Neptune - Terrifying

[UltimateNewbie]

Hi, so this is a combination brag thread and some pointers on how to play the Neptune.  

 

My Neptune is AA spec - max range of 7.2km (without flags) means that enemies carriers who cant see you sitting in smoke at a cap will fly their planes too close and not immediately know why they are losing planes.  This means your carrier gets an advantage to help your team win games.  But I kept Main Battery Mod 3 instead of the higher AA DPS - didnt want to gimp my main weapons too much.  In addition, I went for the larger smoke captain skill - it means you can pop smoke earlier without having to wait to slow down as much, as well as gives you more room to move about within your smoke.  I am happy with the choice, even if it isnt 'optimal'.  

 

The second is to always be near islands - this will reduce the number of directions enemies can sneak up to you, fewer directions torps can be fired into your smoke, and more cover for when your smoke runs out.  I cannot emphasise enough how important the premium smoke consumable is - when your smoke is down, you only have to hide for 1 minute, and this is the difference between life and death.  You dont have to use gold to buy this consumable (I use credits).  

 

Anyway, happy for other players to post thier tips - I am always learning how to play this floating citadel of a target better :p

[Adm_Nate_Ellis937]

My AA-spec'd Neptune is 8.6km.....with MFCAA, no plane can bomb/torp me.

[War_Dawn]

Ive played many Tier 9-10 games, and so far Ive had very very few CV matches. So I never built my Neptune for AA Support. From the matches that I did have a CV in it, the ability of the Neptune is good enough where I can dodge the torps easily. I think I was torped once in my Neptune from a CV, the rest I was able to dodge and kill their planes without any AA built on the ship or the Captain. I prefer the captain to have Survivability and Jack of All Trades and Vigilance then AA Support. I have a 18 point Cap, and never built it for AA.

PT, SSE, SI, CE, Survivability, and I forgot the last one. I'm at the Minotaur now, and of course the Mino has serious AA built. So, building my Captain for AA for RN CLs is really not necessary.

[Panzer1113]

Just finished the Neptune grind last night, sold to finance Minotaur ... really did not face enough CVs to justify AA build on the Neptune - any setup to make the guns sing, should be the priority.....

[mmfullen]

Can't wait to get mine. The Edinburgh grind is going very well. These things are lethal...

[Jnobsire]

I have a love/hate relationship with the Neptune. I seem to dance between getting these epic monster games and failing spectacularly. This ship has so much more damage potential then the Edinburgh, but its so much more fragile. Its also a much bigger target, with a citadel size that makes the ship feel like 2 Pensacola's duct-taped together.

I keep learning the hard way just how deadly getting spotted in this ship is. Even being detected for just a few seconds is more than enough to end your match in 1 brutal instant. The smallest mistake will send you straight back to port. I've given quite a few devastating strikes to the enemy teams BB's during my time with the Neptune.

 

But then I get games like this one and it makes everything I've said about this ship completely worth it.

 

The Neptune is also one of my most expensive ships to run. I've gotten very addicted to all those premium consumables.

[Vossie]

Just finished the Neptune grind last night, sold to finance Minotaur ... really did not face enough CVs to justify AA build on the Neptune - any setup to make the guns sing, should be the priority.....

 

this. if there was a guaranteed cv every game then yes, aa spec your neptune. but not when 75% of games there are no cvs.

I have a love/hate relationship with the Neptune. I seem to dance between getting these epic monster games and failing spectacularly. This ship has so much more damage potential then the Edinburgh, but its so much more fragile. Its also a much bigger target, with a citadel size that makes the ship feel like 2 Pensacola's duct-taped together.

I keep learning the hard way just how deadly getting spotted in this ship is. Even being detected for just a few seconds is more than enough to end your match in 1 brutal instant. The smallest mistake will send you straight back to port. I've given quite a few devastating strikes to the enemy teams BB's during my time with the Neptune.

 

But then I get games like this one and it makes everything I've said about this ship completely worth it.

 

The Neptune is also one of my most expensive ships to run. I've gotten very addicted to all those premium consumables.

 

i know exactly what you mean. one game you get blapped in 5 mins with only 50K dmg done, next is a 140K dmg fight to the death win that makes you have to take a 10min break to catch your breath.

[HazeGrayUnderway]

Can't wait to get mine. The Edinburgh grind is going very well. These things are lethal...

 

Just understand that Neptune has the worst Tier VIII+ RN CL concealment even with full concealment build.  Her citadel is also much higher than Edinburgh's and Neptune can easily get 1-shotted if you make a mistake.  Another thing is Neptune's shells float a bit more than the shells you were used to with Tier VI-VIII RN CLs.  This makes her a shorter ranged specialist that quickly punishes ships with her 5 second reloads.

 

Buuuutttt, you get a super heavy torpedo loadout that you lost when you left Emerald, and you get 10km torps which is always a nice option.

[Jnobsire]

Buuuutttt, you get a super heavy torpedo loadout that you lost when you left Emerald, and you get 10km torps which is always a nice option.

 

Those torpedo's can lead to some pretty hilarious moments. I often get the feeling that the Neptune is a better torpedo boat then my Shimakaze. I seem to get many more torpedo hits in it at least. Then again, I'm probably just really, really terrible with the Shima.

 

Anyone really utilize the single torpedo launch ability on the Neptune? I used it on my Fiji and Edin, but I found the Neptune simply has too many torpedo's for me to use it effectively. Its much easier and faster to dump them as a set and get back to spamming the guns as soon as possible.

 

The one thing I would recommend against, unless you have no other option, is trying to Yolo-torpedo rush BBs with this ship. The Neptune is just so easy citadel-ed that, 7 times out of 10, you wont live to get your torps off. Which is kinda sad, because those heart pounding knife fights with BBs were my favorite part of playing the Fiji. That and blasting DDs to smithereens of course. Yolo-rushing a BB can work(if the BB is distracted or just a really terrible shot), but it usually isn't worth the risk unless killing that BB is a game winning move.

[Bill_Halsey]

The minotaur is even more scarier. 2.8 sec min time reload. The ship is an area denial weapon (as long as your inside the smoke cloud). Then get focused fire from 6 ships!

[War_Dawn]

The minotaur is even more scarier. 2.8 sec min time reload. The ship is an area denial weapon (as long as your inside the smoke cloud). Then get focused fire from 6 ships!

 

 

Yep I agree. I was just able to get the reload down to 2.8s, and HOLY SMOKES. Once I pop my smoke near an island and start to lay out the shells, its pouring hell. That along with my torps, just goes nuts.

 

 

 

Those torpedo's can lead to some pretty hilarious moments. I often get the feeling that the Neptune is a better torpedo boat then my Shimakaze. I seem to get many more torpedo hits in it at least. Then again, I'm probably just really, really terrible with the Shima.

 

Anyone really utilize the single torpedo launch ability on the Neptune? I used it on my Fiji and Edin, but I found the Neptune simply has too many torpedo's for me to use it effectively. Its much easier and faster to dump them as a set and get back to spamming the guns as soon as possible.

 

The one thing I would recommend against, unless you have no other option, is trying to Yolo-torpedo rush BBs with this ship. The Neptune is just so easy citadel-ed that, 7 times out of 10, you wont live to get your torps off. Which is kinda sad, because those heart pounding knife fights with BBs were my favorite part of playing the Fiji. That and blasting DDs to smithereens of course. Yolo-rushing a BB can work(if the BB is distracted or just a really terrible shot), but it usually isn't worth the risk unless killing that BB is a game winning move.

 

 

I single fire my torps in my Minotaur, and I always single fired my torps in Neptune and Edi and Fiji (thou Edi doesn't get that many). I prefer it due to accuracy. It gives better hits IMO, specially when the BB is head on. Ive had a FDG come straight at me. I was between 2 islands, He knew I was there, as I was in my smoke. I kept raining shells down his super structure, then I turned and single fire all my torps. Because of that, 7 torps hit him (he went down after 4 torps hit) after which 2 more hit the BB behind him. And he was head-on. He was very pissed. I also single fired in my Neptune at a Yamato at 3km range, around an island as he was coming towards me, along with a DD, took them both down with the torps due to the single fire. IMO single fire torps is a great feature. I'm working now on my US DD line, and I gotta say, I miss the quick take off that RN CLs have and the single fire torps.

 

[Greenday4537]

I think I learned how to Neptune.

 

[Vossie]

my favourite award to get in the neptune. at one point in this battle, went down to 76 hp in a 1v1 dm donskoi. i won tho

 

[Greenday4537]

All I do is win, win no matter what...

 

 

And then for the S's & G's, I did 164,440 damage the next game. Caught a Montana driving in a straight line, then a Tirp came around a corner 6km out. He bagged me...but not before I launched two salvos at him which landed 5 torps. He was at 700 health after they landed and just got his repair off in time to save himself as his team hit 1000 points. Would have been epic.

[Lightning_Lad64]

It's taken me a good 15 games to get accustomed to the Neptune, but now that I have it sort of figured out, i'm really loving her.  The shell output/DPM that this ship can do is amaze-balls!my last few matches, i'm averaging about 65K damage, and i don't think i've hit full potential on it yet.  

 

It may be the "floatier" shells, or my be the lowered cocealment, but she plays a lot differently than Edinburgh (and i was a pretty full potato in her as well.)  Neptune is a mosquito.  small, agile and VERY ANNOYING.  I like the pest role.  And i really love when a red team cruiser closes to within 8K or less.  Insta-delete . . . 

 

[Tapioka70]

I agree, the Neptune is a lot of fun to play once you figure her strengths and weaknesses. But you have to be very situationally aware of what's around you. Way too easy to be one-shotted out of existence. But anything within 10-12km is going to suffer even bow facing. Very good ship!

 

 

[Skyfaller]

On ‎5‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 6:26 PM, Panzer1113 said:

Just finished the Neptune grind last night, sold to finance Minotaur ... really did not face enough CVs to justify AA build on the Neptune - any setup to make the guns sing, should be the priority.....

Full AA capt skill + AA upgrade Neptune is insanely powerful. Last week I was in a battle with tier 10 CV's and I happened to be inside DD smoke as our Yamato sailed just 5km behind me...and the red CV decided to send in all his attack planes to hit that Yamato...right over me. None of his attack planes survived to reach the Yamato. Selecting and marking each squadron at a time as it was mowed down was joygasmic. The red CV even cursed in chat about the turkey shoot.

I also had the issue of being an AA spec and the MM never put me up against CVs. Took me a long time to figure out why.... remember I said I was inside DD smoke? I had Radar equipped. Reason for that is you cannot equip smoke if you want to go vs a cv. The MM will put you at the bottom of the list for carrier battles if your AA is high and you have smoke. Well, unless you're a soviet ship then you're on the top.

Equipping radar will put you in CV battles. Coordinate with your DDs and use their smoke. I usually asked a DD to put one puff of smoke behind an island so I could sit on it and mow down red planes coming for the DD. Then light up red DDs with your radar while you in smoke and rack up the happiness.  

Gun wise, Neptune is at best a mediocre damage support. The rate of fire and turrets are not fast enough to be of help considering you must keep moving from cover to cover to avoid the instapop death of RN CL. Torpedoes though, those are Neptune's strong suit... I've sunk more ships and done more damage to BBs with torps than with guns.

[Panhandler62]

I don't have a whole lot of games in Neptune yet, but I'm liking her.

 

The annoying - I have had a couple games where I got deleted right away by long range plinkers.
The bad - She has a glass jaw. Tank with her and you'll be sorry.

The good - unlike Edin (which I never got the hang of) .. she can move out quickly when your smoke timer is getting low. I found out that I had to abandon cover early with Edinburg because she didn't accelerate well from a standstill.
More good - freakin torps! ... I like to spam a cap then try to take up a cover position that doesn't permit a BB to get a good angle. When I do it right (which, I admit, isn't often), he has to let me rain fire on him to turn into the torps. I'm embarrassed to admit that I forgot about single shot. With all those torps to each side... guess what I'm going to play with next game. :)

I'm grinding for the B hull right now.

Does anyone play Neptune with Radar instead of smoke? I like having radar, but I like to survive better. :)

[WhiteRecon]

On 13/07/2017 at 11:26 AM, Panhandler62 said:

...

The bad - She has a glass jaw. Tank with her and you'll be sorry.

Does anyone play Neptune with Radar instead of smoke? 

 

I tanked quite a bit in Nep, even if it was evasion tanking (priority target a must).  I had to learn that that is not much of an option in Mino.

 

Neptune doesn't have good enough detection for radar unless you Div up, imo.  Mino has the detection to make it work if you're better than me (see Yuro).

 

 

[Kapitan_Wuff]

@UltimateNewbie

Just got my Neptune, have Ol'Jackie D with his extra large smoke skill too... what was your max speed you could pop smoke and not run out of it?

[UltimateNewbie]

1 hour ago, Kapitan_Wuff said:

@UltimateNewbie

Just got my Neptune, have Ol'Jackie D with his extra large smoke skill too... what was your max speed you could pop smoke and not run out of it?

 

I dont remember exactly, but it wasnt high.  Usual practice was the throw the ship into full reverse and a turn the instant I got spotted, and when it hits about 16kt push the smoke button hoping that the incoming salvo wouldnt kill me in one shot. 

 

That might be a touch higher with Jack Dunkirk with Smoke Expertise, but also sometimes RNG hates you and throws a puff behind you so you die horribly. 

[Kapitan_Wuff]

 

7 hours ago, UltimateNewbie said:

 

I dont remember exactly, but it wasnt high.  Usual practice was the throw the ship into full reverse and a turn the instant I got spotted, and when it hits about 16kt push the smoke button hoping that the incoming salvo wouldnt kill me in one shot. 

 

That might be a touch higher with Jack Dunkirk with Smoke Expertise, but also sometimes RNG hates you and throws a puff behind you so you die horribly. 

 

That has pretty much been my strategy... though I often get wrecked while trying to bleed speed. Same the RN CLs don't lose more speed in turns lol