DD vs. DD - Use HE or AP?

[Merc85]

Title says it all...which does more damage and sinks the other DD quicker?  Thx.

 

[ValkyrWarframe]

HE

[ForgMaxtor]

Title says it all...which does more damage and sinks the other DD quicker?  Thx.

 

 

With a couple of exceptions, HE:

 

- IJN T8 Akizuki has smaller caliber (100m) guns than all other high-tier DDs.  As a result, her HE cannot penetrate the 19mm hull plating present on many high-tier DDs, resulting in mostly 0 damage "shatter" hits.  This can be remedied by either taking the IFHE Captain Skill, or by using AP vs. other DDs.  If you use AP, though be aware that if the target is angled you're likely to see a large number of zero damage ricochets.

 

- The RU T10 Khabarovsk has significant sections of 50mm armor that most DD gun HE will *not* penetrate.  As a result, AP can be more effective against the Khab, as long as it's broadside. The same can be true to a lesser extent with other large (especially RU) DDs, though in practice I find that DD vs. DD fights usually involve a lot of maneuvering, so it's hard to predict if the target will stay "flat" enough to allow AP to penetrate.  So I usually stick with HE.

[MrDeaf]

If the target is fat, like Gearing, Udaloi, Tashkent and Khab, fire AP at their broasides. You will be surprised at how many of the shells will fuse.

If you are in Akizuki, fire AP at broadsides, since you get quick fuse AP shells.

In anything else, HE.

[Merc85]

Great....thanks a lot..... very helpful. 

 

[poeticmotion]

I'm a gunboat DD main who prefers hunting other DDs and I use HE almost exclusively. Even in Akizuki (which I equip with IF/HE) I find that HE does better than AP 98% of the time. As ForgMaxtor pointed out, in a knife fight the situation changes too rapidly to make AP a smart pick as both parties maneuver too much to give flat shots. I switch to AP if the opponent is not maneuvering (such as when radar picks him up sitting still in smoke or if he's a potato who doesn't maneuver) or sometimes against a Khab as that 50mm plating rewards AP more than most other DDs. 

[Nachoo31]

If you survive the torpedo waves, HE.

[_Marines]

 

With a couple of exceptions, HE:

 

- IJN T8 Akizuki has smaller caliber (100m) guns than all other high-tier DDs.  As a result, her HE cannot penetrate the 19mm hull plating present on many high-tier DDs, resulting in mostly 0 damage "shatter" hits.  This can be remedied by either taking the IFHE Captain Skill, or by using AP vs. other DDs.  If you use AP, though be aware that if the target is angled you're likely to see a large number of zero damage ricochets.

 

- The RU T10 Khabarovsk has significant sections of 50mm armor that most DD gun HE will *not* penetrate.  As a result, AP can be more effective against the Khab, as long as it's broadside. The same can be true to a lesser extent with other large (especially RU) DDs, though in practice I find that DD vs. DD fights usually involve a lot of maneuvering, so it's hard to predict if the target will stay "flat" enough to allow AP to penetrate.  So I usually stick with HE.

 

^^^This.

 

Rest of the time HE does better in disabling things on your target, there is no need to switch to AP unless you have a chance to penetrate the target's broadside.

[Joe__defender_destroyer]

HE if target is angled

 

AP if broadside

[crosbyc3]

HE if target is angled

 

AP if broadside

 

But would a AP just go through the enemy DD?

 

[ForgMaxtor]

 

But would a AP just go through the enemy DD?

 

 

It can, yes.  Depends on the target and the gun.  In general, RU DD guns have better armor pen but this can also mean they're more likely to overpen a very lightly armored target like another DD.  bigger DDs (like RU DDs) are also more likely to "Catch" the AP rounds and take full damage.

 

It also depends where you aim -- AP shots higher up that hit the superstructure are much more likely to overpen.

 

As I said, with a very few exceptions, I usually stick to HE vs. other DDs -- the situation changes too quickly for me to worry about swapping ammo back and forth in addition to everything else I have to worry about in a DD vs. DD knife-fight.  But if you pick the right moments, there are definitely specific situations where AP will do more damage to a DD than HE.  Problem is, if you judge wrong and the target DD is able to angle enough before the shots hit, you may end up with a 0 damage ricochets rather than penetrations.

[OneTonGun]

 

It can, yes.  Depends on the target and the gun.  In general, RU DD guns have better armor pen but this can also mean they're more likely to overpen a very lightly armored target like another DD.  bigger DDs (like RU DDs) are also more likely to "Catch" the AP rounds and take full damage.

 

It also depends where you aim -- AP shots higher up that hit the superstructure are much more likely to overpen.

 

As I said, with a very few exceptions, I usually stick to HE vs. other DDs -- the situation changes too quickly for me to worry about swapping ammo back and forth in addition to everything else I have to worry about in a DD vs. DD knife-fight.  But if you pick the right moments, there are definitely specific situations where AP will do more damage to a DD than HE.  Problem is, if you judge wrong and the target DD is able to angle enough before the shots hit, you may end up with a 0 damage ricochets rather than penetrations.

 

^^  Its true that AP can be better in some situations, but sticking with HE is not going to hurt you.  I tend to use Demolition Expert on my DDs so I want to get the most out of my Captain points.  Also, a fire extends the spotting of a DD which is important if your target breaks off and runs  OR a fire helps burn down the DD if they smoke up.

[yaluen]

This also applies to (low-tier) German DDs as well? I noticed a much higher max damage for AP shells, and was wondering if that translates to better DPM in a DD vs DD fight compared to other nations (where the damage difference is small enough to be negligible)