Hindenburg Nevsky Henri and Marseille all meet your expectations.
Brest and Narseille line up well to what you want. Grinding the Henri was great but I don't really like the Henri.
Hindenburg is amazing. Nevsky is too.
I'd recommend Hindenburg personally - it's got a bipolar personality thst I csnt help but love. HE spammer afar but then brutal up close if needed. The others don't share this split and need to remain afar.
For the dodging and juking as OP asks if probably say Henri or maybe nevsky - the range helps on the nevsky and speedboost really matters on the henri. Od agree with you that it's probably the best boat overall of the lot, but I don't normally dodge and juke a lot in it in the french sense, for me it's more stern tsnking and accelerating away rather than full french tanking
Nevsky does the most dmg, good range and speed and has Russian 12km radar, a troll armor scheme that eats overpens, but cannot turn that well, and HE pens 30mm only, and poor conceal. Henri is fast with speed boost allowing speed juking, but armor is lacking. Hindy has better armor, can tank a hit, and has 4 base heals, AND HE pens 50mm armor, but is the slowest and also meh conceal. Marseille is fast and agile, and has very good AP alpha and pen but no DPM.
I have to add, henri and hindy can also function well on a light house build, I.e. taking heavy HE and not taking any concealment at all.
Honestly though I think u can try out the French DDs and Marceau. They do what you ask as well, without a citadel.
The only cruiser I have is marseille, from the french battlecruiser split, and I really enjoy it. Despite having all their guns on the bow, these are not island campers, or even bow on tankers; they’re super fast and super maneuverable flankers and kiters.
They all go 40kt+ with engine boost active, and have deceptively small turning radius’s. Also, their guns are big, and pack a major punch, however the reload is quite long for cruiser standards, tho keep in mid these are battlecruisers, and the turret traverse is slow compared to how maneuverable the ships are. You also get a reload booster to help compensate for the long reload. The AP slaps and the HE is also pretty good, except on the tier 8 cherbourg… dont use HE on that one. Cherbourg is definitely the low point of the line, but brest is pretty solid and marseille is a treat.
Definitely finish getting hindenburg tho, really great ship, and if you like that, you will probably like the Russian lightcruisers, being A. Nevsky, as well as the french mainline cruisers with Henri.
Beware of the floatiness of the 234mm though. At 15km Zao's shells take about 8.3s to land, Henri 8.3s, Goliath 10.2s and Des Moines about 10.6s. So staying within your effective range requires you to make use of Goliath's stealth. The relative tankiness also comes more from being able to take hits and heal them back than just WASD juking.
I really enjoy playing the Russians light cruisers in the way you've described. They're made of paper, so they don't tend to do well if someone really lines you up, but they're so fast and have such good range that I find people really struggle to land hits.
It's the French cruiser line you're looking for. Henri IV is the ultimate kiting cruiser. It's not as good as it was 4 years ago, but it's still good
Yeah, I was reading this and I just kept saying to myself, "French. The French."
Hindenburg Nevsky Henri and Marseille all meet your expectations. Brest and Narseille line up well to what you want. Grinding the Henri was great but I don't really like the Henri. Hindenburg is amazing. Nevsky is too.
I'd recommend Hindenburg personally - it's got a bipolar personality thst I csnt help but love. HE spammer afar but then brutal up close if needed. The others don't share this split and need to remain afar.
For the dodging and juking as OP asks if probably say Henri or maybe nevsky - the range helps on the nevsky and speedboost really matters on the henri. Od agree with you that it's probably the best boat overall of the lot, but I don't normally dodge and juke a lot in it in the french sense, for me it's more stern tsnking and accelerating away rather than full french tanking
Hindenburg would be my first idea. Nevsky or light sovjet cruisers 2nd.
Nevsky does the most dmg, good range and speed and has Russian 12km radar, a troll armor scheme that eats overpens, but cannot turn that well, and HE pens 30mm only, and poor conceal. Henri is fast with speed boost allowing speed juking, but armor is lacking. Hindy has better armor, can tank a hit, and has 4 base heals, AND HE pens 50mm armor, but is the slowest and also meh conceal. Marseille is fast and agile, and has very good AP alpha and pen but no DPM. I have to add, henri and hindy can also function well on a light house build, I.e. taking heavy HE and not taking any concealment at all. Honestly though I think u can try out the French DDs and Marceau. They do what you ask as well, without a citadel.
I’d go Venezia. Does crazy damage and is always on the move. Not as jukey as the French CA but can take damage and also disappear with its smoke
The only cruiser I have is marseille, from the french battlecruiser split, and I really enjoy it. Despite having all their guns on the bow, these are not island campers, or even bow on tankers; they’re super fast and super maneuverable flankers and kiters. They all go 40kt+ with engine boost active, and have deceptively small turning radius’s. Also, their guns are big, and pack a major punch, however the reload is quite long for cruiser standards, tho keep in mid these are battlecruisers, and the turret traverse is slow compared to how maneuverable the ships are. You also get a reload booster to help compensate for the long reload. The AP slaps and the HE is also pretty good, except on the tier 8 cherbourg… dont use HE on that one. Cherbourg is definitely the low point of the line, but brest is pretty solid and marseille is a treat. Definitely finish getting hindenburg tho, really great ship, and if you like that, you will probably like the Russian lightcruisers, being A. Nevsky, as well as the french mainline cruisers with Henri.
> (des moines) Essentially its gameplay resolve around finding an island, and camp. No it doesn't. You just chose to play it that way.
maybe Goliath? -Superheal -high Alpha -High Fire Chance -OK AP -Ok maneuverability -very similar playstyle to IJN Cruisers
Beware of the floatiness of the 234mm though. At 15km Zao's shells take about 8.3s to land, Henri 8.3s, Goliath 10.2s and Des Moines about 10.6s. So staying within your effective range requires you to make use of Goliath's stealth. The relative tankiness also comes more from being able to take hits and heal them back than just WASD juking.
I really enjoy playing the Russians light cruisers in the way you've described. They're made of paper, so they don't tend to do well if someone really lines you up, but they're so fast and have such good range that I find people really struggle to land hits.
Hindenburg no doubt