Wait as long as possible, but I recommend at a minimum you wait until level 90. You want to use them on the Yammy and Super Yammy obviously, so waiting to use them at level 120 would not only be silly, but also pointless.

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There is no "golden rule". The longer you wait, the better. Waiting longer provides such a small benefit that it may not be worth it to you. As long as you eventually reach the reload cap of 2070k true ability, you will be fine. If you use some of the tools in the "tips and tactics" section, you can figure out when you will reach the reload cap, which will depend on the base, what level you class them, and the extent to which you BVE them.

You can't go wrong with taking a pair of elite reload gunners and classing them at level 90. They will cap easily, work well, and are valuable in trades. They will reach 90 a few levels before your bridge officer unlocks the Yamato at lvl 89 because unclassed arm sailors recieve an additional 20% XP. If you aren't going to use AA before Yamato, don't class them. Unclassed arm sailors can use hedgehogs, which are more useful on most ships before the Yamato.

I kept elite repairers as arm sailors until lvl 120. I did the same thing with my KM and UK AA gunners. They work perfectly, but there were times when I was a little annoyed at myself for being such a dork about it.

No one here will know all of the variables necessary to give you the perfect answer. If you really care, just read some of the tips and tactics section stickies and put everything you need in a spreadsheet.

my 3rd set of ijn chf dps were 11/11 base stats waited till 80 and classed they block trip6.1s on amagi so 80-85 is best and yes keep them as armement until then . And reload is where ijn is needed so best to have good reload stats.

I classed mine at 100 and their fire rate is ridiculously fast. I used Elite reload gunners.

Take a look at them:

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss22/srgtyork/IJN%20DP%20Gunners/NF1201040925350078.jpg

Class them when you want to use them. If you want to use AA on the B65, then class them in the mid-to-late 60s. If they are BVE, then they'll be fine.

Personally, I mostly played Fuso all the way to Yamato, so I classed my gunners when they were around level 90.

They fire just as fast as anyone else.

People that tell you not to class until 120 are idiots that don't run AA on Yamato and Super Yamato (or expect you to level extra sailors or grind different nations for no reason). Don't trust people like that.

I clssed mine on time and by lvl 100 BVE with 155 vets they were as good as the delay classed ones ability wise (caps people reload and accuracy caps out).
So the only real advantage of delaying them is that you don't have to boost them to reach the cap and they become a bit lighter (due to less crew growth because of delayed classing).

As long as your gunner has at least 1600 ability in reload. You can class them. they will do great. The level does vary depending on base stat, vets and if boosted.

But, as I said as long as you reach at least 1600 ability in reload they will do fine..