Continuing on my quest to get new players safely tucked in to the American cruiser line in WoWs, I've come half way up the tech tree to the tier 5 ship, the Omaha. In my last post, some of you might remember that I made a great big apology to the t4 cruiser, the Phoenix. That was a ship that I pretty much skipped during the closed beta test of WoWs, mainly because it just looked like a crappier version of the Omaha. After learning the Phoenix's slaloming technique, I revised that view, and accepted the ship for the cool piece of floating excellence that it was. I did then go on to say that tier for tier I felt it was better than the Omaha, and having played a week's worth of games in the Omaha, I can say that I still felt the Phoenix was more fun (it's a ship you go friggin skiing in), I have finally settled in to appreciating the Omaha for the excellent ship that it is, too.
As previously discussed, the Omaha is the evolution of the Phoenix class of light scout cruiser that was theorized at the end of The First World War, and developed into the Omaha before The Second. It modernized the WW1 design ethos, and in particular it did away with its original intended purpose, that of a reconnaissance ship, and destroyer leader. It still functioned as a scout, but launched float planes to do its real recce work, and took over more of a fleet screening role. In WoWs, this role comes to life in game, and if you want to get the most out of this ship, you'll avoid treating it like a roided-up destroyer, and start to teach yourself the mid to late game cruiser role that you've been building toward since our first cruiser blog; you'll become a badass support ship; all-rounder; and guardian of truth, justice, and delicate capital ship buttocks.
The Omaha suffers a distinct loss of maneuverability from its predecessor, which it trades off for the ability to launch float fighters, and replaces some of its free-standing guns with turrets. The decline in maneuverability was a real kick in the balls, and for players that prefer a more independent gameplay style, and ability to hunt the enemy free of friendly fleets, this will mark a step down in enjoyment from the Phoenix. However, if you adjust yourself to a slightly more relaxed game style, and focus your mind on a supporting role, you'll very quickly see why this ship is utterly excellent.
The Omaha has good concealment for a cruiser, decent speed, and a good armament for its tier. Standard cruiser behavior applies when playing this bad boy: fall into a position to support your battleships in the battle line, stick close behind your destroyers to cover them during a brawl with other DDs, or stick close to your carrier and keep that tubby boy alive. Supporting may sound like a bit of a pacifist way to play, but remember, this is not a "hold back and heal" type of support, it's the "let some bigger or faster dude take the brunt, while you shoot" kind of deal. Whenever engaging ships of the same size or larger, consider holding fire until they've engaged someone bigger than you on your team. If you are alone (don't be, you are best when supporting), you should start looking for ways to increase your suitability, like angling prow towards the enemy, making a b-line for the nearest cover, or just pulling back past your detectability range and holding fire. Again, you say, why the hell would I want to play a ship that doesn't get stuck in? Well, remember this, it will still always fall to you to prioritize giving enemy destroyers the savage beating that they so richly deserve (filthy hun weasels, fighting their dirty underhanded war), all while making life easier for your own destroyers (Splendid fellows, brave heroes, risking life and limb for Blighty!).
What the Omaha suffers for most is probably a bit of mediocrity. It's good at killing destroyers, but what cruiser isn't? It can offer better air cover than average ships of its tier, again cruiser standard. And it can fit just about any role if it needs to... yeah. Throughout the American cruiser line you'll find ships like the St Louis, which is famously beefy and vicious, the Phoenix which is sleek and punishing to those that underestimate it, and then there is the tier 6 Cleveland class cruiser, which people install the game in the first place to try out. During the closed beta, I skipped the Phoenix, and played the bare minimum number of games I could in the Omaha in order to get to that tier 6 golden boy, and with good reason. Replaying the Omaha, and giving it a proper go has taught me that simply being good for your tier and not shining like some of the other ships in the line up isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a new player, you might find that the Omaha, a lot like the Chester, is one of those ships you don't remember with overt fondness, or play your best games in, but it is certainly the ship that made you play better. After the Phoenix's unique style, I feel like the Omaha reigned me in a little. It reminded me what a cruiser was really all about, and I was surprised at how well I played when I adjusted to the style of gameplay that I would have to master for the rest of the line.
What you should look forward to in this ship is it's simplicity, stability, and focused cruiser style. In my ongoing efforts to teach newer players better habits, and older players an appreciation for the methods of learning, I'd put the Omaha as a critical step on that path. Undoubtedly some of you will ignore it in your frenzy to hit t6, but don't be in too much of a rush. The lessons learned here will help you graduate to a better understanding of the game.
Oh, and it has torpedoes... I swear if you fire these things at enemies over 5km away, and hit me in the back, I'm going to fucking murder you in your sleep and ##(*&$Y(#*&%TY()*YT@!!
Transmission ends...
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