What made the French battleship Hoche look capable

What ship makes Hoche look good?

Hoche could dominate older ships lacking quick-firing guns, but she compared poorly with Royal Navy contemporaries because her long, repeatedly revised construction left her obsolete on completion.

Hoche's numerous quick-firing secondary guns offered an advantage against older ships whose heavy guns fired only a few rounds per hour. That difference mattered at the short battle ranges expected in the period. Fleet defends her ability to beat those older opponents, while Clarke stresses her poor prospects against British contemporary designs. Repeated changes during construction delayed Hoche and made it difficult to assign her to a consistent generation of warships. By completion, the approaching Royal Sovereign class further weakened the comparison.