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Void Samukai Reviews: The Mogami (CA)
Hey there. Been a while since I did one of these reviews where I would take a ship out and make a full blown review of it. Anyways, todays review is about the Mogami (CA), the Lv25 Heavy cruiser of Japan.

What is with the (CA) you may ask. Well the ship prior to this one is the Lv18 light cruiser, the Mogami. The major differences between the 2 is that the Lv18 doesn't have access to the Lv25 8inch guns, weighs less and is slower fully loaded (though only by 1 knot). She is quite a powerful cruiser for her level and the Mogami (CA) is a good improvement. What you get is a versatile and powerful cruiser able to deal with many different situations.

Now, the stats.

General statistics
Firepower: The Mogami (CA) can be equipped with a number of guns. There are 3 types of guns you would want to use on this ship, depending on your style.

Triple 6.1inch guns: These guns can be unlocked at Lv18 and are probably the guns you would use on the Mogami at Lv18. They do 785 damage and have a range of 220. The big problem with these guns is the rather long reload of 9.5 seconds. Though with 15 of these guns you can still put out a lot of firepower. This configuration is best used as an anti destroyer weapon. With so many guns you can gun down DDs with HE. They also weigh the least of these guns, so you can add quite a bit of armour.

Twin 8inch Type C guns: These guns are Lv22. Compare to the Type E guns, these weapons have less range at roughly 260, deal less damage with 1075, have a slightly shorter reload time at 8 seconds and weigh less. These are more brawling weapons where you can dish out slightly more damage while mounting better armour. These are powerful guns can shouldn't be underestimated at all.

Twin 8inch Type E guns. These guns are Lv25 and my gun of choice of this ship. These guns can reach out to roughly 284 range, have an 8.5 second reload and 1100 damage. Compare to guns of other nations, the Type Es have slightly less range and damage, but RoF is much better allowing it to rain down on enemy warships and out DPM many cruisers. They are heaviest however, so armour will be on the lighter side. I recommend these guns for sniping at enemy ships. At extreme ranges the guns also have a high shell arc. This allows you to strike the weaker armour of the deck of bigger warships and hit ships behind islands, which can be quite handy

So you have a choice of 15 6inch guns or 10 8inch guns for this cruiser. Not a bad section of guns. Of course you have other weapons you can choose from, but these 3 guns are in my opinion your best options. It is also worth mentioning that the guns are somewhat inaccurate (a trait shared by other Japanese ships). This means that sniping ships from the bow is quite difficult. If the enemy is broadside though, you will still land plenty of hits and still do good damage.

In other news of firepower, this cruiser can be equipped with 8 secondary guns. 4 of these guns can mount twin 5inch guns and can be used to add some firepower against DDs and submarines. The other 4 have AA guns and until aircraft are added to the game, these guns are next to useless in a match. The Mogami (CA), like all Japanese cruisers, can mount powerful torpedo armament. She can mount 4 quintuple Type 93 torpedoes. They do almost 5000 damage and have about 370 range. Though there are slow, they can be used to deal additional damage to bigger ships or as areal denial.

Overall, the Mogami (CA) is packed full with many weapons and can deal the hurt to enemy warships. With good versatility to boot. 9/10

Armour: The current set of my Mogami (CA) is 4/5.5/4 deck and 8/9.5/8 belt armour. Her HP is alright and she can definitely take a few hits from enemy cruisers. However, against BBs, your armour will not save you as BB caliber guns can just take hunks off your health in no time flat. Overall, her armour and toughness is still good and shouldn't be taken too lightly. Against DDs and smaller CLs, your armour is good enough to take hits from them without much worry. Just be careful of any incoming torpedoes. Against BBs, try not to get hit while using everything you've got to throw of their aim. 7/10

Agility: Fully loaded, the Mogami (CA) has a top speed of 33 knots. She can get to this top speed rather quickly. She also seems to turn quickly and can dodge torpedoes from distance. This speed also allows her to quickly flank the enemy lines and keep up with destroyers so that you can either support the lighter ships or flank the rear of the enemy line and harass the lower level BBs. 8/10

Oh, and for some reason, right now she has no repair bill. That means that even if you are damaged to sunk, you will not pay for repairing your ship. So in a match, you just need to hit the enemy once and you already have made a profit.

Mogami (CA) Verses other ships
The Mogami (CA) will face many different ships in her career, so it is important to know how this ship compares to others.

Against Destroyers: Your rapid firing guns and cruiser lock on ability can make short work of DDs if you can land the hits on them with HE shells. Just be wary of any torpedoes coming towards you, as they will still hurt like the devil.

Against Cruisers: Against Light cruisers, you will still have the edge in firepower and can make short work of them. Just know that even though they have no smoke, they have greater armour and firepower. Against Heavy cruisers, try to get in close with them so that you can maximise the chances of hitting the enemy with AP rounds.

Against submarines: Use your great agility to keep your distance and dodge any torpedoes fired at you and shake their accuracy off. Once the sub surfaces, use your guns to beat the living daylight out of them.

Against capital ships: Against Lv >40 BBs and BCs, you can still deal massive damage with your AP and torps. Try to flank them and use islands or smoke as cover. Once in range, try to deal the first shots and keep beating the ships using your shells. If the situation permits, the use of torps can lay the hurt on BBs and BCs. But you can also use them as areal denial and force them into unfavourable situations.

Against Lv40+ BBs and BCs...you are pretty much a dead duck. They have the speed to keep you away from range for a while and have the range and firepower to sink you with little effort. Again, use cover to close the distance between you two and sneak up. Once in the right position, try to use your torpedoes to sink them.

In all encounters, try to get the ships bow or stern on to minimise the firepower they can bring onto you. It also helps to use other ships are bait so that while they target them, you use your firepower to cripple or even sink them. And because of the high shell arc, you will often strike the weaker deck armour and do better penetrating.

Final thoughts
This is my favourite cruiser in the game. It allows me to have a lot of options in dealing with enemy ships and to have a lot of fun with it. It excels at flanking the lines and torping the hell out of mobs of ships, using its speed and firepower. Should you get this ship? Hell yeah.

Final score: 9/10

Final sentence: Nippon steel FTW

Now, onto a match I had that demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of the Mogami (CA)

My team consisted of a Yamato, a Bayern, a Colo and a Nelson. The enemy team had scores of DDs, a Mogami (CA), an Amagi, A QE and a Kongo.

First, I charged behind an iceberg to get some cover from the BBs. At the same time, I used the firepower of my ship to deal massive damage to the DDs. I smoked a few but they escaped and I didn't want to give chase.

Next, I was up against the QE and Kongo. I used my torps to cover one side of the iceberg, then I turned around to get the other set of torps off. I delayed any engagement for as long as possible, until I fired at the QE as she popped out of an island. The Kongo also popped out on the other side, but she ran straight into my torps and they crippled him. The Nelson then finished the Kongo off with one salvo.

But he was under fire by the Amagi for a short time and the QE. But with the QU distracted, I was able to get shots off into the deck of the QE for some time. As soon as she was able to fire at me, she was already smoking. She managed to fire 2 salvos off, dealing massive damage to me. In the end though, I was able to out DPM her and she sank.

I then headed over to the cap circle. By this time, all the enemy team was sunk except for the Mogami (CA). I was the only one able to catch up to her and did so. She turned broadside to me, allowing me to get a lot of shells onto her. In the end, I was able to sink her, due to my smaller profile (I was bow on to him) and because the Mogami (CA) had single mount 8inch guns. I walked away from the match with 3680 REXP. Not bad for a match like this.

That is all for today folks. I hope this will provide you with a overview of a powerful cruiser. Until next time, this is Void Samukai and I will see you soon in another review.