Poll: Which tier IX cruiser is your favorite choice?

[_Marines]

While every man and his dog seem to prefer Zao these days, what would you pick if you were to play a tier IX cruiser? Dmitri Donskoi used to be the OP choice, but now it appears to be balanced in its tier. As a cruiser, having the freedom to derp around the map and kill destroyers is fun every now and then, so please cast your vote and discuss! We used to have many polls when the game launched and had interesting discussions. As time went by, I'm eager to see what people today like the most. To facilitate the discussion with data, here is a consolidated spreadsheet pulled from WarshipStats. Kill/death ratio has been recalculated as KDR=Ship Kill Rate/(1-Survival Rate).

 

 

[SergeantHop]

Whichever one doesn't say Baltimore.

[ShimakazeCunnyOOOUAH]

Of course the Donskoi has the highest win rate... Bias confirmed 

 

[Admiral_Tegetthoff]

Atago best CA 

 

[Battleship_DukeofYork]

Roon... it's got sexy good looks, and it's a typical German combination of speed, decent staying power, passable AA, and great AP.

[Aloeus]

Baltimore. 

 

It's my favorite to shoot at

 

[Fodder4U]

Roon all the way baby!!!

 

It has up to 20.7k range and is accurate and tight dispersion even out to there. It has excellent armor and can go bow on and take very little damage. If you have a CE commander you can stealth fire from 17.2 which is well within it's wheel house. I just love this ship. It feels like I am playing my Zao but at 2k further for everything.

 

Donkey would be second pick for me.

[SeaRaptor]

I've unlocked - but haven't bought - Donskoi... Ibuki is hot garbage, and Baltimore is - by all accounts - a New Orleans retread... and New Orleans is hot garbage.  

 

So Roon it is. =)

[gurudennis]

I've unlocked - but haven't bought - Donskoi... Ibuki is hot garbage, and Baltimore is - by all accounts - a New Orleans retread... and New Orleans is hot garbage.  

 

So Roon it is. =)

 

It's my turn to praise a ship contrary to your opinion

 

I think Ibuki is awesome and the best T9 cruiser by a comfortable margin.

[MrDeaf]

Ibuki: probably most boring ship in T9. It's strong, only because of its invisifire ability, so it's really a one trick pony. and it's one trick is boring.

Roon: probably most exciting to play T9 cruiser, but only because it's most lethal in suicidal ranges for a ship with horrible maneuverability. So every WASD input, and it has to be the correct ones, requires <300ms reaction time

Donkey: I haven't played it, but it looks to be a combination of Shchors as the hull, but Molotov for the guns... which means it's just an improved Shchors... and Shchors is only slightly more exciting when compared to Ibuki.

Baltimore: One of the most handicapped ship in WoWs, EVER. Honestly, if this ship was kicked down to T8, while retaining its T9 radar and heal, I think it would still lag behind.

[gurudennis]

Ibuki: probably most boring ship in T9. It's strong, only because of its invisifire ability, so it's really a one trick pony. and it's one trick is boring.

Roon: probably most exciting to play T9 cruiser, but only because it's most lethal in suicidal ranges for a ship with horrible maneuverability. So every WASD input, and it has to be the correct ones, requires <300ms reaction time

Donkey: I haven't played it, but it looks to be a combination of Shchors as the hull, but Molotov for the guns... which means it's just an improved Shchors... and Shchors is only slightly more exciting when compared to Ibuki.

Baltimore: One of the most handicapped ship in WoWs, EVER. Honestly, if this ship was kicked down to T8, while retaining its T9 radar and heal, I think it would still lag behind.

 

Nah, Ibuki rewards a mix of timely aggressive use of torpedoes and mid-to-long-range HE spam. When played to her strengths she can be incredibly effective and fun to play, and it doesn't have to involve invisi-fire. She's easily one of the more flexible ships in the game (not without limitations) although the one thing you should almost never be doing with Ibuki is firing AP.

[Axonn]

Well by for playstyle of the Ibuki, I wouldn't know since I don't own her but I would only choose her (which I did) only bcuz she's from the IJN and I go by looks. Long story short, I'm a FAN/Liker for IJN ships. 

 

[Sir_Godz]

Ibuki: probably most boring ship in T9. It's strong, only because of its invisifire ability, so it's really a one trick pony. and it's one trick is boring.

Roon: probably most exciting to play T9 cruiser, but only because it's most lethal in suicidal ranges for a ship with horrible maneuverability. So every WASD input, and it has to be the correct ones, requires <300ms reaction time

Donkey: I haven't played it, but it looks to be a combination of Shchors as the hull, but Molotov for the guns... which means it's just an improved Shchors... and Shchors is only slightly more exciting when compared to Ibuki.

Baltimore: One of the most handicapped ship in WoWs, EVER. Honestly, if this ship was kicked down to T8, while retaining its T9 radar and heal, I think it would still lag behind.

 

Your donski assessment is very accurate

[Sir_Godz]

I gave up at the orleans and wish I stayed with the pensa, the superior ship.

 

Roon is very good if you can get used to the single forward turret. I struggled with that a lot.

 

Ibuki is OK but boring.

 

Donski could be good but the hull is made from the left over lend lease crates that broke at the dock yard.

[MrDeaf]

 

Nah, Ibuki rewards a mix of timely aggressive use of torpedoes and mid-to-long-range HE spam. When played to her strengths she can be incredibly effective and fun to play, and it doesn't have to involve invisi-fire. She's easily one of the more flexible ships in the game (not without limitations) although the one thing you should almost never be doing with Ibuki is firing AP.

 

The torps are good on Ibuki, but I think they're defensive weapons, since they require you to be facing angles you would not normally face when you are taking an aggressive stance in a ship.

This is where IJN 203mm HE and AP starts to really fall behind the competition, which is why the ship is rarely, if ever, in a position to use AP.

Luckily, the HE is still relatively strong... minus the noticeable floatyness beyond 15.6km.

 

It's a matter of opinion, but spamming HE, non-stop, gets pretty boring after a while, since it is so monotonous.

[HazardDrake]

I love my Roon. Secondary spec with manual secondaries and the RoF mod. I don't always get into secondary range, but when I do...

[IronWolfV]

Not quite to the Roon yet, but she's far superior to my Baltimore. I hate that turd.

[Show_Me_Your_Cits]

I've unlocked - but haven't bought - Donskoi... Ibuki is hot garbage, and Baltimore is - by all accounts - a New Orleans retread... and New Orleans is hot garbage.  

 

So Roon it is. =)

 

I liked Ibuki, I wasn't fond of Donkey (My Kürfurst handles better than that thing), haven't gotten Roon or Baltimore yet, but I've played both on the PTS and of those two I enjoyed my time in Roon more. Baltimore doesn't bring anything special to the table, has those awful moon shooters, and a low ROF to boot. 

[VTAdmiral]

The best tier 9 cruiser isn't in this list at all.

 

Where is Udaloi?

[_Marines]

Ibuki: probably most boring ship in T9. It's strong, only because of its invisifire ability, so it's really a one trick pony. and it's one trick is boring.

Roon: probably most exciting to play T9 cruiser, but only because it's most lethal in suicidal ranges for a ship with horrible maneuverability. So every WASD input, and it has to be the correct ones, requires <300ms reaction time

Donkey: I haven't played it, but it looks to be a combination of Shchors as the hull, but Molotov for the guns... which means it's just an improved Shchors... and Shchors is only slightly more exciting when compared to Ibuki.

Baltimore: One of the most handicapped ship in WoWs, EVER. Honestly, if this ship was kicked down to T8, while retaining its T9 radar and heal, I think it would still lag behind.

 

Spot on, MrDeaf! 

 

 

[Gavroche_]

I voted Baltimore. She's definetly not the strongest, but for some reason she's just a blast to play.

[DrunkenSailor63]

On ‎9‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 1:50 AM, Fodder4U said:

It has up to 20.7k range and is accurate and tight dispersion even out to there. It has excellent armor and can go bow on and take very little damage.

Donkey would be second pick for me.

But bow on in Roon takes away 2/3 of its guns.  Close to both...probably just get them both.  Probably comes down to which is better T10....Moskva or Hindenburg? Other threads have indicated Donskoi is maybe the only keeper T9.   Have Ibuki already, because Zao.

[Frederick_The_Great]

... that necro post.

 

but while i am here i will say the balti is fun to play but jeez do you have to pump a lot of credits into it to make it decent.  you need the faster firing guns, and at least one thing of range upgrade.(either the module or the 3 mil one from the slot)  i went the 3 mil one, as i could sell/keep it for the DM, and it saved XP and credits by skipping the module. 

 

i spent most of my time DD hunting with radar/hydro combo, as CVs were rare in higher tiers.(seen more lately)  it is a good lead up to the DM tho.  same play style, but super charged on the DM.  i liked the ship well enough that i did better than the server average in about every category.  same with the DM.  they are just a blast to play.  with the right team, you can be very aggressive in both ships.  quite the rush getting in CQC with BBs.  especially with those poor iowas before the cit change. 

[iHaveNoIntelligence]

Where is Saint Louis????

[IAF_NASTY]

3 minutes ago, Treediagram said:

Where is Saint Louis????

And the Neptune ???