Rhode Island

Summary

' has found its place in the family of Tier X US battleships, trading the more conventional well-armored, heavy main battery design for a lighter armor profile, high speed, light main battery, and high accuracy. She is a frankenstein boat of sorts, combining Georgia’s profile and Florida’s artillery to create a playstyle that is a mix between a French battleship and heavy cruiser, owing to her quick reload, high speed, and access to Surveillance Radar .

Armor

’s armor leaves one wondering whether they are playing a cruiser rather than a battleship. She shares the same hull as Georgia but has slightly thinner bow and stern armor. Her bow and stern are similarly armored to that of Des Moines, being 27 mm until the turrets. From there, ’s light 32 mm torpedo protection hardly does anything to protect her citadel from enemy battleships at the waterline, with only slightly thicker 38 mm side plating protecting the rest of her sides. Paired with the standard 19 mm superstructure found on every battleship at Tier VIII and higher, ’s real “armor” is her 33 knot speed, 12.1 second rudder shift, and 12.3 km concealment. Those will be more efficient at protecting against enemy fire than her physical armor is.

Armament

Caliber aside, ’s main battery is quite impressive. She is armed with three quad 356 mm turrets, the same caliber found on Defence and one of the smallest battleship guns at Tier X. Her main battery is identical to Florida at Tier VII, with the two battleships sharing the same battlecruiser dispersion, sigma, and AP shell damage. However, that is where the similarities end. Unlike Florida, ' gets access to Artillery Plotting Room Modification 2 in slot 6, further reducing her dispersion by 11%. Her standard reload time is 22 seconds, one of the quickest at Tier X. However, ’s range is more average at 21 km before the use of Main Battery Modification 2 or Spotting Aircraft . ’s AP is rather mediocre, lacking overmatch against most ships at the tier and a low 9000 alpha damage per shell. However, she has improved AP penetration angles similar to Des Moines, so it will pen better on angled targets. To make up for her weaker AP, ’s HE is quite good at setting fires, with a 31% fire chance and a maximum of 5000 damage per shell. ' also features improved secondary range and accuracy, with a maximum range of 11.3 km. While her secondaries are similar toGeorgia and Massachusetts, it is not recommended to build for the secondary battery due to her low HP and light armor. Overall ' is a decent artillery platform, with accurate salvos that can exploit broadsides and a high fire chance to burn down armored targets.

Anti-Aircraft

Like most ships, ' should avoid finding herself alone in the face of enemy aircraft. However, her AA strength is on the stronger side for a battleship, with the bulk of her defenses situated in her medium-range battery. Her flak is standard for US Tier X battleships at 8 per salvo, dealing 1764 damage from 3.5 km to 5.8 km. ’s long-range AA battery does a rather underwhelming 176 continuous damage, but is aided by the flak salvos. Her main defense against enemy aircraft is her 4 km medium battery, with a continuous damage of 555. At 2 km ’s light guns deal 287 damage in a last ditch effort to shoot down enemy planes. ’s AA performance can be further improved with Catapult Fighter , but the consumable competes against Spotting Aircraft  and Surveillance Radar , making Catapult Fighter  the least likely to be chosen.

Battle Performance

plays like a French battleship, using her high speed and low detectability to sneak to the broadsides of enemy targets. When the opportunity to punish broadsides is not present, HE should be used to burn down enemies. Players should be aware of their range from enemies, as her low 74,100 HP and poor armor can lead to a quick death. Should players find themselves in a position where multiple enemies are shooting at them, Engine Boost  paired with ’s low 12.3 km concealment can be used to reposition and escape enemy fire. Players can choose between Surveillance Radar  and Spotting Aircraft  for distinct differences in playstyles. The 9 km Surveillance Radar  offers close range spotting and potentially allows for a close-range barrage with a secondary build, while the Spotting Aircraft  provides further versatility for fire support or to create more distance from enemies to dodge incoming fire. '