Devonshire review

[Rina_Pon]

I've been playing the British heavy cruiser line a little recently. I got up to Devonshire during the early access event, but never bothered with it until now.

My overall impression is this ship is simply straight up bad. It's not competitive at her tier, and has no redeeming qualities. 

I've played all the cruiser lines except Russia up to at least T8. If Devonshire has a viable playstyle I think I would have found it.

The positives:

A big heal. Fast acceleration. Moderately nimble. Heavy hitting guns, both HE and AP. High fire chance. Fast turret traverse. Good torpedo firing arcs.

Which on paper sounds pretty attractive until you consider,

The negatives:

Slow, no armor, slow shell velocity, average concealment and short gun range.

The reason I say Devonshire is irredeemably bad is that there are only a finite number of maps and outcomes where you can get close enough to hit a target without getting obliterated, and most of those opportunities tend to arise past the 10 minute mark. I'm not saying you won't find those positions, I'm saying that the disadvantage of having to wait around to find them outweighs any gunpower advantage your ship has.

I found myself comparing Devonshire to Aoba a lot. Aoba has two less guns, but the guns are very similar in damage output, albeit with better dispersion and longer range. Aoba has enough armor to open water kite or even bow tank effectively. And enough speed to get in and out of trouble.

Aoba is flat out just a consistently more useful and effective heavy cruiser than Devonshire.

 

[S4pp3R]

3 minutes ago, Rina_Pon said:

I've been playing the British heavy cruiser line a little recently. I got up to Devonshire during the early access event, but never bothered with it until now.

My overall impression is this ship is simply straight up bad. It's not competitive at her tier, and has no redeeming qualities. 

I've played all the cruiser lines except Russia up to at least T8. If Devonshire has a viable playstyle I think I would have found it.

The positives:

A big heal. Fast acceleration. Moderately nimble. Heavy hitting guns, both HE and AP. High fire chance. Fast turret traverse. Good torpedo firing arcs.

Which on paper sounds pretty attractive until you consider,

The negatives:

Slow, no armor, slow shell velocity, average concealment and short gun range.

The reason I say Devonshire is irredeemably bad is that there are only a finite number of maps and outcomes where you can get close enough to hit a target without getting obliterated, and most of those opportunities tend to arise past the 10 minute mark. I'm not saying you won't find those positions, I'm saying that the disadvantage of having to wait around to find them outweighs any gunpower advantage your ship has.

I found myself comparing Devonshire to Aoba a lot. Aoba has two less guns, but the guns are very similar in damage output, albeit with better dispersion and longer range. Aoba has enough armor to open water kite or even bow tank effectively. And enough speed to get in and out of trouble.

Aoba is flat out just a consistently more useful and effective heavy cruiser than Devonshire.

Agreed

One of my first reviews was on her and I came to similar conclusions.

The trick I've found is hit for a salvo or two and then go dark. Alternatively, use islands.

It works better with Surrey though, and Surrey has the added benefit of Spotter but downside of T7 MM.

[Andy_Siau]

Wait til you grind to the Surrey

[legionary2099]

I grief for you being bearer of bad news :

Devonshire and Surrey are actually the lesser evil than the abandoned child that is Albemarle.

Albe is weak for her tier.

So let's talk why :

First her guns are functionally Surrey's gun, but a tier higher. Her AP is unusable, her HE damage is not that great and her DPM is meh. Plus they are short ranged and face hulls that are a lot more fire resistant.

She get super heal, but can't use it thanks to bad armor layout and thickness. Overmatched and citadel left right center even through angled arse. This make super heal useless.

Her mobility is comically bad. Acceleration is horrid and turn like a whale.

Good AA + concealment ? No CV don't care. They will spot you forever.

Torpedo angle will put you into citadel able angle. Think twice before using it.

So yeah brace yourself. Devonshire is a lot better than you think.

[Andy_Siau]

34 minutes ago, legionary2099 said:

I grief for you being bearer of bad news :

Devonshire and Surrey are actually the lesser evil than the abandoned child that is Albemarle.

Albe is weak for her tier.

So let's talk why :

First her guns are functionally Surrey's gun, but a tier higher. Her AP is unusable, her HE damage is not that great and her DPM is meh. Plus they are short ranged and face hulls that are a lot more fire resistant.

She get super heal, but can't use it thanks to bad armor layout and thickness. Overmatched and citadel left right center even through angled arse. This make super heal useless.

Her mobility is comically bad. Acceleration is horrid and turn like a whale.

Good AA + concealment ? No CV don't care. They will spot you forever.

Torpedo angle will put you into citadel able angle. Think twice before using it.

So yeah brace yourself. Devonshire is a lot better than you think.

How's the next which is Tier 9 Drake and 10 Goliath ?

[iDd_Sloth]

The line has been Weight and Measured and found WANTING!

[S4pp3R]

Disagree with many in here.

Albemarle is fine, just expect citadels and to be punished. It's a bit rough if your positioning is average.

The line are generalists, play with islands (not statically) and then when spotter is good to go, play at range and with your concealment.

If you can manage going dark at the right times, you will do well.

T9 Drake is the stand-out of the line IMO but you need to land your salvos due to the reload.

BUT

RN CAs are not for everyone and not a line I would recommend to more inexperienced captains.

[Metal_illness]

I just got Goliath, haven't played a game in her yet, but if she is anything like Drake, then she is a beast.

The tier 9 and 10 are the real gems of this branch.

I got 150k dmg in Drake often in randoms firing nothing but torps and HE.

[legionary2099]

8 hours ago, Andy_Siau said:

How's the next which is Tier 9 Drake and 10 Goliath ?

Drake is decent. Her AP is  good enough to citadel cruiser broadside at close 10km range. Her HE is awesome. Her armor is a lot better though you will still eat citadel when not angled right. What hold her back is : meh mobility, short range and long reload time. Good at kiting. 

Goliath is very good. It no longer have dumb armor profile, unlike earlier ship and can kite tank for days on end. Basically a slower less nimble but better armored Zao. Often act as AA barrier on flanks.

[dejiko_nyo]

RN CAs are basically IJN CAs with little tweaks here and there. They are played the same way with their long reload guns and crunchiness. In fact, they are the epitome of balancing whips within a class.

[Metal_illness]

I fully enjoyed both RN cruiser lines, having completed both within days of each other, well the tier 9 and 10s!.

Albemarle was hit or miss, but could have a few decent games. 

[Mechfori]

Think of it this way , the Royal Navy CA line are not really CA , they are CL with large calibre guns ( but without the smoke ) .