Captain Skills for Destroyers / World of Warships / WoWS
By Denis Marasan ☆ 03/Feb/2020In this part of the Guide, I’ll cover the selection of Captain Skills for Destroyers in World of Warship (play now!). Links to the Guides on Captain Skills for Battleships and Cruisers see at the foot of this page.
First things first, here are a few suggestions:
- Go easy on level 4 skills. For most cases 1 or 2 level 4 skills are enough.
- You can always make a rough calculation by using the Captain Skill Builder available on the World of Warships official web-site.
Disclaimer:
In this guide on World of Warships, I mostly cover first-order skills for Destroyers. To achieve better results select the specified first-order skills in that particular order. As for second-order skills, I believe you can make your own decision, though I'll try giving a list of recommended second-order skills for your consideration. Second-order skills have no significant impact on play.
All Destroyers in World of Warships can be roughly divided into three categories:
- Torpedo-focused Destroyers. These ships use to covertly attack enemy capital ships by using their torpedo armament as well as torpedo spam enemy smoke screens.
- Artillery-focused Destroyers with poor ballistics. These ships use to covertly approach enemy Destroyers and the point of interest to launch an attack on them by using both main battery and torpedoes with the support of allied Cruisers and Battleships.
- Artillery-focused Destroyers with superb ballistics. These ships use to attack enemy ships from a distance on open water by using the main battery and turn away from enemy salvos thanks to their maneuverability. They are also great for supporting allied Destroyers at the points of interest.
Captain Skills for torpedo-focused Destroyers
These are mostly an IJN tech tree line to Shimakaze as well as a tech tree line to Harugumo up to tier VII Shiratsuyu inclusive. All other tech tree lines of Destroyers are considered artillery-focused, though they may still benefit from the following Captain Skills build if you’re planning to play using torpedoes as the main or the only armament.
First-order skills
Preventive Maintenance (1) reduces the risk of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gears, and engine becoming incapacitated. Though you’ll never know if this skill has triggered, Preventive Maintenance looks like the best choice for torpedo-focused Destroyers.
Last Stand (2) When the engine or steering gears are incapacitated, they continue to operate but with a penalty. Since all Destroyers suffer from having glass modules, the selection of this skill is obligatory.
Torpedo Armament Expertise (3) reduces the reload time of torpedo tubes hence increasing the damage per minute when using torpedoes.
Concealment Expert (4) reduces detectability by 10%. Another obligatory skill that is vital for most Destroyers.
Second-order skills to consider
Radio Location (4) The enemy player will be alerted that a bearing was taken on their ship. This Captain Skill helps avoiding enemy artillery-focused Destroyers. Radio Location is costly, but since you only need 10 skill points to select the first-order skills in order to play your torpedo-focused Destroyer comfortably, the selection of RL still looks interesting.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship's consumables. The selection of this skill facilitates a more relaxed activation of consumables that is great for protracted battles.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the armament carried by ships and aircraft. A good choice for inflicting delayed damage to enemy capital ships from a smoke screen.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship's HP decreases. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
Torpedo Acceleration (2) increases the speed of torpedoes launched from both ships and aircrafts by reducing torpedo range. Since many torpedo-focused Destroyers have an excessive torpedo range this skill is worth considering.
Jack of All Trades (2) reduces the reload time of all consumables for the ship and squadrons. Another Captain Skill that gives an obvious but smallish advantage.
Captain Skills for artillery-focused Destroyers with poor ballistics
These are low-, mid- and high-tier USN, UK, Pan-Asian, German, as well as low- and mid-tier French (up to tier VIII inclusive) Destroyers. They still benefit from selecting appropriate skills and upgrades for improving their torpedo launchers, but since their main task is killing enemy Destroyers from a short distance, the improvement of the main battery is a priority.
First-order skills
Priority Target (1) displays the number of opponents that are currently aiming at your ship. Use this information wisely and you'll have a noticeable advantage over your opponents.
Last Stand (2) When the engine or steering gears are incapacitated, they continue to operate but with a penalty. Since all Destroyers suffer from having glass modules, the selection of this skill is obligatory.
Basic Firing Training (3) improves the effectiveness of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139 mm, secondary battery guns, and AA mounts. The selection of this Captain Skill increases the direct damage per minute, thereby giving an edge over enemy Destroyers in artillery exchange. Though this selection is not obligatory, there’s really a choice between Survivability Expert, Superintendent and Demolition Expert. E.g. Pan-Asian Unique Captains have a bonus to Survivability Expert skill, therefore the selection of the latter is arguably a better choice.
Concealment Expert (4) reduces detectability by 10%. Another obligatory skill that is vital for most Destroyers.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) improves the armor penetration capacity of HE shells fired from main battery guns. It’s a good rule of thumb to select this skill on every ship unless it’s greyed out in the game interface, though its selection constricts the choice of skills by 4 points. This skill is obligatory for high-tier UK Destroyers, especially tier IX Jutland and tier X Daring with 113 mm main battery guns. Not so important for other high-tier artillery-focused Destroyers, including IJN Destroyers with 100 mm guns since the penetration of their HE Shells is increased by means of some incognizable Nippon magic.
Second-order skills to consider
Radio Location (4) The enemy player will be alerted that a bearing was taken on their ship. This Captain Skill helps hunting down enemy Destroyers, especially those fragile torpedo-focused Destroyers with superior concealment. Radio Location is costly; therefore players tend to select the RL skill when participating in Ranked of Clan Battles only.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship's consumables. The selection of this skill facilitates a more relaxed activation of consumables that is great for protracted battles.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the armament carried by ships and aircraft. A good choice for inflicting delayed damage to enemy capital ships from a smoke screen.
Survivability Expert (3) increases HP for each ship tier. A great skill for aggressive play on high-tier Destroyers. Torpedo Armament Expertise (3) reduces the reload time of torpedo tubes hence increasing the damage per minute when using torpedoes.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship's HP decreases. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
Jack of All Trades (2) reduces the reload time of all consumables for the ship and squadrons. Another Captain Skill that gives an obvious but smallish advantage.
Preventive Maintenance (1) reduces the risk of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gears, and engine becoming incapacitated. Though you’ll never know if this skill has triggered, Preventive Maintenance looks good when you have one last skill point to distribute.
Captain Skills for artillery-focused Destroyers with superb ballistics
These are Soviet mid- and high-tier Destroyers, including Khabarovsk and Grozovoi, French high-tier Destroyers Mogador and Kleber, as well as Japanese high-tier artillery-focused Destroyers Akizuki, Kitakaze and Harugumo. Unlike those Destroyers with poor ballistics, these sea beasts provide fire support to allied Destroyers and bombard enemy capital ships from open water, from behind not-too-high islands and from a smoke screen.
First-order skills
Priority Target (1) displays the number of opponents that are currently aiming at your ship. Use this information wisely and you'll have a noticeable advantage over your opponents.
Last Stand (2) When the engine or steering gears are incapacitated, they continue to operate but with a penalty. Since all Destroyers suffer from having glass modules, the selection of this skill is obligatory.
Basic Firing Training (3) improves the effectiveness of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139 mm, secondary battery guns, and AA mounts. The selection of this Captain Skill increases the direct damage per minute, thereby giving an edge over enemy Destroyers in artillery exchange.
Advanced Firing Training (4) extends the firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139 mm, as well as secondary battery guns. Increases the efficiency of long-range AA mounts. By removing your target a little bit farther from your Destroyer you greatly reduce the possibility of hitting you in return. The selection of this skill you are buying yourself some life time.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) improves the armor penetration capacity of HE shells fired from main battery guns. It’s a good rule of thumb to select this skill on every ship unless it’s greyed out in the game interface, though its selection constricts the choice of skills by 4 points.
Second-order skills to consider
Radio Location (4) The enemy player will be alerted that a bearing was taken on their ship. This Captain Skill helps hunting down enemy Destroyers, as well as knowing the direction of possible torpedo launch. Radio Location is costly; therefore players tend to select the RL skill when participating in Ranked of Clan Battles only.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship's consumables. The selection of this skill facilitates a more relaxed activation of consumables that is great for protracted battles.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the armament carried by ships and aircraft. A good choice for inflicting delayed damage to enemy capital ships.
Survivability Expert (3) increases HP for each ship tier. This skill is restricted to high-tier Destroyers only, coz the higher your tier is the more HP you get.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship's HP decreases. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
Jack of All Trades (2) reduces the reload time of all consumables for the ship and squadrons. Another Captain Skill that gives an obvious but smallish advantage.
Preventive Maintenance (1) reduces the risk of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gears, and engine becoming incapacitated. Though you’ll never know if this skill has triggered, Preventive Maintenance looks good when you have one last skill point to distribute.
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