I wasn't really happy with these commander skills but...

[Snargfargle]

I didn't realize that I still had a test skill set on my Atago but now it's too late to change them (at least for free). I wasn't really happy to see the skills I'd been stuck with this morning but I figure'd I'd have to live with them.

 

Skills row 1

 

When I was new to the game, I always took Priority Target and Incoming Fire Alert, as I wanted to know just who was targeting me and when they were shooting at me. However, after a year of playing, I find that in most games my situational awareness now suffices so I've been taking Preventative Maintenance instead. I'm stuck with Priority Target now, but I guess it's OK on a cruiser.

 

Skills row 2

 

Expert Marksman is worthwhile; I like a faster turret traverse anyway I can get it. However, I notice that I have Adrenaline Rush here too. I wonder if Adrenaline Rush is really worth it on a ship with a heal. Well, the 203 mm guns do reload a bit slowly so the skill won't be totally wasted should I lose health to AP, which is unhealable.

 

Skills row 3

 

Here, I have Superintendent for that extra heal and hydro search. This seems to be worthwhile. I also took off IFHE and stuck on Demolition Expert to see how much of a firestarter the Atago could be. As the fire chance is already good with Japanese HE, I sort of wish I'd been able to uses these skills elsewhere. However, a 19% fire-starting chance, is not all bad either.

 

Skills row 4

 

Here, I have Concealment Expert. I think that this is one of the better row 4 skills, especially in a cruiser. With this skill comes a 9.4 km detection range. Last game, I was able to cap twice, completely undetected, even though there were enemy ships less than 10 km away.

 

Speaking of last game, I guess that these skills I'm stuck with served me rather well.

 

 

    

 

[Lillehuntrix]

You have exactly the first four (PT, AR, SI, CE) skills I have on my Atago, er, Takao.  I forget what the turret traverse is, but it is manageable enough as I recall such that EM is not a necessity.  Situational awareness or no, I like PT on almost all cruisers, personally.

 

With the AA as bad as it is, and IFHE not relevant for 203mm gun cruisers, I'm feeling like there are points to play with from here.  I run defensive fire on the ship, and have chased enough destroyers into smoke with it that I may throw on RPF just for giggles - the only cruiser I have any thought of so equipping.

[LemonadeWarrior]

Very nice! I run the same, though I use DE.

 

Good job on that battle !

[Snargfargle]

16 minutes ago, Lillehuntrix said:

I may throw on RPF just for giggles - the only cruiser I have any thought of so equipping.

 

I have two skill points currently unassigned and when my 17-point commander gets the full 19 points I'm seriously considering using RPF too. The Atago is a fast ship and very capable of hunting down DDs. When chasing an undetected DD it would be really nice to know in which general direction it was located.

[RivertheRoyal]

 

This is the captain set-up I normally use on Atago, and most other IJN CAs. 

Most of the skills are fairly standard, with the core Atago specific ones being Priority Target, Adrenaline Rush, Superintendent, and Concealment. After that, add skills like Expert Marksman and Demolition Expert. 

To me, having only CE as a fourth tier skill is plenty enough, and I didn't really think anything like RPF or AFT was useful enough on the Atago to warrant spending points on it. I added Direction Centre for Catapult Aircraft for the two fighter planes, and Vigilance for the extra torpedo spotting capabilities. Both of these skills are to help my Atago combat DDs, as the aircraft can spot them and any torpedoes, and Vigilance is of use for the same reason. Then, I take Defensive AA as a consumable instead of Hyrdo, since CVs are a particular threat to the Atago with her limited AA.

Of course, this sort of captain is exchangeable on any of the other IJN CAs. In fact, my Atago captain can typically be found on my Zao.   

[AspiringCodger]

I have Priority Target on the vast majority of my ships, including my Mogami/Atago Commander.  I have enough experience to know when people should be targeting me, but that doesn't always mean they will be.  I think it's a huge advantage to know when people aren't targeting you.  I can't count how many games I've dealt large amounts of worry free damage knowing I wasn't being shot at (of course there was the time I was detonated by a shell fired when the enemy wasn't locked on to me).

[Lert]

I love priority target. It's free information, and it can dictate how I play. It's good and all to know if I'm spotted or not but if nobody's actually aiming at me I'm not going to be bothered, yet if I see that number rise to 5 or 6 I know it's time to disengage, go dark and G the F O. It can also be invaluable late-game. There's four enemies left, they're unspotted but three of them are aiming at me? I know where three-quarters of the red team is.

It's free information and the other tier 1 skills aren't exactly game changers either.

[Lillehuntrix]

23 minutes ago, RivertheRoyal said:

 

This is the captain set-up I normally use on Atago, and most other IJN CAs. 

Most of the skills are fairly standard, with the core Atago specific ones being Priority Target, Adrenaline Rush, Superintendent, and Concealment. After that, add skills like Expert Marksman and Demolition Expert. 

To me, having only CE as a fourth tier skill is plenty enough, and I didn't really think anything like RPF or AFT was useful enough on the Atago to warrant spending points on it. I added Direction Centre for Catapult Aircraft for the two fighter planes, and Vigilance for the extra torpedo spotting capabilities. Both of these skills are to help my Atago combat DDs, as the aircraft can spot them and any torpedoes, and Vigilance is of use for the same reason. Then, I take Defensive AA as a consumable instead of Hyrdo, since CVs are a particular threat to the Atago with her limited AA.

Of course, this sort of captain is exchangeable on any of the other IJN CAs. In fact, my Atago captain can typically be found on my Zao.   

Because the IJN and ARP captains only recently became exchangeable, I have a dedicated Takao captain, with someone else slotted for the Zao if I ever get there,  Of course what you have works great for a captain sharing time between the two.  But one place the two ships do diverge is in their AA suites - the Zao AA, while not great, seems by the numbers to be much less garbage than what the Atago/Takao has, particularly in its long range aura.  I'm hoping to do something with that (specifically, MFCAA).

[RivertheRoyal]

1 minute ago, Lillehuntrix said:

Because the IJN and ARP captains only recently became exchangeable, I have a dedicated Takao captain, with someone else slotted for the Zao if I ever get there,  Of course what you have works great for a captain sharing time between the two.  But one place the two ships do diverge is in their AA suites - the Zao AA, while not great, seems by the numbers to be much less garbage than what the Atago/Takao has, particularly in its long range aura.  I'm hoping to do something with that (specifically, MFCAA).

 

I don't know—while the Zao has workable AA, I personally wouldn't put any skills towards it. Defensive AA is enough to avoid eating a strike, and if you want a ship to shoot down planes with, get a Des Moines. It's just not that worthwhile to spec into, as an IJN CA. Plus, AA skills on a Zao captain don't translate well to the Atago or Takao. 

[Snargfargle]

@RivertheRoyal

 

I debated taking Vigilance. The Atago is a bit long and slow on the turns and doesn't dodge torps nearly as well as, say my Cleveland. However, I still seem to be able to dodge them sufficiently well. I'll soon have four points to play with so I might have to re-consider it though.

 

I toyed around with the two fighters thing, more than anything because I wanted to see if another one shows up on deck (it doesn't), Fighters are sometimes good for spotting but they also sometimes tell the enemy that you are there. If I see a single-plane fighter squadron flying over an island I am pretty sure that there is a cruiser there. I use this trick all the time to set up torpedo attacks.

[Snargfargle]

Well, maybe it was a good thing that I had Adrenaline Rush in my last game.

 

 

[Morpheous]

Funny but I changed all my ships, cept CVs to PT.  I find this skill too valuable not to have.  I consider myself above average in knowing the map, and what I am doing, but why do I now want MORE warning on possible incoming fire?  I think my game play has gotten better and only made these changes  for a few days. (and it was free!, thanks WG)

[Doomlock]

My Atago captain, which is really my Zao captain, currently has almost the same setup as RivertheRoyal's captain. Though I am only at 17 points with 2 unspent. I do not have direction center, or vigilance. The rest I do.

 

Direction center is probably my choice for a last skill, though I am still mulling over what to pick for the last three. I haven't felt the need for vigilance, but I am still stewing over it.

 

Regardless, that captain setup, works for the whole IJN CA line, with the exception of 155 Mogami. There, you might decide to trade direction center and vigilance to IFHE.  Otherwise, it works. I put my Zao captain in Yubari, Katori, Atago, Zao, and the Myoko clones if need be. 

 

Fair winds and following seas captain!