Smaland worth it?

[Yedwy]

So a question for the guys having her - is she worth collecting before she goes away?

 

At the first I just said F* it what can you do when I heard she is going away BUT thing is - I did get some dragon flags from the crates so I might actually gather enough free xp for her until the deadline if I pull the brake on using the free xp for lines regrind, ofc that means less gift crates before the 9.12 end and some RP in waiting instead of in the bank, maybe even a bit less steel from the flakes but then again she is a strong competitive choice and in future prob will return only in the gambling crates...

 

So yay or nay?

[Ocsimano18]

I acquired her yesterday. Only had one battle in her. My first impression is that I don't feel buyers remorse.

More specifically, the guns are noticeably better than on Halland, and the AA is surprisingly good. To elaborate on the AA, I was used to the Marceau/Halland level AAs. I already found the AA on Marceau workable, and the AA on Smaland feels significantly more powerful. You don't have the OP-ness, of Halland's AA, but I was positively surprised.

[El2aZeR]

1 minute ago, Ocsimano18 said:

You don't have the OP-ness, of Halland's AA, but I was positively surprised.

 

Smaland AA = Halland AA. It is literally the same base values. You just don't have DFAA on the Smaland.

[asalonen]

If you like the idea of a smokeless DD, then I definitely would get it. 

 

It plays very different from Halland since the torps are so weak that only a gunboat build makes any sense. You can outgun any DD. With the radar you can also outspot any DD. With the very fast (+30 %) engine boost you can catch (almost) any DD. 

And then when you don't have any DD's to molest, then you can stay a bit further away and spam bigger targets. Take AFT.

 

But it's not easy, and personally I've struggled to deliver wins. But so many strong DD players swear by it that I won't disagree. For me it remains the ultimate tier 10 challenge.

[Ocsimano18]

1 minute ago, asalonen said:

With the very fast (+30 %) engine boost you can catch (almost) any DD. 

Also, the engine boost is of much shorter duration than on the Marceau, so it's basically for one engagement only.

[GarrusBrutus]

Its already a rare ship that was widely used in KOTS and pre-CV CBs, only getting more rare when its taken out of the "shop". Since it is unique, unlike Hayate, I am more than happy to spend this much resources on her.

Every top DD player says she is worth it.

Currently working towards the 2 mil fxp, but with the upcoming clanbrawls that shouldnt be a problem.

[asalonen]

1 minute ago, Ocsimano18 said:

Also, the engine boost is of much shorter duration than on the Marceau, so it's basically for one engagement only.

Yes, together with the radar and great gun DPM, it's a terrifying combo. It's what makes the Småland the ultimate DD oppressor. 

 

...and possibly even why it's going away. It's not like it's really that popular? Except maybe in competetive?

[Ocsimano18]

15 minutes ago, asalonen said:

Yes, together with the radar and great gun DPM, it's a terrifying combo. It's what makes the Småland the ultimate DD oppressor. 

 

...and possibly even why it's going away. It's not like it's really that popular? Except maybe in competetive?

She was one of (edited) the highest WR ship (I mean all ships, not just DDs) in last ranked, and I hear she was overperforming in CV-less clan battles. Also she was a primary target for bans during third party tournaments.

Ranked 18 stats, sometime in the middle of the season:

Warship	Type	Popularity	Win rate	Avg. damage
Kléber	Destroyer	0.6%	56.55%	56 272	Leaderboard
Ohio	Battleship	2.6%	56.47%	104 709	Leaderboard
Småland	Destroyer	1%	56.41%	50 598	Leaderboard
Daring	Destroyer	2.2%	56.01%	50 651	Leaderboard
Stalingrad	Cruiser	5.6%	55.56%	84 787	Leaderboard
Petropavlovsk	Cruiser	4.9%	55.36%	77 857	Leaderboard
Shikishima	Battleship	1.2%	55.24%	105 905	Leaderboard
Bourgogne	Battleship	2.5%	54.97%	114 006	Leaderboard
Manfred von Richthofen	Aircraft Carrier	1.6%	54.61%	101 470	Leaderboard

[Miscommunication_dept]

It’s a very nice ship. It’s radar allows you to surprise other destroyers as they sit in their smoke.

 

That said, 2 million freeXP is a huge chunk. I bought it when I had 4 million but wouldn’t have bought it with my last freeXP.

 

Good seeing you in battle the other day @Yedwy shame the rest of your team didn’t back you up!

[Kartoffelmos]

One of the main weakness of Halland when contesting caps is that once you spot the opposing DD, she can just smoke up when you start opening fire which might leave you spotted for the amusement of the enemy team.

 

Småland, with her aggressive speed boost and radar, does not have this problem. As such, if you like gunboating in your Halland (or other hybrid DDs when the opportunity presents itself), Småland is worth the purchase.

 

Whether she is worth losing steel/snowflakes/stockpiled free XP over is another matter entirely but considering that she is unlikely to be available for a significant amount of time, I would say yes. One caveat to this is that I have only played one game with her but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I don't really find the torpedo-focused playstyle of Halland to be that fun but that might be because she relies on team mates to help with enemy destroyers due to the aforementioned smoke issues.

 

Lastly, WG is removing the ship due to her performance so there is the possibility that she will get the Belfast/Kutuzov treatment. You need to keep this in mind as well.

[Verblonde]

42 minutes ago, GarrusBrutus said:

Every top DD player says she is worth it.

And this bottom DD player says she's worth it too!

 

[Captain_Newman]

In terms of AA, Smaland has slightly higher continuous damage values than Halland does (394 on Smaland, 375 on Halland) and flak damage values (1985 vs 1890 on Halland), so, in short, your AA is slightly stronger, but you don't get access to defAA consumable. In practical terms, both DD's can defend themselves about equally well in most situations. Guns are largely the same (identical shells) however, Smaland gets 1.7s base reload while Halland gets 2s flat. Halland has much greater torpedo power with 3km longer range and 2 more torps per salvo.

 

What really makes the Smaland stand out, however, is the presence of radar as well as the improved speed boost (+30% instead of 8% found on other DD's including Halland) which makes her suitable to hit and run attack tactics on enemy DD's. I like this speed boost so much I run the speed boost mod on it instead of the radar one to increase the duration. It can save you some health in the long run. If you need to kill the enemy DD so you can secure a cap, Smaland is better. If you need to punish an enemy push through a side as your flank is retreating, Halland will do better due to it being the better torpedo boat.

 

Overall, is she worth it? If you have the 2 mil fxp and you like DD duels, then the answer is unequivocally yes. If you struggle with DD's then maybe spend the fxp elsewhere, 2 million is a lot. That's my general answer to this question.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yedwy]

What kinda itches me is this - Black for instance has a clear unique* radar+smoke combo, although there is Chung that can carry radar she doesnt have smoke, here though we have YY that doesnt have smoke (if she carries radar) and Smaland that also doesnt have smoke, ok she is better gunboat then YY is and has heal BUT is she taht much better for 2 mil free xp is the real question...

 

*For a DD

[__Helmut_Kohl__]

1 hour ago, GarrusBrutus said:

Its already a rare ship that was widely used in KOTS and pre-CV CBs

 

I think it was introduced right before the first CV-CW season, together with Halland, wasn't it? 

[GarrusBrutus]

1 minute ago, __Helmut_Kohl__ said:

I think it was introduced right before the first CV-CW season, together with Halland, wasn't it? 

idk its been so long...

[Ocsimano18]

7 minutes ago, Yedwy said:

What kinda itches me is this - Black for instance has a clear unique* radar+smoke combo, although there is Chung that can carry radar she doesnt have smoke, here though we have YY that doesnt have smoke (if she carries radar) and Smaland that also doesnt have smoke, ok she is better gunboat then YY is and has heal BUT is she taht much better for 2 mil free xp is the real question...

 

*For a DD

My choice was either to spend the freeXP on RB points to get Siegfried, or to get Smaland.

I'd prefer to get Siegfried over Smaland, but I can get both, just have to grind some more freeXP.

I chose Smaland, because it has good stats and reputation, because I like the DD hunter play style, because I don't have a radar DD yet, because it still has better torps for non yolo situations than Marceau or Black. Also Smaland goes away, so it's now or never. It's an artificial pressure from WG, but it's there.

[Gloatover]

It's not worth for 2M free exp but if you have Agir and Alaska and you still have more than 4M free exp, sure you can try it.

[RepSrb]

2 hours ago, Yedwy said:

So a question for the guys having her - is she worth collecting before she goes away?

 

At the first I just said F* it what can you do when I heard she is going away BUT thing is - I did get some dragon flags from the crates so I might actually gather enough free xp for her until the deadline if I pull the brake on using the free xp for lines regrind, ofc that means less gift crates before the 9.12 end and some RP in waiting instead of in the bank, maybe even a bit less steel from the flakes but then again she is a strong competitive choice and in future prob will return only in the gambling crates...

 

So yay or nay?

be carefull with "great" captain skill rework aft and bft will be problematic, premiums will have problems ,and you may get bent over... it might be worth to hold of free xp for the next ship when it comes.

[Ocsimano18]

11 minutes ago, RepSrb said:

be carefull with great captain skill rework aft and bft will be problematic, premiums will have problems ,and you may get bent over...

BFT change will affect all DDs, and AFT is not a must. I don't have AFT even on Marceau and it works rather well. Smaland is more of a DD hunter/cap contester with moderate but usable torp power, than a HE farming ship.

[I_come_bearing_gifts]

Yes...enjoy

[RepSrb]

4 minutes ago, Ocsimano18 said:

BFT change will affect all DDs, and AFT is not a must. I don't have AFT even on Marceau and it works rather well. Smaland is more of a DD hunter/cap contester with moderate but usable torp power, than a HE farming ship.

no it wont , i dont have bft  on most of my dds , only few. but smalland will be affected , so it should be considered.

[Ocsimano18]

8 minutes ago, RepSrb said:

no it wont , i dont have bft  on most of my dds , only few. but smalland will be affected , so it should be considered.

It will affect all gunboat DDs equally, and gunboat DDs will still outgun non gunboat DDs. In general gunboat DDs will be slightly nerfed, but it's highly due as their WR is higher than that of the torp DDs.

[Miragetank90]

Yes.

 

That ship is amazing. 

[Miragetank90]

Yes.

 

That ship is amazing. 

[Hirohito]

I definitely don't have buyer's remorse for her and can see her strengths when played correctly.
Granted I still have some rather questionable stats in her myself, but to be fair I only ever grinded one DD line to TX (Daring), and was not used to the playstyle at all, leading to some early deaths as I had to unlearn past habits of DD play.
Started to get the hang for her after a while, and can only see it going uphill from here.
She can zone out DDs rather well with the threat of radar (not necessarily even having to use it, just the threat of you being nearby), she has the dpm to pick a fight and win it against most DDs, and the enhanced speed boost is awesome if you're good at juking (personally I'm still trying to learn that skill, but it certainly is noticeable).
12 km torps are at that good sweet spot where you can still use them against entrenched radar positions, unlike ships that are stuck with 10km options.
And for random battles, do you really need 15 km torps?
The 5x/3x launchers are kind of awkward at times and they do have 10 knots less speed than Halland (but are still 76/80 knots, so still very fast), but other than that I can't complain.

Would definitely get.