Baltimore is honestly one of if not THE best T8 cruisers of the game. It’s a competitive field but great guns, fantastic shells, stealth radar capability. God Bless America
I had a rough time way back when with New Orleans the first time I went up the USN Cruiser split lines, but fell in love with Baltimore very quickly. One of my favorite cruisers at any tier and I am saying that as a BB main.
Advice on Buffalo worked out well, looking forward to trying some of these ideas on Baltimore. These were the ships I was building plastic models of in the late 50’s, still my favorites.
I actually like Top Grade Gunner on Baltimore (and Wichita). Where it really comes into play is when you’re hunting DDs and close to within your detection range so you can counter-spot them with your radar. That’s when I want the fastest reload possible to hopefully take them out before my radar runs out.
Great to hear! I honestly think the long-running "AA is garbage" crap from a lot of content creators has done lasting damage to the game. There are plenty of ships with solid AA suites, it's just that AA doesn't make you immune to planes.
Thank you for continuing the whiskey gaming lounge style reviews! I was looking for updates and new ships and he stopped making his videos a couple years ago, this is great. Nice work! Keep them coming!
Getting back into WoW after a long hiatus, really enjoying these vids and tutorials. Quick question regarding the Hawaii State flag, are state flags available or is that something custom made? TIA & mahalos!
This video is great but i'm just not understanding how you have your shift on full left or right and not moving the ship on that direction. It also seems that when you start curving you have the full speed of having the gear on full left or right, in fact you have that shift on that direction. Is it done in a particular way or is it a mod? Some exemples on 32:04 or 38:32. Btw you did a really amazing job on this video, fantastic explanation of the ship and the match. Keep it up. 🎉
It looks like an artifact/bug in the replay system. Not sure what else to tell you, I definitely don't have my rudder hard over at either of those two timestamps. Baltimore is pretty responsive to her helm, if the rudder was hard over you'd know it.
So I am a new player and recently managed to get the Baltimore and noticed that some of the Values are different than what was shown in the video does the New Baltimore play similar to the Baltimore shown in the video or does the playstyle now change?
Baltimore air detection is 5.9km, while it's long range AA is 5.8km. This means it's impossible for an enemy CV to drop fighters to spot you. Also, FYI, having a longer defAA is actually a bad thing. A CV can bait it, and then the cooldown before it's available again is LONGER... Also, you are only immune to that Weser's planes...because he had no skill. Also, he was running STOCK planes, not his fully upgraded planes. A good tier 6 CV has to treat a Baltimore with respect...but he can still hit you if he wants.
We disagree on additional Defensive AA time being bad. More often than not it means that my DFAA is still active if the carrier comes back to me with another wave of planes (after the first one finishes or is destroyed). The same special upgrade that lengthens the time DFAA stays active also reduces the cooldown. It's possible to have DFAA up for ~48 seconds and down for ~55 if you stack all the buffs together. (I need to double-check the math on this, but that sounds about right.) Regardless, not many CVs can or will stay away from you for nearly a minute once they have decided to chase you. You'll get good work out of the extra duration most of the time, and you're not exactly helpless while DFAA is on cooldown, either. As far as the Weser, most CVs you encounter in randoms will be pretty average skill-wise. That doesn't mean they can't still hurt you if you haven't taken any steps towards murdering planes better (depending on the ship you are driving). Baltimore, thankfully, is several steps ahead of most of the pack at T8 and can get even better with a minimal investment in commander skill points.
Played a few New Orleans games this morning, realized I was over 100k on Ship XP, so got the Baltimore. I watched this video and set the Balti up in about the same way as my New Orleans and put my 14pt Benjamin Blackwell captain (from my New Orleans) in her. I then took her out four times . . . . . . . . . 2 tier IX and 2 tier X battles, not a carrier in sight, averaged less than 500xp and 30000damage in Co-ops, WAY short of my average damage total. I was sunk 3 times and my guns hit like I loaded 'nerf' ammo. ARRGGGHHHH! - I haven't played well this morning except for three games in Hawkins, so, I'll come back later after I clear my head and quit twitching. - Is the Balti the kind of ship that is the target of the "Weimar Syndrome"? Every time I take out the Weimar everyone starts shooting at me and I swear I hear, 'Mine Mine MINE MINE'. To quote every woman I've ever dated, 'It's not you, it's me." Great tutorial as usual, 'Raptor!
P.S. hmmm again . . . Took the Balti out this morning after switching from the Bionic cammo to a Pi cammo. Averaged over 80k, over 700xp and killed 7 ships in three Co-op battles, 2 Tier VIIIs and a Tier IX. Okay, she's nice ;)
As I stated at the very beginning of the video: I was not remotely concerned about the Weser. Why he continued to throw away his planes remains a mystery. But it speaks to a larger point, IMHO. There is a non-zero set of players in Warships that think all AA is worthless. They've spent years watching YT videos and reading forum and reddit posts of people saying it, and thus they believe the lie. AA isn't worthless, but you have to understand the mechanics of how it works as well as the individual matchup you've got (i.e. your ship's capabilities vs. enemy carrier planes). Your Malta example is a good one. Baltimore vs. Malta is a much more difficult matchup for the cruiser. Will I murder some of his planes? Absolutely. Will the ordnance he actually lands really hurt? Very much so. So that engagement plays out completely differently for both players than this Baltimore vs. Weser one. The Malta can come after me repeatedly and will probably eventually win... but my AA is enough that I have an above average chance of causing him catastrophic plane losses in doing so. The odds of an enemy Malta chasing me at the start of a match when there are invariably less well-defended targets on the board are pretty slim, but in the late game if my Baltimore is still alive he may have no choice but to come after me. That's when the dance gets interesting. There's some good examples of this in my Learn to Play Des Moines video where I end up paired against an enemy Midway.
Yeah that's fair...the japanese cruisers were your first line i think, they may have some reason to complain about AA, i like my Mino and can't complain about it's AA... or the AA on the dutch cruisers is pretty solid.. still i rarely would swap hydro for AA.. hydro too useful compared to enhanced AA even in a game with CV.@@SeaRaptor
Great video. However, when you're top tier against a T6 CV- certainly your AA will bully those weak/slow planes. But that argument falls flat against a T10 (and even most T8) CVs. I love the US cruiser line, and the Balty, but sadly you get more T10 CVs than T6 when playing it. When folks say AA is 'worthless', those are the matchups being referred to. I choose to just run hydro for that reason. Plus, the 'joy' of T8 and T10 subs make it even more vital to run hydro vs DFAA.
When any ship's AA suite is up-tiered against a CV, it's likely to feel bad. That's just math. I'm looking forward to hearing more "AA is worthless" arguments after I post my Des Moines video for this line, though. Someone here on YT several months ago pointed out to me the opportunity cost of taking DFAA vs. hydro has shifted significantly in submarine world (and they're right). I hadn't viewed it through that lens previously, and it's colored my thinking ever since. We've reached a stage where I honestly think you can make a very solid case for either consumable on certain hulls, Baltimore being one. It's just down to personal preference at that point.
Great guide but couldnt help but have my jaw drop with that Wesers insistence in completely wasting his match focusing you for most of the game. Like man i felt my brain cells die at the same rate his planes were dying.
Concur; most CV players will take a shot at an AA-spec ship, realize what they're up against, then stay far, far away. This guy apparently believed all the hype he read on reddit saying how OP CV's were.
Bro, I completely dissagree with your assessment of this ship, it has extremely poor concealment it lights up like a Christmas tree at midnight any time you shoot, very low battery range (15.8km), very weak armor AND torpedo protection, shells float in the air you have to shoot at awkward angles to even get any damage out of em, it can't even turn properly So basically, you can't play at range or up close.Only thing you got right is that the AA is sufficient.Even still, the RANGE of the AA is 5.8KM, not good.The ship sucks, I'm not sure what your raving about honestly.😂
1. Every ship "lights up like a Christmas tree" when you shoot. That's a game balance thing. There was a time in the game's history when you could fire heavy cruiser guns and not be spotted in certain ships. It was toxic, and WG removed it. 2. All American heavy cruisers have garbage torpedo protection, as discussed in the video. It's one of the things that makes taking hydro instead of DFAA so attractive. 3. The armor is among the best cruiser armor in the tier. You aren't going to get battleship armor in a cruiser. You have to compare it to contemporaries. Baltimore has one of the best armor belts of any T8 cruiser. There are a few better, but it's quite good. It's still cruiser armor, though. You are going to die to battleships eventually, all things being equal. Based on this comment, I don't think cruisers are a class you're going to enjoy very much in World of Warships. Nearly every cruiser in the game has to deal with these same problems.
If you want range, then MOST cruiser lines are not going to jive with you. There are a few exceptions. Check out the Russians, for example (but their armor is generally worse, you have been warned). Long range combat belongs almost exclusively to battleships in this game. The trick is to find ships that can fight at range and actually hit things. That isn't easy. Good luck!
@@SeaRaptor(update)So I managed to unlock the extra 10% concealment through my captain skills, and I realized that all of a sudden,the ship is playable now.I think you look at things from a 21 point captain's perspective.If you have all the extra perks bells and whistles right off the bat then sure the ship is markedly better.I had a 12 point captain and it was a nightmare.
That's fair. I try to point out that on cruisers and destroyers, you pretty much always want your first 4-point skill to be Concealment Expert. Once you have that, the ship plays much more "optimally". Without it, it's a much less enjoyable experience. I'm glad it's going better for you now!
Honestly, being honest has merit. Your "Used Car Salesman" routine about AA being effective is straight up an unwelcome "Deceit". CV's are a protected class. That is unbalanced, to the point of being "TOXIC" to fair game play. A cornerstone to protecting CV"s is that AA does not effect/affect Carriers. Your being dishonest to take a position that AA is an effective deterrent to being struck by a CV. Shame on you.
If you have ever played a carrier, you will know that AA absolutely does impact them. I'm not sure how you can make the "honest" argument that it doesn't. It impacts plane availability, how much (or how little) damage the CV is able to land, and what strike they choose next (depending what ship was just attacked). The exception to this is the Soviets, who for some reason are allowed to ignore all of the other AA rules that the other carriers must play by. The Russian carrier line is horribly designed. How can you watch the opposing Weser in this game fail to do anything meaningful to me at all and still claim that AA does not affect carriers? I murdered every plane that guy sent after me, and he got... what, a few hundred damage out of a stray rocket? This carrier could have chosen to send his planes elsewhere to at least attempt to be effective, but he continued to attack the single most AA-heavy target on the opposing team (me). Consequently, he accomplished very little in support of his team, finishing with less than 500 XP in a game he played for a full 16 minutes. My AA suite should have been a red flag to him from the first time he attempted to drop on me, and he should have avoided me like the plague thereafter (which is generally the argument against taking DFAA as a consumable). He didn't, and was consequently a non-factor in the game. In higher tiers, individual ship AA suites are not often a deterrent... unless they are pooled together. Two or three ships sailing in company will probably not prevent a CV from dropping on someone, but they will likely make him over-pay (in terms of plane losses) for the damage he gets out of the strike. My sample game in the Des Moines video from this series is a good example. For most of that game I do not prevent the enemy Midway from striking me, but by taking DFAA and using it against the right types of planes I make him pay heavily to do so, such that well before the game ends he isn't able to field full squadrons any more. That absolutely impacts his decision-making and what planes he puts up next (and what targets he will go after with those planes). It also makes it easier to destroy/prevent the next strike, because there is less health to chew through. If you honestly think that AA has no impact on carrier play, I would strongly encourage you to go play a T6 or T8 carrier and educate yourself. Barring that, I'm not sure ANY evidence will change your opinion... assuming you are willing to consider challenging your assumptions at all.
![[LIVE] MCHOICE & MINT AWARDS 2024 at TRUE ICON HALL, ICONSIAM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wMewUeT5nbY/mqdefault.jpg)
thanks Searaptor its great that you describe your thought process and decision making during the videos - much appreciated :)
Baltimore is honestly one of if not THE best T8 cruisers of the game. It’s a competitive field but great guns, fantastic shells, stealth radar capability. God Bless America
AMERICAAAAA FUCK YEAHHHH
Only probelm I find is its range.
@@Exalt3863 The range is an issue, but honestly, it's not totally out-of-line for a T8 cruiser.
33:49. You're not alone, i also did that aswell. Wasting Radar and then Def AA.
I had a rough time way back when with New Orleans the first time I went up the USN Cruiser split lines, but fell in love with Baltimore very quickly. One of my favorite cruisers at any tier and I am saying that as a BB main.
This video has increased my enjoyment playing the Baltimore 10X!! Thanks so much for this in-depth review of the Baltimore.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Advice on Buffalo worked out well, looking forward to trying some of these ideas on Baltimore. These were the ships I was building plastic models of in the late 50’s, still my favorites.
I actually like Top Grade Gunner on Baltimore (and Wichita). Where it really comes into play is when you’re hunting DDs and close to within your detection range so you can counter-spot them with your radar. That’s when I want the fastest reload possible to hopefully take them out before my radar runs out.
Reasonable, I hadn't considered that. Should be worth nearly a full second of reload in such situations. I like it.
Thank you for your tutorial I really love Baltimore even tho I already achieved Buffalo. ❤❤❤
Baltimore is a great ship! Even at T8. It carries my largest total of EXP, largely due to Cherry Blossom. With a heal as the old T9, whoa!
no heal.
I am glad that I set up my Hipper for AA after watching your LTP video, and now I'm trying to configure other ships for AA by myself
Great to hear! I honestly think the long-running "AA is garbage" crap from a lot of content creators has done lasting damage to the game. There are plenty of ships with solid AA suites, it's just that AA doesn't make you immune to planes.
@SeaRaptor so aa can be useful?
Thank you for continuing the whiskey gaming lounge style reviews! I was looking for updates and new ships and he stopped making his videos a couple years ago, this is great. Nice work! Keep them coming!
Not sure who that is, but I do like the name. =D
Got yourself a new sub! Great work. I'm just grinding towards Baltimore. Half way there. Thanks for the great overview!
Thank you, glad it was helpful!
I think the last time i played this it was tier 9 back when the belfast was the pride and joy of the p2w fleet
In that era, I hated this line of ships. I was wrong, tho. =D
Getting back into WoW after a long hiatus, really enjoying these vids and tutorials. Quick question regarding the Hawaii State flag, are state flags available or is that something custom made? TIA & mahalos!
A lot of the cosmetic flags are available through various campaigns and such and I think are "evergreen".
Thank you... very insightful
Just wow...
This video is great but i'm just not understanding how you have your shift on full left or right and not moving the ship on that direction. It also seems that when you start curving you have the full speed of having the gear on full left or right, in fact you have that shift on that direction. Is it done in a particular way or is it a mod? Some exemples on 32:04 or 38:32.
Btw you did a really amazing job on this video, fantastic explanation of the ship and the match. Keep it up. 🎉
It looks like an artifact/bug in the replay system. Not sure what else to tell you, I definitely don't have my rudder hard over at either of those two timestamps. Baltimore is pretty responsive to her helm, if the rudder was hard over you'd know it.
@@SeaRaptor oh okay that makes sense. thanks for the reply tho
So I am a new player and recently managed to get the Baltimore and noticed that some of the Values are different than what was shown in the video does the New Baltimore play similar to the Baltimore shown in the video or does the playstyle now change?
Which value(s)? Most of the stats on Baltimore aren't change-able, but some are depending on how you upgrade the ship or commander.
Literally just popped in in my feed, first. lol
When I picture what a cruiser should look like, Baltimore is the poster child.
@SeaRaptor Why does the secondary battery not work? Is it just for show? I thought it would work similar to the San Diego.
The secondaries work just like those on battleships; they're automated with a very short range (perhaps 4km or so).
Baltimore air detection is 5.9km, while it's long range AA is 5.8km.
This means it's impossible for an enemy CV to drop fighters to spot you.
Also, FYI, having a longer defAA is actually a bad thing. A CV can bait it, and then the cooldown before it's available again is LONGER...
Also, you are only immune to that Weser's planes...because he had no skill. Also, he was running STOCK planes, not his fully upgraded planes.
A good tier 6 CV has to treat a Baltimore with respect...but he can still hit you if he wants.
We disagree on additional Defensive AA time being bad. More often than not it means that my DFAA is still active if the carrier comes back to me with another wave of planes (after the first one finishes or is destroyed). The same special upgrade that lengthens the time DFAA stays active also reduces the cooldown. It's possible to have DFAA up for ~48 seconds and down for ~55 if you stack all the buffs together. (I need to double-check the math on this, but that sounds about right.) Regardless, not many CVs can or will stay away from you for nearly a minute once they have decided to chase you. You'll get good work out of the extra duration most of the time, and you're not exactly helpless while DFAA is on cooldown, either.
As far as the Weser, most CVs you encounter in randoms will be pretty average skill-wise. That doesn't mean they can't still hurt you if you haven't taken any steps towards murdering planes better (depending on the ship you are driving). Baltimore, thankfully, is several steps ahead of most of the pack at T8 and can get even better with a minimal investment in commander skill points.
Played a few New Orleans games this morning, realized I was over 100k on Ship XP, so got the Baltimore. I watched this video and set the Balti up in about the same way as my New Orleans and put my 14pt Benjamin Blackwell captain (from my New Orleans) in her. I then took her out four times . . . . . . . . . 2 tier IX and 2 tier X battles, not a carrier in sight, averaged less than 500xp and 30000damage in Co-ops, WAY short of my average damage total. I was sunk 3 times and my guns hit like I loaded 'nerf' ammo. ARRGGGHHHH!
- I haven't played well this morning except for three games in Hawkins, so, I'll come back later after I clear my head and quit twitching.
- Is the Balti the kind of ship that is the target of the "Weimar Syndrome"? Every time I take out the Weimar everyone starts shooting at me and I swear I hear, 'Mine Mine MINE MINE'.
To quote every woman I've ever dated, 'It's not you, it's me."
Great tutorial as usual, 'Raptor!
I went and watched ClydePlays sing, "Dumb Ways to Die". I feel better now ;)
That song is amazing.
P.S. hmmm again . . . Took the Balti out this morning after switching from the Bionic cammo to a Pi cammo. Averaged over 80k, over 700xp and killed 7 ships in three Co-op battles, 2 Tier VIIIs and a Tier IX. Okay, she's nice ;)
Easy game play. Find Island, move forward and move back.
That's one way to play the ship, but it's not particularly interesting (or necessarily conducive to winning random battles).
Baltimore is nasty I just go a 121k damage game and I was low tier
playing a t8 US cruiser vs t6 carrier isn't really an advert for AA XD
let's see how it does vs a Malta ... there will be tears ;)
As I stated at the very beginning of the video: I was not remotely concerned about the Weser. Why he continued to throw away his planes remains a mystery.
But it speaks to a larger point, IMHO. There is a non-zero set of players in Warships that think all AA is worthless. They've spent years watching YT videos and reading forum and reddit posts of people saying it, and thus they believe the lie. AA isn't worthless, but you have to understand the mechanics of how it works as well as the individual matchup you've got (i.e. your ship's capabilities vs. enemy carrier planes). Your Malta example is a good one. Baltimore vs. Malta is a much more difficult matchup for the cruiser. Will I murder some of his planes? Absolutely. Will the ordnance he actually lands really hurt? Very much so. So that engagement plays out completely differently for both players than this Baltimore vs. Weser one. The Malta can come after me repeatedly and will probably eventually win... but my AA is enough that I have an above average chance of causing him catastrophic plane losses in doing so. The odds of an enemy Malta chasing me at the start of a match when there are invariably less well-defended targets on the board are pretty slim, but in the late game if my Baltimore is still alive he may have no choice but to come after me. That's when the dance gets interesting.
There's some good examples of this in my Learn to Play Des Moines video where I end up paired against an enemy Midway.
Yeah that's fair...the japanese cruisers were your first line i think, they may have some reason to complain about AA, i like my Mino and can't complain about it's AA... or the AA on the dutch cruisers is pretty solid..
still i rarely would swap hydro for AA.. hydro too useful compared to enhanced AA even in a game with CV.@@SeaRaptor
Great video. However, when you're top tier against a T6 CV- certainly your AA will bully those weak/slow planes. But that argument falls flat against a T10 (and even most T8) CVs. I love the US cruiser line, and the Balty, but sadly you get more T10 CVs than T6 when playing it. When folks say AA is 'worthless', those are the matchups being referred to. I choose to just run hydro for that reason. Plus, the 'joy' of T8 and T10 subs make it even more vital to run hydro vs DFAA.
Hydro is just so ineffective against smoke. I do like making a no fly zone so I can last till mid battle.
When any ship's AA suite is up-tiered against a CV, it's likely to feel bad. That's just math. I'm looking forward to hearing more "AA is worthless" arguments after I post my Des Moines video for this line, though.
Someone here on YT several months ago pointed out to me the opportunity cost of taking DFAA vs. hydro has shifted significantly in submarine world (and they're right). I hadn't viewed it through that lens previously, and it's colored my thinking ever since. We've reached a stage where I honestly think you can make a very solid case for either consumable on certain hulls, Baltimore being one. It's just down to personal preference at that point.
@@SeaRaptor Completely agree, subs changed the decision equation. Look forward to that DM vid as well!
Great guide but couldnt help but have my jaw drop with that Wesers insistence in completely wasting his match focusing you for most of the game. Like man i felt my brain cells die at the same rate his planes were dying.
Concur; most CV players will take a shot at an AA-spec ship, realize what they're up against, then stay far, far away. This guy apparently believed all the hype he read on reddit saying how OP CV's were.
Ok
Bro, I completely dissagree with your assessment of this ship, it has extremely poor concealment it lights up like a Christmas tree at midnight any time you shoot, very low battery range (15.8km), very weak armor AND torpedo protection, shells float in the air you have to shoot at awkward angles to even get any damage out of em, it can't even turn properly So basically, you can't play at range or up close.Only thing you got right is that the AA is sufficient.Even still, the RANGE of the AA is 5.8KM, not good.The ship sucks, I'm not sure what your raving about honestly.😂
1. Every ship "lights up like a Christmas tree" when you shoot. That's a game balance thing. There was a time in the game's history when you could fire heavy cruiser guns and not be spotted in certain ships. It was toxic, and WG removed it.
2. All American heavy cruisers have garbage torpedo protection, as discussed in the video. It's one of the things that makes taking hydro instead of DFAA so attractive.
3. The armor is among the best cruiser armor in the tier. You aren't going to get battleship armor in a cruiser. You have to compare it to contemporaries. Baltimore has one of the best armor belts of any T8 cruiser. There are a few better, but it's quite good. It's still cruiser armor, though. You are going to die to battleships eventually, all things being equal.
Based on this comment, I don't think cruisers are a class you're going to enjoy very much in World of Warships. Nearly every cruiser in the game has to deal with these same problems.
@@SeaRaptor Thanks for responding! Maybe your right, I prefer to play at a distance, Maybe I'll grind up Battleships after I'm done with Cruisers👍
If you want range, then MOST cruiser lines are not going to jive with you. There are a few exceptions. Check out the Russians, for example (but their armor is generally worse, you have been warned). Long range combat belongs almost exclusively to battleships in this game. The trick is to find ships that can fight at range and actually hit things. That isn't easy.
Good luck!
@@SeaRaptor(update)So I managed to unlock the extra 10% concealment through my captain skills, and I realized that all of a sudden,the ship is playable now.I think you look at things from a 21 point captain's perspective.If you have all the extra perks bells and whistles right off the bat then sure the ship is markedly better.I had a 12 point captain and it was a nightmare.
That's fair. I try to point out that on cruisers and destroyers, you pretty much always want your first 4-point skill to be Concealment Expert. Once you have that, the ship plays much more "optimally". Without it, it's a much less enjoyable experience. I'm glad it's going better for you now!
Honestly, being honest has merit. Your "Used Car Salesman" routine about AA being effective is straight up an unwelcome "Deceit". CV's are a protected class. That is unbalanced, to the point of being "TOXIC" to fair game play. A cornerstone to protecting CV"s is that AA does not effect/affect Carriers. Your being dishonest to take a position that AA is an effective deterrent to being struck by a CV. Shame on you.
If you have ever played a carrier, you will know that AA absolutely does impact them. I'm not sure how you can make the "honest" argument that it doesn't. It impacts plane availability, how much (or how little) damage the CV is able to land, and what strike they choose next (depending what ship was just attacked). The exception to this is the Soviets, who for some reason are allowed to ignore all of the other AA rules that the other carriers must play by. The Russian carrier line is horribly designed.
How can you watch the opposing Weser in this game fail to do anything meaningful to me at all and still claim that AA does not affect carriers? I murdered every plane that guy sent after me, and he got... what, a few hundred damage out of a stray rocket? This carrier could have chosen to send his planes elsewhere to at least attempt to be effective, but he continued to attack the single most AA-heavy target on the opposing team (me). Consequently, he accomplished very little in support of his team, finishing with less than 500 XP in a game he played for a full 16 minutes. My AA suite should have been a red flag to him from the first time he attempted to drop on me, and he should have avoided me like the plague thereafter (which is generally the argument against taking DFAA as a consumable). He didn't, and was consequently a non-factor in the game.
In higher tiers, individual ship AA suites are not often a deterrent... unless they are pooled together. Two or three ships sailing in company will probably not prevent a CV from dropping on someone, but they will likely make him over-pay (in terms of plane losses) for the damage he gets out of the strike. My sample game in the Des Moines video from this series is a good example. For most of that game I do not prevent the enemy Midway from striking me, but by taking DFAA and using it against the right types of planes I make him pay heavily to do so, such that well before the game ends he isn't able to field full squadrons any more. That absolutely impacts his decision-making and what planes he puts up next (and what targets he will go after with those planes). It also makes it easier to destroy/prevent the next strike, because there is less health to chew through.
If you honestly think that AA has no impact on carrier play, I would strongly encourage you to go play a T6 or T8 carrier and educate yourself. Barring that, I'm not sure ANY evidence will change your opinion... assuming you are willing to consider challenging your assumptions at all.