USS DDG(X) is, at the time of writing this article, a newly released ship. This means not many people have it yet and many people are wondering if they should buy it or just go for Lider. So I had the brilliant idea to write an article about it and complete my collection of level 25 ship reviews.
Don’t blame me, don’t you also dream about your grandchildren one day asking you: “hey grandma, what do u think of USS DDG(X)?” While you sit in your electric chair, pull out the freakin’ MW Stats article and start reading it with a Frank Woods voice?
The armament
Uss DDG(X) is similar to Admiral Gorshkov. Its main differences lie in the HP (Gorshkov has more), missiles (Gorshkov’s 1x locked Zircon is replaced by a customizable missile on DDG(X), DDG(X) also has a second 3X slot instead of a 2X slot), and AA (Gorshkov has a 1X locked mega AA missile instead of 3 boring regular AA slots).
And I know that’s kinda a lot of differences, but DDG(X) is more similar to Gorshkov than any other ship, that’s why I compared them.
Uss DDG(X) is suited to combat surface ships and any submarine that is not Type 096 or SMX-31. It has no grenade launchers which somewhat slow down the combat at close range while you’re waiting for the cannon and missiles to reload. It also makes you more vulnerable to torpedoes and a little less powerful but then again you’re fast and can just hide when encountering an enemy you cannot fight, such as a submerged 096 shooting ballistic missiles. I’ve been saying the word “missile” a lot recently. Huh.
If this ship had grenade launchers, it would be a much better version of Jeongjo the Great. It has more HP, speed, AA….
The flexibility and strategy
The ship is fast, maneuverable, and has quite a lot of AA for a ship this powerful. But it also has awful HP and it lacks close-range firepower due to X-51 falling out of the meta recently (they super nerfed it) so your best bet would be to just stay away from the more powerful enemies and snipe them from a range while occasionally hiding.
You don’t need to destroy the carriers first, but they will be a little pest later on if they decide to focus on you. Nowhere near as dangerous as Jeongjo or Pyotr Velikiy tho. If those two focus you at the beginning of the match, hide while applying counterpressure and try to deal enough damage for them to hide as well. This will give you some time to heal and maybe focus on someone else or help your teammates.
Know your limits with DDG(X). Just like Zumwalt and Gorshkov, it has a low damage per burst ceiling meaning you will run out of things to deal damage with at close range while the enemy just keeps shooting, which leads to your death. Zumwalt, for example, has a rather infamous damage profile, barely reaching 70k damage per burst (burst = 1 shot of each weapon for those who didn’t know). It is meant to be played at long range where you can safely pick off your targets while using your speed and maneuverability to avoid taking more damage than you can deal. But if you try getting close to ships like Pyotr that have 280k damage per burst, you might encounter a little problem. The same goes for DDG(X), except DDG(X) has more ways of dealing damage but can take less because of its HP.
When fighting, always make sure you know where all your enemies are. Trust me, the feeling of getting ambushed by a god damn Lider is not a good feeling. Also, choose a loadout that suits your intended playstyle and the map you’re playing on.
If you want to get to a medium-range fighting distance, use:
- a full SCALP missile loadout
- Monarc, this cannon is universally the best for anything
- Physic torpedo, this one is also universally the best for anything
- The Gibka autocannons
- Full Pantsir AA
- The fastest helicopter you have
I focused on the damage output of this loadout. It’s almost like I’m playing with a full SCALP & Monarc CG(X)-21 (emphasis on “almost”). It’s a glass cannon tho, so be careful.
If you’re planning on sniping enemies on Storm or Unexplored Rocks, use this loadout:
- Full DF-17 missile setup
- The railgun cannons or again Monarc
- The SLWT torpedo
- Sea RAM + Sea Sparrow AA combination
- Yet again, the fastest heli you own
This loadout only works at long ranges. Uhh…. Yes, I know the torpedo is a close-range spammer. But I still chose it because you’re probably gonna get close to the last remaining submarine at the end of the match and try to get the kill so this torpedo is meant to be the best at doing that. Otherwise, torpedoes kinda suck at long-range anyway so it doesn’t matter which one you use. And the railgun is there because of its bullet velocity (THE BULLET IS FAST). It’s easier to hit targets at long range with it than with Monarc.
Conclusion
To be honest, DDG(X) is a mediocre ship. Want a more powerful ship? Jeongjo the Great, Pyotr Velikiy, USS CGX-21, and RF Lider are all there. Want a faster, more maneuverable ship? Zumwalt, Type 058, Gorshkov, etc. The ship does not excel in anything and that is why I do not recommend it. Other ships can do its job equally as well if not better.
The “damage per burst” I mentioned earlier while talking about strategies was calculated with the meta equipment for said ship. For example, for Zumwalt, it was DF-17 and Monarc. For Pyotr, it was X-51, A-22, Monarc, Physic.
That’s all for today. Expect me to write a Vella Gulf + Port Royal article while being held at gunpoint as the next ship review.
