I’ve been wondering why submarines seem to get so much hate from players. When I play subs, I often get spotted by cruisers and taken out quickly, but I don’t fully understand why subs are so disliked. Can someone break down the reasons subs are such a divisive addition?
5 Answers
A big reason is balance issues. Subs have crazy concealment both surfaced and submerged, outspotting most other ships. They can get super close, closer than usual DDs, and then dive to safety, making it annoying to counter. Plus, the ping system to detect subs can be misleading, and depth charges often feel like guessing games rather than skillful plays. If a sub player is good, it can feel like they control an entire flank with little risk to themselves.
Many players feel subs were shoehorned into a game that was designed around fast-paced surface combat. They break the rhythm because their mechanics require different counterplay, like special ASW planes and depth charges, but those tools often feel clunky or ineffective. Also, the fact you can get hit by homing torps without much chance to respond sucks and leads to frustration.
It’s mostly because subs change how DDs and surface ships operate fundamentally. Unlike surface combat, where you can outmaneuver and outgun opponents, dealing with a sub often boils down to reaction rather than skillful tactics. The tools to fight subs aren’t engaging – you’re either hoping for lucky depth charges or trying to dodge homing torps that feel unfair. So it’s less fun and more frustrating for many players.
Subs are tough to handle because they disrupt the usual flow of the game. They’re sneaky, able to dive and escape detection in ways surface ships can’t, so the usual tactics don’t work. You often only know a sub’s there once the torpedoes are incoming, which feels unfair compared to being able to spot and fight surface ships directly.
Honestly, it comes down to the fact that subs can sink you without you being able to fight back properly. This is similar to why some players dislike CVs or stealthy torpedo DDs. If something can hit you without you having a fair shot at it, it tends to feel unfair and draws hate. So it’s less about how strong they are overall and more about how they make you feel playing against them.
Yeah, that makes sense. I remember a game where a sub kept harassing a cruiser nonstop and was really hard to pin down.