Neither.

Hood.

Pow has speed but lacks range unless you use duals.
Nelson has better range and more damage but no scouts.
Hood is faster than Nelson, more range than both and have scouts, but big hitbox.

i have went both ways and i personally prefer the county way as they have more
displacement meaning more armour, the levels are closer together and they
generally have more main gun slots than the york way

What they said.

Also, don't just look at Nelson vs PoW. Consider the ships leading up to each, and more
specifically, the level gaps leading up to each. County line is MUCH easier for a first
time grind, which I'm assuming this is for you, considering you have to ask this question.

--Helms

Yeah... please search next time. For your edification and laziness:

The PoW has a scout. The Nelson doesn't. End of story.

~ Ferrard

search function