HMS Hood, review after a week and captain skills

[para4502]

Ok, have had Hood since release (I know, I have more money than sense, hey ho)

 

 

 

I am an average player - average win rate about 49, recent 53

 

the recent win rate is down to the hood, I find this better for me than the Warspite as it seems to suit my style, Current stats on the Hood for me are:

 

Battles - 223

Win Rate - 55%

 

Average results; destroyed - 1, aircraft 2.8, xp - 1372

 

have had some fab games in the hood, much better than in the Scharnhorst (prev best ship), at least 3 krakens and generally seem to play better. Massively tanky if you use her correctly, guns are meh but work when you are used to them. Against high tiers often seems to pay to use HE due to the high number of shatters/over pen that hood seems to get.

 

Have tried a number of different set ups for the captain and modules; have tried full AA set up; main battery set up, steering gears, aiming mods, secondary set ups.

 

for me the set up I have settled with is;

 

main armaments mod 1

secondary armaments mod 2

damage control mod 1

propulsion mod 1

 

The rationale for this set up is; guns are meh therefore going down the aiming/main mod 2 route doesn't really make that much difference. The secondaries and the addition to the AA does make a difference in the right place/time. The propulsion mod I settled late on having tried steering etc, hood seems a bit sluggish in its speed up (not top speed, acceleration) and this makes a big difference in battle.

 

Captain skills have gone with (after trying a few different):

 

Preventative Maintenance

Jack of all, Adrenaline

Superintendent

AFT and Concealment

 

 

I agree with the other reviewers, not OP not UP but interesting and think works for me, better that others at the same tier - even the Scharn. What do others think?

 

 

 

 

[Kruzenstern]

I think if you have done almost 15 battles per day, just with the Hood, every day since it came out, you need help....

 

[para4502]

[TheIdesOfMarch93]

I think if you have done almost 15 battles per day, just with the Hood, every day since it came out, you need help....

 

Why? Hood is a lucky ship for me too. Winstreaks of more than 5 games in her aren't uncommon for me. 

[Philipp_ab_exterminatore]

I find the guns extremely troll. 1 game they hit everything and the next game the spread it so bad i cant hit anything and i have walked out of  few battles with hardly any hits

[philjd]

I find the guns extremely troll. 1 game they hit everything and the next game the spread it so bad i cant hit anything and i have walked out of  few battles with hardly any hits

Wish i could get my bloody gold back

 

I was chasing a Fiji down in mine last night, rng meant I ended up dying after a 'friend' joined the Fiji. Who had almost no health left, but was still alive, unlike me... couldn't hit the bugger at all at times 

[Philipp_ab_exterminatore]

 

I was chasing a Fiji down in mine last night, rng meant I ended up dying after a 'friend' joined the Fiji. Who had almost no health left, but was still alive, unlike me... couldn't hit the bugger at all at times 

 

I my have overreacted saying i wanted my money back as i was having a bad day.

But i feel very is definately something not quite right with the guns as they are very very unaccurate at times

[Mr_Tayto]

Yeah, they're troll, but make up for it with consistent damage at all ranges and deletion level damage under 10K - in my experience. 

 

In a game last night and a Bismarck on the other team was giving it the big one about 'know your history hood'. He was the first to die after my div mate and I went looking for him and he barely scratched my paint as I angled him the whole time 

[VC381]

I'm finding the ship very strong and reliable. It's one you can really lead the charge with and impact the game. I find people focus you, which you can take and it's great because cruisers actually follow you and feel safe, and you're in the fight before your team has had a chance to engage and turn coward. The speed is just phenomenal for being where you need to be or getting out if you screwed up.

 

The guns have their limitations but they are very reliable within these limitations. Multiple normal pens, solid damage. The boost comes from the speed allowing you to get into optimum firing position and stay there, or quickly find a new target if the original doesn't co-operate. You don't always get spectacular salvos but your guns are rarely silent for want of a good target and it all adds up.

 

I've only played 10 games (even though I love the ship I don't play a huge amount and like to have variety) but it's been probably the best "first 10 games" I've had in any ship. I've had two real highlights so far. One, nailing a Tirpitz for 35k in one salvo (citadel included) as I predicted his turn at 15km (basically Denmark Strait mirror/revenge scenario). The other was getting First Blood 100-0 on a cruiser, followed by second blood... and third... and so on all the way to Kraken and charging their spawn at 32 knots before anyone else on either team got any kills.

[Yoshimito]

Hood is fine in her position. Her guns could be a bit more threatening, but nothing to worry about. On the other hand she's incredibly tanky if properly angled. Had my first solo warrior in her.

[Merlin851526]

I have 21 games so far in the Hood and I must say I'm not enjoying the experience at all. My main gripe is the guns with it's snail like shell velocity and bizarre inaccuracy . It feels like it's the most inaccurate thing afloat. Sometimes the dispersion seems like it's going to come back at you. Sure you can tank plenty of damage, you need to due to inconsistency of the guns but overall it's a poor return when you cant return said damage. Maybe it's me I'll persevere for now. but honestly it's currently the only premium ship I'm beginning to regret buying.

[VC381]

On 9/14/2017 at 11:35 PM, Merlin851526 said:

I have 21 games so far in the Hood and I must say I'm not enjoying the experience at all. My main gripe is the guns with it's snail like shell velocity and bizarre inaccuracy . It feels like it's the most inaccurate thing afloat. Sometimes the dispersion seems like it's going to come back at you. Sure you can tank plenty of damage, you need to due to inconsistency of the guns but overall it's a poor return when you cant return said damage. Maybe it's me I'll persevere for now. but honestly it's currently the only premium ship I'm beginning to regret buying.

 

The speed and tankyness are your tools to get into a range where the supposed inaccuracy doesn't matter (and then get you back out if things go wrong). I say "supposed" because I never really felt the guns are any worse than the average BB, at least how I play it, it seems to make no difference to me. Also you need to make use of that turret traverse to quickly switch and punish targets that are making themselves easy to hit. It's not a ship you focus one enemy with once he's actively countering you. The point is, even if the ship is inaccurate, in the end it's proper position and target selection that make or break your damage output (and game impact), and of all BBs Hood is one of the best for being able to control those two parameters.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

I wish to try her but I refuse to buy until there's a T7 Prem ship Doubloon discount. Had hoped for one this weekend but I'm willing to wait...

 

 

[_DeathWing_]

A fine ship. I like her!

[Blakk76]

I love Hood...
I think Hood and Warspite are the best RN BB in the game...

but you have to remember, that Hood is a cruiser at best, not made for "tanking" and taking shots...so one must play accordingly...

[RUSSIANBlAS]

I sold out and bought it today, mostly because I was so shocked at WG EU's decision to give us the same Oktober Revoluzion missions as the rest of the planet.

 

Glad I bought it actually, only played 3 games but I'll be playing many more but I've played enough BB to know how to rate them I think.

 

Others have said but she's basically a T7 Kongo, very fast with slightly under powered guns although they have no problems penetrating her T7 peers. The AP goes into German BBs fairly well too. They handle very similar to the Warspite's guns, enough for me to feel they're barely any different although people's data mining suggest they lack the penetration of the T6 ship's guns. The turrets are very comfortable in terms of their tracking speed.

 

I've taken Dmg Con 2 as I don't feel the rudder is worth investing in since you're a mid range fighter, her huge size means you're going to get spammed. Even with CE everyone will spot you, Maybe my view of her is slightly swayed by the fact I have a fully trained 19 point RN BB captain so I've literally got all the extra perks that improve a ship's quality of life.

 

Will probably return to this thread when I've played some more... 

[MeTaLMooSe]

I knew you would break and git her!

One of the best things about Hood, is she has bags of character. Don't know why, apart from her AA fireworks and being fast she has no other tricks.

Maybe because you can choose the exteme flanks, go charging up and appear where no one expects you?

I'm only playing Duke on the main line (I expect big nerfs with RN so why get upset about missing something I never had?) But I prefer Hood to Nelson and Warspite. Her AP is a bit soggy but she can put out solid consistent damage, flex the map and tank like a good 'un. Whats not to like?

Looking forward to hearing your views as I feel her intro by WG has left a bad taste for many.

And you can take my Hood flag from my cold dead hands

[RUSSIANBlAS]

18 hours ago, MeTaLMooSe said:

I knew you would break and git her!

One of the best things about Hood, is she has bags of character. Don't know why, apart from her AA fireworks and being fast she has no other tricks.

Maybe because you can choose the exteme flanks, go charging up and appear where no one expects you?

I'm only playing Duke on the main line (I expect big nerfs with RN so why get upset about missing something I never had?) But I prefer Hood to Nelson and Warspite. Her AP is a bit soggy but she can put out solid consistent damage, flex the map and tank like a good 'un. Whats not to like?

Looking forward to hearing your views as I feel her intro by WG has left a bad taste for many.

And you can take my Hood flag from my cold dead hands

 

Hood feels like a logical progression from the Warspite. I'd say the guns are similar enough that you can use both ships with the same adaptation with aiming. So much has been said about her "poor" AP that I expected something sucky but they're perfectly competent, on paper they've only got marginally more pen than the KGV's 14" but I think their flight arcs lend better penetration. 

 

And just like the Warspite she's an AP freak unlike the rest of the line. Nelson can do both however...

 

It's the speed and the tanking ability that makes her awesome, the almost obscene size doesn't matter when you're at 14km or so. 

 

Probably one of the most fun ships I've played in awhile. And has lots of character yes, I think it's a combination of all the above and decent soft stats like turret rotation. 

 

 

[MeTaLMooSe]

Turret rotation is a winner for me, it's a non issue.

I find AP won't always get expected BB citadels but I tend to aim above the belt and get a good consistent damage. And as to her accuracy? Well cruisers tend to go BLOOP quite often!

She's got fine reliable armour compared to warspite and a low citadel and massive HP. It's all good.

[DaOrange]

Don't have Hood but since I'm researching Lion I play quite some tier 6/7 matches to farm silver. Never like having to face Hood in my Graf Spee...Hood is fast, can take a punch and can deal quite some damage herself. Most Hood captains know how to play her by now. Not many give full broadside :)

[Blakk76]

3 hours ago, DaOrange said:

Don't have Hood but since I'm researching Lion I play quite some tier 6/7 matches to farm silver. Never like having to face Hood in my Graf Spee...Hood is fast, can take a punch and can deal quite some damage herself. Most Hood captains know how to play her by now. Not many give full broadside :)

it is surprising, but Lion with upgraded powerplant feels like an oversized Hood a bit...

[Blakk76]

my last battle on Hood.... had Queen, Fuso and Texas on my flank, with some help of cruiser I sunk Fuso and Texas and pushed away Queen... so main trick is to move fast and turn around...

[RUSSIANBlAS]

6 hours ago, MeTaLMooSe said:

 

She's got fine reliable armour compared to warspite and a low citadel and massive HP. It's all good.

 

Yes, the armour pattern is very consistent as in if you angle you will block the big shots. Unlike Warspite, Nelson, KGV and even Monarch which seem to have very patchy armour that occasionally let in huge penetrating hits...

 

 

[Merlin851526]

On 15/09/2017 at 8:37 AM, VC381 said:

 

The speed and tankyness are your tools to get into a range where the supposed inaccuracy doesn't matter (and then get you back out if things go wrong). I say "supposed" because I never really felt the guns are any worse than the average BB, at least how I play it, it seems to make no difference to me. Also you need to make use of that turret traverse to quickly switch and punish targets that are making themselves easy to hit. It's not a ship you focus one enemy with once he's actively countering you. The point is, even if the ship is inaccurate, in the end it's proper position and target selection that make or break your damage output (and game impact), and of all BBs Hood is one of the best for being able to control those two parameters.

Well after 45 battles in her and a win rate of 38% I simply detest her and deeply regret buying her. I've never regretted buying a premium before now. Just cant get her to work no matter what I do. The guns seem terribly inaccurate (to me anyway) Perhaps it's the matchmaking of late as it seems a bit wonky I don't know. I've tried to focus exclusively on mid range combat but it never works out. 

[RUSSIANBlAS]

1 hour ago, Merlin851526 said:

Well after 45 battles in her and a win rate of 38% I simply detest her and deeply regret buying her. I've never regretted buying a premium before now. Just cant get her to work no matter what I do. The guns seem terribly inaccurate (to me anyway) Perhaps it's the matchmaking of late as it seems a bit wonky I don't know. I've tried to focus exclusively on mid range combat but it never works out. 

The guns are more accurate than a lot of BBs out there but the issue is they have very low shell velocity. If you're coming from a Warspite then you'll understand. 

 

A problem is that even though they're accurate, they do fairly low damage so you need to make every shot count. Go for Cruisers first but the sAP still damages BBs consistently, you'll rarely get citadel strikes however.

 

Knowing how to tank and using Hood's speed is key to doing well.