FARGO

Country
United States of America (USA)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
8.5

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

C

PVP rating

D

Fargo CL-106 is the lead ship of the Fargo-class cruisers. The Fargo-class cruisers were a modified version of the previous Cleveland-class cruiser design; the main difference was a more compact pyramidal superstructure with a single trunked funnel, intended to improve the arcs of fire of the anti-aircraft (AA) guns. Many structures were changed to improve the stability.

Fargo has rapid firing 152 mm guns in four triple turrets. Fargo’s HE penetration is not sufficient to penetrate battleship armor. This makes Fargo’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. At more than 13 km, the dispersion is really bad. Fargo’s firepower is very similar to Cleveland. But since the enemies are stronger, Fargo’s firepower feels relatively weaker.

Unlike Cleveland however, Fargo’s armor is pretty good for a light cruiser. With careful angling, it can completely bounce 381 mm guns and take minimal damage from 406 mm guns. Fargo’s speed is rather slow but the maneuverability is good. In an open water engagement, Fargo doesn’t go down as easily as most light cruisers.

Even though Fargo’s surface detectability is only 0.3 km smaller than Cleveland, other nation’s cruisers are getting bigger. This makes Fargo’s concealment one of the best in its MMweight. Fargo can be a good ship for site capturing due to good concealment and good armor.

Fargo’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, Fargo can equip radar consumable in exchange of anti-air barrage. Fargo can become a strong counter to DDs. A DD spotted within 10 km will melt quickly from Fargo’s high DPM. If you’re not sure which consumable to pick, just pick radar.

Playstyle

See the team list of the enemy. If there is no destroyer, CV, or cruiser with better stealth, play aggressively. At the start of the battle, sail to a capture base directly. Your job is to spot the enemy and capture the base. Use radar consumable to assist you. Your job is to capture the base and spot the enemy. If you’re not detected, don’t shoot until you capture the base. 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 stay inside the base until it’s captured. After you capture the base, sail to another base.

Always observe the position of enemy ships. If there’s an enemy that’s sailing to your position, sail away before you get detected. Abandon the base if the enemy is too close. If there are no bases that can be captured due to safety reasons, you can farm damage in the meantime.

Before farming damage, first you have to find a big island to hide behind. Shoot only after you get a good position. 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.

If there’s no island to hide, keep running away until you’re 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.

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?

Fargo’s guns are weak. However, Fargo has sufficient armor and stealth that allows it to fill some important roles for the team. Still, it needs a good team to support it or else Fargo will not be able to do anything.

Fargo 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, decent armor, good concealment, has fighter planes
Weaknesses
Slow shell velocity, bad accuracy, bad penetration, slow speed, bad AA.
Consumables
Elite DC, elite repair (3 charges), anti-air barrage (unlimited) / 12 km  radar (4 charges)
General playstyle
Kiting, flanking, lobbing shells from behind island
Role/specialty
Spotter, site capturer
Preferred enemy target
Cruiser, DD

Recommended Build

Equipment
Slot 1: adv. disaster retardant module
Slot 2: engine enhancement module
Slot 3: cruiser 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 – boost morale – hull protection
Gun: crack gunner – high speed aiming – burn the ship behind
Engine: quick shift – noise reduction – adv. quick shift – steering master
Damage control: buoyancy reserve – emergency flooding – extinguish

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