USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001)

The USS Michael Monsoor is an American Tier 3 Battlepass Destroyer.

* Base
* Top

## History

**USS *Michael Monsoor* (DDG-1001)** is the second ship of the three-ship *Zumwalt* class of guided missile destroyers. The *Zumwalt*-class was designed as a multi-mission surface combatant for land attack and littoral operations with a mission of supporting both ground campaigns and the joint/naval battlespace. The main guns are a pair of Advanced Gun Systems (AGS). The Navy cancelled the ammunition procurement program for the only type of ammunition it can use, so the AGS cannot provide naval gunfire support. Instead, Michael Monsoor was selected to be modified to carry the LRHW hypersonic first strike weapon in place of the AGS guns. However, in the Universe of Modern Warships, Railgun technology has advanced enough that they became the main draw of the Zumwalt class and indeed many other ship designs of the United States Navy.

## Overview

In a way, the Michael Monsoor can be considered a decent upgrade to the already well performing USS Zumwalt that players will be familiar with. Unlike the Zumwalt which is almost entirely reliant on anti-submarine missiles such as the RUM-139's for ASW, the Michael Moonsor has access to a pair of torpedo launchers, which helps to free up the missile slot not taken up by the NSM missile.

For a battlepass vessel, performance is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it improves upon the main weaknesses of the Zumwalt, those being Air defense and ASW. On the other hand, you are somewhat crippled in terms of your ability to kill surface ships in certain situations, due to the unique quirks of the main gun battery and missile loadout.

## Tactics

### When Playing as a Michael Monsoor

The Monsoor has many of the perks of the Zumwalt, that being its stealth design and high speed and maneuverability allowing the ship to slip past enemy flanks almost entirely unnoticed. The placement of the guns allows the ship to peek enemy targets without exposing the citadel, which allows the ship to remain hidden despite being able to fire its weapons upon the enemy.

The AGS-155 Block 1's are the Monsoors main party trick, but a very situational one at that. Unlike the 155mm Railgun of the Zumwalt which is geared more towards sustained damage over time and accuracy, the AGS-155 instead doubles down on burst damage, throwing long range accuracy out of the window and sacrificing some sustained fire rate. Firing two 6 round bursts with each shot capable of 7,280 damage when fully upgraded, the ship is capable of a burst damage of 87,260 damage MINIMUM from its main guns alone with is a frankly insane damage output (Nearing the Missouris Main battery base gun damage and even rivaling the yamato's main battery in overall DPM). But there is a catch. The accuracy after the initial 2 rounds in a burst is horrendous and these railgun rounds have a nasty tendency to bounce off highly angled ship sides unlike its predecessor which mostly straight up ignores angling for the most part, so in practice you are more likely to deal 40,000 damage instead. After that you are crutched with a 7.5 second reload cycle. With these in mind, it is highly recommended to flank opponents and close the distance with them to less than 3.5km to maximize your damage output per salvo. If you insist on sniping, it is recommended to give a small break in between bursts to allow accuracy to reset before firing to ensure maximum possible accuracy. If played that way, the Monsoor can be a surprisingly competent sniper.

Unlike the Zumwalt, the Monsoor is relatively competent at Air defense being armed with a pair of RIM-161 Block IIB's that readily make swiss cheese out of most air units while the Sea RAM's shore up what is left and can delete most missile salvoes. However, it is still highly advisable to replace the Oerlikons with RapidFire's to bolster overall air defense and acquiring either the Pantsir, Garpun, or Crotale Air defenses to replace the Sea RAM's as soon as possible as while adequate, the litany of extremely powerful missiles at tier 3 just does not give you a lot of breathing room when relying on stock air defense components, nor does the Monsoor offer enough slots for the SeaRAM to shine.

And finally, the Monsoor comes with a pair of torpedo launchers in a single slot, which frees up single unlocked missile slot for other missile types instead of anti submarine missiles being almost mandatory, as is the case with Zumwalt.

Overall, while the Zumwalt is more of a mid line vessel that provides anti-submarine and gunfire support, the Monsoor is decked out more to be a frontliner vessel that excels in close quarters combat especially with the right builds.

### Playing with a Michael Monsoor

While certainly more competent than its older sibling at defending itself from threats both in the air an under the waves, the Monsoor is by no means impervious to such threats as its air defense and ASW capabilities while respectable, is exactly that. Its respectable.

Fellow destroyers, frigates, and corvettes should be traveling together in pairs to begin with if not as a whole pack with at least one left defending the carrier as they provide mutual defense for each other against aircraft, missiles, and submarines, improving the overall survivability of the team. The Monsoor while more than capable of fighting solo, truly shines when it has supporting elements giving it breathing room to unleash its ferocious main gun battery in the most optimal manner.

Submarines should tag along the Monsoor, trailing behind it as the destroyer provides air defense and spotting capabilities to the sub, which when submerged is practically blind. Acting in synergy, the Monsoor can dish out damage against ASW surface vessels and carriers, while the submarine can defend the Monsoor from enemy subs or amplify the firepower of the fireteam by virtue of their high volume of missile and torpedo payloads.

Cruisers can provide a huge boost to the Monsoors air defense and it is advised to stick to cruisers as much as possible.

Carriers can't really do much for the Monsoor other than pay attention to when the ship is in need of support, whether it be sending fighters over to give air cover or sending strike craft to help kill an enemy faster. While kill stealing is obviously discouraged, it is always better than having a dead teammate in the long run if it means having to steal a kill in order to save a near death Monsoor, as their main guns can be instrumental in the final stages of a battle.

Battleships are advised to stick around any other vessel in general as they need as much additional air and ASW defense as they can get, and the Monsoor while not exemplary on these fronts, is certainly almost guaranteed to be better than the battleship in question in these areas.

### Playing Against a Michael Monsoor

When playing against the Monsoor, the first piece of advice may be to stay as far away as you can from the ship. While that AGS-155 has its fair share of problems, the potential to get nuked in the face with a near 90,000 damage alpha is not something anyone would want to risk without some kind of tradeoff that makes it worthwhile such as killing the Monsoor, or achieving some other objective that will be conducive to team victory.

Destroyers, Frigates, and corvettes are advised to kite and send missiles and torpedoes at the Monsoor and avoid any direct lines of sight within 3.5km to the best of their ability, and stay on the move with erratic changes in direction to throw off the Monsoors aim.

Cruisers carry a heavier weapons load than the Monsoor, and naturally have decent matchups against it. However, do not get cocky as those main guns will make you pay for showing your broadside especially if at close range.

While better at defending itself against underwater threats when compared to its Sibling, the Monsoor still is for the most part, considered free real estate by Subs (pretty much the case with most ships anyway). The usual tactic of diving underwater and spamming torpedoes and missiles with relative impunity applies here.

Carriers are naturally the bane of every surface ship at tier 3 that is not a cruiser, and sending your entire air wing after a Monsoor, while of questionable strategic decision making, would quickly make quick work of the ship before it even has a chance to do much damage.

Battleships have a very good matchup against the Monsoor, having a similarly high main gun battery alpha while not having any of the horrendous accuracy issues present with the AGS-155 and especially the ricochet problem at long range.

## Suggested Armaments Setup(s)

#### Brawler

* Missile: P-700 Granits (maximum damage, Use NSM's as distractions to lure CIWS and flares), X-51 Waverider (ignores flares)
* Autocannon: Marlin (high damage, high range)
* Anti-Air defense: Garpun, Type 730C (Doubles as autocannon)
* Torpedo: Spearfish (max damage, do not care the price), Yu-7 (spam)
* Helicopter: Players choice, optimally something with high overall damage output.

#### Generalist

* Missile: X-51 (Ignores flares), JHGV (best general use missile), Hycore (Best hypersonic), DF-17 (Poor mans hycore)
* Autocannon: Rapidfire (Doubles as AA), Typhoon NLOS (Boosts AA)
* Anti-Air Defense: Garpun (General purpose), Crotale (Great against missile salvos)
* Torpedo: Spearfish (Max Damage), Yu-7 (Spam)
* Helicopter: V-280 Valor (Anti Fighter defense), V-22 osprey (Poor mans Valor)

#### Submarine Hunter

* Missile: RUM-139 (cheapest option), SUM-6 (better)
* Autocannon: Rapidfire (Doubles as AA), Typhoon NLOS (Boosts AA)
* Anti-Air Defense: Garpun (General purpose), Crotale (Great against missile salvos)
* Torpedo: Spearfish (Max Damage), Yu-7 (Spam)
* Helicopter: V-280 Valor (Anti Fighter defense), V-22 osprey (Poor mans Valor)

## Advantages and Disadvantages

### Advantages

* Oppressive main gun battery damage that even gives battleships a run for their money.
* Stealth features make the ship hard to spot without aerial scouting
* Decent HP pool
* Highly agile

### Disadvantages

* Locked armaments have plenty of QOL issues:
	+ The main gun has horrendous accuracy after initial burst. A small break in between needs to be given to ensure good accuracy of shots.
	+ The RIM 161 Block IIB could use a faster reload
	+ NSM Slot arguably could be used for better weapons

* Still vulnerable to air attacks
* Max potential requires team coordination, something hard to get in random lobbies

## Trivia

* Michael A. Monsoor was a US Navy SEAL who was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor for jumping on a grenade to save his squad during operation Iraqi Freedom.
* Participated in RIMPAC 2022.