USS Gearing

A ship outclassed by the availability of more predators than prey in her own class

Written by

Captn_Thatch

USS Gearing: 50+ Years of Service.

Generalist
Team-Player
Well-Rounded

Scope: Edit. 2

(Corrected armor statistics)

On a continuation of Legendary Tier Reviews during v 3.10, this review encompasses the USS Gearing, one of the first legendary tier ships in the game. As well as origins in World of Warships that date back to being one of the original lines, Gearing caps off the hyper-generalist focus of the US Destroyer line. Gearing is an AVERAGE ship, with a MODERATE skill floor and a HIGH skill ceiling.

As a reminder, Legendary Tier ships are not considered Premium Ships and as such are subject to balance changes.

Captains, you will see the current customized LT metric which includes a pair of lists, one short featuring just LT, and a larger list which incorporates LT and Tier VII.

Gearing is one of the older legendary tier ships found in the game and is fairly common. Statistically speaking, she has been unchanged for some time. I acquired Gearing after completing her Bureau Project some time ago, she was not given to me by Wargaming for review purposes.

This is an edited version, which updated and corrected armor values. Unfortunately, due to the size of the post (beyond 50k characters, the post cannot be edited, and instead, was deleted, corrected, and reposted accordingly.)

Rating Matrix:

[BAD, WEAK, AVERAGE, GOOD, GREAT]
{LOW, MODERATE, HIGH, EXTREME}

History:

Laid down on August 10, 1944, and commissioned into the US Navy on May 3, 1945, the USS Gearing, lead ship of her namesake class, was an improvement on the previously completed Sumner Class. This ship saw little actual upgrades from her preceding class, which most notably saw an addition of just 14' (4.3m) to the hull, with the goal of adding additional fuel space for the long-range nature found in the Pacific Theatre of World War 2.

Gearing was considered a major success, the design incorporated the very reliable and advanced mechanics and autoloading found on the 5" (127mm)/38 dual purpose twin turret in 3 turrets, with two super-firing forward and a single twin turret in the aft. The design originally incorporated both quintuple 21" (530mm) torpedoes, but as the threat of Kamikaze Attacks increased and encounters with ships capable of being torpedoed decreased, the aft set of torpedo tubes would be removed and replaced with AA guns.

Gearing would be completed in May 1945, with the last Gearing-Class destroyer being launched off her slipway during March of 1946. During that time, the US would build 98 Gearing Class Destroyers.

The US Navy never built any more Gearing Class Destroyers.

The larger dimensions most notably gave the Gearing-Class the predictable advantage of being more upgradable over her predecessors. The Gearing Class saw many notable upgrades through her decades of service in the US Navy.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the class underwent a major refit which was the FRAM I and FRAM II upgrades, which saw extensive upgrades to Radar, Sonar, and conversion from Anti-Air towards Anti-Submarine Warfare which included homing torpedoes, nuclear depth charges and the Hedgehog in place of the No. 2 Turret.

The Gearing Class went on to serve in the US Navy until October 1983, when USS William Lawe (originally DD-763) was decommissioned. Dozens of Gearing Class destroyers would be sold all over the world, with some potentially still in, albeit obsolete, service today. USS Power (DD-839) was one such Gearing sold to the Republic of China Navy in October 1977; and was renamed Shen Yang (DD-923) and she served officially until 1st January 2006.

Strengths:

Impressive DPM
Long Lasting Smoke
Agile
Generalist
Decent AA

Weaknesses:

Slow
Slow Torpedoes
Mediocre EHP
Huge Ballistic Arch
Low Muzzle Velocity

The Basics:

Gearing has a great set of traits that allow her to employ a diverse set of general destroyer tactics. However, Gearing is quite well-rounded in the sense that she will place quite well in some important categories. While she will seemingly place well, the rankings are somewhat more deceiving in the sense that Gearing has a lot more predators than prey in the current market. However, Gearing may be the most versatile destroyer currently available as well.

Unlike the other ships in her tier/class, Gearing has more of a penchant for cap possession and contest than the others. Kleber can use black magic fuckery and ditch her concealment down to 4.4km, albeit for a mere 2 minutes before jumping up over 6km for the next 3 minutes. Kleber can maul anything she stumbles into, however, will then need to quickly disappear or get smacked by larger targets eager to remove the threat. Khaba will generously outrange and outrun Gearing, resulting in lopsided matches where Khabarovsk is able to reliably control the terms of engagement. Shimakaze might be considered the only reliable prey for Gearing currently.

It should be noted however, Gearing is a reliable team player and will generally succeed more so than the others. What I mean by this, is that Khaba and Kleber tend to be more flank artists that live on the fringe of the battlefield, where Gearing, tends to contest key central areas with her allies. It is in her more team play oriented dynamics that has enabled Gearing to hold onto any meaningful rating in the competitive index. While she can be woefully out spotted, she is adept at repelling hidden threats, Gearing is a wonderful set of gunnery that is perfect for igniting havoc amongst your opponents in the greater fray of battle.

Gearing can answer most situations unlike her competitors, given she has the right support to deal with it. This sums up to say that Gearing is an adept team player, more-so than the other destroyers.

Offense:

GOOD

Gearing is a fairly well-rounded ship in the sense that she has access to a very well complimented offensive package. Gearing has solid DPM, with gunnery capable of dealing with most threats, with access to long range albeit slow torpedoes. We'll break down the numbers first, then explain the logic behind how everything ties in together after.

Main Battery Range

Khabarovsk: 12.3
Kleber: 11
Gearing: 10.7
Shimakaze: 10.7

Main Battery Range

Khabarovsk: 12.3
Hsienyang: 11.5
Paolo Emilio: 11.4
Udaloi: 11
Le Fantasque: 11
Kleber: 11
Akizuki: 11
Tashkent: 10.9
Friesland: 10.9
ZF-6: 10.8
Lightning: 10.8
Lo Yang: 10.8
Shimakaze: 10.7
Yudachi: 10.7
Gearing: 10.7
Z-23 15cm: 10.6
Kagero: 10.6
Fletcher: 10

10.7 is almost abysmal range for a hybridized destroyer. Fortunately, this isn't a significant handicap as Gearing has fairly low muzzle velocity; meaning longer range shells will genuinely reach Low Earth Orbit. While a short gunnery range definitely limits the types of engagements Gearing is able to deal with.

Shell Diameter

Kleber: 139
Khabarovsk: 130
Gearing: 127
Shimakaze: 127

127mm is a pretty genuinely average diameter for the tier.

Main Battery Reload

Gearing: 3
Khabarovsk: 5
Shimakaze: 6.5
Kleber: 7

This is one of those areas where Gearing really starts to shine. A 3s reload is quite strong, especially when firing 6 guns or better.

Ricochet Angles (^(o)) Potential/Guaranteed

Gearing: 45/60
Shimakaze: 45/60
Khabarovsk: 45/60
Kleber 45/60

All of the current LT Destroyers have the standard ricochet angles.

Muzzle Velocity

Shimakaze: 915m/s
Khabarovsk: 900m/s
Kleber: 840m/s
Gearing: 792m/s

This is an understatedly important category, Gearing has the worst muzzle velocity of any destroyer in Legendary Tier currently, and as such, this gives her a solid disadvantage in mid to long-range gun fights.

Fuse Time (s)

Gearing: 0.01
Shimakaze: 0.01
Khabarovsk: 0.01
Kleber: 0.025

Another standard list here, with the only notable exception is Kleber. Short fuse times aren't extremely uncommon but realize that 0.01s AP arming fuse is too long to be usable for full AP pens consistently in destroyer engagements. It can be done but is tricky to do.

Shells per Minute

Gearing: 120
Khabarovsk: 96
Kleber: 69
Shimakaze: 55

Shells per Minute

Akizuki: 160
Friesland: 133
Gearing: 120
Fletcher: 100
Khabarovsk: 96
Lightning: 80
ZF-6: 75
Hsienyang: 73
Lo Yang: 73
Tashkent: 72
Kleber: 69
Shimakaze: 55
Kagero: 53
Le Fantasque: 50
Udaloi: 48
Z-23 15cm: 45
Paolo Emilio: 45
Yudachi: 44

Gearing has excellent DPM and throws up 120 shots a minute. and is only usurped by Friesland and Akizuki. However, Gearing has larger gunnery and will pass both the others in terms of DPM.

180***^(0)*** Turret Traverse (s)

Fletcher: 5.3
Lo Yang: 5.3
Hsienyang: 5.3
Gearing: 7
Friesland: 7.2
Lightning: 9
Udaloi: 9
Khabarovsk: 9
Kleber: 10
Akizuki: 11.3
Kagero: 15
Yudachi: 15
Le Fantasque: 18
Paolo Emilio: 18
Tashkent: 18.6
Z-23 15cm: 22.5
Shimakaze: 23

Gearing has great turret traverse, and this will facilitate her ability to own close range gun fights, especially in gunfights against other destroyers.

HE Alpha

Z-23 15cm: 2200
Yudachi: 2150
Le Fantasque: 2000
Kleber: 2000
Gearing: 2000
Paolo Emilio: 1950
Fletcher: 1900
Tashkent: 1900
Udaloi: 1900
Lo Yang: 1900
Hsienyang: 1900
Khabarovsk: 1900
Shimakaze: 1800
Kagero: 1800
Friesland: 1750
Lightning: 1700
ZF-6: 1450
Akizuki: 1200

Gearing has solid HE alpha, and excellent reload. These create a great recipe for earning top tier DPM.

HE Broadside

Kleber: 16,000
Khabarovsk: 15,200
Gearing: 12,000
Shimakaze: 10,800

12k HE broadside isn't particularly bad, especially considering Gearing can follow this up almost twice as fast as any other ship on this list.

HE Damage per Minute

Gearing: 240,000
Friesland: 233,333
Akizuki: 192,000
Fletcher: 190,000
Khabarovsk: 182,400
Lo Yang: 138,182
Hsienyang: 138,182
Kleber: 137,143
Tashkent: 136,800
Lightning: 136,000
ZF-6: 108,750
Le Fantasque: 100,000
Shimakaze: 99,962
Z-23 15: 98,507
Kagero: 95,290
Yudachi: 94,853
Udaloi: 91,200
Paolo Emilio: 89,477

240k HE DPM stock is excellent, however, will greatly reduce in efficacy with range. Like most smaller shells, intertia will only get you so far which translates to absolutely abysmal velocities at range. While Gearing will shred most things in terms of DPM in close, she will generally succumb to less consistent gunnery at ranges beyond 10km.

HE Penetration (mm)

Kleber: 23
Gearing: 21
Shimakaze: 21
Khabarovsk: 21

HE Penetration (mm)

ZF-6: 32
Z-23 15cm: 25
Le Fantasque: 23
Kleber: 23
Paolo Emilio: 22
Yudachi: 21
Gearing: 21
Fletcher: 21
Khabarovsk: 21
Tashkent: 21
Udaloi: 21
Lo Yang: 21
Shimakaze: 21
Hsienyang: 21
Kagero: 21
Akizuki: 20
Lightning: 20
Friesland: 20

Gearing's 127mm gunnery has 1/6 penetration, and as such comes with access to 21mm of HE penetration. This is very average.

Fire Chance

Kleber: 10
Khabarovsk: 8
Shimakaze: 7
Gearing: 5

Gearing has just a meager 5% fire chance, but this is not all bad...Gearing does fire off a lot of shells and this helps her cope with a lower fire chance.

AP Alpha

Z-23 15cm: 3700
Paolo Emilio: 3000
ZF-6: 2950
Le Fantasque: 2700
Kleber: 2700
Khabarovsk: 2600
Udaloi: 2600
Tashkent: 2500
Gearing: 2300
Shimakaze: 2200
Yudachi: 2200
Fletcher: 2200
Lo Yang: 2200
Hsienyang: 2200
Kagero: 2200
Lightning: 2200
Friesland: 2100
Akizuki: 1700

All things said and done, the only ship with better alpha strike on 127/8s is ZF-6. Otherwise, Gearing takes the cake with a slight edge of 100 Alpha per pop.

AP Broadside Weight

Kleber: 21,600
Khabarovsk: 20,800
Gearing: 13,800
Shimakaze: 13,200

Gearing has some pretty weak AP broadside strike, and this again, is more compensated by Gearing firing off a lot of shells than a higher AP Alpha strike. While Gearing can punch into auxiliary rooms quite nicely, her access to this wonderful 276k AP DPM is pretty well skill blocked in the sense that most targets will generally realize and take defensive measures against this. Gearing does translate well with Friesland, in terms of access to her potentials.

AP Damage per Minute

Gearing: 276,000
Khabarovsk: 249,000
Kleber: 185,143
Shimakaze: 121,846

276k AP DPM is quite strong, however, Gearing will lack much of the gunnery prowess featured by Khabarovsk. Khaba has the gunnery to land 8-10k chunks at ranges greater than 10km, Gearing, will greatly struggle to match the feat; move in closer than 8km, and Gearing will leave Khaba in the dust.

These guns are good, but they aren't great. Gearing has access to strong potential values, but more normal normalization values which tend to mirror the majority of the tier. Low muzzle velocity and high trajectories almost negate long range gunnery, while facilitating a plethora of close-mid range gunnery tactics.

Torpedo Alpha

Shimakaze: 23,767
Paolo Emilio: 23,767
Yudachi: 20,967
Kagero: 20,967
Akizuki: 20,967
Khabarovsk: 19,500
Kleber: 18,400
ZF-6: 18,400
Le Fantasque: 18,400
Gearing: 17,900
Hsienyang: 17,000
Fletcher: 16,633
Lightning: 15,533
Udaloi: 15,100
Tashkent: 14,400
Z-23 15cm: 14,400
Lo Yang: 11,600
Friesland: 0

Gearing's torpedoes are not particularly a letdown, but they are not exactly a triumph either. In most terms, Gearing's torpedoes are very average at best with one exception, they have absolutely incredible range.

Torpedo Range

Gearing: 16.5
Shimakaze: 11
Khabarovsk: 6
Kleber: 6

Torpedo Range:

Gearing: 16.5
Shimakaze: 11
Kagero: 10
Akizuki: 10
Lightning: 10
Yudachi: 10
Z-23 15cm: 9.5
Fletcher: 9.2
Lo Yang: 9.2
Hsienyang: 9
Le Fantasque: 8.3
Tashkent: 8
Udaloi: 8
ZF-6: 8
Kleber: 6
Paolo Emilio: 6
Khabarovsk: 6
Friesland: 0

At 16.5km stock, Gearing has a very, very long reach.

Torpedo Damage per Minute

Kleber: 172,003
Shimakaze: 139,749
Khabarovsk: 117,000
Gearing: 77,205

This comes with a steep price of a full 2 minute reload. Middle of the pack damage with long reload results in quite low DPM.

Torpedo Reload Time (s)

Shimakaze: 153
Gearing: 136
Khabarovsk: 100
Kleber: 77

Torpedo Concealment (Km)

Khabarovsk: 0.6
Gearing: 1.4
Shimakaze: 1.7
Kleber: 1.8

Gearing does have somewhat average torpedo concealment.

Torpedo Speed

Kleber: 75
Shimakaze: 67
Gearing: 66
Khabarovsk: 58

And some more averageness in her Torpedo Speed.

Torpedo Reaction Time (s)

Khabarovsk: 3.98
Gearing: 8.16
Kleber: 9.23
Shimakaze: 12

And some even more averageness in her torpedo reaction time.

Let's recap, Gearing packs pretty good guns with an excellent reload and DPM values that are quite hindered by longer range engagements due to their abysmal velocity. Seriously, these things will probably wind up shooting down some satellites or space stations or may be the first ship to put a projectile into Low-Earth Orbit. She prefers close fights, or picking on big, fat, slow, or near stationary targets at range. Gearing has impressive range on her otherwise very average torpedoes that take almost half the match to reload and thus are not really her primary weapon.

The phrase "Hidden Threat" certainly typifies Gearing in the sense that she is certainly not the most threatening offensive package, but conversely, she is not something you want to leave roaming around freely. Gearing has the ability to hilariously punch back-line capital ships that are so well known for sitting like a content swan in a shady pond. If a destroyer is unfortunate enough to run into a Gearing, Gearing has the ability to shred most things in a 1v1 gunfight, but this is quite easily remedied as most of these destroyers can just run away and out-pace Gearing. While Gearing is fairly easy to hunt, keep in mind Gearing is quite capable of putting up 300k+ HE DPM in most builds.

Defense:

GOOD

Ok, maybe it's the way the sun is shining today, or something is in the air. I'll be nice. Technically, Gearing sits smack dab on the cusp of AVERAGE and GOOD defensively. Gearing lacks access to Sonar or Radar, but has a generous Smoke Generator, a reliable AA Aura, while being fairly agile, but slow. Couple this with access to an above average HP, without access to a heal and Gearing winds up splitting hairs on a very marginal basis. Gearing is a generalist, and as such she can employ a wide variety of basic defensive tactics fairly well. However, realize that most of these defenses are not impervious by any stretch of the imagination.

Defensively speaking, Gearing holds a very marginal concealment advantage at best to her larger predatory competitors like Kleber or Khabarovsk and is generously out spotted by Shimakaze. As more destroyers begin to populate Legendary Tier, most of those potential Tier 10 PC candidates are either large enough to man-handle Gearing in a gunfight, carry sonar, or will flat out-run her.

In a tier becoming increasingly populated with Radar (now 4 out of 5 cruisers in the tier carry it) Gearing faces a growing and increasing threat designed to counter her, specifically. While Gearing can succeed and she can overcome a lot of the obstacles that she encounters, there is certainly a limit to the number of obstacles she can overcome. The stronger the skill and experience of the captain, the more profound the impact of the Gearing; though ultimately, will not have the same level of skill ceiling by default as say Khabarovsk or Kleber, solely on their speed alone which directly contributes to the ability to control the map, and with it, the ability to control the match.

While yes, Gearing again does have answers to this solution, she generally requires a very heavy team-player role, in which she can be amongst the best ships in this role. If given Radar by a supportive teammate nearby, Gearing will generally dominate the gunfight that ensues, however, if that same opposing destroyer is allowed to engage Gearing on their own terms, the results are generally disastrous for the Gearing. If given the space in Shima's 0.4km concealment advantage over Gearing, Shima is able to dump 15 torpedoes into the water around the Gearing, good luck. We all know how that ends, especially lacking sonar to help light those buggers up.

Base HP

Khabarovsk: 22,500
Kleber: 21,900
Gearing: 19,400
Shimakaze: 17,900

19,400 isn't particularly strong, but it's ahead of more than it trails.

Stock Base HP

Paolo Emilio: 24,400
Khabarovsk: 22,500
Kleber: 21,900
Tashkent: 21,500
Akizuki: 20,400
Z-23: 19,500
Gearing: 19,400 (Stock)
Udaloi: 18,800
Le Fantasque: 18,500
Shimakaze: 17,900
Friesland: 17,600
ZF-6: 17,000
Fletcher: 16,700
Lo Yang: 16,100
Lightning: 15,900
Hsienyang: 15,500
Kagero: 15,100
Yudachi: 13,200

Effective Health Pool

Khabarovsk: 28,772
Gearing: 22,600 (Sims Build)
Kleber: 21,900
Shimakaze: 17,900

Now that we tack on heals, this shows just how lop-sided the gunfights start to get between Gearing and her predators.

Effective Health Pool

Khabarovsk: 28,772
Tashkent: 27,500
Udaloi: 24,000
Kleber: 21,900
Gearing: 19,400 (Concealment)
Shimakaze: 17,900

Adding Will Sims and sacrificing Jersey Swirski bumps Gearing into a nice 22.6k margin, which allows for a more successful engagements over the course of the match. While this is nice, it's kind of like having to choose which bullet hole the one band-aid can cover. Losing concealment over HP will help in the inevitable gun fight but will hinder in trying to hunt smaller faster targets.

Edit: (Simply put, though the difference in the original metric was corrected, it does not greatly change the overall values, and thus was corrected for statistical accuracy.)

Armor Profile

Khabarovsk: 19 plating, 25 deck, 50 cheeks, 50 belt.
Gearing: 19 plating, 21mm belt
Shimakaze: 19
Kleber: 19

Gearing has the average and typical armor scheme of a legendary tier destroyer. The fun part here, is that Gearing has an additional 2mm hidden along the belt (which I missed on first blush, hence the edit.) Now, this subtle 2mm difference does indeed give the additional thickness needed to arm most small caliber (120-130mm) or (152mm short fuse) and the results just point towards a situation where the extra armor can be trolly by getting unexpected shatters and eating unexpected full pens.

Defensively, Gearing has the ability to drop some spicy smokes and fire off a lot of rounds, but as captains ultimately move up the tiers to acquire more advanced weaponry, surveillance systems become the critical answer to countering concealment. Gearing statistically has decent enough AA to count, is reliably agile, and generally winds up being a team player, both for her ability to work with the fleet on the whole, and for the fleet's ability to help bail Gearing out of trouble. When Gearing is put on the back foot alone and forced to defend, she can frequently turn up lack luster. When put on the back foot and forced to defend with her allies, she can be a force to be reckoned with. So long as Gearing is not the lone focus of the enemy's wrath, Gearing is reliable enough to overcome most general situations.

Anti-Air Suite:

GOOD

Gearing has reliable AA. She was usurped by Friesland, but that does not mean Gearing is incapable of defending herself, only that angry AA build Friesland might need therapy.

Anti-Air Damage per Second

Gearing: 149
Khabarovsk: 130
Kleber: 102
Shimakaze: 72

Anti-Air Damage per Second

Friesland: 286
Akizuki: 158
Gearing: 149
Fletcher: 135
Khabarovsk: 130
ZF-6: 110
Kleber: 102
Tashkent: 86
Udaloi: 84
Lo Yang: 80
Lightning: 79
Hsienyang: 77
Z-23 15cm: 73
Shimakaze: 72
Le Fantasque: 68
Paolo Emilio: 63
Kagero: 36
Yudachi: 11

Pretty solid stock AA values.

Anti-Air Range

Khabarovsk: 5.2
Gearing: 5
Shimakaze: 5
Kleber: 4.5

Gearing is pretty competent in terms of her Anti-Air Aura. She will have to work to earn her Clear Sky Medal, but it will help keep her relatively left alone by CVs. While the smarter CV will generally pester a Gearing, most CVs will pay a hefty price for a continuous assault inside Gearing's AA.

Maneuverability:

Average

Gearing isn't per se a maneuverability god, but she is quite agile albeit she is slow.

Turn Radius (m)

Paolo Emilio: 810
Khabarovsk: 760
Kleber: 740
Akizuki: 730
Tashkent: 730
Le Fantasque: 690
Shimakaze: 690
Z-23: 680
ZF-6: 670
Kagero: 640
Gearing: 640
Friesland: 620
Udaloi: 610
Lightning: 590
Yudachi: 570
Lo Yang: 570
Fletcher: 560

a 640m turn radius is good, but it's not great and is better than average.

Rudder Shift (s)

Shimakaze: 3
Gearing: 3.3
Kleber: 4.8
Khabarovsk: 11.1

Gearing's Rudder Shift paints a similar story. Good, but far from Great and above average.

Base Top Speed

Kleber: 44
Khabarovsk: 43
Shimakaze: 39
Gearing: 36

Base Top Speed

Kleber: 44
Paolo Emilio: 43.5
Khabarovsk: 43
Le Fantasque: 42.7
Tashkent: 42.5
Shimakaze: 39
Udaloi: 38
Lo Yang: 38
Hsienyang: 38
Z-23 15cm: 37
Fletcher: 36.5
Gearing: 36
Lightning: 36
Friesland: 36
Kagero: 35
Yudachi: 35
ZF-6: 35
Akizuki: 33

Gearing is softened considerably by this 36-knot top speed, granted she does have access to certain builds and commander skills which can help dent this, but the magic number here is 40. Just about every destroyer (there are a couple exceptions) runs the exact same identical 8% 2-minute speed boost. Gearing is considerably weak to longer range gun fights at which larger, stronger, and faster destroyers can willingly and readily use to both control range of engagement from Gearing, but as well jump in and spot her at will.

Gearing is a team player and a wonderful escort as she is genuinely capable in most scenarios, however, it should be noted that Gearing is considerably vulnerable to the more predacious gunboat destroyers lurking in the tier; she is considerably outpaced by things that can readily hunt her at their will.

Stay with your team, Gearing is capable of jumping out just ever so slightly from her back up; there is a reason for this.

Concealment:

Weak

This is going to sting a bit. Gearing is quite limited here in terms of concealment based off the meta.

Destroyer concealment is a lifeline, and while most players will readily argue destroyer concealment is excessive and they would at least in part be correct, many destroyers also come heavily nerfed between versions, resulting in changes to their armaments range which would otherwise blindingly irritate other classes. The closer examined and compared, Legends is becoming increasingly more "unique" from the other versions.

The truth of concealment here is that the bulk of the bell curve of stock concealment values very narrowly range between 7.1km and 6.6km, which is just a pale 500m.

Imagine, as a brawling battleship that your main battery is just flat outranged by a Kleber or Khabarovsk, or a Shimakaze with 20km torpedo range.

Captains, you don't have to experience this because of those changes we have exclusively on Legends, and the end result is that most destroyers cling to life by their concealment, as many have changes to the tools to deal with their opposition missing frequently charges or outright missing consumables altogether. Yep, Shima gets 15 torpedoes however they take almost 3 minutes to reload, and she is very much a one trick pony.

Gearing, clings to concealment to allow her the ability to contest in cap. She lacks sonar, or radar (rightfully so, as she should have neither) but in turn from PC sacrifices over half a kilometer in stock main battery range while adding 30s to her torpedo reload and in turn receives just 0.4km buffer to her stock concealment and is locked into having access only to the longer range, lower alpha torpedo found on Gearing.

The end result, captains, is a meta with a <6km concealment Gearing that is unquestionably out-right smoked in concealment by a number of destroyers capable of bodying Gearing in a gunfight, and her advantage over the rest of the ships capable of out-gunning Gearing are negligible in combination with her top speed.

Stock Concealment (Km)

Khabarovsk: 7.7
Gearing: 7.1
Kleber: 6.9
Shimakaze: 6.7

Stock Concealment (Km)

Khabarovsk: 7.7
Tashkent: 7.6
Udaloi: 7.6
Gearing: 7.1
Paolo Emilio: 7
Fletcher: 7
Hsienyang: 7
Le Fantasque: 6.9
Kleber: 6.9
Lightning: 6.9
Friesland: 6.9
Akizuki: 6.8
Z-23 15cm: 6.8
Shimakaze: 6.7
Lo Yang: 6.6
Kagero: 6.6
ZF-6: 6.5
Yudachi: 6.3

Max Air Concealment (Km)

Khabarovsk: 3.3
Gearing: 3.0
Kleber: 2.7
Shimakaze: 2.6

Gearing has somewhat average air-concealment values.

Max Concealment (Km)

Khabarovsk: 5.7
Gearing: 5.2
Kleber: 5.0
Shimakaze: 4.8

Max Concealment (Km)

Khabarovsk: 5.7
Tashkent: 5.6
Udaloi: 5.6
Friesland: 5.3
Paolo Emilio: 5.2
Gearing: 5.2
Fletcher: 5.2
Lightning: 5.1
Le Fantasque: 5.0
Kleber: 5.0
Hsienyang: 5.0
ZF-6: 4.9
Z-23 15cm: 4.9
Akizuki: 4.9
Lo Yang: 4.9
Shimakaze: 4.8
Kagero: 4.8
Yudachi: 4.7

The general vibe that I'm getting here is that in a habitat literally over-run by Jaguars and Tigers, Gearing is a Leopard. She's both vulnerable to her prey being stolen and becoming prey herself.

Consumables:

GOOD

Let's be honest here, this category hits the "GOOD" rating solely for Gearing's access to USN Smoke which has the coveted 2min duration. Otherwise, this clocks home a very mediocre AVERAGE. Gearing has access to the typical destroyer loadout of smoke and a speed boost, though she has access to an improved smoke screen.

Speed Boost

Kleber: 20% boost, 120s duration. 180s reload x2
Gearing: 8% boost 120s duration. 180s reload x2
Shimakaze: 8% boost 120s duration. 180s reload x2
Khabarovsk: 8% boost 120s duration. 180s reload x2

Everything has the same speed boost, unless it's French, then the ship will have a 20% increase not 8%.

Smoke Generator

Gearing: 28s duration with 124s dispersion. 240s reload x2
Shimakaze: 20s duration with 89s dispersion. 240s reload x2
Khabarovsk: 20s duration with 89s dispersion. 240s reload x2
Kleber: —

This is the coveted USN smoke here, stock, it has a base advantage of 25s in duration.

Repair Party

Khabarovsk: 112/s-28s. 80sr x2 (6,272)
Gearing: —
Shimakaze: —
Kleber: —

Khabarovsk is currently the unique ship here with the option to employ a heal.

Main Battery Reload Booster

Gearing: —
Shimakaze: —
Khabarovsk: —
Kleber: -50% to reload,15s duration. 150s reload x1

Kleber is currently the unique ship here with the main battery reload consumable. She only gets one charge, however.

Hydro-Acoustic Search

Gearing: —
Shimakaze: —
Khabarovsk: —
Kleber: —

Oddly, there are no destroyers in LT which can equip sonar. Though none of these ships would traditionally equip it, it's just odd to see that no destroyer in LT currently has Sonar; where it is more starting to define the meta for T7. (And rightfully so.)

Commanders:

GREAT

Here's one area I think we can all agree on, there is literally a fleets worth of USN Destroyer Commanders. Captains, you will readily see the same kind of build more or less wrapped into this summary. Gearing presents herself as a very hybridized style destroyer that is capable of leaning on either armament for short periods of time in general engagements.

Inspirations for Gearing, like most destroyers, will focus heavily on concealment. Eric Bey's (-5% DD Concealment) and Jersy Swirski (-4% Concealment) allows Destroyers to acquire the concealment radius needed to reliably contest caps. However, adding Will Sims' Built to Last (+400Hp/Tier) results in a Gearing with an EHP of 22,600, however, loses nearly 0.8km Concealment pushing her concealment ring to a pretty weak 6.1km.

Unstoppable as a legendary perk is almost non-negotiable in any of these builds. Destroyers don't have any armor, which means most penetrations will successfully incapacitate rudders or engines. Take this perk to prevent Sitting Duck Syndrome.

Don't be the commander in that destroyer, spotted stationary with sparks shooting out of the smokestacks unable to move. Take the perk and stay moving, which will keep you alive.

Vincent Mordoff: Mordoff is generally the go-to build for Gearing. Exclusively, his 4th row skill Sheltered Arms prevents turrets and torpedo tubes from getting knocked out (they can still be destroyed) which keeps those same weapons going. In combination with the general successful build found on Halsey, Mordoff adds both a more useful base inspirational slot, on top of all the normal necessities found in the build. Twist N Track is almost a necessity as well, as it will help clue the captain in to the location of those smaller hidden threats. Mordoff was made available during one of the previous Halloween Events. Pair with double concealment, or Eric Bey and Will Sims for inspirations.

Waste Not: -6% Gun Reload
Observant Rage: -8% Gun Reload, +15% Torpedo Detectability, +10 Rudder Shift
Look at Me Now: -6% Concealment
Twist N Track: +3.5^(o)/s, Direction of Nearest Enemy
Sheltered Arms: -100% Risk of Gun and Torpedo Incapacitation
Unstoppable: -15% to Engine Repair, Reduced Engine power when disabled

William Halsey: Halsey is essentially the free version of Mordoff. They share many of the same skills and equate to very similar playstyles. Pair with either double concealment or Bey and Sims.

I Mean Harm: +5% AP Alpha
Observant Rage: -8% Gun Reload, +15% Torpedo Detectability, +10 Rudder Shift
Look at Me Now: -6% Concealment
Twist N Track: +3.5^(o)/s, Direction of Nearest Enemy
Smoke on the Water: +8% Smoke Deployment, +8% Smoke Dispersion
Unstoppable: -15% to Engine Repair, Reduced Engine power when disabled

AB Bumblebee: Bumblebee arrived in the first collaboration of Transformers, and while his skills are somewhat useful, albeit not as useful as some others. Pair with the usual double concealment or Bey and Sims. Follows a similar play style to Halsey and Mordoff.

Overboost: +20% to Engine Boost duration
Observant Rage: -8% Gun Reload, +15% Torpedo Detectability, +10% Rudder Shift
Look at Me Now: -6% Concealment
Twist N Track: +3.5^(o)/s Turret Traverse, Direction of Closest Enemy
Calculated Inversion: -70% Rudder Shift, +70% Engine Power: while Smoke Screen is active, -30% Smoke Screen Dispersion
Unstoppable: -15 Engine Repair, Reduced Power available while Engine is Damaged

Arleigh Burke: This would probably be my back-up Gearing build which gives me the ability to throw some pepper on the match instead of salt. The nice part here is that this build is a bit better at taking damage and starting fires. Pair with the typical double concealment or Sims and Bey for inspirations.

Sureshot: +5% Sigma
Quick Fix: -8% Splash Damage, Steering Gears and Engine gain reduced mobility on disability
Look at Me Now: -6% Concealment
A Thousand Cuts: -8% Gun Reload, -8% Secondary Reload
Smoke on the Water: +8% Smoke Dispersion, +8% Smoke Deployment
Rather be Torching: +4% Chance of Fire, -7% HE Alpha

Albert Gleaves: Not generally my go-to for Gearing builds, but you do end up with a hilarious 19.4km Torpedo Range and holding a 5.1km concealment, 17,4k EHP, there's a lot of memery going here. Gleaves is much more of a torpedo focused commander, which is almost a hilarious feature for the US Navy Destroyer's, which were plagued with near comically bad torpedoes for the time. As a result, most USN ships are designed to be much more gunnery oriented, and Gearing is no exception. Can this build work? Yes, technically, but definitely would not be my first choice. Inspiration slots should focus onto concealment.

From Afar: +6% Torpedo Range
Subsurface Venture: -12 Torpedo Reload, +4knots Torpedo Speed, +10 Gun Reload
Look at Me Now: -6% Concealment
Torpedo Safari: +16% Torpedo Range, -7% Gun Range
Smoke on the Water: +8% Smoke Deployment, +8% Smoke Dispersion
Unstoppable: -15% Engine Repair, Reduced Engine Power on disability

Upgrades:

Gearing is a Legendary Tier Ship without any researchable upgrades.

Modifications:

Slot 1: Aiming Systems Mod 1 (-7% Dispersion, +20% Torpedo Tube Traverse)

The very obvious choice here, while adding the AA Mod could work for situations involving carriers.

Slot 2: Propulsion Mod 2 (-50% Acceleration to Full Power)

Gearing is fairly agile and comes with a good stock rudder shift. Propulsion mod helps with the get up and go.

Slot 3: Concealment System Mod 1 (-10% Concealment, -5% Incoming Fire Dispersion)

Gearing lives and breathes on her concealment. This is a necessity.

Slot 4: Main Battery Mod 3 (-12% Gun Reload, -13% Gun Traverse)

Gearing is not exactly a long-range gunboat, and as such, she will benefit much more by buffing her reload, rather than her range.

Research:

Gearing is not currently used in any Research Bureau Projects.

Summary:

AVERAGE

This is a ship that was literally retired, about 16 years ago.

It's almost crazy to think about that this is a ship that was so well designed she endured over 50 years of service across the world.

In World of Warships: Legends however, she is somewhat questionable, or perhaps just outright mediocre. Gearing has a lot of strengths worthy of respect otherwise they will kill you. Gearing is not a new ship to World of Warships on the whole, and Legends was the last iteration of her I had to acquire across all the versions to get the free complimentary dish set.

However, on the whole, Gearing is just outclassed by the availability of more predators than prey in her own class. Gearing is excellent at hunting down wayward hidden torpedo boats and as an extension of the team on the whole. Gearing has access to wonderful smoke, fantastic DPM and decent fire-starting capability, coupled with very long-range torpedoes (and an awful reload!). Gearing's long-lasting smoke is perfect for giving the life-saving getaway for teammates, prolonged screening for firing off a heinous amount of small caliber HE. Gearing's long-range torpedoes are almost perfect for area denial for larger opponents that get too close to the team.

However, Gearing is most certainly a Leopard in a world dominated by Tigers (Khaba) and Jaguars (Kleber). The leopard (Gearing) alone is an elusive hunter and is capable of taking down prey with stunning skill. However, this cat is just out classed by the others, and any Leopard that does not respect the might of the larger and faster cats will wind up becoming their prey. Fortunately, there are plenty of Cheetahs (Shima) running around too, which gives the Leopard some hope that it is in fact, not the smallest cat. Gearing might not have the skull crushing bite that is Kleber's MBRB, or the all-out size, brute force and power of the 28k EHP Khabarovsk; but the crafty Gearing does earn her place among them.