What is the point of CLs?

[Nginear]

What is the main use of light cruisers in the game? If I need a sub hunter, I get a DD. If I need a quick offensive punch, I get heavy cruisers. But I don't see that light cruisers do either very well.

What if the CL was an AA platform similar to land based AA guns?

[Elessar2]

Welcome to the world of WWII admirals, who also struggled finding tasks for light cruisers. Note vanilla has most CLs (and many CAs) subsumed into the BB/CV counters.

Historical roles for CLs:

* Flotilla leaders for DD squadrons
* "Showing the flag" in foreign ports
* Screening capital ships
* Raiding convoy lanes
* Raiding ports
* Shore bombardment

Of course most of those tasks could also be done by bigger ships. Typically they were thrown into a given theatre or task force when nothing better was available. The British at least favored building CLs over CAs, going with quantity over quality.

[wirkey]

I've thought about the tasks for different ships a lot lately and I came to the conclusion that each ship should have it's own special capabilities:

• Destroyers: hunting subs of course

• Light Cruisers: reconnaissance, raiding; give them more range and/or bigger spotting range, maybe also increased raiding

• Heavy Cruiser: Anti-Air; not sure if possible but could be like AA

• Battle Cruiser/Battleship: Anti-Ship and Shore Bombardment

I'm not suggesting that only these ships can perform these specialised tasks, but they can do it better than others.

And I like the idea of command ships (Admirals). Same function as the HQs on land.

[ThunderLizard11]

I've thought about the tasks for different ships a lot lately and I came to the conclusion that each ship should have it's own special capabilities:

• Destroyers: hunting subs of course

• Light Cruisers: reconnaissance, raiding; give them more range and/or bigger spotting range, maybe also increased raiding

• Heavy Cruiser: Anti-Air; not sure if possible but could be like AA

• Battle Cruiser/Battleship: Anti-Ship and Shore Bombardment

I'm not suggesting that only these ships can perform these specialised tasks, but they can do it better than others.

And I like the idea of command ships (Admirals). Same function as the HQs on land.

Second command ship idea