Hi, everyone! I got the New Mexico yesterday and I'm having a blast.  The shells actually stay grouped together and it's actually possible to fight at something resembling long range.  It's head, shoulders, torso, and kneecaps above the Colorado.

Anyway, I'm wondering how the North Carolina stacks up.  The NCs I face seems to be a reasonable ship, but then again, I'm a tier below them.  Is it worthwhile to rush through the NM to get to the NC? or should I master the NM on the way to the NC?