world of warships Short and fast or long and slow torpedos

[RansomMoney 1]

Alright guys, I need a census on this from all you cruisers and destroyers out there. Do you think the shorter range and faster torpedoes or the longer range and slower torpedoes are more effective?

[3lite5niper 28]

Depends on ship characteristics itself. Are you a sneaky destroyer that can afford to close in, or a not so stealthy cruiser? What range will be considered short/long, what speed is considered fast? In the case of DDs, I'm going down IJN line and prefer shorter range but faster torps, unless the shorter range is already below or too close to my detection range, which doesn't really happen as IJN DDs pretty much have torp range longer than detection range. For IJN CAs, I would prefer longer range torps. Having workable guns, torps aren't really your primary weapon unlike DDs in most cases, but in any situation which I can use them, I will. Thus, longer range allows me to use them more often, as more often I may happen to be in range to torp. Cannot say anything about USN, have not played at all yet.

TLDR; what ship are the torps on cos we can't generalise which type of torps are better.

[Bridgeburner 336]

Specifically for the Minekaze I preferred the fast torps ,the camo is good up to 5.9 kms, and 7 kms means you've got a decent turn buffer to hit BBs reliably without being spotted.

With CAs the speed definitely helps connecting as the slow 10km torps will almost never touch a CA.

 

[Jarkorsis 92]

86 percent of all my games are in DD's and CA's. It really depends on your style of play. On the IJN DD's (Minekaze in particular) I prefer long range torps and use them as an area denial weapon. I shoot them at choke points before the enemy gets there and then the blob gets really confused trying to dodge them early on. This gives my team some free shots. I may even get a hit or 2 in the confusion. The second thing I do is when a DD lays smoke, it shields him, but also makes the enemy torps invisible until they are right on top of you. so I fire a barrage of torps into the middle of the smoke. Range is key for me with IJN DD's. What makes the Minekaze work is the 45 second reload on its 3 torp launchers. 

With US DD's, you are a scout and a mini-cruiser. The Clemson with its 4 duel gun turrets is a good example of this. If I am on a very constricted map with lots of islands, I try to ambush around islands. In that case total damage and torp speed is more important in that order. Range doesn't matter. 

On cruisers, Torps are emergency oh shit weapons when you find yourself point blank with a BB. CA or DD. So speed, field of fire, and damage is more important to me than range. Reload on CA's torps is very long, so using them as an area denial does not work well.

 

[yoyoya2 528]

You also need to remember that fast torps get spotted earlier then slower torps

[Kostis_Larsson 22]

I 'd like torpedoes to have an option for slower speed/longer distance AND fast speed/short distance, by having a selector just like the width spread.

It is historical accurate, here is an example of Mark 14 torpedo (USA)

Effective firing range 4,500 yards (4,100 m) at 46 knots (85 km/h)
9,000 yards (8,200 m) at 31 knots (57 km/h)

[RansomMoney 1]

Depends on ship characteristics itself. Are you a sneaky destroyer that can afford to close in, or a not so stealthy cruiser? What range will be considered short/long, what speed is considered fast? In the case of DDs, I'm going down IJN line and prefer shorter range but faster torps, unless the shorter range is already below or too close to my detection range, which doesn't really happen as IJN DDs pretty much have torp range longer than detection range. For IJN CAs, I would prefer longer range torps. Having workable guns, torps aren't really your primary weapon unlike DDs in most cases, but in any situation which I can use them, I will. Thus, longer range allows me to use them more often, as more often I may happen to be in range to torp. Cannot say anything about USN, have not played at all yet.

TLDR; what ship are the torps on cos we can't generalise which type of torps are better.

Alright, lets use the minekaze as the example, it comes with stock torpedos that have a range of 7km, and the "upgraded" ones that have a range of 10km but only travel at 57 knots, 11 knots slower than the stock ones

I 'd like torpedoes to have an option for slower speed/longer distance AND fast speed/short distance, by having a selector just like the width spread.

It is historical accurate, here is an example of Mark 14 torpedo (USA)

Effective firing range 4,500 yards (4,100 m) at 46 knots (85 km/h)
9,000 yards (8,200 m) at 31 knots (57 km/h)

Thats that a great idea, but of course all the torpedo launchers would be managed at the same time and you would have to wait for the torpedo reload time.

[monty50k 82]

You also need to remember that fast torps get spotted earlier then slower torps

Are you sure about this? Thought it was the longer range that gets spotted earlier.
If so,  you'd actually have about the same reaction time to fast and slow torpedos?!

[Flametz 453]

Are you sure about this? Thought it was the longer range that gets spotted earlier.
If so,  you'd actually have about the same reaction time to fast and slow torpedos?!

It actually differs from torp to torp. Stock Mutsuki torps for example have the longest reaction time, while Zao has the least reaction time. 

Link to data: http://i.imgur.com/Kpd797R.jpg

 

[3lite5niper 28]

Alright, lets use the minekaze as the example, it comes with stock torpedos that have a range of 7km, and the "upgraded" ones that have a range of 10km but only travel at 57 knots, 11 knots slower than the stock ones

 

I would go for the 7km torps. Minekaze is detected at 5.1km, so 7km range will be sufficient imo. Faster torps equates to less time for opponent to react before taking torps to the face. While longer range is certainly nice, it can result in you firing at longer range when you can afford to close in, combined with slower torps this means that almost any movement will result in a complete miss.

 

But feel free to try out both and see which suits your playstyle best.

[VikkoTheTusken 20]

While I prefer the IJN line versus the US line, I personally prefer short and fast. The Minekaze is a great example. Sure the fully upgraded torpedoes have a 10km range, but at their 46 knot speed..... ehhh. I want them to hit. In some instances, IJN captains will still need to use terrain and stealth to achieve successful attacks much like US captains do.

Are you sure about this? Thought it was the longer range that gets spotted earlier.
If so,  you'd actually have about the same reaction time to fast and slow torpedoes?!

There's a spotting difference?

[Flametz 453]

While I prefer the IJN line versus the US line, I personally prefer short and fast. The Minekaze is a great example. Sure the fully upgraded torpedoes have a 10km range, but at their 46 knot speed..... ehhh. I want them to hit. In some instances, IJN captains will still need to use terrain and stealth to achieve successful attacks much like US captains do.

There's a spotting difference?

Yes.

Shown in this chart:

[VikkoTheTusken 20]

Yes.

Shown in this chart:

 

WELL, CRAP.......
Thanks for the chart.. This does come in handy.