Scharnhorst all the way for me, by far the most enjoyable ship I play and a great credit earner, I probably play it far too aggressively but that just adds to the fun.
Pros:
- Hard to citadel, having the unique German 'Turtleback' armour scheme it is relatively safe from being citadelled by all but the biggest guns, however she takes a lot of full penetration damage.
- Easy to angle, due to having good belt armour and 6 guns in the two forward facing turrets.
- Superb reload time and Turret Traverse, 20 and 25 seconds respectfully, this allows you to quick switch to multiple targets, in a division you can easily hold a flank up and pump out the damage.
- Torpedo's, need I say more? Still a pleasant surprise for BB's that get too close for comfort.
- Speed, being able to achieve 30 knots and a 11.6s Rudder Shift Time after equipment, play her like a Battle cruiser and get into an effective gun range to tackle DD's, CL's & distracted BB's who offer a broadside.
- Excellent secondary battery, with a full skill set and flags you can push the secondaries to 7.6km and it is always worth taking the manual fire control for - 60% dispersion...the damage just racks up.
- Good health pool, plenty of HP to sustain you through many a battles with the repair party, when using equipment she makes a great tank for the team but sacrifices the Rudder Shift bonus.
- Support the cruisers to boost your AA and you will still kill a surprising amount of aircraft after taking the necessary skills.
Cons:
- Some tit of a Captain playing her badly.
