Zao or Moskva

[CaptainTeddybear]

Been leveling Cruisers and while I could get the Edinburgh or New Orleans I've decided I no longer want to pursue the Minotaur or Des Moines. I think I will enjoy the Zao or Moskva best. I think I would be a little better with the Moskva but I already have a bunch of high tier BBs including the GK. I have always enjoyed the Atago although I haven't been that great with it. However I do seem to be doing a lot better since my Captain finally got his 10th point. I am at tier 5 in both lines so I have a long way to go so I need to choose wisely.

[Unabletony]

Moska has the second biggest caliber for a cruiser at tier 10, and laser arcs, speed, HE and AP, it all seems good until you get to the fact that she's huge, and her turning is awful. However, gud bote.

Zao is fast and stealthy, dangerous to DDs and a menace to BBs cause of her HE. Her armor can also troll some BBs. However, she's easily citadeled hard. Still Gud bote.

[BladedPheonix]

Zao!

 

now go make your opponents cry with envy and absolute hatred!

[Xero_Snake]

Both are great, even though their roles aligned differently.

Zaou is the all-rounder, while Moskva is the vanguard.

 

[SireneRacker]

10 minutes ago, Unabletony said:

Moska has the second biggest caliber for a cruiser at tier 10, and laser arcs, speed, HE and AP, it all seems good until you get to the fact that she's huge, and her turning is awful. However, gud bote.

 

Despite her size Moskva has the second smallest turning circle of the T10 Cruisers while her rudder shift time is somewhere in the middle.

I would say that Moskva's main problem is her detection radius of 18km stock, which is more comparable to the Battleships at that Tier.

[HowitzerBlitzer]

Moskva is less forgiving with the rather large citadel and overall size of the ship.

[Landing_Skipper]

Moskva' guns are awesome. Angled she is really tough. However, she is enormous and can be seen with the naked eye from orbit. Battleships love to wreck you from across the map when you get spotted... and you will. 

Given a choice between radar and torpedoes, I'll take torpedoes every time. Yes, it's big fun to uncover smoked up DDs or, even better, RN cruisers with radar and erase them. Getting close enough to use that radar though is the tricky part. Zao's torpedoes can be extremely useful on a regular basis. 

Maybe I just prefer stealthy ships because of my DD focus.  I've struggled to get a good win rate with both Moskva and Minotaur.  It feels like I'm getting the hang of the Minotaur, but I just don't "get" how to play Moskva correctly. 

[Reaperfang]

What do you mean you don't want the Des Moines ;_; 

[SmokinCAT]

Zao, is still the go to, even with most games her damage numbers are more than moskva and leaps and bounds over the others save for the Henri, the bottom three can only wish to be as good as zao.

[Ramsalot]

I own both ships.  The problem with Moskva is that once you are bow on (and you WILL end up bow on sooner or later, especially when you decide to use radar) your DPS is significantly impaired for most of the time.  Her HE is worse than Zao, and she can only use six of her rifles when bow on.  Using AP on broadside targets brings very good results, but that is more situational than you would think.  Disengaging is highly problematic when tanking in radar range.  Good utility with radar though.  Still, I find that Missouri is stronger boat in Moskva's line of job, with softer MM and bigger punch, durability, and stealth.

 

Zao is a boat that is in the move all the time, and can bring all 12 guns on target.  It's good at dodging incoming fire, and can disappear when needed.  The only bad thing about the Zao is lack of utility such as long range radar or hydro, which could be a game changer quite often.

 

Good compromise between Moskva and Zao would probably be Hindenburg, and it shows in game.

[Grizley]

Des Moines, but failing that Moskva.

 

Zao is just a HE spammer. It's a good HE spammer but so is Moskva, and it has much much better AP. You can use it against broadside ships at any range.

[Ramsalot]

On 8/17/2017 at 10:50 AM, Grizley said:

Zao is just a HE spammer. It's a good HE spammer but so is Moskva, and it has much much better AP. You can use it against broadside ships at any range.

Zao is not just an HE spammer.  It has much much better HE than Moskva.  It drops 12 shells that do 3400 damage each with 21% fire chance compared to Moskva's 9 shells that do 3100 damage each with 19% fire chance.  Moskva is often forced to fire only six guns instead of 9, while Zao can easily re-stealth between volleys and always keep 12 guns on the target.

[Parliament_Funkadelic]

On ‎8‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 0:43 AM, CaptainTeddybear said:

Been leveling Cruisers and while I could get the Edinburgh or New Orleans I've decided I no longer want to pursue the Minotaur or Des Moines. I think I will enjoy the Zao or Moskva best. I think I would be a little better with the Moskva but I already have a bunch of high tier BBs including the GK. I have always enjoyed the Atago although I haven't been that great with it. However I do seem to be doing a lot better since my Captain finally got his 10th point. I am at tier 5 in both lines so I have a long way to go so I need to choose wisely.

for starters I would stick with both the RN and US and they provide the most fun and dynamic playstyles at tier ten. The Moskva is a very fickle beast....but the grind up to her is decent. The Zao is in my opinion the safest bet. Always strong, and similar to all other ships in the line leading up to her. The Minotaur is similar to all  RN cruisers but on steroids. and The Des Moines is a dream.....the grind up to her is not, tier 7,8,9 are cumbersome to play and taxing at times. But the Des Moines can literally dictate a battle on maps with decent island cover. Lastly, don't forget the Hindenburg. Good at everything, bad at nothing. A simple joy to play. Henri IV...meh to many better options.... Good luck!

 

[Xlap]

I dont have none of them, currently at Ibuki in the IJN line. But with my experience fighting against them i would say Zao is better. It has napalm shells, troll armor and huge concealment. I have much more trouble dealing with Zao them with Moskva.

[Ericson38]

In 1st 30 games, lost over 2.5 million credits trying to play Moskva with 17 pt captain. Broke, now playing Cleveland.

[Ericson38]

On ‎8‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 9:08 AM, SmokinCAT said:

Zao, is still the go to, even with most games her damage numbers are more than moskva and leaps and bounds over the others save for the Henri, the bottom three can only wish to be as good as zao.

ZAO ruins the game for the rest of the non ZAO T10 cruiser players. Can't be seen to fight it. In a cruiser, it is a chicken with smoke to hide itself.

[vgphanto]

So, it seems that the MAJORITY here seem to think the ZAO is the choice between the MOSKVA vs ZAO?! Is that a correct assessment?!

[Seamus_44]

Moskva is getting better plate soon, so dynamics may change. She is a  neat boat and fun to play in division. Don't own the Zao. 

Or you could grid to the Henri , big guns, fast, good HE, wicked AP, and 9km torps. No radar, but with flags and boost you can chase and run down  dds.  

[HazeGrayUnderway]

On 6/19/2018 at 10:17 PM, vgphanto said:

So, it seems that the MAJORITY here seem to think the ZAO is the choice between the MOSKVA vs ZAO?! Is that a correct assessment?!

It's not so simple like that, because this is a team game.

 

Zao with her great concealment can control her engagements.  She picks when she opens up, and when to disappear.

Moskva once she engages is perma-spotted, fully committed.

Moskva also has to contend that from the front, she is sturdy, but anywhere else, she is nothing but a large, hard to hide ship with a MASSIVE CITADEL.

 

Moskva is a more static fighting Cruiser, kind of like DM.

Zao is a more dynamic Cruiser that can freely sail around, hide, and unload when she chooses.

Both ships are excellent Tier X Cruisers.

Both ships are getting buffs.

Moskva is getting the lower extremity of her bow buffed from 25mm -> 50mm. 

She also has a 50mm deck behind the bow, so the only weak spot on her frontally is the upper half of the bow which will remain 25mm, where even 380mm AP will penetrate.  There is also of course, smashing her turrets, which is a very viable move.

 

Zao however is going to get a buff of her own.  She will get Shimakaze's 12km torpedoes.

Combine that with Zao's excellent concealment, this makes her an extremely dangerous skirmishing Cruiser.  She can drop long range torpedoes IN STEALTH, while still retaining her great concealment and guns that are just as good punishing ships equally in short and long ranges.  Zao is not tied down by, "I need to show my bow or I die," because her mobility, size, and stealth lets her truly be dynamic.

Both changes are very strong for their ships, but personally, I'm more excited for Zao's.  The long range torps bring an element to her that the IJN Cruiser player lost when hitting Tier X.  For many tiers prior to Zao, an IJN Cruiser player could drop torps from stealth, especially on the retreat.  This was lost when reaching Zao because she only had 8km torps, which made it all but impossible to pull that tried and true tactic.