The French Battlecruiser Experience

[@Ace42x]

I just got Marseille. I've enjoyed them, TBH. The Honoré coal captains really help them. It's nice forcing a cruiser onto the enemy matchmaker when you're playing something that is effectively a squishy battleship. Like the opposite of the Elbing where you're forcing a ship that counters you onto the enemy team. The main issue is that, unlike good HE farmers, it's really easy for your team-mates to gold brick and reduce your efficacy. So many games would see me make a game-winning play with some meaty dev strikes, and then potatoes just sit back and drool while I'm just doing substandard chip damage because the enemy's suddenly realised that I'm the only real threat on the team and started angling to counter me. So many potatoes just refusing to punish enemy mistakes. Routinely tanking 2 million damage in them, despite the squishy bows thanks to the great HP pool; although that's also somewhat down to team-mates goldbricking and bottom scoring refusing to contribute to the matches. The progression from Cherbourg to Brest seemed spot on too. At first I was frustrated with the MM in Brest, thanks to seeing Superships; but by the end the better guns on the Brest really won me over. The power increase from the reload upgrade module combined with slightly higher calibre (and thus better alpha) felt just right to maintain battle impact. I think my main disappointment was that I didn't feel like my rewards matched my contribution to the game: Because they're not great at killing DDs, I wasn't getting the sort of base XP a lot of cruisers get whilst dealing substantially lower damage totals - often getting 2nd or 3rd place scores when I felt like I'd had way more battle impact (and having an outstanding W/L and KDR too). Because they're not true battleships, there were a lot of situations where what could've been a true dev strike ended up just being "tons and tons of damage, but no kill". RB'd 2-salvo on a full health ibuki? Left him on 1k of health, and he was finished off by an Edinburgh; it was hard not to wonder what would've happened if I was in my JB instead of the Brest. Pretty sure if I had enough CO skills to get the +5% AP damage the experience would've felt tangibly better. You can deal some really filthy AP damage at broadside battleships; but unless they have particularly squishy broadsides, you're not getting those devastating kills - you're dealing big 30, 40k numbers in a pretty short space of time, but because it's not citadel damage you find the ships just get burnt down or their turrets penetrated by someone coincidentally dealing the last 4k blow. They're kinda fun, but it's just a tad irritating when your giant air-detection radius means you can't make safe use of your speed to position aggressively; and when team-mates sabotage positioning so all of a sudden your AP becomes redundant and you're just doing lacklustre chip damage instead while full health battleship team mates are trying to farm HE from miles back for no reason.

[@CarlosdCover]

the ships feels like they were introduced so many years ago and now they are somhow obsolete against so many types of farmes/overmatch and gimmincs.

[@deweybrightside2276]

I blame Jingles for getting me into this game, and watching Flamuu and Flambass helped make me understand this game to the point where I wasn't just sailing around...but you have some of the best content regarding how to navigate the feculent waters of this game and still find some joy. Thank you, good sir.

[@rjcolombe]

Also grinding Brest right now. My only issues are the extremely long reload time and very short duration of the reload booster.

[@JSNDragon]

The tier 10 gets down to a 21s reload time, it feels significantly better than the Brest.

[@rjcolombe]

@@JSNDragon No doubt. Unfortunately, that doesn't help shore up the deficiencies that Brest has.

[@Cactusjugglertm]

@@JSNDragon I agree so hard. That reload makes things alot more enjoyable. I also feel that the guns are abit more consistent. What do you think?

[@JSNDragon]

@@Cactusjugglertm I agree, just having more barrels helps with consistency, and the extra turret means losing one doesn't cut your dmg in half. However, it does suck that you can't fire all 9 barrels directly forward.

[@jlthiess]

Heh... grinding Brest

[@gregorychoubana6755]

I personally really like the Brest. I agree with your analysis on its downsides but for me it was and is a fun ship to play.

[@wuzey2006]

what's fun about it? smaller, just much weaker guns than JB, actually worse reload, less range, worse armor, and less hp. This will be a more painful grind than FDG or ITA bbs.

[@SofaKingA]

@@wuzey2006 if he has fun then he has fun. When someone has fun in a ship it doesn't have to make sense on paper. Spreadsheet doesn't dictate fun.

[@jackaubrey8614]

And isn't that the main reason most people play this game? To have FUN. Forget about the spreadsheet fanatics and enjoy.....

[@angngocphucnguyen2007]

The reason i Love Brest is that most of my enemy in ranked (S7) doesn't know how to deal with this ship . Iowas , Georgias , Germans BCs Soviet BBs ,Italians and UK BBs just show entirely their side for me , cause they think for a cruiser , it AP Alpha damage is around 5k-6k ( like Petro ) . That is when i punch them with 2+ citadel , they immediately retreat . The Engine Boost allow me to chase them down , the Reload Booster allowed me to throw some disgusting HE salvos when their DCP is down . The only problems i faced in ranked S7 were to deal with Musashi and some yolo DDs ( cause lack of the Radar) , though the Hydro did the thing . So in conclusion , if you play France and UK BBs , this ships will be very easy for you to play . If you are Brawlers , this ships might get a little tough to learn things out . Good luck to Captains who willing to grinding it to Marseilles

[@old_guard2431]

Bought into the Cherbourg at Tier VIII when they first came out, couldn’t make it work, sold it. Not looking back. Although I have had better luck with the Dunkerque (yeah, nominally a battleship) recently, so might try the line again, don’t know. . .

[@seanelucero]

That push into a six way crossfire just a misplay. No ship will survive that

[@2pipesloaded]

I just got the Cherbourg and wit a 20 point cappy I played 1 game and the dispersion was perfect and this is the only reason I posted a comment I usually agree with you.

[@sameerkharade7750]

The 28s reload is unreasonably long especially on Cherbourg. The T9 has the same problem and it isn't mitigated much by the reload mod in last slot. The best of battlecruisers / super cruisers have reload of 20s or less, but 28s is too much. I'd rather play Georgia or the upcoming British batllecruisers

[@Virgilfinnatell]

28 seconds when a Vanguard with 380s and the same number of guns has 25s reload.

[@zaeltrus]

Wow the 30 sec on my Borodino feels like a lifetime, on a cruiser it must be horrible

[@noteboopad93]

That Georgia battle was really angering lol

[@alpha5449]

No T10 play? I wonder if Marseille is worth the grind. Especially having the CONDE already.

[@evolutionari]

I came back home and wondered if you'd have any new videos. Voila, 9 minutes ago! I'm at Brest now, really felt like an upgrade from T8.

[@snowglyder]

Nice info! Also wanted to say that the sped up video really made the positioning decisions stand out.

[@johnweir9447]

in the aggressive battle, it looked like the mass didn't even load in, seriously a potato.

[@eriklerougeuh5772]

i like this kind of ship, a quick hvy cruiser, you make tonn of good game with him. i can tank a rush from face in backward, i can follow DD with my speed/hydro/secondary. i can flee or push quickly. so yes, he isnt as solid than a battleship, but he can relocate, and he isnt always ehre for tnak, stay hide a bit is usefull too.

[@avgjoeavglife]

I actually like the French cruisers, it takes time to learn them but once you do they're pretty effective.

[@cubefloob]

I loved grinding em. Am used to bad RNG dispersion anyways, since I main BBs. I more likely see them as a squishy BB with Cruiser advantages, such as speed and consealment. You learn fast that full nose in isnt good. I, myself, have the mod that tells me how angled I am to the enemy, and always aim to be angled 30-45° (depending on enemy ofc). Since you have a good belt and really good firing angles, you can bounce almost always through baiting enemys into shooting said belt while remaining to be able to shoot all guns. Smart aggression and crossfires are the way. IMO!

[@hwill2453]

The line didnt seem so bad in ranked but play my first random game yesterday and yikes.... that was so unfun. As you say PQ....all the downsides of BBs + armor of a cruiser. I didnt have a horrible game but couldnt stop telling myself that if I had been on a real CA or CL I would have had twice the damage.

[@armoredfrost]

The main problem when you move forward and play closer to your destroyers is not so much the ship, but the persistent lack of support from other ships like BBs and other cruisers.

[@frankthefreedom244]

Ship was fun to play with, enjoyed it more than the last 2-3 release. I really suggest using the HE often and have the 1 point captain skill to switch shell type faster.

[@AdamtheRed-]

Very sneaky naming yourself Not_PQ. No one will ever suspect!

[@bokute2020]

I used to love the Alsace a lot but the guns are just keeping me on edge of rage with 9/10 times shooting a full salvo at a broadside target 14 15km away return almost nothing but misses and some overpens.

[@datszatta]

i had fun grinding the brest and now at the t10. the t10 is one of my fav ships right now. wish the reload was shorter but can deal with it.

[@zorromontuno]

Welcome to my no citadel world :P

[@seanelucero]

Love your vids PQ. Plz do a series called "how to be a unicum" for each ship class and nation. Thank you.

[@joedanker3267]

Ah mirrored spawns - it's burned me before. I assumed I was OK in my San Diego despite being the only t8 in a t10 match. But nope, I got two BBs 2 CAs, and 2 Dds up in my grill to counter my CL, 1 dd and 1 bb on my side! I got quickly deleted from the island camping nook I figured was safe at the outset. They just pushed me right off the jump and that was it. I won't assume mirrored spawns ever again, especially in a light cruiser in a double up tier match!

[@GainingDespair]

I've honestly really enjoyed this line, I don't see much of a downside (besides fire), in fact as someone who loves it I have to say it feels OP. Fast Armor Front facing turrets Hydro Reload booster Heal This has become my favorite line in the game, it really suits my play style.

[@minhqun]

Other comments: Brest is a really good ship to grind, to play etc. Me, 13y.o mentally: Hehe they like Brests

[@ejdLB]

Fairly certain you were just firing to the side of the citadel of that Georgia multiple times.

[@AllAhabNoMoby]

If I'm gonna have BB reload times, I'm gonna be playing a BB.

[@CesarinPillinGaming]

I have to agree, this line also does not seem to be for me. The Brest for example.. as stupidly high reload.. but lackluster damage, and lackluster accuracy, crappy armor.. It's like a very bad henry with battleship reload.

[@anubhavdassarma7230]

It's refreshing to see someone admit a certain thing not being their cup of tea. Whether it be a moviegoer or a product reviewer, they always say something is shit not because of the actual quality, but because it didn't exceed their expectations or didn't match their vision, or they hyped it up too much, etc. I'm not playing WoWs anymore, but so far, these cruisers look unique. Not everyone has a shit ton of coal or gold to spend, so these are nice alternatives to supercruisers while maintaining the French flavour

[@ardenritzel4052]

I mean, this ship has to be played like the Conde. You flank and get the broadsides. Staying dark, but then why not just take a elbing.

[@elliston001]

I played this game for a while a couple years back. I was terrible at it, managed to get myself up to tier 9 just winging it completely without a clue. I'm now going to start playing again from scratch, would anyone reccomend which line of ships I should start with this time, any preference to battleship or cruiser?

[@BruderRaziel]

Looking at the minimap there seems to be a staggering difference between what PQ calls flat broadside and what I would call flat broadside. I am also unsure if it is quite fair to play these things like a Jean Bart and then be surprised to have a bad time.

[@daveevanz4569]

What is the best CA/CL line to grind now guys ?

[@Laivavihupaska]

This ship line could be good, but lack of 32mm armor and icebreaker makes them basicly just a frustrating mess

[@haza4565]

I think the reason for you not enjoying this ship that much is your playing it wrong. The Brest is a massive upgrade over the Cherbourg, way better guns for both AP and HE. These ships are fast and maneuverable and although they have all their guns on the front much like a Nelson, you should not be trying to bow tank. You're supposed to run around at max speed, dodging shells, getting massive potential dmg and using HE and AP when each is better as they are both very good.

[@acyde125]

The weirdest thing about these guns is that they're somehow capable of both overpens and shatters at the same time bc of the wonky dispersion since you'll either only hit the superstructure or the main belt. I don't get the point of these ships beyond "flanker with big guns"

[@mikeconnor7394]

I am starting my French line grind to T10 BBS and cruisers - I have the JB since it came out - I knew the bbs would not be like the JB - I found the dispersion was frustrating as my JB & Bourgogne were far better - I like them but these won’t be a go to line for me

[@qwinn9963]

It might not be your ship, but she surely is my elf waifu that I am going to oath when I get her

[@FormulaZR]

Targets that run aground feel like some of the hardest targets in the game to hit. No "shells falling short" bug, though.

[@Vyviel]

Lmao so true its like the RNG protects them even seems to happen when I run aground shells missing by miles or doing next to no damage

[@Hydra360ci]

Reload booster is total crap on the t8 though. Doesn't last longer than 1 volley and I doubt it shaves more than 5 seconds from a reload.

[@dlm9709]

Quite like the Cherbourg, I get that the brest is basically a worse jb, but you do get hydro and more mobility

[@JSNDragon]

You're also a JB that takes up a cruiser slot and not a BB slot, that has it's pros and cons as well.

[@raynoldbetdavid]

Is that navigator mod on ModStation or Aslain?

[@infeedel7706]

Thanks PQ

[@Cactusjugglertm]

Ive grinded the line, and I think its got the same problem as the original french cruisers. The things they do are just being done better by other ships! They all make you wish you were in a different ship, not because they are bad, but because there are simply much better options in different lines (or special ships). PS! I enjoyed the tier X alot more than the tier 8 and 9. Also, prepare to be burnt. For a loooong time.

[@azh4579]

The reload is unnecessarily long even if the AP is above average. That being said I had a ton of success with double rudder Cherbourg, thing turns like a DD

Kinda love the brest and the tanking with the speed boost. Hope the Marseille gets gud.

[@Brettcroese]

how far back in your chair are you sitting that ur clicking ur abilities lol

[@miked815]

I got the Brest a week ago for 1k doubloons from the armory... was that a mistake by WG? Did they intend to put it up for that cheap?

[@eriklerougeuh5772]

you just had luck, the event is like 60loot box with 1tier7 premium, and 1tier9 prerealeased, but since a fifa judgement in belgium, theres rule in europe for prevent company to sell lootbox without telling what is inside before. so if you had a ship in the 1st lootbox on 62 for 1000doublon, they advertise: brest 1000doublon... but you can also should have him only at the last lootbox. and spent 60k doublon before have him...the only difference is you know what is inside the enxt lootbox, for counter this effect, wargaming decided to give a discount if you buy multiple lootbox at same time instead 1 by 1.

[@irfaanharits4188]

i like marseille , just play like henry and you got great game, long heavy he suport ( i try both non ifhe and ifhe build and more like ifhe (for raw dammage battleships))

[@Omegawerewolfx]

Doesn't matter how fun they are or how some can hit.....you have better options with faster reloads. Just go German BC, Alaska, Napoli, or even Atago. Petro still exists. This line isn't vital or important. If you like it, play it. If you want easier wins, find something else.

[@tahiribnmohammad5410]

this is probably the best tech tree tier 9 cruiser or do you guys think its maybe somethign else?

[@Hydra360ci]

idk... guess you could be in a British Lion, taking up a BB slot, with the exact same weak hull, long reload, experience (though slightly covered up by a few super heals).

[@markchristou3352]

Totally agree frustrating experience

[@kyutablet]

Yeah Brest can get smacked pretty hard with overmatch. The internal armor is pretty weak too.

[@ishaansendave]

Please do one for the t10 version of this. I am excited to see it!

[@artic6015]

The Cherbourg is hit and miss with the guns, kind of like the Dunkerque. Better reload on the Dunkerque. I don't play either ship that often Used to like the Dunkerque a while back. Can't comment on the Brest yet as I have not gotten it yet.

[@berkdikmen95]

What I understood from this video: Potato simply don't play ships with little guns so he doesn't appreciate the capabilities of a pocket bb in cruiser spot.

[@JSNDragon]

His Georgia complaints are him putting himself in a terrible situation and going "I'm shocked that my cruiser pretending to be a BB couldn't kill the BB." There are very few Tier 9 Cruisers that wouldn't have gotten smashed by the Georgia at that range, if any.

[@xsu-is7vq]

@@JSNDragon he wasn’t complaining about getting chunked by Georgia guns, but his own guns unable to do consistent damage to a broadside ship in return and can’t reload faster than a BB.

[@ainsleyhariott4353]

Funny thing is in that Georgia clip if you were in des moines you probably would have killed him

[@Sneddz1]

He prob would have killed all three.

[@matsab7930]

Dm would have melted him. Hell, even a Neptune would have, provided he didn’t get deleted in one salvo…

[@beyond560]

The Royal Navy battlecrusiers have already powercreeped this line

[@eriklerougeuh5772]

they need to release new branch overpowered for make people buy it, its buisness, but if british BB gave also speed and big gun and engine boost like the brest, they are really big target and less tanky, i got wrecked lot of time with them.

[@capthappy8884]

Liked the cher alot! HATED the 9, the 10 is fine. Wasn't a terrible grind.

[@Vvvrrrmmm]

I like it a lot, but then i don't have any of the OP ships you mention and they are no longer available

[@JoyousOblivion]

PQ: I got through the grind in 9 games… PQ: I also used some xp boosters… No, you used all the xp boosters lol. I saw 26k exp in a loss at the start of a video.

[@nickarooroo6397]

I like them, my only worry is that the new British Battlecruisers coming out next have already overshadowed these things...shame.

[@Sneddz1]

My opinion is that there are too many cruisers that can pump out crazy amounts of dmg quickly to be bothered with a ship that has a slow rate of fire / average dispersion / no insane alpha. If you want tanking, play a BB. If you want massive alpha, play a BB. Its speed is nice until people learn to aim then it isn't as big of an advantage. I am bias though because I absolutely despise guns that are all over the place. I just think there are better ships at the tier and I am not sure what this really brings to the table.

[@AH-pq7yw]

I gave up at Cherbourg, long reload and bad dispersion aren't for me.

[@borosdavidattila]

Your problem is your attitude towards the ship. Throughout the video you are talking about it as a cruiser with battleship guys, when its a cruiser with big cruiser guns( if that makes sense). Most of your frustration came from expecting high AP salvos when from my point of view thats farthest from what this ship is about. From my experience the only thing the AP is good for is shooting broadside cruisers and very close broadside battleships for some more dmg. Citadel on battleships is not something you should expect but something you should be happy that happened but never rely on. What this ship is about is causing fires and dealing decent HE dmg. What Ive been doing is get a fire with a shot until they dmg con, once its over use the reload to cause as many perma fires as possible. Also playing around islands is a sort of a must, with the speed boost its very good at going back-and-forth, i also have the propulsion upgrade for that. I had a game where I got to "my" island at the beginning of the game and never left it. I got 17 fires and survived the game with almost 3m potential DMG. Also you forgot to mention that even though Brest has the same reload as Chergbourg it gets 330m guns instead of the 305mm cherbourg has and literally gets double fire chance (34% instead of 17%). I wouldnt call the maneuverability decent but above avarage, with speed boost its one of the fastest cruisers and even tho the rudder shift is rather bad it barely loses any speed while turning so in T9 it has the 3rd best turning radius among cruisers.

[@adambrooker5649]

Ive been told not to go bow in with this, to really kit it more.. so angles, and rear facing enemy... but agree dont like Cherbourg

[@MrCrossTd]

I don't think its fair to compare any high tier cruiser to Alaska, that thing is just broken. I think if you compare the bre(a)st to ibuki, roon etc etc it comes out on top for kiting and pushing.

[@dohaeras8642]

I play with BREST it's a great ship to me

[@rosalina2938]

I feel like they only add crappy techtree lines.

[@aproudbaguette3605]

Man that Georgia part got me REALLY frustrated and it wasn't even me who played, this line is pointless imo, either they should have cruisers dispersion, or better reload

[@SappeREffecT]

PQ, why oh why are you always playing so static in them? They're 100% flankers and not small JBs... Mobile, shooting over your shoulder and creating extra threatening AP fire angles.

[@soffici1]

Played Cherbourg and it's a fucking piece of steaming hot shit. I ended up fXPing the last 50k XP, as it was not a good experience. Brest is slightly better, but still a piece of shit. I gather Marseille is supposedly MUCH better than the two combined. Let's see

[@diegowushu]

The reload is way too punishing. The t8 is really hard to enjoy tbh.

[@Fr_Fa]

You are not fare with this new line. Weak armor because u kind of rush 2 lenine and a HE buffalo... You have the same bias in the previous video (Cherbourg). I can understand it's not ur line. And i'm agree with you these ship have ok or good perf. but u don't feel the reward when u have a good game. Be without enthusiast for this line doesn't need to be that bias.

[@balverine07]

I dont really think comparing a tech tree ship to a premium ship is a valid comparison, its like saying "yeah this thing is good but if you give WG $30 to 80$ you can have something better" great ok but i dont want WG to have that money, so what other non paid money ship does this compare to and how does it stack up to that? Also see a lot of people comparing it to BB's and saying why play it? its a cruiser, therefore if theres a queue limitation on class or a mission that needs a class this isnt a BB but can function similar to one, so lets stop comparing it to things in the BB class since thats also not helpful, probably still isnt russian bias OP and thats fine but its just idiotic to say "oh man id rather just take a musashi than the brest!" like yeah ok duh its a bb vs a large cruiser those arent the same thing, thanks for wasting everyones time.

[@shanehebert396]

I thought the tier 8 one was going to be good... going up against them I've seen a number of players do very well with them. I got very few games where I felt I had even a moderately good game. I'm in Brest now but only got it last night so haven't had time to get a feel of it, yet.

[@wuzey2006]

why'd you think that? everything at first glance is just dunkirk but worse LMAO

[@namiajhahs1878]

I grinded this one Its not a great ship frankly speaking 25 mm front armour is shit The broadside is huge 25 seconds and even with reload booster i can only get 2 salvos out Even JB gets out 3 salvos in RB And concealment is also worse than most t9 cruisers Definitely not a tanky cruiser Alaska / Agir even Seigfried over this one

[@kevink6265]

Spoiler warning, the T10 is hot garbage. The dispersion, terrible gun angles had me regretting the whole line. As recent dumpster fires go, this is just a little better than the PA cl line.

[@AggrarFarmer]

You missplayed because you play like driving an american cruiser. Thse French made to rush into flanks not camp at island.

[@claudekim7876]

Its not just u. I see tier x version of this cause 0 impact and lose us the game constantly. I can kill the tier x version in a tier 9 crusier most of the tume cuz it has such bad reload and accuracy

[@ardenritzel4052]

And you pushed in and tried to bow tank in a ship that isn’t suppose to bow tank. Playing it like a jeanbart isn’t the play style of the line. Further more, this ship has the largest gun for cruisers. Every ship has a play style. Lastly that flat broad side-“George”, he wasn’t flat broadside clearly angled if you look the angle mod in the bottom left…. So

[@matsab7930]

Yeah… shut up. That Georgia should not have been allowed to sit that broadside to a ship with supposed high-calibre guns. I would citadel that thing in a dm, Napoli, Venezia; hell, maybe even in a kleber. That fact that this ship failed to citadel that guy is just ridiculous. If the pen is crap, why would you ever choose to play this ship over an American heavy cruisers? You even get a radar with them, and the reload booster is irrelevant because the American ca’s just permanently have more than twice as fast reload on significantly better guns…

[@ardenritzel4052]

@@matsab7930 was not broadside you not.

[@dashadower]

He was flat broadside. The actual angle of where he was shooting was much flatter than what was shown in the mod(which was negligibly small anyways) because of the hull's shape.

[@ardenritzel4052]

@@dashadower maybe, I mean over pin/dispersion gods duck us all the time…. The tier 9 and 10 troll just like most.

[@haza4565]

@@matsab7930 Actually you are wrong. The pen is fantastic on this ship.. the reason why he didn't do much dmg to the Georgia is that the shells are such high velocity combined with close range.. his shells are over-penning the Georgia plus it has a low citadel combined with the flat arcs of the Brest makes it hard to citadel at close range. Plus he was an idiot for putting himself in that position.

[@rodrigogodoi4250]

This game is getting boring quickly… worning down fast.

[@paddington1670]

i dont like this line