I say Sodak.
I had so much fun playing my 47 knot sodak. Just rush, hit them and see how your
enemy misses all shells on you :D

And no bulge on sodak, just only the 0,2 belt, or make it 0,3.

I don't have the maryland myself, but it was a nice time grinding to Iowa with my
Sodak.

For me, the Maryland play style really improves dodging skill. Because that's the only
way you're getting attack when faced with BB4s and above. Or you could just stick with
fighting BB3s and below, but that's not as fun :).

yes thats partially true
i classed all non rushing ships as line ships. but perhaps that was a bit off from the
definition...for not being at the very front.

i have to disagree on the suggestion that hit and run only works at near max sd.
as a first time bb user, especially in the us line, you would be better off learning to
dodge in and out as soon as possible, as well as not depending on other bbs.

but either ship works wonders

there is no such thing as holding the line with a bb3......

only bb5 are good for true line fighting. bb4 are support to that but can be pressed
into line fighting. bb6 are going to be targeted and cant line fight in the traditional
sence.

any way, bb3 and below are hit and run or swarm attackers.

hit and run only truely works if you have 900sd or there abouts with decent repair.
which means you need to have more than at lvl crews to do that successfully. so for
at lvl choice between sodak or MD you will be at a disadvantage.

that is why i suggest MD. it has decent range for the role i suggested in my last
post. patiently wait till a BB is busy with another, rush in, get off a good salvo and
hopefully it will be a kill shot. aka a swarm attack. to do this well, you do not need
much sd, as you wont be directly target the whole time.

so long story short, stich with other bb, rush when they rush, wait till enemy bbs are
occupied. MD does this better than Sodak

i didnt type my answer as a general guide. it was based on his crew.
the maryland is basically a colorado with big gun space. from my games its just as
fragile as the sodak if not weaker. Yes, you get the same guns as sodak, but compared to
other BBs it's got crap range. So speed to hit and run will better for him since he is
only able to run the maryland at 38 knots when the cap is 40; whereas he is already just 1
knot short of the sodak speed cap. So i'd still recommend sodak for his crew so he can
get attacks and exp in.

but yes, junkers, if you like to hold the line with heavy firepower, maryland is better.

few things wrong with this post.

first off, the DP and survivability is a huge factor in choosing a ship. its more
important than the amount of support slots. so, what are the DPs and submergence?
(sodak has 20k dp and MD has 21100? submergence sodak has what? 9? - dont
know MD)

also, support slots dont mean anything if you cant get the xp any way. so chose a
play style that suits you best. each ship plays different.

also, turning force is very important. its only slightly less important than speed.

also, does the MD use the same exact guns as sodak? or does it use the N model of
the sodak guns?

that all being said, you will be playing in GB2s, where there will always be larger BBs
at hand. so you have two options to you: speed sodak to rush and get a hit or two
in, or mini monty with the MD and patiently wait to pounce.

the later option usually will work better as it has more knock out punch ability. and
you wont have much oppertunity to have many shots with sub 900 sd.

so use the MD, wait for shots, go for the kill shots.

I say South Dakota. Speed is life.

sodak is a much better learning ship. the speed gives you room for movement errors.
everybody can learn the gun angles and shoot. not everyone can drive the ships

i would go for the Maryland.. Why? Coz u have 1 more support slot, armor and more
ammo.

but remove some armor on maryland to go faster