic hull and guns. 

9 minutes ago, OldSchoolGaming_Youtube said:

To be honest, the thing that is most "Nails against a chalkboard" for me when it comes to him is his very hollow, false laugh. That for me just sends shivers up my spine.

It's more just annoying for me, but yeah, not my favourite PQ feature.

10 minutes ago, OldSchoolGaming_Youtube said:

very quick in uploading videon on just now out of NDA ships (which usually also effects his quality)

Ultimately what I want to see out of these is what the ship can do through watching him play it - a quick summary of its capabilities. A notable feature of his rushed output is the fact that he can flip and flop back and forth over whether he thinks it is the best thing ever or whether, to borrow Little White Mouse's words, it "sucks sweaty moose balls". There's no middle ground.

His tactical oopsie in this video aside, I think he did a good job summarizing the NC's strengths, weaknesses and peculiarities and I said that right at the start. Praise where praise is due. 

 

[Wolfswetpaws]

"... Moose balls ..."  😄 
Yes, LWM is awesomely entertaining.  🙂 

[HogHammer]

42 minutes ago, OldSchoolGaming_Youtube said:

When it comes to N.Carolina I think Flamu has said for years it one of the best "normal" BBs to practice being a "normal" BB captain in

I've now viewed this video several times, and overall, the point PQ attempted to make in his nearly 26-minute video echoes Flamu's statement, "one of the best normal BBs to practice being a normal BB captain in."  That's it!

The segment being analyzed to death is around 6 minutes long. I saw no problem with what he was initially doing in that particular segment until, as @torino2dc stated, the "friendly DD abandons his screening duties."   Also, a friendly cruiser (well before the 4-minute mark) is seen steaming away from the cap and can no longer assist or help defend/slow down the progress of the red team (this is the time - my opinion - he needed to make his decision regarding any push).  He is basically on his own without any assistance. With about 100 percent confidence, I would guess most here have, at some time, been in that situation regardless of their skill level.  

This is more of a "could have, should have" moment rather than anything else.

I will add as an opinion based on the mini-map, target selection, position of friendly ships, and on coming red team push toward the center cap, he looked to be in the best position to inflict the most damage at the time (red ships broadside to him) and help his teammates.  As he said during that segment, there are "team play elements when it comes to these old standard ships."  (He was in a division with MalteseKnight during this segment)

 

  

[Wolfswetpaws]

30 minutes ago, HogHammer said:

(He was in a division with MalteseKnight during this segment)

Good catch.

[Ensign Cthulhu]

2 hours ago, HogHammer said:

This is more of a "could have, should have" moment rather than anything else.

Indeed.

But I've had my own replays analyzed sufficiently often by Lord Zath to think that if I'd submitted this one, I would have been told that having pushed this far in without a cruiser escort, I could have and should have prioritized the destroyer. In fact he probably would have had a go at me for not shooting at it when I had it dead ahead of me between 4:58 and 5:18 (PQ had guns loaded at 5:03 and the DD was still visible). I chose 6:03 as the crux, the last opportunity that he had to do away with it without being sunk himself. 

I think it's normal, natural and healthy to see our CC gods get themselves killed just like us mortals do. It puts us in the right frame of mind for that critical moment when they're on the red team and we have to face them; to know that they are not invincible, they can be brought low, they do sometimes make mistakes on which we can capitalize, and that we humble scrubs are capable of recognizing those mistakes and exploiting them.