1) Very carefully, you can just rush and use that chance to get some attack and then inevitably sink if you like. Or you can try linefight but like you said it doesn't quite cut it.

Your best bet is probably the usual staying back until later in the game and taking advantage of darkness. I used to try linefight, pull back and rep when I was inevitably smashed by something and by the time I repped it was much safer to engage enemies, more darkness, etc.

2) Both of those guns work, they have basically the same range, I think the 16"s have a slight bit more. I prefered the 16"s on my BB2 because the spread was better and the damage seemed pretty damn good. The angles are higher too but better to be used to 40 degrees than 30 since the Monty is 45.

3) Not really, I'm not sure where you got 2" deck from, standard armor setup for most BBs is 0.2" of belt (which halves torpedo damage) and as much bulge as can be fitted without losing any speed. 23/33 is abysmally slow, I'm sure it should be closer to 38-40knts overheat. How many Engis do you have?

4) The Sevas is a good leveler thanks to the number of supports it fits, I've never used the USN Sevas but the SN one didnt have such great spread until after 70 and that gun placement didnt help. The 14"s have the same range as the Sevas, the 16"s have more. You wouldn't put the 16"s on the Sevas though really, the Sevas 12" triples are better in most every other way, the damage is a slight bit lower than the 14"s.

But the most important advantage, imo, is the extra slots to level more sailors at once. Plus the Sevas with good engis can go 44knts, or the SN one can atleast. Sevas gun layout is the biggest off-putter though from what I've heard. It should sit, overall, at slightly better than BB2s.

The USN and SN  Sevastopol are a prime example how good $DE is at balancing anything: $DE doesn't know balance even if it walked up to them and hit them in the face.
USN Sevastopol doesn't have the SN speed/range/spread and damage, but it's still a (very) capable ship.

Thanks, I have 2 engineers by the way.Worked out the problem with my range test and redid it (16" weren't firing at max angle) so I think they have about the same range. I think I'll use the 16" now. My main question is, should I now use the Sevastopol or the Colorado (which earns more EXP)?

A USN BB crew needs at least 6 engineers really.

You need to be leveling a full 14 man crew from start to finish really, which for a typical non-AA USN BB crew is 1 BO, 2 Gunners, 1 scouts, 4 Repairers and 6 Engineers. You might drop to 3 Reps, 5 Engis to fit AA gunners in.

Your 2 engineers will cause you to be slower and have much shorter OH time.

Ok, I finally reached the Colorado after using my useless Guam for a long time, but I have a few questions:

the colorado is quite a ship since its a bb2

it can fit those 16 inch grey triple guns on all 4 its gun slots, when played right it can dominate bb3-4 but other then that its still a bb2

1: never rush lol rushing is for noobs who wanna die early, wait  out for the enemy to be completely blind and if you have vision and they dont try to get in range and shoot, use AA or scout or shoot the smaller ships that get in range making sure the  higher lvl bb players dont get distracted 

2: guns are different since the colorado is the only bb2 of the usn that can fit the triple grey guns 16 inch i dont know which one

3: never use armour lol its not usefull and you cant fit enough to survive anyway

use 0.2 belt and as much bulge as you can fit until you lose a knot, reduce that bulge to get the knot back trust me and others who said about it

if your support is lacking a bit i can suggest to go back to blitzkrieg and lvl more support

or AA for experts, or buy some expert packs and vets packs and use them on your support sailors, unfortanute there is no other way to gain veterans other then paying for them since the vet conversion rate isnt worth it

and lastly lol you always will be oneshotted I KNOW I FEEL YOUR PAIN about this, only now in my bb4 iowa can i actually be usefull, its a long grind to lvl 89 but worth it

4: the seva is a great ship to use lots of support so you can def lvl alot of them at the same time,  i used that ship , stay with the guns that the seva has since as you go higher in lvl, your sd grows and you will survive hits not to long though

and guam isnt that useless lol its a speed ship perfect for gb since it can go faster then all other bbs

i do hope it helps even a small bit

Thanks guys, I'm level 72 now and starting to see the good sides of it. It has a lot more range than I realised and I've managed to kill (steal :D) BB5s in it. Now it's just my lack of supports...

One quick comment,

Best BB2 is not the Colorado, Fuso is the best of the original 4 nation's, BB2s. 



I highly suggest not continuing to level up your main crew until you have gotten the supports you need to run US properly.


Sodak and Iowa are very Engineer dependant ships. OH speed and time are everything for playing those two ships correctly.

If you don't do at least 42 knots OH in the Sodak and at least 37 knots OH in the Iowa when you first get them, you will be very fustrated in the long run.



Also the Colorado is pretty beast when it does 44 knots with b/v/e lvl 80 engineers.