Brest

13.9

Cruiser | France | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

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Battle Levels

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IX

13,000,000

Brest — French Tier IX cruiser.

A cruiser with 330 mm main battery guns concentrated at the bow. Her AA artillery comprises Bofors and Oerlikon automatic guns.

Brest was first released in Early Access in Update 0.11.4

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
330 mm/50 Mle 1931 on a St. Chamond Mle 1932 mount	2.1	36	187	4,800	35	9,700		0	1,300,000

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Brest (A)	50,100	16	335	2	8	18/8/8				0	1,950,000
Brest (B)	55,300	16	335	2	8	4/4/8				48,000	3,000,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
PCA n° 9 Mle 1		0		0	1,300,000
PCA n° 9 Mle 2		0		32,000	2,000,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 100,000 hp	31.5		0	1,300,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

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.

Tier IX Brest is the second ship in the French large cruiser tech tree and a worthy successor of VIII Cherbourg. Wielding eight 330mm main battery guns in two superfiring turrets mounted on her bow, her battleship-esque firepower poses a significant threat to ships of all sizes while she lacks a battleship’s survivability.

Main battery

Like Cherbourg before her, Brest’s performance focuses almost entirely on her large main battery guns. As far as large cruisers go, her eight 330mm guns are among the largest in-game, second only to the 380mm guns of IX Siegfried and X Sevastopol. Her armor-piercing (AP) shells perform similarly to her predecessor, but the increased caliber comes with an increase in damage and a significant increase in penetration at all ranges, allowing her to deal significant damage to even heavily armored targets. Due to her relatively high shell velocities and flat shell arcs, Brest’s gunnery can be very comfortable. These guns can overmatch 23mm of armor, making her a serious threat to super-light cruisers, like the British and Pan-Asian light cruisers.

Brest uses the same large cruiser dispersion (between that of a battleships and a cruisers) and 1.8 sigma as VIII Cherbourg. These large guns benefit from high armor-piercing (AP) shell damage (9700 HP), excellent firing range (18.2km), and the ability to fire all guns directly over her bow. Brest’s guns are arranged in two quadruple-barrel turrets that boast decent firing angles (a few degrees worse than Cherbourg) with a relatively long turret traverse, taking 36 seconds to rotate 180°. Along with her excellent AP shell performance, Brest also has usable high explosive (HE) ammunition with a best-in-class fire chance amongst Tier IX tech tree cruisers of 35%. Like her predecessor, Brest suffers a long main battery reload, sitting at 28 seconds base. This can be permanently boosted by mounting Main Battery Modification 3 upgrade and temporarily improved with her Main Battery Reload Booster , which reduces her reload time by 50% and allows her to fire off two salvoes within a short time.

Another unique feature of the French large cruisers is their surprisingly powerful secondary guns. Brest has eight secondary turrets, all facing her stern. While their penetration is modest, they have improved accuracy and an 8km base range, tied with the German cruisers for longest in tier. When built for secondaries, Brest’s secondary guns can pose a significant threat to destroyers that stray too close, reaching out to just over 10km.

Survivability

For a cruiser, she has decent protection: her bow and stern plating are only 25mm thick like most cruisers, but thicker main belt armor that will shatter all high explosive(HE) shells and some smaller-caliber armor piercing(AP) shells. Additionally, her 30mm deck will bounce any AP up to 430mm. Captains must take care when engaging enemy battleships, as any 380mm or larger AP shell or larger will overmatch her bow and stern plating and possibly penetrate her citadel. Angling perfectly bow-in to engage these battleships is not advisable. Instead, it is recommended to angle slightly, to bait the enemy into ricocheting shells off her thick belt armor. Brest’s citadel sits at the waterline behind a slight turtleback; she still needs to protect her broadside from incoming fire.

What Brest lacks in armor she makes up for in other ways. She has the largest HP pool of any tech tree cruiser in her tier and one of the largest in her matchmaking range. This gives her some ability to tank damage, although only for a short time. Despite her battleship-esqe guns, she is still a cruiser.

As a large cruiser, fires are a significant threat: they burn for 60 seconds like battleships rather than the standard 30 seconds for most cruisers. And as a cruiser, she doesn’t have access to battleship survivability skills like Basics of Survivability. Her Repair Party  consumable allows her to recover some of her lost health, but Brest cannot stand up to sustained fire for long periods of time.

Maneuverability

Like VIII Cherbourg, Brest is fast and agile for her size. Her 31.5 knot base speed is unremarkable, slow for her tier and other large cruiser counterparts. However, she carries the Engine Boost  consumable that can push her top speed to just under 40 knots with the Sierra Mike signal. Due to her size, she has one of the longest rudder shifts for a cruiser at her tier. Despite this, she boasts one of the smallest turning circles of any Tier IX cruiser, making torpedo-dodging much easier with her relatively small size.

She has a slightly better surface detection radius than Cherbourg but a larger air detection radius, leaving her more susceptible to aircraft spotting. To increase her chances of surviving to the end of a battle, captains should maximize Brest’s excellent maneuverability and speed to minimize the amount of damage she receives.

Consumables

Like Cherbourg, Brest has access to a large selection of consumables. She has access to the standard cruiser Damage Control Party , which should be managed carefully with her vulnerability to fire and flooding damage. Captains can also choose between Hydroacoustic Search  to spot torpedoes and enemy vessels or Defensive AA Fire  to boost her anti-aircraft firepower (provides a 50% boost to the continuous damage of her AA guns and quadruples her flak damage for 40 seconds). Her Repair Party  increases the amount of damage that she can sustain, keeping her in the fight longer (See Survivability above). The Engine Boost  consumable improves her acceleration and increases her top speed by 20% like other high tier French cruisers (compared to the standard 8% of other ships). Lastly, she has access to a Main Battery Reload Booster  to briefly improve her rate-of-fire.

Anti-Aircraft Defenses

Brest’s anti-aircraft battery is not particularly special. While her long- and medium-ranged auras do mediocre damage, her short-range damage is high. She has a high flak count with good damage. Should captains choose to improve her AA performance, choosing the Defensive AA Fire  consumable is recommended (see Consumables).

Battle Performance

Brest is a powerful cruiser when played to her full potential. At medium to long ranges, she can punish ships with her large guns and still have enough time to dodge return fire. She is still lethal at close range, where her main battery is supplemented by her secondaries, but closing to secondary range is generally inadvisable. She performs best when captains know how to make the most of a situation, repositioning and flanking when the opportunity arises. Captains are strongly encouraged to switch between ammunition types given the combat situation to best maximize her full potential, although armor-piercing is the preferable ammunition choice. When the opportunity presents itself, capitalize on an enemy providing a good target or to ward off an enemy ship’s charge by using the Main Battery Reload Booster 

to briefly improve her rate-of-fire. For her consumable loadout, captains can choose between a Hydroacoustic Search 

or Defensive AA Fire 

consumable; the former is recommended due to its versatility. However, Defensive AA Fire can provide a valuable boost to the continuous damage and flak damage of her AA guns in games where aircraft are present. In the third slot, captains again have a choice of consumables: either the characteristic French Engine Boost 

consumable or a Catapult Fighter 

consumable. The Engine Boost consumable is recommended to temporarily improve her acceleration and increase her lackluster top speed.

Pros:

Good survivability and armor for a cruiser
Large-caliber guns with high shell velocity, high penetration, and good damage
All main battery guns can be fired over the bow without exposing broadside
Numerous secondary guns with high accuracy
Decent maneuverability and speed for her size
Access to Main Battery Reload Booster and Engine Boost consumables

Cons:

60 second fire duration
Long main battery reload
Susceptible to high explosive and semi-armor piercing (SAP) damage and overmatch
Weak AA defenses
Slow base speed
Poor concealment

Research

Researchable upgrades for Brest:

Hull: Upgrade to Hull (B) for improved survivability and maneuverability. Research of this module unlocks progression to Marseille.
Gun Fire Control System: Upgrade to PCA n^o 9 Mle 2 for an extra 10% range on the main battery.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades are:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection or Engine Boost Modification 1 * or Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Propulsion Modification 1 * or Damage Control System Modification 2 or Steering Gears Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Main Battery Modification 3 or Gun Fire Control System Modification 2

Engine Boost Modification 1 is recommended in slot 2 for players that have large coal reserves, to further boost Brest's Engine Boost duration. But for those short on coal, it may be better to save that upgrade for Marseille.
In Slot 4, both Propulsion Modification 1 and Steering Gears Modification 1 are viable options. Damage Control System Modification 2 is available for players that want to reduce her 60 second fire duration, but is less optimal.

Commander Skills

The Honoré brothers feel particularly well-suited for the French large cruisers with their improved Grease the Gears skill.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed. ★★★	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed.	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 of a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5km. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance fired at submarines. ★	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time.	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search, Surveillance Radar, Smoke Generator, & Engine Boost. ★★★	Eye in the Sky Spotting Aircraft: • +2 charges • -50% cooldown time.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★★	Focus Fire Training In an active priority AA sector: • +1.5% (to 5%) immediate damage. • +25% continuous damage. • +1 flak burst per salvo. −10% aircraft preparation time. −15% reload time of Airstrike armament..
3	Heavy HE and SAP Shells +10% HE and SAP shell damage. +15% ship detectability guns 149mm and up. ★	Pack a Punch +15% torpedo damage. +20% secondary battery range..	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Heavy AP Shells +5% damage for AP shells 190mm and larger. ★★	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables. ★★★	Survivability Expert +450 HP per ship tier. ★★
4	Top Grade Gunner -10% reload time of secondary batteries If enemy ship is spotted within detectability range, -8% reload time of main battery. ★★★	Outnumbered If there are fewer allies than visible enemies within the ship's base main caliber firing range: +8% ship speed -10% main battery dispersion.	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.. ★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	AAA & ASW Expert +25% continuous AA and flak damage. +15% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −50% ship consumables reload time..
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Brest equips the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire  or Hydroacoustic Search 
Slot 3: Engine Boost  or Catapult Fighter 
Slot 4: Repair Party 
Slot 5: Main Battery Reload Booster

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation. ★★	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. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	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 . ★

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

References

Ships of France

Destroyers	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
Cruisers	I Bougainville • II Jurien de la Gravière • III Friant • IV Duguay-Trouin • V Émile Bertin • VI La Galissonnière • VI De Grasse • VI Dupleix • VI Montcalm • VI [[Ship:[La Galissonnière]\|[La Galissonnière]]] • VII Algérie • VII Toulon • VIII Charles Martel • VIII Cherbourg • VIII Bayard • IX Saint-Louis • IX Brest • IX Carnot • X Henri IV • X Marseille • X Colbert • X Brennus • ★ Condé
Battleships	III Turenne • IV Courbet • V Bretagne • VI Normandie • VI Dunkerque • VI Dunkerque B • VII Lyon • VII Strasbourg • VIII Richelieu • VIII Gascogne • VIII Champagne • VIII Flandre • VIII Picardie • VIII [[Ship:[Richelieu]\|[Richelieu]]] • IX Alsace • IX Jean Bart • IX Jean Bart B • X République • X Bourgogne • ★ Patrie
Aircraft Carriers	VI Béarn

Cruisers

Netherlands	I Van Kinsbergen • II Gelderland • III Java • IV De Ruyter • V Celebes • VI Kijkduin • VII Eendracht • VIII Haarlem • VIII De Zeven Provinciën • VIII Admiraal • VIII Statenland • IX Johan de Witt • IX Van Speijk • X Gouden Leeuw • X Prins van Oranje • X Vrijheid
U.S.A.	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
Europe	I Gryf • VI Elli • X Svea
Germany	I Hermelin • II Dresden • II Emden • III Kolberg • IV Karlsruhe • V Königsberg • VI Nürnberg • VI Admiral Graf Spee • VI Leipzig • VI HSF Admiral Graf Spee • VII Yorck • VII München • VII Weimar • VIII Admiral Hipper • VIII Prinz Eugen • VIII Mainz • VIII Schill • VIII Mainz B • VIII Cross of Dorn • VIII Wiesbaden • IX Roon • IX Siegfried • IX Ägir • IX Admiral Schröder • IX Roon CLR • IX AL Ägir • X Hindenburg • X Hildebrand • X [[Ship:[Hindenburg]\|[Hindenburg]]] • ★ Clausewitz
U.S.S.R.	I Orlan • II Diana • II Diana Lima • II Novik • III Aurora • III Bogatyr • III Oleg • III Varyag • III AL Avrora • IV Svietlana • V Murmansk • V [[Ship:Kirov (< 10.06.2020)\|Kirov (< 10.06.2020)]] • V Kotovsky • V Krasny Krym • V Mikoyan • V Kirov • VI Budyonny • VI Molotov • VI Admiral Makarov • VII Shchors • VII Lazo • VII Lazo B • VIII Chapayev • VIII Tallinn • VIII Mikhail Kutuzov • VIII Ochakov • VIII Pyotr Bagration • VIII Bagration • VIII Dmitry Pozharsky • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • IX Kozma Minin • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk B • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol • X Komissar • X [[Ship:[Moskva]\|[Moskva]]] • X Vladimir Monomakh • X Petrozavodsk • ★ Novosibirsk
Italy	I Eritrea • II Nino Bixio • III Taranto • IV Alberto di Giussano • V Raimondo Montecuccoli • V Genova • VI Trento • VI Duca d'Aosta • VII Zara • VII Duca degli Abruzzi • VII Francesco Ferruccio • VII Gorizia • VIII Amalfi • IX Brindisi • IX Michelangelo • X Venezia • X Napoli • X Napoli B • X Ravenna • ★ Piemonte
Pan-America	I Hércules • II Almirante Barroso • II Almirante Abreu • III Vicente Guerrero • IV Córdoba • V La Argentina • VI Almirante Cochrane • VII Coronel Bolognesi • VII Nueve de Julio • VIII Ignacio Allende • VIII Almirante Grau • IX Santander • X San Martín
Japan	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • VIII Tone 2 • VIII Tone 3 • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • IX Chikuma II Golden • IX BA Takahashi • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami • X Zaō CLR • X [[Ship:[Zaō]\|[Zaō]]]
U.K.	I Black Swan • II Weymouth • III Caledon • IV Danae • V Emerald • V Hawkins • V Exeter • VI Leander • VI Devonshire • VI London • VI Dido • VI Orion '44 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII AL Cheshire • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Monmouth • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Defence • ★ Edgar
France	I Bougainville • II Jurien de la Gravière • III Friant • IV Duguay-Trouin • V Émile Bertin • VI La Galissonnière • VI De Grasse • VI Dupleix • VI Montcalm • VI [[Ship:[La Galissonnière]\|[La Galissonnière]]] • VII Algérie • VII Toulon • VIII Charles Martel • VIII Cherbourg • VIII Bayard • IX Saint-Louis • IX Brest • IX Carnot • X Henri IV • X Marseille • X Colbert • X Brennus • ★ Condé
Pan-Asia	I Chengan • III Ning Hai • V Chungking • VI Rahmat • VI Huanghe • VII Chumphon • VIII Harbin • VIII Irian • VIII Wukong • IX Sejong • IX Dalian • IX Mengchong • IX Tianjin • X Jinan • X Incheon
Spain	I Júpiter • II Méndez Núñez • III Navarra • IV Almirante Cervera • V Galicia • VI Baleares • VI Canarias • VII Asturias • VIII Cataluña • VIII Numancia • IX Andalucía • IX Almirante Oquendo • X Castilla
Commonwealth	I Sutlej • II Port Jackson • III Caradoc • IV Dunedin • V Delhi • VI Hobart • VI Perth • VI Mysore • VII Uganda • VIII Auckland • IX Encounter • IX Hector • X Cerberus • X Brisbane

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Compatible Upgrades