I feel your pain as I ran into the same situation which almost made me not want to
play anymore.

Best thing to do is roll another BO and then buy the Sevastopol and use your
current crew to level up the new BO. It won't take long.

This time, though, choose the Nevada Line.

I know this doesn't really answer your question directly, but let's face it, the Alaska
is a flawed ship. It's huge with little range. You might as well put a bulleye on it
because everyone on the board can hit it, and forget it if you miss with your first
salvo. At least with the Sevastopol, you get rewarded for leveling up to a BB and
get to play like a BB until you can get your new BO up to speed.

leach that's all there is to do, cause u are food.

Here is how I grinded lvl 48-103

lvl 48-53 Baltimore (Gunners/BO same lvl, Same EXP)
lvl 54-59 Alaska (note Gunners are now 3 lvls behind BO Lots of 0 attack games)
lvl 59-60 Guam (Note Gunners are now 3 1/2 lvls behind BO Lots of 0 attack games)
lvl 61-69 Sevas (Gunners are 1.9 lvls behind due to you can load an engy as a BO on seva
Attack every game ranging from 10k-50k)
lvl 70-74 Colorado/Seva Mix (Colorado is a nice ship but still has range problems,
specially now since it no longer has Range close to a BB3 attack in seav 20k-70k colorado
had a few 0 attack games. Also had first 100k attack game in colorado @ lvl 78)
lvl 75-88 Sodak (With engys this baby is Fast. Same tactics as Alaska/ Guam but you kill
BB5 this time with ease. Had 2 0 attack games due to lag between sodak and Iowa lvls
average attack from 30k-120k)
lvl 89-102 Iowa (Note gunners are 300k exp behind @ this point. Til my gunners hit lvl 91
I ran a friends 118 gunners Average attack from 50k-140k)
lvl 103 Monty (Gunners are 200k behind since I did a little seva grinding to get Gunners
closer. I continued this and gunners are now finally ahead of BO XD average attack from
80k-280k)

Note I don't have nebby yet.

Heres how I played each ship:

Alaska: I sat back. When I saw an opening I went staight in to minimize exposer to salvos.
I always rushed BB1-3s. Never rushed when I saw a 4GB BB.

Guam: Same as alaska except occasionally attack nonmedaled BB4s.

Seva: Same tactic but once @ about angle 35 turned to salvo and weaved in and out keep
salvoing.

Colorado: Line fight nagatos. :P since Nagato no longer has same range. You'll have to
line fight Revenges and Queen Elizabeths. If you can get sodak guns on here try the
Minimonty setup :P

sodak: Same tactic as Seva but faster and harder hitting.

Iowa: Aggressive line fighting. Abuse rear hitbox glitches. When you speed cap you can
fight BB5s easily and BB6s (Mostly Kaisers) pretty decently

Monty: Aggressive line fighting. Abuse Monty Full salvo. Keep in the 40s for angle for
maximum damage output. Avoid fighting BB6s in monty til you speed cap.

I highly suggest you get the seva. If you can't see if someone is nice enough to gift you
one for free. Since you no longer can do what I did with nominators and 300,000 Forum
points :D

BB1s should probably operate on more of a support role. That means packing asw or aa.

Another tactic you can use is to sit in the middle and kill all the cas that walk by.

think more at level tough, the people readin this thread prolly learned already if they
are in the iowa...unless they sevastapoled their way there. If so i would like to suggest
them visiting http://www.navyfield.com/board/list.asp?Sort=A02

The Ninja technique as ive explained is the best way to get attack, but also requiere a
knowledge and judgement of the way battle goes that most 1st timer BB dont have. My
suggestion of being a "support" ship is their safest bet.

For ninja playstyle, remember your approach must not be anticipated, your hit must be
swift and accurate, a good first shot is a must. using the guam speed and smaller hitbox
you can prolly also waggle and be hard to hit, placing a 2nd or 3rd shot in.

But the last course of action is dissappearin again in the shadow, or at least gettin back
to safety waitin for the next occasion to strike.

It helps if you move around the battlefield so you never arrive always from the same place.

Your target are BB23 not expectin it, as you can get them out in 2-3 salvo pretty sure if
your spread is somewhat decent. Damaged BB45 are fair game too, if you can sneak in range
and finish them. I'd avoid going 1vs1 against them tough, at level as a single shot from
any takes you out.

Also, you want to avoid "skilled" players that have a ship or crew advantage, at least
1vs1. Mainly is the fact approachin them unware is a feat itself, gettin back out of there
alive hold of the miracle. feel free to shoot at them with your BB4 pal tough.

fictory, die, move on next game... jk jk
I run my guam with Iowa crew, and I usually wait for enemy to rush closer or get them
blind, then boom! blockshot(almost) 12''s!

I think Lord Kelvin's advice to ninja is pretty much on the spot. It helps you learn how
to play the game, as opposed to simply taking a Sevas or Pepsi-Cola. Because its harder to
do well, it pushes you to do better.

I did it without AA, at-level gunners, ninja-ing in and sinking ships way above my own
ship. Its just a matter of picking the right time and the right angles. I've had games
where there is no real opportunity and I spend the game sinking small ships. But I also
get games where I can rush and sink several BB5~BB3.

So, how are you approaching the ninja-ing?

Off the bat, you should not break the line of battle by yourself. You aren't high enough
level and durable enough to take it. If you want to rush, you should wait until a few
minutes have pasted and the battle line has turned much more fluid and the BBs are
scattered about. If you break the line at the beginning you will just get hammered by the
multiple BBs that are just waiting for something to get into their range.

Rather you get a much better result surprising lone or near lone ships when they are a)
blind b) slightly damaged so SD isn't at the highest c)just fired at a different angle or
location then where you are coming from

Try to keep from sailing in an obvious pattern in the dark and know your gun angles well
so you aren't splashing the first few salvos.

I can't think of another reason why you would get blasted (I assume with little to no
damage) whenever you try to ninja other than that. So tell me, if whatever I stated does
not apply, etc.

simple. run and when you find a stray CA shoot it.

Balti/pensa untill you hit the seva, then seva untill you hit BB3/BB4
___

With the result that you have learned absolutely NOTHING about the US BB's in general.

The P-cola handle the 12" L better than the Alaska, as it fit more ammo (4 bind compared
to alaska 2 unless im mistaken. Guam gits 6 binds)

The 14"L AREN'T a gun for the guam. They work best used in large barrel ammount as they
hit less the shell. The fact the triple dont fit any bind at ALL (its the N that fits one
bind I think) means if you want 12"L range with 14", you'll have to take the duals.

Then you check:

6 shells lesser hitting vs 9 shell harder hitting. Same range.


So yah, 12" are the better gun for it.

Now for tactic, if your engies are decent, you should have a 30-40 sec of OH available
after lvl 60. Thats enough to pull a stunt of opportunistic attack if you have the
occasion for it.

What you do, is bid your time a bit behind the main BB45 battleline, shoot crap they dont
have the time to shoot (DD, CL CA etc) and help them with their target if you can.
remembre to keep somethin tastier than you close so he gets fired on and not you.

If you have a great crew AND you are experienced with BB, you can try yourself at the more
"solo" ninja mode. To be successful you'll need a decent enough spread to make your shot
count (gunner near lvl 70 are good for this, so long as they are acc capped...which isnt
that hard mind you) and a decent enough OH time.

The tactic is merely recognizing opportunity in the battlefield and using your speed,
moving around hitting at targets that stray from their team, or are otherwise occupied.
Using blinding opportunities, and remember to move around.

The key to the playstyle is getting in range when they less expect it so you dont get
fired on during the "get in range" phase and get the first shot in. Avoid BB45 unless they
are already engaging a bigger ship, the best targets are BB23, as most dont have 900 SD
yet, and can be dispatched in 2 well aimed salvo.

Leveling the Guam I wasn't experienced much with BB playstyle, therefore I stuck to the
more conservative and potentially less rewarding, but safer "support ship" playstyle. In
my sharn tough, I consistently had 70-80k attack at level with it.

Never hesitate to flee from a situation that could get ugly for you, and wait for a better
occasion.

For reference, it was really the battlecruisers tactic in WWII. They would use their
higher speed to catch their targets unware and their BB caliber gun to quickly crush
merchants convoy, smaller warship and the like down. Would an actual BB appear, they would
then use their speed to make an hasty retreat. The scharn frustrated UK for a good part of
the war using this tactic, often teamed up with her sister ship, the gneisenau, even
managing to cross the english channel under their nose.