The Best Nations and Tech Tree Lines in World of Warships / WoWS

A guide to all nations presented in World of Warships (play now!) that shall answer the ultimate question: “which nation is the best and what tech tree line shall I choose?” But before we dive into the tech trees, here are some general tips that might be useful for beginners.

• Starting the game by choosing your nation is generally a good idea because this way you’ll feel more involved in the game. Choosing a nation or following tech tree lines just because someone on the Internet says it’s overpowered and hence better isn’t always a good idea, because those opinions are often subjective. What’s good for one person isn’t necessarily good for you. But still, if you're searching for an easy and subjective answer, go for US Navy. It's great!
• Nevertheless, the nation or tech tree line you had chosen may not fit your playing style or meet your expectations. Meaning that the above advice as being subjective is based on my own playing style that most probably differs from yours. That's basically why this guide on World of Warships is so important, coz it gives you a perspective on nations and tech tree lines you probably haven’t played yet.
• To master World of Warships you have to become an expert player on every class. But don't put the cart before the horse. For better game results and impressions focus your efforts on mastering one class at a time. This way you’ll attain better results both in terms of understanding the certain class or ship and win rate.
• Destroyers provide most action on low-level ships, but that gameplay gradually transforms towards spotting and covert operations the closer you get to tier X. I personally recommend low-level Japanese Destroyers for novice players.
• Gameplay on Cruisers seems easy at low levels, but it becomes increasingly difficult when moving up a tech tree. E.g. high-level Cruisers are arguably the most difficult class in the game, so bear that in mind. I personally recommend novice players avoid playing past tier IV or so, though high-level Cruisers are much more interesting warships in terms of pure gameplay than the early XX-th century Cruisers. They just require a time investment to master. I personally recommend USN Cruisers for novice players.
• Low-level Battleships are slow and dull on low levels for my taste, but midlevel gameplay becomes better. I personally recommend USN or UK Battleships for novice players.
• I just don't recommend Carriers for novice players, because this class is tricky and differs too much from gunnery ships. Save it for last.
• Gameplay on low-level and high-level warships is very much different. In my humble opinion, the higher the level the better the gameplay in general, but that's another story.

Tech trees reviewed by nation:

• USA (US Navy)
• Japan (IJN)
• Soviet (USSR)
• British (UK)
• French
• Italian
• Pan-Asian
• Pan-American (Argentina)
• Commonwealth
• European
• German

Some general tips on play: