Rahmat

Rahmat represents a what-if transfer of a Dido-class cruiser to the Royal Malaysian Navy. As such, she shares many similarities to her premium British cousin VI Dido, presented in a Pan-Asian package.

Rahmat gives players their first taste of the path future Pan-Asian cruisers will follow — AA cruisers with destroyer-caliber guns, and a strong torpedo armament.

Armament

Rahmat joins the small group of ships in-game featuring two different sets of main battery guns. She mounts five twin turrets, three in front and two to the rear, with fast traverse and average reload. Her stock guns are the QF 4.5 inch (113 mm) guns used by two Dido-class cruisers, while her upgraded guns are the same 133 mm/QF 50 Mk.I guns originally designed for the class (and carried by Dido). Her 7.5 second reload is decent for Tier VI, and her 18 second turret traverse is among the fastest in her tier. But her main battery range is painfully low — her 11.4 km stock range is the second lowest in her entire matchmaking spread, and her upgraded 12.5 km range is still lower than even many Tier V cruisers. Her shells are also floaty, meaning she has to get even closer to threats to effectively engage them.

Her stock 113 mm guns are underwhelming. Both her 113 mm HE and AP shells deal little damage and have low theoretical DPM, and their low caliber and penetration leave her with even lower effective DPM. The HE shells also have a very low fire chance and only penetrate 19 mm of plating; she can still penetrate most destroyers and cruisers in her tier, but will struggle against battleships and higher tier targets. The AP shells do have the same short fuse times as those used by Jutland and Daring.

Her upgraded 133 mm guns are still small for the tier, but offer some welcome improvements. Her 133 mm HE and AP shells still have low damage, but she has high HE DPM and decent AP DPM for a Tier VI cruiser, and her 8% fire chance increases the number of fires she can set per minute. They still lack the penetration of most other cruisers, but are much less limited than her stock 113 mm guns.

Like Chungking, Rahmat carries deepwater torpedoes. She mounts two triple launchers, one per side. Their 9.4 km range is high for a Tier VI cruiser, and when running the Concealment Expert commander skill she has a 0.4 km stealth torpedo window. Being deepwater torpedoes, they have a high flood chance and deal massive damage, nearly 16,000 maximum per torpedo. They also reload quickly at just 72 seconds, although the single rack per side limits her DPM when not kiting. Their 61 knot base speed is average for the tier, but is offset by their low detection — without Hydroacoustic Search or prior spotting, her target has less than five seconds to react before they hit.

Her torpedoes aren’t strong enough to become a primary damage source yet, but they still act as a painful deterrent against cruisers or battleships pushing too close to her. As with other deepwater torpedoes, they are much stealthier than normal torpedoes, giving enemies much less time to react and dodge. But they cannot hit destroyers or submarines.

Consumables

Rahmat features a fairly standard consumable suite for the Pan-Asian tech tree cruisers. In addition to the normal cruiser Damage Control Party, she carries the normal cruiser Defensive AA Fire consumable in its own slot, as well as a Smoke Generator. Unlike most other cruisers, Rahmat does not have access to the Hydroacoustic Search consumable, leaving her more vulnerable to enemy torpedoes and requiring team support for detecting stealthy targets.

Like the smokescreens found on the Pan-Asian destroyers, Rahmat's has an average action and dispersion time but a shorter cooldown. Although she lacks the extended action time characteristic of US smokescreens, the shorter cooldown means less waiting for the next if she has to abandon one early. However, she’s limited to three charges by default, so players must be selective about when they use one.

Maneuverability

Rahmat is surprisingly agile for a cruiser, at the expense of speed. Her 6.5 second rudder shift is tied for best in tier, and her 580 m turning circle is excellent, only 10 m larger than Huanghe’s best-in-tier 570 m. However, her top speed is only 32.2 knots. Although she can still outrun most battleships, she will lag behind many cruisers and all destroyers in her game. She will struggle to keep up with any pushes or retreats on her flank, so she must be cautious when committing to one side.

Survivability

Just as with Chungking, Rahmat is squishy even for a mid-tier cruiser. She lacks both the armor to resist incoming damage and the health to tank it. Players need to be able to dodge incoming fire if they wish to remain in the battle.

Rahmat's armor is the same as other super light cruisers like Chungking and Leander. She’s coated in 13 mm plating everywhere, and her superstructure is even thinner at just 10 mm. Every HE shell she faces will penetrate with no issues, and both battleships and heavy cruisers with 190 mm guns or larger will overmatch regardless of angle. Her 25 mm deck can shatter smaller HE and bounce AP smaller than 381 mm, but it’s mostly covered by her thin superstructure and really only protects against overmatching her citadel roof.

Rahmat's belt armor is slightly better but still rather weak. The 89 mm upper belt under her smokestacks can shatter HE and bounce AP when properly angled, but will fuse any AP shell that doesn’t bounce. Her citadel is particularly vulnerable, just 89 mm thick and extending well above the water from her forward superstructure to her X turret. She has a small chunk of 25 mm plating above her rudder that will bounce or shatter the occasional shell when kiting, but shouldn’t be relied on for any meaningful protection. Torpedoes are also a significant threat; she has some torpedo protection, but at only 4% it won’t do much in practice.

Her health pool is also severely lacking. At 21,200 HP stock and 23,600 with the upgraded hull, she has the smallest health pool of any Tier VI cruiser. Combined with her weak armor, she dislikes being shot at.

Rahmat's good concealment will help her stay alive when she can’t find cover. With the Concealment Expert skill, she can get her surface detection down to 9 km. Although every destroyer in her matchmaking range will still outspot her, she will be one of the stealthiest cruisers in her game. Her 5.8 km air detection is average for her tier, but still low enough that she can avoid unwanted plane spotting.

Anti-aircraft

As will be the case for future Pan-Asian tech tree cruisers, Rahmat actually has decent AA defenses for a Tier VI cruiser. Her long-range mounts reach out to 5.8 km, while her mid- and short-range mounts are more normal. Her long- and mid-range mounts produce decent continuous DPS, but her short-range DPS is one of the lowest in tier. She only produces two flak clouds, but uses the same increased damage flak found on Dido, Pensacola, and Huanghe. With the Concealment Expert skill, her air detection and AA ranges are the same, meaning planes cannot spot her without taking damage.

Further increasing her AA defenses, Rahmat carries the Defensive AA Fire consumable in its own slot, which increases both her continuous and flak damage. Although it still isn’t enough to completely prevent strikes, it is a guaranteed damage boost where most other cruisers have to sacrifice Hydroacoustic Search for it.

Players should note that Rahmat's upgraded 133 mm main guns actually provide slightly less long-range DPS. It is still worth upgrading them, though, as the increased damage, penetration, and fire chance are worth the slight AA reduction.

Battle performance

Rahmat bridges the gap between the more traditional light cruiser play style of Chungking and the “super-light” cruisers that follow her. Although she lacks the high torpedo power and fast main battery reload of future Pan-Asian cruisers, she brings many welcome improvements over Chungking.

Players should play around island cover near caps to provide fire support for allied destroyers. With her high shell arcs, she can fire over her protective island armor, and she can use her smokescreens to provide an “island” on demand when necessary. But with no Hydroacoustic Search and limited charges, she is vulnerable to torpedoes when sitting inside it and can quickly run out. If island cover is available, that should take priority. She must avoid overcommitting to a flank, though, as her slow speed will be an issue if she has to run away.

Rahmat's torpedoes still aren’t strong enough to be a primary weapon, but the threat of high damage and low detection can deter enemies from pushing too close. When it’s safe to do so, she can use them to attack stationary cruisers and battleships, but they are best used when kiting. With comfortable firing angles and a fast reload — but only one launcher per side — she can alternate sides while running and leave a stream of painful, stealthy torpedoes in her wake.