St Louis needs to go

[Aldramelech]

It's range is the big Achilles heal, just stay at 11K and pound on the little sucker, no problem.

[YukiEiriKun]

When St.Louis is spotted, just ask your team to focus on her first. (or plz no because I still have her...)

And use AP. I use a lot of AP in tier 3 nowdays. Those tasty, tasty citadels.

[Darod_Khaan]

The St. Louis is a powerhouse for sure, but it´s far from unbeatable. At tier 3 it can be outrun by pretty much anything and it´s an easy target for just about anything. Sure, US DD´s need´s to be played really well to deal with her, but that´s kinda the point: Cruisers are the har counter to DD´s. Simple as that.

I think the largest reason that the St. Louis seems OP´d is the pure shite that is T3 battleships. (Especially the IJN BB.)

That said, if a St. Louis strays within effective range of a BB it dies. It´s too sluggish to dodge, and it´s a big target that is easy to hit. Citadell it a couple of times with AP and it´s a gonner. Is it an easy ship to deal with for an inexperienced (typical T3) player? No. But with some experience it´s not that difficult to handle. Just pray on it´s weaknesses (it´s lack of speed and manoeuvrability) and you got it covered. Racing in to point blank range to torpedo it without using cover is suicide. But then again, thats as intended. Cruisers are, after all, supposed to be DD-slayers.

Personally I like playing the St. Louis, however I do enjoy the Tenryu even more! Sure, it got nowhere near the St. Louis firepower, but it´s 50%! faster and got some decent torps as well! A combo that has helped me send more than one St. Louis to the bottom in the past few weeks.

TLDR: No, I don´t think it´s OP. However, you need to be careful when attacking her, and rushing her with a US DD is about as suicidal as it gets. But then again, cruisers ARE the hard counter to DD´s, so that should surprise absolutely no one.

[donaldEpott]

You think the St Louis is bad you should see what I can do with an Omaha against other cruisers. I found AP works quite well against them and own them in battle. Funny everyone else is still stuck on killing BBs with HE while I trash other cruisers with AP.  Funny thing is I even traded the two guns for the extra AA.

[YukiEiriKun]

You think the St Louis is bad you should see what I can do with an Omaha against other cruisers. I found AP works quite well against them and own them in battle. Funny everyone else is still stuck on killing BBs with HE while I trash other cruisers with AP.  Funny thing is I even traded the two guns for the extra AA.

 

Yeah.. Even the stock Omaha is a beast.

[Darod_Khaan]

Another thing to keep in mind is that with the tier 3 cruisers we get the first two ships that are not balanced after the "similar, but different" principle. (The Chester and Chikuma are so similar in performance that they are almost interchangeable). The St. Louis and the Tenryu are a polar opposite example to the Chester and Chikuma. They both have their strengths and weaknesses, but they are in radically different areas. St. Louis is slow and sluggish, but quite tough and with immense firepower. The Tenryu is fast, relatively stealthy, has good torpedoes and are quite agile. However it is relatively fragile and has mediocre firepower. In my experience the St. Louis´advantages are easier to exploit, with the Tenryu requiring more skill and practice. However, the lack of speed in the St. Louis means that you cannot disengage if you get in trouble, and sometimes you´ll spend the entire battle trying to get into firing range without ever quite succeeding. Two problems you´ll never have in the Tenryu.

[Eviscerador]

The St. Louis is the best tier 3 battleship in the game. Nothing is wrong with it, he is slow and can't turn. Just don't get into a straight shoot-out with him. Instead wait till another st louis or a BB get into a shoot-out with it and then aid with your own guns and torpedoes.

 

Also, with the Tenryu you can just outrange and out manouver it.

 

 

[donaldEpott]

Lol at the Tier 3 Battleship.

[Darod_Khaan]

Easiest way to kill it is just to take out your Wakatake and lolpedo it to death from beyond spotting range! 

 

[Pete_SB]

Wait till the St Louis meets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouth-class_cruiser which is an Armoured Cruiser rather than a mere Protected Cruiser.

[Historynerd]

Wait till the St Louis meets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouth-class_cruiser which is an Armoured Cruiser rather than a mere Protected Cruiser.

 

Although classified as a protected cruiser, the St. Louis blurred the lines between a protected and an armoured one, as it did possess a partial armoured belt (of the same thickness of the one fitted on the Monmouth.

 

I'd say that the St. Louis and the Monmouth were more or less equivalent, with the Monmouth being marginally faster.

 

And although in the game it might be a different thing (because I'm not sure that, apart from a few exceptions, we'll see armoured cruiser in game), IRL the Monmouth performed very badly, with many of its gun too low to be effectively used in anything but optimal conditions.

[Pete_SB]

 

 IRL the Monmouth performed very badly, with many of its gun too low to be effectively used in anything but optimal conditions.

 

Since when has IRL performance bothered wargaming (IS3)

[Historynerd]

 

Since when has IRL performance bothered wargaming (IS3)

 

I know.

[ezS4vage_]

yeah its OP

[cuddlesRO]

ahh... St.Louis.

 

The prenerfed MarderII of World of Warships  

 

 

I think the main issue with it : ROF. Too high. Combined with HE shells It can easily keep BB's on fire. It  just plays with same tier destroyers and cruisers. Mobility is not really an issue.

[boomboom517]

nothing wrong at the right place

[piritskenyer]

You think the St Louis is bad you should see what I can do with an Omaha against other cruisers. I found AP works quite well against them and own them in battle. Funny everyone else is still stuck on killing BBs with HE while I trash other cruisers with AP.  Funny thing is I even traded the two guns for the extra AA.

 

You. I like you. 

Cheers from the Omaha fan club.

[Zenith]

 

If played right, the St.Louis can also roll in Tier IV fights... But it CAN be killed quite easily by several other ships... if the players know what they are doing - which probably is the main reason for the St.Louis' success...

 

It can be killed easily... if Rngeezus hears your prayers. Seriously, that thing has a pretty dodgy citadel. 

[Darod_Khaan]

 

It can be killed easily... if Rngeezus hears your prayers. Seriously, that thing has a pretty dodgy citadel. 

 

Come to think of it, I´ve never really tried to gun her to death with the Tenryu. (Killed a couple with the Kawachi, but thats just dumt luck. Killing anything in a Kawachi is mostly due to dumb luck...). Luie vs Luie is pretty much whoever shoot better wins (with HE) or first to citadell (with AP). Mostly, I´ve sent them to the bottom with torps. Slow as hell and not very agile means she´s hungry for ém torp! 

[ROT127_Gabi]

If you get to shoot first, and shoot in sequence not a full broadside, and if you mange to keep a good situational awareness, then indeed the Louie is a machine gun. avg. 5 seconds between last gun to fire and the new series starting. 

 

And Loui vs Loui is all about aiming skill and the first well placed shot in her FW gun batteries. Then is like plucking geese! 

[Yxkraft]

i just cannot wait when this guy meets a Cleveland or an Atlanta!

this is going to be epic!

 

That would be a true "your tears are delicious" moment.  IIRC the Atlanta broadside is 10 or 12 (?) fast firing 127 mm guns, if he can hit you you will burn continously.

[_Saracen_]

Maybe I just had some bad RNG but there in my last game with an Arkansas I put two full salvo's of AP into a St.Louis and he just shrugged it off. Was quite frustrating, I heard the ricochet noise but he was only at a very very slight angle. Battleship guns with AP really shouldn't ricochet that easily against a cruiser hull broadside like that. 

[kerbe]

I had strenght to read maybe 1/3 of posts this far, when one quite obvious thing dawned to me:

Topic starter (and other who think St Louis is OP) try to engage it 1vs1, and often on ships that ain't ment to take them out.

Don't go 1vs1 battle against St Louis if you don't have armor and HP for it. There are other ships on enemy side. I don't recall seeing any match where one side has St Louis and other doesn't have any. Team up with them. Work with Tenryu, let it make first torpedo salvo and use that time St Louis has to dodge in your advance and get close. St Louis is strong only when it can play with his strenghts, so don't give that opportunity to them.

 

All that said, I have loved playing St Louis, and it is definitely first keeper in my port. But never I have felt that they are too tough to face on other side, unless I've played foolishly. Then I deserve to die.

[FluffyRedFox]

Strange...In my Tenryu I usually kill one or two of the things...Then again they usually try and broadside me so torpedo'ing it is quite easy 'cause its big and slow.

[Eruantien_Aduialdraug]

Also, the amount of fires it creates is ridiculous. Since each hit is x% chance then ship like St Louis is basically flamethrower by the amount of cannons it has.

 

Well, assuming the St Louis fires a full broadside and hits with every shell, we're looking at a 56% chance of causing a fire (statistically), the Tenryu sits at 48%. But the Tenryu is faster, more maneuverable, a smaller target, and has torpedoes (which can cause flooding). The 152 mm guns on the St Louis have a 7% chance of fire to the Tenryu's 140 mm's 12%. The 152 mm guns on the Chikuma have a 15% chance to cause a fire (full broadside hit at 120%!),