I wrote this a month or so ago for the BIG EXP forums. I think I may have the
angle ranges slightly out. Please leave me your comments, I find this aspect of NF
quite interesting. Also feel free to recommend. ^_^


Just thought I'd make this. It's from my own personal experience as a heavily
armoured ship and fighting other heavily armoured ships (other wise known as RN
Ships). Please tell me if you think I've got something wrong.

The cut-off point for BB guns seems to be about 45 degrees. i.e. No gun has a max
angle at anything greater than 45 degrees. BB4 16" guns go up to ~45 degrees,
and I believe KM 11" goes to about 43 degrees. The aim of this guide is to show at
which angles you should consider using AP, and at which angles you should use HE.



The Diagram above splits up the gun elevations to two distinct sections - Deck Shots
and Belt shots. Deck shots tend to occur above 15 degrees and belt shots tend to
occur below 15 degrees. Since most BB players invest almost all their armour entirely
in deck, the belt is often very undefended. As a general rule of thumb - use AP on
the decks of armoured ships, and HE on the belt. I will now explain further.

Above 40 degrees, there are very few ships who will resist shells. Nelsons and
POWs with extreme armour, say 9"+ may resist 16" shells at 40 degrees. A Nelson
with no AA guns is most likely carrying enough deck - the same goes for a POW or
Lion with RP12.
So at above 40 degrees, HE shells have a good chance of penetrating, and AP shells
will also work wonders on armoured targets.

Below 40 degree deck shots however, HE shells will be more and more deflected, i.e.
the shell seems to just bounce off, causing very little damage. This is therefore a
less ideal situation for HE shells, and the best bet is AP shells.

At somewhere between 20~25 degrees, AP shells will also be defelected and not hit
substantially. Since HE shells are also deflected at these angles, this area is known
as the "Armour Impunity Zone" or "Armour Impunity Angle". When a heavily
armoured ship rushes its target, it wants to keep the enemy's guns in the armour
impunity zone.
There are two options when this happens, 1. Run as fast as you can in an effort to
get above 20 degrees. 2. Close with the enemy and hit his belt.

Below 15 degrees, shells will most likely hit the belt. Since most belts are
inarmoured, and AP appears extremely useless at close ranges, HE shells are
perfect. Use HE shells below 15 degrees, since you will most likely hit the belt. It's a
great way to kill noob quad users, especially if they are using AP on you. Most of
them change to HE far too late, hitting you with AP shells for zero. And many of them
know very little about close range fighting.

So to re-iterate:

1. Above 40 degrees, both HE and AP should be viable for use on Armoured Targets.
(Not sure about the pea-shooting 11" however)

2. Between 20 and 40 degrees, AP is the only option.

3. Do NOT fight an armoured target between 15 and 20 degrees.

4. Below 15 degrees switch to HE and close to hit the enemy's belt.

Hope you this useful, please tell me if you have evidence to contradict any of this - it
is based on personal observations.