Bored of BB play. Whats the most enjoyable CL tree?

[Bongels]

Morning. Been playing German BB's exclusively (a few games in marblehead aside) but now I want to change. I want to try cruisers as there doesn't seem to be many out there, and I see that the frenchies are due to arrive soon. 

 

I'm not looking for the most powerful, just want to have some fun. What do you recommend? 

[_DeathWing_]

For the French I heard that guns are awful at higher tiers. I would recommend either USSR or RN CAs.

[Takeda92]

IJN or USN seem to be the trending for most fun cruiser lines atm, although I think Russian line isn't far behind if you don't mind sitting back and do some barbecue.

[xXx_Blogis_xXx]

Go rus ca ,,,, prob most fun grind ,,,, but i rather also wait for french ca ,,,,they not bad too , what i read now, ofc not t10 one,,

[ColonelPete]

In the current BB heavy enviroment, the UK cruisers are easiest to play since they can setup cover where they want.

 

But the fun starts at Leander Tier VI, not before.

[peoplescavalry]

Looking at your great stats but brevity of matches I think you are heading for a world of pain/ fun whatever line you go for! Maybe the Japanese line is the most well rounded introduction to the CA lifestyle, good luck!

[kalamies]

I think US cruisers are most fun to play

[kalamies]

In the current BB heavy enviroment, the UK cruisers are easiest to play since they can setup cover where they want.

 

But the fun starts at Leander Tier VI, not before.

 

Get spotted->insta deleted because no armor

Sit in smoke->get torped->run out of smoke->deleted

Sit in smoke->radared->deleted

[cro_pwr]

IJN - Well rounded heavy cruisers with great HE shells (nuclear), good torps, but somewhat slow turning, quite easy to citadel so you don't want to show broadside (in anything, but some are bit more tanky)

German - a bit odd line with strong AP at higher tiers, but lacking good HE damage. Ability to punish everything showing broadside with AP, and quite tanky at high tiers, but mid tiers are quite squishy with meh damage

USN - low tiers are really fun (Cleveland is still great cruiser), but from t7+ they are quite squishy if you aren't angled properly. OK HE at high tiers but great AP that can wreck anything at closer ranges. A bit lacking in long range combat, but great for close range.

Russian - Long range snipers with stalinium railguns. Great HE, great AP, but armor made of wet paper (until Moskva) and turn like a brick. Still they work great in heavy BB enviroment since you can keep your distance

English - untill tier 6 (Leander) they are simply pain in the @ss, but from tier 6 onwards fun and strong cruisers. They work best from close ranges and can rack up a lot of damage if played properly, but you will need to rely on your smoke since even DDs can citadel you

 

 

[ColonelPete]

Uk cruisers are extremly stealthy. Hard to spot.

They are even allowed to angle...

 

If you sit in smoke and get torped, you forgot your sonar. Players fault.

 

If you get radared in smoke. Players fault.

[beercrazy]

fun wise its gotta be the british cruisers tier 6 upwards

American cruisers are fun upto tier 6 then they take a different route and become more of a pain to play

Russian cruisers are fun but don't have the versatility play of the brit cruisers as it seems like its just stay back and burn everything

german cruisers are strange with the 3 guns at front and 6 at the back making you have to go more broadside to get the back guns into play but the later tiers are normal spread of guns and the ap of german cruisers can be epic

jap cruisers are still good but I never felt they over performed against other nations ships

 

problem is everyone who is giving advise hasn't played the lines through since the last patch and the insta spotted once fired now will change the gameplay of a few of em

[Jester86]

Russian DD's. Best CL's in game 

 

[G01ngToxicCommand0]

Morning. Been playing German BB's exclusively (a few games in marblehead aside) but now I want to change. I want to try cruisers as there doesn't seem to be many out there, and I see that the frenchies are due to arrive soon. 

 

I'm not looking for the most powerful, just want to have some fun. What do you recommend? 

 

RN cruisers from tier 6 to 7, below that they are crap and above that the camping meta makes it crap but tier 8 CL is still fun to play just not as much as tier 6&7.

[Allied_Winter]

Quick run down of what I discovered so far:

 

IJN - The consistent one: From T5 onward you know what you get from each cruiser with the exception of the 155 Mogami. Each new tier is a steady improvement and all boils down to being a XXXXXL Furutaka or a XXXXS Zao. This slow progression can be seen as unfun due to little diversity though. All have great HE (alpha + firechance) and a more or less situational AP (203 shells with the exception of Zao are a bit floaty). Stealth is great, they are fairly tanky and if you manage to use the torps properly have a nice back up surprise for your enemies

 

USN - The unloved one: Thanks to the slow shell arcs and the missing torpedos this line has seen little love since the release of other cruiser lines. Wrongfully so! USN AP is still great in regards to normalization (only second to the RN cruisers). Your repuation of being a plane shredder precedes you so CVs - if present - try to stay away from you. Their tankiness varies greatly (Omaha = floating citadel, Cleveland = fairly tanky, Pensacola = floating citadel, New Orleans and up = okish if angled well). I personally like USN radar more since its duration is longer.

 

VMF (RU) - The fun one (at least to me): I found low tiers a bit odd but not bad. But from Budyonny on up to Chapayev they're a blast to play. Like scaled up versions of a Kiev. But with a citadel. They are easier to spot than USN, IJN and RN and less meneuverable but have the speed, the range and the accuracy to keep their opponents at arms length. I'll never forget my first witherer in a T6 (!) cruiser whilst BBQ 4 BBs in my Budyonny, zipping over the battlefield and dodging salvo after salvo. They are less tanky than other cruisers and due to their large turning circle requiere more map awareness. The torpedos are suicide or self defens only

 

KM (GER) - The (supposed to be) Jack of all trades: Same with the russian cruisers the fun starts in mid tier. Köngisberg is great and only a bit shafted by the current T5/T6 MM. Nürnberg is a floating citadel which everybody knows about and seen as a free XP DMG pinata but from the Yorck on, they get really tanky (for cruisers). Their AP is great like USN (or RN) but requieres the target to present you a flat broadside. If you use the hydro you're great for pushing smokes (although your lack of concealment negates that a bit). HE is subpar, but with enough shells in the air, some of it might result in fires. The torpedos are suicide or self defens only

 

RN - The odd one: When the RN came out everybody asked what this line is supposed to be good at. Looks like DMG farming. The AP is nice although highly dependent on the angle you hit the target. They are ultra squishy but they come with a nice heal (T3 and up) and have a great concealment (even lower than IJN). Torpedos are more usefull than on other nations cruisers due to better torp angles (vs. IJN) and longer range (vs. RU/GER). The Smoke is nice, but requieres you to plan ahead (where to lay smoke, safe of incoming torpedos, what's my exit route once the smoke fades).

 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Greetings

[kalamies]

Uk cruisers are extremly stealthy. Hard to spot.

They are even allowed to angle...

 

If you sit in smoke and get torped, you forgot your sonar. Players fault.

 

If you get radared in smoke. Players fault.

 

I consider your opinions not reliable since you dont have top tier in line you are talking about. RN isnt easy, its actually very challenging. If you say stealth makes it easy. Range at top tiers is low compared to radar range, so you are mostlkely going to get torped or radared out of smoke

[ColonelPete]

You noted problems that are caused by insufficient map awareness.

 

If you have awareness, you do not have the mentioned problems. It is just player skill.

 

 

[Bongels]

Wow great responses and some good details to read through. It seems as though as with any line, they all have pros and cons. I hope one day I am as knowledgeable as you guys. So, looks like I got a big choice... I'll start with the RU one take it from there. Thanks to all. 

[kalamies]

You noted problems that are caused by insufficient map awareness.

 

If you have awareness, you do not have the mentioned problems. It is just player skill.

 

 

Minotaur avg damage 144k, avg frgs 1.99

Neptune avg damage 121k, avg frgs 2.06

 

I know very well what to do in RN cruiser. Shame that you think its easy to play, even if you only have fiji. If id be you, i would not talk something that i dont know about. If you feel that you know, tell me the best way to use minotaur to get even more avg damage? Or what is best way to support DDs as neptune?

 

IJN line is also really nice, in general they have good concealment and guns trough the line.

[ColonelPete]

There is a difference between easy to play and being part of the top5%.
I am not talking about the top5%.

 

Btw. if the UK cruiser are that hard, why do you perform way better in them than in the other cruiser lines? Because the others are easier?

[HMS_Antelope]

 

Oh the EU is just a permanent Salt mine, I would agree with the guy with excellent stats for T9/10 in fact he would probably class as excellent with RN Cruisers with those statistics.  Maybe as the Fiji is boarderline OP at its tier you have become overly confident.  They are incredibally hard to master but in an experts hands are truly an awesome site and game changer to the team.  In my opinion of course and yes I have the ships.

 

Did make me laugh though.

[G01ngToxicCommand0]

 

Minotaur avg damage 144k, avg frgs 1.99

Neptune avg damage 121k, avg frgs 2.06

 

I know very well what to do in RN cruiser. Shame that you think its easy to play, even if you only have fiji. If id be you, i would not talk something that i dont know about. If you feel that you know, tell me the best way to use minotaur to get even more avg damage? Or what is best way to support DDs as neptune?

 

IJN line is also really nice, in general they have good concealment and guns trough the line.

 

How many of those battles were solo?

[Bongels]

Got myself a Bogatyr... wow, totally different gameplay, but fun! Thanks for all suggestions, this may have revived my interest in the game. Just got to learn to keep my distance and don't go charging in. Thanks all. 

[HyoukaYukikaze]

Morning. Been playing German BB's exclusively (a few games in marblehead aside) but now I want to change. I want to try cruisers as there doesn't seem to be many out there, and I see that the frenchies are due to arrive soon. 

 

I'm not looking for the most powerful, just want to have some fun. What do you recommend? 

 

The only CL tree is british All others change to CA along the way. And IJN CAs are great.

[BadGene616]

There technically is only one CL line, which is RN. The rest are a mixture of CA and CL.

 

But that's a nitpicking argument :-)

 

I'd say go German as they probably play more like bb for range, angles and torpedoes are very much a secondary weapon.

 

However, throwing a different idea into the mix...

 

What about trying ijn bbs first? German BBS are notorious for their brawling pleystyle and forgiving armour.

 

The ijn line has more battlecruiser class ships, strong guns, weaker armour.

 

Ijn are much more positional, run more accurate guns and punish you hard with broadside exposure.

It's a good transition.

 

Cruisers just aren't in a good place right now...

[ilDuca]

Got myself a Bogatyr... wow, totally different gameplay, but fun! Thanks for all suggestions, this may have revived my interest in the game. Just got to learn to keep my distance and don't go charging in. Thanks all. 

 

Fantastik choice tovarish! Sekrit documints in Kremlin dungeons have shown how Soviet Navy stronkest Navy with extreme ranges and ifhe you'll send enemy players to gulags of slow and burning death.

 

Seriously they are all fine ships I'm still at tier 6 but i had fun in every one of them and the others to come seem great too.

Don't show your broadside and keep the distance always tier 5 and 6 suffers of insta-deletion a lot.