UK Cruisers- the Good, the Bad, and...

[USCG_Fan2016]

So I'm heading down the UK cruiser line on the side to Ranked Battles season, and here's what I think so far (at T3, getting close to T4).

 

Good:

• Guns are fast-firing and at least relatively accurate, doing pretty consistent damage, but not always in large amounts 
• Having Repair Party is great if you survive long enough to use it (see below)
• Individual torpedo launch is devastating at close range vs. BBs especially
• Speed and maneuvering are excellent
• All in all, good destroyer hunters and skirmishers.

Bad:

• Armor resembles tinfoil in how effective it is at blocking shells 
• Helpless against BBs except torpedoes
• Not a lot of guns available
• Repair Party is no good when you're already dead
• Tend to get insta-deleted by... well, everything else, but especially BBs and other UK cruisers.

Other:

• At least they look nice
• British national voiceover is hilariously exaggerated at times
• No Defensive Fire consumable at higher tiers = bad for those cruisers, good for my T6 CV

 

Well, that's about all I know so far. Thoughts?

 

Happy hunting, Captains.

 

[HKRevolutionOfOurTime]

The biggest thing missing from this overview is the overreliance on AP, which means damage output trends towards 0 as soon as your opponent angles.

[Yank59]

I cringe whenever I hear the British opening voices at the beginning of a battle.

[Carl]

 The biggest thing missing from this overview is the overreliance on AP, which means damage output trends towards 0 as soon as your opponent angles. 

 

Right because decks and superstructure are totally affected by angling. Not.

[mohawkdriver]

They won't stop sukking until Tier 6.

[k75fish]

They won't stop sukking until Tier 6.

 

Yep. Leander is a good ship. Just got the Fiji today and wow does the extra guns make a difference. Great ship. Worth it. Will be keeping both

[TenguBlade]

The lack of DF isn't a problem from about T8 onwards.  Edinburgh has enough firepower to make New Orleans jealous and has more range to boot.  Neptune and Minotaur, with their 6" DP guns, lay the pain on even worse for attacking planes - with DF the both of them would out-class the Des Moines at her own game.

[HazeGrayUnderway]

So I'm heading down the UK cruiser line on the side to Ranked Battles season, and here's what I think so far (at T3, getting close to T4).

 

Good:

• Guns are fast-firing and at least relatively accurate, doing pretty consistent damage, but not always in large amounts 
• Having Repair Party is great if you survive long enough to use it (see below)
• Speed and maneuvering are excellent
• All in all, good destroyer hunters and skirmishers.

 

 

RN CL guns are not fast firing.  They are average.  The only ones that shoot faster than average are Tier IX and X ones.  Tier III-VIII the reload time is 7.5 seconds flat, with no way to improve that until possibly Tier VIII.  There are many Cruisers floating above and even below that time.  I have so far not found their 152mm guns to be any more accurate than other lines' equivalent CL-grade weapon.

 

I disagree with them being good DD hunters.  Their shells are floaty which is a sin in hunting them, especially the RU DDs that are plinking you at range.  Floaty Shells < RU DDs.  The AP can be bounced by a DD, and you will have a much more difficult time affecting modules, i.e. killing / affecting their engines and making them easier to kill while using HE that other ships have.

 

Speed and turns are actually pretty good.

 

Personally, the lack of Defensive Fire isn't an issue when CVs are practically nonexistent.

[inktomi19d]

 

Right because decks and superstructure are totally affected by angling. Not.

 

Ehhhh it depends.

 

First, the deck is usually angled because it's the deck. On many ships they are thin enough to be over matched though.

 

Superstructure can't always be hit because it is often masked by turrets (which are typically armored and likely to be angled), and many ships have very low superstructure. DDs can be particularly frustrating when they run, because the only parts exposed are the angled hull, the turrets, and the funnels (which get overpenetrated).

 

Against BBs and CAs you can generally aim above the turrets and hit the conning tower, but there are cruisers that mostly only show turrets from the rear (the Atlanta comes to mind).

 

The low tier RN ships have atrocious shot grouping as well, so it's not usually even practical for them to aim for superstructure on angled ships since their rounds will scatter so much (though it's no problem for tier 6 and up). Most of the complaints about the RN line stem from those low tier ships because their horrible gun arrangement makes their rounds scatter enough that RNG trumps skill.

 

 

[Carl]

 First, the deck is usually angled because it's the deck. On many ships they are thin enough to be over matched though.

 

Yes but no matter how they angle the ship it doesn't get an better or worse.  Also, shells come down at an angle just aim higher and the turrets aren't an issue.

 

Don;t get me wrong, if your expecting to kill or seriously hurt a BB with shellfire before he deletes you your going to be disappointed, but thats because you die so fast, not because the shells can't do the job.

[HazeGrayUnderway]

I want to add that there's a sharp difference between the Tier I-V RN CLs than the ones starting with Tier VI.  Meaning at VI it starts to get good.  She still has important, crucial weaknesses, but if a ship is to "Live and Die by their Guns," Leander is the first RN CL to deserve that.

[KyourakuShunsui]

The lack of DF isn't a problem from about T8 onwards.  Edinburgh has enough firepower to make New Orleans jealous and has more range to boot.  Neptune and Minotaur, with their 6" DP guns, lay the pain on even worse for attacking planes - with DF the both of them would out-class the Des Moines at her own game.

 

Not more range than a New Orleans. I assume you meant the T8 has more range than the T7.

[_tube_]

I cringe whenever I hear the British opening voices at the beginning of a battle.

 

I'd like to hear a Lily Allen or Adele voice-over.

[inktomi19d]

 

Yes but no matter how they angle the ship it doesn't get an better or worse.  Also, shells come down at an angle just aim higher and the turrets aren't an issue.

 

Don;t get me wrong, if your expecting to kill or seriously hurt a BB with shellfire before he deletes you your going to be disappointed, but thats because you die so fast, not because the shells can't do the job.

 

You can't just aim higher to avoid the turrets on all ships. On BBs you can, but if a DD turns it's tail then you need to aim center-mass to compensate for dispersion, and almost all of what a DD shows will either bounce shots or get over-penetrated. Ironically, an angled DD is better protected than any other ship type; I kinda think that the RN CLs are the reason that WG was talking about reducing DD armor, because DDs aren't really balanced around being able to angle to avoid damage.

 

Against other cruisers, you can probably hit superstructure from the front, but it's tougher from the back, since the superstructure there is usually lower and the funnels tend to get in the way of hitting the conning tower. Against most you can aim high, but dispersion will cause half your rounds to miss.

 

BBs are really the only ships were you can aim to compensate for angling and expect to get most of a volley to hit. Personally I find BBs to be some of the easier victims for RN CLs, because it's relatively easy to whittle them down.

[CC_38_SuperAuto]

I was hoping the British cruisers would work well for me but I quickly tired of the weak armor and inefficient gun systems.  Went back to the tried and true German and the IJN cruisers which offer so much more (effective weaponry, torp range, and purchase costs) at equivalent tiers.  I did keep the Black Swan for Tier I games.

[Carl]

Yeah but if you were shooting at a cruiser with HE on any other cruiser you wouldn't get a lot of hit ethier. Thats not a problem unique to RN AP. DD's i'm not sure whats happening myself there, the turrets have no more armour in most cases than the superstructure and hull, which are usually amongst the worst in game so why they're bouncing i have no idea, but i have observed it too.

 

 

[JackyJack]

 

   I've been running a Neptune since the patch (free xp) and it is by far the worst tier 9 ship.  I hear stories of certain players doing well with high tier British cruisers, but the evidence points to them being the exception, not the rule.  The simply cannot take a hit from any angle and are reliant on hiding in smoke at close range.  The guns are basically from a Cleveland with same or worse firing arcs.  You cannot reliably hit anything past 10km that is trying to dodge you.  The lack of HE is painful, especially when trying to hunt destroyers.  I lost count of the shells bounced of a Shimakaze today at 5km.  He actually rammed me to death since I couldn't penetrate through his bow at point blank range.  That is actually a nice change of pace from getting crushed with 20k volleys by battleships or heavy cruisers.  The best is getting chased away by a Russian DD because his guns are better than yours and he bounces most of your shells. 

 

   Something drastic is needed to make these ships competitive or they will just be hilariously bad.  I wonder if there is still time to petition for a refund...

[KrapMaster]

It's easier to kill dd's in other cruiser's than RN cruiser's. Whoever touted them as DD killers ought to be slapped. It's lol when DD's aren't afraid of you and will attack you without pause. IJN DD's are the only ones who would be afraid but then again, they are afraid of everything. I think Yubari when I think of RN cruisers cause ain't no one afraid of Yubari. Pick up speed fast but coast to a stop and with that quick puff of smoke timing is everything or you coast right out of it.  I do ok in RN cruisers, put out decent damage in them but survival rating is pretty much non existent. But for some odd reason I do like them, maybe it's because they are different and hard to play.

[SweetRollThief]

I'll hold my final opinion until i have played the higher tiers, but I already have a hard time finding a reason to play RN cruisers over my favorites from the other nations. 

 

[Coltramm]

 

 

On paper, the stats and features looks like a death trap, but with a gimmick or two.

 

In game play, it does better than expected, and then you get insta-killed from 1 volley.

 

a pew-pew gun on a paper ship with heavy cruiser-like mobility and size...what could go wrong?

 

If this was a tank in WoT, what would the Minotaur be? And, is that tank viable?

[Thraxian]

My very first random game in the Leander, the very first shell that hits me (I was angled about 15 degrees moving away from enemy BB) DETONATES my ship.

I managed to do 17k damage before I instantly went from 100% to 0%.

It's a great way to get people to grind your new line, WG! Great thinking!

[Ivlerlin]

My very first random game in the Leander, the very first shell that hits me (I was angled about 15 degrees moving away from enemy BB) DETONATES my ship.

I managed to do 17k damage before I instantly went from 100% to 0%.

It's a great way to get people to grind your new line, WG! Great thinking!

 

Sadly dets are dets. Back when the Leningrad was released I popped one with a det on the first shot of the match. 

The guy felt cheated cause it was his first match in it. 

Heck I told him that I also felt cheated cause I was confident in sinking him without the Detonation. 

 

It's annoying that it happens. But on the flip side when you detonate someone else it's for the most part very amusing on your end. 

[Tzarevitch]

It's easier to kill dd's in other cruiser's than RN cruiser's. Whoever touted them as DD killers ought to be slapped. It's lol when DD's aren't afraid of you and will attack you without pause. IJN DD's are the only ones who would be afraid but then again, they are afraid of everything. I think Yubari when I think of RN cruisers cause ain't no one afraid of Yubari. Pick up speed fast but coast to a stop and with that quick puff of smoke timing is everything or you coast right out of it.  I do ok in RN cruisers, put out decent damage in them but survival rating is pretty much non existent. But for some odd reason I do like them, maybe it's because they are different and hard to play.

 

​They are good at surprising DDs and getting a good opening salvo, but they are bad at finishing them off. I pretty much agree with you though. The hang time on the shells makes it near impossible to hit a DD at much beyond 10k. If the DD runs and circles back (the smart thing to do) there isn't much you can do to stop them.   

[_Lord_Scott_]

The RN line is awesome I have played every one of the line up to the Fiji, each ship has a learning curve. Don't rush through the line, learning one ship well before moving on only helps with the next. I have zero problems with killing DD's. I am not the best of shots but once I have the DD in my sites it is for the most part DOA.  BB's are harder than most ships and as a RN cruiser you have far too many weaknesses.to go toe to toe. but if you  fight and run your odds of survival is amplified. A bb can almost always delete you but most BB captains make fatal errors. exploit them and win every time.

[anonym_BYdiMzOcHH92]

Well my thoughts, for what they're worth, run like this: Don't be seen, don't be hit, don't bother trying to zig-zag... these cruisers fire corks, I swear it, and die if a seagull so much as poops on the deck.  The Fiji was an okay-ish-reasonable ship, I may end up going back to it, but the Edinburgh's just lousy.  Going to keep grinding up to check out the last two tiers, but it's not been all that much fun.