Steel ships. Which?

[LiveWire___]

So, after lots of slogging, I have quite a lot of steel.

 

Enough to start thinking about which ship to spend it on.

 

Thing is, I don't want to blow my beans on something I might regret, then spend the next few millennia building up the grits again.

 

I quite like the look of Shikishima. Not to mention the big gunz going boom boom boom. It's a noize thing.

 

Bourgogne looks attractive, but I already have Alsace, and find her boring as all get out. 

 

Austin looks like a far more expensive and less attractive Atlanta. Honestly, I've been more aroused seeing my grandad getting out of the bath.

 

There's no way I'd buy a CV. I've done enough bad stuff in my life without annoying Old Hob any more.

 

Which just leaves a few others.

 

Any recommendations?

[tocqueville8]

Just now, LiveWire___ said:

I quite like the look of Shikishima. Not to mention the big gunz going boom boom boom. It's a noize thing.

Let me just say that I think she performed a lot better with Dead Eye. You could blap BBs for 12k apiece in your opening salvoes, making them turn away and eventually winning the flank.

 

Now...she's alright, but she often feels like a T10 Gneisenau. She's still one of the most accurate ships in the game, but the low barrel count can be frustrating, especially at T10 ranges.

 

The secondaries are of little to no value in most T10 matches, unfortunately. Plus you definitely don't need them when you're the king of overmatch. The AA is good, though, for what it's worth.

 

Bourgogne is quite a bit better than the Alsace: better reload (obviously), accuracy, speed boost, and the secondaries pen stuff without the need to take IFHE.

 

The Plymouth does bring a lot of utility, as she can both farm from smoke and hunt DDs with radar (and sometimes both things at the same time). She's less aggressive than the Mino: worse AA, much worse turret angles, fewer torps. She also has a lower citalel, though, so she's less likely to be wiped out in one salvo.

She's basically slower, more deliberate than the Mino: you need time to angle and rotate your turrets properly, but the slower rate of fire allows you aim better and look around between salvoes, while it's easy to get tunnel-visioned in the Minotaur.

Imagine a T10 Fiji that can radar DDs as soon as she's spotted.

 

Austin has a nice 32 mm belt that in theory allows her to rush most BBs and torp them up close, if you know what you're doing. 

 

Personally, I went for Shiki first, then Plymouth. My next is going to be the Austin, probably, though the Bourgogne remains an option.

 

But since you seem to be a BB main, I'd recommend you get the Bourgogne: she's got great firepower and mobility, which is all you need for a pleasant experience. Sure, she's fragile, but you're supposed to play her like a very large cruiser, not a brawler, so that's alright.

I don't have her myself, but they're often hard to deal with when on the enemy team, and it can't always be because of the player. The JB is one of my favorite ships in the game, but since she's been withdrawn, I'd say the Bourg is the next best thing.

 

Cheers 

[GulvkluderGuld]

Of all the steel ships i bought, there is only one i play regularly: Stalingrad.

 

Dont have Shikishima, but I do have Musashi and Yamato with high school camo - and never play them due to boring static playtyle.

My favorite BB is Jean Bart. I'd take it over Bourgogne with the horribly inaccurate guns (Alsace is obviously even worse and shouldn't be compared to a ship with MBRB. Completely different animals).

Austin: not much carry potential playing solo, but it definitely brings our that kitakaze/Flint/atlanta feeling. Needs a spotter.

FDR: boring and annoying to play as F due to munitions taking 100 years to drop compared to other CVs. Soviet CVs are going to be way better from playing against the ones in test.

Somers: An inferior Benham. Also not available any longer.

Dont have Ragnar/Druid (whichever is for steel) or the tier 10 edinbourg with smoke/radar although I do have the steel to buy one of them. From what i read Ragnar is probably worth aquiring.

Might've missed some.

 

[LiveWire___]

29 minutes ago, GulvkluderGuld said:

Might've missed some.

How about Plymouth?

[totally_potato]

56 minutes ago, LiveWire___ said:

So, after lots of slogging, I have quite a lot of steel.

 

Enough to start thinking about which ship to spend it on.

 

Thing is, I don't want to blow my beans on something I might regret, then spend the next few millennia building up the grits again.

 

I quite like the look of Shikishima. Not to mention the big gunz going boom boom boom. It's a noize thing.

 

Bourgogne looks attractive, but I already have Alsace, and find her boring as all get out. 

 

Austin looks like a far more expensive and less attractive Atlanta. Honestly, I've been more aroused seeing my grandad getting out of the bath.

 

There's no way I'd buy a CV. I've done enough bad stuff in my life without annoying Old Hob any more.

 

Which just leaves a few others.

 

Any recommendations?

Imma put the same words that I said for a similar thread

 

We have Plymouth, Austin, Stalingrad, Bourgogne, Shikishima, FDR and Ragnar

 

Plymouth is a high alpha, High utility ship. She has 16 guns, and they throw out a lot of crap, and 7.5 sec reload for 16 guns is pretty good.

She has very good utility. She lacks HE tho. She also have some belt armor to bounce even Bb shells. She is basically an Edinburgh on steroids.

Key to play this ship is in a support role for the team. She has good conceal and even torps for good measure. Very good ship and I don't get the she the hate she got

 

Austin is a unique American CL with insane burst dmg potential. She has HE and SAP. So she can dmg a lot of ships. She has one set of Fletcher torps per side. Unlike other cruisers, let alone Ultra CLs, she has 32mm plating. So she effectively counters 18 inch guns with angling. Only 18.1 inch guns and higher counter that and well, you don't have many of those, do you? She has fair AA defenses. She is one of the only American high tier cruisers without having radar, the other being Anchorage. In turn however she gets a RB. A very good RB that is. 75% cut from reload, and unlimited charges. This ship is pretty much nothing without that RB. She is quick and stealthy too. But its all about the burst she can apply. She is amazing with the team, as you can ambush the enemy so well. I high risk, high reward ship as one would say.

 

Stalingrad is a soviet super cruiser. She has good armor and HP, amazing guns, and good utility, at the cost of maneuverability and conceal. She can tank dmg fairly easily when angled, and deal dmg very well. She has the best cruiser AP in the game, with the best sigma at 2.65. She isn't as OP as it once was, but she is quite nasty to face. HE is kinda meh tbh, but you still blap DDs pretty hard. Her guns have a long reload for a cruiser tho. She is pretty much a BB at this point. She turns like a high speed train tho (which she is coz she is also has a good base speed) and the rudder shift is pretty meh. Her detection is pretty meh. This tells you that you have to play this ship mid to long range, as you don't have torps, you have a high freeboard, and weak broadside. You have Radar, to help your team with DDs. Overall a good ship.

 

Bourgogne is a unique BB. She is fast, fairly well concealed, and is kinda meh in armor. She has the lowest HP pool for a BB at T10, and has 32mm all around, which makes her an HE favourite for German DDs, IFHE Japanese DDs and CLs, all CAs, and BBs, and also overmatchable at all angles from Yamato and other 18.1 inch gun and higher caliber gun armed Bbs. What she does have tho, is insane speed, twelve 15 inch guns with good HE and AP, good reload and sigma, and she also gets the reload booster. She is another flanker like the main line French, but does it better coz the reload is good, speed is amazing, it has RB, and she has good detection. She can easily rush down a lone ship and kill it. She is quite fun while being competitive at the same time. Also good AA.

 

Shikishima is a Yamato with bigger and better guns at the cost of AP pen and number of guns, better secs, better AA, and better Rudder. She was quite fun to meme around with a sec build before the rework. Now she is just a Yamato with different guns. Performance wise, both are very similar, so its better not spend steel on Shiki, unless you want that gun sound so bad

 

FDR is a good CV. She has a lot of planes with stupidly high HP pools. In compensation, he planes are very slow, and they take a while to restore. She throws out a lot of bombs/torpedoes/rockets per attack flight. She is extremely hard to deal with in a CA, and impossible to deal with in a BB. DDs are sorta fine becoz of the rocket rework.

 

Ragnar is an oversized Smaland. She is one of the few non-German DDs to get Light cruiser artillery. Four 152mm guns with a very good firing rate, and amazing accuracy (German new DD line dispersion) and with the same HE as typically found on CLs and HSF Harekaze II AP pen on AP. She gets no torps tho which makes her an ez DD to push, as she has no stopping or area denial tools. She has pretty good AA but no DFAA to boost it. She carries a reduced number of charges of an otherwise pretty good consumable set, similar to smaland. She has emergency engine power (basically a speed boost that gives a ton of speed increase compared to normal and French speed boosts, but lasts for a short time, so its a speed burst than a long running bonus), Swedish repair party, and european 7.5km radar which lasts much longer than normal european radar. She also has a ton of HP, close to Elbing, along with Elbing like armor plating of 25mm at the sides and deck. So that combined with heal and powerful AA make her very hard to kill. She has Russian DD like concealment and bad maneuverability tho. She is quite an efficient cap defender, amazing gunboat, and decent damage power, but you have no area denial tool or stopping power, or any big alpha strike potential vs large targets, and DDs do have some tools to counter you such as efficient AP usage, rushing you down with torps, etc. Its not as broken as Smaland, but its a strong gunboat mini-cruiser

 

There is no best here, it depends on what your playstyle is, or what preference you have. If you want an all round good cruiser, Plymouth, if you want a high burst damage ship there is Austin and Bourgogne, if you want a good supercruiser, there is Stalingrad, if you like CVs, there is FDR, and if you like gunboat DDs then Ragnar exists. There are some unique playstyles in this list. So get what you like. 

 

Hopefully this helps you

[tocqueville8]

 

Just now, LiveWire___ said:

How about Plymouth?

I expanded my answer a bit, see above.

[doerhoff_damian]

The Shikishima Review No One Asked For | World of Warship - YouTube

The Bourgogne Review No One Asked For | World of Warships - YouTube

The Stalingrad Review No One Asked For | Denarmo - YouTube

[LiveWire___]

some excellent answers here.

 

Most of the steel ships seem to smell a bit like arse.

 

Only Stalingrad, Plymouth and Ragnar seem to stand out for me....

[doerhoff_damian]

Bourgogne is an Alsace with the old pre-nerf Sigma (more accurate), the Secondaries of the Republique and a Reload Booster 

 

Shikishima is a Yamato with 6 510mm Guns (Same Guns as you have on the Satsuma) instead of 9 460mm Guns.

The Guns have the same Accuracy as a Yamato with Legendary Modul but they Reload faster and do more Damage. The Downside is the low Number of Guns.

You have 10 100mm Secondary Guns (a Harugumo) per Side instead of the 12 127mm Secondary Guns per Side on the Yamato. The Result are better Secondaries and better AA

 

Stalingrad is basicly a Kronstadt but with far better Penetration and Pen Angles

[LiveWire___]

15 minutes ago, LiveWire___ said:

Only Stalingrad, Plymouth and Ragnar seem to stand out for me....

And now shikishima....

[WalkingDutchman]

There's only 1 ship I got for steel that I still love to play and that's Bourgogne. I'd advise against getting the Stalingrad. It used to be great but now it's not doing anything a petro can't do. Can't comment on Ragnar but I love my Smaland so I'm guessing the Ragnar is more or less the same. I've always found the Plymouth and Shikishima really underwhelming when I had them against me

.

[Spartan_Renegade]

I still got a lot way to go to get my first steel ship but I've got my eye on

Shiki - since I own Musushi and Yammy, those big guns that go boom is really appealing to me

Bourgogne - Im a bit skeptical about this one but heard only good things about it, looks like this ship does better when its always on the move

Stalin - With Slava available, I don't see the point in getting this

FDR - It's deadly even in the hands of a potato cv player. 

 

[totally_potato]

6 hours ago, LiveWire___ said:

Only Stalingrad, Plymouth and Ragnar seem to stand out for me....

Stalingrad has been kind of powercrept but yes. Its a good ship

Plymouth is also a powerful multitasker

Ragnar is also good

 

Bourgogne is also good tho, but its a difficult ship so its alright to not like it

The thing is all of them are fun, not just the things that seem to stand out

Austin is quite fun and quite rewarding to play too.

[tsounts]

I have Plymouth, Austin, Bourgogne.  

I think Bourgogne is a very solid choice, probably my most played steel ship.

Plymouth is quite good but for some reason I don't play her often.

 

Austin depends on her gimmick of reload booster, once that goes on cooldown you're back to 7.5 secs reload and very floaty shells (just like atlanta on the latter).

I won't bother with Ragnar since I already own a Smaland which has torpedoes as a plus.

 

 

[albin322]

8 hours ago, LiveWire___ said:

some excellent answers here.

 

Most of the steel ships seem to smell a bit like arse.

 

Only Stalingrad, Plymouth and Ragnar seem to stand out for me....

haha forgot bourg ? 

Bourgogne France 573 553 55.97 % 1.06 110 948 2 129 3.71

2.11

 

higest winrate, higaste average dmg, higest avreage frags, higest pr  (not my stats its the stats of the ship)

[Miscommunication_dept]

Bourgogne is extremely strong and fun. It’s reload booster makes it so dangerous.

 

Stalingrad has magic guns but probably the most vulnerable citadel in the game and a 1.1km turning circle. It has a very stationary play style and is one of the most vulnerable ships to fire spam and CVs.

Stalingrad is still good but it can sometimes feel like a chore to play.

 

Bourgogne can play as a cruiser but has genuine battleship AP to destroy any broadside that is shown. Bourgogne is always fun.

[_HomTanks_]

5 hours ago, Spartan_Renegade said:

I still got a lot way to go to get my first steel ship but I've got my eye on

Shiki - since I own Musushi and Yammy, those big guns that go boom is really appealing to me

Bourgogne - Im a bit skeptical about this one but heard only good things about it, looks like this ship does better when its always on the move

Stalin - With Slava available, I don't see the point in getting this

FDR - It's deadly even in the hands of a potato cv player. 

 

I'm only missing FDR, but that's on purpose. The same reason I'm not getting M.Immelman as CV play style is not my thing. They are boring to play for me.

But i have rest of the steel ships, and can tell you it really really depends on personal taste. You like the play style of DDs more than Cruisers and BBs or you like Cruisers more than DDs and BBs or more BBs than DDs and cruiser? Which one is more fun to play for you?

 

After you determine the class, it's easier to dive into the specific ship styles. For instance, I think all the steel ships have unique parameters and can be enjoyable and Bourgogne to me is still the most fun ship to play. Then again, to another player Shikishima may be more appealing. Cruiser slot has also options to choose from Stalingrad, Austin, Plymouth, etc. All have different play styles and all can be very effective when they are played up to their strength. It just comes down to personal preferences and likes.

[Gvozdika]

Obvious pick is Stalingrad - simply due to the guns. There is no target you cannot hurt and quite frankly it doesn't matter how far they are away thanks to questionable WG physics making them effectively railguns. All of this on a tanky hull. With radar. Taking up a cruiser slot. I struggle to think of another T10 cruiser that comes anywhere near as dangerous at such long ranges on a team roster - Petro maybe but not much else. 

 

Shikishima is a ship you buy for the giggles. Yes, a legendary mod Yamato is probably the better bet. No, the big 20 inch guns don't actually give you any additional power in terms of overmatch, etc. It is still fun to lob great big whacking shells at people and filling the map with the sound of thunder. If you strike the right target and get a citadel - expect comical damage numbers. Even 'just' AP pens take big chunks out of HP pools rather nicely - you are a threat that cannot be ignored, even if halfway across the map. Updated secondary batteries make for a bonus. 

 

Those are the the two steel ships I own. The others I can't really offer much insight into other than as opponents. The Bourgogne requires people to be on the ball in terms of position, managing range and choice of ammo - otherwise they die quickly and explosively. Same is true with Austin. The time from 'oh crap I misplayed' to blowing up is measurable in seconds. 

[_Lupastro_]

10 ore fa, LiveWire___ ha scritto:

There's no way I'd buy a CV. I've done enough bad stuff in my life without annoying Old Hob any more.

+1 Karma my friend...

[Redcap375]

11 hours ago, LiveWire___ said:

Zip

 

I think first and foremost should be the Balancegrad, as it's something completely different.  It's a BB in a cruiser hull. 

 

Its the most accurate, hardest hitting cruiser in the game with the armour and size to turn it into a mini Battleship.

 

It's the "sniper" class of the WOWS, but unlike the no armour sniper of many games, this has tones of it.  You can easily get cits from it's huge range (which can be increased and you will still easy get hits).  The amount of Heavy BB shells you ping off it's bow is funny. Your flat arcs makes hitting DD's at 20 km easy.

 

There are games in which I have only survived BECAUSE I was in a Balancegrad, another tier 10 cruiser and I would have been toast.  And then people say "it's got a weak broadside", well you tell me ship that would come of better than a Grad would in the same situation?  A Des? Henri? All would suffer and worse because the Grad has tones of HP to help it survive.

 

Its got heal, radar which you can extent with skills and such and Defensive AA with a respectable DPM.  Wont stop planes of course, but when grouped with another it cause problems.

 

And it's a Mino, smol, Austin killler with one savlo enough to outright kill it.  It full cits BBs from good range and makes short work of anything broadside.  It's HE is great for the calibre of guns, it's got such a high fire chance and due to the HE pen, it's full cits a lot of tier 10 DDs.  I have Detonated more DD's with HE from the grad than another ship.  

 

Only thing nerfed during the last 3 years was shorten radar (which you can increase anyway) and it doesn't have Fire protection anymore so it can burn if left unchecked (due to it's size).   However, your never in a position to be constantly on fire due to the playstyle of the ship where covering one side of the ship and dominating the other side from islands is classic.

 

It's not a flowly cruiser like a Henri, Zao or anything like that but if you have good shooting skills and can aim then this ship will serve you well.

 

However, If you suck moose balls at aiming in the first place, then you will find the 17.5 second reload too much (can bring that down with skills).

 

So are you a good marksman? If so you will love it, the shells go when you want them too.  If you cant hit a barn door anyway, stay away from it and pick a spammer kinda ship.  If you know how to angle it's the tankest cruiser in the game. 

 

Why do you think it's still TOP after all these years? And i remember all those people in this forum who said the stats would drop and it wasn't "OP", lol, fools. 

 

Stalingrad U.S.S.R. 1 539 623 55.30 % 0.88 86 554 1 962 4.24 1.54 Plymouth U.K. 50 716 53.03 % 0.82 63 308 1 836 2.62 1.54 Austin U.S.A. 56 658 53.01 % 0.93 68 048 1 903 5.44 1.74 Petropavlovsk U.S.S.R. 1 201 861 52.58 % 0.76 71 300 1 845 4.77 1.34

 

And the Pretopavlovsk is just as good too.

 

Plymouth and Austin in the "right" hands can be devastating. In the wrong hands garbage.

 

Second pick would be the Bourg, but you need to know what your doing in it and the knowledge. But when you do it's a fantastic ship, still leads the charts.

 

Bourgogne France 573 553 55.97 % 1.06 110 948 2 129 3.71 2.11 Ohio U.S.A. 660 876 54.48 % 0.93 95 331 1 976 4.18 1.66 Shikishima Japan 341 324 54.46 % 0.91 106 604 1 992 3.46 1.77

 

 

[Mad_Dog_Dante]

12 hours ago, LiveWire___ said:

How about Plymouth?

Just before I uninstalled the game, I had been looking for a steel ship. I thought about it for 2-3 weeks and talked to different people about the options. Granted, choosing a right ship for you is very dependent on your personal playstyle and preference.

 

I picked the Plymouth. I'll list my thoughts so you can reflect to see if it is relevant for you.

 

A couple of reasons the Plymouth is cool: it's a rare sight, not a lot of enemies know what tools it has which is quite funny catching enemies in the 50 sec radar/smoke/hydro combo. Sailed up towards a smoked up Venetia and right out murdered it while it was a siitting duck in my radar. Killed the 2 shima's next to it too lol. Murdered T10 DD's that saw a british cruiser in smoke and tried to sneak up on me. Hilarious. Smoke, radar and hydro, 16 guns, what a feast! It's a swiss knife kind of ship. I only played a few battles before I removed the game from my HD, but every match was fun because of it's versitality. It's a 1 man army type of ship.

 

I didn't pick the Austin, even though it was my first choice initially because it can be brutal and the hype train is real on that thing. Issue for me with it is the occasional reloadbooster all it's got going for it mostly. It's much more dependent on the team and much more situational. Probably loads of fun, but on occasion. And I hate SAP. Don't know why but I suck at SAP.

 

Stalingrad meh. I don't like that type of play. Strong, but boring.

 

I'm not a battleship player much, but Bourgogne sounds like a fun BB I could enjoy, much like the Georgia which I loved to play.

 

FDR. Pf. Carriers are boring AF.

 

My 2 cts. Enjoy picking your favorite!

[totally_potato]

2 hours ago, Gvozdika said:

There is no target you cannot hurt

Insert random CV and submarine 

[LiveWire___]

3 hours ago, albin322 said:

haha forgot bourg ? 

Bourgogne France 573 553 55.97 % 1.06 110 948 2 129 3.71

2.11

 

higest winrate, higaste average dmg, higest avreage frags, higest pr  (not my stats its the stats of the ship)

Is that not because she's Commanded by Cpt Ahab though? Aka Mr Whale?

[LiveWire___]

2 hours ago, _Lupastro_ said:

+1 Karma my friend...

 

Well, you've all given me a lot to think about.

 

I have historically played BBs a LOT, but I am in the process of gravitating towards Cruisers now, so....hmm

[Spartan_Renegade]

3 hours ago, WgPlsNerfColorado said:

I'm only missing FDR, but that's on purpose. The same reason I'm not getting M.Immelman as CV play style is not my thing. They are boring to play for me.

But i have rest of the steel ships, and can tell you it really really depends on personal taste. You like the play style of DDs more than Cruisers and BBs or you like Cruisers more than DDs and BBs or more BBs than DDs and cruiser? Which one is more fun to play for you?

 

After you determine the class, it's easier to dive into the specific ship styles. For instance, I think all the steel ships have unique parameters and can be enjoyable and Bourgogne to me is still the most fun ship to play. Then again, to another player Shikishima may be more appealing. Cruiser slot has also options to choose from Stalingrad, Austin, Plymouth, etc. All have different play styles and all can be very effective when they are played up to their strength. It just comes down to personal preferences and likes.

 

 

I detest cruisers of all types, the only cruiser I own that I don't regret getting are Siegfried and Wooster but the latter has been powercrept as of late. 

DDs I enjoy but every DD of mine is build for torps so there's no good torp boat available for steel rn. 

As a BB main my choices are Bourgogne or Shiki...unless another ship comes along?