Atago (and other IJN heavy cruisers) modules

[Rurikon]

Steering gears mod. 3 vs concealment mod. 1? I feel like being able to dodge faster is better than concealment, since IJN cruiser concealment is already decent. The only thing I would regret is the +5% to enemy dispersion, but I think it's worth losing.

[Gummiheng]

I would choose steering gear mod 3 just for the sake of being annoying to enemy 😛

[ShiraYukira]

invisible fire doesnt exist anymore
so you are basically choosing more evasion or just being spotted by enemy dd slightly later and closer to enemy dd

[legionary2099]

I don't think better rudder will be that good. Mainly because hewvy cruisers in general bleed a ton of speed when hard turning. So you become alot slower by hard braking which could be detrimental to survival.

 

[yansuki]

concealment for me. atago already has responsive rudder, enough to dodge most aim. you only need turn when its ready to fire anyway.

also you can outspot usn cruiser with concealment. and invisi-torps too.

[zergling_]

Also dont forget with concealment its easier to disengage so you can have better control as to when and where to fight

[TD1]

Concealment mod 1 is a no brainer for me.

 

It is one of the most useful modules, to the point that I argue it may be a bit too useful (for the record, my stance matches famed WG CC from NA LittleWhiteMouse). It's also responsible for why tier 8 DDs have a significant performance jump over their tier 7 brethren, given how they have access to this mod and concealment is such an important aspect of destroyers.

 

The only ships I don't run them on are ships that are gonna be spotted from over 15km away; given how I argue that you're gonna be spotted anyway so the concealment mod is of questionable value (ships like Kii come to mind).

[BunnyDragon]

Concealment mod and captain skill as well.

Just having this on your cruiser brings tremendous benefits to you.  It helps you disengage easier, (especially with those bbs who actually push smartly) or get into position easier.  That extra 1.1 or so helps a lot for most cruisers. 

[Rina_Pon]

Both are valid, neither makes a massive difference, and which is best depends on your playstyle... and is anyway situational.

I run concealment mod on Atago these days because I tend to play the ship like a mini-Zao. My Zao captain does double duty. A lot of spotting, a lot of sneak attacks.

Even after the nerf to CE, or perhaps because of it, CM1 feels useful. Not quite so much in 4 CV games, but those are thankfully not so frequent in 0.8.0.2.

RSM3 allows you to dodge return fire after you open up in open water, and it means you can kite better. The thing is I don't find Atago is best put to use as a kiting ship. If you disagree by all means mount RSM3... it's not like there's a wrong choice here.

[ShiraYukira]

i just max rudder on both atago and zao for me hahaha 
yes you technically lose most of your speed by turning hard with max rudder but doesnt matter because for myself i probably be shooting constantly so the concealment really doesnt matter

[S4pp3R]

Concealment.

One of the most powerful things you can do in an IJN CA is do an early support for your DD, with their railguns, mad accuracy and high damage per volley all you need to do is know how to aim and position well and 'bam!' there's 50-75% of enemy DDs HP gone. This will often mean enemy DD is a 1-shot or dead if someone else manages to get a shell or two to hit.

Concealment allows you to get that little bit closer.

Do you know how easy it is to hit an enemy DD at 10km with IJN CA guns?