Azur Lane Gear Guide or HELP! WHAT DO I USE ON [SHIPNAME]?
Your Waifu Is SHIP's "What do I equip on this ship?" guides, now all in one place!
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GUIDE TO DD GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your DD has low FP/Efficiency (55-65 FP, 75-85% Eff) but a good Barrage / proc-on-fire skill, use 76mm for maximum rate of fire or QF 120mm single for slightly less RoF and more range+damage (eg. Ayanami, Yuudachi, Kawakaze, Yukikaze);
> If your DD has low FP/Efficiency and a bad Barrage, use 120mm for higher RoF or 127mm twin for higher Damage per Shot (eg. most IJN DDs);
> If your DD has good FP/Efficiency but a bad Barrage, use 120mm for higher RoF or 127mm twin for higher Damage per Shot (eg. most other DDs);
> If your DD has good FP/Efficiency (80+ FP, 110%+ Eff) and a good Barrage / proc-on-fire skill, use 100mm (eg. Javelin, Z23, Z46);
> If your CL/CA is a gunboat (ie. can mount DD secondaries), use 120mm dual for higher Rate of Fire or 127mm twin for higher Damage per Shot and longer range (eg. Cleveland, Wichita).
> If your BB/BC/BM is stuck with them, I am sorry for you; use the 120mm dual for a nice +25FP boost and a decent chance at stopping incoming fireboats.
> Note 1: because of her absurd Reload stat, Laffey is better off using the 127 twin rather than the 100mm.
> Note 2: if your DD can somehow equip CL guns (eg. Z23, Z25), DO NOT; while a DD gun's modifiers are worse than a CL gun's, their damage is pretty close and take MUCH longer to reload, meaning that by the time a CL gun has fired and reloaded, the DD gun has fired twice to four times already, resulting in considerably higher DPS (and more barrages).
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GUIDE TO CL GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your CL isn't called Belfast, Jintsuu, Sendai or Agano, use the 150mm twin (aka Tbtsk).
> If your CL IS called Belfast, use the 155mm Triple (aka Belgun).
> If your CL IS called Jintsuu, Sendai or Agano AND you're playing MANUAL, use the 150mm single; otherwise default to the 150mm twin (Tbtsk).
> If your BB/BC have access to them, use the Gold 155mm Triple for a hefty +45FP boost and a decent anti-fireboat solution; if you need more effective fireboat-stoppers, use the Tbtsk (for sparse incoming boats) or the US 152mm (for fireboat walls).
> Note 1: Equipping the Belgun on CLs that are not Belfast is possible and can achieve discrete success, but you have to play on MANUAL for it to have a shot at outdamaging the Tbtsk (against Light Armour) due to its much wider pattern and slower rate of fire.
> Note 2: if your CL can somehow equip DD guns (eg. Atlanta-class, Isuzu), ALWAYS DO. Reason's above.
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GUIDE TO CA GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your CA are being played MANUAL AND are confident you can land Pierces, use the 203 SKC to attempt to land said Pierces (CA AP has much worse modifiers than HE against Light, but it can still beat HE IF the shots Pierce).
> If your CA are being played AUTO, use the 203 Mounted / 203 Type 3 to make every shot count (CA HE has much superior modifiers against Light and can still Ignite harder enemies), as the AI can't be trusted to properly position itself for pierces.
> If your CA are going to hunt down bosses, use 203 Mounted against DD/CLs and use 203 SKC against CA/CVs.
> Note 1: Landing AP Pierces is fairly hard, even during manual play. Beware.
> Note 2: All other CA guns are worthless, don't bother asking.
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GUIDE TO AA GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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>>> VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: AA is a very weird beast, and one-size-fits-all solutions don't really fit that well; the effort (and resources) needed to optimize your AA is vastly superior to the gains achieved, and those gains are only ever relevant in a handful of situations such as W12 and a select few events. If you are NOT going there, just use Gold AA on whoever and you'll do just fine.
> If you have a unit with low Efficiency (70-80% Eff) and are playing MANUAL, give her the 20mm Oerlikon for maximum AA burst acceleration or the 37mm for high speed and auto-compatible range; the low damage on these guns doesn't matter, as their own AA will be too weak to contribute in any significant capacity anyway.
> If you have a unit with good Efficiency (90-130% Eff) and are playing MANUAL, give her the 40mm quad Bofors to let them contribute to the fight without slowing down your main AA sources.
> If you have a unit with high Efficiency (140%+ Eff) and are playing MANUAL, give her the Pom-Pom to capitalize on her high damage potential; however, if you have multiple units with high Efficiency, make sure ONLY your BEST AA gets the Pom-Pom, as too many of them will decelerate your bursts.
> If you are playing AUTO, give everyone with low-to-good Eff a 40mm quad Bofors and everyone with high Eff a 113mm; AA acceleration strategies MANDATE manual play, as fast guns have very low ranges and the AI doesn't like standing still.
> Note 1: See note at the top.
> Note 2: No really, read it.
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GUIDE TO CV/L planes - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If you want sea damage out of your CV/L, take the VF17*/Reppu/Seafang (Fighter); SB2C or Stuka (Bomber); Ryusei/Tenzan or Barracuda (T. Bomber);
> If you want air damage out of your CV/L, take the ME-155/F6F (Fighter); Firefly*/Fulmar/Stuka (Bomber); Firebrand*/Ryusei (T. Bomber);
> If you want extra support out of your CV/L, take the VF17 (Fighter, +5% AA to fleet on airstrike for 8s); McClusky (Bomber, +5% dmg for your CV vs CV); the 818 Swordfish Squadron (T. Bomber, 40% slow to targets hit)
> If you want speed out of your CV/L because you NEED to synchronise an on-launch skill with some other skill and/or backliners, take the XF5F*/ME-155/Zero (Fighter); Fulmar/Suisei (Bomber); Barracuda (T. Bomber)
> Note 1: * marks denote unique or hard to acquire planes; if you don't have one, fall back on the next.
> Note 2: building CV/L for speed is almost always a BAD IDEA, as it will severely cut into their DPS for minimal speed increments; only tinker with it IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
> Note 3: the planes are listed in order of desirability in their field, starting from the best and ending with the serviceable; assume the others are inadequate and should not be used for stated purposes at all.
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GUIDE TO BB/C GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your BB/C has a skill that procs on main gun fire and affects your fleet / your enemies, use the 381mm Twin MkII (aka Hood Gun) for the perfect mix of high rate of fire and good firepower (eg. Hood, Arizona); if lacking Hood Guns the 410mm purple is a viable alternative, and if you want THE highest possible rate of fire (at the cost of a severe drop in DPS), use the 283mm SKC34.
> If your BB/C has a skill that procs on main gun fire but only affects herself, use 410mm for a balance between damage and rate of fire (eg. Rodney, Nagato);
> If your BB/C has a skill that enhances her damage output (either by proc or passive), use 406MK6 for maximum damage (eg. South Dakota, Renown, Mikasa);
> If your BB/C has any other kind of skill, use 410mm or 406MK6 according to personal preference (eg. Queen Elizabeth, North Carolina, Washington);
> Note 1: If your BB/C is massively overleveled and/or would oneshot most enemies even without its most powerful guns, consider using the 410mm or the Hood Gun instead. Big numbers may be fun, but they're also inefficient.
> Note 2: If you have MULTIPLE BB/C in your fleet and NONE of them have proc-on-fire skills, give the one with the highest FP+Eff the 410mm Twin to make sure her Ignitions will be the most damaging around. Sick burns, bro.
> Note 3: All other BB guns are subpar, gold ones in particular (barring the 381mm Twin MkII and 380Mle).
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GUIDE TO AUXILIARIES - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If you have a DD, use Toolboxes to shore up her HP or a Gyroscope for more speed and accuracy (worthless in PvE, useful in PvP).
> If you have a CL, check its defensive (HP/Eva) stats first and compensate accordingly; low HP CL get Toolboxes, low Eva CL SG Radars and Naval Camos/Steering Wheels, and both types may use Boilers/Bulges if you feel the need to.
> If you have a CA, use Beaver Badge for a lot of Evasion and a fleet-wide Speed boost, Camo Paints/Steering Wheels to raise their Evasion, one SG radar if no other ships in the fleet has it; Autoloaders may be used on Torp-CAs, but it is not recommended to do so.
> If you have a BB/C, use Autoloaders to increase Reload (only one under nomal circumstances, two for certain proc-on-fire BB/C skills), one Fire Control Tower to add more Firepower and raise Accuracy, one SG radar for more Accuracy and Evasion (mostly relevant for PvP)
> If you have a CV/L, use Catapults to increase Airpower (two for PvE) and Fuel Tanks to raise Airpower and grant more HP to your planes (only relevant for PvP)
> If you have a Monitor, use Toolboxes for earlier worlds (ie. pre-W9) and SG/Naval/Steering for later worlds (ie. post-W9).
> If you have a Repair Ship, don't. (and use Toolboxes or AA radars according to specific necessities if you really must)
> Note 1: Attack stat-boosting items like Oxygen Torpedoes are best used on ships who can multiply said stats and/or ships whose base stat isn't particularly high (eg. Laffey Kai and Torp-CA as a whole would very much enjoy an OxyTorp).
> Note 2: If your units aren't having issues staying alive, feel free to use offensive auxiliary items such as Autoloaders, OxyTorps and FCRs; HP is a resource too, spend it wisely!
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GUIDE TO PR (RESEARCH) GUNS
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[Louis Gun (203mm Triple Mle 1934)]
A direct upgrade over the Type 3, lower volume of fire but higher DPS with better accuracy, better reload speeds, better per-shell damage and lower volume of fire.
It's good on literally every CA, but considering how limited PR guns are it's better used on proc-on-fire CA, CA with good barrages, or Torp-CA who need every shot they can get off.
[Roon Gun (203mm Triple SKC34)]
A direct upgrade over the SKC203, it is considerably faster to reload due to its pattern and has better per-shell damage. The only downside it has is a slight drop in accuracy due to it firing three shells in a tight line instead of just two.
Especially good on Roon, whose main skill can turn its shots into HE, but it'll perform admirably on everyone.
[Neptune Gun (152mm Triple MkXXV)]
Almost a direct upgrade over the ol' faithful, the Tbtsk; better per-shell damage, better armour modifiers across the board, better reload speed, better range. Same downside as the Roon gun and fires one shot less than the Tbtsk, but the rest of the gains make up for it.
Good on literally everyone, and makes for a great secondary gun for your backliners too.
[Izumo Gun (410 AP Triple)]
It's a 406MK6, but AP.
Has a place in 2-3 BB/C lineups, as Ignition procs do not stack and it's those Ignitions that let BB HE outdamage AP; remains an iffy pick otherwise, as it retains the usual AP weaknesses.
[Hood Gun (381mm Twin Mk II)]
The gold standard for proc-on-fire BBs. Just a little slower than the fastest BB gun in the game, the 283mm SKC34, but actually capable of inflicting considerable damage to what it's firing at. An absolute must.
[Monarch Gun (381mm Triple MkIII)]
It's a slightly faster and weaker 406MK6, still HE. The drop in base damage doesn't make up for the 1s shorter cooldown nor its steeper price tag, so it's a pretty bad deal all around.
Duke of York and any BB/C with x2 damage procs can get some use out of it, as well as any BB/C that needs to fire before other 406MK6-equipped warships do, but they might as well put a regular 406MK6 to better effect.
[Twin Bofors 40mm Autocannon STAAG]
Free Accuracy, decent damage, good range and the highest rate of fire among AA guns? Yes please!
Since it boosts Accuracy and BB accuracy is notoriously low, they get first picks on this.
[100mm Twin High-angle Cannon]
It's a 105SKC with a minor increase in damage and cooldown. Why does this exist, again?
Completely interchangeable with a 105SKC.
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GUIDE TO DD GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your DD has low FP/Efficiency (55-65 FP, 75-85% Eff) but a good Barrage / proc-on-fire skill, use 76mm for maximum rate of fire or QF 120mm single for slightly less RoF and more range+damage (eg. Ayanami, Yuudachi, Kawakaze, Yukikaze);
> If your DD has low FP/Efficiency and a bad Barrage, use 120mm for higher RoF or 127mm twin for higher Damage per Shot (eg. most IJN DDs);
> If your DD has good FP/Efficiency but a bad Barrage, use 120mm for higher RoF or 127mm twin for higher Damage per Shot (eg. most other DDs);
> If your DD has good FP/Efficiency (80+ FP, 110%+ Eff) and a good Barrage / proc-on-fire skill, use 100mm (eg. Javelin, Z23, Z46);
> If your CL/CA is a gunboat (ie. can mount DD secondaries), use 120mm dual for higher Rate of Fire or 127mm twin for higher Damage per Shot and longer range (eg. Cleveland, Wichita).
> If your BB/BC/BM is stuck with them, I am sorry for you; use the 120mm dual for a nice +25FP boost and a decent chance at stopping incoming fireboats.
> Note 1: because of her absurd Reload stat, Laffey is better off using the 127 twin rather than the 100mm.
> Note 2: if your DD can somehow equip CL guns (eg. Z23, Z25), DO NOT; while a DD gun's modifiers are worse than a CL gun's, their damage is pretty close and take MUCH longer to reload, meaning that by the time a CL gun has fired and reloaded, the DD gun has fired twice to four times already, resulting in considerably higher DPS (and more barrages).
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GUIDE TO CL GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your CL isn't called Belfast, Jintsuu, Sendai or Agano, use the 150mm twin (aka Tbtsk).
> If your CL IS called Belfast, use the 155mm Triple (aka Belgun).
> If your CL IS called Jintsuu, Sendai or Agano AND you're playing MANUAL, use the 150mm single; otherwise default to the 150mm twin (Tbtsk).
> If your BB/BC have access to them, use the Gold 155mm Triple for a hefty +45FP boost and a decent anti-fireboat solution; if you need more effective fireboat-stoppers, use the Tbtsk (for sparse incoming boats) or the US 152mm (for fireboat walls).
> Note 1: Equipping the Belgun on CLs that are not Belfast is possible and can achieve discrete success, but you have to play on MANUAL for it to have a shot at outdamaging the Tbtsk (against Light Armour) due to its much wider pattern and slower rate of fire.
> Note 2: if your CL can somehow equip DD guns (eg. Atlanta-class, Isuzu), ALWAYS DO. Reason's above.
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GUIDE TO CA GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your CA are being played MANUAL AND are confident you can land Pierces, use the 203 SKC to attempt to land said Pierces (CA AP has much worse modifiers than HE against Light, but it can still beat HE IF the shots Pierce).
> If your CA are being played AUTO, use the 203 Mounted / 203 Type 3 to make every shot count (CA HE has much superior modifiers against Light and can still Ignite harder enemies), as the AI can't be trusted to properly position itself for pierces.
> If your CA are going to hunt down bosses, use 203 Mounted against DD/CLs and use 203 SKC against CA/CVs.
> Note 1: Landing AP Pierces is fairly hard, even during manual play. Beware.
> Note 2: All other CA guns are worthless, don't bother asking.
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GUIDE TO AA GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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>>> VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: AA is a very weird beast, and one-size-fits-all solutions don't really fit that well; the effort (and resources) needed to optimize your AA is vastly superior to the gains achieved, and those gains are only ever relevant in a handful of situations such as W12 and a select few events. If you are NOT going there, just use Gold AA on whoever and you'll do just fine.
> If you have a unit with low Efficiency (70-80% Eff) and are playing MANUAL, give her the 20mm Oerlikon for maximum AA burst acceleration or the 37mm for high speed and auto-compatible range; the low damage on these guns doesn't matter, as their own AA will be too weak to contribute in any significant capacity anyway.
> If you have a unit with good Efficiency (90-130% Eff) and are playing MANUAL, give her the 40mm quad Bofors to let them contribute to the fight without slowing down your main AA sources.
> If you have a unit with high Efficiency (140%+ Eff) and are playing MANUAL, give her the Pom-Pom to capitalize on her high damage potential; however, if you have multiple units with high Efficiency, make sure ONLY your BEST AA gets the Pom-Pom, as too many of them will decelerate your bursts.
> If you are playing AUTO, give everyone with low-to-good Eff a 40mm quad Bofors and everyone with high Eff a 113mm; AA acceleration strategies MANDATE manual play, as fast guns have very low ranges and the AI doesn't like standing still.
> Note 1: See note at the top.
> Note 2: No really, read it.
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GUIDE TO CV/L planes - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If you want sea damage out of your CV/L, take the VF17*/Reppu/Seafang (Fighter); SB2C or Stuka (Bomber); Ryusei/Tenzan or Barracuda (T. Bomber);
> If you want air damage out of your CV/L, take the ME-155/F6F (Fighter); Firefly*/Fulmar/Stuka (Bomber); Firebrand*/Ryusei (T. Bomber);
> If you want extra support out of your CV/L, take the VF17 (Fighter, +5% AA to fleet on airstrike for 8s); McClusky (Bomber, +5% dmg for your CV vs CV); the 818 Swordfish Squadron (T. Bomber, 40% slow to targets hit)
> If you want speed out of your CV/L because you NEED to synchronise an on-launch skill with some other skill and/or backliners, take the XF5F*/ME-155/Zero (Fighter); Fulmar/Suisei (Bomber); Barracuda (T. Bomber)
> Note 1: * marks denote unique or hard to acquire planes; if you don't have one, fall back on the next.
> Note 2: building CV/L for speed is almost always a BAD IDEA, as it will severely cut into their DPS for minimal speed increments; only tinker with it IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
> Note 3: the planes are listed in order of desirability in their field, starting from the best and ending with the serviceable; assume the others are inadequate and should not be used for stated purposes at all.
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GUIDE TO BB/C GUNS - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If your BB/C has a skill that procs on main gun fire and affects your fleet / your enemies, use the 381mm Twin MkII (aka Hood Gun) for the perfect mix of high rate of fire and good firepower (eg. Hood, Arizona); if lacking Hood Guns the 410mm purple is a viable alternative, and if you want THE highest possible rate of fire (at the cost of a severe drop in DPS), use the 283mm SKC34.
> If your BB/C has a skill that procs on main gun fire but only affects herself, use 410mm for a balance between damage and rate of fire (eg. Rodney, Nagato);
> If your BB/C has a skill that enhances her damage output (either by proc or passive), use 406MK6 for maximum damage (eg. South Dakota, Renown, Mikasa);
> If your BB/C has any other kind of skill, use 410mm or 406MK6 according to personal preference (eg. Queen Elizabeth, North Carolina, Washington);
> Note 1: If your BB/C is massively overleveled and/or would oneshot most enemies even without its most powerful guns, consider using the 410mm or the Hood Gun instead. Big numbers may be fun, but they're also inefficient.
> Note 2: If you have MULTIPLE BB/C in your fleet and NONE of them have proc-on-fire skills, give the one with the highest FP+Eff the 410mm Twin to make sure her Ignitions will be the most damaging around. Sick burns, bro.
> Note 3: All other BB guns are subpar, gold ones in particular (barring the 381mm Twin MkII and 380Mle).
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GUIDE TO AUXILIARIES - WHAT DO I USE ON <shipfu>?
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> If you have a DD, use Toolboxes to shore up her HP or a Gyroscope for more speed and accuracy (worthless in PvE, useful in PvP).
> If you have a CL, check its defensive (HP/Eva) stats first and compensate accordingly; low HP CL get Toolboxes, low Eva CL SG Radars and Naval Camos/Steering Wheels, and both types may use Boilers/Bulges if you feel the need to.
> If you have a CA, use Beaver Badge for a lot of Evasion and a fleet-wide Speed boost, Camo Paints/Steering Wheels to raise their Evasion, one SG radar if no other ships in the fleet has it; Autoloaders may be used on Torp-CAs, but it is not recommended to do so.
> If you have a BB/C, use Autoloaders to increase Reload (only one under nomal circumstances, two for certain proc-on-fire BB/C skills), one Fire Control Tower to add more Firepower and raise Accuracy, one SG radar for more Accuracy and Evasion (mostly relevant for PvP)
> If you have a CV/L, use Catapults to increase Airpower (two for PvE) and Fuel Tanks to raise Airpower and grant more HP to your planes (only relevant for PvP)
> If you have a Monitor, use Toolboxes for earlier worlds (ie. pre-W9) and SG/Naval/Steering for later worlds (ie. post-W9).
> If you have a Repair Ship, don't. (and use Toolboxes or AA radars according to specific necessities if you really must)
> Note 1: Attack stat-boosting items like Oxygen Torpedoes are best used on ships who can multiply said stats and/or ships whose base stat isn't particularly high (eg. Laffey Kai and Torp-CA as a whole would very much enjoy an OxyTorp).
> Note 2: If your units aren't having issues staying alive, feel free to use offensive auxiliary items such as Autoloaders, OxyTorps and FCRs; HP is a resource too, spend it wisely!
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GUIDE TO PR (RESEARCH) GUNS
======================================================
[Louis Gun (203mm Triple Mle 1934)]
A direct upgrade over the Type 3, lower volume of fire but higher DPS with better accuracy, better reload speeds, better per-shell damage and lower volume of fire.
It's good on literally every CA, but considering how limited PR guns are it's better used on proc-on-fire CA, CA with good barrages, or Torp-CA who need every shot they can get off.
[Roon Gun (203mm Triple SKC34)]
A direct upgrade over the SKC203, it is considerably faster to reload due to its pattern and has better per-shell damage. The only downside it has is a slight drop in accuracy due to it firing three shells in a tight line instead of just two.
Especially good on Roon, whose main skill can turn its shots into HE, but it'll perform admirably on everyone.
[Neptune Gun (152mm Triple MkXXV)]
Almost a direct upgrade over the ol' faithful, the Tbtsk; better per-shell damage, better armour modifiers across the board, better reload speed, better range. Same downside as the Roon gun and fires one shot less than the Tbtsk, but the rest of the gains make up for it.
Good on literally everyone, and makes for a great secondary gun for your backliners too.
[Izumo Gun (410 AP Triple)]
It's a 406MK6, but AP.
Has a place in 2-3 BB/C lineups, as Ignition procs do not stack and it's those Ignitions that let BB HE outdamage AP; remains an iffy pick otherwise, as it retains the usual AP weaknesses.
[Hood Gun (381mm Twin Mk II)]
The gold standard for proc-on-fire BBs. Just a little slower than the fastest BB gun in the game, the 283mm SKC34, but actually capable of inflicting considerable damage to what it's firing at. An absolute must.
[Monarch Gun (381mm Triple MkIII)]
It's a slightly faster and weaker 406MK6, still HE. The drop in base damage doesn't make up for the 1s shorter cooldown nor its steeper price tag, so it's a pretty bad deal all around.
Duke of York and any BB/C with x2 damage procs can get some use out of it, as well as any BB/C that needs to fire before other 406MK6-equipped warships do, but they might as well put a regular 406MK6 to better effect.
[Twin Bofors 40mm Autocannon STAAG]
Free Accuracy, decent damage, good range and the highest rate of fire among AA guns? Yes please!
Since it boosts Accuracy and BB accuracy is notoriously low, they get first picks on this.
[100mm Twin High-angle Cannon]
It's a 105SKC with a minor increase in damage and cooldown. Why does this exist, again?
Completely interchangeable with a 105SKC.
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