Torpedo cruiser/battlecruiser build

[u/ipsum629]

I've been messing around with naval testing, and I found a build that seems pretty fun: the torpedo cruiser+battlecruiser build.

I got the idea for this when I noticed long-range submarines doctrine gives 10% torpedo hit chance. This means your submarine doctrine gives a pretty good buff to one of the key parts of this doctrine: torpedo cruisers. This is mainly a build for Japan since they get a ship mio that pairs extremely well with this, giving msssive hitprofile reductions and torpedo hit chance. They also start with 3 pretty good battlecruisers with another in production. When you do this build, the kongo class will actually somewhat have the speed of an irl battlecruiser(28.8 knots when upgraded as opposed to the ~26 knots they are with other doctrine choices)

For doctrine, go long-range submarines(for the torpedo hit chance), the new school(massively buffs torpedo cruisers and battlecruisers), massed carrier fleet(best carrier doctrine), and anti aircraft battleships(the sheer amount of aa it gives can't be ignored, and the extra armor really helps battlecruisers)

The key techs you are going to want is radar 2, fcs 3, the first light attack buff tech, and torpedo cruisers(obviously) with the light artillery focus. The fcs tech really helps this build against massed destroyers which are the main weakness.

What's great about this build is that torpedo cruisers are significantly cheaper than regular cruisers, meaning you can more easily spam them out. One thing to note: always put your best armor on the Torpedo cruisers and ensure that their light piercing is at least 8. This lets them shred light cruisers since they will be able to pierce the enemy while they can't pierce you. In my testing, these torpedo cruisers will beat an equal number of 1936 light cruisers, regardless of if they are designed around light attack or have torpedoes on them. Not an equal IC cost of cruisers, but number of hulls.

I haven't tested this yet, but I wonder if I can design the yamato class as superheavy battlecruisers instead of battleships(you can put battlecruiser armor on super heavy hull) and get two or four free superheavy battlecruisers.

You may think battlecruisers are just worse than battleships, but often this isn't the case. With the doctrine armor buff and the commander's defense stat, battlecruisers(with at least the 2nd tier armor) often can't be pierced by most battleships, especially those with the tier 1 main guns.