After grinding up the American cruiser line, I finally unlocked the New Orleans today, and have officially caught back up to my progress from the closed beta test. It took ages, as I rarely get much time for WoWs now days, but it certainly was satisfying. From memory the New Orleans was a great ship, and felt like a massive improvement over the Pensacola, which, as a new player at the time, was a pretty damn disappointing ship. Since then, I've been right up the 'merican cruiser line in the game's open form, and I have gained new appreciation for many of the ships I originally found disappointing, the Pensacola being the biggest of those reversals.
The Pensacola class cruiser is one of the more hated, or at least unappreciated ships in the game, and with good reason. Any player upgrading from the Cleveland class at tier 6 finds themselves faced with a ship that seems less armoured, has ludicrously vulnerable citadels, and much slower firing guns. The Pensacola feels like an honest to goodness downgrade from its predecessor. However, as I said in my review of the Pensacola, the ship is actually pretty great when you learn its quirks and make it work for you. Seeing it as a downgrade from the Cleveland is a pretty dim view once you start putting the Pensacola in its element, and start hunting other cruisers. The 8 inch guns it packs can sink an enemy cruiser of equal or lower tier in about 3-4 citadel hits, and the performance of these guns is generally better than that of its contemporaries. While your armour makes it imperative that you shimmy and shake like a sneaky snake in order to stay alive, the Pretty Ms. Penny makes a mess out of pretty much any cruiser it finds. Similarly, it is a great DD hunter, even though it lacks the Cleveland's rapid fire. The 8 inchers will smash apart a DD in one or two volleys, making head on charges at DDs a super viable tactic. Only really battleships seem to be the Ms. P's real nemesis, as they are virtually guaranteed to citadel you if they land a shell in your postcode. Even putting your ship into a fully angled position seems to do nothing to save your sweet little citadel. My experience of the Penny is that of the ultimate glass cannon. Some matches I would absolutely wreck face, scoring dozens of hits, with plenty of citadels, all while dodging the lion's share of return fire. Other times, I would cop a single battleship salvo in the opening seconds of a match, and go the bottom without firing a single shot. Awareness, and patience is the key to the Penny, and daring when the time is right.
My final match in this ship was one of the most satisfying I've ever had, and I managed to bring down 3 cruisers, and a DD in about a minute before finally being sunk. Screaming, "Fight me IRL," and charging in to claim my three victims with a total of 4 salvos (each with multiple citadel hits), I actually didn't mind dying. I've now sold the ship, seeing that as a fitting tribute, and now I'm on my way towards rediscovering the magic of the New Orleans. Hopefully it is still the ship I remember, and doesn't end up getting outshone by my new appreciation for the USS Pensacola.
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