World of Warships: Legends

This is a very basic guide to the game. I won't tell you how to steer your ship, aim your guns or use the HUD. This is simply my own mental checklist before I enter any Standard Battle game in World of Warships: Legends.

History

Naval history is a fascinating subject and forms an integral part of human culture and the English language. There are perhaps over one hundreds words and phrases that are derived from the operation of ships at sea. If you have a keen understanding of naval warfare then you will have an advantage when playing this game. If you can't be bothered to read the thousands of free articles on Wikipedia, then shame on you. However, watching a few films will definitely help. For old ones, I suggest The Cruel Sea (1953), In Which We Serve (1942) and Sink the Bismarck! (1960). For modern, I recommend Greyound (2020) and Midway (2019), the latter more for the spectacle.

Destroyers

Your job is to spot the enemy ships for your team. Destroyers can get closer than other classes of ship without being seen. Battleships in particular rely on you to spot for them. Destroyers should also capture and defend the objective zones. Do not abandon your battleships. They can be blind and defenceless without you. You should be firing High Explosive (HE) shells unless you are very close to a cruiser and its broadside is exposed. Don't bother to fire at battleships unless there are no other targets and you can't be spotted.

1. Full speed ahead. Spot the enemy.
2. Am I being supported?
   • Yes: Head for the Cap, throw out torpedoes, engine boost on (optional).
   • No: Withdraw unless it is safe.
3. Did you capture the zone?
   • Yes: Defend it, use smokescreen to hide and conceal friendly support.
   • Yes: If it was a flank Cap, go for the centre Cap.
   • No: Regroup. Harass enemy Cap with torpedoes.
4. Engage and destroy enemy destroyers.
5. Keep spotting for your team. Are friendly battleships blind?
6. Engage and destroy enemy cruisers.
7. Engage and destroy enemy battleships.

What NOT to do

Sail to the opposite end of the map simply to try and sink an enemy capital ship (battleship or aircraft carrier). This is literally the most wasteful use of a destroyer's capabilities. It is not your job to attack battleships, you can do very little damage to them. Do not try and suicide strike them either. A destroyer is more valuable than a battleship so even if you manage to unleash a succesful close range torpedo strike, chances are you'll now be dead or horrendously out of position. Do not get yourself killed or fire madly at every target that presents itself. You should always be aware of who can potentially spot you. Fire discipline is necessary. Only fire if you know you can get away with it.

Random Story

Once I was playing as a Legendary Tier destroyer and was forward enough to be spotting for my team, but far enough back that I was unsighted. I had nothing in particular to do in that moment but observe. I watched as two Yamatos were going hard at each other. Our Yamato managed to land a perfectly aimed broadside which took out half the enemy battleship's health: "Wow!" I exclaimed. This was fun to watch and made me reflect on the fact that this game isn't always about constantly shooting and sailing all around the map in madness. Sometimes you have time to pause, reflect and at your leisure observe how other people play the game. Plus, since I was the one spotting, I earned a lot of XP from that brutal broadside. After a minute or so it was time to put my binoculars away and sail on toward the enemy Cap.

Cruisers

Your job is to hunt down and kill enemy destroyers. If your team has no destroyers (left) then you should cautiously take on the role of one. Going head to head with other cruisers is also a good move, especially if you can hit them in the citadel. Battleships will make short work of you if you are too close or expose your broadside. Fire HE shells by default and switch to Armour Piercing (AP) when duelling with a poorly handled cruiser.

1. Am I being supported?
   • Yes: Pick optimum direction and target, fire broadside before turning away fast, armour angled against return fire.
   • No: Align ship away from enemy, cautiously close battle lines, scout for exposed BBs. Try and regroup team.
2. Lure out enemy ships by engaging and withdrawing. Never expose your broadside to the enemy!
3. Hunt and destroy enemy destroyers.
4. Defend Caps.
5. Hunt and destroy enemy cruisers.
6. Engage battleships.

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 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!"

Aircraft Carriers

Don't bother with them. They're the worst addition to the game, they don't belong here and they're no fun to play as. When you play as a carrier, you're mostly playing a flying game and controlling planes - you may as well go and play World of Warplanes. Why didn't they work on adding submarines before carriers? It would be fun to add depth charge use to the game.

Interaction

Mute your microphone! I also suggest muting your team. In thousands of matches I've only had two games where a teammate dispensed useful advice. It's usually people playing music, yelling in frustration or offering abuse to their team. Make sure you can't hear such things as they are distractions. Also, set the options on your console so random people cannot message you. After a losing game, losers tend to send abusive messages to the members of their team they deem deserving of it. Make sure this cannot happen or it will further put you off the game and its playerbase.

Break

The value of a break cannot be overestimated. I tend to play this game in spurts. I'll play it daily for one to two months and then fatigue and frustration will make me step away from it for maybe the same amount of time. If you aren't enjoying a game, then stop. If you keep getting defeated and find yourself stressing out, then stop. This game has so many resources to keep track of. The makers also designed it with a great deal of deviousness to keep you hooked. Don't let them beat you. Play it on your own terms and don't keep paying for ships or premium time. There is easily enough free content in the game.

Notes

This is a very difficult game and it will take you a few months to master. Expect many frustrating battles where you get blown up instantly or your entire team dies because they don't know what they're doing. Stay calm and play the cards you were dealt. Good Luck, Commander.

Last updated: August 29th, 2022.