Hill

14.3

Destroyer | U.S.A. | Tier V

Tech Tree Position

stock

top

Battle Levels

12345678910

V

Special

Hill — American special premium Tier V destroyer.

One of the ship designs meant to combine the features of both a destroyer and a cruiser was the preliminary design project of a destroyer leader with a displacement of 1,525 tons. The ship was supposed to have steam turbines with a gearbox, and her armament was to include five 127 mm guns. The predraft project was offered to the Bath Iron Works company, but the latter didn't show much interest, so the U.S. High Navy Command turned its attention to the 2,200-ton leader project.

Hill was released as part of the Rogue Wave event with Update 0.8.5 and was available from June 27th until July 22nd, 2019. She returned on sale from April 17th until May 1st, 2020. As of Update 0.9.11, she is available for 38.000 Coal in the Armory.

Modules

Compatible Upgrades

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning: The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

At first glance, Hill looks very similar to the tech tree ship Nicholas. However, the two ships differ in armament, maneuverability, health, and concealment. Despite this, they both share a broadly similar play style featuring the use of smoke screens and rapid-firing guns.

The Ship

Hill has a top speed of 37.5 knots, good but not noticeably superior to many other destroyers at Tier V. Her rudder shift time of 3.1 seconds and turning circle of 560 meters are similarly average, although she is noticeably more maneuverable than Nicholas.

Hill has a Smoke Generator  with three charges in her first consumable slot, giving her the ability to lay down her own cover or provide some for friendly ships. American destroyer smokescreens have an improved dispersion time compared to other nations, giving players a full 115 seconds of cover. In total, players will have almost 6 minutes of concealment per battle. In her second slot, she has Engine Boost  with three charges, which gives an 8% boost to top speed for 120 seconds, pushing her to just over 40 knots in a straight line.

Hill has a standard Damage Control Party  with a 5 second action time and 40 seconds between uses. Hill has 12,100 hit points as standard, slightly low for a dedicated gunboat destroyer. She can outlast torpedo-focused destroyers, but her health can feel lacking if engaged in sustained knife fights.

Armament

Hill mounts a main battery of five 127 mm guns, which will be familiar to players of the US destroyer line. These weapons are well known for their floaty ballistics and challenging long-range gunnery. Her guns are the same as those of Nicholas but with a slower reload of 4.8 seconds. Although she reloads slower than Nicholas, her reload is still faster than almost every other Tier V destroyer, giving her the highest effective DPM at her tier. Her forward and aft guns have decent firing arcs, able to engage targets at 30° from her bow or stern. Her middle gun sits between her smokestacks, and this severely restricts its firing angle forwards; the rearward arcs are much improved, allowing Hill to engage targets almost directly astern with three guns.

In common with most destroyers, Hill will primarily fire HE rounds. These have a fairly low fire chance; 5% is the same as T-22 but without the improved penetration of the German rounds. Under optimal conditions, Hill can potentially set 3 fires per minute, a rather low total compared to many other destroyers. Her HE rounds can penetrate 21 mm of steel, allowing her to directly damage the decks of most light cruisers that she is likely to face. Investing in the Inertial Fuse for High Explosive skill will open the decks of heavy cruisers and battleship bow/stern plating to direct damage. Her AP is highly situational; it can penetrate up to 100 mm of armor below 5 km, making it useful against light cruisers at close range. However, the penetration rapidly drops off past this to the point of being almost useless. Hill can score citadel hits against an overconfident or surprised cruiser, but an alert cruiser will make short work of her instead.

Hill carries nine torpedo tubes in three triple mounts, with one on each side and a single centerline mount. She can potentially launch six torpedoes in one direction, but only once every minute or so. These are fairly short-range weapons; a maximum range of 5.5 km means that she cannot launch from stealth. They are fairly slow at 56 knots and only slightly faster than Gremyashchy, but without Gremyashchy’s range or damage. However, they are fairly stealthy; a 1.1 km detection range means that targets will only have 7 seconds to avoid them.

Anti-Aircraft

Hill has good AA defenses for a Tier V destroyer. Unusually for a Tier V destroyer, most of her AA strength is found in long-range batteries courtesy of her dual purpose main guns. Hill can potentially engage attacking aircraft for a longer length of time. In reality, her long range guns will not put out enough damage to stop an attack and will do little more than alert a carrier to her presence. Her short range guns will provide a boost to the overall DPM, but not until attacking aircraft have finished their attack runs.

Anti-Submarine

Hill drops a pattern of 6 depth charges in each attack, with a direct hit causing an impressive 5,100 damage. She can have 2 attacks stored and ready to drop at any time, with each attack taking 40 seconds to reload. If Hill can reach a position to drop her depth charges on a submerged submarine, she will often sink her target. Unfortunately, as she lacks a Hydroacoustic Search or Submarine Surveillance, actually tracking a submarine without assistance is difficult.

Battle Performance

Hill is a capable destroyer-hunter at her tier, suited to the short range duels common at low tiers. Her rapid reload and large main battery mean she can easily shred other destroyers in quick order. However, her rather small health pool means a prolonged fight will leave her battered and bruised. Her relatively poor concealment means potential prey will likely outspot her, but Hill’s speed means that they will not have much time to make their escape.

Her smoke screen can be used to set up cover in open water or to break contact with an enemy in an emergency. Bear in mind that US smoke has a long dispersion time, and a smoke screen left empty is a potential hiding place for an enemy ship. An often underutilized option for a smoke screen is to provide cover for other friendly ships to lurk in while Hill pushes ahead to spot enemies for her allies to shoot.

Her poor ballistics mean Hill is ill suited to long-range battles from open water, but they also allow her to take advantage of island cover to engage large targets. Bear in mind that hiding behind an island to farm damage is potentially depriving a team of the most valuable benefit a destroyer brings: spotting.

Pros:

Excellent DPM
Fast and maneuverable
Long lasting Smoke Screen

Cons:

Poor ballistics on main guns
Middle turret has restricted forward arcs
Short torpedo range
Fairly large concealment range

Research

As a premium ship, Hill doesn't have any upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Hill are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed.	Liquidator +30% chance (multiplicative) of causing flooding.	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party , Repair Party . ★	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type.	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning about a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5 km. ★	Preventive Maintenance −30% chance of main armament, engines, steering becoming incapacitated +15% to HP of secondary and AA guns. ★★★
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the damage-inflicting area of HE shells fired at submarines.	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed.	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of: Hydroacoustic Search , Surveillance Radar , Smoke Generator , & Engine Boost .	Extra-Heavy Ammunition +7.5% main battery AP shell damage. +10% damage from depth charges.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies aiming at you with main battery. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★★★
3	Main Battery & AA Specialist -5% main battery reload time. +10% continuous AA damage.	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables.	Survivability Expert +350 HP per ship tier. ★★★
4	Main Battery & AA Expert +20% main battery range. +15% flak damage.	Swift in Silence So long as the ship remains undetected: +8% ship speed +5% main battery reload time.	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.. ★★	Fearless Brawler +1 flak burst per salvo. -10% main battery reload when ship is spotted.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	Dazzle For 15 seconds after you are detected: * +20% dispersion of enemy shells fired at you. * +8% ship speed. ★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Hill equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Smoke Generator  – 3 charges
Slot 3: Engine Boost  – 3 charges

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Hill comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Charlie Kilo +5% ship HP; +2.5% squadron HP.	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. ★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. ★★	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts.	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed. ★★★	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used.
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Gallery

References

Ships of U.S.A.

Destroyers	II Sampson • II Smith • III Wickes • IV Clemson • V Nicholas • V Hill • VI Farragut • VI Monaghan • VII Mahan • VII Sims • VII Sims B • VIII Benson • VIII Kidd • IX Fletcher • IX Benham • IX Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • IX Johnston • IX Frank Friday • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • X [[Ship:[Gearing]\|[Gearing]]] • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Cruisers	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI [[Ship:Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)\|Cleveland (< 31.05.2018)]] • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII [[Ship:Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)\|Pensacola (< 31.05.2018)]] • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII [[Ship:New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)\|New Orleans (< 31.05.2018)]] • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX [[Ship:Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)\|Baltimore (< 31.05.2018)]] • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Jacksonville • ★ Annapolis
Battleships	III South Carolina • IV Wyoming • IV Arkansas Beta • V New York • V Oklahoma • V Texas • VI New Mexico • VI Arizona • VI W. Virginia '41 • VII Colorado • VII Florida • VII West Virginia '44 • VII California • VII Colorado 2 • VIII North Carolina • VIII Kansas • VIII Nebraska • VIII Alabama • VIII Massachusetts • VIII Alabama VL • VIII Constellation • VIII Massachusetts B • VIII Alabama ST • VIII Tennessee • VIII North Carolina CLR • VIII Volunteer State • VIII North Carolina 2 • IX Iowa • IX Minnesota • IX Delaware • IX Missouri • IX Kearsarge • IX Illinois • IX Kearsarge B • IX Georgia • IX Iowa 2 • X Montana • X Vermont • X Louisiana • X Ohio • X Rhode Island • X Wisconsin • X BA Montana • X [[Ship:[Montana]\|[Montana]]] • X Montana 2 • X Utah • ★ Maine
Aircraft Carriers	IV [[Ship:Langley (< 23.01.2019)\|Langley (< 23.01.2019)]] • IV Langley • V [[Ship:Bogue (< 23.01.2019)\|Bogue (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI [[Ship:Independence (< 23.01.2019)\|Independence (< 23.01.2019)]] • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VII [[Ship:Ranger (< 23.01.2019)\|Ranger (< 23.01.2019)]] • VII [[Ship:Saipan (< 23.01.2019)\|Saipan (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII [[Ship:Lexington (< 23.01.2019)\|Lexington (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII [[Ship:Enterprise (< 23.01.2019)\|Enterprise (< 23.01.2019)]] • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • VIII AL Hornet • IX [[Ship:Essex (< 23.01.2019)\|Essex (< 23.01.2019)]] • X [[Ship:Midway (< 23.01.2019)\|Midway (< 23.01.2019)]] • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • X [[Ship:[Midway]\|[Midway]]] • ★ United States

Destroyers

Netherlands	IX Groningen • X Tromp
U.S.A.	II Sampson • II Smith • III Wickes • IV Clemson • V Nicholas • V Hill • VI Farragut • VI Monaghan • VII Mahan • VII Sims • VII Sims B • VIII Benson • VIII Kidd • IX Fletcher • IX Benham • IX Halford • IX Black B • IX Black • IX Johnston • IX Frank Friday • X Gearing • X Somers • X Forrest Sherman • X [[Ship:[Gearing]\|[Gearing]]] • ★ Joshua Humphreys
Europe	II Tátra • III Romulus • IV Klas Horn • V Visby • V Muavenet • V Kalmar • VI Västerås • VI Stord • VII Skåne • VII Grom • VII Błyskawica • VII Stord '43 • VIII Öland • VIII Split • VIII Orkan • IX Östergötland • IX Lambros Katsonis • IX Velos • IX Friesland • IX Jäger • X Halland • X Gdańsk • X Småland • X Ragnar • X Södermanland • ★ Dalarna
Germany	II V-25 • III G-101 • IV V-170 • V T-22 • VI Ernst Gaede • VI T-61 • VI Karl von Schönberg • VII Leberecht Maass • VII Z-31 • VII Z-39 • VII Z-32 • VII Z-33 • VII Z-34 • VII Z-38 • VIII Z-23 • VIII Gustav-Julius Maerker • VIII Z-35 • IX Z-46 • IX Felix Schultz • IX Z-44 • IX ZF-6 • X Z-52 • X Elbing • X Z-42 • X Georg Hoffmann • X Lübeck
U.S.S.R.	II Storozhevoi • III Derzki • IV Izyaslav • V Gremyashchy • V [[Ship:Gnevny (< 06.03.2017)\|Gnevny (< 06.03.2017)]] • V Podvoisky • V Okhotnik • VI [[Ship:Ognevoi (< 06.03.2017)\|Ognevoi (< 06.03.2017)]] • VI Gnevny • VII [[Ship:Kiev (< 06.03.2017)\|Kiev (< 06.03.2017)]] • VII Minsk • VII Leningrad • VII Tashkent '39 • VIII [[Ship:Tashkent (< 06.03.2017)\|Tashkent (< 06.03.2017)]] • VIII Ognevoi • VIII Kiev • IX Udaloi • IX Tashkent • IX Neustrashimy • X Khabarovsk • X Grozovoi • X Delny • X [[Ship:[Grozovoi]\|[Grozovoi]]] • ★ Zorkiy
Italy	II Curtatone • III Nazario Sauro • IV Turbine • V Maestrale • VI Aviere • VI Leone • VII Luca Tarigo • VII FR25 • VIII Vittorio Cuniberti • IX Adriatico • IX Paolo Emilio • X Attilio Regolo
Pan-America	VI Juruá • X La Pampa
Japan	II Tachibana • II Umikaze • II Tachibana Lima • III Wakatake • IV Isokaze • V Minekaze • V Fūjin • V Kamikaze • V Kamikaze R • V Mutsuki • VI [[Ship:Mutsuki (< 01.12.2016)\|Mutsuki (< 01.12.2016)]] • VI Fubuki • VI Hatsuharu • VI Shinonome B • VI Shinonome • VII [[Ship:Hatsuharu (< 01.12.2016)\|Hatsuharu (< 01.12.2016)]] • VII Akatsuki • VII Shiratsuyu • VII Yūdachi • VIII [[Ship:Fubuki (< 01.12.2016)\|Fubuki (< 01.12.2016)]] • VIII Akizuki • VIII Kagerō • VIII Asashio • VIII HSF Harekaze II • VIII Asashio B • VIII HSF Harekaze • VIII AL Yukikaze • IX [[Ship:Kagerō (< 01.12.2016)\|Kagerō (< 01.12.2016)]] • IX Yūgumo • IX Kitakaze • IX Minegumo • IX STAR Kitakaze • X Shimakaze • X Harugumo • X Hayate • X AL Shimakaze • X [[Ship:[Shimakaze]\|[Shimakaze]]] • ★ Yamagiri
U.K.	II Medea • III Valkyrie • III Campbeltown • IV Wakeful • V Acasta • VI Icarus • VI Gallant • VII Jervis • VII Jupiter '42 • VIII Lightning • VIII Cossack • VIII Cossack B • IX Jutland • IX Somme • X Daring • X Druid
France	II Enseigne Gabolde • III Fusilier • IV Bourrasque • V L'Adroit • V Jaguar • V Siroco • VI Duchaffault • VI Guépard • VI Aigle • VII Le Hardi • VII Vauquelin • VIII L'Aventurier • VIII Le Fantasque • VIII Le Terrible • IX Orage • IX Mogador • X Cassard • X Kléber • X Marceau • X Kléber CLR
Pan-Asia	II Longjiang • III Phra Ruang • IV Shenyang • V Jianwei • VI Fushun • VI Anshan • VII Gadjah Mada • VIII Hsienyang • VIII Siliwangi • VIII Loyang • VIII Fenyang • VIII Loyang B • VIII Zhu Que • VIII Ship Smasha • IX Chung Mu • X Yueyang • X Lüshun • ★ Kunming
Spain	X Álvaro de Bazán
Commonwealth	III Vampire • VII Haida • VII Huron • X Vampire II

Games

Navigation

Tools

Hill

Modules

Compatible Upgrades