Cruisers?

Maybe they would be built if you couldn’t build Capital ships (acc + bat) out of Minor complexes.

As the USA I almost always buy a tranny, inf + art, DD and CA. Cost: 34. I have 21 left (most of the time) for another tranny and cargo, or the build up of CV-fleet.

This way I will have a steady flow of land units while it isn’t a nice target for a lone bomber or a lone sub. As a bonus my trannies can gop back for more cargo (or be offered to be destroyed to liberate a Chinese province or DEI). Then you still have the DD and CA left, which can be added to your growing US fleet.

For all other nations I hardly ever build CA’s. I go DD and SS all the way.

Cruisers and battle ships are luxury items. Really the only two powers in this game that can afford them are Japan and the US. I agree that it would be stupid as the UK or ANZAC to buy these vessels, they cost too much money. But these ships give you advantages in battle that destroyers or subs can’t, and for powers that can afford them they are logical buys.

The only thing I would suggest is to have the price dropped to 11, the same as tactical bombers.

Actually, keeping with the spirit of them I think I personally would run them as follows:

In a convoy zone intercept 2 IPC like a sub
Have 3 movement.  Do not gain an additional movement from a naval base.

This would give them there convoy raider feel, and would be useful for when you want boats that do not have to rely on naval bases, and for running them away.

Alternatively, give first strike back to shore bombardment and we got an entirely different ballgame.

Cruisers have more offensive power than destroyers, and more per IPC than battleships. Cruisers are actually very effective doing two things
A: Adding a little extra power to a fleet that already has a full carrier. Its cheaper than building another CV or BB.
B: Attacking smaller fleets (perhaps a DD + Trns) when sending a BB or CV would be overkill.

I think after shore bombardment lost its first strike capability, some people might not care as much for cruisers or battleships. However, when destroyers were first introduced, they were more like cruisers, then what they are now. However, destroyers were good for sub hunting, though they were more limited in that regard as well, as they did not stop sub stalling.
I think whenever new units get introduced, some of them will  be more respected than others. And as abilities change, so will their relevance.
I haven’t played this edition yet, but I used to build cruisers with UK, and US in the AA50.  Didn’t people complain that Italians didn’t come with enough cruisers?
However shore bombardment rules are now weaker than ever. I think everyone has their play style, and what units work the best for them. Hopefully I’ll play this game soon, so I can have my opinion about the new mechanics in this game.

@maverick_76:

The only thing I would suggest is to have the price dropped to 11, the same as tactical bombers.

This is where I am right now.  At 12 IPCs, Destroyers are a better buy at 8 than cruisers.  Giving cruisers resillience is probably too strong.  Making them act like AA guns upsets some folks.  I just don’t think their shore bombardment and 3/3 stack up against the DDs sub hunting and 2/2.

Are others noting the need to Destroyer Stall (D-stall) in AAP40?  A cruiser can’t stall a sub from getting behind you and costs more for the “delay.”  So in addition to being a 2/2 unit at 8 IPC, & being the anti-sub platform, it is also the only good stalling piece for the oceans.  I just don’t see the cruisers stacking up well against that at 12 IPC.  I can even imagine a US strike against a heavy Japanese fleet in the Carolines where the US player only sends subs.  You gotta have a mess of DDs to counter that.

@critmonster:

Great point about deterring an air attack on your small task forces. +1
If each cruiser got one AA shot @1 (not for each plane, but one per cruiser) that would be cool and valuable while keeping with the spirit and cost structures discussed.

That was the AA structure I was thinking about.  Something similar was used in Xeno’s World At War (one AA could fire at Either up to 3 aircraft or 3 armor). It seemed to give a nice balance and FORCED you to spend more on AA.  To me it would make the cruiser a more viable unit and justify its cost.

i always thought that the use of cruisers could be very useful for amphib operations…so far…in the games we have played…they have worked out well

Cruisers need some type of bonus when attacking SURFACE shipping, perhaps being able to pass through anything but other cruisers, reflecting their speed in that only another cruiser can catch them and not destroyers or BB which are slower.

I still think let them raid 2 IPCs a turn and let them move 3 movement regardless of a naval base presence (meaning they will not move 4 from a naval base, still just 3).

@Vareel:

I still think let them raid 2 IPCs a turn and let them move 3 movement regardless of a naval base presence (meaning they will not move 4 from a naval base, still just 3).

Although I agree with most of the reasons cruisers should be left alone the way they are, I could see future rules including something along these lines. As we’ve mentioned, some under utilized units tend to go through minor changes until they are used more. The tank is the best example of this.

In house rules you could always have two seperate units, light cruisers and heavy cruisers or battlecruisers. 
Light cruisers could be 3/2 move 3 and cost 10 where battlecruisers could be 4/3 move 3 and cost 12.  no double hit though since in reality battlecruisers had battleship firepower but sacrificed armor for speed.

Just let each cruiser roll a single AA die in opening fire and I’d throw quite a few in to deter massed air strikes, which still seem to be the bane of a fleet.

I would rather consider them as an AA gun in that approach.  If you have one or more cruisers, you get one AA roll, but you don’t get extra rolls for extra cruisers.  This will insure that almost every fleet gets one cruiser.  If you give each cruiser an AA roll, they will need to cost more or we will have to do something with planes.

Things we can do-

Give them AA (mabey 2 rolls per crusier)
Give them extra movment (3)
Let them kill convoys (Ddisrupt 2 IPCs)
Let them be held back for SB
Let them carry 1 infantry

or

Stop sub-stalling buy-when a fleet with a crusier can move though a space with 1 units stalling by letting the fleet have 1 round of combat with the unit. If the unit is destoryed, the fleet can move its extra spaces. Anyone follow me.