What nations' destroyers come to your mind
when you hear the word "artillery"?
French destroyers, the second branch of Japanese destroyers,
and Soviet destroyer leaders?
Update 0.10.5 complements this list with some German newcomers!
Please welcome Z-31
Gustav Julius Maerker
Felix Schulz
and Elbing.
The primary weaponry of most artillery destroyers in our game
is housed in their main battery turrets.
Their torpedoes often play the second fiddle in this orchestra.
The German newcomers are no exception to this rule,
although their firing rate is not particularly high for their ship type.
The power of German cannons lies in other parameters.
Accuracy, damage, and the penetration capabilities
of their armor-piercing shells are where they excel.
The shells fired by Felix Schulz and Elbing
are especially good thanks to their muzzle velocity and ballistics.
But what's the secret behind the power of German artillery?
It's rather simple— all ships of the new branch
sport guns with a "cruiser" caliber of 150 mm.
It's rather ironic that cruisers are set to bear the brunt of the pain
that will be caused by the new destroyers' armor-piercing shells.
The aforementioned Elbing and Felix Schulz
particularly excel in this department compared to their comrades.
Taking a look at their firing range...
Well, the newcomers can extend the reach of their guns
to some seriously impressive values.
For instance, by learning the corresponding Commander skills
and mounting upgrades,
you can give Tier X Elbing the power to hurl her shells at enemies
up to 18.6 kilometers away.
The torpedo range of the German newcomers is equally pleasing.
For Z-31, it's 10 kilometers;
Gustav Julius Maerker and Felix Schulz—12 kilometers;
Elbing—a whopping 13.5 kilometers!
That said, these Germans are still natural-born "gunners,"
and torpedoes aren't their primary means of offense.
This is emphasized by their relatively low speed of 50 knots.
Don't get too upset about that though—
all the new Germans, with the exception of Z-31,
enjoy an impressive reload time of just 90 seconds for their torpedo tubes.
Another distinctive feature of the new destroyers is their armor.
Yes, you heard it right!
The newcomers all sport 25-millimeter-thick armor
that effectively protects the central part of their hulls.
Combined with their good HP pools, this feature has a positive impact
on the survivability of the new destroyers,
especially when it comes to skirmishes with other destroyers.
To counter aerial threats,
the German destroyers have quite good anti-aircraft defenses for their type—
just don't forget to activate the appropriate priority sector in time.
The high-tier German destroyers
come equipped with the Defensive AA Fire consumable
to enhance their AA defense systems.
But now it's time to drop a fly in this ointment.
The new destroyers don't have the Engine Boost consumable.
What's more, the Germans are inferior to their colleagues
when it comes to their rudder-shift time.
Keep this in mind when you need to avoid a collision with an island
or dodge incoming enemy torpedoes.
As the new German destroyers are artillery ships at heart,
it's natural to select skills and upgrades
that reinforce their main batteries.
A Commander assigned to one of the newcomers
will benefit from the recommended skills that are marked with a special icon.
Pay special attention to the Fearless Brawler skill.
It increases the rate of fire when your ship is visible to enemies.
Let's look at the best upgrades to select with the main battery in mind.
As for the sixth slot on high-tier destroyers Felix Schulz and Elbing,
you can either increase the firing range of your guns
or improve their reload times, depending on your preferred playstyle.
Don't worry about getting up close and personal to the enemy sometimes—
if you come under fire, you can always hide within your own smoke screen.
The similarities between the new destroyers and cruisers
don't end with their gun caliber.
The new ships—especially the high-tier ones—
should often deploy cruiser-like tactics in battle.
This primarily means keeping some distance
between your destroyer and the enemy.
In the early stages of a battle, it's better to stick close to your allies.
This is true for both moving in a specific attack direction on the map
and supporting Key Area capture.
Even if they aren't your primary weapon,
don't forget to use your torpedoes—
launching long-range torpedoes along the main routes of the map
can often bear fruit.
When you detect an enemy,
wait for it to move as close as possible
within the action radius of your main battery.
This is crucial
because your main ammunition in battle is armor-piercing shells,
and these tend to lose their penetration capabilities over greater distances.
The main targets of the new German destroyers are enemy capital ships—
battleships and cruisers. Especially cruisers!
If an enemy exposes their side,
concentrate your fire on their superstructure, casemates, and ends.
When firing at a cruiser,
add another point of interest—
the central part of the hull at the waterline.
Even more so if this cruiser is less than 12 kilometers away from you.
If your target changes course and sails toward you or away from you,
you can always switch to high-explosive shells.
While the new Germans' HE shells don't deal remarkable damage,
they can easily set their target ablaze.
This is a very important tool
that artillery destroyers can deploy to dismantle enemy ships.
High-explosive shells also work best against other destroyers,
especially when they expose their sides.
Armor-piercing shells often overpenetrate when striking destroyers,
and minimal damage is dealt when this occurs.
However, if an enemy destroyer is sailing at an acute angle to you,
it makes sense to switch back to armor-piercing shells.
Thanks to their high penetration capabilities,
you can score impressive damage numbers per salvo
in situations where the shells of other ships would typically ricochet.
As each battle draws to an end, the value of the German destroyers rises.
You can concentrate on engaging
individual targets and capturing Key Areas.
Don't forget about Smoke Generator and Defensive AA Fire—
if an enemy is determined to sink you,
these consumables will significantly extend your time in battle.
Captains, the new German destroyers are available to research!
Unleash the power of their artillery right now!