Making the Baltimore Work

[AhosChaos]

I really want to like the Baltimore, and for the most part I do.  It's just stock form is not good.  Your rudder is pretty bad especially coming from the NO, your 15 second reload is manageable, the poor fire chance is annoying is a little annoying, the 14.4km range probably hurts the most, and stock AP has good velocity but the pen feels lower than what was on the NO.  I can sit back and farm damage, but it feels like then I do little to help win the game.  I can also be aggressive and damage several ships early, but in this meta no one is aggressive and aggression isn't really rewarded.

 

It's not that I am necessarily struggling, it's more that I'm not getting what I want out of the Baltimore.  I can hit people fairly easily, I can do decent damage most of the time, I just can influence the battle enough to win.  Having low influence isn't something that restricted to the Balti, as I get that feeling often in the Hipper and Ibuki(although my win rate is pretty goo in the Ibuki).  It's just that it feels especially prominent on the Balti.  I can do 80k damage in the Balti and seemingly have no influence compared to doing 80k damage in the Ibuki and all of a sudden my team is stomping.  Granted 20 something games isn't a lot, but it isn't a small amount either.  

[Crucis]

I have a fully upgraded Baltimore with a good captain, etc.  And I still struggle with it because I just can't get a feel for how to fight her properly.  I don't have a problem with her rudder because I've mounted  both Rudder modifications and she turns on a dime.  But because her guns' slow flight times, I find it difficult to consistently hit targets at long range in the Baltimore, and find combat in the mid ranges (say, 10-12/13 km)) more productive. 

 

There should be no doubt that the Baltimore can dish out really nice damage, if well handled.  Her AP is excellent, and her HE is pretty good too.  The problem, at least for me, is getting into a position where I can consistently deal that damage without being one of the first couple of ships to be sunk.

 

 

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Because of 'Reasons,' I fxp'd past Baltimore (and several other ships,) to get Des Moines way back in Jan-Feb of 2016.

 

When I finally went back and purchased it to fill in all the ships I skipped, I was so poisoned by all the negativity about the ship in the intervening time I was completely unwilling to give it a chance.

 

Played 5 PvP, 5 PvE, (what I consider to be a minimum before disposing of a ship,) then sold it.

 

Other players seem to be able to make it work, and I did like the hitting power of the guns; but I despise high tier games, and didn't have the patience to make the ship work.

[MrDeaf]

Baltimore is a DD support ship and works best near caps.

[_Rumple_]

Baltimore is a DD support ship and works best near caps.

This^ support your capping DD's in close. Enemy DD's won't expect the Baltimore to be in that close and your radar can really catch them out, especially if you tell your team you're radaring the cap. Using islands as cover is also very important, especially islands that you can lob your high trajectory shells over.

[AhosChaos]

This^ support your capping DD's in close. Enemy DD's won't expect the Baltimore to be in that close and your radar can really catch them out, especially if you tell your team you're radaring the cap. Using islands as cover is also very important, especially islands that you can lob your high trajectory shells over.

I know this, it just feels like in this campy meta, you really can't get any support to allow me to get that close.  I mean when you have US DD's who are afraid to go into caps against a non radar team, it really makes you wonder a lot of things.  I would gladly(and do when the situation presents itself) get close to caps, but when your DD's decide to border hump rather than contest a cap, it's pretty hard to do.  It also doesn't help to have BB's that kinda just sit at spawn or decide to go east and west rather than north and south.  

 

It just feels like the meta doesn't have a place where the Baltimore can be effective or at least effective to its fullest extent.

 

[MrDeaf]

I know this, it just feels like in this campy meta, you really can't get any support to allow me to get that close.  I mean when you have US DD's who are afraid to go into caps against a non radar team, it really makes you wonder a lot of things.  I would gladly(and do when the situation presents itself) get close to caps, but when your DD's decide to border hump rather than contest a cap, it's pretty hard to do.  It also doesn't help to have BB's that kinda just sit at spawn or decide to go east and west rather than north and south.  

 

It just feels like the meta doesn't have a place where the Baltimore can be effective or at least effective to its fullest extent.

 

 

Now that Baltimore had its RoF buffed, I suggest using range extender mod, instead of MBM3.

Yes, the shells get lofty.

However, that just forces you to get better at aiming, which comes in handy when you have to shoot DDs up close.

[HazeGrayUnderway]

The 10 second base reload does look interesting, I have not used B-More since 0.6.0 hit.

 

When checking stats with her though it is disappointing she is by far the worst damage average Tier IX Cruiser despite the ROF buff.  1-week, 2-week stats, doesn't matter.  The disparity is still huge from her and the next worse avg dmg cruiser of the tier, Roon.  It's a 7k to almost 10k damage disparity.

 

Ibuki, where a lot of IJN Cruiser players say they are disappointed with, is doing 8k-10k more average damage for 1-/2-week stats.  Which is interesting, because her guns aren't exactly amazing at range, either, it's more typical to how IJN Cruiser shells behave, minus Zao which is in a whole different league altogether.

[Ship_Faced_]

Gotta go with main battery armament to increase reload speed, and concealment. Other than that, drive it like a BB. Play passively for the first 1/3 of the game. Pick and choose your engagements carefully. Never "YOLO!" in it. Use islands. Never show your broadside to anything. Your bow armor will allow you to tank anything other than tier 10 (and some T9) battleships. Your bow will laugh at Tirp/Bis shells all day long.

Use islands, ambush stuff, pounce on cruisers showing their broadside. When you get in trouble, point your bow at them and throw it in reverse. With concealment you'll be able to jump in and out of detection between volleys.

 

It definitely takes some skill, but once you've got it down, the Baltimore is really deadly. Most players think that boat is a joke and will ignore you -- use that to your advantage.

[Ship_Faced_]

The 10 second base reload does look interesting, I have not used B-More since 0.6.0 hit.

 

When checking stats with her though it is disappointing she is by far the worst damage average Tier IX Cruiser despite the ROF buff.  1-week, 2-week stats, doesn't matter.  The disparity is still huge from her and the next worse avg dmg cruiser of the tier, Roon.  It's a 7k to almost 10k damage disparity.

 

Ibuki, where a lot of IJN Cruiser players say they are disappointed with, is doing 8k-10k more average damage for 1-/2-week stats.  Which is interesting, because her guns aren't exactly amazing at range, either, it's more typical to how IJN Cruiser shells behave, minus Zao which is in a whole different league altogether.

 

The stats definitely paint an ugly picture, but keep in mind that they're a bit skewed by the fact that the American cruisers require skill to play, and not everybody has that. It's a bit similar to the Tirpirtz/Bismarck stat phenomenon. Tirpitz has significantly worse stats, namely because lots of people with zero skill buy it and drive down the numbers.

 

With the right build and play style, the Baltimore is a pretty deadly boat.