Advice on playing the duca d'aosta

[Ëvïlnïck8 ゴゴゴ]

Hi there,

So I recently got the duca d'aosta.
Beutifull ship, fast, maneuverable, good cruiser torp range.

I just seem to be either terrible with it or just very unlucky, from the 10-12 games I played I have an winrate of around 35%

My HE shells seem to bounce, alot. So shooting battleships seems almost pointless since I never realy seem to get the 2100 max damage the wiki states. 12 km torps are realy nice to have, but considering it would reqeuire the enemy ship to sail in a straigt line I never actuely hit something with it. In my good games I have between 30,000 - 40,000 damage, so just enough to do more damage then my own healthpool.
What does not help is that half the time I end up fighting againts Bismarcks and Clevelands, ships that outrange and outdamage me by insane amounts and considering these players are alot more expierenced then I am it seems I either camp behind an island or just get insta-wiped by a salvo of a lvl 8 battleship.

So, any tips on getting this ship to do some serieus damage? I love the way she steers and handles so it would be a shame to let her just sit in my port looking pretty (but good she does look realy good)

Thanks in advance!

[Torchfire]

Originally posted by Ëvïlnïck8:

So shooting battleships seems almost pointless since I never realy seem to get the 2100 max damage the wiki states.

I'm pretty sure that max shell damage is only inflicted on citadel hits. I'm not certain, but I think a regular shell penetration only does 30% of the maximum damage.
And AP shell overpenetrations only do 10% of their max damage.

[Ëvïlnïck8 ゴゴゴ]

Originally posted by Torchfire:

Originally posted by Ëvïlnïck8:

So shooting battleships seems almost pointless since I never realy seem to get the 2100 max damage the wiki states.

I'm pretty sure that max shell damage is only inflicted on citadel hits. I'm not certain, but I think a regular shell penetration only does 30% of the maximum damage.
And AP shell overpenetrations only do 10% of their max damage.

Can you even do citandel hits with HE?

Even when shooting an broadsite cruiser with battleship HE ammo it seems to never hit the citandel.

[Torchfire]

Originally posted by Ëvïlnïck8:

Originally posted by Torchfire:

I'm pretty sure that max shell damage is only inflicted on citadel hits. I'm not certain, but I think a regular shell penetration only does 30% of the maximum damage.
And AP shell overpenetrations only do 10% of their max damage.

Can you even do citandel hits with HE?

Even when shooting an broadsite cruiser with battleship HE ammo it seems to never hit the citandel.

Depends on how thick the armour is. Low tier CVs can be easily cited with HE. And I once managed to cit a (low tier) cruiser with HE, but other than the CVs, it's not really something that can be reliably pulled of.

[Ryuu]

Originally posted by Ëvïlnïck8:

Can you even do citandel hits with HE?

Yes, but quite rarely, CVs or thin cruisers while sailing a battleship of higher tier.

Even when shooting an broadsite cruiser with battleship HE ammo it seems to never hit the citandel.

Don't expect ever to pierce battleship's citadel with HE. I don't think even other BBs can do that.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/552990/announcements/detail/1645384041119476684
https://steamcommunity.com/gid/103582791460535021/announcements/detail/2996459011301376883
No episode yet on HE-shells, but i think soon.

HE shells never bounce, but they have low penetration, so hits might be weak.
http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Ship:Gunnery_%26_Armor_Penetration
Also you need to know where to shoot. Against battleships - it's superstructure and sometimes stern and bow. Hitting heavy sides is quite useless. AP might be feasible to try if it's close and broadsiding.

Maybe take IFHE perk OR Demolition expert instead, not sure, i'm not a cruiser expert.

[imrahil2]

Ryuu is right, battleship HE cannot citadel any other battleships period. This is why battleship HE shells cannot detonate other battleships. Against other very lightly armored ships it's possible to get HE citadels. Just yesterday I HE citadelled a pepsicola with my nelson. IFHE makes the most sense on small caliber guns like those on CLs.

[Ryuu]

Here's some insight about IFHE usefullness: http://wiki.wargaming.net/en/Ship:Armor_thresholds

[Torchfire]

This might also help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szbpDXAzUJI

Note that the Duca d'Aosta has the same caliber main guns as the Cleveland.

[Ryuu]

Originally posted by Torchfire:

This might also help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szbpDXAzUJI

Note that the Duca d'Aosta has the same caliber main guns as the Cleveland.

But maybe setting fires as a main damage dealt is better? I'm not sure.
And it least for fires you don't need to aim so well, just hitting with most shells is enough?

[David Davidson]

I've found that if you're up against ships of a higher tier in a cruiser it's best to play it careful. Get the skill (1st tier skill) that lets you know when enemy guns are pointed at you and how many (I completely forget it's name), wait for a BB to start drawing fire then start firing your HE, preferably from cover. Try and hit the stern and the bow of enemy BBs and higher tier cruisers with AP as you'll get less bounces there.
Use your HE to set enemy high tier BBs on fire as fire damage is percentage based.
Also long range torps will be good for area denial and lucky hits.
Oh and don't expose your broadside to enemy ships. It'll be much harder for them to land a citadel shooting at you head on.

[print]

ues your speed to hunt DDs and catch CLs slipping (pop a quick spotter for this). pretty fair armor and concealment, but should still be used to hit and run ( afocus on the latter in the case of BBs or CVs). I run IFHE but sometimes wish I took radio location instead so i could really root out those DDs.

[Torchfire]

Originally posted by Schlomo Shekelshoastein:

I've found that if you're up against ships of a higher tier in a cruiser it's best to play it careful. Get the skill (1st tier skill) that lets you know when enemy guns are pointed at you and how many (I completely forget it's name)

Priority target. A must have for cruisers and battleships. And in my opinion also for destroyers.

[Ëvïlnïck8 ゴゴゴ]

Originally posted by print:

ues your speed to hunt DDs and catch CLs slipping (pop a quick spotter for this). pretty fair armor and concealment, but should still be used to hit and run ( afocus on the latter in the case of BBs or CVs). I run IFHE but sometimes wish I took radio location instead so i could really root out those DDs.

But what games with more open maps or few DD's?

Like, in my expierence there generaly are maby 2 DD's and trying to run them down is basicly suicide since then half the enemy team can spot you and then just rain down AP and HE hellfire.

[print]

Originally posted by Ëvïlnïck8:

Like, in my expierence there generaly are maby 2 DD's and trying to run them down is basicly suicide since then half the enemy team can spot you and then just rain down AP and HE hellfire.

Yes valid points. By DD hunting I mean catching them at a distance where they think they can usually dodge cruiser shells. The ship is all about making sure you are in the right place at the right time and using its very good gun arcs to punish quick and get to safety (in a supportive way). Close in brwaling is not possible because the armor is meh (though not that bad) and it is too long to knife fight with torp boats. I have found very good players who both approve and disapprove of the ship. It is not a carry ship and does better late game in my experience.

note: i replayed this ship and edited my last reply, some things were not as bad or as good as I remember

[David Davidson]

Also on the topic of DD hunting, there's the occasional match when all that will be left of the enemy team is one (or two) DDs whilst you may have two or three BBs and yourself; of that's the case it's pretty much up to you to protect the BBs from torpedoes, these battles will be the ones where long range torps are useful as you can harass and flush enemy DD out of a smoke screen with them then lay down fire when you detect them.
In the matches where you get equally paired try using torps as a distraction so you can use AP to land cits on enemy cruisers is also highly effective.
Demo expert may be useful too, setting higher tier ships on fire is a great way to gnaw away at their HP while hiding behind cover.
Knowing when to engage too is heavily tied to cruiser warfare. You're large enough to be easily cited and killed by enemy BBs in a volley or two but small enough to remain undetected until the enemy battleships are otherwise distracted, then you can either set them alight to easily chew through their HP or hunt other cruisers, sometimes you'll be thrown into a fight whether you like it or not, if so, try and face the enemy with your ship more or less head on making serpentine maneuvers through the water, you'll reduce your ships 'signature' to guns, be able to dodge torpedoes more easily and hopefully survive until you get to cover or destroy the enemy.

Maybe it's a lower tier thing though with my Königsberg firing torps at enemy cruisers (even if I know they're just out of torpedo range) usually sends their captains into an "OSHI- there's fish in the water!" panic allowing for me to get a few free hits in before they realize the torps were no threat at all. If I'm lucky their "evasive maneuvering" will have given me a look at their broadside, meaning that if I aim well (and am lucky) I can two shot them with AP citadel hits, if not one citadel usually panics the captain more causing him to either tuck tail and run or try and make a suicide run at me.

[mystikmind2005]

Regarding the long range torps - never bother 'targeting' a ship at long range, they will definately change course at some point, so, if that ship is going full speed, target 50% (or more) closer than what targeting says..... you know they will turn, targeting closer gives you at least some chance of hitting them as opposed to NONE if following what targeting says.