The Rocket Change was a very intentional move to get CVs to do other things then sit on Destroyers.
Some Skip Bombs are certainly a threat, but here's a lesson on the best weapon against destroyers for a CV:
Direct Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=refPchubk9I
...what?
Please decode that for me.
Also, you might not be aware... I'm a Hurricane-level CV player that has taught CV play for the past 1.5 years.
If you have me confused with someone that dislikes CVs, you shouldn't harbor that idea.
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Here's a link to my Compendium of CV Lessons (and some other things). I has easily 140+ CV Lessons about a variety of different topics/mechanics.
So, here's the basic gist.
It's ok for a Ship Class to have Strengths and Weaknesses. Battleships are Capital Ships are are considered "weak" against Destroyers, both for spotting reasons and torpedo threat mainly
Carriers are also Capital Ships and were powerful at dealing with All Threat Types. Not ALL THREATS, but Types. Enemies that were grouped with overlapping AA can be extremely expensive in terms of Plane Resources used when striking for instance.
As for Destroyers, the Broadside Reticle Rework mostly fixed the problem. HOWEVER, newer and less experienced DD players still weren't getting the message as to how Rockets work, so the Machine Gun animation does two functions at once:
a) It provides the attacked player with an indication of what to expect (the firing pattern is broadside)
b) It provides the attacked player with a small window of time to make a last minute movement/adjustment.
In addition to those things, it makes the Rocket Attack need to start from outside of the DD's Aerial Detection range (in many cases), which means a DD with AA turned off is a Very hard target to a CV player.
This is why the video I linked says the answer to the Best Weapon Against DDs... is Teammates.
You can strike DDs while your teammates Detect them. This allows you to line up shots.
You can detect DDs for your teammates to shoot them. This all them to line up shots.
The older system could reliably see DDs chiseled down and killed by a CV, which was able to do this in any non-AA burdened situation. Ultimately, pressure had to be pulled off the DD class and so it was.
Currently, your best defense in a CV against Destroyers is the same as against Submarines. Teammates.
This grind is unpleasant, yeah. However, it was done this way after removing some XP required off the T4 to T6 grind to help get players out of Tier 4 faster and reduce the amount of double CV matches happening.
As with all things, some ships do better at X or Y then others. German CVs don't have HE Bombers.
The ability to HE bomb with US planes, or Skip Bomb with Russian planes is a national strength as should be understood as such. It doesn't translate to all CVs.
I can assure you that you aren't alone in hating the change.
Many folks that attended my stream and discord have completely quit CV after the Rocket Change out of protest. They felt it was unnecessary and will not be swayed.
Personally, I understood the change. While I hate feeling defenseless against a DD I can't deal with (my rocket aim can be off or my planes can be low late-game), I can at least understand the give-and-takes in the system and do the best I can with what I have.
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