Which is better? Baltimore Permanent Camo or 100k Free XP into the Des Moines Grind?

[Dunk_Master_Flex]

Only a few thousand XP away from Baltimore and I have a question.

 

Should I buy the permanent camouflage to lessen my grind or should I just use the 4000 doubloons to put into free XP for Des Moines?

[HazeGrayUnderway]

Why give Baltimore, a very questionable Tier IX ship at best (and I'm using very kind terms here) the extra attention of doubloons for Perma Camo?  Work your way past that POS ship as normal and get to Des Moines.  Baltimore is one of those "Paywall" ships intended to make it miserable and induce you into paying up.  Save your money.  Maybe even save for Des Moines' Perma Camo if she turns up really what you like.  At least DM is a far better Perma Camo candidate to make running a Tier X easier than one of the worst ships in the entire game.

[Lert]

Are you planning to kee Baltimore and play her a lot? You'd be one of the few.

[Dunk_Master_Flex]

Why give Baltimore, a very questionable Tier IX ship at best (and I'm using very kind terms here) the extra attention of doubloons for Perma Camo?  Work your way past that POS ship as normal and get to Des Moines.  Baltimore is one of those "Paywall" ships intended to make it miserable and induce you into paying up.  Save your money.  Maybe even save for Des Moines' Perma Camo if she turns up really what you like.  At least DM is a far better Perma Camo candidate to make running a Tier X easier than one of the worst ships in the entire game.

 

I wanna make the Baltimore grind a lot shorter and seeing how people said New Orleans was bad, I did perfectly fine with her, even in Tier IX and X games.

 

I'll most likely just use some free XP to get Baltimore off stock then.

[Dunk_Master_Flex]

Are you planning to kee Baltimore and play her a lot? You'd be one of the few.

 

Oh hell no, I just want to get to Des Moines as quick as possible.

[SergeantHop]

 

Oh hell no, I just want to get to Des Moines as quick as possible.

 

Free XP then.

[Viper069]

It's all a matter of personal choice, but unless you really, REALLY like a ship, play it daily, and play it hundreds and hundreds of times, permanent camo will never pay for itself.  If you think it just looks cool, mod it.  If your goal is just the next ship in the line, just use the temp stuff.  Save your money.

[KaptainKaybe]

While I like the Baltimore, she is not worth the perma-camo yet since it's unlikely you'd keep playing her once you get the Des Moines. Even WG admitted she needs a buff.

[biddypapa]

Meet yourself halfway and use free XP to get the hull/module upgrades on the Baltimore. Also, watch videos by Flamu. He tends to cover ships that are less popular or have lower winrates like the Baltimore quite extensively, and demonstrates how they're not as bad as people perceive. Part of the problem is that, while a particular ship might be objectively worse than its counterparts, simply having the attitude of "well this ship sucks, what's the point" will always result in poor performance, and he essentially challenges that attitude among the playerbase, and encourages people to play every ship to its full potential. 

 

As a side note, tier 9 isn't just simply finishing the grind to the capstone of the line, it's experiencing high end gameplay with a constant disadvantage since you'll rarely be top tier, and that is regardless of nation or ship class. It's a boot camp of sorts that gets you trained to constantly analyze your situation that will allow you to smoothly transition to your T10 ship, and come out swinging like a champ as soon as the first round bell rings. So yes, free xp could save you the headache of the Baltimore, but it's not going to save you the headache of adapting to top tier gameplay.

 

[MrDeaf]

did you not get those free +100%XP camos?

use those

[MrEndeavour]

If the Baltimore had a 2 second faster reload I'd probably get the camo for her. The only permanent camo that I got was for my Fletcher. The ship I play the most (and IMO very closely rivals the Gearing)

 

[TexJapan]

Grind to the Des Moines...

The Baltimore is a OK ship, not great, not bad, just OK.  The real buff it needs is to it's ROF...which is too slow at high tier.   Tuff to kill DDs quick.  What the Baltimore can teach you though is better use of this kind of USN CA.   The Des Moines while a very good ship, does have some weaknesses (no smoke, no torps, slow velocity shells).  It's ROF and angling of armor is it's greatest strengths.

If you can play the Baltimore well, then the Des Moines will be a easier transition.   If you are bad in the Baltimore, the Des Moines will not help you.

[Biyah]

I agree with Tex. The play style for Des Moines is very similar to that of Baltimore, with just a few tactics shifts to take account for the Des Moines' higher rate of fire. Grind her out, and you'll have few issues switching over. 

 

Personally, I liked my Balti, and kept her. And I have bought the permanent Camo. That said, I don't play her much given I have the Des Moines, so it might not be worth it for you. 

 

~B

[KaptainKaybe]

Please note that DM is noticeably more fragile than Baltimore. Learned that the hard way.

[MrDeaf]

Please note that DM is noticeably more fragile than Baltimore. Learned that the hard way.

 

nah, they are equally squishy.

 

It's just that DM is detected further out and everyone understands the firepower it possesses.

[KaptainKaybe]

 

nah, they are equally squishy.

 

It's just that DM is detected further out and everyone understands the firepower it possesses.

 

Actually, compare the two citadels and you'll notice a significant difference. Half of Balti's citadel is deep below the waterline, whereas DM's is above the waterline throughout. Balti is much tougher to citadel ... assume you don't show your broadside. Mind you, DM's 90 rounds per minute can't be beat

[DwarfKingHack]

The way I see it it's short term gain vs long term gain. Free XP should get you there faster, (though how much faster depends on a lot) the permanent camo will take it a little longer but it will still be there in a year if you decide to come back to Balti after the rumored 2017 buffs. As an added bonus it will save you the credit/doubloon cost of buying regular camo for the part of the grind that you don't have enough free XP to cover, and you'll have an extra 5k-ish free XP that you wouldn't have earned if you just converted 100k free XP.