Steel ship for PVE modes

[Jagerbomb_2021]

I am looking to add another steel ship or 2 to my fleet. I currently have around 82K and already have the Bourgogne and enjoy her quite a bit. I prefer cruisers and battleships. Of the cruisers that are available, the only ones that interest me are Stalingrad and Svea. Austin seems to be an uptiered Atlanta with SAP and MBRB and I would rather have something a little different even though Atlanta is my most played ship and Plymouth seems too much like the Minotaur. All of the battleships appeal to me even though I probably have the TT side grade with the exception of the Lauria since I only have up to tier 7 in the TT of that country. From the Steel Will event I got the Prins Van Oranje from a golden container but the other 2 don't appeal to me.

[Wolfswetpaws]

The Steel Ships that I've welcomed to my Port are the Shikishima, the Bourgogne, the Gato, the Mecklenburg, and most recently the Chikuma-II.

I enjoy all of them.  But they're each a different "flavor" of game-play.

You've mentioned being a person who prefers Cruisers, and is looking for "something different".

I think the Chikuma-II is affordable and offers a lot of options for game-play and configuration of hull modules and Captain's Skills.
She's a Hybrid-ship.  So, she's equipped with torpedo-planes as a "consumable" instead of how normal CV's squadrons operate.
With guns, sec-bat guns, torpedoes with 13.5 km range, smoke-screen, Hydro-acoustic search and a Repair Party, she's a versatile 'Bote.
Playing the Chikuma-II is not boring.

The Mecklenburg is fun in every game mode, though her turret traverse limitations and low HP pool are factors to keep in mind.
She's more like a battlecruiser than a tanky battleship, and has a decent tool-kit of consumables.

Personally, I'm not keen on Stalingrad or Svea.  But, this is your steel that you're shopping with, and your decision process.
So, I suggest comparing all the ships and evaluating their virtues, vices and quirks.

The steel ships on my future shopping list are the R. Lauria, the Archerfish and the Shinano.  
To be clear, I enjoy playing all ship types.
Being familiar with playing CV's helps me utilize Hybrid-ships to their fullest. 
For me, the most boring ship type to play is an H.E.-spamming ship that prefers to bow-tank while island-camping.
But, I also understand that not everyone shares the same criteria.  🙂 

Hope that helps your shopping spree @Jagerbomb_2021.  🙂 
 

[Frostbow]

4 hours ago, Jagerbomb_2021 said:

I am looking to add another steel ship or 2 to my fleet. I currently have around 82K and already have the Bourgogne and enjoy her quite a bit. I prefer cruisers and battleships. Of the cruisers that are available, the only ones that interest me are Stalingrad and Svea. Austin seems to be an uptiered Atlanta with SAP and MBRB and I would rather have something a little different even though Atlanta is my most played ship and Plymouth seems too much like the Minotaur. All of the battleships appeal to me even though I probably have the TT side grade with the exception of the Lauria since I only have up to tier 7 in the TT of that country. From the Steel Will event I got the Prins Van Oranje from a golden container but the other 2 don't appeal to me.

Stalingrad is an amazing ship for PVE modes such as Operations and Asymmetric. Those 305mm guns with improved AP shells can send those bots to oblivion faster than they can "cheat".

Same with Oranje. Phenomenal cruiser guns, with the added 'utility' of Dutch airstrikes.

I had a lot of fun and success playing these Steel ships in PVE modes; I wholeheartedly recommend them.

Good luck.

[KJ82]

8 hours ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

The Mecklenburg is fun in every game mode, though her turret traverse limitations and low HP pool are factors to keep in mind.
She's more like a battlecruiser than a tanky battleship, and has a decent tool-kit of consumables.
 

I agree about the fun part  ( mine has 1.4m XP, 95% from Assym ), however, its not the turret traverse, its the firing angles of the back turrets. Also, she's over 90k hp with the new flag, i wouldnt call that "low HP pool ".

 

Edited December 22, 2024 by KJ82

[Wolfswetpaws]

21 minutes ago, KJ82 said:

I agree about the fun part  ( mine has 1.4m XP, 95% from Assym ), however, its not the turret traverse, its the firing angles of the back turrets. Also, she's over 90k hp with the new flag, i wouldnt call that "low HP pool ".

 

Rate of traverse (rotation) compared with total amount of degrees that a turret can traverse (how large a "slice of pie").   
A useful distinction that you helped to clarify.  Thanks.  🙂

As for HP?  Again, helpful to mention.  But, not everyone is using the new flag all the time,
I figured that savvy players would remember the 5% potential from the flag and could do their own math.  
Also, the larger the normal number, the larger amount of HP will be gained from the +5% HP flag.

I'm going to compare a small sample of normal HP pools, and let people decide which is low or normal or above-average.

Mecklenburg = 85,800 HP
Großer Kurfürst = 105,800 HP
Preussen = 105,800 HP
Schlieffen = 76,100 HP
Yamato = 97, 200 HP
Bourgogne = 74,700 HP
R. Lauria = 79,200 HP

https://wiki.wargaming.net/en/World_of_Warships
 

[Kruzenstern]

I just got my 6th Steel ship. Over time I acquired Incomparable, Bourgogne, Shikishima and R. Lauria. That is the order I got them in, and still also the order I would rate those four in.

Incomparable is just one of the most fun ships in the game. Going over 40 kts with the biggest guns in the game on fast turning turrets, Zombie heal, Hydro and also torpedos because why the hell not is just.... incomparable. She simply is unique, can't really be compared to the british TT BCs. And she can also be effective, in fact she is my Co-op ship (among the ships with a significant number of battles anyway) with the highest avg damage, ahead of even Coop powerhouses like Marceau, Mogador and Salem.

Bourgogne, I guess not much to report here, it is commonly known what an excellent ship she is.

Shikishima is an interesting sidegrade to Yamato, has more or less the same boomsticks as Incomparable, albeit on a slow and clumsy platform and anemic traverse. Her secondaries have to be reckoned with even though they are not buffed, and she is pretty tanky, though she has the Yamato chin weakness. In ops she might even be a tad more efficient than Incomparable, but definitely less fun to play for me.

I got Lauria mostly for the shits an giggles of overmatching SAP on a fast platform and that is just what she delivers. I was very disappointed at first because I also tried to utilize the AP. When I went full SAP, she became pretty good. In PvP she can be monstrous I guess, in PvE she is good but not great.

Then I got Chikuma II via Satan boxes, and after two bad battles where I was trying the planes and misjudging her concealment I finally understood her, and she is quite the monster, possibly equal to Jäger on Aegis. Those torps hit uber-hard, and the planes and smoke give her some great utility. Definitely one of the best PvE ship for steel.

And now I had some 25K steel and a coupon left, and had to decide between Mecklenburg and Stalingrad. I ended up picking Mecklenburg and boy she hits hard. First battle not knowing the ship at all was 480K in Raptor. The gun arcs are VERY uncomfortable, but her dpm and accuracy more than make up for that. Mecklenburg is a Brandenburg on steroids. Some seriously crazy steroids. Even with only one battle I will say that she is probably the best PvE ship for steel, at least if you know how to position yourself so you don't catch enemy broadsides when using all your guns. That is a real noobtrap on that ship.

Edited December 22, 2024 by Kruzenstern

[KJ82]

Mecklen has insanely accurate main guns. In Assym, sometimes only the front guns are enough to instablap cruisers, and the lower caliber means less overpens too. She can citadel BB-s too around the 10km range, but outside that range, it can still mean 10-15-20k salvos into the upper belt in every 22 sec. Very good firestarter too. Mine is built for accuracy and reload with the modules, and having Lutjens who is secondary specced ( i wont bother re-skill him). She can bowtank better than a Schlieffen ( 32 mm vs 27 on Schliefen ), has a good HP pool, and short range torps .

Weaknesses are :

No hydro, very bad firing angles on the back guns, only has 128 mm secondary guns. She is not the average secondary focused German BB, someone said she's like an upscaled Hindenburg.

Here is a video about her :

 

 

[Forgotten_Void]

For PVE, Mecklenburg is amazing, Stallin works a a BB/cruiser hybrid with nice guns, Incomp is not so much good as it is silly fun with AP that does over 2k overpen damage to DDs than the HE does (because of HE saturation), and lastly hoffman is a pocket cruiser more than a DD with the 6 150mm guns that can cit cruisers from 10km away and has fast-ish reloading torps, and is better at being a cruiser than Svea.

Edited December 23, 2024 by Forgotten_Void