Winning a mikasa recently, I've decided to write a review on it. (dated June 2009,
sold it long time ago)

(also becuase I was writing one about 5 min ago, then my IE crashed, I've lost a
almost complete review to it -.- , go google chrome!)

The mikasa is the IJN EBB, which you can only get by either buying one from another
player (Impossible as of 2010), or win one from an event.

The mikasa is a crazy little ship at lv 58, armed with 12" duals, 4.7" single AA, fast
and small...



The 12" guns on the mikasa is crazy, with a 30 degree high angle, 8.2 second reload
(which turns into 4.1 second once your gunners are reload capped), and weighing
only 900somthing tons.. (Old reload time, it should be faster now)
The range on these are the same as the dual 14" Ls(with LHE) on the fuso...

The drawback on these guns though, is the poor per shell damage, which is about
1k a shell (possibly lower then the KM 11"s -.-), and a full broad side (tested on
monty), is barely over 4k..but becuase of the uber fast reload, they can actually do
quite a bit of damage.

Also, these guns can hold a holy 8 binds of ammo. 8 BINDS!!!, which i run 7 HE, 1 AP
(no LHE/HHE choice here). which allows this ship to easyly do alot of damage (on NY
server at least, as most people just laugh when they see a mikasa shoot at them
with....well....FF guns..)(btw, the AP effect of the mikasa sucks about the same as
the KM 11"s)


For AA, I use the single 4.7", which are the longest ranged AA in game(25 degree
golden angle), as they were not touched by the BB34 AA patch, also they have
slightly faster reaload then the dual 4.7"s.
also, some people like the use the 3" duals, but they can only hold 6 binds of ammo.


For armor, I use 0.2 belt with 70 bulge, becuase my crew is pretty fat at lv 110, and
can only go 25/42



or 0.5 belt and 64 bulge...




I've actually tested the mikasa's belt and deck...
with only 1 front turret, it can hold about 13-14" of belt(depends on crew's weight),
which is worthless, as i didnt bounce any monty shells my friend fired at a bunch of
different angles..

Or, 6" or so of deck, which actually bounced monty shells at 27 degrees, but i dont
suggest using any armor on the mikasa at all, as your speed is most important, not
armour.


The speed of the mikasa is very nice. with my fat crew at lv 110, i can go 25/42, with
a lighter crew (and no bulge), it can easyly do 45kn OH.
and with only 1 of my engies on, no other crew, i can do 30/50 :O

and the mikasa is relitively easy to speed cap.


Support slots are extreamly nice for a lv 58 ship, 7 support slots. same as a yamato.



Yes, I like to show off my crew.

Anyways, as you see, I run the same setup as my yamato, 4 engies, 2 reps, and a
scout, but as the speed cap is relitively easy to reach, 3/3 engies/reps also work.



The playstyle of the mikasa is different from most BBs, as its low shell damage
means playing it like a KM ship would get you very little attack, playing it like a UK
ship its DP/ armor is not enough.

Since the mikasa is very fast, and well....mostly not considered a threat by bigger
BBs as the guns do so little damage, I rush ALOT with it.

With the 30 degree guns and BB2 range, it is very easy to aim with, and spread
actually pretty good, as its acc revision is +5 compared to the +4 of the kongo 12"
guns and +3 of the fuso 14" guns

How I play it, is once the bigger BBs are engaging the other, I rush, and once in
range, I start weaving/dodging shells, with the fast reload, I constantly pound away
at bigger BBs untill they finnally take notice of me (remenber the shell damage and
size, so most BBs dont take you seriously), once they start shooting at me, I simpily
run away with my faster speed and small hitbox.

One of the intresting thins about it, is that the hit box is very slim, unless you go
broadside to broadside with another BB, (unless its a POW/KGV), they cant rarely do
enough damage to cripple you...

And also becuase of the high submergence value(the value that makes subs
invincible), the miksasa can take alot of damage. (with 900 sd, and my crew, i took
11 out of 12 shells from a monty, left me with 3k dp out of 19,500, though that could
have been a unluckey shot.)

Oh, I forgot to mention, it can only hold 2 T4 scouts, so be careful with your scouting.

Using all the advantages of the mikasa, I've so far (in about 6 GB i've played with it),
I've gotton at least 60k attack in my mikasa every game, and pretty good xp (10k)
on my lv 110 crew... (note it is a BB0.5 , it is simply a different playstyle then the
kongo, not a defined upgrade.)


TY for reading.

Angus


For those who've played the mikasa, how'd you people rate it?

(Updated slightly as of Dec. 2010)