high school fleet HSF (Haifuri) Graf Spee auction

[TimurGlazkov]

This is in Asia; can't say I'm surprised. With Graf Spee being unavailable and an unique ship, along side the recent cruiser secondary skill.

I already have Graf Spee with the Odin dockyard camo, so I'm staying clear of it. Good luck to all Spee enthusiasts who is going in to this auction though!

Edited November 17, 2023 by HogHammer
Descriptive language edit

[TimurGlazkov]

Here's LittleWhiteMouse's review for Graf Spee: 

My opinion as a Spee enthusiast who still semi-regularly take her out for a spin (since there're some outdated details in LWM's article):

• 8.5km SECONDARY! Not as glorious as you may imagine, but you can still rack up 70+ hits (meaningful hits considering the 26mm pen) in extended brawls. Oh and don't forget the torp has 8km range, not 6km, you will definitely use those a lot especially in T6-7 matches.
• Against AP, definitely feel much tougher than your average T7 cruiser (yes I know Spee is T6). With 16mm you are pretty safe against cruisers, but weak against BB calibre weapons, you want to actively manoeuvre to bait shots into your 100m belt. Oh and you can overmatch yourself (up to 19mm of overmatch).
• Against HE, you are toasted against even regular 152mm HE shells. Your upper belt is only 25mm, proof against DD HE.
• 165mm worth of citadel protection in total, no turtleback. But spaced armour & torp belt for occasional trolling unlike most German BBs without one.
• She burns, oh man. Not as vulnerable as BB though so if you play agressively I would still recommend rudder mod.
• AP & HE DPM is not adquate against anything: BB pen more consistently than you, cruisers out-trade you with their HEs or improved richochet APs, DD laughs at you as you burn. But the ocassional citadels feel good and scare off opposing cruisers well. Expert loader / Gun feeder recommended.
• 11.5km concealment is decent for a battlecruiser cosplayer, try to get broadside by flanking. Handle like a battlecruiser too.
• Good vision control, the 5.5km hydro + fighter for spotting combo is neat when you're in narrow passages common in T6 maps (Strait, New Dawn, Fault Line, Estuary, Neighbours, Two Brothers' canal).
• Not as hopeless as your average BB against SSs and CVs, but nowhere a strong counter against those.

Edited November 17, 2023 by TimurGlazkov
minor corrections

[Nevermore135]

24 minutes ago, TimurGlazkov said:

Against AP, definitely feel much tougher than your average T7 cruiser (yes I know Spee is T6). With 16mm you are pretty safe against cruisers, but weak against BB calibre weapons, you want to actively manoeuvre to bait shots into your 100m belt. Oh and you can overmatch yourself (up to 19mm of overmatch).

It’s a shame that Graf Spee didn’t get the same 25mm plating buff as Pensacola, New Orleans, Yorck, and Indianapolis (earlier this year). Then again, she’s already so much more survivable than other tier VI cruisers.

27 minutes ago, TimurGlazkov said:

She burns, oh man. Not as vulnerable as BB though so if you play agressively I would still recommend rudder mod.

IMO, all CBs should have Graf Spee’s 45s fire duration after the loss of any skills to reduce it after the skill rework.

34 minutes ago, TimurGlazkov said:

AP & HE DPM is not adquate against anything: BB pen more consistently than you, cruisers out-trade you with their HEs or improved richochet APs, DD laughs at you as you burn. But the ocassional citadels feel good and scare off opposing cruisers well. Expert loader / Gun feeder recommended.

You didn’t mention the dispersion. CC/CB dispersion feels incredibly trolly with only six barrels considering you both lack overmatch against 25/26mm and the turret arrangement/firing angles mean it’s often difficult to fire both turrets simultaneously. The AP feels good when it hits (and bites), though, and it does mean that you want to run ASM1 and not indulge in the secondary memes.

I’m hoping that we eventually see Deutschland/Lutzow in the tech tree as part of a future German large cruiser split for newer players who missed out on getting Graf Spee for free (twice). In fact, simply give the ship 25mm plating and maybe cruiser dispersion a la Schill and Siegfried and she would fit reasonably well at tier VII with minimal changes. WG seems to have decided that large cruisers are two strong at tier VI, but Toulon already exists at tier VII.

 

[TimurGlazkov]

43 minutes ago, Nevermore135 said:

It’s a shame that Graf Spee didn’t get the same 25mm plating buff as Pensacola, New Orleans, Yorck, and Indianapolis (earlier this year). Then again, she’s already so much more survivable than other tier VI cruisers.

Would be hilarious if instead of 16mm plating and 19mm icebreaker, Spee has 25mm plating and 27mm icebreaker.

31 minutes ago, Nevermore135 said:

IMO, all CBs should have Graf Spee’s 45s fire duration after the loss of any skills to reduce it after the skill rework.

Eh, considering the prevalent of large/battlecruisers in high tiers, I think 60s fire is fine. I do think select underperforming capital ships like Agir or Cherbourg (even Odin, yes Odin my beloved!) should get that 45s though.

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by TimurGlazkov