Manly Build Alsace is Bae

[poeticmotion]

For better or worse, I tend to play my BBs aggressively. I'm a gunboat DD main, I don't really know how to turn that mindset off, so I eschew bowcamping to flex across map as I see a need and charge in to make stuff go boom. It's why I like German BBs (tankiness/brawlability) and Brit BBs (stealth, survivability and DD-smacking HE salvoes). After 8 games in Alsace, I'm looking forward to the French BB line. Admittedly, it's a limited sample size and a different meta than we see on the regular server, but she was a blast. 

Typical PTS game for me:

 

120k dmg isnt great, I know, but I was able to fly all over the map as needed and brawling was fun with her. She seems to thrive in the outer band of brawl range, 8-10km. Her turret traverse is good for a BB, and fully specced for secondaries she puts out a lot of fire out to her max range (with all flags/skills/upgrades) of 10.6km. Without hydro it's probably best to be a little more cautious than German BBs, but she's much faster and more nimble, which helps. Her secondaries are going to be of limited help against BBs except for firestarting (I havent done the math to see how much IFHE would help her 100mm secondaries) but she freaking murders DDs. 

I also feel good about her main guns...12 main guns is a heavy battery for a t9, but 380mm is...well, the smallest BB main gun in game over t7 (tied with Bismarck) and 2nd smallest over t6 (beating only the KGV and her premium sisters.) But her guns are surprisingly punchy. I citadeled a Friedrich at about 16km, and was citadeling Yammys and Montanas at all ranges. Her guns hit hard and accurately. She's not going to overmatch other BBs, but she'll damn sure wreck cruisers and punish exposed broadsides. I haven't looked up her actual accuracy data and it could be that she feels more accurate than she is because of how many shells she puts out, but she feels like the most accurate BB I've played at everything out to 16-18km (which is all that matters to me...I hate playing at sniper range.)

I tried 4 games with a traditional build to maximize main battery and with CE, and 4 games with a manly build (straight-up secondary spec.) She's a blast with secondary spec. It was like duct-taping a couple Akizukis to each side, all those 100mm secondaries just raining fire. And RIP to any DD that got spotted in that range. 

I think I like her. Can't wait until release. :D

[misanthrope0]

I had a ball playing her as well and I'm also a DD main. The speed boost are superfluous given that she is fast at 32 knots to begin with. The secondaries are fantastic but she is too squishy for German style brawling, might want to spec her that way anyway just to punish DD's that get too close. Guns are surprisingly punchy and if you use HE instead of AP then your doing it wrong.