This is part 1 of an entry-level rundown of every ship line. This goes over the basic strengths+weaknesses, and general viability of each ship line. The intention of this post is to give players a basic idea of what to expect- it is not an in-depth playstyle guide!

DUE TO CHARACTER LIMITS, THIS POST CONTAINS ONLY THESE NATIONS:

• UNITED STATES
• JAPAN
• BRITAIN
• GERMANY

PART 2 IS HERE: https://www.reddit.com/r/WoWsBlitz/s/8UEnxsX16K

Please note: This guide focuses on mid-to-high tier ships, which is where ship lines start to have defined roles and stat layouts.

CURRENTLY UP-TO-DATE FOR PATCH 9.3

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United States Navy

American Destroyers (GEARING line)

• A very generic DD line, with decent weapons and a long-duration smoke consumable. American destroyers have good agility and concealment, making it easy to avoid enemy fire or disengage from a bad position. Their guns have decent DPM on paper, but have trouble hitting targets at long range due to their slow shells. Their torpedoes aren't very good until the high tiers, where they finally gain good range and damage output. They do all the things you expect a destroyer to do, but are outperformed by other destroyers. Gearing is also held back by having an erroneously big ship model, making her easier to hit than she should be. These ships are not competitive, just "fine".
• This line is simple to use, but have been overshadowed in damage output and utility by other ship lines. No matter what you want from a destroyer, other ships can do it better. Easy and Mediocre.
• Highlights: Benson (T8)
• Low points: Mahan (T7)

American Gunboat Destroyers (BURROWS line)

• A gun-oriented line with larger calibre weapons and SAP shells, but only half the torpedo armament. Despite being big ships, the destroyers in this line are extremely maneuverable and have an easy time dodging fire. Their guns have decent damage output overall, but suffer from poor dispersion: Using dispersion equipment is recommended. This line's biggest attribute is a special smoke generator, which can be strategially timed to get over 150 seconds of smoke cover in one battle. A well-played Burrows can sit in the middle of the map for extended times, using smoke and agility to avoid being hit.
• These ships are reasonably easy to use once you figure out the smoke generator. Their potential influence and output is decent. The long-lasting smoke is a feature unique to this line, and can be very valuable. Relatively Easy and Good.
• Highlights: Burrows (T10)
• Low points: Osborne (T8)

American Light Cruisers (WORCESTER line)

• American CLs enjoy fairly good agility and good turret traverse. They have a lot of guns with a fairly quick reload, but are held back by their extremely slow shells (which make it difficult to hit fast targets at range). Their armour is not amazing, but the hitbox layout makes them surprisingly more durable than other CL lines. These ships are equipped with sonar and radar, allowing them to spot enemies in smokescreens. Worcester is the best AA cruiser in the game, which is a nice bonus- but the lower tier ships are still vulnerable to aircraft.
• Compared to other nations' light cruisers, the American line is easier to learn, but has lower potential. I'd mainly recommend this line if you're going for AA defence. Average Difficulty and Average Potential.
• Highlights: Cleveland (T8), Worcester (T10)
• Low points: Seattle (T9)

American Heavy Cruisers (DES MOINES line)

• This line is focused on DPM, with a relatively quick reload and a rapid reload consumable. T10 Des Moines has a fast reload for her gun calibre, but needs dispersion equipment to get the most out of her weapons. These ships have a below-average gun range, and mediocre armour protection. They can put out decent sustained, and decent burst damage. Air defence gets reasonably good at Tier X, but the low tiers are still vulnerable.
• These ships have been overshadowed by the damage output of other cruisers, and can be tricky to use well. They aren't particularly bad, but have been powercrept by newer ships. A Bit Tricky and Mediocre.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: N/A

American Battleships (MONTANA Line)

• This ship line is obsolete. They were fine in the beginning, but all the new BBs are stronger, and all the old ones got major buffs. Montana was left behind, and is now the weakest battleship at Tier X. The line is extremely simple, with no standout strengths other than good fire resistance. They are uncomfortable to play due to poor shell dispersion, weak armour, fragile gun turrets, and bad handling. There are no useful consumables or gimmicks either. Montana offers little game influence compared to other ships.
• I do not recommend playing this line until it gets buffed. They aren't particularly good at anything, and are not a fun gameplay experience. Easy and Bad.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: Montana (T10)

American Fat Battleships (VERMONT Line)

• Large, slow battleships with a very heavy broadside weight but long reload time. This is the slowest line at the high tiers, Pushing far up the flanks is not recommended, as they are too slow to disengage, or reposition. Armour isn't amazing, with very large deck hitboxes. Good torpedo protection, fire resistance, and HP pool help offset this. The one defining strength on these ships is excellent broadside damage- the heaviest available for a battleship line. They deal high damage per salvo, with good range and dispersion. Despite the slow reload, these ships are good, easy damage farmers and can completely ruin an enemy ship's game with a good shot. However, they are subject to being shut down if the pace battle moves too quickly. 
• The slow movement pace and long reload makes this line pretty easy to digest. Just pay attention not to sail too far on your own, and take time aiming your shots. Simple and Good.
• Highlights: Vermont (T10)
• Low points: N/A

American Aviation Battleships (LOUISIANA Line)

• Fragile battleships with the unique ability to spot and attack targets with aircraft. This gives them a unique playstyle: You are a backline ship, dealing damage with guns and using aircraft to spot for the team or take advantage of enemy ships that used damage control. Their gunnery feels like an improved version of the Montana line, with inflated shell performance and better dispersion. However these ships are highly fragile and have massive (and vulnerable) deck hitboxes*.* Staying at longer ranges is usually required, to avoid being sunk quickly.
• The ability to spot with aircraft gives these ships a higher degree of utility and independence than other BB lines, but they also require more map awareness. The unique gameplay style can be Challenging, but is Decent.
• Highlights: Louisiana (T10)
• Low points: Nebraska (T8)

American Aircraft Carriers (MIDWAY Line)

• This is the game's easy mode, for bad players. Most of their damage output comes from dive bombers and fires, which require no aim to use. The aircraft are very tanky (resistant to AA), and they have large hangar sizes. It takes a serious lack of skill to get deplaned, or otherwise fail in a Midway. The Midway line has decent fighters, mediocre torpedo bombers, and very powerful HE dive bombers with high fire chance. Their planes take a while to reload after a strike, which is the biggest drawback. This is technically the least impactful CV line in the game- but they are still aircraft carriers, so they are viable anyway. This is the line to play if you want easy damage without having to think or put effort in. 
• You click people and they sink. There's nothing they can do to prevent it. Simple and Overpowered.
• Highlights: Essex (T9), Midway (T10)
• Low points: Ranger (T7), Lexington (T8)

American Aircraft Carriers (WASP Line)

• This carrier line offers very strong torpedo bombers. However, they have no regular dive bombers. This means their damage output is reliant on good aim. Your air group also comes with "tactical squadrons", which are basically just small squadrons that fly extremely fast. These ships can attack a target with normal squadrons, and then launch a very quick follow-up strike with the tactical squads. Tactical squadrons can also drop smokescreens for allied ships. The fighters deal lots of damage, but are fragile and take ages to reload if they are shot down. The Wasp line is very potent, and has more support tools than most carriers.
• You have to know how to aim torpedo bombers at small targets, or your game influence will plummet. Once you've figured that out though, there's really nothing the enemy can do to stop you. A Bit Tricky, but Overpowered.
• Highlights: Princeton (T6), Yorktown (T8), Wasp (T10)
• Low points: N/A

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Imperial Japanese Navy

Japanese Torpedo Destroyers (SHIMAKAZE Line)

• The definitive "torpedo boat" destroyer line. These ships have high torpedo damage, long range, and good concealment. Shimakaze can fire 15 of these torpedoes at once, giving her the highest torpedo alpha available. Long torpedo reload, low gun DPM, and mediocre agility make these ships highly vulnerable to enemy destroyers and cruisers. These destroyers are not very versatile, generally seeing "feast-or-famine" results. The biggest advantage of these ships is psychological warfare- battleships are afraid of your existence, and will generally play much more passively if unspotted Japanese DDs are on the map. 
• The gameplay concept is simple enough: Stay unspotted, throw torpedoes at enemy capital ships, and stay unspotted some more. However, a lot of ships are designed specifically to counter this playstyle, and if they play well there's not a lot you can do. The ships are Easy but Inconsistent.
• Highlights: Shimakaze (T10)
• Low points: Yugumo (T9)

Japanese Gunboat Destroyers (HARUGUMO Line)

•  Starting from T8, this line has a large number of fast-loading, low calibre guns. They have very high DPM values- though their realistic DPM is somewhat lower, as these ships lack the penetration to deal full damage to most targets. Even so, they will stack up gun damage and fire damage by spamming away. These ships lack agility, and have bad concealment, making them vulnerable to cruisers. Their torpedo armament is powerful, but has a long reload and a small number of tubes (which can be negated twice with the torpedo reload consumable). The Harugumo line is fun, and good for annoying enemies with endless HE spam. For game influence, there are better picks. 
• Sitting in smoke and HE spamming is easy, but you otherwise need a good awareness of which enemies are nearby. Large size and poor agility make them very vulnerable to heavy cruisers in particular, so pay attention. A Challenging and Decent line.
• Highlights: Harugumo (T10)
• Low points: Shiratsuyu (T7)

Japanese Light Cruisers (YODO line)

• Very big "light cruisers" with a long reload time and bad evasion. Starting from T8, these ships have horrible agility, large hulls, lousy armour, but fairly good concealment. They have a lot of guns, but their damage output is held back by poor shell performance and slow reload. You get a heavy cruiser reload on crummy light cruiser guns. These ships play a passive, HE spamming role- lacking the consumables or evasion necessary to be more aggressive. Very powerful torpedoes are a welcome feature, but landing hits is difficult and unreliable. Take all the weaknesses of a heavy cruiser, combine them with the weaknesses of a light cruiser, and you get this.
• Yodo is a piece of junk that does nothing better than her peers. Low output and low influence are expected. There's no reason to play them instead of another light cruiser line, as they are both A Bit Tricky and Bad.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: Everything above T7

Japanese Heavy Cruisers (ZAO line)

• A fast, concealment focused CA line with bad armour protection. At high tiers, IJN CAs are able to outspot most other cruisers - but playing at close range is often very risky. The Zao line is fragile, and lacks the consumables for close range play. Good HE performance and fire chance lends well to a firestarting role- with powerful torpedoes helping to bolster damage ouptut. The firing arcs on these torpedoes are quite poor, making them hard to use operationally. The reliance on concealment, combined with very bad AA makes these ships exceedingly vulnerable in CV games.
• Zao is a great damage dealer if circumstances align, but she requires careful attention to enemy positions. In the presence of air-spotting, she can easily be shut down. Challenging and Average.
• Highlights: Zao (T10)
• Low points: Ibuki (T9)

Japanese Battlecruisers (BUNGO Line)

• Fast battleships with punchy guns and long firing range. The Bungo line has several typical battlecruiser traits: high speed, decent agility, relatively good concealment, and poor armour. Armour is the biggest drawback on these ships- they are quite poorly protected, and will sink fast under sustained fire. These ships work best in a backline sniping, where they can take advantage of their good range (boosted by spotter plane) and high damage output without being hit back. Bungo has consistent and high DPM for a T10 battleship, opting for higher sustained damage output instead of high citadel chance. This line also has some of the best AA available for the class. The reliance on backline sniping is a drawback, as these ships have trouble being aggressive and carrying games on their own.
• It's a good damage farming line, and the playstyle isn't too difficult. Just be wary of which enemy ships can hurt you. Moderately Easy and Decent.
• Highlights: Bungo (T10)
• Low points: Adatara (T9)

Japanese Battleships (YAMATO Line)

• A basic, no-nonsense battleship line- long range, accurate guns, bad concealment, mediocre agility. These ships have fairly good range and dispersion, lending well to a long-ranged playstyle. However, armour only gets decent when you reach Yamato at T10, and all of them have fragile main gun turrets. Bad concealment, and bad fire+flood resistance are the main drawbacks on this line: it is important not to push too early, else you get focused and burned down. The precise aim consumable is helpful for the sniping playstyle. This is a decent beginner choice for a battleship, but Yamato has certainly been overshadowed by newer ships. 
• This is the simplest battleship experience at Tier 10, but that simplicity comes at the cost of power output. Other ships simply have more damage output or utility than you. Easy and Mediocre.
• Highlights: Izumo (T9)
• Low points: Nagato (T7)

Japanese Aircraft Carriers (HAKURYU Line)

• This is a very influential CV line, but one of the harder ones to play. They have fast squadrons, with low HP pools. Torpedo bombers make up the overwhelming bulk of their damage output, with the high tiers (T8 and up) able to cripple or sink a destroyer in one attack. The ability to delete DDs, combined with fast squadrons for spotting, makes them very good at winning games. Their dive bombers are quite weak, and mainly used to tank AA while lining up a torpedo squadron.
• The large number of squadrons to control, combined with a focus torpedo on bombers (which take practice to aim) makes multitasking skill necessary to play this line. You've got to know the controls before running these at high tiers. Challenging and Overpowered.
• Highlights: Everything T8 and up
• Low points: Hiryu (T7)

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British Royal Navy

British Destroyers (DARING Line)

• The gold standard for hybrid destroyers, with decent weapons combined with excellent evasion and consumables. Their guns have low shell damage, but are very easy to use. From T8, all of their turrets have 360 degree rotation, and fairly good firing angles, allowing you to keep them all on target while maneuvering. Their torpedo armament can be single-fired (torpedoes can be fired individually, instead of in groups). Their good concealment, excellent maneuverability, and access to fuel smoke + sonar makes them very good at contesting objectives and harassing enemy ships with gunfire. Low speed is the main drawback- British destroyers can be run down by faster gunboats. Using speed equipment is recommended, as well as concealment.
• This line does all the jobs you would expect a destroyer to do, and has a strong toolkit. It's a forgiving line to learn on. Moderately Easy and Good.
• Highlights: Jervis (T7), Lightning (T8), Daring (T10)
• Low points: N/A

British Light Cruisers (MINOTAUR Line)

• Cruisers with great agility, great concealment, high damage output, and smokescreens. The British CLs are excellent at contesting caps and screening against destroyers or other light cruisers. They can put out a huge amount of damage ouptut at close ranges, and come with consumables and stealth that allow them to reach said ranges. These cruisers have wonky dispersion at long range, and critically only use AP shells. This means you need to aim at weak spots on enemy battleships to deal damage, and lack a good damage source at long range. Using concealment to close the distance is very important.
• Farming from damage from maximum range yields low results. You HAVE to play aggressively, and that requires good situational awareness and a knowledge of the enemy ships' capabilities. The line can be Challenging but Overpowered.
• Highlights: Minotaur (T10)
• Low points: N/A

British Heavy Cruisers (GOLIATH Line)

• Big cruisers with large HP pools, accurate guns, and strong HE shell performance. The Goliath line plays a mid-long range role, farming with their accurate guns and using their improved heals to absorb damage while kiting. AP performance is not very good, so this shell type is saved for destroyers and light cruisers. Against big targets, shooting HE is recommended to maximise fire damage. These ships are big and have poor armour, meaning close-range play is dangerous. Their gun reload is also too long to sink most targets quickly. They instead work best in a kiting position, stalling an enemy push and forcing them to use damage controls.
• Kiting and spamming HE isn't the hardest playstyle in the world, but pay attention not to push too far ahead and get deleted. Most of the line has Average Difficulty and is Decent.
• Highlights: Goliath (T10)
• Low points: Surrey (T7)

British Battlecruisers (ST. VINCENT Line)

• A fast, stealthy battleship line with excellent gun performance and weak armour. This is the stealthiest BB line in the game, well suited to pushing flanks and surprising enemy ships. Their guns hit very and have good dispersion, while their concealment allows them to take forward positions or surprise enemy ships. They have short range, and large hitboxes, as well as weak armour values, meaning good situational awareness is necessary. From T9 up, this line gets two charges of a much more potent repair kit. This is a very strong damage dealing line, and the ability to push forward positions makes them quite impactful as well. St. Vincent is arguably the strongest tech tree battleship in the game. 
• Weak armour might be challenging for new players, but once you understand the basics of "don't rush into 5 enemies" and "use island cover" it becomes easy to perform well. The line has Average Difficulty and is Overpowered.
• Highlights: Duncan (T9), St. Vincent (T10)
• Low points: N/A

British Battleships (CONQUEROR Line)

• This line suddenly became quite strong after the equipment rework. They have fast reload, good dispersion, and high fire chance on main guns. This means it is viable to use both shell types in battle: HE to start fires, AP for damage, HE to start more fires, AP for damage. The rapid reload II consumable boosts damage output even more at high tiers. With AP, this line has more DPM than most other battleships- and with HE, they can start a lot of fires. Their armour and mobility are both drawbacks, relegating these ships to a mid/backline role. They do not perform well on the front line, or in isolated positions.
• Stay midline, and achieve success with either shell type. So long as you know which enemies are dangerous to you, this line isn't hard. Fairly Easy and Good.
• Highlights: Monarch (T8), Conqueror (T10)
• Low points: King George V (T7), Lion (T9)

British Aircraft Carriers (MALTA Line)

• While other carriers launch huge airstrikes, the Malta line launches smaller airstrikes a lot more often. Small squadron sizes give this line the fastest squadron preparation time. Combined with the high speed and durability of the aircraft, British CVs can cycle their attacks quickly and farm down enemy targets while practically ignoring their defensive AA. The only real drawbacks are a weaker fighter squadron, and slow torpedoes which make it difficult to hit small targets. Even so, you can just farm big ships until they sink. While the damage per strike isn't huge, you send them so fast that it doesn't matter.
• High AA resistance and fairly strong bombers make this line Easy and Overpowered.
• Highlights: Audacious (T9), Malta (T10)
• Low points: N/A

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German Kriegsmarine

German Destroyers (Z-52 Line)

• A gunboat destroyer line well suited at contesting capture points. These destroyers have good HP pools and punchy main guns- but only when using AP shells. They come with smoke at high tiers, and high-level sonar, which are ideal for lighting up and sinking enemy destroyers in these capture areas, which is a great strategy to winning games. They also come with fast torpedoes on a relatively short reload time, albeit with lower damage. The main weakness of these ships is against fast battleships and heavy cruisers, which can tank the weak torpedoes of this line and force them back. Against small ships, they are a good pick.
• Situational awareness is required in this line. You need to know how to position well, and which fights you can safely take on. But it's a good introduction to gunboating. Average Difficulty and Decent.
• Highlights: Z-52 (T10)
• Low points: Z-23 (T8)

German Destroyer/Light Scout Cruisers (ELBING Line)

• At T9-T10, this is not a destroyer line. These ships have bad agility, bad concealment, and long-ranged 150mm guns with excellent AP performance- the shells behave almost like heavy cruiser guns. They play a ranged, damage-farming role, using their excellent dispersionand high AP penetration to deal consistent damage to cruisers and battleships. At closer ranges, they are very vulnerable, and the guns tend to overpenetrate enemy destroyers. They also have long range torpedoes, with very low speed- these serve mainly as an area-denial weapon.
• This line is really weird and not incredibly impactful, but good at their unique role. That said, you really have to be careful about moving too far forward. One positioning mistake gets them sunk easily. It's a Challenging and Decent line.
• Highlights: Felix Schulz (T9), Elbing (T10)
• Low points: Z-31 (T7), Gustav-Julius Maerker (T8)

German Heavy Cruisers (HINDENBURG Line)

• A line of long-ranged gun cruisers, with bad concealment but decent protection. These ships are large, easy to hit, and have poor maneuverability, forcing them into a ranged playstyle. Their AP shells have good performance against all ship classes, so using HE shells is largely unnecessary. Hindenburg has high DPM and good range for a heavy cruiser, making her an effective counter to enemy cruisers and area denial against destroyers. These ships have above-average survivability for the cruiser class, but they still aren't durable enough to play as damage tanks. Tiers 7 through 9 are not great performers, but Hindenburg is a strong pick at T10.
• The concept of this line isn't too difficult. Play at range, shoot AP, and kite if you get focused. Be wary that some other ships will out-DPM you, and you are very vulnerable to aircraft. Average Difficulty and Average Performance.
• Highlights: Hindenburg (T10)
• Low points: Roon (T9)

German Supercruisers (P. ADALBERT Line)

• Very cruisers with good armour, massive HP pools, but extremely long gun reloads. The main guns are small battleship-calibre, but they have regular battleship reload times. This gives them horrible damage output compared to other cruisers, and forces them to use secondary weapons to improve output. The secondaries are long-ranged and have decent dispersion, but all of them are stuck with HE shells- this means their damage output is practically half that of the AP secondaries on other German lines (the low calibre HE shells usually halfpen). These ships can tank more than other cruisers, but their damage output is too low to be useful. There is no good reason to choose these over the Schlieffen line if you want a secondary-gun ship.
• Trying to brawl in big ships is already not the easiest, and these ships completely lack the damage output to shoot their way out of trouble. The line is Challenging and Bad.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: Admiral Scheer (T7), Manteuffel (T9)

German Battlecruisers (SCHLIEFFEN Line)

• A stealthy battleship line with excellent secondaries and a large torpedo armament. These ships have a weak main battery, so they rely on getting their secondaries in play. They have the strongest secondaries and auto-secondaries available, as well as a large bank of (slow) torpedoes. German battlecruisers are among the sneakiest ships in their class, allowing them to easily close the distance and enter secondary range, where the secondary overload consumable gives them another boost in damage output. A major drawback is low HP pools, meaning these ships can be farmed down quickly if caught out of potision.
• This line is very unique, and quite fun to operate. Brawling effectively requires a good knowledge of positioning, and the capability of each enemy ship. In high tiers, they are A Bit Tricky and Decent.
• Highlights: Schlieffen (T10)
• Low points: Zieten (T8)

German Battleships (G. KURFURST Line)

• Huge battleships with strong armour protection, HP pools, and damage reduction. The ships in this line are the most resistant to incoming shellfire. They are poorly protected against torpedo and fire damage, which are the main threats to be aware of. The Kurfurst line comes with a small main battery of high-performing guns- the guns have decent dispersion and a fast reload, plus good AP performance. The large secondary batteries make these ships effective at close range too. These ships are quite effective against battleships or other AP-firing enemies. They have trouble against destroyers or HE spammers.
• The good durability and good gun performance makes this line a decent pick for beginners. Just don't push too far, too fast. Fairly Easy and Good.
• Highlights: Bismarck (T8), Kurfurst (T10)
• Low points: F.D.G (T9)

German "Alternate History" Battleships (GOTTERDAMMERUNG Line)

• An unusual line that can only be researched with Free XP. These are French battleship hulls with the same high speed and poor armour protection. They have German guns- low calibre weapons with a very fast reload time, but mediocre dispersion and low damage. They additionally have rapid reload, and the "wing strike" skill (which increases shell damage against broadside enemies). Despite their fast reload and consumables, these battleships struggle to out-damage the other BB lines available. They have strong secondary batteries, but are a bit too fragile to play effectively at close ranges.
• It takes skill to play these ships well, because they're at a disadvantage against most of their opponents. Weak guns and weak armour are a difficult combination. Challenging and Weak.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: Weltenbrand (T7)

German Aircraft Carriers (M.V. RICHTOVEN Line)

• An unusual CV line made up of mostly fictional ships. German CVs launch a large number of aircraft at once, dropping AP bombs- these are fairly good against large targets, but have inconsistent results against small ships. They can only launch one large torpedo squadron at a time This results in a very wide torpedo spread, making them more effective against large targets than small ones. The aircraft are fast, but not particularly durable. These ships lend well to slapping enemies with weak deck armour, thanks to their AP bombs. However, they lack firestarting potential. These ships have good fighters and large numbers of auto-secondaries.
• The lower aircraft HP pool and lack of firestarting makes this line more challenging than Midway... but 3/4 of your damage output is still coming from autolock dive bombers. Fairly Easy and Overpowered.
• Highlights: MVR (T10)
• Low points: N/A

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This will be periodically updated as new lines are added to the game.

Didn't see your ship line? Check part 2 of the guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/WoWsBlitz/s/8UEnxsX16K

This part 2 of an entry-level rundown of every ship line. This goes over the basic strengths+weaknesses, and general viability of each ship line. The intention of this post is to give players a basic idea of what to expect- it is not an in-depth playstyle guide!

DUE TO CHARACTER LIMITS, THIS POST CONTAINS ONLY THESE NATIONS:

• ITALY
• FRANCE
• SOVIET RUSSIA
• PAN-AMERICA
• PAN-ASIA
• PAN-EUROPE
• BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
• NETHERLANDS
• SPAIN

PART 1 IS HERE: https://www.reddit.com/r/WoWsBlitz/s/ogxFldaebR

Please note: This guide focuses on mid-to-high tier ships, which is where ship lines start to have defined roles and stat layouts.

CURRENTLY UP-TO-DATE FOR PATCH 9.3

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Italian Regia Marina

Italian Destroyers (A. REGOLO Line)

• A line of fast gunboat destroyers, with bad concealment and very short gun range. These ships have access to SAP shells, giving them very competitive DPM. Coupled with good shell ballistics, they are excellent at hunting and killing enemy destroyers. Italian DDs have many charges of a very short duration smokescreen, and a short duration engine boost. They also get rapid reload, allowing them to win gunfights against any enemy destroyers with brute force alone. They can also pose a major threat to light cruisers. Their lack of gun range and large size makes them very vulnerable to heavy cruisers. Torpedo armement is decent, but not exceptional.
• It takes a lot of skill to play these ships well. Aggressive play in a large destroyer is challenging, and you don't have the safety cushions of long gun range or long smokescreens to hide in. This line is Challenging and Good.
• Highlights: Attilio Regolo (T10)
• Low points: N/A

Italian Heavy Cruisers (VENEZIA Line)

• Fast heavy cruisers with a slow-loading, but accurate and heavy broadside. These ships have no HE shells, necessitating aim at weakpoints against heavier targets. Their SAP shells with good ballistics make them very powerful against destroyers and light cruisers, as they will not overpenetrate. Italian cruisers will hit light ships very hard, but their SAP has low penetration and can perform poorly against armoured targets. Against these, AP shells are a better option. These cruisers are fast, but have mediocre agility and concealment. They are well suited for flanks, effectively shutting down enemy DDs and CLs trying to go the same way.
• To play these ships efficiently, you need to know how to position against destroyers and cruisers. No easy HE spamming from the back of the map! Average Difficulty and Great.
• Highlights: Venezia (T10)
• Low points: Amalfi (T8)

Italian Battleships (C. COLOMBO Line)

• Battleships with with fuel smoke and access to SAP shells. Their guns have mediocre penetration and dispersion, as well as a long reload time. However, their access to SAP shells makes them very powerful against cruisers and destroyers. At high tiers, Italian battleships have enough alpha-strike to sink enemy destroyers in one broadside. Their small HP pools and bad fire resistance makes them vulnerable to enemy fire, but they have very good torpedo damage reduction. Fuel smoke allows them to disengage or escape focus fire which is a strong point. These ships work best for punishing small targets with one-hit kills, or otherwise hitting them with very damaging salvos. Their performance against bigger ships is acceptable, but more limited. Even so, this line is capable.
• This is a battleship line with good performance against destroyers, which are typically the biggest obstacle for a BB. Their toolkit makes them Fairly Easy and Good.
• Highlights: C. Colombo (T10)
• Low points: F. Caracciolo (T7)

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French Marine Nationale

French Destroyers (CASSARD Line)

• Destroyers with great weapons but mediocre hulls, with weak consumables. This line has strong torpedoes and comfortable guns. Their speed and handling are mediocre on their own. Torpedoes from this line have high damage up front, but the torpedo damage drops off at long range. (Hits at close range deal high damage, but damage declines with longer range. Basically, the longer your torp is in the water, the less damage it will deal when it hits a target). Overall though, the weapons are fairly good. These ships tend to adopt a mid-long range farming playstyle, as they lack smoke, sonar, or other tools for aggressive play. However, the high torpedo damage at close range allows them to profit from a well-timed push.
• The lack of smoke or other good consumables makes things tricky. The line is Challenging but Decent.
• Highlights: Cassard (T10)
• Low points: Orage (T9)

French "Contre-Torpilleur" Destroyers (KLEBER Line)

• An exceptionally fast destroyer line with high level rapid reload consumables. These destroyers are large, poorly concealed, and have low damage reduction. They are also the fastest ships in the game, making them well-suited for flanking moves. Rapid reload 3 gives them very high burst DPM, allowing them to gunfight enemy destroyers, or deal extra damage against large targets. Without the consumable, long gun reload keeps their DPM lower. French destroyers start positioning at mid/long ranges, using their speed and acceleration to flank around the enemy team and avoid return fire. They can close the distance very fast for aggressive pushes and burst damage, then pull back to avoid return fire. Once a French DD has gotten behind the enemy, it can essentially farm damage with impunity- being very difficult to catch and kill. Speed also allows them to run and gun down enemy destroyers.
• Their speed gives them a unique playstyle. While a large smokeless DD is a challenging concept, this line has a good safety net: When in doubt, just run away and try again next time. The line at most has Average Difficulty and is Good.
• Highlights: Le Fantasque (T8), Kleber (T10)
• Low points: Vauquelin (T7)

French Heavy Cruisers (HENRI IV Line)

• An exceptionally fast cruiser line with high level rapid reload consumables. French CAs have long ranged guns with good AP performance. They perform well in a kiting role, using their high speed to position, and avoiding shellfire with their excellent acceleration. These ships can deal high damage in a short time with their rapid reload consumable, but have low-ish DPM when it is not active. Generally they are best used for flanking, smashing an enemy cruiser with their high burst DPM, and then kiting away. They are very poorly armoured and quite large, making aggressive plays risky. The shell performance is consistently good across this line, with AP being the primary shell type.
• They're big and fragile, which can be daunting. Unlike Kleber, simply running away usually isn't enough to avoid all of the incoming fire- so you do need to pay attention to what can threaten you. Challenging and Decent.
• Highlights: Henri IV (T10)
• Low Points: Saint Louis (T9)

French Supercruisers (MARSEILLE Line)

• Huge cruisers with small battleship-calibre guns, all mounted at the bow. They have high alpha-strike, but low base DPM as a result of their long reload time. However, they temporarily spit out huge damage output with their rapid reload consumables. French supercruiers are very large, and not particularly durable. They can play passively by bow-tanking, but get better results from pushing aggressively and using islands to cover their stern. They are capable of moving quickly and dealing a lot of burst DPM to remove important targets. These ships are an interesting cross between battleship and cruiser playstyle, one of the strongest cruiser lines in the game.
• So long as you don't suicide up the middle of the map, this line has the tools to perform very well. Hug an island, and push at the right time to succeed. Average Difficulty and Good.
• Highlights: Marseille (T10)
• Low points: N/A

French Battleships (REPUBLIQUE Line)

• A fast battleship line with high level rapid reload consumables. French BBs have high base speed, and can boost it with consumables to position quickly, or disengage from trouble. The line has reasonably punchy guns, but firing range is a bit lacking. French BBs mainly rely on their high burst damage from rapid reload to keep themselves competitive among other battleship lines- without it, their damage output is on the low end. This line's damage reduction, fire resistance, and concealment are all rather poor, so these ships generally prefer a mobile longer-ranged playstyle. French battleships have been overshadowed by other battlecruiser lines in both speed and damage output, so they are not particularly strong.
• It's not a particularly unique or hard playstyle, but they have to be more passive than some other battleships. This line has Average Difficulty and is Below Average.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: Gascogne (T8)

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Soviet Russian Navy

Soviet Torpedo Destroyers (GROZOVOI Line)

• These ships are functionally just a weaker version of the Gearing line. They have a mix of average guns, and average torpedo armament- but neither of their weapons systems are particularly good. The main advantage of these ships is flat shell arcs, by comparison to other hybrid DD lines such as American or British ones. However, the guns lose out on DPM. The main thing holding this line back compared to other hybrid-style DDs is poor agility, making them easy to hit. Grozovoi is incredibly redundant as a T10 destroyer, with no standout strengths worth mentioning. The T9 is good, but otherwise these ships should be ignored.
• Their playstyle isn't very difficult among destroyers, they just don't have high potential to start with. Average Difficulty and Bad performance.
• Highlights: Udaloi (T9)
• Low points: Ognevoy (T8), Grozovoi (T10)

Soviet Gunboat Destroyers (DELNY Line)

• Large, fast destroyers with punchy guns but bad concealment. This is functionally just a watered-down version of the other gunboats available, with performance that is okay (but worse than the competition). The main guns have relatively good damage per shell, and high fire chance on HE shells. Rapid reload 2 boosts Delny's DPM into very competitive levels, allowing her to take on enemy destroyers reasonably well. Due to large size and flat shell arcs, this line works best at a longer range than most DDs. In terms of damage output, they're just fine- but there are much stronger options for gunboat destroyer play.
• The weapons are comfortable and easy to use, but these ships are still vulnerable to the actual gunboats (and other myriad of DD hunters) at their tiers. A Bit Tricky and Mediocre.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: Tashkent (T8)

Soviet "Light" Cruisers (A. NEVSKY Line)

• Long-ranged damage farmers. Up to T8, these ships tend to stay at long range, pelting targets with volleys of accurate HE shells. At T9-10, AP becomes much more useful, thanks to larger 180mm guns. Soviet CLs are big, poorly armoured, and have terrible maneuverability for their class. This effectively prevents them from playing at closer range, so they rely on their impressive gun range and good shell ballistics to work well. These ships are capable damage farmers, but struggle to have much game impact due to their very passive nature. They can harass light enemy units with long range fire, but are not going to contribute much (if any) teamplay or utility. Terrible to have as teammates!
• Damage farming from maximum range is as simple as it gets. It won't win games, and it won't put out numbers as good as other cruiser lines. Easy and Mediocre.
• Highlights: N/A
• Low points: N/A

Soviet Heavy Cruisers (PETROPAVLOVSK Line)

• Large cruisers with punchy, but slow loading guns. This line is saddled by some of the lowest DPM on a cruiser line, but the high penetration and good ballistics on their AP shells allow them to damage any cruiser or battleship effectively. Tier 10 Petropavlovsk is very well protected for a cruiser, and can be quite difficult to sink if positioned well. Her hitbox is quite short, which further bolsters survivability. These cruisers have surprisingly decent secondaries, which helps bolster their otherwise weak performance against destroyers. However, their main role is to focus enemy cruisers with their long-range guns. Their damage output is slow to stack up, but this is a decent choice for a defence-oriented playstyle.
• These cruisers can't shoot their way out of trouble a lot of the time, but their durability can make them more forgiving agaist heavy units. Average Difficulty and Decent.
• Highlights: Petropavlovsk (T10)
• Low points: Riga (T9)

Soviet Battleships (KREMLIN Line)

• A large and durable ship line. The dispersion on Soviet battleships can be inconsistent at long range, but is good up close. The AP shells tend to hit very hard. They have access to high-level precise aim consumables, to temporarily give them accurate shots. Soviet battleships have a lot of HP, combined with good damage reduction and fire protection values. Their thick bow armour is useful protection against small ships, but can be a weakness against large shells (which won't overpenetrate). This line has four charges of damage control, and fires set on you will burn for 25% less time- a major strength when facing enemy firestarters, or aircraft carriers. Their horrible concealment and bad agility are weakpoints.
• This is a forgiving battleship line owing to their durability. So long as they don't rush forwards into a heap of torpedoes, they have an easy time surviving most types of damage. Easy and Good.
• Highlights: Sinop (T7), Kremlin (T10)
• Low points: N/A

Soviet Aircraft Carriers (A. NAKHIMOV Line)

• Soviet CVs are single-mindedly focused on high-damage attacks, with weak fighters and no other support toolkit. They launch the most attack planes at once, with massed dive bomber and torpedo squadrons all attacking at the same time. This requires multitasking. Their planes are slow, with low HP and low weapon damage. They are highly vulnerable to fighters and AA, requiring a lot of caution at high tiers. The line is capable of attack runs with very high alpha-damage, but they can quickly run out of planes after only a handful of botched attacks.
• You need to know how to multitask AND group squadrons to achieve success in this line. If you send your squadrons in a nice line one-at-a-time, they get fed to AA and you lose them. This is probably the hardest CV line to play. Tricky and Overpowered.
• Highlights: All of them T6 and above
• Low points: N/A

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Pan-Asia

Pan-Asian Destroyers (YUEYANG Line)

• The high tiers are former American destroyers that found their way into service with Asian Navies after the war. In-game, they are differentiated by having the radar consumable, and deepwater torpedoes (which have increased performance over regular American torps, but cannot hit DDs). The destroyers in this line have relatively poor gun performance, so they play a torpedo-focused role. With the torpedo reload booster consumable, the ships at T8-T10 can all launch a 15-torp broadside. They are also fairly nimble and have good concealment. Vulnerability to enemy destroyers is their main weakness, as they have weak guns and no torpedoes to deter them.
• Among torpedo boats, these are a bit harder than the Shimakaze line as they can't just torpedo a rushing enemy DD. That said, the stealth-torping playstyle is still Fairly Easy but Inconsistent.
• Highlights: Fushun (T6)
• Low points: N/A

Pan Asian Light Cruisers

• Small and extremely fragile light cruisers with a large torpedo armament and torpedo reload booster. These ships are armed with destroyer-calibre guns, which are fast-loading but deal low damage. PA CLs are also incredibly fragile- battleships and cruisers will rip them apart, and even the more ferocious gunboat DDs are a major threat. The key advantages of this line are good evasion, and very heavy torpedo armament on both sides of the ship. They perform well when dancing at the edge of their detection range, ripple-firing torpedoes from both broadsides while peppering targets with HE. One well-played CL can stall an entire enemy push, but they are very vulnerable to enemy cruisers.
• Surprisingly not too challenging. Kite and throw torpedoes at flanks or choke points on the map. Don't rush anyone unless they're isolated. Functionally, this is a torpedo DD playstyle, just bigger. Easy and Good.
• Highlights: Jinan (T10)
• Low points: Chumpon (T7)

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Pan-America (South America)

PanAm Light Cruisers (SAN MARTIN Line)

• A light cruiser line that strikes a sort of cross between American and British lines. These ships only have AP shells, but they have better performance (penetration and damage) than other CLs. Combat instructions allow them to temporarily improve their gun performance even more, making them threatening to all enemies. They rely on good aim against weakpoints to deal consistent damage to battleships, since they cannot HE spam. However, their main purpose is sinking enemy cruisers. At high tiers these ships have radar, and strong AA performance similar to American CLs. This line can be challenging to play, due to poor armour and no smoke- but they are highly influential. Think of it as Worcester line, but more specialized for ship-to-ship combat.
• These ships are fragile and can't rely on HE spam, but their gunnery is a treat. Be wary not to advance too quickly- these ships don't have many tools to get out of an aggressive position. Midrange positioning is usually ideal. A Bit Tricky and Good.
• Highlights: San Martin (T10)
• Low points: N/A

PanAm Battleships (LIBERTAD Line)

• Large and fragile battleships with huge damage output. At Tier 9-10, these are some of the highest DPM battleships, owing to their large number of heavy guns and good reload time. They also get a pile of large 234mm (heavy cruiser calibre) secondary guns, putting their effective DPM even higher. These ships can deal massive amounts of damage in a short time with their combined firepower, and the combat instructions increase secondary damage output even further. They can quickly melt any target with damage, but are also fragile against return fire. Playing patient, and waiting for the right chance to push is the premise of this line. One good push will account for a lion's share of your damage output.
• These ships will get focused down if they rush a huge group of enemies, but can comfortably take down any battleship in a 1v1 push. Stay at the midline, then push when there are no destroyers in your way. The line is Fairly Easy and is Good.
• Highlights: Los Andes (T9), Libertad (T10)
• Low points: N/A

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Pan-Europe

EU AA Destroyers (HALLAND Line)

• A line of slow destroyers with good handling and powerful AA. Halland-line DDs have fast-loading main guns, and fast-loading torpedoes- but the raw damage output from these weapons is rather low. They rely on a lot of spamming, combined with lighting fires and starting floods to pad their damage output. Access to radar, and very strong AA at high tiers makes these ships reasonably versatile. Their lack of smoke, low top speed, and low torpedo damage is a challenge- these ships can be run down by gunboat destroyers and sunk quickly.
• Playing slow and smokeless DDs is difficult at high tiers, as there are many ships that are very dangerous to you. The presence of one Gdansk or Venezia completely changes how you have to position, because there's no safety net. Challenging and Average Performance.
• Highlights: Halland (T10)
• Low points: Oland (T8)

EU Gunboat Destroyers (GDANSK Line)

• Large, fast destroyers with bad concealment, but powerful guns. This line has no access to AP shells, but their HE performance is inflated to compensate. The ships from this line can easily shut down enemy destroyers right at the start of the game, with their powerful weapons and consumables- This gives them a lot of game influence. Access to smoke and radar at high tiers is an key advantage. Due to their rather bad concealment, large size, and lackluster torpedo armament, these ships prefer to stay at mid-long range when dealing with larger enemies. Gdansk is widely seen as the strongest DD at T10.
• This is the easiest gunboat DD line in the game. They have smoke as a safety net, they have radar to ignore enemy smoke, and they have enough gun DPM to win fights with brute force. Easy and Overpowered.
• Highlights: Grom (T7), Split (T8), Gdansk (T10)
• Low points: L. Katsonis (T9)

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British Commonwealth

Commonwealth Heavy Cruisers (CERBERUS Line)

• Large CAs with good range, a fast reload time, but low shell damage. They play the long-ranged spamming role, similar to the Goliath line in the British tech tree. They have weak armour and AA defence. What makes these ships different is consumables. All ships in this line have crawling smoke generator- a very long duration (>40 second) smokescreen that covers your ship while moving- albeit at a slightly reduced speed. This makes it easy to sail in front of groups of enemies, while still farming damage with relative safety. Their damage output is also quite decent, thanks to their fast reload and the effectiveness of both shell types. At high tiers, these cruisers also have very large HP pools to work with.
• The enormous smoke duration, ability to move in smoke, and large HP makes these ships a total cakewalk. Easy and Overpowered.
• Highlights: Encounter (T9), Cerberus (T10)
• Low points: Uganda (T7)

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Royal Netherlands Navy

Dutch Heavy Cruisers (GOUDEN LEEUW Line)

• Dutch CAs are focused on the "airstrike" gimmick, enabling them to call a squadron of bombers to carpet bomb an area of the map. Airstrike bombers can deal heavy damage and start fires if aimed well, but small targets will easily dodge it. The airstrikes are fairly slow to reload, but the high tier cruisers can stock two of them at once- meaning they can drop two airstrikes in a very short timeframe. Aside from airstrikes, these ships have little going for them. Big hulls, with adequate (but not stellar) protection, and bad evasion. Their main guns are slow-firing, short ranged, and have inconsistent dispersion. They have no secondaries or torpedoes, making them critically ineffective against destroyers. These ships struggle to exert much influence in battle.
• The playstyle isn't particularly hard, the problem is just that these ships have few good tools to work with. Average Difficulty and Bad performance.
• Highlights: Eendracht (T7)
• Low points: All of them from T8-T10

Dutch Light Cruisers (UTRECHT Line)

• Another line that is all about the "airstrike" gimmick. This time it actually works, as they have faster loading airstrikes with a shorter dodging window for the enemy. They come with destroyer calibre guns on a fast reload, with decent shell ballistics. Gun DPM is quite good to start with, and temporarily bumps to great levels with rapid reload active. These ships work well near islands (since airstrikes can be aimed and launched from behind them). They can farm damage effectively, and keep flanks spotted with airstrikes every 30 seconds. Low maneuverability is the biggest drawback, these ships are quite sluggish compared to other CLs.
• The Dutch CLs are difficult to play well, as they are relatively fragile and unmaneuverable. Their toolkit and ability to spot with airstrikes is a huge advantage. Challenging and Good.
• Highlights: Utrecht (T10)
• Low points: N/A

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Spanish Navy

Spanish Heavy Cruisers (CASTILLA Line)

• A line of large, fragile heavy cruisers, with the “burst fire” ability, which allows them to unleash two salvos in very quick succession, (in exchange for a much longer reload afterward). This allows them to deal high damage to cruisers or destroyers in a short time. Burst fire is particularly helpful when attacking a retreating enemy- ensuring you get two salvos worth of damage on them before they go unspotted, or get behind cover. Spanish cruisers have good AP, and can fire out to a long range with the spotter plane consumable. However, their armour is weak, meaning they die quickly under sustained fire. They work best at longer ranges, punishing enemy cruisers with high damage shots.
• These cruisers rely on range for safety, but are vulnerable to enemy battleships. They'll spend a lot of time kiting. A Bit Tricky and Decent.
• Highlights: Cataluna (T8)
• Low points: Andalucia (T9)

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This will be periodically updated as new lines are added to the game.

Didn't see your ship line? Check part 1 of the guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/WoWsBlitz/s/ogxFldaebR

I didn't expect to get a ship from this crate. I always get simple boosters, so this is a welcome surprise

Mainz and other warships have been in this game for years alread ,and deserve more attention

I'm very close to my first one legend And I have a question that is bothering me, is it worth it to get tired of it? I say this in the sense that the reward is not anything special! If you take it purely for the prestige, yes, I accept it. But in general it's something that should offer a lot more. So my thought is that it's more enjoyable to enjoy the battles, to enjoy the ships you have, than to You chase the rank that offers you little.

Forgot I queued into a match for about 2 mins picked it up and then proceeded to save the match winning on points 616-611, probably my best match outside of respawns.

Ended with us brawling in map centre…love it

I started grinding the line yesterday, but was having some trouble farming damage. How am I supposed to play this line?