How on earth do I Baltimore?!?

[Kejoz]

1 hour ago, ForlornSailor said:

 

His and your Buffalo stats disagree with you. heavily.

Yes yes i know, "shut up noob, how dare you have your own opinion". Nice!

 

1 hour ago, 159Hunter said:

My salem has range, my DM has reload.

Both still remain island huggers. No way in hell am I using those as open water gunboats. They aren't made for it.

Hence your argument is mute.

Well you have to unhug the island from time to time to support other ships. If someone wants to lob slow shells at stationary ships from afar, he can get the range mod, i want to have fun and i prefer more flexible build. 

[159Hunter]

10 minutes ago, Kejoz said:

Well you have to unhug the island from time to time to support other ships. If someone wants to lob slow shells at stationary ships from afar, he can get the range mod, i want to have fun and i prefer more flexible build. 

The more flexible build is the one with range mod. The current meta involves a lot of max range camping and the range mod allowsyou to hit those targets as well. The reload mod struggles on some maps to get decent damage because of the camping.

[ForlornSailor]

1 minute ago, Kejoz said:

Yes yes i know, "shut up noob, how dare you have your own opinion". Nice!

 

Your opinion is noted. However this is a topic, where someone is asking how to be as effective as possible in the Baltimore. And its obvious, the build DFens is suggesting, is working much better then what you suggest to play. So im afraid to tell you, you dont have many arguments left?

 

3 minutes ago, Kejoz said:

If someone wants to lob slow shells at stationary ships from afar, he can get the range mod, i want to have fun and i prefer more flexible build.  

 

Implying, that dealing double the damage and having more match influence in less fun? how? And if you think, that f.e. DFens is hugging an island at 18 km spamming HE with his Baltimore, then I can tell you first hand: you couldnt be more wrong. And the decision between range and reload module doent impact the flexibility. If anything - its round the other way. Range mod gives you the flexibility to be long range, when you need to be. Its especially viable when you actually need to kite with your high tier US cruiser. Then you want to be as far away from the BBs as possible while still beeing able to shoot.

[Kejoz]

12 minutes ago, ForlornSailor said:

 

Your opinion is noted. However this is a topic, where someone is asking how to be as effective as possible in the Baltimore. And its obvious, the build DFens is suggesting, is working much better then what you suggest to play. So im afraid to tell you, you dont have many arguments left?

Baltimore can't get the range mod. Before you stats shame, try and read the post you are quoting, and try to be less patronizing. Patronizing tone is kind of a bummer in human interactions.

 

16 minutes ago, 159Hunter said:

The more flexible build is the one with range mod. The current meta involves a lot of max range camping and the range mod allowsyou to hit those targets as well. The reload mod struggles on some maps to get decent damage because of the camping.

This i can understand, if someone is a performance player, he can try to farm tons of damage at stationary battleships. Maybe my aim is jinxed but hitting fast moving and actively maneuvering ships in american CA's is kind of a challenge therefore better RoF  gives more flexibility. This is my opinion, i prefer RoF over range on every single ship in game.

 

[Hades_warrior]

17 hours ago, Smolensk_ReportBlacklist said:

You buy doubllons and skip it.

Why waste doubloons? You can skip just by free EXP without converting.

Thats how I'll get Worchester.

[Butterdoll]

19 hours ago, Matt_FSR said:

So I've recently upgraded from the New Orleans to the Baltimore.... and boy, am I regretting the purchase!      I just....  can't do ANYTHING with this ship.  

 

I know in theory I'm supposed to use the super heavy improved pen angle AP to wreck cruisers, but... as if any cruiser is stupid enough to show broadside within my pitiful range, and those that do eat a full salvo of 16" AP from a BB and die long before I get to farm them.... 

 

As for opportune battering DD's like New Orleans could....  yeah, just no.   I'm lucky to get 1-2 shells out of 9 to connect, and then, yay....  900dmg.   From a 203mm HE shell.   Every single time.    Then the DD invariably runs away, and im left with no targets in range, and ending up with damage totals around 15-20k.   So far, I hate this ship.

 

What am I doing wrong?   Am i supposed to literally sit behind/beside an island all match and wait for opportunities to come to me?     

 

Anyone give me any tips for the current meta with Balti, because I would like to get to the Des Memes one day, but I can't face grinding through this hateful ship at the moment!      Cheers

Wait..what?

 

Oh man, i have Baltimore and what an awesome ship, it's a much better Hipper, it's what Hipper wanted to be. I already unlocked Buffalo and i'm still playing Baltimore

 

I'm no one to give you advices but if you say you are shooting with 9 guns... well, you are doing things very different from me i rarely use the rear turret.

I don't run radar only hydro and AA, i try to support my dds , (dds are afraid of your 10 km radar, they are afraid if you pop your radar they will be focused by your team).

I stay bow in many times, ready to go to cover if needed it , don't tank nothing with guns bigger than 380 mm.

All you have is guns and good guns, invest on them. invest on your AA.

 

 

[ForlornSailor]

1 hour ago, Kejoz said:

Baltimore can't get the range mod. Before you stats shame, try and read the post you are quoting, and try to be less patronizing. Patronizing tone is kind of a bummer in human interactions. 

 

Nice try. The Discussion you guys had was about the Buffalo tho. I however reminded you, that the topic is about Baltimore. So before you critizise someone, you might want to stick to facts not try to twitst peoples words in their mouth to look smart. Because guess what: most people are quite intelligent and look through it. And then you are left left standing like this.

[DFens_666]

58 minutes ago, Kejoz said:

This i can understand, if someone is a performance player, he can try to farm tons of damage at stationary battleships. Maybe my aim is jinxed but hitting fast moving and actively maneuvering ships in american CA's is kind of a challenge therefore better RoF  gives more flexibility. This is my opinion, i prefer RoF over range on every single ship in game.

 

I used AP very much in Balti/Buffalo. But in certain situations, the additional range is a must have. Usually i always play reload, and Buffalo is one of the few i play with range.

Usually how my Buffalo games look like in terms of HE/AP distribution. Unless those certain situations or maps. Like Tears of the desert, you are forced more into HE spamming.

[Kejoz]

12 minutes ago, DFens_666 said:

Usually i always play reload, and Buffalo is one of the few i play with range.

 

And i can understand that, i might even give range a try one day but after Seattle i am heavily biased against range mod for american cruisers.

 

25 minutes ago, ForlornSailor said:

 

Nice try. The Discussion you guys had was about the Buffalo tho. I however reminded you, that the topic is about Baltimore.

Nope, OP stated that Buffalo seems better then Baltimore. I would like to point out that you are the one going off topic and personal for no reason. This is my last response to you, not going to spam forum with posts unrelated to discussion topic.

[Butterdoll]

12 hours ago, Bindolaf_Werebane said:

I know and I don't enjoy it, but I refuse to play (or to spend credits on) this middle finger WG showed us at tier 9. I have time, I can wait a year for the Des Moines - if I still play WoWs. But I am not going to "grind" a ship I hate. Five minutes (with loading time) three times a week? Sure, can give it that.

If you hate Baltimore you already hate DM, they have similar game styles. Same tools

 

Don't do it that way.

 

1 - the way you are doing it you are wasting so many xp , you could do it faster if you tried harder and managed to translate that in real progress 

You probably are doing between 0 and 800 xp or so,  instead , you could do it in the 1000 to 2000 bracket.

 

2- You play Baltimore like you said , then you will probably play Buffalo like you said you played Baltimore, then what? Play DM in other way? How? If you spent the last tiers going naked towards your doom, you will find extremely difficult to do anything else than that.

 

3- you will not enjoy the ships playing that way, there isn't one ship capable of sustain that. You have to play to the strengths of said ship.

 

 

 

Tell me, can you tank a DM with a Baltimore?

 

and can you tank a DM with a DM?

 

Tell me a ship that you liked.

 

I'm here for 3 years now, just a few months ago, I've reached  my first t10.

But i remember battles, exciting moments and so on.

I see two outcomes for you.

 

1- you grind yourself out, get tired of the game without ever reaching your goal

 

2 - you reach DM and be very disappointed and frustrated

 

In both scenarios you never enjoy the game, the ships or anything else 

 

 

 

 

[DFens_666]

7 minutes ago, Butterdoll said:

then you will probably play Buffalo like you said you played Baltimore,

 

Thats probably the issue why many fail with Buffalo. You can get decent results with Balti playing a DM style using frontguns only. But with Buffalo, you have to use all your guns. Otherwise, you will lack firepower compared to other T9 Cruisers.

[Butterdoll]

11 hours ago, DFens_666 said:

Buffalo is awesome.

It's what i'm afraid of.

 

Where I'm standing it seems to me another Shchors/chapayev  (the first it's awesome, the latest it's meh at best)

a go to ship / a ship that i'll never play again.

DM could be the next Shchors but the 12 sec reload makes it only ok.

Now, Budyonny's big brother guns are awesome.

In t6 you have a light and faint hint of what's to come

 

 

 

 

[Butterdoll]

13 minutes ago, DFens_666 said:

 

Thats probably the issue why many fail with Buffalo. You can get decent results with Balti playing a DM style using frontguns only. But with Buffalo, you have to use all your guns. Otherwise, you will lack firepower compared to other T9 Cruisers.

Troubling news.

Of my go to ships only 3 weren't "acquired taste"

- Kuma

- Budyonny

- Baltimore

 

And since Cleveland was t6 i didn't had another reliable US cruiser.

[DFens_666]

20 minutes ago, Butterdoll said:

It's what i'm afraid of.

 

Where I'm standing it seems to me another Shchors/chapayev  (the first it's awesome, the latest it's meh at best)

a go to ship / a ship that i'll never play again.

DM could be the next Shchors but the 12 sec reload makes it only ok.

Now, Budyonny's big brother guns are awesome.

In t6 you have a light and faint hint of what's to come

 

If you find a way to make use of all guns, its not far off from a DM.

5,5 sec reload with 6 guns vs 12 sec reload with 12 guns.

So you shoot less often, but with a heavier hitting  broadside.

 

 

Exhibit A. Thats a oneshot on another Buffalo. DM actually cant do it. He can do it in 2 salvos ofc.

 

edit:

btw if someone says thats reload mod buffalo:

Yes, my first games i played reloadmod, but it didnt work out everytime so i swapped soon after.

 

[jss78]

Baltimore introduces you to the archetypal USN radar CA. Use stealth and radar, ignore all range buffs, go all in on reload. Approach from smart angles and put the AP to good use.

 

Buffalo is the one I've found the real struggle to play (fortunately did the grind to Des Moines back when Baltimore sat at T9). IMO that one's best to play with spotter and range upgrades -- essentially as a really sh*tty Azuma or something like that.

[TruePhoenix]

17 hours ago, Bindolaf_Werebane said:

Oh man, you're in for a surprise. The Baltimore is just fine. After it comes the Buffalo. You get less speed, worse reload, more sluggishness, worse concealment... and 15.6 km range. At tier IX.

 

My current strategy of grinding the Buffalo is play it once a day, totally naked and pretty much yolo. That takes away 5 minutes of my time and nets me 500 to 2000 xp. I figure in 6-8 months I'll have the Des Moines. Works for me. 

 But...but...muh Buffalo! Its my favourite USN Cruiser, even more than the DM. Buffalo play is not easy to play:

 

"Spoon boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth.

 

Neo: What truth?

 

Spoon boy: There is no spoon

 

Do not radar the first cap you reach in the first 2 minutes of the game - that will bring damage and death (Spoon). Rather wait, hold back, ignore the cries of "noob" and be ready to kite, angle and manoeuvre as you rain down death and destruction (There is no spoon). 

 

Radar is for hunting, not alerting BB's 20k away to a DD in cap A.......

[Perekotypole]

dunno how it works, but usually I focus on chasing DDs around entire game, in Balti and in Buffalo. Works pretty well for me, wirate 60% in both ships, way above my average. At start move to the cap but don't shoot unless it's juicy cruiser broadside or DD. If spotted,  press radar, 9.9km concealment on Baltimore is amazing. Then hug island and shoot only front guns. Usually your presence alone is enough to scare DDs away from cap. If enemy DDs abandon cap and move to another one, I follow them. It's safe to island hop in Balti, cause if something can spot you, you can radar it and scare away or kill it. Just don't chase targets in open water, gonna get you killed instead. Don't try to duel HE cruisers with HE, any HE spammer gonna outdamage you. Shoot them if you can hit citadel, go dark when they angle. For me it's usually two salvos on target and I stop shooting, unless target is low HP. Baltimore is ambush predator. So, priority targets are DDs, and broadside cruisers. Only then battleships, Baltimore doesn't have range nor is it good firestarter.

 

Buffalo has worse concealment, but HE salvo damage is bonkers, 10k if you catch DD broadside. I rush caps and try to ambush DDs, it may get me smacked as well, but trading 15k own HP for 10k DD HP is good trade, he'll be crippled for rest of the match. Same as with Baltimore, you wanna try to have as much impact in one or two salvos as possible and go dark. Basically if you start shooting, you already should be ducking into cover. For example enemy DD or Mino smokes on cap, get out from behind island so you can shoot, start reversing, press radar and open fire. Two salvos and you are already back behind island. Two salvos from Buffalo is plenty to ruin day for DD, and it's usually not enough time for enemy team to do lots of damage to you in 10-13 seconds that you are exposed.

[Butterdoll]

1 hour ago, DFens_666 said:

 

If you find a way to make use of all guns, its not far off from a DM.

5,5 sec reload with 6 guns vs 12 sec reload with 12 guns.

So you shoot less often, but with a heavier hitting  broadside.

 

 

Exhibit A. Thats a oneshot on another Buffalo. DM actually cant do it. He can do it in 2 salvos ofc.

 

edit:

btw if someone says thats reload mod buffalo:

Yes, my first games i played reloadmod, but it didnt work out everytime so i swapped soon after.

 

That's about the same DPM... I don't know.

 

Sluggish

[Bindolaf_Werebane]

5 hours ago, Perekotypole said:

dunno how it works, but usually I focus on chasing DDs around entire game, in Balti and in Buffalo. Works pretty well for me, wirate 60% in both ships, way above my average. At start move to the cap but don't shoot unless it's juicy cruiser broadside or DD. If spotted,  press radar, 9.9km concealment on Baltimore is amazing. Then hug island and shoot only front guns. Usually your presence alone is enough to scare DDs away from cap. If enemy DDs abandon cap and move to another one, I follow them. It's safe to island hop in Balti, cause if something can spot you, you can radar it and scare away or kill it. Just don't chase targets in open water, gonna get you killed instead. Don't try to duel HE cruisers with HE, any HE spammer gonna outdamage you. Shoot them if you can hit citadel, go dark when they angle. For me it's usually two salvos on target and I stop shooting, unless target is low HP. Baltimore is ambush predator. So, priority targets are DDs, and broadside cruisers. Only then battleships, Baltimore doesn't have range nor is it good firestarter.

 

Buffalo has worse concealment, but HE salvo damage is bonkers, 10k if you catch DD broadside. I rush caps and try to ambush DDs, it may get me smacked as well, but trading 15k own HP for 10k DD HP is good trade, he'll be crippled for rest of the match. Same as with Baltimore, you wanna try to have as much impact in one or two salvos as possible and go dark. Basically if you start shooting, you already should be ducking into cover. For example enemy DD or Mino smokes on cap, get out from behind island so you can shoot, start reversing, press radar and open fire. Two salvos and you are already back behind island. Two salvos from Buffalo is plenty to ruin day for DD, and it's usually not enough time for enemy team to do lots of damage to you in 10-13 seconds that you are exposed.

Two salvos in the Buffalo fire control center:

 

- Fire!

 

*BOOM*

 

*Everyone gets up, stretches. Jonesy lights a cigarette. Peters announces he has "a big one coming" and has to hit the toilet. Hard.*

 

*Time passes. Peters is back, bragging about the abomination he created. Lopez is about to finish her book.*

 

- Fire!

 

- Almost done reloading, sir.

 

Jonesy giggles at the Chief. Things are chillaxed here, man!

[Bindolaf_Werebane]

7 hours ago, Butterdoll said:

If you hate Baltimore you already hate DM, they have similar game styles. Same tools

 

Don't do it that way.

 

1 - the way you are doing it you are wasting so many xp , you could do it faster if you tried harder and managed to translate that in real progress 

You probably are doing between 0 and 800 xp or so,  instead , you could do it in the 1000 to 2000 bracket.

 

2- You play Baltimore like you said , then you will probably play Buffalo like you said you played Baltimore, then what? Play DM in other way? How? If you spent the last tiers going naked towards your doom, you will find extremely difficult to do anything else than that.

 

3- you will not enjoy the ships playing that way, there isn't one ship capable of sustain that. You have to play to the strengths of said ship.

 

 

 

Tell me, can you tank a DM with a Baltimore?

 

and can you tank a DM with a DM?

 

Tell me a ship that you liked.

 

I'm here for 3 years now, just a few months ago, I've reached  my first t10.

But i remember battles, exciting moments and so on.

I see two outcomes for you.

 

1- you grind yourself out, get tired of the game without ever reaching your goal

 

2 - you reach DM and be very disappointed and frustrated

 

In both scenarios you never enjoy the game, the ships or anything else 

 

 

 

 

You read the thread quickly and missed some things - not faulting you.

 

I was talking about the Buffalo, not the Baltimore. Baltimore suffered from tier 8 matchmaking sometimes, but I found it ok.

 

Playing the Buffalo as I do, I get about 500-800 xp for a loss and 1.5 to 2k for a win. 5 minutes. I'm just fine with that.

 

No, I will not play DM this way. I have actually not played any other ship this way. Usually, I just stop the line. The Hipper, for example, I found a bunch of unfun mediocrity. Stopped playing the line. But the Buffalo is a direct @#&$ you to the players, as far as I'm concerned. So, I'm behaving accordingly.

 

Ships I liked? Quite a few.

 

Battleships: Fuso, Lyon, North Carolina, Iowa, Montana, Izumo, Yamato.

 

Cruisers: Furutaka, all the French ones except the Algerie, the new Yorck, Trento, Omaha, Pensacola, loved the Helena.

 

Destroyers: my least favorite class, but Öland, Kagero, Farragut, fun ships.

 

CVs are pretty ok, can be fun.

[ColonelPete]

18 hours ago, Bindolaf_Werebane said:

These things are reasonable and I practise them generally. Not on this "f$_& you, dear WG customer" ship, though. Nope. I am not going to spend one credit on her, not one flag, not one camo. Certainly no free xp. I don't care if I never get the Des Moines. But the Buffalo will not get any love from me. My WR in her is probably 10% and I'd love it if I could finish the "grind" with less. This ship - and the WG policy of foisting lemons on us, so that we spend resources - can go to hell. It won't cost me anything. I will play other ships that I actually enjoy and spend no more than 15 minutes a week on this pos. I am sorry, but that's how it is.

She performs similar to other silver cruisers. And that is with guys like you messing up her stats...

[_Teob_]

@Matt_FSR I will echo some of the other answers here and say that it's very much a matter of positioning. In time you learn which islands you can shoot over and how you can catch DDs and broadsiding cruisers. USN Heavy cruisers really are one of the best lines overall in the game. Not OP but strong across the board.

One thing I would suggest is using a site like wows-numbers and checking the stats of anyone who hands out advice to you or rather just the ones whose opinions you're thinking of emulating.

Look, everyone can and should have an opinion but it can cost you actual money to respec so just make sure that anyone telling you what to do, actually backs up their claims with performance. Also if you find your threads asking for advice are getting derailed but random arguments, just PM people who have replied with solid advice in your thread.

 

On a separate note, I am moving this thread to the cruiser section.

 

good luck!

[Oppressor_]

On 6/4/2020 at 7:11 AM, Bindolaf_Werebane said:

My current strategy of grinding the Buffalo is play it once a day, totally naked and pretty much yolo. That takes away 5 minutes of my time and nets me 500 to 2000 xp. I figure in 6-8 months I'll have the Des Moines. Works for me. 

 

I am usually chat banned exactly because of potatoes like you.

[Bindolaf_Werebane]

1 hour ago, Exorite said:

 

I am usually chat banned exactly because of potatoes like you.

That's just icing on top for me.

[Bindolaf_Werebane]

5 hours ago, ColonelPete said:

She performs similar to other silver cruisers. And that is with guys like you messing up her stats...

I will assume good faith - I always do. 

 

Would you agree to modify your statement to, "she performs similar to other silver cruisers, when fully upgraded and with a relatively high-point captain"?

 

That is my experience, at least. At tier IX having a total lemon, that will perform adequately only when I spend a bunch of free xp and credits on her and not before, is - to me - unacceptable. An affront even. 

 

Now, I understand why. And I can live with some worse ships at tier IX. I realize that "stock" ships can be iffy. To me, though, the Buffalo goes above and beyond. As stock it has no redeeming qualities, none. 

 

Hence my assertion. Nope, not one cent, not one point of free xp, not one flag, not one camouflage will be expended.