Disliked Guide #4: Atlanta

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

 

 

Disliked ship guide #4:

Atlanta - Underpowered or Overpowered?

(For final comparison to other cruisers of the tier, skip to the 'Overall' section)

 

At a glance:

 

• USN Tier 7 1941 Super light cruiser, won't stand up to punishment very well but can hand it out in droves!
• Most similar to the Cleveland, you share the extremly strong escort AA and punishing HE characteristics of this tier 6 US cruiser; interestingly, though, you also share its maneuverability.
• Is a specialist DD hunter, will rip any Destroyer to shreds if it's unfortunate enough to be detected near her; the sheer quantity of AP you'll broadside can also one-shot many cruisers.
• Extremly good credit earner, though only if you play to her strengths. She's downright punishing otherwise.
• Available at the store or in-game, for £31. This is a lot of money for a CL and more than HMS Belfast.

 

First- An Opinion

 

If you're squeamish about fragile cruisers, Atlanta probably isn't the ship for you and there's no shame in this; the same goes for many others. If, however, you love a stupid amount of firepower; you're not alone either! And so the argument of Atlanta either needing a nerf or buff come in. 'Underpowered' because she can so easily be killed by both Cruisers and Destroyers alike; 'Overpowered' because she can so easily make life a living hell for the enemy team, especially given her recent radar buff. I will say this though; I thought I'd regret dropping so many gold doubloons to buy her. I'd read so much about it being an unreliable 'troll' of a ship, yet seen so much excellent gameplay by certain CC's that I was torn down the middle. Being a US Destroyer man and loving all US cruisers, I took the plunge; and to date she's my most successful ship by kill rate and credits earned; not to mention the most used. I love Atlanta; and I hope by the end of this guide you'll have decided whether or not you will too!

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Be aware of the price though. That's a lot of gold and if you feel it'd be better used converting free xp or buying camo/consumables, do that instead! Atlanta isn't for the faint of heart and if you don't get consistently good results with her she'll punish you severely.

 

Survivability

 

In this respect, Atlanta is a big Destroyer. Her health pool is fairly low; on a par with Omaha, meaning you need to be careful when choosing engagements. However, while her armour is pretty poor in almost every respect, the reason it remains effective isn't because it actually 'stops' shot, but more because it doesn't allow the shells to arm. Being a cruiser, Battleships will lick their lips when seeing a broadside Atlanta; 'Easy kill' being the first thing to enter their thoughts. But this is where I must crush your Battleship ego. Atlanta is surprisingly capable against battleships. 'Cowper you bloody idiot! This is the most ignorant thing you've said yet! Atlanta tanky against battleships? PAH! I one-shotted it in my cruiser just this morning!' Thing is though, imagine that was a Soviet Cruiser you'd fired at...chances are you'd have either done the same damage or more. Even against cruiser shot, Atlanta will overpen the vast majority of what you throw at it. Not to say she's particularly 'strong' against cruisers; as this is not the case at all; but rather, that she isn't as utterly pathetic against them as everyone seems to believe.

 

Atlanta's armour scheme with only critical components selected; clearly showing a near enough non-existent armouring of the forward and upper citadel:

 

 

Still don't understand what I'm getting at? Ok. So, let's put this into some context against, say, her notoriously under-protected USN tech tree counterpart.

 

The Tier 7 US Cruiser is the CA Pensacola.  She mounts ten powerful 8-inch guns and suffers from a mix of bad concealment and armour scheme. While I won't be mentioning Indianapolis much during this guide (mostly for the reason that I don't own it), it's important to deeply analyze, with great detail, where Atlanta stands with Pensacola. So here goes:

Atlanta can one-shot Pensacola with more ease than Pensacola can one-shot Atlanta. 

 

No, seriously. Atlanta, while very poorly armoured, has a smaller citadel and will generally bounce/over-pen more shot than Pepsi (no, really!). Pensacola, on the other hand, if presenting Atlanta with a broadside will eat at least 6-7 citadel penetrations from a well-aimed shot of your 127mm puff guns; making one-shotting or inflicting severe damage very much a possibility. I do this more regularly than you'd expect, and it's a real shame for the Cola players but really highlights how Atlanta's armour works. Basically being a Destroyer in all ways but size and gun number, Atlanta's mostly made up of paper-thin plating. Her citadel, while protected by 85mm, will eight times out of ten overpen the majority of Battleship shot. While same or lower-tier cruisers can make breakfast out of you, if you're packing AP you can generally finish them off first. Due to this, I don't think lack of armour is a very big problem on Atlanta. Yes, you'll take a LOT of damage in 1 v 1 encounters with other cruisers; yes, giving your broadside to ANYONE is still a very, very bad idea; as with any cruiser. But angling is surprisingly effective on Atlanta; anyone who says otherwise clearly doesn't own one or hasn't even tried angling. I've outlived Scharnhorsts in 1v1 duels before simply by angling with my stern up against an island (no, really!). I think it has more to do with over-pens and super slim profile than it does with the armour actually stopping the shells, but I'm not complaining!

 

Gameplay Strategy: Atlanta is just as soft as any other cruiser; the exception being the fact she'll overpen battleship shot with a lot more ease than thicker cruiser armour would, making her arguably better than many cruisers versus this class. Just keep the range open and dance when facing BBs; you *will* come out on top if playing smartly. Against cruisers, however, your best bet is to wait for support or use cover. Atlanta has extremly high arcing guns, meaning you can use island armour far more than they probably can. Failing all the above, angle bow-in. Not to say you can't still take great damage doing so, but you'll last far, far longer than you would at any other angle. 

 

Attack Strategy: An Atlanta on the enemy team should ALWAYS be a priority target, as their harassing fire can burn down Battleships and wreck Destroyers with radar. When fighting an Atlanta, use HE; regardless of the ship you're in but especially in a Battleship. You *won't* get all those juicy citadel hits you're expecting. In a cruiser, catching an Atlanta out in the open is best as near islands she can become highly problematic. While it is true she'll always out-spam you, 8-inch High Explosive spam can be a real problem for the low health pool Atlanta player; meaning generally they'll see their disadvantage and disengage (if they don't...well...more fool them!) Lower tier cruisers and ALL Destroyers should avoid engaging this ship completely unless they have support or no other option.

 

NOTE: I am unaware of any changes in gameplay associated with British Cruisers. As of writing this guide, I have no experience against them with Atlanta. However, I would guess that their posh AP is fairly bad news for her thin armour when you're not angled. Caution is your best option and bombarding them with HE will probably still work! Don't forget you have radar too, negating their smoke. All in all, Atlanta is likely to be a decent British CL counter.

 

 

Artillery

 

Sorry for the length of that section, but it's vital I address longevity in this ship as it's key to understanding how to play to its strengths. Afterall, you need to know how to survive if you're going to be using the DPM machine that is Atlanta! Armed with 8x2 5-inch turrets (identical to those found on the T8+ BBs as secondaries) which have a reload time of less than 3.5s and 180 degree turret traverse of less than 6 seconds, it's fair to say you can take any enemy on through DPM alone. Having been on both the sending and receiving end of her fury many times, I can honestly say that to underestimate Atlanta, regardless of what ship you're in, is a seriously bad idea. Your bread and butter in this ship are the following:

 

• Large or isolated Battleships. Higher tier KMS and all IJN ships are perfect for this. However, US ships or BBs with support tend to be much harder to spam down range.
• All Destroyers. Atlanta has the capability of totally ignoring smoke when hunting. She can kill any DD in the game (including Soviet gun-boats) with ease and is dedicated to this role.
• All Aircraft Carriers. God-tier AAA, speed, small size and stupidly high rate of fire makes you the dread of all Carrier players.

 

It's fair to say that there's no shortage of firepower as far as Atlanta's concerned. The AP can be beastly if fired en-masse, and the HE can whittle down even the largest, most armoured ships. This does however come with considerable drawbacks. Prepare for more death by bullet....points!

 

• Your base range is just 11km. Bismarck's secondaries almost reach further than that...and they're bigger! (AFT is an option for a 2km boost, but the presence of demo expert makes this a surprisingly difficult choice without a 14-point cap).
• They have the most parabolic firing arcs in the game. Ok, so this one can be advantageous if, say, you're using islands as cover. But most of the time the shell flight length is a downright annoyance. 
• They can be knocked out fairly easily. This isn't as bad as it used to be, but be prepared to lose at least one or two turrets in the course of a good firefight. You have plenty in reserve, though!
• At least one wing turret will always be out of action. Not a big issue, as again, there are plenty more where that came from!

 

I can fire at least four broadsides before the first one lands on my Atlanta. BFT and AFT make this achievable, but even on a stock captain you'll be firing almost three before the first lands. This means it's possible to have a constant stream of lava being fired into the enemy. 

 

Gameplay Strategy: You are an extremly devastating ship if given the chance to rain fire on an enemy team. Use islands for cover or let allies tank for you, while peppering the enemy from behind. The way I use this ship...imagine she's a cohort of archers firing on the enemy from behind a line of spearmen. Let your team get between you and the enemy team, only exposing yourself if absolutly necessary. The damage you add to your teams' overall attack is not inconsiderable. In fact, I'm often the one doing the most damage when focusing down an enemy ship. In duels with battleships, Atlanta can also excel given that there's an island nearby. Even if there isn't, though, dancing round in circles and only giving the enemy your broadside when they reload, all the while DPM'ing them to death is highly effective at bringing down even tier 9 BBs. Also bear in mind, that whilst you're not designed for melee, like an archer, you do carry a close quarters weapon in case you end up closer than you'd otherwise like to be...

 

Gameplay TOP TIP: Don't just fire Atlanta's guns when you need to. Fire them CONSTANTLY, unless you intend on stealthing up. The effect the infinite stream of shells has on an enemy player's morale is enough to make even the most hardened Rank 1 veteran turn their ship away, saying 'Feck this crap, I'm out!'. Your spam is the most powerful area denial tool in the game; provided the enemy can't kill you first, that is, and I have a stupidly low hit-rate on this ship due to this (yet I'm still above the 23% average for MBH...which I guess illustrates that this is a common technique!) Your 'curtain of fire' can completely screw up the enemy team's plans; either by making them push harder to try to kill you, or by driving them away. Two or more Atlantas (or Flints, especially) can isolate enemy ships from entire halves of the map this way.

 

 

Torpedoes

 

Atlanta is one of only three US Cruisers to carry torps and the only higher tier US cruiser to mount them. While they're definitely less useful than those found on Phoenix and Omaha, it can be nice knowing they're there. Sadly, though, I can't recommend using them unless absolute need be; your guns are a much better go-to for any ship or battle type.

 

Gameplay Strategy: It's important to note that these torps are not offensive in any way, shape or form. Not only does the 4.5km range kill any chance you have of doing this, but despite being numerous they are only mounted in one launcher per side...meaning they're a one-chance last ditch weapon to use if you find yourself hard up against an enemy with nothing left to live for. Don't get me wrong; I *have* used them offensively, albeit extremely rarely. Island ambushes are doable and given their relatively high damage output, you are very capable of putting the hurt on someone who may have forgotten Atlanta has torps (a lot of people do the whole; 'US Cruiser, that's cool it can't have torps, then' kind of thing), but beyond this I fail to see any offensive use they have. Their reload time and range also negates using them as a zone denial device (though in lower tier maps where caps are smaller, this could be an option just to keep an enemy at arm's length).

 

 

AA

 

A fully-upgraded Cleveland is capable of reaching in excess of a 75 rating on its AA guns. It'll not only ruin the day of any equal-tier carrier, but will also make higher tier carriers very, very anxious if they have to deal with one. She's legendary for this.

 

So, imagine Atlanta as being what Pensacola and New Orleans *should* have been when it comes to AA! Atlanta is GOD-TIER.Thanks to mounting 16 5-inch dual purpose cannons, her long-range AAA has very few equals in the entire game; in fact, in per-match DPM alone she has the best AA in the entire game (yes...better than Flint! You have four more dual purpose guns than Flint can boast). This is because Atlanta and Flint both mount something nobody else can...infinite Defensive AA. You heard me, there's no limit to the amount of times you can use your AA consumable; like repair party, it's infinite! Premium makes it even more potent, allowing you to use defensive AA extremely regularly and throughout the entire match, regardless of how many planes come at you; and this alongside her DD hunting skills makes her class superior to absolutely every other cruiser from an escort perspective.

 

If given an inch, Atlanta will take a square mile. Carriers should not mess with her under any circumstance. Combine this with her firepower, and you're the ultimate escort for Battleships. Provided

you use cover wisely, you can usually out-live them too; as in this battle.It's all about finding and using strategic cover; especially when you have your AA guns going off constantly, alerting everyone to your presence! 

 

Gameplay Strategy: You'll find yourself putting the ship in harm's way just to shoot down planes. The AA really is that lethal! No CV will get a good drop on an Atlanta if it's being played smartly; even if they break through with enough birds left to make a strike (unlikely in itself), she presents such a small target you'll likely dodge pretty much all bombs and torps. Be aware, though, that losing main turrets will reduce AA effectiveness much more than on any other ship. Yes, there are Battleships with better AA ratings than Atlanta (mine has an 89 rating yet my NC is 100); but they can't mount infinite Defensive AA! That's what gives you an edge, especially long-range and against torp bombers so use it wisely and generously. A well-played Atlanta can keep half its fleet alive and totally shutdown enemy CVs.

 

 

 

Maneuverability

 

Atlanta is most comparable to Cleveland here as well; difference is though, in the last section that was a good thing, but here...not so much. Yes, she has a narrow profile allowing for a lot of stern wiggling and avoidance of shells; yes, she's fast enough to keep up with most other Cruisers and Battleships and yes, the helm is responsive enough to make successful torpedo beats fairly easy to execute. Sadly, however, that's it. For a ship of her weight class I find Atlanta to be extremly sluggish with an equally slow helm (even with the upgrade mounted). 32knots is what you'll make in a straight line, and even then it takes a relatively long time to get there; she'll bleed a lot of speed the second you touch the helm, too, meaning 26-29knots is what you'll in fact be making most of the time. At tier 7, you're frequently matched with ships like the Myoko which can boast a top speed that's in excess of 35knots...meaning this super light cruiser can in fact be chased down (fairly easily I might add), by heavy cruisers. In fact, Iowa has a good 1.5knots on Atlanta. I would say it's the biggest weakness of this ship; that alongside the Destroyer grade health pool, the average helm speed and the fairly noticeable silhouette the ship casts, Atlanta's speed/acceleration just isn't good enough and will get you targeted easily. This means it's out of the question to ever stop in Atlanta, as is it to go solo warrior in the hope that you'll outrun anyone who comes towards you. I blame her slow top speed on the majority of problems players have with this ship, and whilst it was hoped this would be addressed in her recent buff (in which she got radar instead), I guess you can't rewrite history. The real Atlanta's were, afterall, found to be unstable and a little unseaworthy in certain respects and that's reflected here in the poor handling characteristics

 

Having said which, she's manoeuvrable enough to throw off battleship shot and fast enough to outrun all but the faster battleships in the game. She'll struggle to catch up with destroyers in most situations, sadly. Her helm is however faster than many cruisers around her matchmaking bracket, meaning you won't find yourself lacking too much when placed in a duel with an equal or lower tier cruiser. The recent addition of Helm Mod 2 for Tier 8's and above is undeniably a game changer, though your smaller size allows you to still be competitive to this end.

 

Gameplay Strategy: Undoubtably her biggest weakness being maneuverability, you must play to this. Atlanta does not rely on speed to stay alive, but rather her firepower. Playing her is, then, all about using what cover you possibly can and judging accurately where you can be and how soon. Island hopping is by far the best way, as you're just fast enough to make yourself an undesirable target when jumping between islands. If caught in the open, either get behind allies or stealth up...this really is your only option. 

 

Concealment

 

This is an area which tends to quite often split opinion. Is 10km concealment good enough on a slow, super fragile light cruiser? I tend to feel she could use a tiny bit more, personally. Certain ships, such as North Carolina and Edinburgh, for instance, which capitalise on stealth can be a serious problem. A concealment build NC or even Iowa will nuke Atlanta before it can even get the chance to fire a shot; I repeat, a 50,000 tonne battleship is almost as indistinguishable from the horizon as a 6,700 tonne light cruiser. Personally, I find this utterly ridiculous when looking at how much larger the British CL's are than Atlanta, but then as many have mentioned, WoWs isn't a very realistic game to begin with so let's instead focus on how this affects gameplay.  

 

If you don't have AFT on your captain you'll need to play extremly passively for at least the first quarter of the match. This is because your guns barely outrange your detectability. By air, you're surprisingly stealthy; which allows for some nice AA ambushes for CV's which may not be paying attention. However, I will simply reiterate what I said above; Atlanta relies on islands and allies for survival. 10km is 10km, so it's fairly easy to escape a wrathful enemy if they're slower than you and it's true, I bite off more than I can chew then stealth up very regularly and live to tell the tale. It's not awful. But it's definitly something to be aware of and I guess if she had it much lower, it'd make Flint's smoke less competitive when fighting an Atlanta; not to mention Destroyers who find themselves on an Atlanta warpath. So it's all about being intelligent with your positioning (moreso than with most other ships) and having an acute understanding of the game's spotting dynamics. Given that Ocean doesn't appear much anymore, you'll pretty much always have islands to use for concealment. 

 

Gameplay Strategy: Many argue that 10km may not be perfect but that it's enough for a ship as powerful as Atlanta, and for a skilled player I mostly agree that it is. Just bear in mind what I've said above; you're no destroyer and as cruisers go you can still be out-spotted by clever cruiser captains. This means you can not (and should not) rely on stealth in the majority of combat situations. Luckily, Atlanta will find herself on many larger maps at this tier, so a 'measly' 10km gives the enemy substantially less chance of spotting her than it would otherwise. Just ensure you use radar correctly if you suspect a DD is lighting you up; the 8.5km range gives you just enough to make their lives harder. It's important to note that DDs just love doing this to enemy Atlanta's as it makes them feel masculine and in control. Don't let it happen as they will get you killed!

 

Radar

 

No Atlanta overview would be complete without a small word on her trump card; Radar. Sadly, with the introduction of HMS Belfast and continued existence of USS Indianapolis, this is no longer such a unique trait at tier 7. Nevertheless, combined with the firepower discussed above, it can make her truly fearsome for any Destroyer or lurking cruiser. With an 8.5km range and fairly respectable activity length, it's a good idea to use this either when you have a lot of allies around you (to capitalize on their firepower in finishing off the DD) or if you have no choice but to enter a cap circle which is saturated with smoke. These are the two most likely scenarios, however, the ability to light up a Destroyer is always a welcome one and, as mentioned above, can negate their concealment if you find yourself being lit up by one. With her rapidly firing guns, well-aimed shots should be able to finish it off before the ability is on cool-down again. I see Belfast and Indianapolis players constantly using their Radar but not being able to utilize it as fully as Atlanta can, mostly due to their slower reloading guns. It's the combination of the two which makes Atlanta certain death for Destroyer and, in my eyes at least, more effective than Belfast or any British CL at this duty due to how rapidly and readily she can dispatch of Destroyers, negating the need for hydro or smoke for self-defense...

 

Game-play Strategy: Dancing with Destroyers isn't a walk in the park with Atlanta, due to her bad maneuverability. Thankfully, it's good enough that once Radar is popped you shouldn't have much trouble at all finishing the little blighters off from range (>8k). Her slow shell velocity can make it hard to pin them down, but the sheer quantity can normally catch them out regardless. 

 

 

Overall

 

Let’s see how she compares overall with Belfast, Pensacola, Indianapolis, Myoko, Fiji, Yorck and Schors (I class Flint as pretty much the same ship so I won't be counting her).

 

Survivability: 4/8 – I'd say that she's definitely harder to kill than Pensacola, Myoko and Fiji, due to how overpen and angling works with her. BBs need to so much as look at these ships and they get penned; not so with Atlanta.

 

Artillery: 6/8 – This is kind of like comparing a set of keys to a pen; you just can't, at least not accurately, as they're two totally different things. However, for raw damage-dealing and DPM potential, Atlanta can quite simply dish it out more than the other tier 7's, with the exception of the other two US Cruisers due to their super-hero AP.

 

AA: 8/8 – Absolutely no contest, Atlanta's AA capabilities are heads and shoulders above the others.

 

Maneuverability: 3/8  – I'd say she only beats Schors and Yorck for this. When I played those ships they felt very heavy in the turns, whereas Atlanta doesn't. 

 

Concealment: 8/8 – Again, this one isn't really fair on the other cruisers. Yes, Belfast comes close, but 10km/4km stock concealment puts her on top.

 

 

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

 

 

Captain Skills (Based on a 15-point cap)

 

1 Point: Basic Firing Training. This will buff your main battery ROF and AA to obscene levels. Very nice!

1 Point: Basics of Survivability. Not the most important perk here, but faster fire burn-out and turret repair is always fun on Atlanta.

2 Points: Long range Artillery Indicator. Atlanta is a slow turner for her size, so advance warning is always good to have.

3 Points: Vigilance. Hunting DDs makes this mandatory.

4 Points: Advanced Firing Training. This is an absolute must. Not only will it make your AA extend out to a whopping 7.6km, but also your main battery to a respectable 13.6km. Great for area denial.

4 Points: Demolition Expert. I tend not to ascribe to this on most other ships, but for Atlanta I can absolutely 100% see the difference it makes. Get it! You won't be disappointed...

5 Points (in lieu of a BoS and a 4-point skill) Concealment Expert. Worth its weight in gold on a ship like Atlanta which is meant to hunt stealthily.

 

Upgrades

 

1st Slot: Main Battery Modification. Your Turrets can and will fall like flies.

2nd Slot: AA Modification. Because everything else available is useless on Atlanta and this'll make her AA truly lethal at range.

3rd Slot: Damage Control. Fires and torpedoes will sink you more than losing your helm or engine on Atlanta. I would however say that helm is more useful than Engine if you don't want Damage Control.

4th Slot: Helm Speed. Acceleration *is* an option on Atlanta, but personally I find a fast helm negates her awful maneuverability a little better, especially when avoiding incoming.

 

I actually used stock consumables on Atlanta and do fine for it, but if you really must spend credits/doubloons and there are lots of CVs about, Defensive AA II is the way to go. Wise use of Radar means it'll be a very rare situation in which you're waiting for Radar cooldown; if you find the cooldown too long, you're not using it correctly. Having said which, the extra burst *might* come in handy if you find yourself cleaning up DDs at the end of every game.

 

Signals and Camo

 

I cannot recommend any flags in particular for Atlanta. Most of them will serve her well, especially if you're using her to train a captain for another ship. Repair cost reduction and XP boosters are normally a very strong choice, though. The first because she gets targeted a lot meaning surprise trips back to port aren't unheard of; the second because this ship will give you 15 point captains very fast, if used correctly.

 

The premium camo she comes with is great and I wouldn't recommend mounting anything else unless you *really* have to. I would also heavily recommend against ever using a camo which doesn't reduce enemy dispersion, as this ship relies on that aspect of her camo.

 

Conclusion

 

Atlanta's a difficult ship to pin down, though I wouldn't say she need either a buff or nerf. On the one hand, she can devastate anything which she gets her paws on with the tenacity of a Cleveland with two Mahans strapped to each side. On the other, she's somewhat soft and easy to be found out of position in; especially if the MM is cruiser heavy. The best thing I can say is this; if you don't enjoy US Destroyer play, don't buy Atlanta. She shares a lot of their characteristics, especially higher tier, and whilst it's true she has more guns than she knows what to do with; they won't help you if a full-health Battle fleet catches you in open water. Her maneuverability is as much of a disgrace to the USN name as the low tier British CLs are to the RN name, and you'll find that most of the time you'll be relying on scaring the enemy off with a never-ending stream of lava for survival.

 

All in all, I'd say:

 

• If you want a multi-purpose Destroyer hunter with fast guns and good capping ability, go Belfast or Fiji.
• If you want a gun-ship with excellent gun characteristics, radar and comparatively good longevity, go Indianapolis (Or Pensacola if you don't mind sailing a citadel)
• If you want a solo-warrior, capable of launching both long-range and short-range strikes with ease, go Myoko.
• If you want a balance of good guns, torps and AA, go Schors.
• If you want a high-calibre HE slinger, go Yorck.

 

...but if you want an absurdly powerful DPM machine with downright lethal AA, yet aren't put off by a high skill floor, buy Atlanta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FIGHTS_ON]

would only add (as has been stated by others) that don't expect to jump straight in and have great results. She is really fun to play, but does take a while to understand how to play, and it can be a very painful learning experience. Get a lucky break with MM and get an island map, you truly become the slayer of DDs !

[Spellfire40]

Well fun when you get cover or a DD nice enogh to help with smoke.

Con is the bad arc beound 7km a relative high detection range and being slow for a CA. While it isnt as bad as it was once its still situational.

[anonym_UgMNTuWYVfiQ]

Pro. It at the moment 1 of a kind (free or premium).

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Thanks guys! Hopefully I can get on with this later today or tomorrow. I'm a bit backed up the minute with getting screenshots for the Mikasa thread, though. Stay tuned! 

 

[_Flyto_]

I find it incredibly frustrating trying to kill Atlantas with a battleship. AP goes straight through, and with HE... well, let's just say that the Atlanta can play that came better than you can :-)

 

(obviously you don't want to be close enough to let the Atlanta do that, but... ;-))

[Gnirf]

I find it incredibly frustrating trying to kill Atlantas with a battleship. AP goes straight through, and with HE... well, let's just say that the Atlanta can play that came better than you can :-)

 

(obviously you don't want to be close enough to let the Atlanta do that, but... ;-))

 

Amen to that, Sir. With a Gneisenau, Colorado or Nagato (often 4 guns) f.e. Atlanta can be very annoying, even if you kill her in the end one has often suffer so much that one will be prime target and killed by the others Before one has the chance to recover. Esp. Gneisenau is not so good against smaller targets, somehow the other T7 BBs seems somehow better with small targets. But it is my gut feeling nothing else.

But as the OP states if they are driven by a good captain. Atlantas are therefor a prime target if they show up good.

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Thanks for the tips, chaps! This should be done in a few days, though I've got the 'meat' of it done! Feedback very welcome 

 

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Hi all!

 

Just a note to say this is now completed and ready for inspection! I promise I'll add images once I get the chance to; in the meantime, if anyone has any they feel would be a good fit and don't mind me using, do please holla 

[ZaPierogi]

Thankfully, it's good enough that once Radar is popped you shouldn't have much trouble at all finishing the little blighters off from range (>8k). Her slow shell velocity can make it hard to pin them down, but the sheer quantity can normally catch them out regardless. 

 

I have no problem at all with Atlantas driving my Błyskawica. I love fighting them at distance, hardly ever took any damage in return. Not even using stealth shooting - just manouvering at the range of 9-10 km. It's an easy frag for Blyska

[MiniBrit]

On ‎09‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 4:12 PM, Cpt_Cowper_Coles said:

Still don't understand what I'm getting at? Ok. So, let's put this into some context against, say, her notoriously under-protected USN tech tree counterpart.

 

The Tier 7 US Cruiser is the CA Pensacola.  She mounts ten powerful 8-inch guns and suffers from a mix of bad concealment and armour scheme. While I won't be mentioning Indianapolis much during this guide (mostly for the reason that I don't own it), it's important to deeply analyze, with great detail, where Atlanta stands with Pensacola. So here goes:

Atlanta can one-shot Pensacola with more ease than Pensacola can one-shot Atlanta. 

I Will fight you and I will win.

:D

[Close_Quarters_Expert]

Actually, since Pensacola received a huge buff several patches back, I do believe you're now correct 

[killer999death]

''Atlanta is a hard ship to play''

Said the guy who played the Atlanta in that match who has 7k+ battles and deleted my colorado from full HP to 0 in less than a minute because he did over 4k damage every 3 seconds, set fires and remained unspotted behind an island. There is nothing I in the colorado could do at all.


Overpowered? Naaahhh of course not how can that thing be overpowered when he ends up with 3k exp, oh please~ It's perfectly balanced like radars on Battleships and certain destroyers.

[_Flyto_]

2 hours ago, killer999death said:

''Atlanta is a hard ship to play''

Said the guy who played the Atlanta in that match who has 7k+ battles and deleted my colorado from full HP to 0 in less than a minute because he did over 4k damage every 3 seconds, set fires and remained unspotted behind an island. There is nothing I in the colorado could do at all.

 

 

It is a hard ship to play - but also a very powerful one, in the right hands and in the right situation. These things are not contradictory.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

This is actually a ship that's worth coming back to after more experience. I've had mine ages but have barely used her, now I've taken RN Cruisers with radar to T10 I feel much better equipped at handling her.

 

Almost preferable to my Flint as I feel radar is more powerful than smoke.

[Aragathor]

4 hours ago, Negativvv said:

This is actually a ship that's worth coming back to after more experience. I've had mine ages but have barely used her, now I've taken RN Cruisers with radar to T10 I feel much better equipped at handling her.

 

Almost preferable to my Flint as I feel radar is more powerful than smoke.

 

The main difference between radar and smoke is that there is no protection against radar compared to the many ways to negate smoke.

A ship spotted by radar has only two choices, to destroy the ship with radar or run away. Both are hard to accomplish if the radar player knows what he's doing.

A ship in smoke can be easily defeated by a ship with a spotter, a torpedo spread, radar and hydro. Hell a skilled player can blind fire into smoke based on the projectile tracers.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

5 minutes ago, Aragathor said:

 

The main difference between radar and smoke is that there is no protection against radar compared to the many ways to negate smoke.

A ship spotted by radar has only two choices, to destroy the ship with radar or run away. Both are hard to accomplish if the radar player knows what he's doing.

A ship in smoke can be easily defeated by a ship with a spotter, a torpedo spread, radar and hydro. Hell a skilled player can blind fire into smoke based on the projectile tracers.

That's why I only ride RN Cruisers with Radar instead of Smoke.

 

The sheer power a Minotaur has with 56s radar, rapid fire sAP and a concealment range of 8.9km cannot be emphasised enough. Still there are many non believers.

 

But yeah radar used at the right time with Atlanta's rate of fire and heavy alpha means that few DDs will ever escape.

 

Key part of playing Atlanta is island hugging, even if they know you're there you can be very hard to dislodge. Don't go out in the open and certainly don't shoot if the enemy has any prospect of nuking you. Be patient!!

 

I've never been a big smoke fan anyway, I tend to lay it for others...