Ahoy there, lovers of citadel hits and skyrocketing damage counters!
This is Sea Smackdown—
a show about masterful World of Warships plays!
Today, Iowa is in the spotlight,
and the players helming her in the replays will be our main stars.
We should have a proper warm-up before the main battle of this episode!
And a player nicknamed Aspirin_EU will help us with that.
He's the winner of our "Maximum ships sunk" category.
Maximum Ships Sunk
It took him only three and a half minutes to send his first opponent
back to the Port with a Devastating Strike.
A couple more salvos with the main battery
and an opposing Pommern went down to feed the fish.
Admiral Hipper was our hero’s third frag—
the German carelessly exposed her broadside to the American's AP shells
and paid the ultimate price for it.
The fourth ship was obliterated with another Devastating Strike.
Our battleship was a little distracted by an opposing submarine,
and that's when Marco Polo showed up from behind some islands.
Iowa first tested the strength of the Italian's citadel
with an accurate shot before unleashing a punishing salvo
that put an end to senior Marco's escapades in this battle.
An impressive fourth frag!
As for the "Kraken Unleashed!" achievement,
it was delivered from the depths of the sea to us!
The damaged submarine limply tried to attack our hero again,
taking an AP hit to the hull in the process,
complemented with a flurry of depth charges from the air.
The fifth frag!
The battle was clearly a success for both our sniper and the whole team.
The remaining forces took notice of this and offered little resistance,
their wills broken.
Hawke and Georgia, specifically.
The sixth and seventh ships were sunk by our Iowa.
Finishing off Colorado was a mere technical detail.
Almost 204,000 damage dealt.
Five achievements and eight sunk opponents.
Those are the results of Aspirin_EU,
mighty winner of one of our Sea Smackdown categories!
Best Replay
The main battle of the episode was fought
by Shipmate_Peter on the Two Brothers map.
During the first minutes of battle,
our hero found themself in a curious situation,
fighting a positional battle near Key Area D.
Having collided with allied Jean-Bart,
Iowa protected the French ship from a barrage of incoming torpedoes.
What a monsieur!
You owe me one now!
Jean-Bart took the hint
and rushed to strike the opponents holding down Key Area D.
And together they managed to do it—
the two occupying destroyers disappeared beneath the waves!
Now the same should be done with battleships Kearsarge and Marco Polo.
While our hero was picking a suitable position in another part of the map,
three allied ships were sent back to the Port.
Five allies versus seven opponents now!
369 to 492!
The situation was getting worse.
Something had to be done about it promptly!
The first salvo fired at Marco Polo wasn't particularly successful,
but Kearsarge took a powerful AP slap.
She lost some 22,000 HP!
Our hero landed another impressive shot not long after.
Marco Polo, who all this time had been dueling Jean Bart,
decided to ram her.
But the French ship never made it and went under,
and the Italian hurried to get out of there.
But it’s a fail!
43,000 damage, three citadel hits,
and a Devastating Strike are the result of Iowa's precise strike.
If only all allies were capable of such salvos,
the battle situation wouldn't be so desperate.
Key Areas A and B had already been captured by the opposing team.
Key Area C was in the process of being captured.
The allied team consisted only of our hero,
another Iowa, and a submarine.
A rather meek force in the face of three battleships,
a cruiser, and a submarine.
Now we have a choice—
either pursue the fleeing Kearsarge or help our twin sister…
And the Captain of the American battleship goes with the former.
Several AP salvos, seasoned with a sprinkling of HE shells,
and now the hybrid lies still against the island, with two fires blazing.
It's somewhat strange that Kearsarge
didn't use her aircraft throughout the entire fight against our hero,
launching a squadron only before her very end.
It didn't help her, though, and the two of us, together with Salmon,
had to do something about the remaining forces.
It became clear that all opposing ships would take the shortest route—
through the strait of Two Brothers.
Prinz Ruprecht was the first to appear but failed to react
to the shells from our Iowa in time.
The German lost 19,000 out of her available 27,000 HP.
Sinking the ship after such an impactful hit was child’s play.
The fourth frag and the High Caliber achievement!
Another German appeared from the strait—rapid-firing Mainz.
Despite the tier difference,
the cruiser started actively shelling our Iowa with all guns blazing.
Several salvos and only 7,200 HP left!
And that's not all!
Heavy shells from Alabama almost struck our hero.
Just one shell could be the last in this battle!
Some 6,500 HP left...
The guns are reloading... Repair Party is on cooldown as well...
And Mainz is eager to grab another frag!
5,800 HP!
The guns are ready, aiming... Alabama shows up.
Fire from the aft turrets!
Mainz is down but managed to make one last shot!
Only 3,400 HP left!
"Kraken Unleashed!" is in the pocket,
but it's too early to celebrate—
Alabama's shells are in the air!
They missed! Phew! That was close!
Time to take a breath and patch up with Repair Party.
Iowa managed to get far away enough
that she disappeared from Alabama’s sight.
While our hero was recovering, the allied Salmon surfaced,
hoping to hit the opponent from point-blank range.
But Alabama's secondary armament did its job—
we're now our team’s last hope.
Iowa's Captain decides to charge at Alabama and the hiding U-190.
The opponent approaches bow-first.
It's time for HE shells.
Two fires break out on Alabama with the first salvo.
She quenches them. It's fine!
Another salvo. Another fire! Alabama retaliates!
The submarine emits a sonar ping.
Removed it with Damage Control Party.
No torpedoes allowed!
Need to stay alive!
Airstrike is the answer.
A hit! HE shells from Alabama.
Now it's our turn! Another fire!
714 to 943!
But time… Time is running out…
Torpedoes launched by the submarine!
The last seconds!
That's it! A defeat!
Despite the outcome, our hero proved that you need to fight to the end
no matter how the situation develops!
The result speaks for itself!
Almost 250,000 damage dealt.
Five ships sunk and five achievements earned.
But the most important achievement is, of course,
the Sea Smackdown award!
Shipmate_Peter really earned it!
If you, dear friend, would like to appear in a future episode
of our exciting show, send us your replays!
Instructions on how to do this are on our website!
And remember, Captain, our main hero next time is Saint-Louis!