Battleships

DO NOT REVERSE as soon as the battle begins. Everyone will see you are cowardly and inept. Your job is to absorb damage for your team and dispense heavy damage to destroyers and cruisers. Cruisers and destroyers should not be absorbing damage whilst you sit out of range. A battleship is an asset to be used up, not held in reserve. If you are at full health when a losing battle is drawing to a close, then you have failed everyone on your team. Only engage enemy battleships when there are no other viable targets. If you have the choice between hitting a swerving destroyer or targeting a cruiser's exposed citadel, it is your call - I would choose an exposed cruiser citadel but destroyers must always be your priority, even if you have AP shells loaded. Always keep AP loaded for when citadel strikes present themselves. If the enemy team has only destroyers remaining then of course switch to HE. If I see a battleship reversing behind me, I may be forced to sail away to achieve a more realistic objective because they are showing early on they have no interest in supporting you or winning the game.

1. Am I being supported?
   • Yes: Support them back! Advance.
   • No: Set course away from enemy toward friendly destroyers or cruisers.
2. Learn and employ 'armour-angling'. Map awareness is key! Who can hit you and from what angle?
3. Maintain battlelines, don't stray out of position early on.
4. Pick targets: DDs, Cruisers then BBs. DD is priority!
5. Absorb fire for your weaker teammates, but only if you are supported.
6. Lead final charge, hunt lone hiding destroyers with HE and secondary armaments.
7. Close on the enemy. Don't be a coward! Or, as Nelson said, "Never mind the manoeuvres, just go straight at 'em!"

If you hide behind an island you are ruining the game for yourself, your teammates and the enemy. There is no point playing. Once I was fighting alongside a cruiser in a Cap and got blown up along with my teammate. We made a good account of ourselves but against three battleships stood no chance. I look at the map and in the area of our Cap, yet safely behind a big island, are three battleships in full health, all in a division. Since their supporting destroyer and cruiser have been lost (they themselves couldn't absorb any hits nor return effective fire), they then got outflanked and blown up very easily. Such people are the biggest detriment to this game, and they are known as a Backline Betty. It really does ruin the game - imagine the thrill if everyone actually pushed instead of hiding back.

Extra Tips from LongHairNoir

A division and fleet mate of mine, known as LongHairNoir, is very experienced. He has much greater knowledge on how to operate battleships and cruisers. Below are some of his expert tips:

1. Position yourself near cover always.
2. Never push aggressively at the start of the match.
3. NEVER push when there is a DD that is ahead of you.
4. Never DC (damage control) a single fire.
5. Always change speed and direction to avoid getting torpedoed.
6. Never sit broadside anywhere because you're probabaly gonna get slapped.
7. Know the armor scheme of your ship and what you can angle to and what can overmatch you.
8. Don't abandon your side unless it's obvious you'll be overrun.

Notable Battleships

Agincourt (Tier III Premium)

The Beast of Tier III.

In Arcade mode, this ship is extremely dangerous. It has seven gun turrets and very effective secondary batteries; I don't even build into the secondaries and they still shred DDs and wear down other classes. This scoresheet represents a typical game. Agincourt's Arcade winrate after 118 battles (90%).

1. Unleasing the Kraken in under three minutes.
2. Surrounded, she bows out with a Double Strike.
3. The outcome from this salvo is par for the course in this ship.
4. Goodbye, Gangut.

In Standard, it does not fare well. It is slow and lacks any AA firepower whatsoever.

Bellerophon (Tier III Premium)

The Billy Ruffian. It's not as capable or enjoyable as Agincourt, but it is faster and its turrent layout can be handy, such as here where I achieved a Double Strike.

Indefatigable (Tier IV Premium)

The Indy! As soon as this ship appeared, I had to have it. Like the Billy Ruffian, it is quick and can offer main battery fire from both sides. In my very first battle, I achieved a Kraken.

Repulse (Tier V Premium)

Unlike its tech tree sister ship, Repulse has no torpedoes. What it can do, however, is smash other ships to pieces. This one is for everyone who hates the IKS Bortas.

Hood (Tier VI Premium)

The Mighty Hood was the first ship I paid for, and it's one of my most played. Although it isn't equipped with the torpedoes it had in real life, it's still a very capable ship. My most recent remarkable achievement in it was clinching a Ranked game and scoring a Kraken, at the very last opportunity.

Resistance (Tier VI Premium)

Along with Renown and Repulse (the real-life Renown-class), this ship forms a trio of premium British battlecruisers. In the following five videos you can see each individual kill of a Kraken game in Arcade:

1. The First Kill.
2. The Second Kill.
3. The Third Kill.
4. The Fourth Kill.
5. The Fifth Kill.