In every game, you will be the \u201cfill in\u201d members of the team with a potential starring role \u2013 AA, DD-hunting, burning BBs, you are a fast assault force or a fast reaction force depending on the needs of your FC \/ team.<\/p>\n
Russian and American cruisers equipped with radar are anti-DD monstrosities, and if you have either the Chapayev or the New Orleans, give serious thought to sacking your AA capability and going for a strong DD-hunter approach using your radar consumable.\u00a0 The ability to pick up a DD at 10km+ and light him up for the rest of the team (potentially without him even knowing he\u2019s been spotted) is of tremendous value.<\/p>\n
Your guns are a significant piece of firepower, almost equal to the battleship \u2013 and with torpedo armaments, you can exceed the alpha capability of even the largest capital vessel.<\/p>\n
Ammunition selection is surprisingly important for a cruiser, and can make the difference between a sub-10k damage game and a 50k+ one.\u00a0 Many players simply load HE and leave it, not paying any more mind.\u00a0 That\u2019s okay if you\u2019re drunk or don\u2019t know what to use, but in Ranked and Team fights, you\u2019ll be assumed to know what you\u2019re doing.\u00a0\u00a0 HE is best for DDs under almost all circumstances (but don\u2019t wait to switch if you have AP loaded \u2013 throw the AP at it and reload to HE).\u00a0 Against Battleships you\u2019ll generally use HE, though certain angles against a battleship will call for AP if you can get it loaded in time.\u00a0 Against other cruisers, the general rule is if you\u2019re firing nose- or tail-on to use HE, and AP if they present you a side to shoot at.\u00a0 There are plenty of videos on youtube that will show you how to aim for good citadel hits on most ships, and at the higher tiers you\u2019ll have the caliber of guns needed to accomplish it.<\/p>\n
A few cruisers don\u2019t really fit the traditional mold here \u2013 notably the USS Atlanta, and the Mikhail Kutuzov.<\/p>\n
The Atlanta is a short-ranged cruiser (armed with destroyer-level armament), and behaves really more like two DDs welded together than a cruiser.\u00a0 Its armor is negligible, its torpedoes are shamefully short-ranged.\u00a0 However, as a destroyer-hunter it is insanely capable.\u00a0 It is also quite handy as an anti-aircraft platform, also fully able of launching a surprise attack around an island and wiping out a battleship if given the opportunity. \u00a0In general I would recommend against taking such a ship into a fight unless you specifically know you will be dealing with a situation where it can excel.<\/p>\n
The Mikhail Kutuzov is the other strange case \u2013 very long ranged weapons, very capable ones at that, extremely good AA and also a good destroyer hunter, the MK is hamstrung by its weak armor and tendency to simply evaporate under enemy fire.\u00a0 Its smokescreen is absolutely indispensable for avoiding this fate.\u00a0 This is a suitable ship to accompany a team CV, or a singular team member which will provide long-range fire support, but it is not the best choice as an all-around brawling cruiser.\u00a0 Better so than the Atlanta, and a well-versed driver can make up for its deficiencies, but if you have just purchased this ship I would not recommend taking it into a fight until you have really developed a solid understanding of its quirks.<\/p>\n
Early game<\/strong>, you should be moving to group up with the concentration of power that your FC dictates \u2013 most times this means getting to within about 5km of your battleship group and leading<\/em> them as they approach the designated cap.\u00a0 You are leading them because you are needed to exert your zone of control out ahead of them and deny enemy Destroyers the opportunity to fire torpedoes unanswered at the battleships.\u00a0 Due to your maneuverability and speed, you are a good screen for them.\u00a0 If there is a CV on the enemy side, your BBs may request you get closer in order to overlap your AA capability \u2013 if you have significant AA, then stay within about 2km of the main force so your fighter and AA consumables can be used to protect potentially weak BBs.<\/p>\n Here at the start, as you maneuver, get your guns trained on the cap(s) that your DDs are aiming to take.\u00a0 As they enter those cap points, the temptation will be to start hammering the battleships and cruisers they light up first.\u00a0 Resist this unless your FC specifically designates a target.\u00a0 Keep close tabs on those DDs \u2013 because they will light up the enemy DDs doing the same job only moments after you see those big capital ships, and your guns will be needed a lot more in wiping out enemy Destroyers early on.\u00a0 Denying the enemy a strategic asset like a DD hull for the rest of the game is enormously more valuable than setting a few easily-repaired fires on one of their battleships or splashing harmlessly around a cruiser hull.<\/p>\n Mid-game, <\/strong>stick with the bulk of your fleet and fire on the fleet\u2019s primary target until it dies.\u00a0 If a DD appears in shooting distance and you know you can hit it, do \u2013 don\u2019t ask, just do.\u00a0 You might not have time to wait for an answer, and that\u2019s a more important target than anything on the map.<\/p>\n If your team is in the lead, stay tightly grouped at the cap(s) you have already captured, and as the enemy trickles in, destroy them in appropriate targeting order, or the order the FC indicates (sometimes a BB will be on very low health and despite being given a chance to shoot at a DD or CA, your commander may decide it\u2019s more important to take out that BB hull \u2013 just trust your FC and follow through).\u00a0 Keep your eyes on the likely approaches and if you have torpedoes, seed those areas with speculative spreads (I shouldn\u2019t have to say this, but do NOT fire torpedoes if you have friendlies downrange).<\/p>\n If your team is behind, then your role changes a little.\u00a0 You must now either kill a targeted enemy ship, or recapture\/deny a cap point to them.\u00a0 Perhaps both.\u00a0 If you have DDs remaining on your team, coordinate an approach with them and give them fire support as they move in on the cap point.\u00a0 Since your team\u2019s victory depends on accumulated points, look for low-health \u201ceasy kills\u201d \u2013 anything low health will do.\u00a0 Battleships, cruisers, and especially destroyers become opportunity targets to hammer hard and possibly set fire \/ flooding loose on them.\u00a0 You need <\/em>to kill a target, so coordinate with your team to find one and destroy it to get that score back to even or counting in your favor.<\/p>\n End-game<\/strong>, if you are in the lead, is quite simple:\u00a0 get to your cap(s), on the far side from where the enemy is likely to appear, and destroy anything that pokes its nose out in front of you.\u00a0 Never<\/em> stop moving, particularly if there are enemy DDs on the board somewhere.\u00a0 There will be strong temptation to chase down singular enemy ships that are fleeing from you \u2013 don\u2019t succumb to this.\u00a0 A battleship running for a corner is no threat to your team\u2019s victory unless (s)he\u2019s going to have time to heal up and return (which, at the end-game, (s)he won\u2019t).\u00a0 A CV could<\/em> be worth chasing if there are still planes that can de-cap or destroy your teammates.\u00a0 If not however, let it go.<\/p>\n If you are losing at this point, your guns are in a position to destroy weak enemies that your remaining DDs might spot, and if at all possible lead assaults to take away cap points from the enemy.\u00a0 Stick close to your remaining team and work closely with them to try to pick off the sick and wounded while the entire group sets up for an attack on a cap.\u00a0 Depending on the amount of time left in the match, you might be forced to simply \u201cyolo\u201d it, but if there\u2019s still time, you can be a little more strategic in singling out a target or two for special attention to grant your team more time and weaken the enemy\u2019s position before an assault.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In every game, you will be the \u201cfill in\u201d members of the team with a potential starring role \u2013 AA, DD-hunting, burning BBs, you are a fast assault force or a fast reaction force depending on the needs of your … Continue reading