Siegfried

Siegfried is a Tier IX cruiser available for 47,000 Research Points in the Research Bureau.

The main battery for Siegfried consists of six 380mm guns which gives her the heaviest armament of any Tier IX cruiser in the game. Arranged in three turrets with two rifles each, these guns are capable of dealing serious damage to most cruisers and even some of the battleships that she may encounter. This is also aided by the fact that unlike many of her German counterparts her dispersion is far more consistent and shells tend to land roughly where the player aims. To offset this she has one of the longest base reloads of heavy cruisers at 26 seconds; a reload which is on par with most battleships of the tier. Of note, her AP shells are capable of overmatching 25mm of armor. This means she is a dangerous threat to most cruisers and even bow on Tier VII battleships

Siegfried comes with fourteen 128mm secondary guns mounted in double turrets. These are configured with three to a side and one just before the rear turret near the superstructure. While captains would generally be advised to avoid a secondary build with this ship it is entirely doable. A full secondary build will push the range of her secondary battery to 11.5 km’s and a reload time of 2.5 seconds. Combined with a reasonable rate of fire they are capable of inflicting an adequate amount of damage, even to battleships, as they are capable of penetrating even 32mm of armor. Add in acceptable firing arcs and you have the potential for a fun build. We asked Little White Mouse what she thought of a secondary build for Siegfried and she said "All of the cool kids are doing it".

Siegfried also sports a pair of quad torpedo mounts located amidship. Players familiar with German torpedoes will be quite comfortable with the standard 6km range. Aside from their defensive use, captains may also make use of these torpedoes to help gauge an enemy’s speed and direction to better aim her main battery or choose a position to attack from.

Siegfried players will find that she has one of the largest hitpoint pools of any Tier IX cruiser currently in the game, bested only by Kronshtadt. This coupled with 27mm of bow armor, make her very hard to penetrate by any other Tier IX cruiser and even some battleships in the game when properly angled. Combined with great torpedo protection she is a well armored ship all around. This isn’t without some drawbacks though, Siegfried is a rather large ship making her an easy target to hit. Add in the fact that her armor scheme all but requires captains to angle in order to maximize its abilities, any captain caught showing broadside or by an enemy battleship armed with guns greater than 381mm’s are in for a world of hurt. Lastly lacking a fore end armor belt means that shots that would overmatch her bow have very little to stop them from reaching the core of the ship.

Captains who found themselves enjoying the play style of Admiral Hipper at Tier VIII will find a few familiarities with the ways Siegfriend is played.. Siegfried is well-suited to the role of either a second-line long range support ship or part of a flanking group. She truly shines when engaging either other cruisers or a distracted target. Favorable dispersion and her long range make her a threat to most cruisers she will encounter, as well as many lower tier battleships. Making use of her speed she is able to actively push with the team or move to help support a weak flank. This speed is a double edged sword, however. Captains who are not aware of their surroundings will find themselves flanked and potentially exposing the flat vulnerable sides of the ship allowing for large amounts of damage to be dealt to her. High explosive rounds from most other heavy cruisers can also penetrate her deck armor, which when under concentrated fire can prove to be a death sentence for Siegfried.