SP vs HE... smaller calibers

[_Gunnarr_]

So I don't know what to trust. So many videos out there, so many guides, from various patches.

 

If I am playing for example the pheonix, when should I use HE and when should I use AP? (pheonix is a tier 4 cruiser) 

 

I know fast firing guns, people sometimes say do HE because they simply have higher chances to cause fires because it fires faster. But I want to know more, not sure what I can trust.

[10T0nHammer]

There isn't really a simple answer because it involves tier bracket you are in, what's ships you are vs, and what position you are in vs the enemy.

 

It's 3 am but I'm posting so I can find it in the morning and give you a better answer.

[SourHammer]

With any cruiser I play, I use HE exclusively for DDs , I use a combination of HE and AP for killing other cruisers and BBs.   Depending on how the ship is angled, for example if Im in a Cleveland and Im firing at a Nurnberg that is parallel to me I load AP and if he stays that way too long he will be done with a few salvos since I will get several citadel hits,  But if he turns and runs from me only showing me his rear I will load HE to cause module damage and start fires.    With BBs, I like to set them on fire as much as possible, but I have them burning I will switch back and forth from HE to AP, If you can drop AP on his deck you can get some pretty good damage rolls.                 You have to switch up depending on circumstances though,   If firing on a Cleveland from a Phoenix your going to do more damage with HE than AP because Cleveland is notoriously difficult to citadel.      

 

 

                My best suggestion with rapid firing ships is to switch back and forth and note how much damage your doing with different shell types.    Sooner or later you will instinctively know what will work and what wont.

[Xannari]

HE is your go-to ammo for the most part. You're going to annoy the crap out of battleships and destroyers with it. However, AP is a very situational ammo, and is only ideal for use in medium to short range engagements against other very light cruisers if they are exposing their magazines. Your real DPM will jump way up as you get citadel after citadel.

You can turn the odds against an enemy Phoenix [or even a Kuma] with greater health by your choice of ammo alone.

[The_GoDDfather]

Well a Super Pershing's spaced armor just absorbs the High Explosive.....

[Kosteo]

HE is your go-to ammo for the most part. You're going to annoy the crap out of battleships and destroyers with it. However, AP is a very situational ammo, and is only ideal for use in medium to short range engagements against other very light cruisers if they are exposing their magazines. Your real DPM will jump way up as you get citadel after citadel.

You can turn the odds against an enemy Phoenix [or even a Kuma] with greater health by your choice of ammo alone.

 

That's pretty much the way I run my Phoenix, and I'm still very new - it just seems like HE is going to give me reliable damage almost every time, and in a Phoenix I can match or exceed the maneuverability of my target in most cases, so if it takes me a little longer, I'm usually okay with that.  In a cramped battle area, especially, when targets are moving in and out of my fire zone rapidly and I'm continually adjusting to which one looks like the most significant threat to the team or myself in the moment, switching ammo renders me half as useful as I could be with non-stop sequential fire raining down on a BB trying to leave the zone or I get a glimpse of a DD on his way out of his smokescreen and pound him with a concentrated HE salvo.  The only time I ever find myself using AP in my Phoenix is if I've got good players on my team and we're working together against a BB or multiple larger ships, and I manage to set him on fire right after his repair, I'll switch to AP and see if I get any hits for at least two volleys.  Or sometimes I find that AP works better when it's just me and another light cruiser, but I'd say I use it less than 20% of the time.  Again, I'm very new - I've had mixed success in the Phoenix, but topped the chart once or twice.

[KarpeDiem]

PERSONALLY: I use HE as my primary attack ammo on anything smaller or lower than a Phoenix. DDs, St Louis, etc all get hammered with HE. I use AP on anything bigger and HE only when I am looking for specific goals of causing fires.