US CL line prioritise IFHE over CE?

[waichung1823]

So i just purchase Dallas. Same issue as La Gasolina, i am not sure which skill to be prioritised either, CE or IFHE first. I check the Wiki, it seems from Dallas to Cleveland needs IFHE to make HE shells work and US cruiser has good concealment which mean CE comes later? 

 

[Manacetamol]

CE first

IFHE later (19)

focus on helping DDs and try to survive longer in battles

 

[icy_phoenix]

1 hour ago, waichung1823 said:

So i just purchase Dallas. Same issue as La Gasolina, i am not sure which skill to be prioritised either, CE or IFHE first. I check the Wiki, it seems from Dallas to Cleveland needs IFHE to make HE shells work and US cruiser has good concealment which mean CE comes later? 

 

Well, bottom line, by the time you reach Cleveland, make sure you have a captain that has both skills.

For Dallas and Helena, you may get away without having CE. I would even say, go with IFHE first. Otherwise Dallas wont be able to penetrate any BB deck she meets. I was grinding Dallas on NA server the other day, 182 shell hits, 37 were penetrations (and I think those were on other DDs and CAs).

I played Helena with IFHE on SEA. No CE. Even with stock ship (low range), I have 73k+ average damage. CE will help you to get in places or get out of sticky situations, but it wont matter if you cant deal any damage. Better work on your map skills, take a flank where people cant focus, or use terrain covers to get to your favorite locations. Do not rely on CE too much. It will hurt you at times 😛

And obviously, the situation is different from La Gale. That is the last ship on MN cruiser line that *needs* IFHE. Meanwhile, the whole US CL line must have it.

[icy_phoenix]

However, if you aren't comfortable enough without CE, you can take CE, then try to make use of your AP. Fair warning tho, they are typical AP. Not the special ones UK CL or US CA lines get. So, shoot em to set on fire. Once you set fire, move on to another target, or switch to AP... .... ... etc etc.... I'm sure you know all these already.

[PeterMoe1963]

11 hours ago, waichung1823 said:

So i just purchase Dallas. Same issue as La Gasolina, i am not sure which skill to be prioritised either, CE or IFHE first. I check the Wiki, it seems from Dallas to Cleveland needs IFHE to make HE shells work and US cruiser has good concealment which mean CE comes later? 

There are already a few good answers here.

 

I think we all agree that both IFHE and CE are useful skill, so the question really is, what first. I don’t think this is clear cut and one recommendation will be perfect for everybody.

 

CE gives you a “wider band” between your gun range and spotted circle.

 

IFHE mean you do more damage.

 

If you play USN cruisers for a while, and you are not satisfied with the damage you do, IFHE may be the answer. You can use the map and islands for cover.

 

When you find that you often get spotted first and cannot control the engagement, you may want to go for CE first.

 

I just check some stats.

 

Dallas has 11.9km detection - 13km gun range

Helena has 11.9km detection - 13.2/14.6km gun range, depending on upgrade

Cleveland 11.9km detection - 14.2km gun range

Worchester 12.2km detection - 14.3km gun range.

 

USN cruisers do not have much more gun range, compared to their detection range.

 

Keep in mind from T8 Cleveland you can fit the Concealment Module, which will reduce detection by 10%.

 

Up to Helena, when Concealment Mod is not available, I would be inclined to pick CE first, for Random/Ranked. Helena has 15 guns, if your aim is good, you can have a lot of shells on target.

 

Also depends if you move your captains up the line. By the time your Dallas captain sits in Cleveland, you may have 14 points anyway and are able to have both CE and IFHE.

 

When the T7 and T8 operations come along again, and you have special flags, you may be able to make more than 20k command XP in one battle, you will train a captain quickly.

 

For operations, though, I’d pick IFHE, CE is waster there.