Premium Saipan

[Ragweek]

Well watching flamu video just enforces my opinion to not buy it. I was hyped for it, but the nerf from 3 to 2 torp groups simply ruined it. Like i said before, its not even cutting the attack power by 33% (insane nerf level anyay), but about 50%, when you count the inevitable loses. 

 

They said "it was too good with 3 torp groups", and i said i could eventually believe it, but in fact i doubt it. The 8 DB AS setup is also silly. It means you have 0 chance of actually putting things on fire. Make it 2x4 DB and maybe it would be worth it. 

This ship desperately needs a buff. Only positive thing i got from this video - the CV itself is even smaller and harder to hit as a result then expected.

 

I totally agree but what makes me laugh is there still brain dead BB capatins still crying " OMG its still way too OP"" team battles and ranked are going to be ruined" WTF get a grip, this is a steaming pile of!!!!!!  I was really looking forward to it as well till the nerf.

[Trigger_Happy_Dad]

[SR_FRIOL]

I was goin to buy her. But now with the 2.2.0 I don't think so. Maybe if they added a TP of 3 planes it would be more easy to buy it but with the current mod you can't snipe CV's while the others can.

[Ragweek]

Just wait for the Russian premium paper cv. It's going to have 4 units of tb's!

[Trigger_Happy_Dad]

 Please keep in mind that this article is a preview of an upcoming release. 

All of the statistics here reflect the ship as it was presented during the testing period and are subject to change.

 

A special thanks to Wargaming (specifically NikoPower) for allowing me to play-test this vessel. 

 

The following is aimed at new(ish) players looking to find a little more information about various ships from events, for premium currency or for real-world cash.  The goal is to allow players to make an educated decision before parting with their time and money and to find premium vessels that suit their chosen style of play, whether that is competitive, cooperative, or simply for fun.  The idea here is to elabourate on information not commonly available through reading statistics and provide some (heavily) biased anecdotal evidence to encourage or dissuade you from making your purchase.  The usual disclaimers apply:  everyone knows the Matchmaker clearly loves me because I spend money so that's why I occasionally get really good games, not because I have any particular skills of note.

 

Other articles in this series:

• Available Ships: Atlanta, Atago, Aurora, Ishizuchi, Murmansk
• Pre Order Ships:  Sims, Yubari, Gremyashchy
• Limited Release Ships: Tirpitz, Fujin, Campbeltown, Warspite,  Imperator Nikolai I, Mikhail Kutuzov, Blyskawica, Anshan,Lo Yang, Saipan
• Gift & Reward Ships:  Albany, Arkansas, Iwaki,Tachibana, Kamikaze, Diana, Emden, Marblehead
• Arpeggio of Blue Steel Ships:  Kongo, Myoko
• Condensed Reading:  Mouse's Quick Summary of Premium Ships

 

Without further ado:

---

The United States Navy Light Aircraft Carrier

USS Saipan

 

Quick Summary:  Equipped with tier 9 aircraft but with only 2/3s the capacity of other Tier 7 CVs.  Squadron sizes are odd, with tiny fighter and torpedo attack formations yet an enormous dive bomber squadron.

Cost:  Undisclosed as of yet.  Scheduled to go on sale April 12th, 2016.

 

PROs

• Comes with two load-out options, 3-0-1 and 2-2-0; the only USN CV with the option for two torpedo squadrons.
• Tier 9 Aircraft with high top speed (178 knots / 155 knots)
• SKYRAIDERS!  Also Corsairs.  But AMG, SKYRAIDERS!
• Massive dive bomber squadron of 8 planes and armed with 1000lb bombs
• Fast rearm on fighter (20s) and torpedo plane (22s)
• Good AA DPS.

CONs

• Small hangar capacity of 48 aircraft.
• Painfully long rearm time for dive bombers (59s)
• Small fighter & torpedo squadrons.
• Fighters bleed ammo very quickly.
• Air Superiority load out is very poorly optimized.
• No secondaries at all -- completely defenseless at close range against surface ships.
• AA Armament is short-ranged (2.0km to 3.5km) and limited to personal defense.

 

The long awaited USS Saipan, the first premium Aircraft Carrier in World of Warships.

 

Our resident grumpy cat, Lert will be joining me to provide his insights on the Saipan.  This will be a first for these Premium Ship Reviews, but not our first collaborative effort.   Hopefully this will provide a different perspective and a bit more information for those looking for a well rounded opinion in regards to this vessel.  Like with our Dmitri Donskoi Preview, Lert will have his own boxes (in italics) where he provides commentary on the individual characteristics of the ship before offering his conclusions and verdict.

 

The Saipan is a pretty important premium vessel for World of Warships.  She's not only a badly needed USN Premium but she's also the first carrier premium in the game.  This fills me with a little trepidation -- Wargaming is unlikely to want to overhaul the mechanics surrounding a premium vessel so seeing the Saipan being released tells me that we're not likely to see significant changes to the mechanics of carriers in the future.  Tweaks?  Sure, but not an overhaul.  I fear there may be a glut of tier 7 Carriers in the queue very soon and some wait times to get a match as a result.

 

Primary Armament

The Saipan comes with two different plane load outs, each with four air groups.  The default is an air superiority set up, with three fighter squadrons and a single dive bomber squadron which, on paper, is the more "interesting" of the two setups.  You'll note that I didn't say "better".   When the squadrons themselves are more closely examined, things turn a bit ugly.   The second setup is two fighters and two torpedo bomber squadrons in a Strike package.

 

The Saipan is able to carry a total of 48 planes -- only two-thirds of the capacity of the other tier 7 CVs.  So make your planes count.  If you don't, you're going to be swarmed.  The real gimmick of this carrier is playing this uphill battle of air superiority with your high performance planes.

 

The Lert Box

 

LittleWhiteMouse has once again graciously allowed me some space in her review for me to add my own thoughts.

 

I will start by saying that I am not a CV player, I have neither Ranger nor Hiryu unlocked for comparison, and what I am writing will be both subjective and from the viewpoint of a self-professed CV noob. That said, Saipan is a very interesting ship, a ship of extremes, with strong positives, but each of them coming with an equally strong 'but'.

 

Saipan comes with two mixed loadouts, a 2/2/0 and a 3/0/1. These planes are tier 9 on a tier 7 carrier, and with the mirror CV matchmaking WoWS has, this means you'll be pitching tier 9 planes vs tier 7 ones. To balance this out Saipan's squadrons are very small with only three planes each, with one exception. I'm going to discuss each of these loadouts and list some pros and cons, before giving my overall opinion.

 

Fighters

The Saipan's fighters are the tier 9 (yes, really),  the beautiful F4U-4 Corsair.  This is the same upgraded aircraft you unlock with research on the Essex-class carrier.  Being higher tier, with initially higher characteristics makes them benefit more from Captain Skills and modules than contemporary aircraft which boost by a multiplier rather than a flat value. At 178 knots and 70dps per plane, they're individually faster and harder hitting than any same-tier aircraft you may face.  The catch is you only get three of them per squadron.  These tiny fighter groups are the bane of enemy attack craft waves, but they don't lord over air superiority when dog fighting enemy fighters.

 

The single biggest issue with her fighters is their lack of endurance.  They are good for approximately a single intercept before needing to seriously consider returning to the carrier to rearm. This lack of ammunition can make them vulnerable when not managed correctly and coupled with the small squadron size, enemy planes won't melt quite as quickly as you might hope. When engaging enemy fighters, you can find your Corsairs running out of ammunition before the fight's over.  It's imperative to make good use of the strafe feature strategically can help thin numbers, particularly when you use your fighter's superior speed to get a positional advantage on enemy attack waves.

 

The one good thing about her small squadron size is that the fighters rearm very quickly -- a mere 20s for a stock squadron. This allows you to get them back up into the fight, keeping your carrier's deck very busy with a constant flow of traffic.  Depending on which load out you take, the Saipan will carry between 19 and 24 fighters (ironically, the air superiority load out carries less).

 

The F4U-4 Corsairs from the Saipan ambush a squadron of Hellcats from a Ranger with a strafing run, shooting down two of their number on the initial pass.  Air superiority against USN Carriers will always be hard fought with your planes horribly outnumbered in the air but also in reserves.  You must keep a close eye on your ammunition before engaging enemy aircraft, or you can find your Corsairs out of ammo and sitting ducks for reprisals.

 

Bombers

Alright, now things get interesting.

 

The default squadron load out on the Saipan gives you a single Dive Bomber squadron ... with eight tier 9 aircraft.  Yes, eight of 'em.  Yes, tier 9.  She uses the Douglas AD2 Skyraider, an aircraft not seen on any of the other US Carriers.  As a big fan of the Skyraider, I fangirled all over this.

 

What this means in practical terms is that you have eight aircraft, each armed with a 1000lb bomb that strikes with 10,800 alpha damage.  Destroyers beware.  It's very easy to get multiple hits with such a high volume of bombs dropping everywhere, and the manual bomb aiming reticule is tiny..  Even against armoured warships like Battleships, her bombs can yield strikes in excess of 10,000 damage and several fires under multiple hits.  This can potentially one-shot a destroyer if you can perform a good drop.  The catch is that 'if'.  The flip side to this the RNG nature of bomb drop dispersion, which can cause even a well aimed drop to splash wide and inflict zero damage. The large squadron size gives them a pretty good defensive DPS.  Their defensive fire is able to swat single float plane fighters almost immediately when they latch on and maul any fighter squadron dumb enough to engage them normally instead of strafing.

 

The drawback for such a massive squadron is an enormous rearming cycle of 59s.  This makes those occasional single-hit-only drops especially painful, putting a massive drain on your damage totals for a game which are already going to be on the light side without a significant strike package.  With only a single squadron, this puts a real hurt on the Saipan's ability to dish out any form of punishment when taking the air superiority load-out.  This makes the lack of her secondary batteries even more of a weakness as when pressed, she cannot rely on her bombers to see off approaching threats.

 

Be aggressive with these dive bombers -- the Saipan will stock 29 of them so you can afford to lose more than a few.  You're racing against the clock to get enough damage done with these.

 

Upgraded to a squadron of nine, these Skyraiders maneuver to prepare a manual drop on this IJN Fuso-class Battleship.  Their strike would land four direct hits, starting two fires and inflicting over 12,000 damage in a single attack run.  As impressive as this may look, the Air Superiority build of the Saipan is grossly inferior to the Strike build.  The same amount of damage could easily be done with a torpedo hit or two.  The torpedo squadrons rearm faster and you get two of them which allows you to capitalize on flooding mechanics if they blow their Damage Control Party too early.

 

Torpedo Bombers

The Tier 9 Skyraider returns in the form of the Saipan's torpedo planes.   Like the fighters, these come in very small squadrons -- a mere 3 planes each.  The advantage to this is that it allows you to cycle them very quickly, with a stock reload rate of 22s.  Keep close to the fight and you can send out an endless parade of torpedo bombers against targets, whittling them down.  Given the small size of the air group, they don't put out a lot of defensive DPS so even float plane fighters can be an issue. 

 

With such a small squadron, you really are at the mercies of AA DPS when you're lining up for your attack runs.  At tier 9 with a high survival chance, often you can run the gauntlet against same or lower tiered ships without much issue.  However, when you face higher tiered Battleships like the North Carolina or Iowa, or when you stray within the AA range of a dedicated Anti-Aircraft escort, your entire squad will disappear in the blink of an eye.  Use your high top speed to outrun as much as you can and minimize your time in the AA umbrellas.

 

But for all of these drawbacks, these small attack squadrons are brutally effective.  Their reload cycle is nothing.  By staying close to the fight, you can swarm over and over again onto the same target and just brutalize them.  Isolated Battleships are just so much meat on the table, permanently afflicted beneath a flooding state as your bombers reapply their damage over time effect with each subsequent run.

 

The torpedo tracks from the Skyraiders are quite spread out though they are on a converging path.  Getting two hits is pretty easy, but you have to time things just right, or give a long run time, to hit with all three.  I lost one Skyraider to this Ranger on my initial attack run.  These torpedoes from the second squadron also landed two hits and the resulting flooding sank the enemy CV.  He was quite annoyed with me.

 

Strike Load Out 2-2-0

The strike load out is much more balanced than the default setup, with two squadrons of three fighters (which you can upgrade to 4 planes) and two squadrons of three torpedo planes.  Maybe balanced is the wrong word.  The Saipan's strike load-out is incredibly effective, being the only USN CV with two squadrons of torpedo bombers.  With an even mix of 24 fighters and 24 torpedo planes on board, this allows you to put out the hurt on the enemy team without sacrificing air cover, in theory giving you the best of both worlds (or alternatively, making the Air Superiority build useless by comparison).  The fast recovery time of both squadron types and high speed of your aircraft means you can keep delivering attacks in rapid (for a CV) succession.  It's a real joy to be able to cause flooding and hold off attacking with the second wave -- the threat of their attack run giving free damage while they hold off on activating their Damage Control Party.

 

The catch is, of course, that this load out can be overwhelmed by a 2-2-2 loaded Hiryu unless you can win the air superiority contest with their fighters.  Marshaling your Corsairs correctly can see you win out on attrition.  But you have to make good use of strafing runs and try and go for a 2:1 kill advantage with your Corsairs.  Your team is going to hurt badly in the meantime as your fighters are likely to have their hands full just fending off A6M5s and then scurrying back to reload and rearm.  There's also the very real danger of getting your CV sniped out from under you, so take care and make use of any escorts that offer up their services.  Against the Ranger, you have to be weary of his Hellcat formations, particularly if they're upgraded to 6 planes.  You just won't have the ammunition to best them in a straight up dogfight.

 

The best success I enjoyed with this load out involved keeping close to the fight once I gained an advantage in fighter superiority, accelerating the return & rearm cycle of my torpedo bombers.  And while dangerous, this increases the Saipan's potential DPM enormously when there are slow, fat targets near at hand to harass with your bomber stream. 

 

The Lert Box

 

Two fighter squadrons of three plane and two torpedo bomber squadrons of three planes. The fighter squadrons are nice and fast, but two squadrons at three planes each is just too small to really try for air superiority. They are not as survivable as you would think and run out of ammunition very fast, especially when doing strafing runs. With only three planes to a squadron, strafing runs are also not guaranteed to wipe out enemy squadrons, oftentimes leaving one of two airplanes alive. The AS skill adds one fighter to each squadron making them more survivable and actually allowing you to engage Hiryu fighter squadrons on fairly even ground, but Ranger fighter squadrons will just eat Saipan fighters alive. These fighter squadrons are best used as disruption rather than for actual air superiority. Use their speed to kite enemy fighter squadrons over friendly AA, or disrupt strike packages by engaging them before they drop to make them less accurate.

 

The two torpedo bombers are the meat of this load out though. Relatively fast, they can even be used to kite enemy fighter squadrons over friendly AA, and they've been known to kill a fighter or two on their own when engaged. The automatic drop usually guarantees about two torpedo hits on inattentive battleships and the manual drop has a beautifully converging torpedo pattern, making them very powerful in the hands of skilled players. Being relatively high tier planes and thus torpedoes they anecdotally also seem to cause a few more floods than Ranger or Hiryu plane launched torpedoes do. The turn-around time is very nice as well, being very quick to land, service and launch. However, there are only two squadrons severely limiting strike potential, and even a perfectly executed torpedo strike will not wipe a same-tiered battleship, leaving it to recover and repair.

 

Fighter Load Out 3-0-1

The fighter load out is a lot of fun, but it's also rather weak.  Boasting three squadrons of three fighters (which you can upgrade to 4 planes with a tier 5 Captain Skill) and one squadron of 8 Dive Bombers (which you can upgrade to 9 Dive Bombers in the same manner), it's certainly unique and amusing.  In practice, though, it struggles based on two key problems.  The first, I've touched upon before -- there's a long reload on the Dive Bombers, which hurts the over damage you're able to do per game.  The ships you do hit well, you'll devastate.  But you'll be unable to score much in the way of secondary fire damage without picking on targets that have already blown their Damage Control Party.  The second issue is that for an air superiority build, it has a real deficit of fighter aircraft.  With 19 fighters and 29 bombers aboard, the numbers feel completely backwards.  You can and will run out of fighter aircraft and rather quickly with this build but it will be rare if you ever run low on bombers. 

 

The one advantage to this load out is that with three squadrons of fighters, when facing IJN CVs with a 2-2-2 load-out, once your Corsairs are locked down by their Zeroes, you'll still have a third squadron with which to harass their attack waves. It's just unfortunate that your bomber retaliation will be slow and unimpressive... and that you'll run out of fighters much sooner than the Hiryu.  Against the Ranger, the massive Hellcat squadrons she can raise have to be handled very carefully or not at all.

 

The Lert Box

 

The inferior of the load outs in my opinion. Everything I said about the fighters in the 2/2/0 load out bit also goes for this load out, with the exception that with three fighter squadrons you can actually actively go hunting for enemy planes. I've had 45 plane kills matches with this load out. The squadrons are still small and the ammunition count on the planes is still low, but you will have enough planes in the air to semi-confidently engage Hiryu fighter squadrons head on. Just be wary of Ranger fighter squadrons, they'll still tear you a new one with regularity. The three squadrons do have enough firepower to rip through enemy strike squadrons though, making them better at keeping your friendlies safe from enemy strike carriers. Just don't mistake this load out for an air superiority load out. It's not. The three fighter squadrons are still best used for kiting and disruption, you still have to be wary of enemy fighters.

 

The dive bomber squadron is very interesting. There are 8 planes in the squadron. Yes, 8 Douglas AD2's. All carrying 1000 lbs bombs, with 10800 theoretical max damage a piece. Landing a good drop on a destroyer, carrier or soft cruiser can be utterly devastating and leave them either a smouldering, low-health floating bonfire, or as a one-time-use submarine. Against battleships however the damage output can range from disappointing to mediocre. The big achilles heel for this load out are the fact that you have only a single strike squadron meaning you can't force damage control parties to trigger and go into cool down before delivering a second strike, and the enormously, cripplingly long turn-around time. Resupplying the full squadron of 8 planes takes a full minute, and that's not counting the return- and sortie flight times.

 

 

In the opening minutes of the match, these torpedo armed Skyraiders make an early blitz straight at this garishly painted Nagato, braving the flak wall from four vessels to drop their torpedoes.  The high speed of these Skyraiders allowed them to get into position, complete their attack run and escape before the enemy CV player could respond.

 

Maneuverability

The agility of the Saipan (if you want to call any CV agile) is a bit of a mixed bag as far as a CV goes.  She has a 33.0 knot top speed which is nice and workable, though not enough for you to outpace pursuing destroyers or fleet footed cruisers.  Surprisingly, she has 920m turning circle which is downright pleasant given the lumbering handling of the other high tier CVs.  Her rudder shift is a tragic 15.9s so don't expect to be able to take fast advantage of that smallish turning circle.

 

Durability and Defense

First of all, you might note a lack of Secondary Armament section.  The Saipan has no self defense batteries to speak of. She's dangerously vulnerable at close range. This makes her entirely reliant on either an escort vessel or her own aircraft to neutralize surface threats. Pay close attention to the minimap at all times. Without any dual-purpose secondary guns, this also puts a bit of the hurt on her AA power, at least at range.  Instead she carries no less than thirty-eight 40mm Bofors mounts scattered across the ship, backed by another thirty Oerlikon 20mm canons.  This gives her an excellent layer of self defense firepower, provided enemy planes stray within 3.5km.  This short ranged fire is ferocious, amounting to 188dps at 3.5km with an additional 91dps at 2.0km.  It's a shame enemy planes won't stay inside that range for very long for you to make use of it.

 

Based on the Baltimore-class Cruiser hull, the Saipan isn't as long as the Ranger, but she does end up with almost as many hit points at 44,600hp.  She's visible from the surface from 12.2km out and from the air at 12.7km.  This is better than the Ranger but worse than the Hiryu, but all rather comparable.  The armour layout is ... well, it's forgettable.  It's not so thin that you really need to worry too much about taking hits to your citadel from stray destroyer HE shells, but it won't stand up to any form of lasting punishment.  In short, leg it and ensure that you keep out of sight like a good CV.

 

The Saipan burns, hit by an Aichi D3A Dive Bomber.  Her AA power is limited to close range automatic cannons, lacking any form large caliber guns.  This makes her more vulnerable not only to aircraft, but also to surface ships.  She has no form of secondary armament whatsoever.

 

Overall Impressions

 

The Lert Box

 

Saipan is a ship of extremes, of many cases of "yes, but". It trains American CV captains, but it plays like a Japanese carrier. It has high tier planes, but they are very few - 48 planes total vs 73 on Ranger and 72 on Hiryu. The planes Saipan does have are powerful, but the Dogfighting Expert skill means that the larger squadrons of lower tier fighters of Ranger and Hiryu will still rip through them. The ship itself is quite survivable with on-par AA suite and very good straight line speed of 33 knots, but no secondaries whatsoever and very sluggish turning ability means you're fodder for any destroyers that do catch up.

 

I wanted to like this ship. I really did. On paper it looks very interesting. Hightr tier but smaller squadrons on paper makes for interesting game play. In part this comes out during actual play, but in my opinion both the air superiority and the strike potential is just - ... lacking. Too few torpedoes on a target, fighter squadrons to weak, too long turn-around time on the dive-bomber squadron.

 

I enjoyed myself playing the Saipan.  I know!  Shocking isn't it?

 

Let me explain -- I am not a CV player.  With an aversion to Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games, carrier play didn't really interest me at all.  That said, it was a lot of fun using the fighter load out to provide air cover for my team.  I'm very much a fan of support roles and it was fun trying to lock down enemy carriers while providing spots ... never mind dropping 9 bombs on people's faces.  Does this mean that I've changed my stripes?  Does that mean the Saipan has won me over to carrier game play?  Should every non-CV player break out their wallets because this ship will convert you?  Well, no.

 

The Saipan is about as quirky as you can get with a Premium Ship, joining the ranks of odd ducks like the Kitakami (we miss you!) and the Atlanta.  The high tier squadrons with their weird sizes are novel and will offer a change of game play if nothing else.  Novelty doesn't necessarily translate into power, though.  Her air superiority load out is weak, plagued by an inability to do any significant damage through the course of a game. The long reload of her enormous dive bomber squadron (impressive though it may be) is just too limiting.  Her small fighter groups equally can struggle with doing what they're meant to do best, which is dominate the skies, especially against experienced or higher tiered Captains.  This leaves her small (and fragile) torpedo squadron load out as being the competitive option.  Her torpedo air groups are much more viable for putting out the hurt with a fast cycle time between missions.  I suspect the meta will involve keeping the Saipan quite close to the front lines when able to accelerate this even further, but I will leave that for the expert CV players to chime in on.  Towards the end of my test runs with the Saipan, I was enjoying quite a bit of success with these small, fast reloading torpedo squadrons and was fancying my chances of actually giving CVs a second look.

 

What this means is that if you're a good CV Captain, you'll probably enjoy the Saipan for what she is -- just like how a good cruiser player can grab an odd duck like the Atlanta and have some really fun games.  They will undoubtedly recognize the Saipan's weak Air Superiority load out for what it is and the limitations of her tiny, but high tier, air groups.  They will know how to push out the mad DPS with the torpedo squadron build. 

 

But if you're going in blind to the intricacies of CV play, unless you have a really good sense of self-depreciating humour, the Saipan is going to take you for a ride and make you look silly.

Would I Recommend?

Short answer:  If you love carriers, yes.  If you don't, no.

 

If you don't like carrier game play or if you haven't put a lot of time into carriers, the Saipan is probably not for you.  She's a unique ship -- completely intended to be a departure from standard USN CV game play.  The novelty alone may be worthwhile, never mind the bonus of finally having a decent ship with which to train your Carrier Captains and take advantage of the skills you've selected so far.  For collectors, she's pretty much a must have.  She's the first premium CV and her unique squadrons are just icing on the cake.   I mean, I'm nerding out because it has one of my favourite planes.

 

Like I said, the only people who will not enjoy this are those that don't like CV game play.  And even for someone like myself, I must admit I've warmed up considerably after playing the Saipan and would probably enjoy taking her out every now and then if I acquired her.

 

The Lert Box

 

• Do you really need an american CV premie, yeah. Saipan is the only choice.
• Do you want the ship for historical reasons, sure. She's certainly an interesting premium.
• Do you want a competitive ship to help tilt the fate of battles in your team's favor? No. Saipan isn't what you're looking for.

 

Maybe someone with more experience in carrier play than me can make her shine, but for a CV noob like me, Saipan isn't the ship that makes me want to play flattops. My wallet will remain closed.

 

It's disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, that the Air Superiority load-out for the Saipan should be so lackluster, performance wise.  It sure looks cool though.

 

Recommended Modules:

As a tier 7 CV, the Saipan has four module upgrade slots.

•  Air Groups Modification 1 is the best choice for the first slot.  This will increase your aircraft gunnery by 10% and is pretty much a no-brainer for most CV Captains.
• For your second slot, you have a choice based on how you want to proceed.  Air Groups Modification 2 will increase your fighter's hit points up to 2407 from 2006 (compared to 1506hp for the Hellcat and 1210 for the A6M5 Zero) and is probably the better choice.  Flight Control Modification 1 is nice, but the lightning quick rearm of both fighter and torpedo plane squadrons makes it less optimal than with other USN CVs.
•  Damage Control Modification 1 is your best choice for the third slot -- anything to help keep those fires down.  Though generally speaking, if you're taking damage, you're in a lot of trouble anyway and nothing from this third slot is really going to help you much!
• I opted for Damage Control Modification 2 on the off chance I found myself twice-ablaze.  My experience has taught me this nice but it's seldom going to save you.  Steering Gears Modification 2 would probably be the nicer choice, dropping her rudder shift from 15.9s to 12.8s.  It will really be up to personal preference here.

 

Recommended Consumables:

The Saipan can only mount a single consumable, a Damage Control Party.  It shouldn't be necessary to upgrade this to the premium version.  Her camouflage is the standard you would expect for a tier 7 premium ship, providing a 50% bonus to experience along with the disruption and concealment benefits.

 

Recommended Captain Skills:

The Saipan does not benefit much from anti-aircraft or secondary battery skills (having poor range on the former and none of the latter).  So it's best to keep with a more orthodox CV build and focus on skills that will increase the performance of your planes.
 

• From tier 1, Situational Awareness is best.  It will let you know when enemy planes are inbound or when you're about to die to a destroyer that's spotting you.  If you intend to use the Air Superiority Build, then you may also enjoy Expert Rear Gunners which will turn your Skyraider squadron into a brutal thug of a formation if your opponents try to shoot it down normally instead of strafing.
• From tier 2, Torpedo Armament Expertise will reduce the service time of your torpedo bombers down to 16 seconds when combined with the tier 4 Aircraft Servicing Expert (which is insane).
• From tier 3, reach for Torpedo Acceleration.  Yes, even if you intend to largely use the Air Superiority build.  Dogfighting Expert never benefits the Saipan because her aircraft will always be same-tier or higher than any other planes she encounters. 
• From tier 4, Aircraft Servicing Expert is your first port of call.  16s torpedo plane rearming!  It's nuts.
• From tier 5, Air Supremacy is your best choice.  It makes the Air Superiority build silly (9 bombers!) and it makes your fighter squadrons terrifying for any Hiryu opposite you.
•  

 

 

http://forum.worldofwarships.com/index.php?/topic/75453-premium-ship-review-uss-saipan/

[lankylad11_lankylad]

 I thought It had Tier 7 TB

 

Hiryu has no torpedo bomber upgrade at present, and has tier 6 TBs.  Shokaku allows you to jump from tier 6 planes to tier 8 ones

[maestrod]

I am really worried about the fragile ballance of CVs due to the introduction of this ship and here is why: this is basically buffed up hiryu on steroids. People who say otherwise are either blind or dont want to see it. Yes it doesnt have the dot dmg in terms of DB, but who needs it when you can use the TBs in a way a hiryu cant imagine. Littlewhitemouse article is great and all, but he doesnt play carriers he doesnt even have any of the T7 unlocked so the value of the article is 0 for me. Another point, although flamu says how bad the ship it, seconds later he rapes the shokaku fighter like nothing. And he does 130k plus in that game, something a hiryu can only dream of. And the icing on tue cake was the attack on the NC.. he lost 1 TB on approach, hiryu would be lucky to lose only 5-6 TBs on the approach to that NC. And people who would like it to have 2-3-0 or 2-2-1, have you lost your mind? That would allow this ship to come in and wipe any CV at the start of the match short of an AS ranger. And Im not talking about carefull approach around the border, no I mean literally punch through the front door, say hi how are you there CV, kill it and fly away.

Also, another point why I think introducing a premium CV is a bad idea...the disparity in skill of players. CV is incredibly valuable ship, with the biggest impact to the outcome of random game. If a noob sails an atago, or a tirpitz, its not as bad for the team as if he sail the saipan. While the other guy might be a saipan with a midway captain and an experienced player.

 

RANT OVER

[Drunken_Jedi]

Any idea when this little beauty is coming out? Haven't seen anything regarding an official date from WG yet, just curious... especially after the HMS Campbelltown fiasco.

[Poster_2015]

I am really worried about the fragile ballance of CVs due to the introduction of this ship and here is why: this is basically buffed up hiryu on steroids. People who say otherwise are either blind or dont want to see it. Yes it doesnt have the dot dmg in terms of DB, but who needs it when you can use the TBs in a way a hiryu cant imagine. Littlewhitemouse article is great and all, but he doesnt play carriers he doesnt even have any of the T7 unlocked so the value of the article is 0 for me. Another point, although flamu says how bad the ship it, seconds later he rapes the shokaku fighter like nothing. And he does 130k plus in that game, something a hiryu can only dream of. And the icing on tue cake was the attack on the NC.. he lost 1 TB on approach, hiryu would be lucky to lose only 5-6 TBs on the approach to that NC. And people who would like it to have 2-3-0 or 2-2-1, have you lost your mind? That would allow this ship to come in and wipe any CV at the start of the match short of an AS ranger. And Im not talking about carefull approach around the border, no I mean literally punch through the front door, say hi how are you there CV, kill it and fly away.

Also, another point why I think introducing a premium CV is a bad idea...the disparity in skill of players. CV is incredibly valuable ship, with the biggest impact to the outcome of random game. If a noob sails an atago, or a tirpitz, its not as bad for the team as if he sail the saipan. While the other guy might be a saipan with a midway captain and an experienced player.

 

RANT OVER

 

You are really exaggerating.

 

-  130k dmg is nothing special on Hiryu. It is nothing special on Hosho either. You wont get that much in every game, but an experienced player will get 130k on Hiryu without much trouble. Flamu is experienced, and he never puts poor games in his videos. If for you "130k dmg is something Hiryu can only dream of" , you need to practice more sorry. 

 

- Yes Hiryu TB are particularly paper, given how they are tier 6, making them worse for attacking battleships. However there is more of them and they are better for attacking DDs as a result. At this level people i guess start to realise attacking battleships is not always the best option. Still, if a Hiryu did the attack well, he would do slightly lower damage with TB, but would easily surpass is later with bomb dot. Also remember Hiryu actually has the hangar capacity to afford more loses.

 

- 2-3-0 able to brute force ? Seriously, its not that easy to hit all the torpedoes on a small t7 cv (its different story for t8 carriers). Still considering the torpedo bulges, Saipan would have to hit EVERY torpedo, and not lose ANY TB to be able to do it. Hardly possible with a brute force. Those torp bombers arent invincible, and going through even some air defense is enough. Not to mention Hiryu could defend itself with fighters over friendly ships and strafes. In the meantime if Saipan used everything for offense (including fighters to block hiryu), it would be about as vulnerable to a counterattack - or more, given lack of long range AA. 2-2-1 would obviously employ a "normal" group of 3 DB, not the 8DB monster group. Maybe should be more clear about that. 

 

- CV skill being more impactful is true, but it hardly does anything for CV balancing

 

- 

[maestrod]

 

You are really exaggerating.

 

-  130k dmg is nothing special on Hiryu. It is nothing special on Hosho either. You wont get that much in every game, but an experienced player will get 130k on Hiryu without much trouble. Flamu is experienced, and he never puts poor games in his videos. If for you "130k dmg is something Hiryu can only dream of" , you need to practice more sorry. 

 

- Yes Hiryu TB are particularly paper, given how they are tier 6, making them worse for attacking battleships. However there is more of them and they are better for attacking DDs as a result. At this level people i guess start to realise attacking battleships is not always the best option. Still, if a Hiryu did the attack well, he would do slightly lower damage with TB, but would easily surpass is later with bomb dot. Also remember Hiryu actually has the hangar capacity to afford more loses.

 

- 2-3-0 able to brute force ? Seriously, its not that easy to hit all the torpedoes on a small t7 cv (its different story for t8 carriers). Still considering the torpedo bulges, Saipan would have to hit EVERY torpedo, and not lose ANY TB to be able to do it. Hardly possible with a brute force. Those torp bombers arent invincible, and going through even some air defense is enough. Not to mention Hiryu could defend itself with fighters over friendly ships and strafes. In the meantime if Saipan used everything for offense (including fighters to block hiryu), it would be about as vulnerable to a counterattack - or more, given lack of long range AA. 2-2-1 would obviously employ a "normal" group of 3 DB, not the 8DB monster group. Maybe should be more clear about that. 

 

- CV skill being more impactful is true, but it hardly does anything for CV balancing

 

- 

 

130k nothing special on hiryu? oh really? when was the last time you played it? The days the best players did that are over, with the changes the best best players on EU server do 80k on average game now. I know what I am talking about, being one of the best EU CV captains on t7-8, I tell you, yes the hiryu can do 130k, but not in a t8 game.

 

t7 CV are not that small and they have no bulges, 6 torps are enough to kill it immediately. So with 2x3 TB, you have to hit all, which can be tricky if he tries to prevent that. But with 3x3, good captain is guaranteed to hit at least 6. My comment on 2-2-1 of course considered 3 DB, 4 with skill. I would immagine them having the small spread as IJN CVs, so hitting multiple 1000 lb bombs would not be an issue.

 

One more thing, why do ppl keep saying Saipan cannot afford to replace his planes as other CVs? With the smaller capacity it doesnt have DB, so it has the same number of fighters and TBs as hiryu or stock ranger, giving you the same reserves on those planes.

[Poster_2015]

Well Im not that experienced jap CV player, but with Hiryu 130k was  good game but nothing spectacular. And 80k average is just that - average. It includes roflstomps where you have no time to do dmg (both ways), fights against AS CVs, and just bad games. 80k average means 130k on a good game is very very possible. I just yesterday rebought shokaku (was waiting for 15 skill captain from premium grind after getting rid of Hiryu). STOCK shokaku i had 160k damage game in a 8v8. And as far as i know stock shokaku has same planes as Hiryu, 1 less group, and always gets matched at least vs t8 ;p. 

 

 

Also note my average damage. 1st battle i managed to 100%-0 a Kagero, then died to a snipe from Lexington (sniff sniff 1 stock fighter didnt cut it ). It wasnt a terrible battle (killed a t9 DD by myself and spotted a Fubuki long enough for it to die, so i took out 2 DDs before i died), but still my average damage plummeted. 

 

EDIT:  almost every ship has some form of torpedo protection. For t7 CVs its around 15-20%. Its not Yamatos 62% , but its noticeable. 

[Ilya_Wolf]

Any idea when this little beauty is coming out? Haven't seen anything regarding an official date from WG yet, just curious... especially after the HMS Campbelltown fiasco.

 

Considering its released today in NA region they must be finished adjusting it (well mostly..) so i would really like to know why EU region is getting the short end of the stick again.

WG give us release date please?

[terios]

Also it is much harder to hit DDs with Saipan's 2x3 torp drops, than Hiryu's 2x4 torp drops. If Saipan comes out with these stats my vote goes to Hiryu. It will perform much better with the same amount of captain skills. WG killed (nerfed) Saipan before it was even born, RIP.

[Tirande]

Also it is much harder to hit DDs with Saipan's 2x3 torp drops, than Hiryu's 2x4 torp drops. If Saipan comes out with these stats my vote goes to Hiryu. It will perform much better with the same amount of captain skills. WG killed (nerfed) Saipan before it was even born, RIP.

 

Isn't that how WG treats all US CVs? Also, 37 Euros for a pseudo-playable ship seems stupidly expensive. Especially since the Atlanta is more useful in a game without an enemy CV than this thing. I was going to consider buying Saipan when I heard she'd have a 2/3/0 layout... then they nerfed it to 3/0/1 which is worthless and the 2/2/0 feels like a slap in the face.

 

I have to say that I'm kinda disappointed by both the pricetag (provided it's the same in the US as it'll be here which I reckon will be the case...) and the quality of the ship. A T6 CV hull with T9 TBs/Fighters doesn't make for a T7 CV worth playing; especially with half the squadron size of a regular CV.

 

Now I get that the people who don't play CV just want to see the archetype removed or chain nerfed because they're unable and unwilling to l2p around them. I'm really sick and tired of BBs who think fighters should protect them 24/7 and CVs should be nothing but fighters and bombers to suit their needs.

[Drunken_Jedi]

 

Isn't that how WG treats all US CVs? Also, 37 Euros for a pseudo-playable ship seems stupidly expensive. Especially since the Atlanta is more useful in a game without an enemy CV than this thing. I was going to consider buying Saipan when I heard she'd have a 2/3/0 layout... then they nerfed it to 3/0/1 which is worthless and the 2/2/0 feels like a slap in the face.

 

I have to say that I'm kinda disappointed by both the pricetag (provided it's the same in the US as it'll be here which I reckon will be the case...) and the quality of the ship. A T6 CV hull with T9 TBs/Fighters doesn't make for a T7 CV worth playing; especially with half the squadron size of a regular CV.

 

Now I get that the people who don't play CV just want to see the archetype removed or chain nerfed because they're unable and unwilling to l2p around them. I'm really sick and tired of BBs who think fighters should protect them 24/7 and CVs should be nothing but fighters and bombers to suit their needs.

 

With all due respect, what rock have you been hiding under? Even during the closed beta WG altered CV match making to prevent the situation of only one team having a CV after many of us were finding ourselves with an air superiority set up with no enemy CV. Frankly, given the speed and turn-around times of the tier IX Skyraiders even though you have one less squadron than the initial build they're still quite potent. If you have the 5 point captain perk you also get your four planes per squadron so it's not all that bad.  I imagine if you were worried about them being caught by enemy fighters, just ditch the payload and they will go far quicker. Also, let's see what WG actually sets the price at. Personally, I think I will pick her up. It's a niche ship with interesting loadouts. I mean, 8/9 dive bombers in a single squadron! It's RNG based - but you have the potential to just erase a ship from existence with those 1000b bombs. If I'm missing something here do point out, I've just finished a 13 hour night shift so my brain resembles cotton wool atm ;).

[Ilya_Wolf]

 

 I mean, 8/9 dive bombers in a single squadron! It's RNG based - but you have the potential to just erase a ship from existence with those 1000b bombs. If I'm missing something here do point out, I've just finished a 13 hour night shift so my brain resembles cotton wool atm ;).

 

Going through all the info i could find regarding the new saipan version i concluded the DBs will only do around 2000-3500 per hit (+fires maybe..) so im not sure why it says max bomb damage 10,000... bomb citadels? 

Watching all the videos showed me even with 3 planes those TBs can survive launching on some tougher targets without losing any planes on approach, i think the damage from DBs will be pitiful in comparison, if only it was 2x4 squadrons so you could set fires properly.

 

I was really interested in this ship until i saw the price 

Just noticed they snuck it onto the premium shop! not as big a delay as i thought 

[Ictogan]

I am really worried about the fragile ballance of CVs due to the introduction of this ship and here is why: this is basically buffed up hiryu on steroids. People who say otherwise are either blind or dont want to see it. Yes it doesnt have the dot dmg in terms of DB, but who needs it when you can use the TBs in a way a hiryu cant imagine. Littlewhitemouse article is great and all, but he doesnt play carriers he doesnt even have any of the T7 unlocked so the value of the article is 0 for me. Another point, although flamu says how bad the ship it, seconds later he rapes the shokaku fighter like nothing. And he does 130k plus in that game, something a hiryu can only dream of. And the icing on tue cake was the attack on the NC.. he lost 1 TB on approach, hiryu would be lucky to lose only 5-6 TBs on the approach to that NC. And people who would like it to have 2-3-0 or 2-2-1, have you lost your mind? That would allow this ship to come in and wipe any CV at the start of the match short of an AS ranger. And Im not talking about carefull approach around the border, no I mean literally punch through the front door, say hi how are you there CV, kill it and fly away.

Also, another point why I think introducing a premium CV is a bad idea...the disparity in skill of players. CV is incredibly valuable ship, with the biggest impact to the outcome of random game. If a noob sails an atago, or a tirpitz, its not as bad for the team as if he sail the saipan. While the other guy might be a saipan with a midway captain and an experienced player.

 

RANT OVER

If you think 130k dmg is something a Hiryu can only dream of, you must either never have played a Hiryu or you have no idea how to play CVs.

[maestrod]

If you think 130k dmg is something a Hiryu can only dream of, you must either never have played a Hiryu or you have no idea how to play CVs.

 

Stop twisting my words, i said IN THAT GAME, against two carriers, one of them in shokaku and against t8 ships. And it is even funnier, he actually did 160k dmg. And I guess I have never played the Hiryu, yeah...

 

 

[lankylad11_lankylad]

I played through the Hiryu and did 62k dmg in it, so i would like to think i know something about that boat.  I've had a couple of rounds in the Saipan, with Air Superiority there is no loadout that can dominate its 2/2/0 yet it has faster torpedo bombers than a fully upgraded midway.   It needs to use speed to dictate engagements, but sure it can get air superiority WHILE STILL HAVING STRIKE CAPABILITY.  not many US CVs can say this

[lankylad11_lankylad]

mostly a US CV has to sacrifice all strike capability to achieve this.  Lexington was the one that didnt but WG decided to ruin that ship in 0.5.3

[maestrod]

Anyone who already has this ship, who can say how much credits without any modifiers it actually makes in a good game?

[Mandurin_1]

In a good game  ca 100k non premium cash on hand in one of the 30 very good games 150-200k cash non premium on hand.

I am an below average CV player mostly 50 to 80k cash but honestly one match i had -18k :-P.

 

Saipan is original an support CV that is she in game too... you nipple on the enemy remnants and try to prevent/reduce incoming Air damage for your allies and spot.

Maybe the outcome  is better with 15 captain skill and better play handling but thats my actual feedback.

[Drunken_Jedi]

I do think having that additional fighter and/or bomber per squadron will make an immeasurable difference to how effective the Saipan is overall. Especially so for the 2/2/0 module where you gain extra fighters and also gain a better torp spread with a greater chance of doing higher damage. Goes to show really how silly the Air Supremacy perk is, it makes balancing ships a bit of a nightmare especially those like the Saipan which only have the three aircraft per squadron. I came across an adversary Saipan with the extra aircraft and he just dominated me. We played very similarly but the extra numbers made all the difference. 

[HaganeNoKaze]

While this CV seems interesting on paper, after few games, major issues are already spotted.

 

Tier 9 Planes on paper only. I do not remember that i gave some planes to some tier V AAA with my Essex or event Taihou.. I just gave complete DB squadron (8 planes, yup) and 2 on 3 fighters squadron to a Kirov and a New York in 20-25 seconds. (Hopefully it was for testing purpose... But it's quite horrible.) I do not write about higher tier ship where any ship could rekt entire squadrons.

 

The spread on TBs is not efficient, you can deal 2 on 3 hit (if you do not loose your TBs before...) but for some reason, theses torpedoes seems easier to avoid.

 

The 8 DB squadron, quite impressive to see, reveals to be still more random that standard DB squadron. You can deal some massive damage or.. nothing ! Plus... for some reason, planes on this squadron die quite fast... ruining the entire squadron.

 

But some very good point could be notice:

-Plane speed (of course, T IX planes !).

-DB with 1000pd bombs.

-It's a good money maker (as CV in general... but still better being premium !)

 

As AA ship, the saipan could be quite efficient using strafe. But in normal engagement, ranger will easily win with fighters. Her planes, being T9 make them perfect interceptor.

 

Just personnal thought so...

 

Btw, sorry with my bad english !

[Varian_Dorn]

While this CV seems interesting on paper, after few games, major issues are already spotted.

 

Tier 9 Planes on paper only. I do not remember that i gave some planes to some tier V AAA with my Essex or event Taihou.. I just gave complete DB squadron (8 planes, yup) and 2 on 3 fighters squadron to a Kirov and a New York in 20-25 seconds. (Hopefully it was for testing purpose... But it's quite horrible.) I do not write about higher tier ship where any ship could rekt entire squadrons.

 

The spread on TBs is not efficient, you can deal 2 on 3 hit (if you do not loose your TBs before...) but for some reason, theses torpedoes seems easier to avoid.

 

The 8 DB squadron, quite impressive to see, reveals to be still more random that standard DB squadron. You can deal some massive damage or.. nothing ! Plus... for some reason, planes on this squadron die quite fast... ruining the entire squadron.

 

But some very good point could be notice:

-Plane speed (of course, T IX planes !).

-DB with 1000pd bombs.

-It's a good money maker (as CV in general... but still better being premium !)

 

As AA ship, the saipan could be quite efficient using strafe. But in normal engagement, ranger will easily win with fighters. Her planes, being T9 make them perfect interceptor.

 

Just personnal thought so...

 

Btw, sorry with my bad english !

 

I second this, Saipan's planes - all of them - seem to be a good deal more fragile than they are probably supposed to be. And having 3 TBs spread out as far as 4 at least would be makes it difficult to hit even a bb with more than 1 torpedo... assuming of course that all planes made it to the drop-off Point, which often isn't the case.

DBs really do seem to miss more, in relation to their squad size, so thats not all that effective either.

Don't get me wrong, you can do some damage with Saipan... but as she stands now, Saipan is outnumbered and outgunned in most combat situations. The fact that she only carries 48 planes (compared to around 70 on her T7 counterparts) makes it even more problematic.

In essence, even more than with ALL other carriers in the game, when you use Saipan and your direct opponent is not a Saipan, you have to try to get the enemy carrier killed as fast as possible, since otherwise the longer your enemy is active the more likely it becomes that he/she will beat you simply by being able to last longer and being able to pull off more focused attacks. Or due to your enemy being able to inflict more damage on your team than you can on his you'll lose by running out of teammates.

 

 

Conclusion: Saipan is a creative and entertaining addition to the game. As a premium ship, she earns you some Money while costing little... but she sure needs a little buff. At the very least Wargaming should take a look at the survivability of her planes.