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Tech Tree Overview and Ship Highlights
Hey Captains,
With the official release of the new Soviet BBs, I thought it would be a good day to post the tech tree overview and ship highlights. We will go over the basics of the tech tree and some ships that I find to be highlights or high points of the line (this will be my personal preferences).
The personal highlight ships will all be tech tree ships (not everyone has access to all premiums).
This is a generic screenshot of my German tech tree.
Basics of the Tech Tree:
On the left hand side you have the nations that are available in the game. When you click on the nation it will bring you to a screen specifically for that nation. Please keep in mind that some nations currently only have premium ships.
Looking at the tech tree you will see re-searchable ships starting from the left and premium ships on the right.
Ships that you own will have a yellow check mark next to them and ships that you can purchase will have the credit cost visible. Ships that you have not researched yet will have an XP cost associated with them starting at the first ship that you need to research. For example you can see that I need to research the V-25 and it will cost 500 XP.
There is also a yellow price tag which is a clan discount that you can get by unlocking the correct building in the clan base.
Premium ships if they are available in the tech tree will have a doubloon cost or a free XP cost.
You can use "free XP" to move down the line in the tech tree but remember you have to research the previous ship and any modules that are needed to reach the next ship before you can advance to the next ship.
Tech Tree Nation Explanations and Ship Highlights:
Japanese: A great tech tree to start with if you are new to the game.
Left to right you have the BBs, cruisers, DD lines and CV line. Premiums are at the far right under the "Premium Ships" category.
Many of these ships have withstood the test of time and been in the game a while.
The BBs once you get past tier IV have some of the most balanced and fun BBs in the game. The ultimate prize being the Yamato!
The cruiser line when you reach the Furutaka typically have 203mm guns with average range and good fire chance. The one unique ship is the Mogami that can equip the 155mm guns and take advantage of IFHE.
The DD lines are split into the more torpedo oriented on the left and the more gunboat oriented on the right. You will really notice this when you get to the tier VIII Akizuki.
IJN CVs have some distinct features including: AP bombs. This differs from the RTS style when they had HE bombs.
Personal Standout Ships:
Fuso: Many of you know this is one of my favorite ships in the game and has been for a long time. The combination of firepower, survivability, HP and sheer awesomeness of the Pagoda make it a winner to me!
Yamato: Still dominating the seas after all these years. The Yamato combines: great accuracy, AP shell penetration, survivability and range to make a punishing BB to the enemy team.
Mogami: The uniqueness of the Mogami stands out for me. The ability to follow the previous ships and use 203mm guns or to change it up and go with the 155mm guns. Please note: IFHE is required to get the most out of the 155mms and the turret traverse is quite slow.
Akizuki - Haragumo: These ships with their distinctive pew pew playstyle are fun to play. Remember these are made to shoot their guns and rely on torpedoes less (TRB helps here).
Other ships that stand out: Kongo, Amagi, Zao, Shiratsuyu and Shokaku.
USN: Another great tech tree to start with, a lot of balance in the lines.
The USN line has also been in the game for a while and has a lot of balance throughout.
The BBs from tier 3-7 all share the same characteristic: SLOW!
The cruiser line is split into CLs and CAs starting from the Omaha at tier V. The CA line relies on 203mm guns with great AP and shell penetration angles. The CL line relies on the more rapid firing 152mm guns (IFHE is required imo to make the most of them). AA is good on both lines. Both lines include long lasting radar.
DDs tend to have very high arcing shells with decent rate of fire. Until you get to the Mahan the torpedoes range is less than the concealment of the ship. The Farragut is very close to even with concealment and torpedo range. USN DDs have long smokes that allow you to shroud teammates in smoke for a decent amount of time. The Fletcher and Gearing are some of the best all around DDs in the game.
CV line is geared toward HE dive-bombers and decent rockets.
Personal Standout Ships:
North Carolina - Montana: A good balance of speed, armor, AA and guns for all of the higher tier USN BBs. The one thing about the North Carolina that takes some getting used to is the slower shell speed. The Iowa and Montana both can take advantage of speed to flex around the map.
Des Moines: The Des Moines combines: high ROF, 203mm guns with good shell penetration angles, good AA and good concealment. The Des Moines is a ship that takes a deft driver to perform well in but when you get a grasp on the ship you will make it hard on enemies. Be careful of the squishy armor and take advantage of the higher arc shells.
St. Louis: A great low tier ship with a lot of guns to get on target. This ship has been a favorite of many players that I see.
Fletcher: a great combination of speed, smoke, torpedoes and guns. This is an all around ship that has very few weaknesses.
Other ships that standout: Pensacola (for other reasons haha), Cleveland, Worcester, Farragut, Benson and Midway.
Soviets: The Soviet ships provide a great combination of fast ships and armored ships.
Starting with the newest line added to the game the BBs. These ships combine decent to good armor (higher tiers) but are very vulnerable to being hit in the citadel. The guns are also not that accurate at range and requires you to close the distance with the enemy to take advantage of their strengths. AA is just ok and you really want to be by supporting ships.
The cruisers are an interesting group. You have a few different sizes of guns and this changes during the mid tiers. The Kirov has larger guns and then the next 3 ships have 152mms with IFHE needed. When you get to the Donskoi and Moskva you go back to larger guns. One main feature of these ships is the long range radar (12km) but it has shorter activation time.
DD lines split at the minsk into gunboat (not stealthy) and gunboat (stealthy). You can also equip a heal on some of the higher tier DDs. The split that leads to Grozovoi have decent AA as well. All of these DDs do a great job of speeding around the map and shooting HE/AP at enemy ships.
Personal Standout Ships:
Sinop: This is a very strong BB with decent guns, armor and survivability. This ship is great at tier VII and can give you a great brawling BB.
Chapayev: A favorite of mine when Ranked is tier VIII. This ship combines decent ROF, radar and 152mm guns with IFHE. This ship does have light armor and you have to position correctly.
Moskva: The first cruiser that was played like a BB =). This ship combines great survivability, large guns and radar. Be careful when turning because it will leave your giant side exposed.
Khabarovsk: A DD that excels in open water shooting. You can take a heal instead of smoke and really increase your survivability. Remember this ship does still take full pens from BBs.
Grozovoi: One of the best all around DDs currently in the game.
Other Standout Ships: Kiev, Udaloi and Kremlin.
German Ships: Ships that good survivability due to turtle back armor on some ships and secondaries are a focus!
German BBs are known to be the original secondary ships. When you fully spec your ship for secondaries you can become a secondary based ship. Be careful doing this though because your survivability will drop and you will have to make sure you manage your DCP/Heals correctly. These BBs are vulnerable to AP bombs so keep that in mind.
German cruisers are interesting as you go up the line. Konigsberg/Nurnberg have smaller guns and IFHE works on them. When you get to Yorck you get a weird size of gun and then it standardizes at 203mm at the Hipper. AP on these cruisers is strong and does good damage overall.
The DDs are known for fast reloading torpedoes with average range, great hydro and average detectability. AP on these DDs is a good way of dealing damage and the HE is not as good as other lines.
Personal Standout Ships:
Bismarck - GK: Ships that have good survivability due to their turtleback armor. You can successfully build these ships as secondary based ships and have a good time. The main guns are not that accurate and you can get frustrated sometimes with salvos. These ships are also quite vulnerable to AP bombs.
Yorck: This ship used to be a ship that was widely panned as really bad. After a few buffs this ship has been a blast to play. You can successfully spam HE (kind of unique for the line) and the AP is good as well. Learn to play this ship well and you will have a good time!
Hindenburg: A ship that I originally did not have a lot of good times playing until I started to learn. This ship has lost some of its survivability due to the introduction of newer BBs that can penetrate its tanky armor.
Maass: I haven't seen too much talk about this ship but I found it to be a lot of fun when I played it. Good combo of guns and torpedoes.
Other Standout Ships: Gneisenau, Nurnberg, Z-52, and V-170!
British Ships: CLs with all AP, balanced DDs and BBs with HE/Heals.
British BBs have great HE and unique fuses for their AP. The two BBs that kind of don't fit this are the QE and the Monarch. You also get good heals that can mitigate your somewhat smaller HP pool at higher tiers.
CLs have all AP shells and smoke (can take radar). These ships tend to have good concealment and the AP does great damage against DDs. Unique torpedo drop pattern as well.
DDs of the British line combine good guns, torpedoes and concealment to make good all around DDs. These ships also have the unique drop pattern. Jutland and Daring have heals (I believe).
RN CVs are known for tankier planes and less planes in squadrons.
Personal Standout Ships:
Orion: Even with some of the changes that ships has gone through, this ship still is a great ship at lower tiers. You combine great HE shells and heals but you do have really slow turret traverse.
Conqueror: One of the best ships at shooting HE at other BBs in. This ship has a lower HP pool but get a great heal (long reload timer).
Jutland: This is a great all around DD that can do a lot both offensively and defensively. Pay attention to enemy radars since your torpedoes have a range that can get you into that range.
Audacious: Tanky planes, level bombers and close in torpedo bombers. You do have smaller squadrons so bear that in mind.
Fiji: This is a great ship with awesome offensive capabilities between the smoke, torpedoes and good ROF.
Other Standout Ships: QE, Fiji and Daring.
French Ships: Fast, elegant and hard to deal with is how I would describe French ships.
French BBs in the mid-tier have a lot of guns! The Lyon gets up to 16 guns! The Richelieu through the Republique all get the engine boost which will help you flex around the map. Republique is great for dealing damage to pesky cruisers but 32mm armor is very vulnerable to HE.
French cruisers are kind of a mix between lighter cruisers and heavy cruisers. The main battery reload booster is the key consumable for these ships. This consumable can really make you deal a lot of damage quickly.
Personal Standout Ships:
Lyon: Guns, lots of guns! The Lyon stands out because it has so many guns (16) arranged in 4 turrets. If aimed properly this ship can do a good amount of damage at decent range.
Richelieu: All forward facing armament leads to some interesting choices in positioning. The speed boost helps you relocate and get flank shots.
Republique: This ship can move at a quick speed and deal good damage. The unique thing about this ship is that it only has 2 turrets (1 fore and 1 aft) so getting a lot of shells on target can be challenging.
Algerie: Fast and can be quite a good cruiser on the flank with the high speed and good range.
Henri IV: What can I say about the Henri that you don't already know? =). The ship combines great guns, speed and range to be an absolute monster to deal with.
Other Standout Ships: Alsace, Charles Martel and Normandie.
Pan-Asian Ships: Deep water torpedoes and short smokes are key to these ships.
Pan-Asian DDs have deep water torpedoes so they cannot hit other DDs. They also have smoke that lasts for a shorter amount of time but you can deploy it quicker. You can also take radar instead of smoke at higher tiers.
Personal Standout Ships:
Gadjah Mada: One of the most fun tier VIIs that I have played. A great combination of punchy guns and torpedoes that will leave foes in trouble.
Chung Mu: A great all around DD that can equip radar if you like. What this ship lacks in ability to torpedo enemy DDs it makes up for in guns.
Other Standout Ships: Fushun and YueYang.
Overall Notes:
This is just a brief overview of the lines, feel free to ask more pointed questions if you have them!
Feel free to add to my list of ships that I recommend as stand outs, we all have ships that we like and spend a lot of games in.
Hopefully this helps explain the lines a little bit and give you some insight before you commit to a line.
Good luck with your grinds!