Destroyer Archive #1: USS Monaghan

[RX160S_Byarlant_Custom]

Hello world! I am RX160S_Byarlant_Custom, a player who really likes destroyers! Today I will be appraising Monaghan, a T6 Premium destroyer! The aim of this post is to inform readers of the ship's characteristics, playstyle, strengths and weaknesses as I see it, and also to help potential buyers decide if this is the purchase they're looking for. All of the content below will have my own opinions, so feel free to discuss below in the comments - I'd love to see alternate viewpoints especially if you disagree or I made a boo-boo. This is not intended to be a high-quality review with pretty infographics, I just want to say my thoughts on this ship to help you form your own opinion on this ship. Anyway, 

 

Destroyer Archive #1: USS Monaghan

Historical Background

Monaghan (DD-354) was an American destroyer of the Farragut class. The last of her class to be built, she was named for Ensign John R. Monaghan. She was laid down in 1933 and launched/commissioned in 1935. Before World War II she was mainly in the North Atlantic, training personnel who would go on to serve in the war. Speaking of which, she had a very lively service while she lasted, being present at Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea and Midway, with a smattering of other duties such as patrols, shore bombardment and escort duties for escort carriers and battleships. She was one of the 4 destroyers present at the Battle of the Kommandorski Islands, and although she approached the IJN task force for a torpedo attack she did not launch any as they retreated. Sadly, she was sunk in December 1944 due to Typhoon Cobra, a result of her top-heavy hull and low fuel stores. Monaghan earned a total of 12 battle stars in her service. 

History and summarising isn't my strong suite. Thank you, Wikipedia for providing me so much information to (try to) condense. 

Now, on to the ship.

First Impressions

Monaghan is a Tier 6 premium destroyer. She has 4 single 127mm guns mounted in an ABXY layout, and two 533mm quadruple torpedo tubes mounted centrally amidships. She's very similar to her tech tree sister Farragut, but is missing the single 127mm gun behind the funnel that Farragut has. Instead, it's been replaced with 2 20mm Oerlikon light AA guns. 

Hull B switches up the armament quite drastically. Out go the X and Y main guns - they're now 40mm Bofors!!! The quadruple torpedo tubes are replaced with quintuples - the same ones you will find on T8 tech tree destroyer Benson. The 2 20mm Oerlikons amidships get replaced with 40mm Bofors, but whatever, man.

Therefore, Monaghan offers two playstyles in one premium ship. Hull A is a slightly different Farragut. That is to say, it's a close-range knife fighting gunboat. Hull B however turns Monaghan into a pure torpedoboat. Each hull has different strengths and weaknesses, but the hull swap is very interesting and certainly adds value to purchasing this ship since you kind of have two premiums in one. 

Nobody asked, but I didn't actually purchase this for doubloons. I dropped it in a Santa crate.

 

 

In Detail (somewhat)

Hull A

*For the sake of my sanity, I'll compare Monaghan to Farragut. They are sister ships after all, and thus share the same hull, guns and torpedoes, at least if you ignore hull B for the last one. All other comparisons are to her T6 adversaries.

Compared to Farragut, you've got:

+ more HP (16k vs 13.6k)

+ slightly better concealment (6.3km vs 6.6km)

+ marginally better AA overall (...ha!)

- one less gun, thus lower DPM (108k vs 135k)

- worse rudder shift (3.5s vs 2.7s) 

You can take DFAA/TRB in a separate slot (more on this later)

Does this tradeoff look nice to you? It kind of does to me.

Firstly, the HP increase really helps in Monaghan's knife-fighting ability against other DDs. While Farragut is stuck with the lowest HP pool of all T6 DDs, Monaghan stands in the middle of the pack. Of course she's not touching German or French DD levels of HP but it's still pretty much the best on anything that isn't a proper gunboat or German. Yippee!

Secondly, the concealment decrease brings Monaghan from almost the worst concealment in tier that Farragut has to decent levels for her tier. Again, not really Japanese DD levels of stealth but great for the amount of DPM the ship has. 

The AA change is so marginal you could just forget about it. The 2 Oerlikons squeeze out more close-range DPS over the long-range DPS that the main gun on Farragut would have given you. Because it obviously means so much to the incoming Bearn skip bombers.

Obviously the tradeoff here is you have one less gun. So your DPM drops from best in your tier to... 3rd best in your tier! Also, Monaghan is a bit clumsier than Farragut, although it has to be said that Farragut has the 3rd best rudder shift and tightest turning circle excluding the British DDs. Still, she's about in the middle of the pack in terms of rudder shift time. 

Another thing that I almost missed is that Monaghan has better firing angles. The front angles, especially A turret are marginally better but the rear guns get a whole 5 degrees more. So you're definitely showing less broadside to get that DPM, hopefully.

Monaghan on the left, Farragut on the right. Yes, I know the images don't line up perfectly. Yes, it bothers me. No, I'm not going to redo this. 

Looks perfectly reasonable to me...higher HP and better concealment compared to Farragut allow Monaghan to really excel at close-range knife-fighting against enemy DDs. Missing one gun sucks but at least you won't show a lot of side trying to open it up, which means you could take less damage...but you can definitely feel the loss of agility over the nimble Farragut though. Oh, and you can also in theory torpedo from stealth in Monaghan. 0.1km window, by the way. 

But let's face it, if you wanted to torp, this isn't why you bought Monaghan.

Hull B!!!

You like unique, don't you? Don't want a premium Farragut? Step right up!

T8 torpedoes at T6

Much like Tiger 59 having Minotaur guns at T8 (broken) and Ochakov having a Smolensk hull at T8, Monaghan gets Benson torpedoes two tiers lower. Yes, these are the upgraded torpedoes on Benson, and the stock ones on Fletcher. These torpedoes are one of the longest ranged at T6, losing out to the upgraded IJN DDs, Vasteras, Aviere and the abomination they call Leone. In terms of damage she is only beaten out by Aigle's nukes (yes, that is what I see them as). And unlike any other ship except for Icarus, she has 2x5 quintuple tubes with the heaviest torpedo salvo weight of any T6 DD. A best in tier mix of torpedoes, then. Broken OP?

Not quite. Monaghan retains the longer reloads of higher tier DDs' torpedoes, and are the slowest reloading torpedoes at T6 beating out Icarus' 2 minute reload by 2 seconds. They are also the 2nd slowest torpedoes at T6 (thank you Leone for taking last, you deserve it). Then you must take into account that these are torpedoes, which are inherently unreliable. So there are drawbacks of having this armament in this tier, but it's not all that bad. In fact the torpedo suite is still, I dare say, the best for a T6 DD. 

Firstly, Monaghan gets a Torpedo Reload Booster (henceforth, TRB. I'm lazy), the lowest tier ship to do so. However, this TRB is from Lidl. The torpedo reload is not cut to 5 or 7 seconds like it is on the Japanese torpedoboats. It resets the reload to 30 seconds. Before I get caught up on dunking on this consumable, I think slapping the Japanese TRB would definitely be a bit excessive, and that doesn't make it bad, just less good. So, you can shorten the reload of your next salvo in case you want one - just know that it won't be straight away. Considering the long reload in the first place, it's still a useful tool to have. 20 T8 torps in the water within 10 seconds, anyone?

Secondly, the reaction time on these torpedoes do not betray the characteristics that make USN DD torpedoes great. It's the 4th best in its tier. Fushun is a cheater for using deepwaters, so the only torpedoes superior in this aspect are the slow, long-range Italian torpedoes (piss off Leone, you didnt earn this one, you still have a smaller torpedo salvo weight than some t3 destroyers). So you can definitely expect some heavy-damage hits on enemy BBs with the aid of good prediction and positioning. 

So maybe having T8 torpedoes at T6 as well as a dollar store TRB makes for a strong T6 torpedoboat. It would be a shame if you gave up 2 main guns for that though.

TX guns at T6 but you only have two 

(Shhhh...I know that the same gun model is used from Nicholas' B hull to Gearing.)

However you put it, the removal of two guns is pretty bad for Monaghan. Her DPM halves into a piffling 54k. To put that into context, the next most anemic DD is Schonberg at 60k, and then Fubuki/Hatsuharu of all things at 68k. It's not quite Kitakami (by this I mean cannot outdpm anything in her MM spread, thankfully Mutsuki is a thing) but she will be outgunned by 19/20 enemy DDs she faces. Bonus points for uptiers. I'd love to harp on the additional weaknesses that the USN 127mms have, but this is a bit unfair. They are great close-range weapons, but in this configuration Monaghan just doesn't have enough of them. It's not a fault of the guns. It's the fact that 2 of them were tossed out for a bunch of 40mm Bofors. And torpedoes. 

So only the A and B turrets remain. This layout is only found on one other DD in the game. 

Druid. A TX DD. You know what this means.

Budget Druid here can bow in to receive less damage when fighting other DDs! Hold it right there. Single gun cope dispersion means you will miss. A lot. So while it says 54k on paper, which isn't good in the first place, expect something like "600 damage in 10 seconds". Because you hit something like 1/3 of your shells. You have the salvo weight of a pop gun. Additionally, I hope you don't have to run away. Those Bofors won't shoot for you. Or, you can bow in and suffer as you die slowly, firing your two piddly guns. Unlike my beloved Le Terrible, you cannot outdpm an equal tier DD with only your fro- I mean only, guns.

 

The part you don't want to show to enemy DDs, but have to or you get corrected more. Bonus points if the enemy DDs destroy the AA mounts.

This is a bigger problem because unlike Fubuki and Hatsuharu, your concealment is still 6.3km. This is average for a destroyer, but horrible for a torpedoboat. Vasteras gets away with her 6.3km conceal because she can somewhat fight DDs and heal. Monaghan cannot do that. Thank god she has a decent HP pool. 

I guess higher tier stuff on a low tier DD isn't so good after all, eh? It is bigger and has worse concealment. Pensive. But let's not forget that she has the long American smoke, and that her speed is still good for a T6 DD. She's not entirely hopeless. 

Verdict

So do you want Monaghan? Do you tick, preferably, all of these boxes?

- I like Farragut, or USN DDs in general.

- I want a fresh take on torpedoboats. Even if I suffer because of it.

- I like historical ship with fabled history. (this last one is a bit flimsy. did your grandfather serve on it, or...? i hope not, though.)

Honestly, I like Monaghan. Hull B is the entire reason I would have liked to get her in the first place. It's a slightly different formula from the torpedo boat most of the DDs in the game follow. You don't have concealment or even self-defense to bail you out like on other torpedoboats. But you get absolute units of torpedoes at T6. It's a challenge to play, and I like it even if I finish with zero damage. Actually, that was a lie, I don't think anyone likes that, but Monaghan is a torpedoboat. It happens. The limitations of the ship are very in-your-face, and even if you work around them you aren't guaranteed a great game. If I wanted to win, I'd rather play Aigle. 

But you don't buy Monaghan to "win". You buy it because it's weird. What right minded Farragut gives up half her guns for T8 torpedoes at T6? It works, mind you. You just have to work too. I think it's a good trainer for the line regardless of the configuration you choose, given that they become torpedoboats in high tiers. 

Do I recommend her? From my heart, yes. She's goofy and I like that. From my head? No. Fubuki is still the golden standard for torpedoboats at T6. I feel that she is better at that, without the restrictive drawbacks that Monaghan has. Maybe this is a bit unfair to Monaghan. That TRB and the T8 torpedoes offer a different experience. So if you like that and are willing to suffer for it, go ahead.

Taking care of my little destroyer

I would recommend this build for hull B. You should swap the torpedo speed skill, consumable enhancements and IFA for Radio Location (RPF) if you don't feel confident in predicting where the enemy DD will show up. This is doubly important for Monaghan because you may be spotted first, or not have much time to react and run away. Otherwise the build is pretty much standard for torpedoboats. I justify taking consumable enhancements to shorten the TRB reload, but that's just me doing things my own way. It's not a large boost, and for newer players definitely, please PLEASE take RPF. This ship will not save your behind when caught out unprepared. (because theres no guns on it haha!) 

 

Jeez, you want to play hull A? Fine, just use something like this I suppose. There's not really much you can do to buff your reload here, so I also chose GtG to help your traverse a bit - not like you should have trouble in the first place though. Sinking points into torps may not be your thing - they're not mad useful on hull A Monaghan. I'm not stopping you, because I can't, but if you want to, just take torpedo reload and speed. Though you trade out RPF and GtG. An argument for taking DFAA over TRB can be made for hull A Monaghan. Up to you, really. How would I know if you get into a position to stealth torp? Not like the AA is really good anyway...I always take TRB, DFAA is for coping. Wow, I shot down one more plane. 

If you like, mount the speed boost mod available for coal in slot 2. This only happens when a DD and its owner really like each other. 

If it were a car 

Credit for this image goes to Autocar. Please don't sue me, I have no money. 

The Alfa Romeo 4C. Far from perfect, maybe you'd rather get a Cayman if you want a polished sports car. But has its own character and does things its own way for better or worse. Which is why it has its fanbase regardless, even if 99% of them don't fully understand the pain one goes through when you own one. Right? I'm not alone, right? Plus to some it's a bit disappointing. Don't let that happen to you. I'll never get over the "botched moon landing" headlights...the concept version was sublime. 

 

Afterword

This is my first time doing this. It was just a thought that hit me for fun after I registered on this forum and I felt confident enough to give my opinion on this ship. All forms of feedback are welcome, and I hope you learnt something from reading this wall of text. If you didn't, well, then I hope that I made enough jokes to keep you entertained. 

- custom 

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by RX160S_Byarlant_Custom

[Wolfswetpaws]

I suggest one of the Moderators move this topic to the Ship Reviews section of the DevStrike Forum.
https://www.devstrike.net/forum/8-ship-reviews/

Aside from that, thanks for sharing your perspectives, @RX160S_Byarlant_Custom  🙂 

[Wolfswetpaws]

5 minutes ago, RX160S_Byarlant_Custom said:

She was one of the 4 destroyers present at the Battle of the Kommandorski Islands, and although she approached the IJN task force for a torpedo attack she did launch any as they retreated.

"...  she did launch ..."  OR "... she didn't launch ..."?
Did she launch torpedoes or not?  🙂 

[RX160S_Byarlant_Custom]

2 minutes ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

"...  she did launch ..."  OR "... she didn't launch ..."?
Did she launch torpedoes or not?  🙂 

Dang, thanks for noticing. She didn't. 

[Wolfswetpaws]

9 minutes ago, RX160S_Byarlant_Custom said:

Monaghan on the left, Farragut on the right. Yes, I know the images don't line up perfectly. Yes, it bothers me. No, I'm not going to redo this. 

I like this graphic image.  I can live with it not being perfect.  🙂 

[Wolfswetpaws]

15 minutes ago, RX160S_Byarlant_Custom said:

Afterword

This is my first time doing this. It was just a thought that hit me for fun after I registered on this forum and I felt confident enough to give my opinion on this ship. All forms of feedback are welcome, and I hope you learnt something from reading this wall of text. If you didn't, well, then I hope that I made enough jokes to keep you entertained. 

I think you've been an earnest student of @LittleWhiteMouse.  🙂 

[ArIskandir]

6 hours ago, RX160S_Byarlant_Custom said:

 

- custom 

 

Nice review, it was fun to read which is a lot to say in these times...

Fully agree on "But you don't buy Monaghan to "win". You buy it because it's weird. " and that's why I want to call your attention to the weirdest Monaghan build of them all:

The "AA Monaghan"!!! 

On Hull B swap TRB for AA boost, change your Captain build to full AA instead of Torps and you'll end up with the ultimate AA escort unit for T6. Yes, you are pretty much useless at most types of engagements but you'll have the unique ability to actually provide meaningful AA support to your friends in distress against T6 CVs (which last time I played, were plenty). You get to role play an actual DD AA screen escort at T6, which is fairly unique. 

[invicta2012]

Nice review, @RX160S_Byarlant_Custom

 

Thanks for taking the time to reassess an old (and often overlooked) Premium - this is a worthwhile gig, btw, if you fancy making a habit of it! 

 

Monaghan is an interesting and quirky ship which can be played lots of different ways, and that Lidl TRB means she's still a valid (and cheap) choice for Ops, if you like that sort of thing. AA build Monaghan still works, too, and that will come in handy at Tier VI where other premium DDs have no prowess whatsoever. 

[BOBTHEBALL]

Amazing review, loved it all. Could you please do a review on my favourite in-game destroyer Kunming??? I love Kunming a ton I feel like it's severely underrated and posses a massive threat to the enemy team.

[Wolfswetpaws]

1 hour ago, BOBTHEBALL said:

Amazing review, loved it all. Could you please do a review on my favourite in-game destroyer Kunming??? I love Kunming a ton I feel like it's severely underrated and posses a massive threat to the enemy team.

Is there anything preventing you from leading by good example and creating your own review?  🙂 

[BOBTHEBALL]

1 hour ago, Wolfswetpaws said:

Is there anything preventing you from leading by good example and creating your own review?  🙂 

I've only played Kunming on PTS, I was hoping I could get a full review by him presuming he owns it. I hope he does!

[RX160S_Byarlant_Custom]

9 hours ago, ArIskandir said:

 

The "AA Monaghan"!!! 

On Hull B swap TRB for AA boost, change your Captain build to full AA instead of Torps and you'll end up with the ultimate AA escort unit for T6. Yes, you are pretty much useless at most types of engagements but you'll have the unique ability to actually provide meaningful AA support to your friends in distress against T6 CVs (which last time I played, were plenty). You get to role play an actual DD AA screen escort at T6, which is fairly unique. 

8 hours ago, invicta2012 said:

AA build Monaghan still works, too, and that will come in handy at Tier VI where other premium DDs have no prowess whatsoever. 

While I understand that hull B Monaghan has the best DPS to offer at T6 thanks to the sheer amount of mid-range DPS offered by the 40mm Bofors, personally I don't really see the merit of fitting her out and playing her for an AA support role (and for that matter, any DD). The idea of trading a conventional build and the impact it potentially has on a match to shoot down a few more planes against CVs that can probably still strike you anyway doesn't really appeal to me, though this is a bigger critique on the state of AA in general, rather than calling Monaghan's AA poor for her tier. I also think that she is still a DD, and thus remaining concealed is important, as well as keeping a frontline position to spot and torpedo, rather than give away a position further back to shoot down planes. While it helps potentially preserve your teammates' HP, you're still effectively giving space for enemy DDs to push in and spot, while you reduce your capacity to do the same. I won't deny the fun factor though, the AA is really quite good and is on par with some other T8 DDs (T8 AA at T6, so broken) but ultimately it is still a T6 DD and will probably be dunked on regardless when it comes down to a committed CV with hands. The TRB is too unique for me to give up as well, but again, this is all just my opinion. 

 

4 hours ago, BOBTHEBALL said:

Amazing review, loved it all. Could you please do a review on my favourite in-game destroyer Kunming??? I love Kunming a ton I feel like it's severely underrated and posses a massive threat to the enemy team.

Unfortunately, I, too have only played Kunming on PTS (am too broke for supership). While I do have my own opinion on her, my impression of her is only surface level at best because I've only played a few matches in her, and I probably won't get her on the live server so don't hold your breath. Do feel free to suggest any tech-tree destroyer (non-supership) or (obtainable) premiums for me to review, though. Preferably that I have... though currently, I'm looking at Aigle or Leone. Maybe Huron. 

[BOBTHEBALL]

1 hour ago, RX160S_Byarlant_Custom said:

Unfortunately, I, too have only played Kunming on PTS (am too broke for supership). While I do have my own opinion on her, my impression of her is only surface level at best because I've only played a few matches in her, and I probably won't get her on the live server so don't hold your breath. Do feel free to suggest any tech-tree destroyer (non-supership) or (obtainable) premiums for me to review, though. Preferably that I have... though currently, I'm looking at Aigle or Leone. Maybe Huron. 

Hmm in that case how about a review on Grozovoi? I know you're the much better DD player out of the two of us so I'd love to see your take on her. She was my first tier 10 DD afterall.

[ArIskandir]

10 hours ago, RX160S_Byarlant_Custom said:

ultimately it is still a T6 DD and will probably be dunked on regardless when it comes down to a committed CV with hands. The TRB is too unique for me to give up as well,

I'm not argumenting the AA build is "better" than the torp build, you can have both! (not simultaneously, obviously).

The value of the AA build is you can have a very different play experience with just one ship purchase (3-in-1, that's the beauty of Monaghan). The AA build is different because it is a 100% support build, your gameplay should be focused on supporting your team mates by providing screening from the different dangers lurking the pixel seas. You "counter" enemy DDs by virtue of spotting them for your team mates, being "on-the-way" helps keeping your team mates out of harms way. You can "counter" planes obviously by providing an extra AA layer before planes get to their intended targets. You can "counter" Submarines by screening and extending the spotting range of your team (your DCs hit very hard, any Sub caught is almost certain to be sunk). 

With an AA build you need to play much closer to your team, but your support also allows your team to push more aggressively than they could do without you. Your influence is more on the "backstage" than being a protagonist of the play, you are an "enabler" not a "playmaker".

Cheers