CLEVELAND

Country
United States of America (USA)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
8.0

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

D

PVP rating

D

Cleveland CL-55 is the lead ship of the Cleveland-class cruisers. The Cleveland-class cruisers were built during World War II as an improvement from Brooklyn-class. The Cleveland-class was the most numerous class of light cruisers ever built.

Cleveland has rapid firing 152 mm guns in four triple turrets. Unlike Brooklyn, Cleveland’s HE penetration is not sufficient anymore to penetrate battleship armor. This makes Cleveland’s HE performance incredibly low. The HE is only useful against CVs, cruisers, and destroyers; all of them are rare. The AP is pretty strong against broadside targets, but the slow shell velocity makes aiming hard. Cleveland’s low power is complicated even further by low accuracy. At more than 12 km, the dispersion is really bad. Cleveland has short range but that doesn’t matter because it can’t hit anything at maximum range anyway.

Cleveland has paper thin armor. Any battleship can citadel it from any angle. Even some heavy cruisers can hurt it really bad. A Cleveland spotted in open water can be deleted very quickly. The deck armor has been buffed so it can tank 380 mm guns at long range, but it’s still risky. Cleveland’s speed is rather slow but the maneuverability is good.

Cleveland’s AA is underwhelming. The AA is only good for deterrent against newbie CV players. Also, it can be hit by BB salvos while it’s being detected by planes. For a battle without CV, Cleveland can equip radar consumable in exchange of anti-air barrage. Cleveland can become a strong counter to DDs. A DD spotted within 10 km will melt quickly from Cleveland’s high DPM. If you’re not sure which consumable to pick, just pick radar.

Playstyle

At the start of the battle, sail to a flank. Don’t sail too forward. Don’t get yourself spotted first. Remember, shooting will increase your detectability range so don’t do that unless you absolutely need to. If the enemy is spotted, let your battleships shoot the enemy first. You need to find a big island to hide. Ideally, you want to be able to lob shells to the enemy but the enemy can’t see or shoot you back. If you’re getting shot, just move closer to the island to hide or run away. This cruiser’s accuracy at more than 12 km is low, so if possible find an island that allows you to shoot at that range. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t move too close to the enemy.

If there’s no such island, fight in open water at more than 13 km from enemy battleship. Angle your ship away from the enemy (kiting position). Speed juke to dodge shells. You can try this simple speed juke tactic: sail at 1/4 speed when the enemy isn’t shooting, accelerate to full speed when the enemy shoots at you, reverse if the enemy shoots in front of your ship. Turn your ship away to increase its effectiveness. Don’t show broadside. If your HP is low, just run away and stop shooting. Once you get out of your basic detection range, you won’t be spotted anymore. Because in open water you need to fight at long range, your damage output will be low. But at least you can live longer.

To maximize your effectiveness, try to create a crossfire with your teammates. If your teammate is tanking, you sail to the side of the enemy ship and shoot at their broadside.

Cleveland’s concealment is decent, but there are several cruisers around its MMweight that can outspot it. It’s not good for capturing bases. However, Cleveland has radar that can help it detect the enemy and prevent getting ambushed. Hunting DDs is still hard because radar only shows silhouette. You need an ally DD in front that can spot the enemy DD.

In a battle with destroyers, sail together with your ally destroyer. Equip radar consumable if possible. Use that radar when the ally destroyer is sailing close to a base so nobody will get ambushed. If the enemy destroyer is spotted, focus fire on that destroyer. Don’t shoot another enemy. If the enemy destroyer gets sunk, your team’s chance of victory will increase significantly. Remember, when shooting, the enemy can shoot you back. Always pay attention to all enemies and speed juke to dodge incoming attacks.

In a CV battle, equip anti-air barrage consumable. Always stay close to allied ships (especially BBs and CV) so you can protect each other with overlapping AA and anti-air barrage consumable. Your damage output will be low but you can be useful.

Is it worth to buy?

Cleveland can’t reliably deal damage even under good conditions. To perform well, it needs an enemy that willingly makes obvious mistakes.

Cleveland is a tech tree ship. If you want to get it, you just have to grind it. In general, the US light cruiser line is not worth to grind.

Strengths
Fast reload, good deck armor, has fighter planes
Weaknesses
Slow shell velocity, bad accuracy, bad penetration, short range, bad armor, slow speed, bad AA.
Consumables
Elite DC, elite repair (3 charges), anti-air barrage (unlimited) / 11 km radar (4 charges)
General playstyle
Kiting, flanking, lobbing shells from behind island
Role/specialty
Damage dealer
Preferred enemy target
Cruiser, DD

Recommended Build

Equipment
Slot 1: adv. disaster retardant module
Slot 2: engine enhancement module
Slot 3: aiming system module
Consumables
Slot 1: elite damage control
Slot 2: elite repair
Slot 3: elite radar or elite anti-air barrage
Crew Skills (after basic skill)
Captain: artillery warning – hull protection – boost morale
Gun: crack gunner – high speed aiming – burn the ship behind
Engine: quick shift – adv. quick shift – steering master
Damage control: buoyancy reserve – emergency flooding

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