I like to fight in close, so I load up the 2x5" Mark 38 D's. These guns have faster reload than anything but some of the 3" guns -- even faster than the 4" and 5" singles. With HE heavy ammo you can pound the crap out of anything nearby and their light tonnage means you can actually armor up your DDX as well. Even at level 40+ I'm still using these guns - nothing is better.
Your biggest problem is that you'll get ranged. Don't fight long range battles, however you should still carry 2 or 3 binds of APC ammo (in addition to 3 binds heavy HE) as they'll give you ~25% more range and they're a *necessity* for some targets.
Screw the bulge -- just avoid the torps. Learn how to avoid torps sooner than later.
As far as crew goes, your main priorities are your BO and your gunners. They should be fully staffed, but strip everything else down for more belt capacity. You probably want to be training at least one pilot and maybe a repairman, but the repairman won't help much until he gets around level 35 or more (fighting DDs you don't have TIME to repair).
|