The Duca d'Aosta

[Procrastes]

So, what are your thoughts on the Duca d'Aosta?

 

Pros

- She's fast and nimble.

- Her guns have high shell velocity.

- She has both the 'Acoustic Search' and the 'Defensive AA' consumables.

- She's a beautiful ship.

- Long range torpedoes.

 

Cons

- She's easy to citadel (because, cruiser).

- She has a harder time getting out of trouble than getting into it.

- Her HE has low fire chance and seems rather lacklustre overall (see below).*

- Slow torpedoes.

 

* A special note concerning the High Explosive ammunition on the Duca d'Aosta: Is the IFHE skill more mandatory on her than on other light cruisers?

Last night I landed thirteen (13) hits with HE on the side of a Mogami cruiser, at less than 10 km range. Apart from setting one fire and knocking out some torpedo tubes, these hits did zero (0) damage.

I do kind of suck at gunnery, but still - what the heck?

Is the HE ammunition on the Duca especially weak, or is it just me? Is the IFHE skill more mandatory on this ship than on other light cruisers, or was I just unlucky?

I have chosen the IFHE skill on the Belfast and the Perth, but since they both have smoke, that was a no-brainer. After all the long-range AP chastisement I have taken in the Duca, I was sort of leaning toward CE as the first 4th-level skill, but being able to avoid damage won't do any me any good if I can't dish it out. The 152 mm AP can do some real damage, of course, but it's always so very situational and can't be relied on at long range.

[Kruzenstern]

I find my Duca to be a fun ship that can help the team win rather well (for a cruiser), but my personal performance is rather weak. It feels like the ship will only really shine with both CE and IFHE, which is still a long way to go for me (curse the lack of dragon flags....)

[_Flyto_]

I find my Duca to be a fun ship that can help the team win rather well (for a cruiser), but my personal performance is rather weak. It feels like the ship will only really shine with both CE and IFHE, which is still a long way to go for me (curse the lack of dragon flags....)

 

Yeah, that's also my feeling at the moment. The lack of range and poor HE means that she works beatifully for ambushing DDs and other cruisers from cover, but not so much otherwise.

I suspect CE+IFHE will make her a very different ship, but they're so far away... and I can't decide which to get first ;-)

[Procrastes]

You seem to have had much the same experience with the Duca as I; now that's a comfort.

Personally, I think I will go for IFHE as a first choice. There is no point in simply staying afloat for five more minutes, if you can't be of any use in the fight.

[Mucker]

 

* A special note concerning the High Explosive ammunition on the Duca d'Aosta: Is the IFHE skill more mandatory on her than on other light cruisers?

Last night I landed thirteen (13) hits with HE on the side of a Mogami cruiser, at less than 10 km range. Apart from setting one fire and knocking out some torpedo tubes, these hits did zero (0) damage.

I do kind of suck at gunnery, but still - what the heck?

Is the HE ammunition on the Duca especially weak, or is it just me? Is the IFHE skill more mandatory on this ship than on other light cruisers, or was I just unlucky?

I have chosen the IFHE skill on the Belfast and the Perth, but since they both have smoke, that was a no-brainer. After all the long-range AP chastisement I have taken in the Duca, I was sort of leaning toward CE as the first 4th-level skill, but being able to avoid damage won't do any me any good if I can't dish it out. The 152 mm AP can do some real damage, of course, but it's always so very situational and can't be relied on at long range. 

 

Mogami is, apart from some minor superstructure, completely covered in 25 mm armor plates. 152 mm HE shells cannot penetrate these plates, thus 0 damage. But that is not specifically a problem with the Duca, but every ship that fires HE of that caliber.

 

These 25 mm plates are quite common within the MM range of the Duca (T6+7 BBs have them, as well as most of the T8 CAs), so yes, if you want to dish out damage to higher tiers, IFHE is advised. 

 

[SaxonHoliday]

Duca is a memeboat. I [edited]love it.

 

The AP penetration is a bit lacklustre and the fire chance is REALLY bad, but otherwise, I have loads of fun with it. Sanic fast speed along with pasta railguns is just too much fun. And honestly, the armour seems fine, weirdly enough... it seemed like so little when I looked at it in the armour viewer, but my actual experience with it has been that it is massively trollish, bouncing shots at angles it really shouldn't.

[Procrastes]

Duca is a memeboat. I [edited]love it.

 

The AP penetration is a bit lacklustre and the fire chance is REALLY bad, but otherwise, I have loads of fun with it. Sanic fast speed along with pasta railguns is just too much fun. And honestly, the armour seems fine, weirdly enough... it seemed like so little when I looked at it in the armour viewer, but my actual experience with it has been that it is massively trollish, bouncing shots at angles it really shouldn't.

 

I also bought her primarily for the fun value!

But, what is a "meme-boat"?

[Badameco]

Really hate it! No range, Low fire chance, virtually no armour and to make matters worst I always get paired up in Tier VIII.... a serious candidate to be the first premium tank/ship that I sell... 

 

[LastButterfly]

Really hate it! No range, Low fire chance, virtually no armour and to make matters worst I always get paired up in Tier VIII.... a serious candidate to be the first premium tank/ship that I sell... 

 

If you don't want it I'd gladly borrow yours permanantly if that was possible =3

[MudMonkey]

Really hate it! No range, Low fire chance, virtually no armour and to make matters worst I always get paired up in Tier VIII.... a serious candidate to be the first premium tank/ship that I sell... 

 

I love it! It is extremely nimble (with the rudder mod) and fast. It is like a Ferrari. With speed flags i get 38.3 kts. It is really fun to hunt down DDs with her and rather easy to dodge shells. I would prefer faster torps with a shorter range but they are still ok. They got some kind of troll factor as you can do area denial with them to some degree.

[Procrastes]

To tell the truth, it would have been unreal to hope that the Duca d'Aosta would be a true contender for best tier VI HE-equipped light cruiser. That position is probably still held by the Budyonny - or, depending on playstyle, possibly the Molotov.

Still, if ever given the benefit both CE and IFHE, as suggested by Flyto above, I feel that the Duca should be able to make some good battle runs.

[Favuz]

I like it (even if i'm not performing quite well with him), great in Killing DD and dealing with noob cruisers at <10km, bad when focused by BB's who knows how to aim.

 

 

 

 

 

Question is, as i'm approaching 10 pts captain, i need to choos between IFHE and CE and i can't find which is better.

 

From 10 to 14 it's a very long run so i have to choose carefully.

 

IFHE is needed when heavily uptiered (tbh in the last 10 game or so i've put in tier VIII 1-2 times at max, Ship can deal with tier VII decently, tier VIII not at all), but CE is a must on all cruisers.

 

What are your thoughts?

[Hoggbert]

IFHE, the Duca thrives in the thick of it anyway where concealment is irrelevant. Its so short ranged you need to be playing aggressively with her in order to get the job done.

It might not be the best cruiser at t6, but its never boring playing her.

[SparvieroVV]

IFHE, the Duca thrives in the thick of it anyway where concealment is irrelevant. Its so short ranged you need to be playing aggressively with her in order to get the job done.

It might not be the best cruiser at t6, but its never boring playing her.

 

Definitely this. I played a thrilling game yesterday and if I went by the damage totals it seems a pittance at only 30k. However I was playing cat and mouse with destroyers and not farming battleships.

[Flid_Merchant]

 

I love it! It is extremely nimble (with the rudder mod) and fast. It is like a Ferrari. With speed flags i get 38.3 kts. It is really fun to hunt down DDs with her and rather easy to dodge shells. I would prefer faster torps with a shorter range but they are still ok. They got some kind of troll factor as you can do area denial with them to some degree.

 

They are also good to do hit and run, then use them to try and catch anyone who is daft enough to chase you. The speed novelty has worn off a little since I started playing Russian cruisers though. Still a fun ship to play.

[Ferry_25]

@ Historynerd... I ask your redemption my friend. I hope you'll accept it.

 

Edit: apart from the winning prohibition I really like this ship! My god! the speed is awesome. Her beauty as well. I'm still struggling to find a way to her teeth and claws though....

 

[Procrastes]

 

That's amore

 

When a mean AP shell hits your big citadel

That's amore

When you’re making a turn and your ship starts to burn

That's amore

Shots will bounce ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling

And you'll curse, ”RNGeezus!”

Fish will swim, tippy-tippy-tim, tippy-tippy-tim

And your rudder’s in pieces!

 

When the battleships do pay attention to you

That's amore

When you speed down the strait, it’s already too late

You’ve been sunk

When you sail in the Duca d’Aosta, keep dreaming signore

Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli

That's amore!

 

[_Flyto_]

That's amore

 

 

*applause* :-)

[Saskian]

 

*applause* :-)

 

​That's amore :-)

[Saskian]

Just brought Duca and played my first game. Got 57K dmg, few citadel hits and the first ship I killed was... Duca. :-)

 

Thats`s amore!

 

[rvfharrier]

I like it (even if i'm not performing quite well with him), great in Killing DD and dealing with noob cruisers at <10km, bad when focused by BB's who knows how to aim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question is, as i'm approaching 10 pts captain, i need to choos between IFHE and CE and i can't find which is better.

 

 

From 10 to 14 it's a very long run so i have to choose carefully.

 

 

IFHE is needed when heavily uptiered (tbh in the last 10 game or so i've put in tier VIII 1-2 times at max, Ship can deal with tier VII decently, tier VIII not at all), but CE is a must on all cruisers.

 

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Concealment Expert 100%. Your guns aren't that long range and their effective range is even shorter, you need to be able to get as close as possible without being spotted and there are times when you'll want to hold fire for 20 seconds and stealth up before turning. I would recommend simply not bothering with IFHE/DE at all, and even further to recommend bothering with your HE as little as possible. I've found the ship works very well as a diet British CL, firing about 95% of my shells as AP.

[Saskian]

IFHE, the Duca thrives in the thick of it anyway where concealment is irrelevant. Its so short ranged you need to be playing aggressively with her in order to get the job done.

It might not be the best cruiser at t6, but its never boring playing her.

 

​Isn't that's why you want CE? At close range you will use AP anyway so I find CE much more important for aggressive play than IFHE.

[Hoggbert]

 

​Isn't that's why you want CE? At close range you will use AP anyway so I find CE much more important for aggressive play than IFHE.

 

IFHE is more useful against angled ships and BBs in general. You're not stealthy when firing anyway so i went with IFHE, but it's a matter of playstyle and taste.

I tend to end up balls deep quite often with the Duca since it can't outkite much at all with 14km range and the AP is just awful at ranges over 10 km (or even 8km).

[SparvieroVV]

If you get too close your AP is just going to overpen some cruisers no matter what it feels like. 

[Sadzior]

Lately have an impression something happened with acceleration- Ship loosing speed badly on manouvers.

A silent nerf?