User blog comment:FlammeumDraco333/Tales From the Not so Blocky Seas/@comment-27822411-20150802105318/@comment-10905876-20150802235237

I've killed plenty of cruisers with the 14" gun. And, with the way the leveling is, you'll want to have the firepower of a 14" gun to deal with those heavy battleships that will likely be involved. You can't really pick and choose your enemies, so you should prepare for when big bad battleships come along at high speed and start firing away. And your speed won't help you, high tier capital ships will outpace you, and easily outrange the little 12" gun. And, their armor is more likely to bounce off 12" shells vs 14" shells, which I've seen pierce the thickest of armored decks.

If you want to keep weight down, don't fill every slot for secondary guns, just fill a few. And concentrate your armor amidships, that's where about 75% of fatal hits land on big ships like Kongo, so max those out, and fill the ends up till you reach your preferred speed.

Also, the reload rate for the 14" isn't that much more than the 12", while giving better range and firepower. As for traverse speed, the 12" isn't much better than the 14" so you really don't get much out of that.

Overall, trying to specialize only for cruiser hunting will leave you as an easy target for the battleship and battlecruiser user. They could strike with impunity from just outside your firing range, and often posses the speed to remain outside your shooting range. Or, if they are very heavily armored and you can outpace them, and somehow manage to get within shooting range, you'll lose in a slugout every time because of your weaker 12" weaponry. Even other Kongos will have an easy time of it, as they'll outrange you with their big guns.