IFHE on DM Donskoi

[BlackBolt91]

I have a 17 point capt( that is close to 18 point) in my DM Donskoi, the first 15 points are already used in a concealment build.. but I dont know what to do with the last 4 points. I have been thinking about trying IFHE on it because I know how powerful that skill is on My Kutuzov but I do not know how the skill would work on the 180s that the Donskoi has.... my Donskoi has a 17% fire chance with out the IFHE so im not worried about losing that...Any suggestions?? Thanks for the help

[pmgaudio]

not worth the 4 points for that ship (not a WASTE of points mind you, just not worth it... she pens just fine.... and the AP is better used anyway)... Chappy> Yes.... and that is the Capt you should use in the Mut..... but DOM..... maybe a few low tier skills...Priority Target comes to mind... GOOD to know if someone has you targeted...(I use it on the Moskva, Hipper and Zao....) IFHE loses its "boom" with her guns....
And if you can beef up the AAA on her then even better... the Dom is BEST used as a support ship and has one of the BEST AAA builds in just about any cruiser and puts USN ships to shame with it....
it can also be the worst thing to happen to enemy BBs.....

 

[SergeantHop]

not worth the 4 points for that ship (not a WASTE of points mind you, just not worth it... she pens just fine.... and the AP is better used anyway)... Chappy> Yes.... and that is the Capt you should use in the Mut..... but DOM..... maybe a few low tier skills...Priority Target comes to mind... GOOD to know if someone has you targeted...(I use it on the Moskva, Hipper and Zao....) IFHE loses its "boom" with her guns....

And if you can beef up the AAA on her then even better... the Dom is BEST used as a support ship and has one of the BEST AAA builds in just about any cruiser and puts USN ships to shame with it....

it can also be the worst thing to happen to enemy BBs.....

 

 

I was under the impression that IFHE on the Donskoi was a huge benefit. It allows penning up to 39mm, whereas stock is only 30. This is the bow and decks of the battleships she sees. Sure, demo expert is great too, but IFHE can be worth it.

 

Note, I do not run IFHE, having instead opted for a full AA build.

[TenguBlade]

not worth the 4 points for that ship (not a WASTE of points mind you, just not worth it... she pens just fine.... and the AP is better used anyway)... Chappy> Yes.... and that is the Capt you should use in the Mut..... but DOM..... maybe a few low tier skills...Priority Target comes to mind... GOOD to know if someone has you targeted...(I use it on the Moskva, Hipper and Zao....) IFHE loses its "boom" with her guns....

And if you can beef up the AAA on her then even better... the Dom is BEST used as a support ship and has one of the BEST AAA builds in just about any cruiser and puts USN ships to shame with it....

it can also be the worst thing to happen to enemy BBs.....

AA build is funny but has little value in a meta where CVs hardly exist.  IFHE is very good if you're keeping that captain on the Donskoi, but otherwise AA is a better investment since Moskva's isn't exactly great out of the box (and relies on a few very powerful mounts).

 

OP, I would definitely take IFHE for Dmitri Donskoi if you want to keep her or not use that captain for Moskva, Molotov, or any of the Soviet CAs below T5.  If you are planning to transfer that captain over later, then don't.

[Rhagna]

My Donskoi Captain is my Kutuzov Captain, so I use IFHE on it. 

[noobmaster29]

If you are building a captain for the Donskoi, definitely get IFHE. I left my 15 point Chapeyev captain (Running Concealment and IFHE) in my Chapeyev and swapped my Budyonny captain into the Donskoi. I thought I would try the captain on the Donskoi and prep it for the switch to the Moskva. However, going from an IFHE Chapeyev to a non-IFHE Donskoi was a huge disappointment. The 7inch guns on the Donskoi are just not enough with the T10 heavy matches and you don't really have the ROF to rely solely on fires for damage. 

 

Botton line--If you are setting up your captain strictly for the Donskoi, IFHE is well worth it.

 

Only reason to skip it is if you are planning ahead for the Moskva. 

[Zim_Xero]

not worth the 4 points for that ship (not a WASTE of points mind you, just not worth it... she pens just fine.... and the AP is better used anyway)... Chappy> Yes.... and that is the Capt you should use in the Mut..... but DOM..... maybe a few low tier skills...Priority Target comes to mind... GOOD to know if someone has you targeted...(I use it on the Moskva, Hipper and Zao....) IFHE loses its "boom" with her guns....

And if you can beef up the AAA on her then even better... the Dom is BEST used as a support ship and has one of the BEST AAA builds in just about any cruiser and puts USN ships to shame with it....

it can also be the worst thing to happen to enemy BBs.....

 

 

If damage output is your primary concern and you have nothing else useful, go for it.  There are a lot of skills out there that would compete with IFHE at 180mm though:

Concealment Expert   >  IFHE

Adrenaline Rush   >  IFHE

Expert Marksman  >  IFHE

 

The only competing skills are Survival Expert(3), Vigilance(3), and the 1 point skills: Expert Loader(1), Preventive Maintenance(1), Incoming Fire Alert(1).

 

Personally, IMO, Expert Loader + Survival Expert are most important of those and would be equal, maybe better than IFHE.

[Morpheous]

Got IPHE on DM and haven't looked back, but good points presented if you use the Captain for Moskova...I will cross that bridge when I get to it!

[pmgaudio]

AA build is funny but has little value in a meta where CVs hardly exist.  IFHE is very good if you're keeping that captain on the Donskoi, but otherwise AA is a better investment since Moskva's isn't exactly great out of the box (and relies on a few very powerful mounts).

 

OP, I would definitely take IFHE for Dmitri Donskoi if you want to keep her or not use that captain for Moskva, Molotov, or any of the Soviet CAs below T5.  If you are planning to transfer that captain over later, then don't.

AH yes.... Keeping... THat made sense when I read it.. my initial capt ended up in the Moskva.... so I now am grinding a now 12 point capt in the DOM, so my buddy can grind his and I can tag along....

I think that when it gets to it I might take the IFHE... but when I did have mine and went for the AAA it was pretty sick getting CVs... but like you said there are not many games with them... I tried IFHE on the Moskva and after watching and reading went ahead and re-skilled... I had a lot of Doubloons to play with, and after the new skill tree came I was able to only have to spend gold once...

[Landing_Skipper]

IFHE works very well on the Shchors and the Chapayev. It's fantastic on Kutuzov. So if you're working your way up and bringing the captain along, spec for IFHE at Shchors and don't worry until you get to Moskva. 

 

Personally, I'm keeping the Shchors and that captain is almost ready for Kutuzov (need Superintendent). I moved the Chappy/Kutuzov captain to Dmitri Donskoi when I unlocked her this weekend. Against angled cruisers and BB superstructure, the HE seems to do excellent damage in addition to starting fires. Like any other cruiser, IFHE comes after Concealment Expert and Demo Expert. Having a fire flag helps too. 

[BossmanSlim]

With the upcoming nerf to stealth firing, I'd say IFHE is probably a strong choice for the Donskoi.  I find that a fair number of shells splatter or shatter with the 180s when facing tier 9 and 10 ships.

[Aduial]

Expert Marksman  >  IFHE

 

They already turn fast (22.5s/180*). EM is not really a necessity IMO. That being said, I play IJN CAs a lot, so I'm used to cruisers with slow turrets. 

[WhiteRecon]

My captain is dedicated to donskoi, and he has IFHE mostly for use on the Kutuzov, which makes it a monster.  Glad to hear it helps the pen a bit on the 180's.  The guns feel good with or without it to me, but I haven't exhaustively tested.  For T9 AA, I'm loving my Neptune - that thing is no joke for shredding planes while in smoke.

[steelrain97]

IFHE works very well on the Shchors and the Chapayev. It's fantastic on Kutuzov. So if you're working your way up and bringing the captain along, spec for IFHE at Shchors and don't worry until you get to Moskva. 

 

Personally, I'm keeping the Shchors and that captain is almost ready for Kutuzov (need Superintendent). I moved the Chappy/Kutuzov captain to Dmitri Donskoi when I unlocked her this weekend. Against angled cruisers and BB superstructure, the HE seems to do excellent damage in addition to starting fires. Like any other cruiser, IFHE comes after Concealment Expert and Demo Expert. Having a fire flag helps too. 

Running DE and IFHE on RU CA's is a waste of points. Their base fire chance is high enough, that coupled with the volume of shell hits, you will not have any issues setting fires without DE. For Schors and Buddy there are not a whole lot of really viable options at 3 points, so DE is ok, but Chappy and Kutuzov both benefit significantly fro both Superintendent and BFT, and I would get those over DE. You will still get plenty of fires without it.

[SergeantHop]

Running DE and IFHE on RU CA's is a waste of points. Their base fire chance is high enough, that coupled with the volume of shell hits, you will not have any issues setting fires without DE. For Schors and Buddy there are not a whole lot of really viable options at 3 points, so DE is ok, but Chappy and Kutuzov both benefit significantly fro both Superintendent and BFT, and I would get those over DE. You will still get plenty of fires without it.

 

Yeah, but more is better. Also, the thread is about IFHE, not DE. IFHE is very beneficial to light cruisers and the Dmitri Donskoi. Less so to the Molotov, but she would still see the benefit against tier 8s. 

[steelrain97]

 

Yeah, but more is better. Also, the thread is about IFHE, not DE. IFHE is very beneficial to light cruisers and the Dmitri Donskoi. Less so to the Molotov, but she would still see the benefit against tier 8s. 

Yes, I was speaking specifically about the IFHE/DE combo. I was responding to a fellow who seems to think that DE is better than IFHE. If you want to run DE, fine, don't bother with IFHE, and vice versa. Also, IFHE is a complete waste on the Molotov, the only ship with anny significant areas of armor that falls in the 30-39mm range is the NorCal.

[Exciton8964]

IFHE is a must-have for Dimitri Donskoi.

 

Without it, you can't pen 32mm armor and above. With IFHE, you will be able to pen up to 40mm armor. That includes USN BB deck armor. You will do massive HE damage to USN BBs.

 

I don't like the idea of playing it as a fire starter only. Your RoF is much worse than the previous Russian CLs. You will have decent fire chance with IFHE still and your direct HE damage will skyrocket on BBs.

 

 

[crzyhawk]

I swapped out my old non-IFHE captain for my Kutuzov captain WITH IFHE, and I like it a lot on the Donskoi.  It may just be confirmation bias, but I feel as if the HE is more reliable now.

 

I'm training up a new captain right now in my Kutuzov and Molotov that will move to Moskva when I unlock it.

[LooN918]

I'm running IFHE with DE to offset the loss of fire on IFHE, seems to balance it out and create more damage and fire.

 

[Skraeling]

averaging 75k on the donk right now .... with ifhe.

[SergeantHop]

Yes, I was speaking specifically about the IFHE/DE combo. I was responding to a fellow who seems to think that DE is better than IFHE. If you want to run DE, fine, don't bother with IFHE, and vice versa. Also, IFHE is a complete waste on the Molotov, the only ship with anny significant areas of armor that falls in the 30-39mm range is the NorCal.

 

And the Amagi. And the Alabama. And the bow and stern of the Bismarck. So, y'know, the tier 8 battleships, just like I'd said.

[LooN918]

I use IHFE w/ DE to average out the loss of fire on IHFE on my Dom, works well for me, average 3000 on most BBs with it. 

[WES_HoundDog]

I went with IHFE on my Donskoi.   Like the previous tier or 2 on the soviet line, the HE shells just fail to pen/do any damage over 50% of the time.  You end up relying on fires to do your damage.   Which works great in the lower tiers were people don't have fire preventative upgrades but at higher tiers it's really noticeable and doing damage by fire is a crap shoot.    Upon doing the IHFE the HE shells now pen 80-90% of their hits.    The fire chance is hurt but fires at this point have kind of turned into a perk (unless you are in a Zao where every shell is insta napalm).    AP is useful at times but for the most part you want to be at far range and at that tier broadsides don't last long.  When they do, you get off maybe one shot at 15k+ but more often then not turn and create enough angle to bounce them while the HE pen every time no matter the angle.  I've noticed my damage go up appreciable amount with the IHFE skill.