Kuma 4th tier skill

[Kenjister]

My Kuma, grinder of credits extraordinaire, and bundle of fun that she is, is approaching her tier 4 skill.

 

What should I get?

 

Demolitions Expert is probably the best in terms of boosting damage.  However it's rather plain.

AFT will assuredly cause much rage in equal tier matches, and let me stand toe-to-toe with Clevelands...  assuming my shells don't get lost in orbit.

Last Stand will let me be far more aggressive than I deserve to be.  But those torp runs will be glorious.

 

Quite honestly, I'm stumped.  I'm not concerned about maximizing stats or anything here, so what do you guys think will be the best choice?

[Snoozing_Mako]

AFT no contest. Fires aren't going to damage that BB 14km out are they?

[Grevester]

The Kuma? well are you really relying on that fire damage, or do you find your engine/rudder going out more often then it should? I think the latter. A t4 skill on kuma is funny enough.

[Trigger_Happy_Dad]

Go for AFT and kill em all!  ;)

 

 

 

[Kenjister]

I'm sorta surprised at the lack of votes for demolitions, though I suppose Kuma doesn't really need too much more fire chance.

 

What I'm curious about however is if I can actually achieve consistent plunging fire at max range with AP if I get AFT.  Currently it seems to bounce half the time against most ships.

[Prothall]

Demolition only adds 3%. Considering you often "aim" at the same part of the ship with shells in flight "after" a fire starts, this actually translates to 1-2 more fires on average per 100 hits. I think the longer range will give you more damage in the long run.

[Mogdatix]

I had a Kuma captain with AFT and it just seemed to break her, so once I got a Mogami, that captain was moved to her, and I started afresh with the Kuma and all was good again.

[vak_]

Either AFT or last stand. Probably the first, at low tiers the long shell flight doesn't matter as much, since people don't turn.

[DocVulcan]

Last stand or AFT will be most fun IMO.

Last stand if you want to make the most of torps, AFT if you want to make the most of your guns.

 

HF out there!

[crzyhawk]

I run AFT on my Phoenix. That would be my choice in Kuma too

[Merc85]

I'm sorta surprised at the lack of votes for demolitions, though I suppose Kuma doesn't really need too much more fire chance.

 

What I'm curious about however is if I can actually achieve consistent plunging fire at max range with AP if I get AFT.  Currently it seems to bounce half the time against most ships.

 

AFT all the way.   Demolition adds 3% to the number of fires....so if you set 10 fires for every 100 hits normally, you'd set 10.3 fires.........basically it does nothing at all.

[Hurlbut]

 

AFT all the way.   Demolition adds 3% to the number of fires....so if you set 10 fires for every 100 hits normally, you'd set 10.3 fires.........basically it does nothing at all.

 

More like if your HE shell fire chance is 5%, with Demo, it increase to...5.15% or such

[Spyde]

AFT on low tier ships is borderline broken with the range they can get with it.

 

 

Pretty easy decision on a Cruiser.

[Dodgy_Cookies]

The 3% demo expert is additive per shell and incredibly powerful.  Resulting in a 30% relative increase in fire chance per shell.

 

AFT is better as lower tier ships already have higher fire chances. And that extra range is pretty critical when you can get pulled into higher tier games

[Sir_Godz]

I love kuma. One of my most played ships. It really is a super DD and could qualify as one for higher tiers if her detection range was less.

Last stand is the best one, I've tried a bunch multiple times. AFT seems like a great choice but it reality the shells are sooo slow the enemy is not even on the screen to see them land. The stock range is a little short. Even 1.5-2 k more would be nice but than is really more for those opening salvos of the match.

Last stand is the most useful one simply due to the as expected tier quality hull. The engines and steering get knocked out very easily, much in the same way as the bosch meat anchors. I lost more battles due to ending up prone than I won with the extra range.

I'm really looking forward to both mind you and last stand will get me there quicker.

[minor_correction]

I used to think that AFT was the way to go for low/mid-tier cruisers. But, with the recent (seemingly) increased chance of steering and propulsion damage, I am looking hard at Last Stand.

 

Also wondering if they are still thinking about that "fix" to AFT so it does not apply to main guns (other than Atlanta, and select others)?

[Spyde]

I used to think that AFT was the way to go for low/mid-tier cruisers. But, with the recent (seemingly) increased chance of steering and propulsion damage, I am looking hard at Last Stand.

 

Also wondering if they are still thinking about that "fix" to AFT so it does not apply to main guns (other than Atlanta, and select others)?

 

I would assume we would get a capt skill respec if they changed it, so i wouldnt worry about that.

[VTAdmiral]

I recommend last stand. Steerin and engine loss is both common and crippling for light cruisers like Kuma.

[Capitan_Incognito]

AFT means not needing to worry about engine and steering.

[BlazerSparta]

AFT first, then Last Stand.

[VTAdmiral]

AFT means not needing to worry about engine and steering.

 

100% chance to not be dead in the water vs 15% longer range on a cruiser that already has decent range?

 

I bet you got AFT on your Konigsberg captain too. It's just not necessarily the best choice.

[ReddNekk]

I use "Last Stand" because the Kuma's steering frequently gets disabled.

[Capitan_Incognito]

 

100% chance to not be dead in the water vs 15% longer range on a cruiser that already has decent range?

 

I bet you got AFT on your Konigsberg captain too. It's just not necessarily the best choice.

 

I do, and the Phoenix and almost every ship I have except CVs, 203mm cruisers, and IJN DDs. (And ships with bad captains.) Oh and the Nikolai with its tiny base secondary range and non-existent AA.

[Pugilistic]

I'm pretty pleased with AFT in both Tenryu and Kuma.