Pensacola

[GeneralRushHour]

 

Both Baltimore and DM are super squishy compared to Cleveland.

 

Is it more squishy then Pensa and Norleans? 

 

[ttchip]

Is it more squishy then Pensa and Norleans?

 

If you show up in a DM and you're exposed to more than one enemy ship, you'll either die or trade poorly. Everyone and their mother will focus you. Everyone and their mother will citadel you. We'll see how that changes once a lot of people reach tier 10. Baltimore is decently tanky. DM is on par with NO, in my opinion.

[GrumpyWorm]

Moved

[Admiral_noodle]

I love the cola. But it is a very different ship from the preceding US cruisers and as has been said it's an escort ship.

[GulvkluderGuld]

 

If you show up in a DM and you're exposed to more than one enemy ship, you'll either die or trade poorly. Everyone and their mother will focus you. Everyone and their mother will citadel you. We'll see how that changes once a lot of people reach tier 10. Baltimore is decently tanky. DM is on par with NO, in my opinion.

 

Sounds much like being in the pensacola. Either too low tier to do anything, or highest tier and you get focused. Either way you die first in any skirmish or battle which sucks so [edited]hard.

 

I guess if you prefer brawler type ships, stick with tier V or below? 

 

The game seems to change completely from about tier 6.

[Admiral_noodle]

But just now my cola got 3 kills and survived. Sure I spent much of the game running away but I got a Kuma who went side on, killed a DD with secondaries (!) and sunk an Atlanta. Citadels on a fellow Cola too...

 

She's good. But no brawler.

[PoorTanker]

Guys, what upgrades do you use on the Pepsi? I'm not sure between better AA or more accuracy, or if I should get better steering or more acceleration. Plus I don't know if the engine or rudder is prone to get destroyed.

[Frosty]

Seems like I'm the complete opposite to most of the players. I like Colorado, I like Pensacola... Yeah Omaha was fun... But that was tier v - now ur tier 7 and the  range increased... Also, armor on the Omaha was also as thin as paper (it's just the low lvl player that didn't learn to use AP- I was able to take on two Omahas simultainiosly and come out victorious as they were spammin HE  and I was scorin one citadel after another). Pensacola is a gret ship if you use AP and can aim properly.  In fact I actively seek Cleveland's and Atlanta's as those are my main food now - just keep em over 12km and citadel em to death. Their return fire is easy to avoid due to the extremely long flight time of the shells. Only tier 8 cruisers and above are a dangerous enemy since they have much better armor (New Orlean for example can be rly tough nut to crack). So there is nothing wrong with the ship - it's the players that can't adjust to a different play style of higher lol games.

 

EDIT:

 

And btw - at 8-12km you can easily score citadel penns on Myogi's too - nasty suprise for them

[Zogash85]

After what I'd read about her, I was positively dreading the Pepsicola, but tbh, I really like her! I actually prefer her over the Cleveland (*gasp*)! Mind you, I free xp-ed all her modules and got all the upgrades immediately, so I don't know how she plays stock, but the amount of citadel pens I get in her is off the hook! And as long as you angle at all times, she isn't that squishy, either. While the RoF is slowish, it's really not that bad, and I much prefer her higher shell velocity over the a-[edited]-to-aim-well-at-long-distances Cleveland HE spam. The only thing I feel is significantly weaker on the Pepsi than on the Cleveland is the AA. I don't know why but it takes my AA guns a lot longer to down planes even with defensive fire active. May be that the 4 less 127mm guns aren't adequately replaced by the additional Bofors. It's still by no means bad vs. planes (my record is 14 in one battle), but it isn't as deadly as the Cleveland is (37 in one battle).

 

From my experience the most important things to keep in mind when playing the Pensacola are:

 

1. Angle at all times! Never EVER show your flat broadside any longer than you absolutely have to! If you do, they'll likely pen your citadel most of the time.

 

2. Get the Steering Gear Modification to improve rudder shift time ASAP, and dodge as much incoming fire as you can - angling will only get you that far.

 

3. Shoot AP at anything that isn't a DD or CV, prioritizing cruisers that are showing you their flat broadside. Aim for below the smoke stacks for a nice chance at citadel pens.

 

4. Try to keep enemies (especially Clevelands) at ranges of more than 10-12km so you have time to dodge their shells. Your shells are fast enough to still be easy to aim at those distances.

 

Upgrades I took:

1. Main Battery Mod 1 - you need those main guns, so make 'em tougher

2. AA Guns Mod 2 - always nice, and the other mods aren't nearly as useful: your secondaries are irrelevant most of the time since you want to stay at range, turret traverse is ok and you don't want to slow down your already slowish RoF, and your guns are accurate enough as they are

3. Propulsion Mod 1 - an immobile PepsiCola is a dead PepsiCola

4. Steering Gears Mod 1 -  dodge, dodge, dodge - and your rudder shift time really needs the buff

 

My captain's skills (so far):

1a. Situation Awareness - I take this on all my ships, I want to know that there might be some shots or torpedoes incoming soon

1b. Basics of Survivability - not strictly necessary, imho, but reduced repair time is always nice

(1c. Basic Firing Training - I haven't taken this skill in my Pepsi, since she really only benefits from the +10% AA efficiency, and I don't think it's worth it - this skill is much more useful on the Cleveland with its smaller guns)

2. Fire Prevention - the only useful tier 2 skill for the Pepsi, imho, turret traverse is fast enough, and the incoming shot indicator is unneeded

3. High Alert - again, the only useful skill of its tier for the Pepsi - Superintendent is wasted since it only gives you another fighter, repairs and defensive fire don't have charges

4. (don't have this yet) either Advanced Firing Training or Last Stand - AFT, like BFT, really only benefits your AA, but 20% higher range is nice... on the other hand, being able to maneuver with damaged engine/steering is awesome - I'll probably go with Last Stand...

 

 In fact I actively seek Cleveland's and Atlanta's as those are my main food now - just keep em over 12km and citadel em to death. Their return fire is easy to avoid due to the extremely long flight time of the shells. Only tier 8 cruisers and above are a dangerous enemy since they have much better armor (New Orlean for example can be rly tough nut to crack). So there is nothing wrong with the ship - it's the players that can't adjust to a different play style of higher lol games.

 

Personally, I really like the taste of Myokos and Atagos. Clevelands I'm still not that fond of, since their citadel is rather small and their high RoF can cause you some serious headaches if you let them come too close or if they really know how to lead their shots. Japanese cruisers, Atlantas, and other Pensacolas on the other hand are made out of citadels and if you're the better gunner, they drop quickly enough.

[GulvkluderGuld]

Seems like I'm the complete opposite to most of the players. I like Colorado, I like Pensacola... Yeah Omaha was fun... But that was tier v - now ur tier 7 and the  range increased... Also, armor on the Omaha was also as thin as paper (it's just the low lvl player that didn't learn to use AP- I was able to take on two Omahas simultainiosly and come out victorious as they were spammin HE  and I was scorin one citadel after another). Pensacola is a gret ship if you use AP and can aim properly.  In fact I actively seek Cleveland's and Atlanta's as those are my main food now - just keep em over 12km and citadel em to death. Their return fire is easy to avoid due to the extremely long flight time of the shells. Only tier 8 cruisers and above are a dangerous enemy since they have much better armor (New Orlean for example can be rly tough nut to crack). So there is nothing wrong with the ship - it's the players that can't adjust to a different play style of higher lol games.

 

 

 

You must be driving a completely different ship or facing different opponents.

 

I cant hit anything in this ship > 10-12 km if it's paying even slight attention to me (and maneuvers). 

Sure the shell flight time is better than in the Cleveland, but most of the cruisers I face are atlantas, atagos, clevelands and myokos.

And they burn me to death while staying angled. 

 

 

Zogash85, on 14 August 2015 - 05:17 PM, said:

After what I'd read about her, I was positively dreading the Pepsicola, but tbh, I really like her! I actually prefer her over the Cleveland (*gasp*)! Mind you, I free xp-ed all her modules and got all the upgrades immediately, so I don't know how she plays stock, but the amount of citadel pens I get in her is off the hook! And as long as you angle at all times, she isn't that squishy, either. While the RoF is slowish, it's really not that bad, and I much prefer her higher shell velocity over the a-[edited]-to-aim-well-at-long-distances Cleveland HE spam. The only thing I feel is significantly weaker on the Pepsi than on the Cleveland is the AA. I don't know why but it takes my AA guns a lot longer to down planes even with defensive fire active. May be that the 4 less 127mm guns aren't adequately replaced by the additional Bofors. It's still by no means bad vs. planes (my record is 14 in one battle), but it isn't as deadly as the Cleveland is (37 in one battle).

 

Glad somebody likes this ship ;)

Stock Pensacola is a [edited], mainly due to the low 14,2 km range and 45s turret traverse (meaining the aim of the guns get thrown off, if you turn the ship).

Once upgraded, I've actually gotten decent games in her. 

I also observed the AA seems worse compared to the Cleveland.

 

From my experience the most important things to keep in mind when playing the Pensacola are:

 

1. Angle at all times! Never EVER show your flat broadside any longer than you absolutely have to! If you do, they'll likely pen your citadel most of the time.

 

2. Get the Steering Gear Modification to improve rudder shift time ASAP, and dodge as much incoming fire as you can - angling will only get you that far.

couldn't agree more. Its the single best upgrade it got on her.

 

3. Shoot AP at anything that isn't a DD or CV, prioritizing cruisers that are showing you their flat broadside. Aim for below the smoke stacks for a nice chance at citadel pens.

 

4. Try to keep enemies (especially Clevelands) at ranges of more than 10-12km so you have time to dodge their shells. Your shells are fast enough to still be easy to aim at those distances.

 

KIlling DD's in this thing gave me lots of trouble, so I took another approach to upgrades. 

 

Upgrades:

2) Seconday Battery Mod 2 upgrade = +20% range and accuracy

 

My Captain:

1) basic firing training  = 10% faster reload on secondaries

4) advanced firing training  = 20% range on secondaries

 

Advantages:

-  6,3 km range on the secondary batteries -> this range just happen to be similar to DD detection range.

- some extra accuracy and reload time -> the secondaries actually hit and do substantial dmg!

- starts Fires - the secondaries shoot HE and has a pretty good chance of fire!

 

Disadvantages:

-some 20% lower AA range due to the upgrade slot lost.

-different captain skills than above (i only run Situational awareness on my DDs).

 

Running this mod has secured multiple kills and cap resets for me.

In fact it nettet me the "close quarters expert" in the very first game i played with this configuration

 

 Let me know if anyone has tried something similar?

[Zogash85]

I dunno, I don't really have that many problems with destroyers in my Pepsi. If I see one coming (and I make sure to constantly check the map for where any enemy DDs are at any given time), I immediately switch to HE and give him a salvo. That's usually enough to kill him or at least make him reconsider his options. I don't want to brag, but I have really gotten the hang of how much lead to give when shooting at DDs that are at about their detection range. All that driving American DDs myself and actively hunting them down really paid off. That's probably also why I've come to rely on Sit Awareness so much... not having it just doesn't feel right anymore, regardless of what ship I'm in

 

 

[goodman528]

 

When everything else fails, just charge in and ram. High caliber + Confederate + Close Quarters Expert + Die Hard.

[torytrae]

 

 Let me know if anyone has tried something similar?

 

You underperform in cruisers. Its not the ships. No offense but you can improve a lot by learning to aim properly and evade more.

[PoorTanker]

I'm so bad with this ship that I'm becoming dumber every time I use it. I've to go down to tier 2 to perform worse in any cruiser... ¿And the next 2 ships are like this one?

[Pete_SB]

So glad I ground through the Derpland to get the Pensacola. Eight inch guns are for you if you can, 1, Aim, and 2, choose the correct ammo. Great ship

[ttchip]

¿And the next 2 ships are like this one?

 

More or less, yes. Though I have to admit that Baltimore didn't feel as squishy as this thing.

[PoorTanker]

 

More or less, yes. Though I have to admit that Baltimore didn't feel as squishy as this thing.

 

Mmmm, I'm starting to doubt if I should continue. If the Des Moines also has very slow shells I don't see the point of not keeping playing with the Clev and the Omaha and forget the next ships if I'm not going to enjoy them.

[ttchip]

Mmmm, I'm starting to doubt if I should continue. If the Des Moines also has very slow shells I don't see the point of not keeping playing with the Clev and the Omaha and forget the next ships if I'm not going to enjoy them.

 

Pretty sure the shell velocity on DM is the same as the one on Pensacola with the upgraded guns. Pensacola itself is a fine ship if you get used to it. Having ten 203s is pretty darn decent when combined with the excellent maneuverability. I've found New Orleans to be the worst ship in the line, simply because the guns start feeling anemic and the AA isn't any better. Baltimore is okay-ish simply because of its amazing AA.

[JocMeister]

I have to say I kind of dreaded getting the Pepsi after reading this thread....And initially I hated it with a passion. Being a mediocre (at best) player I just couldn´t get it to work for me. Even gave up and started playing DDs instead. But after a while I was back in the Pepsi and slowly, slowly I started improving doing a little bit better each game.

 

I think the Pepsi is a great ship when you get used to it as I forces you to get better. Initially after 10-15 battles I had a hit ratio of something like 10-12%. Its slowly climbing up now. The thing is that the Cleve and Omaha doesn´t really require you to aim that good. You can just "spray and pray". The Pepsi doesn´t work like that and it forces you to take careful aimed shots. And when your accuracy starts to get better the Pepsi starts working out.

 

Its a completely different playstyle though. In the Cleve/Omaha I was hunting BBs to burn down. In the Pepsi I´m more careful and tend to go after enemy Cruisers instead. I found the Pepsi to be really good in this role and it can take down pretty much any other CA in a 1on1 up to tier 8. The Pepsi guns are REALLY accurate and you can quite consistently citadel even Clevelands using AP shots.

 

So far (having played only US cruisers and Jap DDs) the Pepsi is actually my favorite ship after the Omaha  I´m sure I´ll hate the NO, Baltimore and DM as well initially.

[Sub_Eleven]

I have to say I kind of dreaded getting the Pepsi after reading this thread....And initially I hated it with a passion. Being a mediocre (at best) player I just couldn´t get it to work for me. Even gave up and started playing DDs instead. But after a while I was back in the Pepsi and slowly, slowly I started improving doing a little bit better each game.

 

I think the Pepsi is a great ship when you get used to it as I forces you to get better. Initially after 10-15 battles I had a hit ratio of something like 10-12%. Its slowly climbing up now. The thing is that the Cleve and Omaha doesn´t really require you to aim that good. You can just "spray and pray". The Pepsi doesn´t work like that and it forces you to take careful aimed shots. And when your accuracy starts to get better the Pepsi starts working out.

 

Its a completely different playstyle though. In the Cleve/Omaha I was hunting BBs to burn down. In the Pepsi I´m more careful and tend to go after enemy Cruisers instead. I found the Pepsi to be really good in this role and it can take down pretty much any other CA in a 1on1 up to tier 8. The Pepsi guns are REALLY accurate and you can quite consistently citadel even Clevelands using AP shots.

 

So far (having played only US cruisers and Jap DDs) the Pepsi is actually my favorite ship after the Omaha  I´m sure I´ll hate the NO, Baltimore and DM as well initially.

 

Yeah you dont really want  to fire your guns on recharge but rather time your shots, kinda like a bb does. She is still bad in 1 vs 1's though. If enemy cruisers keep angled they will just burn you down with HE. First time I ran into an Atlanta I waited patiently for their turns to get some citadels. Except those turns never came and I got burned to a crisp. You never want to be alone, always stay near other ships to help you out or to take fire for you if you can't dodge.

[PoorTanker]

I don't think is that bad as a ship, is just that is a bit boring. It excels as a escort, but I think that the same can be said with all the cruisers, and this one has nothing to write home about apart from the good AA. Now I'm in the NO and it's exactly the same ship with a bit better stats here and there, but you have to fight higher tiers. You need good aim, and hope that no BB gazes badly at you if you happen to be hunting a DD or a CA and you don't see the huge shells coming.

[havaduck]

I am contemplating getting a T8 Mogami or the T 7 Pensacola.

 

Kinda would appreciate optinons to make up my mind. ^^

 

(Pensa seems to be roughly at the same credit-price because without the upgrades (got 17 k free xp ready) it appears to by utterly crap, whilst Mogami may be workable even without the use of free xp)

 

And also ..... I was able to deal with the T 7 service cost which is around 75k for repair and ammo, how much would be Mogami? How bad are the 150 mm guns arcs?

[Mr_Burke]

Which upgrade modifications, are worth to take for this ship?

As in stuff like "AA guns modification 2" and the others below it. And "Steering gears // Propulsion // Damage Control 2"

[Mr_Burke]

I took the "Gun fire control system modification 1" but how much do you really think it improves the main guns accuracy? Enough to really see any difference?

I went with the steering gears modification too.

[22cm]

...

Not needed, guns are quite accurate, that one works better for a BB. You should take the one that improves AA range, "AA guns modification 2", it gets your AA to 6 km (7 km with captain skill).

For the last one, "Steering gears modification 2/ Damage Control 2".