Crate boat takes

[Itwastuesday]

Got some stuff. Feel free to opine about whatever you got in this thread.

T9 Victoria

Roma with a gunnery upgrade. More accurate, more penetration. Burst fire with decreased shell alpha and two reload boosters. As anyone who has played Roma a bunch knows, these guns mostly punish broadside battleships and overpen everything else, if they hit at all. This is no different, bursting a broadside cruiser typically just doubles your overpen count. High tier battleships very commonly have some cheat citadels that you cannot hit, aimbugs, whatnots, the opportunity cost of using burst is high. But it is an option which is better than not having it. Mostly I have burst deleted destroyers which is pretty useful. So what you most of the time have is a fairly normal, 380's armed low hp Battleship. I'd probably rather play Iowa or Alsace. 

T8 Picardie

Take Lyon, give it smaller, faster loading guns and slap a reload booster on for good measure. The point is that accuracy is for the weak. Vomit out shells on anything without a care in the world. Aimbugs, troll armor, bad luck, overworked tired oldman aim don't matter when you dump 16 shells at a target every 27 seconds. It's pretty funny. Certainly less frustrating to play than some of these mediocre accuracy 8 gun battleships I won't mention. 

T7  Weimar/Munchen

Two rather similar german CL. Weimar has more guns but less dpm, less range but has spotter, speedboost but less normal speed. Seems to me one of these is superfluous? I rather liked Weimar more for whatever reason. Salvo weight feels? Not the most special of ships, fairly normal. 

T7 Rodney

Take Nelson, switch out the superheal for 50% cit repair, give it worse shells and 1.6 sigma instead of 1.9 and slap on speed boost and St. Vincent style nuclear torpedoes. What lunatic designed this and why? EDIT : also soviet-style dispersion and fast heal. At least this demented design is taken to the max? 

Edited December 9, 2024 by Itwastuesday

[Ocsimano18]

Chikuma 2: Advanced Player's Delight

Warning: This ship is not overpowered, but it can be extremely rewarding and enjoyable for experienced players.

Highlights:

• Long-Range Torpedoes: Hard-hitting with fast reload.

• Guns: High fire chance and excellent accuracy.

• Torpedo Planes: Squishy but effective, equipped with a pair of Haku torpedoes, and you can launch two of them in a row for double the punch.

• Low Concealment & Smoke with Hydro: Stay hidden and strike when the moment is right. Set fires without being detected while avoiding pesky torps targetting your smoke. Cap when no red DDs are around.

Playstyle: The key is knowing how to position yourself and when to use which weapon. With Chikuma 2, you always have the optimal tool for the situation, like a refined Swiss Army knife. The ship excels in longer matches, and when you're top tier, it's like playing chess against novices.

Edited December 9, 2024 by Ocsimano18

[MBT808]

5 hours ago, Itwastuesday said:

T7  Weimar/Munchen

Two rather similar german CL. Weimar has more guns but less dpm, less range but has spotter, speedboost but less normal speed. Seems to me one of these is superfluous? I rather liked Weimar more for whatever reason. Salvo weight feels? Not the most special of ships, fairly normal. 

Both of these ships came out close to each other as I recall. Generally speaking, Weimar has improved AP pen over other German CLs, though against Mainz it’s a bit of a trade(Mainz has worse pen below 10km and better beyond).

though regarding which of the two ships is superfluous, I’d say that’s sorta true. Weimar came out after Munchen and Mainz, by which point many people had one or both. From what I can recall, the primary reason to get Weimar out of the three premium German CLs was purely for OPs. In general, she performed worse in ranked or randoms compared to her two counterparts.

As to why you might like her better. It could be that improved AP pen like I mentioned at tier VII coupled to her high damage per shell/salvo? Weimar objectively isn’t that great generally speaking, like you pointed out, most of her consumables basically serve as bandaids to match Munchens baseline performance.

However, it’s important to note that while Munchen is better, she also has a higher skill floor and ceiling while Weimar is comparably lower(in both ways). While a Weimar doesn’t need as much skill to do well, Munchen can do better but requires more skill to extract all of her potential. Which I think is what keeps many players from enjoying Munchen as much, she really does require someone who knows what they’re doing otherwise she is not a fun experience. But if you are able to push her limits, Munchen is actually very strong, not far off of Mainz tier for tier. She does scale up better in tier VIII and IX battles though for sure as her high concealment, non-existent armor, high DPM, and high speed all become very nice to have. A Munchen can really make life difficult for DDs especially when supported by friendly DDs.

but hope you have fun with both. This talk of German CLs makes me want to see the non-premium line of German CLs some day. Tier X Mainz will be glorious(for those unaware reading this, my CL line basically inspired the German CL line in MK).

[Ensign Cthulhu]

Montcalm, T6. It has nine six-inch guns and a main battery reload booster, two torps per side that reach out to six kilometres and... that's more or less it. It fits uncomfortably into the lineup between La Galissonniere and De Grasse at the same tier, being neither fish nor fowl but something in between. (The only thing that stops Dupleix being counted in the same company is her bigger, 8-inch guns.)

It does an okay job for what it is, but for someone who already has both of the others it feels a bit superfluous. On the other hand, for a new player who has this ship drop into their port, make no mistake; it's a competent middle-of-the-road French Tier 6 light cruiser and not to be sneezed at.

I'm still really not sure why WG put it in there when De Grasse exists, and any enlightenment would be welcomed.

[utgotye]

32 minutes ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Montcalm, T6. It has nine six-inch guns and a main battery reload booster, two torps per side that reach out to six kilometres and... that's more or less it. It fits uncomfortably into the lineup between La Galissonniere and De Grasse at the same tier, being neither fish nor fowl but something in between. (The only thing that stops Dupleix being counted in the same company is her bigger, 8-inch guns.)

It does an okay job for what it is, but for someone who already has both of the others it feels a bit superfluous. On the other hand, for a new player who has this ship drop into their port, make no mistake; it's a competent middle-of-the-road French Tier 6 light cruiser and not to be sneezed at.

I'm still really not sure why WG put it in there when De Grasse exists, and any enlightenment would be welcomed.

Watching my dad play it vs the De Grasse, the extra range was noticeable.  My dad said much the same when playing in random.  Dispersion was about the same for him but forcing those BBs back an extra kilometer or so can be the difference between getting hit and not.  Or even getting dev struck vs overpenned.  I don't have one but for random it might be a better choice despite the slower reload, which he claimed to not notice, and the lower hitpoints.  The extra range and rudder would certainly be useful.  The 3 km less torp range sucks but I can't say I use De Grasse's torps in random anyway.

[Ensign Cthulhu]

11 minutes ago, utgotye said:

Watching my dad play it vs the De Grasse, the extra range was noticeable.  My dad said much the same when playing in random.  Dispersion was about the same for him but forcing those BBs back an extra kilometer or so can be the difference between getting hit and not.  Or even getting dev struck vs overpenned.  I don't have one but for random it might be a better choice despite the slower reload, which he claimed to not notice, and the lower hitpoints.  The extra range and rudder would certainly be useful.  The 3 km less torp range sucks but I can't say I use De Grasse's torps in random anyway.

Thanks for that. Co-op emphasizes getting in there and scrapping, explaining why I might not have noticed the different range. I'll have another look at the stats tonight and reconsider my overall appraisal.

[Wolfswetpaws]

5 hours ago, Ocsimano18 said:

Chikuma 2: Advanced Player's Delight

Warning: This ship is not overpowered, but it can be extremely rewarding and enjoyable for experienced players.

Highlights:

• Long-Range Torpedoes: Hard-hitting with fast reload.

• Guns: High fire chance and excellent accuracy.

• Torpedo Planes: Squishy but effective, equipped with a pair of Haku torpedoes, and you can launch two of them in a row for double the punch.

• Low Concealment & Smoke with Hydro: Stay hidden and strike when the moment is right. Set fires without being detected while avoiding pesky torps targetting your smoke. Cap when no red DDs are around.

Playstyle: The key is knowing how to position yourself and when to use which weapon. With Chikuma 2, you always have the optimal tool for the situation, like a refined Swiss Army knife. The ship excels in longer matches, and when you're top tier, it's like playing chess against novices.

Appreciate you sharing your observations and impressions.
I was looking at the Chikuma-II,  last night, and I wasn't feeling enthusiastic after looking at the descriptions in the Armory and the Wiki (because I already have the Tone).

[utgotye]

1 hour ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

Thanks for that. Co-op emphasizes getting in there and scrapping, explaining why I might not have noticed the different range. I'll have another look at the stats tonight and reconsider my overall appraisal.

For Co-op, I totally agree.  Montcalm might as well not exist since De Grasse is better in every meaningful way.

[Ocsimano18]

2 hours ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Appreciate you sharing your observations and impressions.
I was looking at the Chikuma-II,  last night, and I wasn't feeling enthusiastic after looking at the descriptions in the Armory and the Wiki (because I already have the Tone).

I also have Tone. Chikuma II feels markedly different. Tone is like a weaker Atago, with a plane gimmick. Chikuma II defines its own class. The planes are more usable, because the reload is faster, and you can stock up two sorties. Also, the torpedos have better range, and the smoke stunt opens up a completly new playstyle. I played Tone a couple of times when I got her, and nothing since. But with Chikuma II, I kind of got addicted.

Here is a video that made me enthuisiastic about the ship. It’s a bit atypical gameplaywise, but showcases the different weapon types:

 

Edited December 9, 2024 by Ocsimano18

[mashed68]

I also prefer Weimar.
Maneuvours good, armor is surprisingly effective for a light cruiser, spotter plane+superintendent captain skills give you 7 charges so you can hang back and open water if needed. Lots of torps if you get close. Ammo actually worth switching between. Its the only light cruiser I play [outside of cleveland in co-op for dockyard missions].  

[invicta2012]

4 hours ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

I'm still really not sure why WG put it in there when De Grasse exists, and any enlightenment would be welcomed.

Because the model is Montcalm. La Gal has always been a ringer. Came as something of a surprise after all this time. 

[Wolfswetpaws]

2 hours ago, Ocsimano18 said:

I also have Tone. Chikuma II feels markedly different. Tone is like a weaker Atago, with a plane gimmick. Chikuma II defines its own class. The planes are more usable, because the reload is faster, and you can stock up two sorties. Also, the torpedos have better range, and the smoke stunt opens up a completly new playstyle. I played Tone a couple of times when I got her, and nothing since. But with Chikuma II, I kind of got addicted.

Here is a video that made me enthuisiastic about the ship. It’s a bit atypical gameplaywise, but showcases the different weapon types:

 

A nice demonstration of the Chikuma-II's features.  Thanks.

She seems to specialize in "area denial" tactics?
The game-play seemed a bit "passive" by the teams, though.  Few, if any, "yolo" charges that I noticed.
There were a few interesting or exciting moments, but the overall pace of the game seemed a bit slow.
And I think that worked to the Chikuma-II's advantage.  

That said, the video provides useful information and was worth viewing.  🙂 

[Ocsimano18]

16 hours ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

A nice demonstration of the Chikuma-II's features.  Thanks.

She seems to specialize in "area denial" tactics?
The game-play seemed a bit "passive" by the teams, though.  Few, if any, "yolo" charges that I noticed.
There were a few interesting or exciting moments, but the overall pace of the game seemed a bit slow.
And I think that worked to the Chikuma-II's advantage.  

That said, the video provides useful information and was worth viewing.  🙂 

That match in the video is quite unusual. Typically, area denial with torpedoes on Chikuma doesn't work that well for me. Instead, I launch 40-50 torpedoes per match and land a few hits here and there. When enemies push into my position, I launch torpedoes, but advanced opponents often dodge them. The aerial torpedoes, however, are much more reliable.

My main strategy is to smoke up when enemies get within range (around the second quarter of the match), set a couple of fires, and send out planes once the smoke clears. The beauty of this ship is the variety and the constant need to think strategically, which means you never get bored.

In essence, Chikuma is a support ship. I'm not typically a cruiser main—I enjoy brawling battleships or landing devastating strikes. But this is a different kind of gameplay. I'd say Chikuma is the only support ship in the game that makes me feel genuinely excited and full of suspense. 

And just like at the Oscars, sometimes the prize goes to the best supporting actor. 🌟

Finally, here is a Reddit post with a bunch of other enthusiasts of the ship:

 

 

 

[Ensign Cthulhu]

On 12/9/2024 at 1:09 PM, utgotye said:

For Co-op, I totally agree.  Montcalm might as well not exist since De Grasse is better in every meaningful way.

I disagree now.

I now realize why Montcalm exists:

This was a game with five green bots.

EIGHTEEN KILOMETRES range at Tier 6, baked in, no spotter - I can outrange a Warspite with that. Hell, I can outrange a lot of Tier 8 cruisers and maybe even a few battleships. I was taking shots at the bot CV in the opening minutes.

Even in co-op, there are advantages to being able to take shots at long range. And the MBRB on broadside bot cruisers that are nose-in to something else is just freaking brutal. I sank two bot cruisers (admittedly already weakened) in the span of a single use.

I take back what I said above. This thing is a beast.

[Wolfswetpaws]

1 minute ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

I disagree now.

I now realize why Montcalm exists:

This was a game with five green bots.

EIGHTEEN KILOMETRES range at Tier 6, baked in, no spotter - I can outrange a Warspite with that. Hell, I can outrange a lot of Tier 8 cruisers and maybe even a few battleships. I was taking shots at the bot CV in the opening minutes.

Even in co-op, there are advantages to being able to take shots at long range. And the MBRB on broadside bot cruisers that are nose-in to something else is just freaking brutal. I sank two bot cruisers (admittedly already weakened) in the span of a single use.

I take back what I said above. This thing is a beast.

For some reason, I'm reminded of a song lyric, "It's in the way that you use it ...".  🙂 
Congrats on your victory and "Eureka" realization.  🙂 

[Ensign Cthulhu]

26 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

For some reason, I'm reminded of a song lyric, "It's in the way that you use it ...".

I posted that lyric myself recently, with regard to the Yahagi... but as I've already hinted above, I'm indebted to @utgotye for putting a pair of fresh eyes on the matter.

[utgotye]

4 minutes ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

I posted that lyric myself recently, with regard to the Yahagi... but as I've already hinted above, I'm indebted to @utgotye for putting a pair of fresh eyes on the matter.

I can see it.  The rat race nature of co-op generally lends itself to DPM in all forms.  That said, the lower DPM overall and less useful torps can be balanced out by the extra range somewhat and the burst damage can help finish off low HP targets or cripple targets of opportunity better than the De Grasse.

 

[Ensign Cthulhu]

Orion '44.

This T6 premium British light cruiser takes the name of its dreadnought forebear, and can basically be summed up as a premium Leander that loses its smoke to pick up a superheal and a speed boost. As with the normal Leander, and unlike the Belfasts and the Commonwealth Perth, she gets AP ammo only but it behaves on destroyers like the bitey short-fuze stuff that British CL fans know and love. The Superheal feels like a needful addition when the protection of the smoke is gone, and allows the co-op player especially to take substantially higher risks. 

 

Jupiter '42.

This T7 premium British destroyer evolves from the tech-tree Jervis by losing one rack of torpedo tubes and HE ammo in exchange for somewhat better concealment and a speed boost (which the tech tree British DDs don't have), plus improved penetration angles and nasty fuze timing. A lot of people lost their excitement over this ship when her torpedo range was trimmed from 10km to 7km in testing, but this is less important in the co-op context. Only having one rack is a familiar handicap to Cossack players, but these torpedoes have quite a bit of bite to them to compensate. Like the Orion '44, I only played one battle in her over the weekend, but the initial impression was favourable. You could almost think of her as a Tier 7 take on Druid, but with an extra turret and some torps thrown in. 

 

I find it interesting and amusing that my first two ships out of crates were Tier 8 (Tirpitz and Picardie), then I go and pull two Tier 6's and a Tier 7 (vide infra). However, (a) I don't mind getting lower tier ships or those considered not-so-great for whatever reason, and (b) I'm pretty sure that I have once more locked out everything below Tier 8. The crates have a way of giving me ships I find interesting, but not quite interesting enough to buy. Yes, there are a couple I'm crossing my fingers for, but if it doesn't happen then so be it. 

 

The following warnings should be reiterated:

1) DON'T BUY CRATES UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO BE CONTENT WITH WHATEVER COMES OUT OF THEM.

2) PREFERABLY, DON'T BUY CRATES UNTIL YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL THE FREE OPTIONS.

3) IF YOU'RE THINKING OF WHALING FOR A PARTICULAR ULTRA-BANNED-AS-F*** SHIP, BE PREPARED FOR IT TO BE EXPENSIVE, BE PREPARED TO GO ALL-IN, AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN HANDLE THE COST. IT WILL BE HUGE. YOU WILL GET LOTS OF OTHER NEW TOYS ALONG THE WAY; BE GRATEFUL FOR THOSE. 

Edited December 16, 2024 by Ensign Cthulhu
corrected a typo

[Wolfswetpaws]

1 hour ago, Ensign Cthulhu said:

The following warningS should be reiterated:

1) DON'T BUY CRATES UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO BE CONTENT WITH WHATEVER COMES OUT OF THEM.

2) PREFERABLY, DON'T BUY CRATES UNTIL YOU HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL THE FREE OPTIONS.

3) IF YOU'RE THINKING OF WHALING FOR A PARTICULAR ULTRA-BANNED-AS-F*** SHIP, BE PREPARED FOR IT TO BE EXPENSIVE, BE PREPARED TO GO ALL-IN, AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN HANDLE THE COST. IT WILL BE HUGE. YOU WILL GET LOTS OF OTHER NEW TOYS ALONG THE WAY; BE GRATEFUL FOR THOSE. 

+1

[Itwastuesday]

Okay, been playing more. Victoria is the ship of TEAM, PLEASE. You drive up to blow out the machine spaces of an enemy battleship. They get left with 5k, their turrets turning toward you and all you can do is spam ping enemy ship while your guns reload for 44 seconds. Team! Team? Burst is also very good for dd support. Always burst the triangle. This is a battleship for veterans who want something a bit different. I think I quite like it. 

But not as much as Rodney. The mad waddle toward glorious brawling with nuclear torpedoes is more exciting and funny than even Schlieffen. Everybody running around and beaching in panic when the slow but inevitable doom comes in the form of something that looks like it's made for ironing your shirt. 

[Wolfswetpaws]

9 hours ago, Itwastuesday said:

Okay, been playing more. Victoria is the ship of TEAM, PLEASE. You drive up to blow out the machine spaces of an enemy battleship. They get left with 5k, their turrets turning toward you and all you can do is spam ping enemy ship while your guns reload for 44 seconds. Team! Team? Burst is also very good for dd support. Always burst the triangle. This is a battleship for veterans who want something a bit different. I think I quite like it. 

But not as much as Rodney. The mad waddle toward glorious brawling with nuclear torpedoes is more exciting and funny than even Schlieffen. Everybody running around and beaching in panic when the slow but inevitable doom comes in the form of something that looks like it's made for ironing your shirt. 

Tagging @Utt_Bugglier who recently Got a Rodney dropped on themselves.  🙂 
https://www.devstrike.net/topic/5711-a-rodney-got-dropped-on-me/

 

[Admiral_Karasu]

16 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Tagging @Utt_Bugglier who recently Got a Rodney dropped on themselves.  🙂 
https://www.devstrike.net/topic/5711-a-rodney-got-dropped-on-me/

 

Hope he's fine. 😳

[Wolfswetpaws]

31 minutes ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

Hope he's fine. 😳

Visit the topic, and find out.  🙂 

[Utt_Bugglier]

2 hours ago, Admiral_Karasu said:

Hope he's fine. 😳

Pffft!!! It takes more than 33,730 tonnes dropped my head to faze me.

[100 Krakens]

On 12/9/2024 at 11:33 AM, Itwastuesday said:

Picardie

Take Lyon, give it smaller, faster loading guns and slap a reload booster on for good measure. The point is that accuracy is for the weak. Vomit out shells on anything without a care in the world. Aimbugs, troll armor, bad luck, overworked tired oldman aim don't matter when you dump 16 shells at a target every 27 seconds. It's pretty funny. Certainly less frustrating to play than some of these mediocre accuracy 8 gun battleships I won't mention. 

Got her too. With a full secondaries build, Picardie is perfect for Asym battles. Deleting DDs with HE and cruisers with AP feels even more satisfying than in Lyon owing to the reload booster, and I manage to get 50K+ damage by secondaries alone in each battle (fires not included).

Edited December 19, 2024 by 100 Krakens