Marseille
330 mm/50 Mle 1931 in a turret3 х 3 pcs. |
Rate of Fire2.5 shots/min. |
Reload Time24 sec. |
Rotation Speed5 deg./sec. |
180 Degree Turn Time36 sec. |
Firing Range19.59 km. |
Maximum Dispersion212 m. |
HE Shell330 mm HE OEA Mle 1935 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage4,800 |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell35 % |
Initial HE Shell Velocity885 m./s. |
HE Shell Weight552 kg. |
AP Shell330 mm AP OPfK Mle 1935 |
Maximum AP Shell Damage9,700 |
Initial AP Shell Velocity870 m./s. |
AP Shell Weight560 kg. |
139 mm/50 Mle 1938 in a turret4 х 3 pcs. |
Firing Range8.3 km. |
Rate of Fire9.23 shots/min. |
Reload Time6.5 sec. |
HE Shell139 mm HE OEA Mle 1928 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage2,000 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity840 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell10 % |
139 mm/50 Mle 1938 in a turret6 х 2 pcs. |
Firing Range8.3 km. |
Rate of Fire9.23 shots/min. |
Reload Time6.5 sec. |
HE Shell139 mm HE OEA Mle 1928 |
Maximum HE Shell Damage2,000 |
Initial HE Shell Velocity840 m./s. |
Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell10 % |
139 mm/50 Mle 1938 in a turret4 х 3 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second74.4 |
. . . Firing Range5.19 km. |
139 mm/50 Mle 1938 in a turret6 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second91.2 |
. . . Firing Range5.19 km. |
20 mm Oerlikon on a Mk.24 mount18 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second109.8 |
. . . Firing Range2.01 km. |
40 mm Bofors on a Mk.1 mount8 х 2 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second90.4 |
. . . Firing Range3.51 km. |
40 mm Bofors on a Mk.2 mount2 х 4 pcs. |
. . . Average Damage per Second31.8 |
. . . Firing Range3.51 km. |
Maximum Speed33 knot |
Turning Circle Radius770 m. |
Rudder Shift Time14.5 sec. |
Surface Detectability Range14.32 km. |
Air Detectability Range10.13 km. |
Marseille — French Tier X cruiser.
Super-heavy cruiser with a displacement of over 30,000 tons. Her main armament comprises nine 330 mm guns concentrated in three turrets at the ship's bow.
Marseille was first released in Early Access in Update 0.11.4.
Modules
Compatible Upgrades
Slot 1 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Slot 2 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Slot 3 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
Slot 4 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
Slot 5 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() | |
Slot 6 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Player Opinion
Performance
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.
The pinnacle of the French large cruiser line, Tier X Marseille carries nine lethal 330 mm main battery guns perfect for fulfilling her role as a ‘cruiser killer.’ What she lacks in armor she makes up for with speed, being able to reposition and control engagements with ease.
Main battery
Like VIII Cherbourg and IX Brest, Marseille’s performance is all about her powerful, hard-hitting 330 mm main battery guns. They are the same caliber as those found on Brest, but Marseille has an extra gun barrel, and they are spread evenly between three triple turrets instead of Brest’s two quad turrets. These guns are the largest of any tech tree cruiser, and second only to the 380 mm guns of premium cruiser IX Siegfried and special cruiser X Sevastopol. Her armor-piercing (AP) shells deal impressive damage (9700 HP), giving her the heaviest broadside of any Tier X tech tree cruiser. The inherent high penetration values of her shells allows her to deal significant damage to even heavily armored targets like battleships. She also has usable high explosive (HE) ammunition with the highest fire chance of any Tier X cruiser: 35%. Her 36-second turret traverse is slow for a cruiser, but she has an incredible base main battery range of 19.6 km that allows her to keep opponents at arm’s length. The relatively high shell velocities of both her AP and HE and flat shell arcs make her gunnery comfortable, especially for players familiar with battleship gameplay. Due to their impressive caliber, Marseille’s guns can overmatch the bow and stern plating on super-light cruisers like X Austin, and the British and Pan-Asian light cruisers.
It’s not all good news for Marseille’s main battery guns. First of all, she has large cruiser dispersion (between that of a battleship and a cruiser) coupled with 1.8 sigma. In practice, this means that she tends to hit what she shoots at, but frustrating salvoes are woefully common. When comparing Brest to Marseille, it’s obvious that the latter is unable to fire all guns directly over her bow. Instead, she must angle to show some broadside in order to fire all her guns at a target. The three triple-gun turrets are a mixed blessing, as it means that losing one turret only results in one-third less firepower rather than half like with Brest.
Marseille’s base reload of 25 seconds is slightly less frustrating than Brest’s 28 seconds. Her rate-of-fire can be permanently boosted by mounting the 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 period of time.
In common with the other large cruisers in the French tech tree, Marseille has a surprisingly accurate secondary battery. She has four triple-barreled and six double-barreled secondary turrets for a total of twenty-four secondary guns. While their penetration is modest, they have improved accuracy, best-in-class fire chance of 10%, and a base range of 8.3 km. When fully built for secondaries, Marseille’s secondary guns pose a significant threat to destroyers that stray too close, and can start fires on larger ships out to a range of almost 10.5 km.
Survivability
For a cruiser, Marseille has decent protection. Her bow and stern plating are 25 mm thick like most cruisers, but her 210 mm main armor belt is thick enough to shatter all HE shells and some smaller-caliber AP shells. Additionally, her 36 mm deck will bounce any AP round in the game. Captains must take care when engaging enemy battleships, as any 380 mm or larger AP shell or larger will overmatch her bow and stern plating and possibly penetrate her citadel. Angling perfectly bow-in to engage battleships is not advisable. Instead, she should angle slightly to bait the enemy into ricocheting shells off her thick belt armor. Marseille’s citadel sits just slightly above the waterline behind a slight (but mostly ineffective) turtleback. She has the largest HP pool of any tech tree cruiser in the game, and can heal back a maximum of just over 9000 HP per charge of her Repair Party consumable. This gives her some ability to tank damage, although only for a short time. It is critical to remember that she is still a cruiser, despite her battleship-like firepower.
As a large cruiser, fires and floods are a significant threat: fires burn for 60 seconds like battleships rather than the standard 30 seconds for most cruisers, and floods deal twice as much damage. 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 Marseille cannot stand up to sustained fire for long periods of time.
Maneuverability
Like the other French large cruisers, Marseille is fast and agile for her size. She has a decent base speed of 33 knots, which can be further improved by using the special French Engine Boost consumable (+20% speed) that pushes her top speed to over 41 knots with the Sierra Mike signal mounted. Due to her size, she has one of the longest rudder shifts for a cruiser at her tier: 14.5 seconds. Despite this, she boasts a surprisingly small turning radius of 770 meters that makes her feel agile despite her size. Due to her large dimensions, Marseille’s surface detection radius is a below-average 14.3 km.
Consumables
Marseille has access to a large consumable suite, the most attractive of which is the Main Battery Reload Booster . Upon activation, it temporarily reduces her main battery reload time by 50%, allowing her to fire off an extra salvo when the opportunity arises. Careful management of her standard cruiser Damage Control Party
is necessary to mitigate fire and flooding damage. She also has a choice 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
allows her to heal back some damage taken, keeping her in the fight longer (See Survivability above). The Engine Boost consumable improves her acceleration and increases her top speed by 20% (compared to the standard 8% of other ships).
Anti-Aircraft Defenses
Marseille has an above-average anti-aircraft battery. Her long-range aura has impressive damage-per-second and a range of 6 km. Her medium-range bubble only has a range of 3.5 km and has some of the worst damage-per-second of any Tier X cruiser. While only having a range of 2 km, her short-range AAA deals high damage-per-second. Her long-range AAA guns produce six flak bursts with a damage of 1750 HP. Should captains choose to improve her AA performance, choosing the Defensive AA Fire consumable is recommended (see Consumables).
Battle Performance
Marseille is a powerful large cruiser and the epitome of a glass cannon. She is all about the main battery guns; good gunnery will lead to rewarding results. To maximize her damage output, fire AP at most broadside targets, and switch to HE when the target is angled. Activate the Main Battery Reload Booster when the opportunity presents itself, or to counter any ships bearing down on her. Due to her relatively poor armor for her size, she will perform best when she stays at medium- to long-range when engaging enemy vessels. She can use her Engine Boost consumable to reposition as needed to dictate the terms of the fights she wants to take. Fighting at close-range should not be entirely discounted either, as she still has a large number of secondary guns that can help her fend off lightly-armored ships like destroyers and submarines. She performs best when captains know how to make the most of a situation, repositioning and flanking when the opportunity arises.




Pros:
- Large HP pool and good overall survivability for a cruiser
- Large-caliber guns with high shell velocity, high penetration, and good damage
- Numerous secondary guns with high accuracy
- Decent maneuverability and speed for her size
- Access to Main Battery Reload Booster consumable
- Enhanced Boost consumable
Cons:
- 60 second fire duration
- Susceptible to HE, SAP, and overmatch
- Long main battery reload
- Must show some broadside to fire all her guns
- Slow base speed
- Poor concealment
Research
Optimal Configuration
- Should captains choose to improve her AA performance, choosing the Defensive AA Fire consumable is recommended
- Captains can choose between a Hydroacoustic Search or Defensive AA Fire consumable; the former is recommended due to its versatility
- The Engine Boost consumable is recommended to improve her acceleration and increase her top speed by 20% (compared to the standard 8% of other ships)
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 Marseille's Engine Boost duration. But for those short on coal, Engine Room Protection
should be used instead.
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 and improved Adrenaline Rush skill.
Consumables
Marseille equips the following consumables: Marseille 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 | |||||
![]()
|
![]() ★★ |
![]() ★★ |
![]() ★ |
![]() ★★ |
![]() ★★ |
![]()
|
![]() ★ |
![]() ★ |
![]() ★★★ |
![]() ★★★ |
![]() ★★★ |
![]()
|
![]() ★ |
Gallery
Historical Info
Historical Gallery
References
Ship Change Log
See here for links to Update notes.
- Available for testing by supertesters in the game starting from Update 0.11.2.
Testing Changes
- DevBlog 273:
- Preliminary characteristics.
- DevBlog 320:
- Deck armor increased from 30 to 36 mm.
- Citadel deck armor increased from 20 to 30 mm.
- In Update 0.11.4:
- Depth Charge Airstrike reload time decreased from 90 to 45 s.
- Added for early access in Update 0.11.4, as the last bundle in the French Cruisers event. The final stage of these sequential bundles cost 20,000 doubloons, and to unlock Marseille on the very first day of the patch cost players up to 82,000 doubloons.
- Update 0.11.5
- Minor fixes to geometry and textures of the ship.
- The name of the secondary was changed from 139 mm/50 Mle 1938 on an Mle 1938 mount to 139 mm/50 Mle 1938 in a turret.
- Introduced to the game as a researchable ship in Update 0.11.6.
- Update 12.1:
- Improved the geometry and textures of the ship.
- Update 12.5:
- Fixed errors in the armor of the ship.