An altered armor layout,
improved cruising speed,
stronger anti-aircraft armament—
these were the distinguishing features of the new generation of British battleships.
HMS King George V [the fifth] became the lead ship of this class.
Launched on the eve of World War II,
this battleship fought until its end.
She participated in the legendary battle against Bismarck.
She proudly carried the Royal Navy ensign during the Arctic convoys,
in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Pacific Ocean.
It's not incidental that in World of Warsips
King George V appeared at Tier VII.
She's a transitional link in the evolution of British battleships
from slow and heavily armored descendants
of the legendary HMS Dreadnought,
to more advanced and fast high-tier ships.
In our game, King George is not a classic battleship
made following the "all or nothing" principle.
She is rather a battlecruiser. At Tier VII,
we already have some prominent representatives of this ship type:
German battleship Scharnhorst and another British ship, Hood.
Being a symbiosis of a battleship and a cruiser,
King George has radically different gameplay,
compared to the previous ships of the branch.
King George is nothing like her predecessor,
classic battleship Queen Elizabeth,
and she prepares players for all the following British battleships.
When starting a battle with this ship,
the first thing you should remember is that her ten main
battery guns have a caliber of 356 mm.
With primary armament like this,
it won't be easy to stand off against even Tier VII battleships.
At the same time, you shouldn't have any problems
hitting the citadels of enemy cruisers.
In addition, beginning with King George,
high-tier British battleships feature unusually good concealment.
Camouflage and a relevant Commander skill will make you unseen
by enemy ships even at 12 km.
So if you like to take risks, you can start the battle by covertly
approaching virtually any cruiser close enough to land a heavy blow.
And then your concealment properties
will also help you rapidly leave enemy sightlines.
However, superb concealment won't save King George from enemy aircraft.
If an enemy carrier is determined to get our hero,
even her numerous AA guns won't be able to defend the ship every time.
Of course, you can reinforce the battleship's
ability to stand against same-tier carriers
with the help of relevant Commander skills and upgrades.
But King George will still have serious problems
when attacked by aircraft carriers of higher tiers.
Therefore, at the beginning of the battle,
it's best to stay with a group of allies,
because together it's much easier to repel the enemy's initial air raids.
Closer to the middle of the battle, when it becomes clear
how enemy forces are distributed throughout the map,
King George can start active actions on her own,
capturing key areas and engaging single battleships
and cruisers at a medium range.
The most important thing in such an engagement
is to change shell type depending on the situation.
As you all know, if an armor-piercing shell is helpless,
a high-explosive one will always deal some damage.
This is particularly true for our hero.
King George boasts superb British HE shells,
featuring increased damage and penetration capacity.
They can be further improved with the help of the Inertia Fuse perk.
This costly, but useful Commanderskill will allow this British ship
to penetrate the citadels of many cruisers
by firing HE shells at their sides.
To complete the portrait, we should mention one more trait that
makes King George similar to cruisers:
the reload time of her primary armament is just 25 seconds.
Of course, all these strengths come at a price. Having superb HE rounds,
King George is immensely vulnerable to this shell type herself.
This is because the ship's superstructures and ends have a peculiar armor layout.
Therefore, if you're under focused fire, try to escape as soon as possible.
The damage from enemy HE shells and fires on board can
take you back to Port much quicker than expected.
A timely retreat will let you catch your breath.
And thanks to an improved Repair Party consumable—
another typically British feature—
King George can restore more hit points than battleships of other nations.
If you use the ship's strengths and peculiarities wisely,
our hero will make it to the final part of the battle,
where she'll be facing the most resilient warriors.
And this is when King George can surprise her enemies.
Each lost hit point (which you couldn't restore with the improved Repair Party)
will be compensated for by an increase in the rate of fire—
of course, only if the ship's Commander has acquired the Adrenaline Rush perk.
In this case, the British battleship can come close to high-tier cruisers
in terms of the damage caused per minute.
The most important thing here is long range of fire.
You switch to HE shells and just burn the enemies.
King George V is a pivotal ship of the new branch.
It is she who introduces the change in gameplay for British battleships.
King George and all the battleships that follow her,
up to Conqueror, feature a similar play style.
Having gotten to grips with King George,
you'll be able to understand the tactics and philosophy
of playing high-tier ships of the new branch.
This is a battleship for research and experiments,
whose results, together with the national traits of these British ships,
will bring you a lot of fun in the future.
King George was built to surprise enemies
with assertive decisions and creative tactical moves.
A discouraged enemy is always a much easier target.
So be creative and good luck in battle, Captains!