Enterprise's T7 Planes Performance?

[AdmiralHattori]

One of the biggest criticism before (and still after) the release of Enterprise was that her Tier 7 planes lack the HP/Armor to withstand T8-T10 matchmaking. So I decided to do a comparison with the Lexington and Shokaku with respect to Enterprise. The catch here is that I have the bomber's HP upgrade (exclusive upgrade) which increases the Enterprise's bomber's HP by 15%.

 

FIGHTERS (All possible upgrades)

Enterprise

1. Service Time: 30s
2. Speed: 166 knots
3. HP: 1966
4. Loadout: 108
5. Damage: 62

Shokaku

1. Service Time: 27s
2. Speed: 171 knots
3. HP: 2092
4. Loadout: 63
5. Damage: 77

Lexington

1. Service Time: 32s
2. Speed: 169 knots
3. HP: 2142
4. Loadout: 92
5. Damage: 69

TORPEDO BOMBERS

Enterprise

1. Service Time: 25s
2. Speed: 133 knots
3. HP: 1823

Shokaku

1. Service Time: 18s
2. Speed: 148 knots
3. HP: 1806

Lexington (without servicing time skill [don't have the skill but you can do the math])

1. Service Time: 39s
2. Speed: 136 knots
3. HP: 1796

DIVE BOMBERS

Enterprise

1. Service Time: 24s
2. Speed: 137 knots
3. HP: 1727

Shokaku

1. Service Time: 23s
2. Speed: 161 knots
3. HP: 1691

Lexington

1. Service Time: 36s
2. Speed: 140 knots
3. HP: 1764

 

I underlined the HP to make it easier to compare the plane's overall durability. As you might of noticed, Enterprise's torpedo bombers has the highest HP and her dive bombers beats Shokaku but not Lexington. Although the difference in HP is there, all three carriers fall within a reasonable range where it wouldn't make that much of a difference. In terms of the bombers (the planes that will face AA), the average difference is 30-50 HP which wouldn't change the outcome when attacking a ship at high tiers. In terms of speed, Enterprise's bombers is 3 knots slower compared to Lexington (if you prefer speed over HP, you can grab the speed upgrade instead). You also might of notice that Shokaku's bombers has less HP than Enterprise and Lexington (only for DB) but she trades it for speed which I believe the developers attempting to showcase national flavor where IJN lacks armor for speed while USN trades speed for more armor.

 

So if the developers gave Enterprise T8 planes rather than T7, the consequence in T8-T10 matchmaking would of been exactly the same. Having your planes shredded at T10 isn't new which both Lexington and Shokaku face this challenge. The reason why it was a big deal now is because of hearing T7 planes in T10 matchmaking sounds more painful than T8 planes and it's the ENTERPRISE. Therefore, this isn't a problem with the Enterprise because the other two carriers suffered the same fate. The real problem deals with CV rework when handling +2 Tier matchmaking (T6 CV vs T8MM, T7 CV vs T9 MM, and T8 CV vs T10 MM).

 

Q: So why did the developers make us spend 3 million credits to buff Enterprise's T7 planes when it didn't really make much of a difference with T8 planes?

A: The reason for this is because of Enterprise's fighters. The developers wanted Enterprise's fighter to be on the lower end since she has a massive reserve (double Shokaku's fighter reserve). If the developers gave Enterprise T8 planes, Enterprise would have the capabilities of an air superiority Lexington (2 Corsairs) and striking potential of a Shokaku which pretty much outclasses both carriers in most situation (overpowered). Yes, they could of just gave Enterprise T7 fighters and T8 bombers but I guess developers wanted her to be universal across (T7 or T8 for all planes) and also make you choose between upgrading the bombers HP or all the planes speed.

 

This thread is only about Enterprise's planes and not her loadout (people wanted Enterprise to have more TB and DB rather than fighters) and torpedo drop pattern which are other controversies about the Enterprise. Maybe I'll discuss my experience in the future.

 

If you wanted screen shots of the stats, I uploaded them down below (useful for people who don't have all 3 carriers).

 

HOPE THIS HELPS! 

[iHaveNoIntelligence]

You forgot to add Dogfighting expert in Enterprise' fighters damage and load out (and only load out for other carriers), since she has tier 7 planes the 10% dps boost ist more or less a permanent upgrade unless you rarely face stock Lex or Shoukaku. That would be 68 dps for enterprise

[AdmiralHattori]

Just now, Treediagram said:

You forgot to add Dogfighting expert in Enterprise' fighters damage and load out (and only load out for other carriers), since she has tier 7 planes the 10% dps boost ist more or less a permanent upgrade unless you rarely face stock Lex or Shoukaku. That would be 68 dps for enterprise

Yea, I should of account for that but I was a bit lazy at that moment. The big picture of this thread was mainly the bombers (the planes that will see AA) because people were worried that T7 planes wouldn't do so well against T8-T10 ships since they are T7 but with the exclusive upgrade, that changed the position of the Enterprise when she was released.

[pyantoryng]

So that's why the Sea Wolf was removed...it would interfere with Japanese speedy plane trend...

Would anybody want faster planes (the other option for the third slot) on Enterprise for any reason?

[FayFay731]

4 hours ago, AdmiralHattori said:

Loadout: 108

That's a lot of bullets for the Enterprise. Considering how many fighters it has and that US cvs have more ammo, strafing would be deadly against every other cv at T8.

[AdmiralHattori]

6 hours ago, pyantoryng said:

So that's why the Sea Wolf was removed...it would interfere with Japanese speedy plane trend...

Would anybody want faster planes (the other option for the third slot) on Enterprise for any reason?

I didn't have the credits to test the speed upgrade but the answer for that is yes (I faced an Enterprise with it). If you want dominance in the sky, you can grab the speed upgrade which would mainly be useful for your fighters (174 knots [fastest fighters at T8]). Speed vs. Armor for bombers really depends on your preference. The HP upgrade may make your bombers durable but having speed allow you to get your attack faster and get out of the AA zone while armor forces you in the AA zone longer and if the enemy ship takes evasive action, it would be difficult to keep up but eventually you will get the angle on them. But speed for your bombers is no comparison to Shokaku's bomber speed, especially her TB.

[The_Big_Red_1]

WG still gotta fix this thing if they want to make more money