Dido and Arethusa classes reflect different cruiser priorities

Why does the Dido class seem less appealing than the Arethusa class?

The Dido was heavily armed but cramped and hard to develop, while the Arethusa had more flexibility for presence and convoy duties.

The Dido is closer to a very large destroyer under this definition of a cruiser because it was packed with weapons and had little room for future development. The Arethusa was built to a basic requirement for presence and convoy work and proved useful beyond that brief. Treaty definitions also constrained Dido's armament because a cruiser could not simply adopt a destroyer-calibre battery below the specified threshold. Role, growth margin, and legal classification mattered as much as the number of guns fitted at completion.