Naval Academy
Greetings, fellow Captains!
In the previous episode we told you about a ship’s
design and the layout of her critical modules and armor.
Today we will talk about shells.
What types are there, how do they differ from each other,
and how can they be used most effectively?
We will also explain why damage is not determined randomly in our game.
There are two types of munitions in World of Warships:
armor-piercing and high-explosive shells,
more commonly known as AP and HE shells.
An AP shell is not just a piece of metal.
It also has a high explosive inside.
When the shell hits the armor of an enemy ship, the fuse is armed.
Then the projectile penetrates the armor and detonates inside the hull,
destroying the ship's critical modules.
However, there is one important thing:
the probability of fuse activation depends on the thickness of the armor it hits.
If the armor is too thin to constitute a sufficient obstacle for the shell,
the impact won't be strong enough to activate the fuse.
Therefore, these shells are not good for firing at poorly-armored targets.
The shell can simply pierce through the ship,
inflicting damage only with the shell itself,
and not with an explosion of its destructive and devastating filler.
HE shells are definitely more effective against thin-skinned ships.
Detonating upon impact,
they cause heavy damage with fragments and a blast
which has a high chance of setting fire on the ship.
Another important feature of a naval battle is a variety of engagement distances.
When firing at short or point-blank range,
the shell has a virtually straight trajectory
and primarily hits the side of an enemy ship.
At long range, the shell follows a highly curved trajectory
and has a higher chance of hitting the deck.
It is usually difficult for artillery ships to inflict
heavy damage to their counterparts with AP shells fired from a long distance:
the projectiles will mainly penetrate through thinner parts of the hull
and rebound from the main armor.
For this reason, it is much easier to destroy the enemy
with a direct shot from close range.
However, keep in mind that the same thing can be done to you as well.
Poorly-armored ships like destroyers and light cruisers
(as well as many aircraft carriers)
can be effectively destroyed with medium and large
HE shells, fired from any distance.
Utilizing these features,
the World of Warships developers
managed to avoid a random factor when determining damage from a hit.
The task is tackled by ballistics and a sophisticated model architecture.
Let's not forget that each salvo consists of more than one shell,
which is why damage caused by several salvos can differ by a factor of ten,
or even more. It depends on multiple factors:
at what range the guns fired from, how many shells struck the enemy,
and what parts of the ship were hit.
The shells could pierce through unimportant compartments
or explode inside the most valuable ones.
You can fire at an enemy battleship from a long range for a long time,
and all you will get are ricochets and non-penetrations of the main armor,
damaging only the ship's superstructure, bow and stern.
Or you can destroy her with a single salvo at point-blank range,
delivering several hundreds of kilograms of explosives to the citadel.
As a rule, in cases like that the enemy gets nervous
and starts complaining about the sudden explosion of a magazine.
In conclusion,
here are some general recommendations on artillery fire by ship types.
Battleships:
Remember that the best distance for firing at your peers is 10 km or closer,
virtually at point-blank range.
In this case your AP shells are most effective,
but you will be at risk yourself.
HE shells are equally useful at almost all distances,
though it would be harder to sink a battleship with them.
Cruisers:
Your primary targets are your counterparts, aircraft carriers, and destroyers.
To hit a battleship’s citadel,
you will need to fire your main battery at point-blank range.
However, the enemy is also on the lookout so it is usually hard to get that close.
HE shells will help you defeat the giants by causing fires
and destroying poorly-armored modules,
though a firefight like that will take plenty of time.
Rain AP shells on enemy cruisers,
while HE rounds would be enough for destroyers and aircraft carriers.
Destroyers:
Your key armament is definitely torpedoes.
Nevertheless, the main battery is rather effective against enemy destroyers.
In this case, you should select AP shells at long ranges
and switch to HE rounds at a short distance.
Though destroyers have small-caliber guns,
an AP shell fired at a short range can still go through the enemy.
HE shells are relatively effective against cruisers and battleships.
Of course, they are unable to penetrate a ship's citadel,
but a hundred hits to all auxiliary compartments
will knock out even the largest ship.
Follow our news and subscribe to our channel.
Until next time, Commanders!
World of Warships Action Stations