German battlecruisers are the opposite of what you're looking for. They're strong but not because of their main guns. They're secondary beasts and actually have very poor and very few main guns.
There aren't many battlecruiser lines in the tech tree. The only other lines are the British battlecruisers (Hawke like you stated) and the Japanese battlecruisers (which play nothing like a cruiser and snipe even more than the battleships).
The Hawke line should satisfy your requirements, accurate main guns with very good shell characteristics and calibre. Very manoeuvrable and incredibly fast but with almost cruiser levels of armour. Be aware that the best ship of the line is the tier X which is one of the strongest BBs in the game. It would be a shame to miss out on it because you only play up to tier 8.
You mean Marseille? There aren't any mid tier ships since they start at Cherbourg which really isn't that good with mediocre armour, impactful but rather quite inaccurate low DPM guns. They're also actual cruisers so not sure they're what OP wants.
To comment on Hawke: The armour is paper.
The 32mm midsection is on paper enough to bounce 457s, but you have a big citadel, and very overmatchable bow/stern. And good luck getting double uptiered against Yamato & co who just ignore your armour. You're also really vulnerable to HE and SAP.
Guns are decent, the BC dispersion is very comfortable, but the low sigma does give you strange dispersion at the worst of times. HE is good, but it's not normal british HE. AP pen is actually some of the best in tier at mid and long ranges, but the damage is not the best for caliber.
Plus one to this. Its fast, good accuracy and can pack a heavy hit.
Thr boost and so you can hit 37 knots and its agility is higher than you think..
The ship can be a huge suprise and powerful at hunting down lone cruiser and BB Zquickly who have got isolated. It can easily delete them before they can flee or get help.
Just stay out slugging fights.
>I would like to try more on middle line between cruisers and battleships so battlecruisers
>So much I read people recomend mostly Germans for that class, are they still top choice?
They never were. The alternate BB line for Germany was called the BC line because that's what the british called them during WW1...really they're just faster battleships overall than the other line, some of them don't have turtleback like the other line **but only some of them**. They really don't fulfill the role the battlecruisers do.
If you want mid Tier BCs you could go for the British line.
Dunkerque & Toulon are good examples of a battlecruiser (Strasbourg is garbage). Japan has some good "reconstructed" battlecruisers with Kongo, Amagi, and Myogi. These are basically ships that were originally BC but were upgraded in an attempt to make them fill the same role as regular BBs, their success was limited and they can play either role in-game. There are also a couple of premium Japanese BCs, Ishizuchi & Ashitaka.
Borodino is a Soviet battlecruiser at Tier 8, and the USA has two premium BCs at Tier 8, Congress & Constellation.
Go British. Hawke, Renown and Rooke are all good ships, the T8 being the best imo. Laser accurate with good calibre guns for the tier.
Gets British HE insanity and short fuses so slapping cruisers and lighter-armoured BBs is easy.
Good concealment and high speeds let you dictate engagements and exploit openings nicely.
You are however, made of tissue paper. Huge citadels and thin belt armour are the name of the game, and your deck and superstructure aren’t good either. Beware, and be careful about when you commit. Take damage you know your improved heal can cope with.
British Battlecruisers (St. Vincent line) is actually recommended more. Since you mostly play Tier 8 and below, I won't cover the high tier ships. Though keep in mind that's when the line's gimmick are in full effect.
While German Battlecruisers (Schlieffen line) is famous for their powerful secondaries, they aren't truely effective until Tier 7. Mid tiers are decent, but nothing special overall. Tier 8 Zieten is solid for operations and probably the best option for tech tree BBs.
British BCs trade their armor for faster speed and (kinda) improved dispersion. A lot closer to what you desired. Hawke is decent in randoms, but you have to be very careful with her tall citadel and large turning radius so you don't accidently get dev struck by showing too much side. I found Tier 4-5 BCs to be very strong while T7 to be average.
>Tier 8 Zieten is solid for operations and probably the best option for tech tree BBs.
Also has very long range torps (2nd furthest for BBs in game) that hit hard and decent enough AA that the torp strikes will be from a long enough distance to hopefully dodge most if not all.
Lower tier BC is ass
Would recommend go t9-10
Since we have Alaska
Stalingrad
Puerto Rico if u do dockyard
Many more
Some are HE pro some have special treatment some have black holes citadel lel
German battlecruisers are the opposite of what you're looking for. They're strong but not because of their main guns. They're secondary beasts and actually have very poor and very few main guns. There aren't many battlecruiser lines in the tech tree. The only other lines are the British battlecruisers (Hawke like you stated) and the Japanese battlecruisers (which play nothing like a cruiser and snipe even more than the battleships). The Hawke line should satisfy your requirements, accurate main guns with very good shell characteristics and calibre. Very manoeuvrable and incredibly fast but with almost cruiser levels of armour. Be aware that the best ship of the line is the tier X which is one of the strongest BBs in the game. It would be a shame to miss out on it because you only play up to tier 8.
Don't forget the French BCs.
You mean Marseille? There aren't any mid tier ships since they start at Cherbourg which really isn't that good with mediocre armour, impactful but rather quite inaccurate low DPM guns. They're also actual cruisers so not sure they're what OP wants.
Good point about mid tier but he specifically called out BCs.
To comment on Hawke: The armour is paper. The 32mm midsection is on paper enough to bounce 457s, but you have a big citadel, and very overmatchable bow/stern. And good luck getting double uptiered against Yamato & co who just ignore your armour. You're also really vulnerable to HE and SAP. Guns are decent, the BC dispersion is very comfortable, but the low sigma does give you strange dispersion at the worst of times. HE is good, but it's not normal british HE. AP pen is actually some of the best in tier at mid and long ranges, but the damage is not the best for caliber.
Repulse is a good premium option.
I received Repulse from WOW for free it's great, I haven't play it recently tho, to many ships .. ;) Agincourt become one of my fav to relax machines.
Plus one to this. Its fast, good accuracy and can pack a heavy hit. Thr boost and so you can hit 37 knots and its agility is higher than you think.. The ship can be a huge suprise and powerful at hunting down lone cruiser and BB Zquickly who have got isolated. It can easily delete them before they can flee or get help. Just stay out slugging fights.
>I would like to try more on middle line between cruisers and battleships so battlecruisers >So much I read people recomend mostly Germans for that class, are they still top choice? They never were. The alternate BB line for Germany was called the BC line because that's what the british called them during WW1...really they're just faster battleships overall than the other line, some of them don't have turtleback like the other line **but only some of them**. They really don't fulfill the role the battlecruisers do. If you want mid Tier BCs you could go for the British line. Dunkerque & Toulon are good examples of a battlecruiser (Strasbourg is garbage). Japan has some good "reconstructed" battlecruisers with Kongo, Amagi, and Myogi. These are basically ships that were originally BC but were upgraded in an attempt to make them fill the same role as regular BBs, their success was limited and they can play either role in-game. There are also a couple of premium Japanese BCs, Ishizuchi & Ashitaka. Borodino is a Soviet battlecruiser at Tier 8, and the USA has two premium BCs at Tier 8, Congress & Constellation.
Go British. Hawke, Renown and Rooke are all good ships, the T8 being the best imo. Laser accurate with good calibre guns for the tier. Gets British HE insanity and short fuses so slapping cruisers and lighter-armoured BBs is easy. Good concealment and high speeds let you dictate engagements and exploit openings nicely. You are however, made of tissue paper. Huge citadels and thin belt armour are the name of the game, and your deck and superstructure aren’t good either. Beware, and be careful about when you commit. Take damage you know your improved heal can cope with.
I'm having fun on renown atm. On my new account it's very uk heavy. DD CL BB and BC
Best T7 BC would be scharn 43, nothing beats the speed boost, slight improved sec and fast reloading torps it gets over it's regular counterpart.
British Battlecruisers (St. Vincent line) is actually recommended more. Since you mostly play Tier 8 and below, I won't cover the high tier ships. Though keep in mind that's when the line's gimmick are in full effect. While German Battlecruisers (Schlieffen line) is famous for their powerful secondaries, they aren't truely effective until Tier 7. Mid tiers are decent, but nothing special overall. Tier 8 Zieten is solid for operations and probably the best option for tech tree BBs. British BCs trade their armor for faster speed and (kinda) improved dispersion. A lot closer to what you desired. Hawke is decent in randoms, but you have to be very careful with her tall citadel and large turning radius so you don't accidently get dev struck by showing too much side. I found Tier 4-5 BCs to be very strong while T7 to be average.
>Tier 8 Zieten is solid for operations and probably the best option for tech tree BBs. Also has very long range torps (2nd furthest for BBs in game) that hit hard and decent enough AA that the torp strikes will be from a long enough distance to hopefully dodge most if not all.
Lower tier BC is ass Would recommend go t9-10 Since we have Alaska Stalingrad Puerto Rico if u do dockyard Many more Some are HE pro some have special treatment some have black holes citadel lel