Tuesday, 29 September 2015

Tier XI CA vs BB

The main idea of this section is to compare the differences between a tier XI Heavy Cruiser against a tier XI Battleship to see how they function against one another. This post will not detail specific ships and their playstyles its more of a general comparison of the two classes characteristics at tier XI. As such both ships are assumed to be fully upgraded and the condition would be a 1 vs 1 battle situation.

Heavy Cruiser

Pros:   8 
  • 40% smaller than a BB   (great benefit the further the range)
  • 15% faster than a BB (great for evading shells at max range)
  • Reload 40% faster than a BB ( can easy get two main salvos in against a BB's one )
  • Turn rate faster than a BB (great for evading, especially the further the range)
  • High Shell accuracy (low spread, even at its max range)
  • High defence rating 
  • High dps for main guns 
  • High Damage Points (comparatively considering its smaller size)
Cons: 2
  • Weaker hitting guns 
  • Only 3 scouts

Battleship

Pros:    4

  • Longest gun range    
  • Highest damage guns   
  • Has 7 scouts   (providing greater visibility for longer)
  • High DP ( Due to their size, BB's should have a clearer advantage in DP, say 20 or 30k, and better damage mitigation [defence rating should be better because its a bigger, slower & less agile ship].)

Cons: 7
  • No secondary HE guns 
  • Slower gun reload  
  • Slower speed  
  • Slower turn rate
  • Largest ship size 
  • Poor accuracy (shell spread) at maximum/long range (rendering it less effective vs smaller & faster targets)
  • Fewer total shells ( important in a sustained fight against  smaller and faster CA )



In a 1v1 situation scouting and AA become very important. The BB doesn't need to rush in and get kited. He can sit back and snipe scouts down to increase pressure on the enemy, but to reduce his opponents vision capabilities.

This puts the pressure on CA's to initiate hit and run attacks. Being faster and smaller the CA will try this, but will need to find a balance between getting his damage up while avoiding shells from the BB. Get too close and the BB will be landing full broadsides.

From the BB's perspective he can't run away or rush in close as the CA has greater speed, thus giving him control of the battle's range.

The BB has a few options: 1) he can snipe all 3 scouts down first.  2) he can rush to try get close  3) he can attack at mid range, trading shells  4) he can wait for max range broadside opportunities.

Option 1 is probably the preferred because the BB has impressive AA capability including secondary and tertiary AA gun sets. This means you have more guns to shoot down the fewer scouts a CA has.

Option 2, getting in close is the aggressive way to get more shells to hit the target and is more of a brute force option which can overwhelm the CA. However smart CA's will recognize the rush and kite you.

The best scenario is to play option 1 and 4 being very selective on salvos. Then transition into option 3 or 2 if the CA engages.

CA's know all of this, and will want to be in the most comfortable position at their max gun range.  This allows them to get hits, avoid some shells and AA scouts.

CA's will rely heavily on their speed and agility coupled with it's smaller size to engage and disengage at will.

Because of this, tier 11 CA's are referred to as pocket battleships and have a definitive and important role in a given battle. They are quick and should not be taken lightly.











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