Kaiser > Nikolai

[aether_tech]

Nikolai is trash.

 

Kaiser is the true club.

 

 

 

It seems that the Tier 4 german BB, the Kaiser, has UTTERLY upended Tier 4 battles (unless there are some very good DD or CV players present.) It's hard to deal damage to, has guns that really penetrate (even an angled Nikolai apparently.) Meanwhile, its secondaries are vicious.

 

I'm going to put my Nikolai into retirement, and get me a Kaiser!

[Hangoverhomey]

 

The reason the German BB's are doing so well is because other BB's rely on causing citadels to take out enemy bb's and since Germans in lower tiers are near impossible to citadel and reload faster well... not hard to figure out the outcome.

[aether_tech]

 

The reason the German BB's are doing so well is because other BB's rely on causing citadels to take out enemy bb's and since Germans in lower tiers are near impossible to citadel and reload faster well... not hard to figure out the outcome.

 

I guess they can resell the Nikolai now, it's not overpowered (comparatively,) anymore.

[Wowzery]

Don't know, personally still like the Nikolai better.  The turret layout of the Kaiser is a drawback IMO.

[Heinrike_Prinz]

Also, part of it is the faster reload which is really killer. Lighter pen value is meaningly less for the 305mm guns, a 4 turert volley from Kaiser will slam a broadside Wyoming for 10-14k damage even at max range. It means fewer overpens on cruisers too, which is highly desirable. You can get super close to cruisers and simply punch them for a single volley kill. I wouldn't dare get within 5km of even a Myoko in my Iowa simply because of overpen mechanics, it'd be just awful. I like to have at least 8km, and 10km preferable to avoid overpen. Kaiser dodges this entirely. Then there is the accuracy factor. Neither Myogi nor Wyoming (and I've played both) have even near the same accuracy as the Kaiser. It looks almost as good as my Warspite at times. I remember especially Wyoming, and even now with my far better experience, I'd still try to get all my guns to bear because the accuracy is just awful. I mean, I dueled a Wyoming once in my Kaiser broadside to broadside (Ok, I was slightly angled....but I still had 4 turrets with LoS) and when he fired....twice, all but 3 shells of each salvo actually hit me. A couple in front of me, and couple behind. His aim was clearly fine, but his dispersion was shet. Meanwhile my 8 gun salvo lands 6 out of 8 shells and deals 11k damage. I simply out DPM'd him thanks to faster reload and landing more shells.

[Seraphil]

I successfully broke through a crowd of four enemy battleships with the Kaiser and just putzed around between them.  I don't think they really knew what to do, their attention got split between me and the several ally ships still in front of them.  I don't think I would have survived nearly as long had I tried using a Myogi or Wyoming to do this.

[_Rumple_]

Nikolai is trash.

 

Kaiser is the true club.

 

 

 

It seems that the Tier 4 german BB, the Kaiser, has UTTERLY upended Tier 4 battles (unless there are some very good DD or CV players present.) It's hard to deal damage to, has guns that really penetrate (even an angled Nikolai apparently.) Meanwhile, its secondaries are vicious.

 

I'm going to put my Nikolai into retirement, and get me a Kaiser!

Nikolai is hardly trash. Keep at mid range and use her(his?)amazing broadside barrage. I team up with a Yubari, whose entire focus is keeping DD's away from me. Then we switch and I play the Yubari. Not saying the T4 German BB is bad, just saying it's not as good as the Imperator Nikolai played to its strengths.

[Landing_Skipper]

Nikolai is trash.

 

Kaiser is the true club.

 

 

 

It seems that the Tier 4 german BB, the Kaiser, has UTTERLY upended Tier 4 battles (unless there are some very good DD or CV players present.) It's hard to deal damage to, has guns that really penetrate (even an angled Nikolai apparently.) Meanwhile, its secondaries are vicious.

 

I'm going to put my Nikolai into retirement, and get me a Kaiser!

 

wish I could trade for or buy your Nicholai.

 

I like Nassau and Konig just fine but hated Kaiser's turret layout. Also did not share the accuracy experience of others. 

[JojoTheMongol]

Kaiser can either have pin-point accuracy or fly shells all around the target. Its really strange. I have had the most mixed results with the ship. I've done 100k in it and I've done  around 20k and got torped to death because I couldn't kill a charging Clemson. 4 or 5 salvos and I landed maybe 5 shells. My aim was good, it just that I dispersed around his ship every time. My secondaries eventually got him, but I burned/flooded to death.

[Serge_SC]

Kaiser is a great ship, odd turret layout, but very good ship!

[Balck_]

I've actually experienced issues getting penetrations with the guns.  RNGesus has its way with them more often than not.

 

As to the rest, indeed.

[vonKaiser]

Kaiser can either have pin-point accuracy or fly shells all around the target. Its really strange. I have had the most mixed results with the ship. I've done 100k in it and I've done  around 20k and got torped to death because I couldn't kill a charging Clemson. 4 or 5 salvos and I landed maybe 5 shells. My aim was good, it just that I dispersed around his ship every time. My secondaries eventually got him, but I burned/flooded to death.

 

You're not alone, I've been having about the same luck with her accuracy.  Haven't been able to play much since they came out though so hopefully I just had a bad RNG game

[Sir_Davos_Seaworth]

I tried a couple times to brawl with a Nikolai, but I haven't been able to do it yet. Should be a heck of a fight!

[Corsair_I]

Nikolai is trash.

 

Kaiser is the true club.

 

 

 

It seems that the Tier 4 german BB, the Kaiser, has UTTERLY upended Tier 4 battles (unless there are some very good DD or CV players present.) It's hard to deal damage to, has guns that really penetrate (even an angled Nikolai apparently.) Meanwhile, its secondaries are vicious.

 

I'm going to put my Nikolai into retirement, and get me a Kaiser!

I have no issue facing a tier 5 BB in my Nikolai. Gun placement is ideal. Turn radius is great. And there is no superstructure so it is difficult to start a fire on it. Great armor especially in the front. The only things sub-par are the range of the main guns and the AA defense. Speed is low but comparable with US BBs

[_Rumple_]

I tried a couple times to brawl with a Nikolai, but I haven't been able to do it yet. Should be a heck of a fight!

 

Well, hate to admit it, but was in my Nikolai and charged a Kaiser and got sunk. It wasn't his main guns that were the problem, it was his secondaries. My mistake was over confidence and charging in. Had I kept some range, away from his secondaries, I am confident I would have beaten him. How do I know this? Purely because earlier in the game we had traded shots at mid distance and Nikolai was clearly getting the better of the Kaiser. The lesson I learned was to not close.

[BullHalsey]

Yes, think I ended up with 134K dmg and 18 plane kills in one battle with Kaiser, using my Tirp commander.  Been on the back burner to repurchase but yet may.  Kaiser, properly used, is quite possibly the best seal club out there.  Doesn't make Nikolai trash however.

[Royeaux]

 

I guess they can resell the Nikolai now, it's not overpowered (comparatively,) anymore.

 

I'd be interested in owning an non-OP version, it's an interesting looking ship, and I was out of country when she was being sold.

[Marine_Diesel]

Kaiser's turrets turn too slowly for my liking. Great ship to fight other slower cruisers(like the St. Louis) or BBs.

Konig is better at tier 5. But that is the problem. Konig at tier 5 sees more powerful BBs.

Interestingly, the AP shell has a better CRH(ballistic shape) than the Bismarck's 38cm shell. (30.5cm L/4,9 vs 38cm L/4,4) Yet the 30.5cm has a higher drag constant.

[Xenomancers]

6 Kill game last night in Kaiser. If you have BB skills you can totally pwn in this ship.

[KaptainKaybe]

Wait .. wait .. can we please have more posts like this? I'm hoping you guys can convince WG that Nikolai is not in fact OP (psst, she is, but shhhhh quiet now), so that maybe they'll put her up tor sale again

 

[Guest]

Kaiser is a rather exceptional tier 4 battleship in comparison to the others, being a highly enjoyable ship with strong guns, and rapid reload for a battleship, as long as you can play battleships at a sufficient level, you will do rather well in the Kaiser with fairly consistent results. 

[KillSwitch748]

Nikolai in my opinion is still way stronger than Kaiser for the simple fact that it can effectively angle and fire all its guns at same time.  Something kaiser's strange gun emplacement prevented it from doing. The Nikolai's gun layout fits perfectly into the angling meta play style for BB in the game, plus it's guns are deadly and accurate. 

[Whiskey_Brawler_2015]

With Nikolai, charge if it is usn or ijn BB. With german BB i just kill them at medium range

[Foxfire1337]

Nikolai tends to do better against other ships, but I'll take a Kaiser any day against a Nikolai 1v1.  There really is a clear gap between the two when matched up.  One gets penned a lot and can take citadel hits.  Kaiser is nearly impossible to citadel even at close range, and is penned less frequently even when aiming properly at the higher casemate armor.  The stats have been saying this for awhile, and the gap has widened in the past couple weeks.

[Marine_Diesel]

Nikolai Stronk!