Albemarle - I need help with this PoS

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

I thought Surrey was bad and couldn't wait to get to T8 but... I cannot get a handle on this ship. On paper she seems everything I would want, but I SUCK no matter what I try. Medium range DD support, long range HE spam with spotter plane, island hugging, I just constantly get slapped, much worse than I ever did (or do) in Edinburgh, which is not exactly a tank itself. 

I also fail to do much dmg and even setting fires is underwhelming.

Anyone got any recommendations on playstyle for Albemarle?

[Yedwy]

5 minutes ago, PsychoClownfish said:

I thought Surrey was bad and couldn't wait to get to T8 but... I cannot get a handle on this ship. On paper she seems everything I would want, but I SUCK no matter what I try. Medium range DD support, long range HE spam with spotter plane, island hugging, I just constantly get slapped, much worse than I ever did (or do) in Edinburgh, which is not exactly a tank itself. 

I also fail to do much dmg and even setting fires is underwhelming.

Anyone got any recommendations on playstyle for Albemarle?

Find an island, stay BEHIND it, lob he...

 

Seriously bro, look at the armor in armor viewer and you will see the reason, Drake is what you want, only really good ship in that line...

[JoeSparkx]

Pretend you're in a T6 ship and act accordingly, its a terrible ship. It's the one ship that stalled my progress up the line. I cannot bear that ship.

[bobtherterrible]

I had great fun with this bote.

Stay at max range and keep either out of sight or changing direction and speed constantly. Don't make yourself the easiest target. The torps are surprisingly handy on occasions as the angles are great and the range not bad.

Don't be afraid to use the AP as it does work in the right circumstances

[invicta2012]

Make sure you take the Captain skill for another heal. You'll need it. 

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

1 hour ago, Yedwy said:

Find an island, stay BEHIND it, lob he...

 

Seriously bro, look at the armor in armor viewer and you will see the reason, Drake is what you want, only really good ship in that line...

Yeah, I'm tempted to FXP the remaining grind + upgrades...

[GulvkluderGuld]

Stay behind islands and lob HE.

If you are in the open, forget you have a rudder and a back turret. Bowtank slightly angled and use engine to forward/reverse worked much better for me since maneuverability is also terrible.

 

Albermarle is the only ship that makes the Admiral Hipper look overpowered.

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

1 hour ago, GulvkluderGuld said:

Stay behind islands and lob HE.

If you are in the open, forget you have a rudder and a back turret. Bowtank slightly angled and use engine to forward/reverse worked much better for me since maneuverability is also terrible.

 

Albermarle is the only ship that makes the Admiral Hipper look overpowered.

Are you kidding? I recently unlocked Hipper and she's awesome! I could defeat myself in Albermarle with Hipper with just the front guns! 😂

[MadBadDave]

You have my sincere condolences Albermarle is a complete turd,  Drake is better (more tanky), and Goliath by far the best bote in the tree,  it’s a mini conquerer, Btw I liked Surrey especially after they modelled it’s huge flat superstructure.  
 

Edinburgh is definitely the better T8 cruiser.  

[tocqueville8]

1) Do you run Incoming Fire Alert? It's kind of a must on these floating citadels...

 

2) Also, go for the flank early on: you don't want to be sniped by some clever BB that camps in the middle. Limit the overall arc the enemy team can shoot you from.

 

3) Finally, remember you can just charge all cruisers (partial exception for the Siegfried), and even several BBs: your bow is 25 mm, not 16 mm like the Minotaur line. That allows you to bounce the AP of up to 14'' guns, meaning several T6-7 BBs (Strasbourg, Lyon, Duke of York, California, etc.), as well as all cruisers and supercruisers (though those with improved angles, like Stalingrad and Des Moines, are still dangerous).

Additionally, your 27 mm upper belt bounces 15'' AP, meaning Richelieu, Queen Elizabeth, Alsace, Tirpitz, V.Veneto...

Of course, people can just switch to HE or SAP, but that won't citadel you through the nose, so you should have enough time to pull off a torpedo rush and trade ships. The superheal can cover a lot of that HE/SAP damage.

 

 

To be clear, I'm not advocating you just rush people first thing in the match: I'm just saying if you find yourself in that position it might be a better option than to turn away, getting chunked in the broadside, and trying to kite a healthy enemy, which takes forever.

[GulvkluderGuld]

1 hour ago, PsychoClownfish said:

Are you kidding? I recently unlocked Hipper and she's awesome! I could defeat myself in Albermarle with Hipper with just the front guns! 😂

Not kidding. Most players here consider Hipper an absolute turd. 

Personally it is my 3rd best tier 8 cruiser by winrate and 5th best by damage.

 

Going by personal experience, I should have said Amalfi, since it is the only ship I have with worse stats than Albermarle (Amalfi has twice the winrate with half the damage).

[KillStealBoss]

It has same citadel shape like Neptune, very similar to Neptune hull overall. The T9 will be better, especially when you get into T7 you can overmatch the T7 cruisers. The T8 I just free exp it.

[Tanaka_15]

15 hours ago, PsychoClownfish said:

I thought Surrey was bad and couldn't wait to get to T8 but... I cannot get a handle on this ship. On paper she seems everything I would want, but I SUCK no matter what I try. Medium range DD support, long range HE spam with spotter plane, island hugging, I just constantly get slapped, much worse than I ever did (or do) in Edinburgh, which is not exactly a tank itself. 

I also fail to do much dmg and even setting fires is underwhelming.

Anyone got any recommendations on playstyle for Albemarle?

Live this ship and entire line in port. It is just usless. 

[Yedwy]

46 minutes ago, Tanaka_15 said:

Live this ship and entire line in port. It is just usless. 

Drake is excellent, everything else is trash

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

9 hours ago, MacArthur92 said:

It has same citadel shape like Neptune, very similar to Neptune hull overall. The T9 will be better, especially when you get into T7 you can overmatch the T7 cruisers. The T8 I just free exp it.

But that's the thing, I breezed thru Neptune and could never figure out why people hated her. If her captain wasn't now piloting Mino, I'd still play Neptune. She was fun to me. Albemarle gives me ulcers! 😂😂

[Yedwy]

2 minutes ago, PsychoClownfish said:

But that's the thing, I breezed thru Neptune and could never figure out why people hated her. If her captain wasn't now piloting Mino, I'd still play Neptune. She was fun to me. Albemarle gives me ulcers! 😂😂

Neptune also has smoke

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

13 minutes ago, Yedwy said:

Neptune also has smoke

Yeah, just a way better ship.

[OldPappy]

I am still att Surrey and I find her surprisingly       ”competent” and quite ok. She shouldnt be with the slugghish handling, slow reload and short range. But you have to be on your toes 100% and it is fun. 
But to hear that Albemerle is worse?!!

I dont know if I am gonna be scared or feel challanged….🤔

[Yedwy]

39 minutes ago, OldPappy said:

I am still att Surrey and I find her surprisingly       ”competent” and quite ok. She shouldnt be with the slugghish handling, slow reload and short range. But you have to be on your toes 100% and it is fun. 
But to hear that Albemerle is worse?!!

I dont know if I am gonna be scared or feel challanged….🤔

Its not matter of worse but pointless really, Albermarle is only there as a step towards Drake and That’s all she is… Even Haarlem is better then her…

[KillStealBoss]

1 hour ago, PsychoClownfish said:

But that's the thing, I breezed thru Neptune and could never figure out why people hated her. If her captain wasn't now piloting Mino, I'd still play Neptune. She was fun to me. Albemarle gives me ulcers! 😂😂

Well cause Albemarle has no smoke mate. That's why. It can't take any shot, it explodes. 

[lafeel]

12 hours ago, MacArthur92 said:

It has same citadel shape like Neptune, very similar to Neptune hull overall. The T9 will be better, especially when you get into T7 you can overmatch the T7 cruisers. The T8 I just free exp it.

One important difference though, Albemarle has 50mm of much needed armor over those citadel bits, giving her a 152mm belt as compared with Neptune's 102mm.

[KillStealBoss]

24 minutes ago, lafeel said:

One important difference though, Albemarle has 50mm of much needed armor over those citadel bits, giving her a 152mm belt as compared with Neptune's 102mm.

It's not about the thickness itself - it's crappy even though it has more of it. The shape itself is the issue. Drake is way better in that matter. 

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

3 hours ago, OldPappy said:

I am still att Surrey and I find her surprisingly       ”competent” and quite ok. She shouldnt be with the slugghish handling, slow reload and short range. But you have to be on your toes 100% and it is fun. 
But to hear that Albemerle is worse?!!

I dont know if I am gonna be scared or feel challanged….🤔

Yes she is worse, mostly because Tier 8 ships have the worst matchmaking at the moment. Tier 7 is often a lot of fun, even in a sh1tshow like Surrey. Albemarle has trouble in her own tier, let alone against T9's and T10's. Surrey even has a heal at T7, which is very rare. 

[SolanumTuberosumRex]

1 hour ago, lafeel said:

One important difference though, Albemarle has 50mm of much needed armor over those citadel bits, giving her a 152mm belt as compared with Neptune's 102mm.

For angling it makes no difference, and for direct hits, I guess it doesn't either! 😄

[Yedwy]

That shell catcher step in the citadel is what does the entire line in, BB overmatches the nose and slam, incidentally only one that doesnt have it is Drake...