12pt Zao build

[OverlordGoat]

What would you guys suggest for a Zao with a 12pt captain?

 

[pmgaudio]

I would suggest getting him to 19 and ruining most everyone's game with it...

Or get a Hindenburg 

 

but really, first thing you need to do is actually GET A ZAO.... seems you don;/t have anything close to it... I was wondering why you are asking>?

 

in fact the Iowa is the only tier nine ship, and for cruisers... you have an ATLANTA and INDIANAPOLIS...
I am officially confused...

[xavier_556]

PT - EM - AR - SI - CE

[Muki41]

PM EM SI CE AR

[strykerpsg]

5 hours ago, pmgaudio said:

but really, first thing you need to do is actually GET A ZAO.... seems you don;/t have anything close to it... I was wondering why you are asking>?

I am officially confused...

Perhaps, he is asking for the forthcoming clan battles, in his rental Zao....

[Ivlerlin]

It depends on how you're planning on building the Ship. 

CE - SI or DE - EM or AR - PT or IFA or CatCON or PM

SI or DE as your L4 skills is dependent on if you favor Utility / Survivability (consumables) or Damage Potential (HE + %Fire)

EM or AR is a preference on "first pick" if the Traverse time bothers you EM will be great. But if it's "workable" then AR is pretty strong; at some point you will take damage. 

PT is the go too for L1.

IFA while most consider a poor skill (it could use a buff) if you're stacking SGM2 and SGM3 those "long range" shots at your ship should be relatively easy to dodge the majority. 

PM is a "nice to have" skill providing extra survivability to any of your modules that may get knocked out. 

CatCON or direction center for catapult control (dcfcc?) Is also a "nice to have" if you're invested in SI for the extra CatFTR consumable. It's a tiny bit extra Air Defense, but it's also useful for peeking behind islands, EWS for Torpedoes, and forcing DD smoke clouds. 

----

Anyways it depends on how your setting up your modules and how your playstyle plays. 

There's the standard Max Concealment Build. Where I'd skip skills like DE and IFA. Your better off grabbing that extra Heal and the ability to know how many ships are Locked on. 

There's a Range-Kite Build where you grab MB range, SGM2, SGM3 for modules and IFA, EM, and DE. At near maximum range all shots are incoming from + 6s out and you should have ample time to dodge; unless of course you're not at range and attempting to knife fight or brawl...

Since it's a 12pt CMDR you've got the option of either doubling up on the L2 skills or 4x L1 skills. Hope the rundown of my recommendations assists with you finding something that fits your playstyle. 

[pmgaudio]

16 hours ago, strykerpsg said:

Perhaps, he is asking for the forthcoming clan battles, in his rental Zao....

AH yes,,,, then I suggest ,, a hindenburg,, LOL
I suggest for the Zao (and ANY AND ALL CRUISERS AND DDS...)
PT DE AR CE AFT(for AAA) maybe SI for extra consumables, at least for DDs...  also ALWAYS buy premium ones if you can afford 22K...
PM, IMHO and others as well, is a waste of a skill when most times nothing gets knocked out that cannot be repaired, and RARELY do they get destroyed... so klnowing how many ships have you targeted is better, so you know if you can pull a turn or a maneuver before you try...(Also it helps to know if you can sneak into a smoke screen or fire a few shots before going behind cover and not getting shot back at... PT is a need to have... PM is NICE to have 

[HazeGrayUnderway]

For 12pts on Zao I'd go:

PT / PM (your choice)

EM (mediocre IJN turret traverse) & AR

SI or DE (close call here but I went with DE first)

CE (Zao without that awesome concealment is no Zao)

 

For the remainder towards a full 19pt captain, I'd add:

SI or DE (whichever you skipped out on the first time around)

AFT (to bring out the AA range a bit more, a better buffer for your Defensive Fire to do work;  Make no mistake your AA will still be sh*t, but longer range AA lets your DF start work on the bombers sooner and further away from you)

[Parliament_Funkadelic]

Don't listen to these nubs. Get your first ten points squared away:

PT-1 the key to the Zao is stealth, kiting and wiggle, PT lets you know how many are shooting

EM-2

Vigilance-3 because you are a sneaky stealthy girl, you will need this.

Concealment-4

And keep your two remaining points until you get one or two more. Otherwise you wont get another decent talent for infinity and wasting two points now isn't worth it.

[HazeGrayUnderway]

10 hours ago, Sweetsie said:

Don't listen to these nubs. Get your first ten points squared away:

PT-1 the key to the Zao is stealth, kiting and wiggle, PT lets you know how many are shooting

EM-2

Vigilance-3 because you are a sneaky stealthy girl, you will need this.

Concealment-4

And keep your two remaining points until you get one or two more. Otherwise you wont get another decent talent for infinity and wasting two points now isn't worth it.

This scrub here ^^^ has a 46% win rate with Zao.

[Sabot_100]

Of course if the build is for the rental Clan Wars Zao, speccing for any kind of AA is a waste.

[Parliament_Funkadelic]

14 hours ago, HazeGrayUnderway said:

This scrub here ^^^ has a 46% win rate with Zao.

was I wrong?