Disliked Ship Guide #3: Mikasa

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Disliked ship guide #3:

Mikasa – why don't people take her seriously?

(For final comparison to the Tier III Battleships, skip to the ‘overall’ section)

 

 

 

At a glance:

 

• IJN Tier 2 1899 British Pre-Dreadnought, the most unique ship in the game with an equally unique playstyle
• Most similar to South Carolina, though this is pushing it. She’s still a very different ship.
• Has more in common with HMS Warrior than HMS Warspite, and boy does she feel like it!
• Above average credit earner, with substantially less repair than tier 3 Battleships
• Available from the store or in-game, for £8

 

 

First- An Opinion

 

Mikasa is a ship both veterans and total noobs will feel under-powered in. Many believe she can barely compete at the tier and that cruisers are generally stronger. Having bought her myself without knowing a thing about her beforehand, my first few battles in her were indeed filled with trepidation. In fact, it can be very hard to decide what Mikasa's place actually *is* within a fleet. She's not support (that's the cruiser's job), she's not a heavy hitter, she's certainly not recon, she's not a sniper, she's not mid range artillery support; she's not even *really* a brawler with so few main guns. So how the hek do you use her, then!? In all honesty she doesn't really have an assigned place within the fleet; and this is just one of the reasons she's so unique to the game. Play her as a normal battleship and you'll become out-gunned fast. Play her as a cruiser and be out-maneuvered fast. Play her as a Destroyer and prepare to get fat eating torps. This is the reason so many people sell her for credits after buying her; they simply don't get the use of such a ship and, feeling out of their comfort zone, rage sell then whine that WG miss-sold them a ship. This fickle attitude not only demonstrates a distinct lack of patience, but also of a foundation appreciation for how Naval Architecture developed in reality. Thanks in part to her Japanese ownership, Mikasa was far from 'useless' in real life. Just look up the 'Battle of Tsushima' for proof...

 

Mikasa during her heyday under Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō

 

So to understand why she is so different, let’s first see what Mikasa actually classes as. She’s a pre-dreadnought. Not a Battleship (at least not in the way the game categorizes it), not a Battlecruiser; not even an Ironclad Warship. A Pre-Dreadnought. ‘Why so large of a distinction, Cowper? She looks just like a Dreadnought!’ Thing is, pre-dreadnoughts represent the end of an era; a massive transition and shift in naval doctrine. Within a century prior of HMS Dreadnought’s launch, the navies of the world went from being formed of little more than wooden rafts with sails and guns attached, to metal beasts powered by fossils fuels, capable of demolishing entire cities. In fact in the space of about 40 years, naval architecture (most notably British) went from using wooden sailing masts for propulsion to radar masts for lining up 20-km shots! It was by a very far margin, the fastest progression of technology in history. World of Warships itself has taken longer to develop than it took the great powers to fully adopt the Dreadnought concept….seriously! Don’t believe me? Look it up! It was an arms race of the highest degree. However, my point is that no other ship class, extent or dead, represents the final stage of this shift moreso than that to which Mikasa belongs. Within years of her launch she was made utterly obsolescent. If not for her far Eastern ownership, she would’ve been scrapped long before her time. As it was, however, she served with distinction in many conflicts; proving to the world the Pre-Dreadnought still had something to say...

 

Mikasa is a very unique ship in WoWs. With the coming of the all-big-gun ‘Dreadnought’s, gone were the days of the ram, of the broadside and of the humble cannon ball. Mikasa, and all ships before her, became overnight relics. We’re honoured to have her in World of Warships.

 

 

Survivability

 

There are two things which make Mikasa what she is; built by the world’s finest ship-builders (the British), and a Pre-Dreadnought. Incidentally, it is also both these things which mean she’s one tough nut to crack! To begin with, she has the same health pool as a fully upgraded South Carolina. People seem to assume this is down to either poor armour or heal ability. This is the first common misconception about Mikasa; that she’s weak against other Battleships. This is true in part; her low number of main battery guns does put her at an immediete disadvantage against other Battleships. But it sure has nothing to do with her armour! While it certainly won't stand up to higher tier Battleship fire (Tier IV and higher), Tier III's will have to learn to treat Mikasa like an equal; or face a very long and potentially very damaging fight!

 

Mikasa’s armour scheme, clearly showing the sloping deck citadel; the same used on much later IJN ships, such as Fuso and Nagato. Whether or not this was a wise scheme to keep on those later ships is a debate in itself; however, on Mikasa it provides more than adequate protection:

 

For tier 2, Mikasa’s armour is god tier. No AP fired from another Tier 2 ship will penetrate her hull. When you consider that most of tier 2 is cruisers, this doesn’t seem so impressive…until you realize she pre-dates the vast majority of them by at least 20 years! Mikasa’s armour scheme was designed in around 1887…yet it can actually stand up to surprising punishment, both in life and in-game. Aside from bouncing everything a cruiser can throw at you, battleships also have a hard time cracking her open. Not to say they can’t, as Mikasa can actually be penned through the bow by Nassau. But they’ll have a hard time of it, mostly due to your heal which is equally as potent as theirs. Add to this that her belt is almost the same thickness as South Carolina’s, and her deck armour surprasses it; and you have one tough little ship. Be aware though, that fire will burn her to the ground. It’s normally a good idea to avoid notorious fire spammers such as St.Louis and Kolberg, and instead focus on firing into the enemy battleships.  

 

GAMEPLAY STRATEGY: Angle her well and don’t attract too much return fire from battleships. You’ll do well against cruiser shot, and even soak up some 11/12-inch AP damage in the process. Her sloped citadel will give you surprisingly high levels of protection. Even plunging fire isn't such a big issue, seeing as her combined deck thickness is more than that of the South Carolina!

 

Artillery

 

‘This ship couldn’t hit the side of a barn…from the inside!’ – The Mighty Jingles

 

Firepower is where the biggest misconceptions lie; and for once, I must agree with them in part. Mikasa only has a 2x2 turret layout; pitiful for a Battleship, regardless of its tier. This wouldn’t be such an issue, however, if only her guns didn’t have such wonky dispersion! Let me give you an example.  This ship can quite easily one-shot cruisers with HE. Seriously, ask any good Mikasa captain and they’ll verify this can and does happen. Sadly, though, this is the exception not the rule. Much more of your time in this ship will be spent ripping your hair out over a distinct lack of love from RNGesus. It doesn’t get much better in ergonomic aspects, either. Your turret speed will not allow you to do a full turn while locked on. Your range is thoroughly average for tier 2, and a little below average for tier 3. You can only fire both turrets while presenting an almost perfect broadside. As if all this wasn’t bad enough, the reload on the guns is the same as higher tier Battleships. Not normally an issue, but you only have four guns allowing for on average two shells a round…so…yeah. Having said all this though, reliable damage is possible if you learn her dispersion. Telepathy may help too, but in general, practice with the ship will definitely yield better results. My average damage per game is anywhere between 5 and 18k with the main batteries. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, it’s only normally possible to land 10, maybe 15 shells through the course of a battle. So yes…that is a lot of damage relatively speaking. So her guns really aren’t as ‘useless’ as everyone says. Just a little…temperamental…is all!

 

 

HOWEVER. And this is what everyone reading this has been waiting for me to get to….

 

Notice anything a little odd about this Tier 2 Battleship? Yup! It has four more useable secondaries than Nassau!

 

Remember how I mentioned that Dreadnoughts were special because they had ‘…all big guns…’? Well, Mikasa, not being a Dreadnought, overall has more gun batteries than Yamato. Yamato; 8 tiers above her, has (from a historical perspective) considerably weaker secondaries. In fact, if it weren’t for WG nerfing the living daylights out of Mikasa to stuff her into tier 2, she’d be the most powerful secondary machine in the whole game. She has guns EVERYWHERE; even some which are just for show!

 

AA guns? Nope! Fun fact: Mikasa has 80mm deactivated secondaries in her masts, as well as many extras along her decks which aren’t even used by the game! Historically they’d have fired out to around 11km as well. It’s only for balancing reasons they don’t work this way in World of Warships. In fact, the mast guns are very often misidentified as early AA-guns. Furthermore, you know those ‘AA’ guns on top of Ishizuchi’s turrets? Nope! Deactivated 4-inch secondaries!

 

 

Ok, so they certainly have number; but they’e not individually bad, either. Rapid reloading damage dealing 5-inchers line her hull while countless smaller calibres are strewn across her various decks, intended to harass and goad the enemy. In a pure secondary fight, Mikasa can beat Nassau at it’s own game due to the higher HE and DPM damage she deals. You’ll melt cruisers, especially ones inexperienced enough to wander into your secondary range. However, this is where I come to the one down-side of Mikasa’s secondary might; and it’s a doozy. They only fire out to 3km (3.8km up-specced). It does seem a bit of an over-nerf on WG’s part to do this, but I guess that just goes to reinforce my point that Pre-Dreadnoughts still had a place in a 20^th Century navy! But even this isn't a big of a problem as it sounds...most of the maps Mikasa will be on are tiny by comparison to the later ones. For instance, on 'Polar'; a popular Tier 2 map on which Mikasa frequently finds herself, your 3km secondaries will actually reach all the way across the cap circle and even into the center of the map! By relative comparison tothe secondary range on other IJN ships, this is phenomenal!

 

GAMEPLAY STRATEGY: You will consistently get damage by following your team into the fray and acting like the damage soaker for your allies. If your team plays well, you'll be in the heart of the action with both secondaries and primaries going off. Also, given the *cough* lower end player-base *cough* you'll come up against regularly, a lot of players will stray right into your secondaries. By which point, they'll either be sent back to port in very short order or will be very soon!

 

Secondary range (in green). While they have a fairly poor range compared with the tier 3 BB's, given the right map, you can use them to control entire areas or even lay down defensive fire for your team! Also note that I am being spotted by everybody, with my detection range having gone far outside the map (bottom left light blue)!

 

∆ Me demonstrating Mikasa's explosive secondary potential ∆

 

To summarize, Mikasa is capable of murdering lower tier cruisers and destroyers alike, and has a good chance of setting enemy battleships alight with her HE shells. The only problem is you'll have to push hard to make light of these advantages.

 

AA

 

Mikasa has no AAA whatsoever. Given the tier she's at, she'll never meet a single plane unless a Katori happens to be on the enemy team. So this really doesn't matter one bit. 

 

Torpedoes

 

Mikasa has no torpedo launchers. Given her lineage of having 4x 18-inch tubes, this is actually quite peculiar. Anyway, Destroyers at this tier are pretty deadly if used well. They can fire fast and in some cases (looking at you, Umikaze), to not inconsiderable range, too; so they are definitly a foe to watch out for. Nonetheless, a good captain will know exactly how to negate their advantages, and press his own (here being, secondaries).

 

Gameplay Strategy: The best way of dealing with a Destroyer in Mikasa is to go bow-in straight toward him. Your excellent maneuverability should allow you to avoid the vast majority of his torps; all the while your secondaries can probably get some pot shots in!. Of course, if you're at range from him, just sail in the opposite direction; you'll generally have very heavy cruiser escort at this tier, afterall, so this isn't difficult. 

 

Maneuverability

 

This is one aspect in which Mikasa uncategorically shines. 

 

Not only is she fast (18knots is impressive both for the ship type and her age), but she corners like a US Army Jeep. Pre-Dreadnoughts were well-know for this particular trait, thanks to their short overall length and wide rudder allowance; as well an inane ability to shut off one of the two screws powering the vessel; something far harder on a ship with quad screws. You'll find yourself almost ignoring most torpedoes fired at you with impunity. In fact, you can quite easily surf between Umikaze torps from the same launcher! All that's required is good situational awareness on your part and, if possible, the Vigilance captain perk.

 

When dropped into Tier 3, despite not being much slower than the majority of other Battleships, it is prudent to stick near base in case it need defending. In fact, base duty is perfect for an up-tierd Mikasa (especially since update 0.5.12, where people are now more liable to push each other's base). Your secondaries can cover the whole cap circle in shells, your maneuverability can make you a difficult target for DDs and your short silhouette means it's easy to stay within the circle and reset the cap.

 

Gameplay Strategy: Mikasa is very competitive in this regard. Use this to your advantage! Close to secondary range with enemy Cruisers and Destroyers (albeit with escort where possible), all the while using your great maneuverability to be as elusive as possible for enemies lining up torp shots! Just beware of entering the sights of a Tier 3 Battleship too soon...as you won't come out on top if he has any support or brain cells at all.

 

Simply asking at least one allied cruiser to stay near you will greatly increase the chance of survival for both of you. Because of this and the fact you can soak damage for them, they'll usually oblige; especially in tier II where you'll probably be the only Battleship.

 

Concealment

 

This is a bit of a pointless section, really. Mikasa's from a age where cannons barely reached 10km, so concealment didn't matter one iota to a Battleship. Be prepared to be instantly spotted; almost the second you load in in fact if it's a small map full of DDs. Your gun range is far below your surface detection range and while you won't have to worry about planes spotting you, Destroyers will always light you up first; especially if you're front-line.

 

Gameplay strategy: Don't go out on your own as you're such an easy target to be focused and neutralised. In tier II matches, this is somewhat negated by your awesome secondary firepower. But in Tier III you'll struggle to push without at least some form of support. Mikasa loves showing herself to the enemy team; never expect concealment unless you're hard up against an island; and even then, don't rely on it!

 

Overall

 

Let’s see how she compares competitively with Kawachi, South Carolina and Nassau

 

Survivability: 2/4 - It won't surprise anyone that I'm announcing Mikasa to be a tiny bit more durable than South Carolina, but a little less so than Kawachi and a lot less than Nassau.

 

Artillery: 2/4 - This is a difficult one, but I have to give artillery to Nassau for its overall quantity of firepower and South Carolina for its super-firing layout. Kawachi's lack of range and average secondaries leave her bottom.

 

AA: 1/4 - She has none to speak of. Not that this is in any way a problem.

 

Maneuverability: 4/4 - Great for a Battleship, no matter how you look at it

 

Concealment: 1/4 - She doesn't know the meaning of the word 'Conceal', let alone how to do it.

 

Ideal Build (In my opinion; these are only recommended and you can do whatever you feel is best!)

 

Captain Skills

 

1 Point: Basic Firing Training. The buff this gives your secondary reload alone should make it a no-brainer.

1 Point (optional): Basics of Survivability. Fire is your biggest killer in this ship. I'd say use a point on this in rank 14 until your captain hits rank 15.

2 Points: Expert Marksman. You'll want whatever you can get to speed up these turrets.

3 Points: Vigilance. Ensures better dancing with DDs.

3 Points: (optional) Superintendent. Extra heal is always a good thing in a BB. I'd say use 3 points on this in rank 13 until your captain hits rank 15.

4 Points: Advanced Firing Training. An extra 700 meters onto your secondary range isn't to be missed.

5 Points: Manual Aiming. It goes without saying that Mikasa requires a secondary build. This skill, while expensive, will ensure you'll punitively murder anyone who gets too close; even many Battleships (it's extremely rare to find BBs using this skill in Tier 3...consistent secondary hits will allow you to compete ferociously with both South Carolina and Kawachi in close-range combat).

 

Upgrades

 

1st Slot: Secondary Armament Modification. Losing turrets on Mikasa doesn't hurt as much as losing a large number of secondaries then finding your weight of broadside lacking when it matters most; which *will* happen without this upgrade. Especially important to mount if using the 5-point captain skill. To be honest, I've always used this upgrade and never lost a main turret on Mikasa once. They seem pretty beefy!

 

Repair Party II is also a very good idea if you don't mind spending money on this ship. It'll help with the fires greatly.

 

Signals and Camo

 

The only one I can really recommend for such a low tier ship is boosted secondary range (Close Quarters Expert) purely because A) You need as much secondary range as possible, and B) Mikasa will generate more of this signal pretty much every match anyway. Increased fire chance (Arsonist) can help you too, but I'd only use it if you have a tonne lying around; otherwise it's a bit of a waste of what is a very good signal.

 

Mikasa comes with a gorgeous 'Titanic style' camo which you'll want to use 9 times out of 10. However, if you really want to be unique and don't care so much for the XP bonus, take it off! I'm guilty for using Mikasa extensively minus the camo, simply because I love how much more 'Pre-Dreadnought-y' she looks without it! All other camo is wasted on this ship, in pretty much every way.

 

Conclusion

 

Mikasa can be an extremly situational, awkward, punishing, at times sadistic, stressful, bullying ship to play and on the strength of these things alone, I can't recommend her to any competitive player. End of discussion.

 

HOWEVER, I can utterly recommend her with all my heart to the following types of player:

 

1. Those with an active interest in history
2. Those who enjoy having fun with secondaries
3. Those who just love the thought of bringing a Battleship into a Cruiser's domain
4. Those who love admiring their ships (seriously...Mikasa is just gorgeous with a supplied premium camo to match)
5. Those who are after a good ship-taming challenge!

 

She's unique. Utterly, utterly unique in World of Warships. If you match any 1 of the above five parameters, you won't regret dropping £8 on her; I can promise you that now. Even in Co-op she's worth the money; letting those bots get close and watching your secondaries turn them into Swiss Cheese is truly a sight to behold. And you ain't seen anything until you experience a Mikasa on Mikasa duel...

 

With help, you'll get into brawls with Nassau and win. With help you'll excel in this ship; without help you'll be focused and killed. She is truly a team-player's ship, designed with the close-quarters player in mind. Oh, and did I mention she's fantastic for getting the 'Close Quarters Expert' award? 'Cos she is!

 

To conclude; buy Mikasa today, join the brilliant Mikasa Appreciation Fleet, add my

 and jump in-game! What are you waiting for? Another massive shift in naval doctrine?

 

-----------------------------

[von_chom]

imho its more like description than guide

for guide you need to put some gameplay footage, gameplay tips and capt. skill and ship equipment recommendations to begin with

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

imho its more like description than guide

for guide you need to put some gameplay footage, gameplay tips and capt. skill and ship equipment recommendations to begin with

As my opening statement says, this is barely 3% of what it'll be once finished ;) It'll be just like the Colorado and Ishizuchi guides which include gameplay tips, capt skill and equipment as well as much more; my primary aim with these though is to give the ships a better name and highlight their strengths, as well as entice players to try them; to which end there will be a lot of description through necessity. I'm also purposely avoiding video as there are plenty of video guides but not enough written ones; not everyone can play video on their devices or want to sit through one.

 

I have taken this on board though and I'll try to highlight game play tips a bit more clearly in future as while I did mention a lot of how to play the ship in the Colorado guide, it tends to get a bit lost in translation if you're not reading everything carefully.

 

 Thanks for the feedback; it helps 

 

 

[HMS_Worcester]

Very nice start, I look forward to seeing the guide progress.

 

Would you mind if I post a link to this in the society thread?

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Thanks, i'd welcome that! The goal is to make more people fall in love with her the way we have, so the more the merrier! 

 

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Post no longer required.

[Mucker]

Just a minor correction, Mikasa can meet a plane in regular MM, it's the Katori's fighter. Not that it matters though... 

 

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

For some reason I thought Katori was tier 4, but you are indeed correct! Must be thinking of Yubari  

 

Corrected 

[SmartassNoob]

The guide should dedicate a small paragraph to the ram. It's the only BB in the game that has this awesome feature, but unfortunately it's only cosmetic. It would make sense if it could survive ramming tier 3 BB, seeing as how the ship was clearly designed for ramming. It's not like it would unbalance the game, considering that it's also the slowest ship in the game.

 

One time I managed to ram 2 DDs in the same battle. One of them intentionally drove into my way (probably because he didn't know it's possible to survive that), but it still counts.

 

A few old cruisers look like they also have this, but theirs is not really sharp enough. Like how modern ships have that chin for efficiency.

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

The guide should dedicate a small paragraph to the ram. It's the only BB in the game that has this awesome feature, but unfortunately it's only cosmetic. It would make sense if it could survive ramming tier 3 BB, seeing as how the ship was clearly designed for ramming. It's not like it would unbalance the game, considering that it's also the slowest ship in the game.

 

One time I managed to ram 2 DDs in the same battle. One of them intentionally drove into my way (probably because he didn't know it's possible to survive that), but it still counts.

 

A few old cruisers look like they also have this, but theirs is not really sharp enough. Like how modern ships have that chin for efficiency.

 

Despite being a smartass noob, you're absolutly spot-on. I'd LOVE for that to be in the game as a mechanic for both this and all early dreads; as well as Campbeltown 

 

I sometimes hate the ram on the front of Mikasa as it means I end up eating torps which normally would go right under my bow. It's just the wrong depth! And you're right; they do look a lot like bulbous bows. Coincidence? I think not! 

[Gnomus]

I found Mikasa lacking badly against decent CL or gun DD. You are always spotted, can't run or force engagement. He will stay at his favorite range and either stay totally out of your range (only few ships on T2/3) or only risk 4 (or 2 if you even try to run or reach) low RoF inaccurate gun. He will just slowly burn you down. Heal will make you stand longer, but Mikasa itself is pretty helpess. If you happen to have been blessed with not so good team there is very little to do. 

 

If enemy, or at least your own team, is so decent to co-operate then Mikasa can do wonders.

[SmartassNoob]

The available upgrades are all useless. They give you a choice between:

• Turret protection. - I can't remember having a turret knocked out, or if I have then maybe only once with it healing in a reasonable amount of time.
• Secondary and AA gun survivability. - If you ever run into a tier 3 BB, you're ****ed. Nothing less can take out your secondary guns and it has no AA guns. As explained in the first post, there's no need at tier 2.
• Magazine protection. - I certainly haven't had a magazine detonation.

 

I haven't used any of them, because why should I? I suppose the secondary gun survivability should matter the most, but the Mikasa never dies from gunfire. It can only die from fire.

 

The Mikasa is generally a major burden on the team, so if you manage to be on the winning side, it's normally because someone else did more work. Or because the enemy was busy fighting you and thereby giving your team a better chance to fight them.

[Gnirf]

Captain a small advice please have your name in the title as in Colorado so it is easier to search and we know that it is your review, especially if you plan to do more

[StringWitch]

"She’s a pre-dreadnought. Not a Battleship (in the strict sense), not a Battlecruiser; not even an Ironclad."

 

'Battleship' is just short for 'ship of the line of battle'. Strictly speaking, the modern battleship descended from ironclad frigates rather than #th-rate lineships, but I don't think that's the distinction you're making. Pre-dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts, super-dreadnoughts, et al. are all subsets of the modern all-metal battleship, like how you can have various kinds of... I dunno, grass, say, but they're all still grass.

 

 

The available upgrades are all useless. They give you a choice between:

• Turret protection. - I can't remember having a turret knocked out, or if I have then maybe only once with it healing in a reasonable amount of time.
• Secondary and AA gun survivability. - If you ever run into a tier 3 BB, you're ****ed. Nothing less can take out your secondary guns and it has no AA guns. As explained in the first post, there's no need at tier 2.
• Magazine protection. - I certainly haven't had a magazine detonation.

 

I haven't used any of them, because why should I? I suppose the secondary gun survivability should matter the most, but the Mikasa never dies from gunfire. It can only die from fire.

 

Actually, Mikasa's magazines are very vulnerable for a BB. They're the foremost/aftmost armoured rooms (ie. where the armour is thinner) and angling often gets them hit with terrible consequences. I have the secondary upgrade on my Mikasa though, because they can get knocked out by HE spamming cruisers at close range, particularly St. Louis. The slot presents a choice between losing your health or guns, as with really any other ship, though here you pick secondaries instead of primaries; the primary gun upgrade is the most pointless one in this case since they're not a really useful part of the ship to begin with, and only get knocked out by BB AP which will probably blow the magazine instead.

 

Still, what Mikasa really needs is Main Battery Mod. 0 from the 14cm-gunned IJN premiums.

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

"She’s a pre-dreadnought. Not a Battleship (in the strict sense), not a Battlecruiser; not even an Ironclad."

 

'Battleship' is just short for 'ship of the line of battle'. Strictly speaking, the modern battleship descended from ironclad frigates rather than #th-rate lineships, but I don't think that's the distinction you're making. Pre-dreadnoughts, dreadnoughts, super-dreadnoughts, et al. are all subsets of the modern all-metal battleship, like how you can have various kinds of... I dunno, grass, say, but they're all still grass.

 

 

I knew someone would pick up on that 

 

This is why I added 'in the strict sense'. The thing is, you're absolutely right; any Ironclad Frigate with self-propulsion was exactly that; a steam ironclad frigate, not a 'line-of-(battle'-ship). Naturally they were eventually re-designated ironclads and then eventually Battleships. But this is my point; Mikasa came at a time when that designation was mostly un-used. Many books and publications from that exact era (1880-1890s) will still refer to them as 'Ironclad frigates' or even as 'Battle Ships'. It wasn't until the 20th Century that the two words were joined together and the whole word 'Battleship' became common to describe, as you say, the entire spectrum of these vessels; most formerly, Ironclad Warships. It's simply a case of our modern lexicon being applied to something that slightly pre-dates it. From what I know, the Pre-Dreadnought does slightly pre-date this allocation. To be honest, it's always been my understanding that the term 'Battle Ship', throughout the 19thC (one word or two) would be loosely applied to ships exceeding 68 guns - so 3rd 2nd and 1st rates, basically. Sixth to Fourth-rates (including sloops) *could* be labeled line-of-battle ships, but this would be incorrect as of course a Sixth rate would get blown to bits in the line of battle; even fourth rates historically struggled when dropped into the main line of main actions (though it's important to note they excelled in all other duties...early Battle-cruisers, anyone? ). So the term 'Frigate' was used to serve that gap between fourth ratings and sloops/brigs..which is why, due to their lack of guns mostly, fast ships like the 40-gun HMS Warrior were put into the Frigate category; despite her clearly being what we'd (like to) call an early Battleship due to her armour and sheer size. So the term is, to a degree, interchangeable when applied to ships during that period; let's not forget that many less significant navies were still using 3rd 2nd and 1st rates well into the end of the 19thC.

 

Anyway trivia aside, Battleship is technically the correct designation in this context so I guess strictly speaking you are correct. I just felt it important to highlight the fact Mikasa comes from an era where 'Battleship' didn't necessarily mean what we all think it means (ie Iron Duke, Iowa, Dreadnought et. al). Pre-Dreads were a form of the evolution of ship-design in their own right, and due to their period, to label them as Battleships; rightly or wrongly; seems a little out-of-date to me. Their rapid status into obsolete means it's better to see them as a cross between Super heavy frigate (though I admit this is a slight bastardization of the term; but that's what the Victorians called 'em!) and a Battleship. They were, afterall, considerably smaller and more under-armed than most Dreads.

 

Not that this is aimed at you, StringWitch, as I realize it most certainly isn't; but for anyone else reading this who wants to check my facts; you're welcome to, but know that while Wikipedia and Encyclopedias in general are a great knowledge base for this kind of thing, the reader just needs to ensure they understand that they're being presented the most commonly accepted facts; not necessarily things which may have been contested in the day, ie if the Battleship term would've stuck in those very early days. As you can see, I'm not convinced it did initially; at least not in the mainstream. But of course I may be totally wrong here, I admit that; all I'm going on is the books I've studied etc and it's all third party info, afterall.

 

[Soft_Kitty_Warm_Kitty]

Thanks for a very informative and useful description, not sure that I will ever buy her but I really enjoyed the guide and my wallet hand was itching to try her lol   You'll have to stop making your guides so good, I can't afford to keep buying ships you write about

 

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Thanks for a very informative and useful description, not sure that I will ever buy her but I really enjoyed the guide and my wallet hand was itching to try her lol   You'll have to stop making your guides so good, I can't afford to keep buying ships you write about

 

Thanks for the kind words, I'm seriously flattered  Hopefully I can get this one finished tomorrow (still missing build guide and pics).

 

How you finding Itchy Sushi (Ishizuchi)?  

[1MajorKoenig]

Nice read! I also like Mikasa but wish she had a base secondary range of 4km which would give us 5km with skill and flag.

 

Anyway - enjoyable to read :-)

[Soft_Kitty_Warm_Kitty]

 

Thanks for the kind words, I'm seriously flattered  Hopefully I can get this one finished tomorrow (still missing build guide and pics).

 

How you finding Itchy Sushi (Ishizuchi)?

 

I was ill over the weekend so I only got one battle in in the Itchy, it was a loss (my team committed suicide in various ways lol) and I got cornered by 2 BB's and a CA and finished off quite quickly  but during the very short fight (I really dislike the range handicap) I managed 24k damage in a very short time and the accuracy didnt seem to bad.  Hoping to have the time over the next few days to get a few more battles in her but also trying to push myself up the ranking in "Ranked Battles".  At level 15 at the minute and finding it hard going, really must think about joining a clan for more experiance and divisions in randoms.

[Soft_Kitty_Warm_Kitty]

Ok, its official I hate you, my bank account hates you and my wife would hate you if she ever finds out about the ships I buy lol

 

I couldnt resist the urge to try out yet another ship you recommended, please, please stop now

 

 

[OiMateYouSankMyBattleShp]

Props for the type work. But it is just a silly troll ship heavily influenced by RnG. 

[StringWitch]

 

long post

 

 

Interesting! Can you recommend any books?

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

 

I was ill over the weekend so I only got one battle in in the Itchy, it was a loss (my team committed suicide in various ways lol) and I got cornered by 2 BB's and a CA and finished off quite quickly  but during the very short fight (I really dislike the range handicap) I managed 24k damage in a very short time and the accuracy didnt seem to bad.  Hoping to have the time over the next few days to get a few more battles in her but also trying to push myself up the ranking in "Ranked Battles".  At level 15 at the minute and finding it hard going, really must think about joining a clan for more experiance and divisions in randoms.

 

Yep the range handicap will get you killed if you're not careful. However, her accuracy is pretty damn nice as you say and that tends to compensate imo I've actually decided to not push Rank 10 this season; purely so I can experience whatever sub-rank 15 is in Season 6. That and I just don't have the time to grind anymore. Also, add me in-game if you like as I can always use friendly division partners 

 

 

Ok, its official I hate you, my bank account hates you and my wife would hate you if she ever finds out about the ships I buy lol

 

I couldnt resist the urge to try out yet another ship you recommended, please, please stop now

 

 

 

Nope! 100s more on the way! Prepare to spend! 

 

Props for the type work. But it is just a silly troll ship heavily influenced by RnG. 

 

I don't know if I agree on the 'troll' designation, as it is possible to get solid performance from her, despite the wonky RNG. But I do agree she's heavily reliant on RNGesus for a lot of shots.

 

Thanks all the same 

 

 

Interesting! Can you recommend any books?

 

Depending on what you're after, there was a series of books I read years ago which covered the transition perfectly and I learnt the real core of the topic from. I believe they were titled 'The end of the sailing Navy' and 'The Heyday of steam', in order. Jane's fighting ships is always an interesting insight too, if you can get your hands on one/some. I've also read (probably several 100 by now) general naval history books which will always cover this period in depth as I'm sure you already know; charity shops, steam rallies, book fairs are perfect for this. If you live in Britain and are prepared to travel, Hay-On-Wye has some excellent bookshops with entire sections on specific periods. Places like Chatham dockyard (to name probably the best one) also have whole shops dedicated to it. I have a book I actually bought in the HMS Warrior gift shop, simply titled 'Ironclads'. It's a modern paper-back, not very long but a seriously good read and I'm just sorry I can't find it online for you, though this one is in the same series and is very, very good (though they do seem to use the term 'Battleship' throughout that one!). 'History of the Royal Navy' (normally found alongside 'History of the British Army') is another good one. This one is a must too, as is this one for seeing how they were used. I have one called 'The Emergence of the modern Capital Ship'. it's an old non-illustrated leather-bound, by Stanley Sander published in 1937. A seriously, seriously interesting book but sadly I'd be surprised if you can get hold of it Hope you can though as it's worth it! Google seems to have a much later edition of it. Also bearing in mind I read most of these years ago, so I cant vouch for any availabilities...

 

Havn't read it myself, but probably will; this one looks like it could be a good read  

 

I hate myself so much for this, but I have a book which went into great detail regarding the transition from broadside to turret (it featured Cowper Coles heavily)...can't for the life of me remember its name though 

 

Actually while I'm on the subject of Coles, HMS Captain (1870) is a great place to start for this kind of research  Seeing how pivotal she was, she'll be featured in most works regarding this period (assuming you need/want a place to start; I'm adding this for others reading the post too).

 

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

I'm happy to say this guide is now complete. 

 

Any suggestions and/or comments welcome. 

[Soft_Kitty_Warm_Kitty]

Two battles, two wins  not anything to judge her on but a nice start.

 

Haven't had time to devote more games to her, been very busy in ranked battles.

 

I have noticed that she burns very easily but loving the secondaries, I wish I had a spare 15pt Captain to get AFT and get them out to 3.8km but if she keeps on like the first couple of battles then, we'll get along fine