Vanguard

Revision as of 21:49, 17 November 2018

{{WoWs_Ship |Promo=

|Anno= The last battleship of the British Royal Navy. Due to specific conditions during the construction phase, she combined high speed and powerful AA guns with up-to-date equipment while still using largely obsolete main battery guns.

|Performance= ' is, in more ways than one, an up-tiered Warspite; even so far as possessing identical guns to that of her Tier VI cousin, albeit with improved shells. Like Warspite, ' has excellent maneuverability and main battery accuracy among battleships at her tier, but suffers from comparably weaker armor to her counterparts in the other nations’ tech trees. Even when compared to her tech-tree counterpart, Monarch, ' has a noticeably larger and easier to hit citadel. Like all other British battleships, ' is covered with 32 mm plating which makes her quite vulnerable to heavy cruiser High Explosive shells and IFHE equipped light cruisers and destroyers.

Her main battery is an improved version of that found on Warspite, with similar dispersion characteristics, and the all too familiar turret traverse speed, or lack thereof. Her Armor Piercing shell has a faster muzzle velocity, which allows for an easier time with long-range gunnery. Her High Explosive shell is similar to that of Monarch and other tech-tree British battleships, with high damage and a high fire chance. With only eight guns, '’s firepower against other battleships, and even some cruisers, often feels anemic. This is offset somewhat by a quick reload of 25 seconds on her main battery, and her aforementioned accuracy.

The largest flaw that captains of ' will find is with her firing angles. Both her forward and rear firing angles are atrocious, requiring significant amounts of broadside to be shown in order to bring all guns to bear on a target. As ' does not possess a well protected citadel (unlike Monarch), showing large amounts of broadside will often lead to catastrophic amounts of damage taken when fired upon by enemy battleships. Captains are encouraged to remain angled with only her fore or aft set of guns on target if there’s any possibility of an enemy returning fire. Luckily, '’s excellent rudder shift time can allow her to “wiggle” her remaining set of guns onto and off of targets quite quickly.

' is best played from mid-range, where her lack of armor is less noticeable, and her accurate low-volume firepower can be better put to use. Her slow turret traverse and easily hit citadel make her sub-par at brawling, while her small turning circle and good concealment allow her to disengage quite easily. Fans of Warspite should have no problems playing '; captains who have no experience with Warspite may struggle with her peculiarities, but she is easy to learn, and is a capable Tier VIII battleship.

|Pros=

• Good rudder shift time and turning circle make ' great for dodging torpedos.
• Most accurate tier 8 Battleship thanks to relatively low dispersion and high sigma.
• Concealment is able to be dropped to as low as 12km
• Excellent medium range anti-aircraft armament
• Has 1/4 pen, high damage and high fire chance on her HE shells.
• Good reload time for main guns, with 25 seconds.
• Good belt armour
• She has an improved version of the Repair Party  consumable, though not as good as Conqueror but similar to Warspite. Her Repair Party  also has a quick recharge time also, that can be brought down to 54 seconds.
• Surprisingly nimble for a battleship, with a high top speed.

|Cons=

• Armament can feel lacking against higher tier Battleships, due to her mediocre AP
• Very bad turret traverse angles.
• Takes large amounts of damage from High Explosive rounds that can penetrate her 32mm plating.
• Large citadel makes attempting to use all turrets very risky.
• With only 8 guns, making hitting a target very important.
• Abysmal torpedo protection.
• She lacks access to Spotting Aircraft  and Catapult Fighter 

|Research=

|OptimalConfiguration=

|Upgrades=

The recommended upgrades for ' 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 1 allows players to choose between two viable options. Main Armaments Modification 1 is generally recommended, but players who wish to increase the survivability of the secondary and anti-aircraft armaments may choose to mount Auxiliary Armaments Modification 1 .

Slot 3 provides further options for specialization. Most players will choose to mount Aiming Systems Modification 1 to increase the ship's surface warfare capability. However, due to slow turret traverse, some players may mount Main Battery Modification 2 at the cost of a 5% slower reload. For anti-aircraft builds, players should mount AA Guns Modification 2 ().

Slot 4 gives players a choice between two good options. For increased survivability, players should mount Damage Control System Modification 2 . For increased maneuverability, Steering Gears Modification 2 should be mounted.

|CommanderSkills=

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines. ★★	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched. ★★	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire. ★	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable. ★★	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables. ★	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm. ★★★	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range.	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated.
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding. ★★	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier.	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes.	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns.	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship. ★★★	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target. ★★	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes.
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three. ★★★	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm. ★	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses.	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful       ★★ - Frequently Useful       ★ - Occasionally Useful      No stars - Meh     Χ - Not recommended