What are the best T8 ships for Ranked?

[Kameho]

Any suggestion?

I'm aiming to get the Flint, and I'm seeing Atago's and Mikhail Kutuzov dominating the CA line in tier 8. (as they are superior as they got extra consumable they can use, repair party / smoke)

 

Or should i get the Tirpitz?

The Dunkerque in T6 is definatly a awesome ship. and rewarded me with 4 easy victories.

 

If you can get the enemie DD destroyed early, you can use it pretty aggresivly and push foreward, and it pretty much chews up CA and BB's pretty fast, taking very little damage back.

[fnord_disc]

In my opinion:

 

BB: Bismarck

Also okay: NC

 

CA: Atago, Kutuzov

Also okay: Chapayev

 

DD: Benson

Also okay: Fubuki with 15p captain

 

CV: Shokaku

[Tyrendian89]

In my opinion:

 

BB: Bismarck

Also okay: NC

 

CA: Atago, Kutuzov

Also okay: Chapayev

 

DD: Benson

Also okay: Fubuki with 15p captain

 

CV: Shokaku

 

completely agreed, with two additions:

Tirpitz on par with NC, but Bismarck wins because of how insanely good Hydro is for pushing

Lo Yang below Benson but above Fubuki, because it falls between the two in a straight fight, and DD Hydro is imho less useful than the straight up superior torps on Benson

[fnord_disc]

Oh, yeah, I totally forgot Lo Yang. I agree with that.

 

I've seen Tirpitz mentioned a few times already, but I don't really see the utility over NC personally. But I don't have a Tirpitz so my opinion is clouded. Maybe you can explain it to me.

 

I have yet to see anyone use the torpedoes on Tirpitz meaningfully in ranked and NC has better gun placement and is a bit better for avoiding torpedoes spammed at smoke. I think the guns are better too, but I guess this can be subjective for some. I don't really understand why you would pick a Tirpitz in place of an NC.

[eidias]

For me Tirpitz is more forgiving and has that kind of troll armor on the sides with respect ti NC

Agree that torps are not that useful in ranked.. but I manager torp a kaba that popped from behind an Island 

[Tyrendian89]

Oh, yeah, I totally forgot Lo Yang. I agree with that.

 

I've seen Tirpitz mentioned a few times already, but I don't really see the utility over NC personally. But I don't have a Tirpitz so my opinion is clouded. Maybe you can explain it to me.

 

I have yet to see anyone use the torpedoes on Tirpitz meaningfully in ranked and NC has better gun placement and is a bit better for avoiding torpedoes spammed at smoke. I think the guns are better too, but I guess this can be subjective for some. I don't really understand why you would pick a Tirpitz in place of an NC.

 

they're good at different things...

• Gun placement the NC clearly wins, but Tirpitz and Bismarck still got decent arcs on their rear guns so it's not a massive weakness. Still, point NC.
• The gun quality I would say is pretty much completely subjective. I personally just have a feel for these German 15"ers that I'm not yet getting back for NC's derpguns (rebought her semi-recently). Friend of mine completely hates the 15"ers but does amazing things with the NC.
• Armour/tankiness are about equal, maybe slight edge to Tirpitz. Bow-in NC is a bit better because of less vulnerable superstructure, but Tirpitz doesnt get nuked quite as hard if caught broadside.
• AA doesnt need elaboration. Massive point NC.
• Mobility goes to Tirpitz - it's faster, and thanks to turtleback it can do some riskier turns than an NC and survive them.
• NC doesnt have anything besides its guns - Tirpitz has the massive psychological factor of OMFGITHAZTORPEDOEZZZZZ - they may not always be useful in directly doing damage, but they play a huge role in how enemy BBs have to react to you. You can not ignore a Tirpitz bearing down on you - it will very often force people into turning away from you, thus giving you and your team beautiful broadside shots. And likewise, charging a Tirpitz down doesnt really work either....

Overall, as i said, I'd give it to Bismarck overall simply by virtue of insanely powerful Hydro - after that, NC is better in general long- and midrange combat plus AA, but Tirpitz has the psychological factor of its torpedoes when things get personal.

 

[T_H_0_R]

Up close NC is a (surgical) sniper. Due to lazy arcs it can really hurt german BBs on any range, especially if you aim for their superstructure. And when a Tirpitz starts its torpedo turn - wait for it and place your shots under front turrets = profit in salty tears. 

 

NC is next to Bismarck a great all around T8 BB. What Bismarck has in secondaries NC has in AA and bow armor near invulnerability except to fire damage.

 

As for the rest - on all of the considered ships you wish to go with a 15pt captain.

 

My choice would be:

 

CV: Shokaku, hands down (also great concealment so it can stay close to the front)

BB: NC and Bis, very close second Tirpitz

CA: Kutuzov, Atago and NO if you can handle it and perhaps Chapayev because of radar range

DD: Lo Yang & Benson neck and neck, Fubuki if you have a EM instead of TAE and know how to use them IJN nuclear guns

 

[RUSSIANBlAS]

As far as BB go it's the Bismarck all the way. It's armour pattern, the sheer might of the secondaries paired with hydro and AA that isn't bad at all.

 

Has a frontal immunity zone just like the NC but it isn't as vulnerable on it's sides.

 

It's guns reload faster and don't hang in the air like the NC's ones.

 

Tirp isn't as strong, the torps don't quite make up for all that secondary firepower even if I have a lot of love for the ship itself.

 

Amagi simply isn't strong enough for me. Excellent power in each salvo but inadequate armour and lack of any sort of party trick (torps, good AA, secondaries etc) makes feel weak in Ranked. Even if she's one of my all time favourites...

 

 

[Aerroon]

This is my opinion on these ships. They are in order: eg I think Bismarck is better for ranked than Tirpitz, but only slightly because they are still on the same number.

 

Best Battleships:

1. Bismarck, Amagi, Tirpitz, North Carolina.

Best Cruisers: 

1. Mikhail Kutuzov, Atago,
2. New Orleans, Chapayev,
3. Admiral Hipper, Prinz Eugen,
4. Mogami.

Best Destroyers:

1. Lo Yang = Benson,
2. Tashkent, Fubuki.

Best Carriers (hahahahaha):

1. Shoukaku,
2. Lexington.

 

By the way, if you have any doubts about why Amagi is up there with the rest then watch this:

 

 

[Unintentional_submarine]

Tirpitz is excellent for those 'surprise' encounter around a cap, like B on North (Ranked version). There the torps are absolutely brilliant at keeping enemy BBs out, or giving them a hard knock if they do. For such a fight North Carolina is wholly inadequate as she is incapable of the furball maneuvers. What I see is that the North Carolinas simply don't contest very well. They hold caps rather nicely, but actually taking a cap, I would prefer a Tirpitz. And so I rank her marginally above NC.

Bismarck is best... that HAS and those secondaries, and the AA is actually really good so that is hardly a loss compared to NC.

However, NC is perfectly fine for Ranked. I have yet to see a well played NC seem out of it's depth. Have only seen an Amagi in that situation. Well played, plenty punch when needed, good tactical oversight it looked like. But when it came to him needing to halt the enemies that didn't give good angles to hit, it fell flat on it's face. Essentially Amagi requires the enemies to screw up, perhaps just a little bit, but still some. That's fine, perhaps even good at the first ranks, when such can be expected, but later on, it won't be enough.

[Comrad_StaIin]

I dont know why Amagi is so underrated it has a really impressive broadiside of 10 410mm guns that hit really hard like really hard

and are accurate on top

 

its angles o the rear turrets are very good and its tanky aswell when angled

also impressive 40% torp protection

[Beardroid91]

Well all the Amagi's except maybe 1-2 i have seen today have camped at great range while the rest of the team suffers from it as the Amagi players can't hit anything at that range.

 

Also the New Orleans does okay when you just go after the DD's which hate radar and focus fire, or stay behind the pushing BB's, but the crappy armor really lets the NO down, but it is still a good choice, but you got to know how to sail her to do well. But NO will become better in 0.5.13 when its new armor model comes hopefully before the end of Ranked.

[Azrael_Ashemdion]

Any suggestion?

 

I'm aiming to get the Flint, and I'm seeing Atago's and Mikhail Kutuzov dominating the CA line in tier 8. (as they are superior as they got extra consumable they can use, repair party / smoke)

 

Or should i get the Tirpitz?

 

The Dunkerque in T6 is definatly a awesome ship. and rewarded me with 4 easy victories.

 

If you can get the enemie DD destroyed early, you can use it pretty aggresivly and push foreward, and it pretty much chews up CA and BB's pretty fast, taking very little damage back.

 

If you have no idea of what to take, you need to stay out of ranked. 

 

  Az

[deadly_if_swallowed]

Just curious as all or most of you guys are used to a more competitive setting than I am: What about Admiral Hipper? Aerroon mentioned her as 3rd grade CA, no one else ever mentioned her at all. And yet, Hipper does have the highest winrate (by a small margin) of all non-CV ships this season. What is stopping you guys from taking Hipper into consideration?

[fnord_disc]

By the way, if you have any doubts about why Amagi is up there with the rest then watch this:

 

 

 

This video is true for any BB with a low citadel at short range. You get the same behavior against NC and a vast array of other battleships. NC has an easier time getting cits because of slower shells and even a slightly steeper angle helps you with getting to the citadel.

 

Sure, this is a useful contrast against, for example, an Iowa, where the citadel is high in the water. But all T8 battleships are hard to citadel at short ranges. It's not really an argument for or against the Amagi.

 

You can just go into the armor viewer and remove everything except "vital parts" and see if it sticks out above the water.

 

 Just curious as all or most of you guys are used to a more competitive setting than I am: What about Admiral Hipper? Aerroon mentioned her as 3rd grade CA, no one else ever mentioned her at all. And yet, Hipper does have the highest winrate (by a small margin) of all non-CV ships this season. What is stopping you guys from taking Hipper into consideration?

 

It's just garbage. Competitive meta for cruisers is fires and radar. The strengths that the Hipper has are irrelevant in competitive play.

 

Atago has a lot of utility due to the torpedoes and survivability because of the heal. It's just a better Hipper in every way competitively.

[Comrad_StaIin]

Just curious as all or most of you guys are used to a more competitive setting than I am: What about Admiral Hipper? Aerroon mentioned her as 3rd grade CA, no one else ever mentioned her at all. And yet, Hipper does have the highest winrate (by a small margin) of all non-CV ships this season. What is stopping you guys from taking Hipper into consideration?

 

Bad HE and high detection range

 

basicly a CA that looks like a BB (which is bad)

[Unintentional_submarine]

Just curious as all or most of you guys are used to a more competitive setting than I am: What about Admiral Hipper? Aerroon mentioned her as 3rd grade CA, no one else ever mentioned her at all. And yet, Hipper does have the highest winrate (by a small margin) of all non-CV ships this season. What is stopping you guys from taking Hipper into consideration?

 

Bad choice as the others mentioned.

Hipper is a dedicated cruiser killer. Cruisers are generally speaking the least numerous class (duh CVs are fewer), so she really lucks out. Also in the setting of fewer ships she simply has fewer opportunities for nice broadsides against said cruisers. Simply speaking, her strengths are so easily countered, and gets countered by the very way Ranked is structured. It really is pointless to bring her if you can bring pretty much anything else.

 

I have run into a number of Prinz Eugens, and not a single time have I felt that they contributed anything worthwhile that I couldn't have gotten much better from other cruisers.

[Aerroon]

 

This video is true for any BB with a low citadel at short range. You get the same behavior against NC and a vast array of other battleships. NC has an easier time getting cits because of slower shells and even a slightly steeper angle helps you with getting to the citadel.

 

Sure, this is a useful contrast against, for example, an Iowa, where the citadel is high in the water. But all T8 battleships are hard to citadel at short ranges. It's not really an argument for or against the Amagi.

 

You can just go into the armor viewer and remove everything except "vital parts" and see if it sticks out above the water.

So, what you're saying is that Amagi is equal to the other T8 battleships? Well, that's kind of what I said, didn't I? I gave reasoning as to why Amagi is fine to be included up there with the other ships: because it's fine.

 

She also has the best torpedo protection and more accurate guns.

[fnord_disc]

So, what you're saying is that Amagi is equal to the other T8 battleships? Well, that's kind of what I said, didn't I? I gave reasoning as to why Amagi is fine to be included up there with the other ships: because it's fine.

 

She also has the best torpedo protection and more accurate guns.

 

What I mean is, Amagi is not tankier than the others. If the point of your video was to show that it isn't significantly less tanky, then yes, that is true and I misunderstood you. I can see an argument being made about the accuracy of its guns, but the TD is an illusion in my opinion because the ship also tends to eat more torpedoes. It's longer than the others, the rudder turns slower, and it has a wider turning circle.

 

I'm not saying that Amagi is a bad ship; I just cannot see any reason to pick it other than for the accuracy of its guns, and in my opinion that isn't enough to justify taking it over any of the others. All the others have distinct strengths and I can see a powerful argument for all of the others why they could be picked, and I can't really imagine many situations that Amagi would handle better than the others.

[Admiral_Noif]

By iEarlgrey

 

[RUSSIANBlAS]

Oh to OP. 

 

If you're going into Ranked with a T8 ship you do not intimately understand then you may find it "challenging" after a certain point in the Ranked ladder.

 

Not saying you can't do it but I suffered greatly changing ships in Season 4. 

[Slauter]

The way i see it so far is that the best choice is anything good for killing DD's in domination mode.

Which is why Bismarcks are the best choice by far, hydro and secs, enough said.

Also, Kutuzov and CA's with radars can make a big difference with some skill and luck.

 

DD's are the worst choice this season, especially in games with CV's or CA's with radars. Very often you can't influence the game at all. DD's can only try to cap before Bismarcks move into the zone or planes/radars spot them...and smoke up their team. Lame role.

 

So, 1. Bismarck 2. Kutuzov. If i had any of those two i wouldn't think about anything else.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

The way i see it so far is that the best choice is anything good for killing DD's in domination mode.

Which is why Bismarcks are the best choice by far, hydro and secs, enough said.

Also, Kutuzov and CA's with radars can make a big difference with some skill and luck.

 

DD's are the worst choice this season, especially in games with CV's or CA's with radars. Very often you can't influence the game at all. DD's can only try to cap before Bismarcks move into the zone or planes/radars spot them...and smoke up their team. Lame role.

 

So, 1. Bismarck 2. Kutuzov. If i had any of those two i wouldn't think about anything else.

 

DD are still relevant. I find the Fubuki more of a threat than the Benson due to the IJN ship having better torps. Of course once the DD is spotted then Bismarcks will farm them all day long.

 

I find that when DD go down then the rest of  the team usually follows. You need that DD in front to spot for you!

[Slauter]

 

DD are still relevant. I find the Fubuki more of a threat than the Benson due to the IJN ship having better torps. Of course once the DD is spotted then Bismarcks will farm them all day long.

 

I find that when DD go down then the rest of  the team usually follows. You need that DD in front to spot for you!

 

Ofcourse DD's are important, but if you're against good players you simply can't influence the game. I'm playing only Benson so far, because that's my only T8 ship atm and it's very tough. My influence as a DD is usually reliable on enemies making mistakes. When enemy team plays aggressively i can only smoke my team, spot and spamm (and hide so i don't get raped istantly after last changes). There is a big number of situations in which i can't do anything. That's my view at least.

Jap' DD's have torps available earlier and are a solid choice IF they hit anything, but lack of mobility makes them very vulnerable.

Less exp for capping and overal makes DD's less interesting than in last season. I can imagine 1 DD per team in final ranks. 

[RUSSIANBlAS]

There are definitely less DD this time than in Season 4.

 

DD previously have been the only way to fly for most people. I imagine this Season readdresses the balance for bigger ships which I'm rather enjoying but it's probably not ideal.

 

Just get a Bismarck and enjoy the secondary gun fest