Marco Polo

13.9

Battleship | Italy | Tier IX

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

IX

Special

Marco Polo — Italian special premium Tier IX battleship.

As part of the cooperation between Italy and the U.S.S.R., a project was created for a ship with nine 406 mm main guns placed in three turrets. This project was never implemented. If such a ship had been built in Italy, she would have had 406 mm main battery guns developed on the basis of 381 mm guns, and she would have been ready by 1940 or 1941.

Marco Polo first went on sale on 28 January 2021.

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 ()
406 mm/50 Model 1940 in a turret	1.7	36	252			13,050		0	0

	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 ()
Marco Polo	69,100	19	410	3	12/4	16/10/12				0	0

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
SDT 9		0		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 191,000 hp	32		0	0

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 premium Italian battleship Marco Polo retains many of the tech tree battleship characteristics — powerful Semi-Armor Piercing (SAP) main battery shells, poor reload and range, and decent armor and concealment. While having differences of her own, she will feel familiar to players experienced with the playstyle of Italian battleships.

Hull

As with tech tree Italian battleships, Marco Polo’s armor scheme is solid overall. She features a 320 mm main belt, with a 70 mm upper belt and 55 mm deck. She resists destroyer and cruiser-caliber HE quite well, and when angled properly, is decently protected against AP shells from battleships. However, her HP pool is among the lowest of Tier IX battleships. Her citadel is extremely vulnerable, protected by a 25 mm turtleback that is easily overmatched by most battleship-caliber guns in her tier spread. In addition, she lacks the Exhaust Smoke Generator  found on tech tree Italian battleships, and her torpedo protection is poor. Captains should be more careful in choosing their engagements and movements.

In addition to her armor, Marco Polo’s speed is superb, clocking in at 32 knots. Her rudder shift and turning circle are also respectable, at 16.7 seconds and 860 meters respectively. Her concealment, on the other hand, is decidedly average for Tier IX, only reaching 13.2 km when fully specced.

Armament

Unlike the tech tree Italian battleships, which cap out at 381 mm guns, Marco Polo has nine 406 mm guns in a typical three-by-three arrangement. This gives her multiple boosts in terms of damage dealing capability. Her SAP shells boast a 1600 damage advantage over Italian 381 mm SAP. Coupled with their high penetration and improved ricochet angles, they will be the primary ammo of choice against most targets. Her AP is phenomenal as well, with some of the highest penetration at Tier IX. It can also overmatch 27 mm plating instead of just 26 mm, which includes the bow and stern of most cruisers in the game. As such, captains should opt to take Gun Feeder in order to exploit both ammunition types. Her ballistics are also outstanding, leading to comfortable aiming. Her firepower is not without flaws, however. Her reload is a painful 36 seconds base, which can be brought down to ~32 seconds with Main Battery Modification 3 . Her range is capped at 19.02km, though compensated by the presence of Spotting Aircraft , and her accuracy, while better than tech tree Italian battleships, is still inconsistent, and captains should expect well-aimed salvos to miss on occasion. Captains should also take into account the SAP’s 10% capped damage against destroyers, and her lack of the built in -30% shell swapping time that the tech tree line has.

As with tech tree Italian battleships, Marco Polo’s secondaries and AA are underwhelming. Her secondary battery is mostly 90 mm guns, meaning their penetration is abysmal. Her 4.6 km AA range is the shortest of all Tier IX battleships, and with its poor combined damage she should stick to allied ships to thwart aviation threats.

Gameplay

Like the tech tree battleships, Marco Polo excels at mid range fighting. Her armor and firing angles allow her to play comfortably in this range, while reducing the impact of her poor gun range and mediocre accuracy. As she lacks the Exhaust Smoke Generator , disengaging is riskier than the researchable Italian battleships. With her vulnerable citadel, Marco Polo should not actively seek brawls, as enemies can easily deal large amounts of citadel damage when she’s exposing her broadside.

Marco Polo is simplistic in her playstyle. Her SAP shells can deal heavy damage with each salvo, even if only a few shells hit. While her accuracy and concealment are not outstanding, she will feel comfortable to those who have already experienced the Italian battleship playstyle.

Pros:

One of the only two Italian battleships (alongside Giuseppe Verdi) with 406 mm guns, can overmatch 27 mm armor with AP.
Good main battery traverse speed and firing angles.
Excellent AP penetration and shell velocity.
Powerful SAP shells with amazing penetration angles, great at dealing devastating damage even on angled targets.
Thickly armored midsection, with a 70 mm upper belt and 55 mm deck.
Small and thin superstructure which is flanked by secondary barbettes with 80 mm of armor.
One of the faster Tier 9 battleships, with a standard top speed of 32 knots.
Good rudder shift and turn radius for a Tier 9 battleship.
Decent concealment when fully upgraded for it.

Cons:

Small hitpoint pool, only 100 hitpoints higher than Jean Bart.
Poor main battery reload speed.
Despite having decent sigma, overall accuracy is average at best.
Lacks the -30% bonus to shell swapping time tech tree Italian battleships have.
Third shortest main battery firing range of her tier/class, only Prinz Rupprecht and Lepanto are worse.
Weak AA suite with average DPS and poor range.
Lacks the Exhaust Smoke Generator  consumable found on tech tree Italian battleships.
Incredibly vulnerable to citadel damage when showing broadside.

LittleWhiteMouse's Premium Ship Review: Marco Polo from the NA forums

Research

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

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Marco Polo are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1
Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1 
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 2
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Main Battery Modification 3

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense
1	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★★★	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance when firing at submarines.	Consumables Specialist −7.5% cooldown time of all Consumables except: Damage Control Party , Repair Party . ★	Emergency Repair Specialist -3% cooldown time of Damage Control Party  and Repair Party . ★★	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	Grease the Gears +20% main turret traverse speed. ★★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells. Base fire chance reduced by half.	Brisk So long as the ship remains undetected: +10% ship speed. ★	Vigilance +25% detection range of enemy torpedoes +7% damage reduction of Torpedo Protection System. .	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★	AAA & ASW Expert +15% continuous AAA and flak damage . +10% damage inflicted by depth charges. While AAA is active: −40% ship consumables reload time..
3	Super-Heavy AP Shells +7.5% AP shell damage −10% fire and flood damage received +25% fire and flood duration.	Long-Range Secondary Battery Shells +20% secondary battery firing range.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Basics of Survivability -15% repair, fire, and flooding duration. ★★	Improved Repair Party Readiness −0.8% reload time of Repair Party each time your ship receives potential damage equal to 100% of the ship's base HP. After receiving 2M HP potential damage: +1 charge of Repair Party ..	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..
4	Furious 1st fire / flood −10% Main battery reload time 2nd etc. (up to 5), each −5% Main battery reload time	Manual Secondary Battery Aiming −10% secondary battery reload time. −10% secondary battery dispersion. When firing at a manually selected target: dispersion gradually improves from -25% to -50%.	Close Quarters Combat -10% reload time of main battery if an enemy ship is spotted within secondary range.	Emergency Repair Expert Damage Control Party  and Repair Party : +1 charge (each). +10% action time . ★★★	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	Fire Prevention Expert -10% risk of fire. Three fires maximum. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Marco Polo can equip the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Repair Party  – 4 charges
Slot 3: Spotting Aircraft  – 4 charges or Catapult Fighter  – 3 charges

Camouflage

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

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

Marco Polo with Legion alternative permanent camouflage

References

Wargaming

Armada: Marco Polo. 19 Mar 2021.

Ships of Italy

Destroyers	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
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Battleships	IV Dante Alighieri • V Conte di Cavour • V Giulio Cesare • VI Andrea Doria • VII Francesco Caracciolo • VIII Vittorio Veneto • VIII Roma • VIII AL Littorio • IX Lepanto • IX Marco Polo • IX Giuseppe Verdi • X Cristoforo Colombo • X Ruggiero di Lauria • X Sicilia • X Amerigo Vespucci
Aircraft Carriers	VIII Aquila

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Spain	IX Victoria
Commonwealth	VII Yukon

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Marco Polo

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Compatible Upgrades