Cruisers - What's best?

[anonym_MSqPBzxRtsaO]

I've been looking at the game wiki for quite some time, and after getting inspired by a friend who started with nothing and, without spending a penny, got himself a Chapayev, I've decided to try cruisers as well even though I have yet to hear something positive about them - most glaring was a recent video by Notser or whoever that was where he complained that cruisers have no place in the game, what with battleships being the most popular class, and destroyers being the next best choice because they're the best at countering battleships, leaving cruisers in a sort-of limbolike middle ground where they are forced to be support.

 

(please forgive me if I said something wrong, I have nothing against cruiser players and wish them the best )

 

With that said, I was looking at the upcoming French cruisers and they don't look bad, at least on paper, though they lack armor (guess it's a French thing, French tanks in WoT have the same issue with a few exceptions). The Russians also seem nice, though I have my doubts here, especially about the guns and their small caliber (I may be wrong though).

 

Unfortunately all of this is pure guesswork on my part, so if more experienced players can suggest me what's best to spend time and money on, I'd be grateful.

[Ze_Reckless]

Cruisers are very powerful ships if you learn how to stay alive. Their versatility and (not anymore) unique tools like radar or sonar are game-changers.

However, it's a question of taste. I love my Des Moines to bits, she's my favorite tier 10, others hate her.

 

It doesn't take long to get to tier 4, you could try every line and decide for yourself. Japanese and American cruisers are the most newb-friendly ones, German and Russian cruisers are more challenging and British cruisers are the hardest to play well (especially before tier 6).

[KaraMon]

French cruisers look bad , even terrible, at least higher tiers . Wait untill they get some decent buffs later.

 

Lower tiers cruisers might have issues but t10 have solid place in game and aree tough to crack .

 

If you know game mechanics Brit cruisers are the best  . Starting from t6 they are very strong and Minotaur is borderline OP in good hands

 

Easiest line is probably Japanese , every ship is good or very good , only Mogami is nto the best + insanely awesome Atago

 

USN are hard line to play but they have also very strong ships if you have a skill or two ,Cleveland teach you how to shoot those satelite launchers all USN cruisers have, Pensacola teach you how to dodge shells, New Orleans teach you how to use concealment to strike at close range , radar the crapout of enemies and disengeage . Baltimore teach you how to fight at higher tiers and everything you learned is used on Des Moines that is ultimate brawler and dominator in fights below 10 km with everything that it isn't BB

 

Soviets are HE spammers , weak armor, nt very maneuverable. I wasn't big fan of those ships . They are good but they lack something imho . But at the end there is Battleship Moskva . Probably best escort cruiser in the game , you can beat every ship 1 v 1 if you angle properly and keep 10+ km distance . Moskva has some issues in close range fights but not everybody is perfect

 

Germans are difficult. There is awesome konigsberg , nurnberg is good but difficult as it can be easly oneshoted, next is questionable Yorck , average Hipper but then we get to good stuff. Roon is very good ship , tanky, good firepower, not bad AA only issue is turret placement , i wasn't big fan of it . And then there is Hindenburg , imho most balanced t10 cruiser . It isn't exceptionally good at anything but it lacks major weakness like other t10 cruisers . It is a bit worse at close range fights than Des Moines but not much , it is a bit worse at long range fights than Moscva but still solid , a bit worse armor than Moscva but still very very tanky ship .

 

My personal choices:

 

t6 - Perth, Leander, Aoba , Cleveland

t7 - Fiji , Myoko

t8 - Kutuzof , Atago , Edinburgh

t9 - Baltimore , Roon , Neptune

t10 - All of them are very strong , there is no best cruiser , each has its "role" . Minotaur is ultimate defender and insane dpm monster, Des Moines is nightmare to DD planes and Cruisers at close range . MosKva is deadly at long ranges , Zao is sneaky ninja flamethrower and Hindenburg is most versatile like a Swiss Army knife

 

 

And i forgot , all cruiser lines has some issues at tier 8 . Simply because Kutuzof and Atago are much stronger than others , other t8 cruisers are nowhere near as good as those two

[ShinGetsu]

Russians cruisers are pure snipers. It's true they have lower caliber, but the new skill Inertia Fuse for HE is here to compensate. And they compensate more than enough.

 

With russians cruisers you stay at long range and melt the bad guys with your powerful and accurate rifle. They are more than strong enough with the skill. They lack agility, but they are fast. That's why you stay at range : to avoid shells.

 

Moskva at the end of the line is... honestly, I think it's one of the hardest cruiser to play at the moment. Yeah, the guns are insane, and the armor looks nice on paper. But honestly it's concealment is so bad you need that armor, and EVERYONE want to shoot at you. It's very, very hard to do something in the game without overextending or being focused like crazy. On the other hands the guns are incredible and that's a big plus. Moskva is the logical end of the line, and once again it's a pure sniper.

 

 

Don't bother with french cruisers for now. They have nothing interesting. In facts I would have loved if they made them like they did in WoT : fast and agile with a lot of burst but fragile. But they didn't. The tier X is a big floating and squishy sausage and even the guns aren't that good... it's like a Moskva, but inferior in every way.

 

I'd say you should try to get Budyonny, Myoko and Cleveland for now. Both Budyonny and Cleveland with IFHE are very strong, and Myoko is a really good representation of the whole IJN line. And they are all very good cruisers (Cleveland is OP even, IMO)

[VC381]

"Best" is really subjective, it depends on how you want to play. Cruisers are harder to play than the other classes but you should see this as an opportunity in that people don't have high expectations of you and you have the ability to do just about anything as the situation calls for. Their strength is versatility which is a really fuzzy concept to pin down and use right which is why they get so much bad rep.

 

Personally, I have a big interest in naval history and I pick ships I want to play based on what I know of their history and their looks, and work out how to actually play them afterwards. That sort of thing may or may not work for you, but remember that in random battles the skill of opponents varies wildly. If you spend some time and effort to learn a particular branch, you can do well with anything, so really it's more of a playstyle choice, what sort of thing will suit you to lessen the learning curve and make you happy while playing rather than it feeling like a grind or chore. As I said, since cruisers are very versatile they are probably also the ones that offer greatest variety and choice between lines.

 

From what I've been reading of the testers reacting to the new French line, I would probably not suggest that until we have a better idea what it's really like. The Russians are pretty good if you like spewing fire everywhere, they're basically long range support/DPS. Japanese cruisers are probably the most balanced all-rounders, not a bad place for someone to start.

 

But anyway don't go hunting for the "best" because you'll end up with a dozen people each giving a different answer and you'll have learned nothing. Tell us what you think you'll like, what you expect and what you want, and we can help more from there.

[anonym_MSqPBzxRtsaO]

So the French are not worth it then. Shame, on paper they don't look bad. Is it because of their lack of armor, or lack of something else?

Anyway, to answer VC381 I'm not a navy buff (to be honest, I don't care much about naval history in general), so this ship over that doesn't mean much - as long as it performs well, it's good enough. I'd still skip the British and Americans though (not interested in the former, and I'd play the latter for the big battleships), and I'm not sure what to think about the Germans since their HE looks so bad compared to the other nations.

Actually, about the Germans - KaraMon calls them 'difficult', can someone elaborate on this?

Also, I'm just a casual player, so Tier 10 is a bit too much for me to think about right now (and I wouldn't know what to choose, they all look good in their own way).

 

 

[ShinGetsu]

So the French are not worth it then. Shame, on paper they don't look bad. Is it because of their lack of armor, or lack of something else?

 

Anyway, to answer VC381 I'm not a navy buff (to be honest, I don't care much about naval history in general), so this ship over that doesn't mean much - as long as it performs well, it's good enough. I'd still skip the British and Americans though (not interested in the former, and I'd play the latter for the big battleships), and I'm not sure what to think about the Germans since their HE looks so bad compared to the other nations.

 

Actually, about the Germans - KaraMon calls them 'difficult', can someone elaborate on this?

 

Also, I'm just a casual player, so Tier 10 is a bit too much for me to think about right now (and I wouldn't know what to choose, they all look good in their own way).

 

 

 

Only tier 7-8-9 are somewhat acceptable in the french line.

 

It's a combination of different factors :

- WG advertised them as "fast" while they aren't. The fastest of the line are at the level of the russians cruisers, and the speed boost is garbage as a consumable in comparison to radar, smoke, repairs and the like...

- Tier 6 is basically a Budyonny, but worse.

- Tier 10 is basically a Moskva, but MUCH MUCH worse. The deck armor is horribad and every battleships with 380+mm of caliber will overmatch it, resulting on 15k salvoes that wouldn't happens with any other tier X cruisers. Add it bad concealment, horrible speed bleed when turning, bad acceleration (while having one of the biggest engine in game, it's WG level of stupid), horrible agility, and gun just a bit better than Moskva... and you got the worst tier 10 cruiser.

Ah, and the AA is a joke, post-war 57mm that were in their time among the best of the world having less DPS per mount than german smaller caliber... Much logic there.

 

As for the German, well...

 

Tier 5 Königsberg and Nürnberg are good, but very fragile. You really need to dodge shells, or you'll get deleted very fast. The guns are great tho, both in HE and AP.

Yorck (tier 7) is very meh. It's somewhat good at spamming HE and that's about it.

Hipper/Roon/Hindenburg are similar. They have very strong AP damage-wise, but they lack penetration. Basically they punishes enemies errors very heavily thanks to that. If you find broadside target, you'll do huge damage in no time. If not, you're stuck at spamming HE while waiting for an opportunity.

 

Apparently they'll (Hipper/Roon/Hinden) get their armor buffed soon : they'll go from 25 to 27mm bow armor, which means 380mm won't be able to overmatch the bow, allowing them to tank a bit more.

[anonym_MSqPBzxRtsaO]

Thanks for elaborating. Again, it's a shame, I was hoping the French would be something nice. Oh well.

 

I'll have another look around, maybe play some of the lower tiers first to see what they have to offer.

[Kevbar]

You can always have a play on the test server to get a feel for each nation. It finishes shortly I think but will be back up soonish prior to the next patch. Also, good to test skills and upgrades.

[VC381]

Well, Soviet isn't a bad pick at all for the gameplay. They do reliable damage at long range, are fast and moderately stealthy at the tiers you're planning to play. Once you've practiced getting around their fragility they're fun because the turrets turn fast so you don't have a headache planning, the shells fly fast and therefore are easy to aim at range and you shoot lots and lots of them. Simple, effective but not boring. Burning BBs = happy Soviet cruiser captain.

 

If you want something different, I will stick by earlier saying IJN are good all-rounders and fairly beginner friendly. The thing here is Soviets only really get their line "identity" at T6 while the IJN arguably have it all the way and get it "properly" at T5, so it's quicker to work out if you would really like them for the long haul.

[Ferry_25]

Cruisers. That name is derived from the Dutch name "kruiser." That navy is the no 1 navy in the world, historically speaking. (Dear English and Spanish friends: Michiel de Ruyter and the Watergeuzen. Please go back to your port). So that ship is powerful. (man this is feeling like explaining snow is white). As far as Notser: IMO he's a good player, I don't want to argue that. But looking at his vids it's purely "the Notser show." "Look at how great I am. Look at how much damage I am doing a.s.o." If I can give you an unasked advice: watch the Flamu vids (!!!!) I know: he'll never be my best friend. But I do must admit: he's freaking good and is actually giving very good advice. Heck even I did heed some of them... I did like iChase vids as well. But for me they've grown old. I like his analysis of things. But the "clever tricks" never seem to work for me somehow. (Because I'm an experienced noob). I love the vids from Jingles (if he's wanting to get out of the dust, mud and bushes games with pathetic guns on tracks): his background info is so wonderful! And always remember: the vids you're seeing from the CC's are their absolute best matches they've played. Yes they're good players but they can also suck like you and me. But they never accept the challenge to put on 1 of those matches... (I asked: they claimed they don't know what I'm talking about).

 

edit: please open your stats OP. Of course: it's your choice but you'll be taken much more seriously if you play open card on this forum. Even if your stats suck. Like mine.

[SpiritedAway]

French cruisers look bad , even terrible, at least higher tiers . Wait untill they get some decent buffs later.

 

Lower tiers cruisers might have issues but t10 have solid place in game and aree tough to crack .

 

If you know game mechanics Brit cruisers are the best  . Starting from t6 they are very strong and Minotaur is borderline OP in good hands

 

Easiest line is probably Japanese , every ship is good or very good , only Mogami is nto the best + insanely awesome Atago

 

USN are hard line to play but they have also very strong ships if you have a skill or two ,Cleveland teach you how to shoot those satelite launchers all USN cruisers have, Pensacola teach you how to dodge shells, New Orleans teach you how to use concealment to strike at close range , radar the crapout of enemies and disengeage . Baltimore teach you how to fight at higher tiers and everything you learned is used on Des Moines that is ultimate brawler and dominator in fights below 10 km with everything that it isn't BB

 

Soviets are HE spammers , weak armor, nt very maneuverable. I wasn't big fan of those ships . They are good but they lack something imho . But at the end there is Battleship Moskva . Probably best escort cruiser in the game , you can beat every ship 1 v 1 if you angle properly and keep 10+ km distance . Moskva has some issues in close range fights but not everybody is perfect

 

Germans are difficult. There is awesome konigsberg , nurnberg is good but difficult as it can be easly oneshoted, next is questionable Yorck , average Hipper but then we get to good stuff. Roon is very good ship , tanky, good firepower, not bad AA only issue is turret placement , i wasn't big fan of it . And then there is Hindenburg , imho most balanced t10 cruiser . It isn't exceptionally good at anything but it lacks major weakness like other t10 cruisers . It is a bit worse at close range fights than Des Moines but not much , it is a bit worse at long range fights than Moscva but still solid , a bit worse armor than Moscva but still very very tanky ship .

 

My personal choices:

 

t6 - Perth, Leander, Aoba , Cleveland

t7 - Fiji , Myoko

t8 - Kutuzof , Atago , Edinburgh

t9 - Baltimore , Roon , Neptune

t10 - All of them are very strong , there is no best cruiser , each has its "role" . Minotaur is ultimate defender and insane dpm monster, Des Moines is nightmare to DD planes and Cruisers at close range . MosKva is deadly at long ranges , Zao is sneaky ninja flamethrower and Hindenburg is most versatile like a Swiss Army knife

 

 

And i forgot , all cruiser lines has some issues at tier 8 . Simply because Kutuzof and Atago are much stronger than others , other t8 cruisers are nowhere near as good as those two

 

Very good description , i only disagree in t7 where i find the Schors ( prob i wrote wrong the name ) superior respect the myoko and on par but opposite of the fiji ; the Soviet is a spammer and very good at it , you use your range ( over 20 km with plane, if i recall right ,in a t7 ship is very good ) to burn everything in sight ; meanwhile with Fiji you have to be aggressive using your camo and smoke to herass enemies ( you learn the ropes in Leander ) . 

 

Cheers

[mikelight1805]

If you want to play cruisers, the IJN would probably be your best starting point, The are comfortable to play without having too many drawbacks. You have a decent HE shell, The AP can hurt when used correctly. Concealment is ok if you pay attention to your surroundings. You also have torpedoes as well. All you need to remember is to make your citadel hard to hit, as it is usually above the waterline

[triumphgt6]

I love cruisers - battleships are on the whole great lumbering slow things with long reloads and destroyers are now easy prey as, as soon as they fire, they are then visible for 20 seconds and they have no armour. Cruisers are a happy medium - fast firing guns, quick and either reasonably tough or if RN, have a great heal. They will die in one shot if you show a broadside to a competent battleship but luckily, there are not that many of those around! I love the Fiji in particular - agile, quick, good smoke, nice torps, good hydro and great heal. Massively over powered even in the hands of a potato like me.

[triumphgt6]

Cruisers. That name is derived from the Dutch name "kruiser." That navy is the no 1 navy in the world, historically speaking. (Dear English and Spanish friends: Michiel de Ruyter and the Watergeuzen. Please go back to your port).

 

I think you will find that what you meant is 'was'- 300 years ago! However De Ruyter was a great admiral and his namesake should be in the game. I am also aware that the Dutch Navy was based in Britain for part of the second world war and served bravely and very successfully, particularly in the Far East.

[deadly_if_swallowed]

Poor Yorck and Hipper/Eugen No one ever mentions their bright side of being perfectly balanced at their tier like Hindenburg in KaraMon's description. I do admit Hipper lost her edge since NO got her reload buffed to 13 seconds. But Hipper is still a multi-purpose ship (jack of all trades, master of none) that can fulfill every task but does not excel in any. German hydro becomes a powerful torpedo spotting tool at T8 upwards and the torpedo detection even stacks with Vigilance (Hipper hydro + Vig. = 4.8 km torpedo spotting range).

Roon is a Nürnberg on steroids. She used to be the potentially stealthiest of the German CAs but I'm not sure how important that trait is today. Should still be fun though as she can have T10 Hindenburg guns.

[VC381]

Poor Yorck and Hipper/Eugen No one ever mentions their bright side of being perfectly balanced at their tier like Hindenburg in KaraMon's description. I do admit Hipper lost her edge since NO got her reload buffed to 13 seconds. But Hipper is still a multi-purpose ship (jack of all trades, master of none) that can fulfill every task but does not excel in any. German hydro becomes a powerful torpedo spotting tool at T8 upwards and the torpedo detection even stacks with Vigilance (Hipper hydro + Vig. = 4.8 km torpedo spotting range).

Roon is a Nürnberg on steroids. She used to be the potentially stealthiest of the German CAs but I'm not sure how important that trait is today. Should still be fun though as she can have T10 Hindenburg guns.

 

I love my Eugen, probably tier for tier the best guns on any cruiser in game. Great reload, sublime turret traverse, fantastic velocity, great punch (yes, even with HE). Just so well-rounded and comfortable to play overall.

 

Thing is, it's hard to recommend the line based on that because it's all over the place up to that point and fantasy after (and not the good, genuine "what-if" kind either). Plus the OP said he's not expecting to get to the top tiers. That's why I bought Eugen instead of grinding a whole line to play a single ship class I care about.

[ollonborre]

 

Very good description , i only disagree in t7 where i find the Schors ( prob i wrote wrong the name ) superior respect the myoko and on par but opposite of the fiji

The Schorsh is too squishy IMO. The Myoko and Fiji are the kings of tier 7 (silver ships), and the Schorsh can't really compete with the Myoko in overall usefulness. Yes when it comes to burning BB's from afar, the Schorsh wins. But the Myoko can do it almost as good without constantly exposing itself, it has much much better torps, better armor, bigger guns with more reliable AP and better stealth.

[EsaTuunanen]

If you want to play cruisers, the IJN would probably be your best starting point, The are comfortable to play without having too many drawbacks. You have a decent HE shell, The AP can hurt when used correctly.

IJN HE is more than decent.

It has highest damage and fire chance.

And while AP lacks penetration angles of USN AP damage is actually higher.

 

 

I love cruisers - battleships are on the whole great lumbering slow things with long reloads

USN BBs until Tier 8 are indeed fast as garden slugs, but not all BBs are extremely slow.

Granted reload and turret traverse aren't fast.

But Germans BBs tend to have faster reload than others and later getting also good traverse speed.

As special case Scharnhorst has faster turning turrets than some destroyers!

[ilDuca]

I agree with VC381 you best choice for having fun as soon as possible and by that I mean not waiting beyond tier 6 are Russians and IJN.

Russian as first choice maybe a little squishy especially their tier 5 while IJN are a little more reliable with good torpedoes and very strong HE shells and in every tier they are never the worst choice so you'll have a comfortable grind and not stressfull experience! IJN is best! (for me)

 

Forgot to mention that with next patch tier 8 Mogami gets back her 155 configuration basically you will have 2 ships at the price of  1.

[SpiritedAway]

The Schorsh is too squishy IMO. The Myoko and Fiji are the kings of tier 7 (silver ships), and the Schorsh can't really compete with the Myoko in overall usefulness. Yes when it comes to burning BB's from afar, the Schorsh wins. But the Myoko can do it almost as good without constantly exposing itself, it has much much better torps, better armor, bigger guns with more reliable AP and better stealth.

 

I like your points but i still prefer Ru over Ijn in t7  ; camo is better but also your range is lower , better torps but bad positioning of launchers , better armor but still a light cruiser, bigger guns but slower reload and bad turning , when avoiding shots your guns will lose the target.

We are going toward preferences based on personal experience because every person play different with the same ship

In my case i felt more useful in schors than in Myoko. 

 

[Fat_Maniac]

Cruisers. That name is derived from the Dutch name "kruiser." That navy is the no 1 navy in the world, historically speaking. (Dear English and Spanish friends: Michiel de Ruyter and the Watergeuzen. Please go back to your port). So that ship is powerful. (man this is feeling like explaining snow is white). As far as Notser: IMO he's a good player, I don't want to argue that. But looking at his vids it's purely "the Notser show." "Look at how great I am. Look at how much damage I am doing a.s.o." If I can give you an unasked advice: watch the Flamu vids (!!!!) I know: he'll never be my best friend. But I do must admit: he's freaking good and is actually giving very good advice. Heck even I did heed some of them... I did like iChase vids as well. But for me they've grown old. I like his analysis of things. But the "clever tricks" never seem to work for me somehow. (Because I'm an experienced noob). I love the vids from Jingles (if he's wanting to get out of the dust, mud and bushes games with pathetic guns on tracks): his background info is so wonderful! And always remember: the vids you're seeing from the CC's are their absolute best matches they've played. Yes they're good players but they can also suck like you and me. But they never accept the challenge to put on 1 of those matches... (I asked: they claimed they don't know what I'm talking about).

 

edit: please open your stats OP. Of course: it's your choice but you'll be taken much more seriously if you play open card on this forum. Even if your stats suck. Like mine.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who looks at noster's videos in that way.

 

OP - I'm like you looking for a cruiser line to play. I've tried all the nations in game so far (bar French til tomorrow) and unlocked them all to T4. They all play slightly differently, just try them all and find something that 'feels' right to you. The one biggest thing Ive learned so far is to try and vary your tactics and game play to suit each ship.

From a personal perspective IJN are fun so far, but there is a big change in game play at T5 as you get the Furatake the first heavy cruiser in the line. I got her yesterday and she is a very different beast and represents I am told the remainder of the line up to T10.. I'm also enjoying the KM although my damage is a bit hit and miss as I'm having trouble selecting the right ammo at times. 

[triumphgt6]

IJN HE is more than decent.

It has highest damage and fire chance.

And while AP lacks penetration angles of USN AP damage is actually higher.

 

 

USN BBs until Tier 8 are indeed fast as garden slugs, but not all BBs are extremely slow.

Granted reload and turret traverse aren't fast.

But Germans BBs tend to have faster reload than others and later getting also good traverse speed.

As special case Scharnhorst has faster turning turrets than some destroyers!

 

One could argue that Scharnhorst is a battle cruiser - but I do take your point. The higher tier are more speedy on the whole but above tier 7-8, most seem to camp and the game is a bit, dare I say, boring.

[hgbn_dk]

1. Nothing particular
2. Chikuma
3. St.Louis
4. Kuma and Danae
5. Used to be Omaha, Königsberg and Furutaka is strong contenders
6. Cleveland
7. Fiji
8. only have Edinburgh,  Mogami and New Orleans in the stock line.Edinburgh is my no 1 
9. only have Baltimore and Neptune toss up.
10. only have Des Moines

[jss78]

"Best" is indeed subjective. If it comes to getting started with cruisers though, I might suggest the Japanese line. In terms of overall gameplay style they're just average and middle-of-the-road, which might be good thing here.

 

I started the game with US cruisers, and in many ways I think it's a good line to learn on. A lot of the ships are good IMO, and they teach you ALL about survival through WASD hax. But they're unusual in that only T4-5 have torps, and those are so short-ranged that they're strictly situational.

 

Brits are good, but they are a bit gimmicky with the lack of HE and unusual consumables, and I wouldn't recommend as first cruiser line.

 

The Japanese are just well-rounded. Useful, long-range torps, AP/HE guns, no unusual consumables, a good mix of CL/CA. Plus plenty of ships in the tree reputed to be good. Will teach you all you need to know about cruisers.

 

(This is with the huge caveat that I've personally only played the T1-3 plus ARP Myoko. But a division mate is an IJN fanatic, so I have one sailing by my side all the time...)