Gearing and Mahan need to switch tiers. Mahan out proforms Gearing in almost every aspect, save for speed and DP.

I fail to see why Gearing is higher tier.

Guns: Gearing 2x6 vs Mahan 2x4 - Faster reload of Gearing doesnt out damage the raw firepower of Mahan's 8 shells. Also, more shells = higher chance of getting a critical hit. Thus, Mahan out damages and has higher potential for more damage per salvo.

Torpedos: Gearing 1x4 vs Mahan 3x3: This is just a pure joke. What BB fears 4 torpedos? Correct, none. Now that the E key is fixed, theres no need to fear this ship on a torp run.

Speed: Gearing is a fast DD. 42/51 with full Tier V armor vs 34/42 with said armor. Speed on a DD equates to surviability on the battlefield. Gearing outshines Mahan in this respect. Mahan is a painfully slow ship compared to most other DDs.

Defence level: They both have the same specs, on paper..

DP: Gearing has more 39.6k vs 34.6 with Mahan. As expected for a higher Tier DD..

Overall, Mahan out damages Gearing in guns and torpedos while Gearing uses its speed and DP to survive longer on the battlefield. Biggest problem with this is the effect that each ship has on any one game. Mahan can change the outcome of a battle while Gearing struggles to do so. Mainly because Mahan is more useful to the team (higher dmg output).

As you level up and tier up, each ship is supposed to effect the battle more then the previous tier. Being a Tier VIII, Gearing is pretty useless as is. I wont recommend buffing the ship as I think its pointless with its current arament layout.

The best way to balance is to move the ship down the tier tree and move up the other ships and tweek the base DP of some of the DDs. This is how the USN DD line should go:

Clemson - Farragut - Sims - Gearing - Fletcher - Porter - Mahan - Sommers

Thank you for your time,

Talentz