Commander Skills for Battleships / World of Warships / WoWS
By Denis Marasan ☆ 21/Jan/2020In this part of the Guide, I’ll cover the selection of Commander Skills for high-tier Battleships (both linear, promo and premium) for both ordinary and Unique Commanders in World of Warship (play now!) Links to the Guides on Commander Skills for Cruisers and Destroyers 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 Commander 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 Battleships. 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 far less impact on play.
Survivability Commander Skills Build for Battleships
In World of Warships, this build may be considered as the most versatile and can be used for any Battleship of any tier. Though speaking of tier X Battleships this build is particularly good for Yamato (Imperial Japanese Navy), Montana (US Navy), République and Bourgogne (French Navy), Thunderer (Royal Navy).
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.
High Alert (2) reduces the reload time of Damage Control Party. Instead of High Alert, you may choose Adrenaline Rush (for a more aggressive build) or Expert Marksman (in case the parameter of “180 Degree Turn Time” exceeds 45 seconds, like on Yamato with her 72 seconds).
Basics of Survivability (3) accelerates repairs of modules, firefighting, and recovery from flooding. This skill greatly increases the survivability of Battleships and Large Heavy Cruisers in World of Warships.
Concealment Expert (4) reduces detectability by 10%. By reducing the detectability range combined with the Concealment System Modification 1 module this skill permits conserving Hit Points by staying concealed for longer and disappearing on open water 20 seconds after firing the main battery guns.
Fire Prevention (4) is another great level 4 skill that not only reduces the risk of fire but also reduces the maximum number of fires on a ship to three thus effectively conserving your Hit Points.
Second-order skills to consider
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. Since every Battleship has a Repair Party consumable this skill increases the number of Hit Points you can restore. And the more consumables your Battleship has the more topical this skill is.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship’s HP decreases. Great second-order skill; may be considered as a first-order skill. This is especially true for some Unique French Commanders having an Adrenaline Surge trait instead.
Expert Marksman (2) increases the traverse speed of main battery guns. Great second-order skill for Battleships with slow-moving turrets; may be considered as a first-order skill. This is especially true for some Unique Japanese, USA, UK, French, Soviet and French Commanders, having the Master Marksman trait instead.
Expert Loader (1) accelerates shell type switching if all main battery guns are loaded. A great second-order skill for some Unique USA and Italian Commanders, having the Rapid Loader trait instead. A not-so-good skill for ordinary Commanders since the reload time on Battleships is too long and the 50% reduction of time is insufficient to make an impact on play.
Secondary Armament-Focused Commander Skills Build for Battleships
This build is very specific and you may not like it even on ships it’s particularly good for, because of the negative impact on survivability. On the other hand, making a tradeoff between the secondary armament and survivability increases the ship’s survivability, but impacts the damage dealt by your secondary armament.
The good news is that the selection of some secondary armament-focused skills also increases the AA efficiency. Particularly good for Battleships Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts (US Navy), Großer Kurfürst, Friedrich der Große, Bismarck, Tirpitz, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst (German Navy), Bourgogne, Alsace, Jean Bart, Richelieu (French Navy). To get the most out of the secondary armament-focused build you should select the appropriate modifications (Secondary Battery Modification 1 and 2).
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.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship’s HP decreases. Great second-order skill; may be considered as a first-order skill. This is especially true for some Unique French Commanders having an Adrenaline Surge trait instead.
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. This skill is difficult to overestimate because it improves your damage per minute dealt with by the secondary armament.
Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament (4) significantly increases your secondary armament firing efficiency. This skill is mandatory for this build. Without it, the build will be ineffective. And don’t forget to designate targets for the secondary armament. Otherwise, it will be considered as deactivated.
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. This skill greatly increases the firing range of the secondary armament.
Second-order skills to consider
Basics of Survivability (3) accelerate repairs of modules, firefighting, and recovery from flooding. This skill greatly increases the survivability and may be considered as a second-order skill for secondary armament-focused Battleships.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. Since every Battleship has a Repair Party consumable this skill increases the number of Hit Points you can restore. And the more consumables your Battleship has the more topical this skill is.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the carried armament. The selection of this skill increases the chance of setting an enemy ship on fire by the secondary armament if it fires HE shells.
Expert Marksman (2) increases the traverse speed of main battery guns. A great second-order skill for Battleships with slow-moving turrets. Since the secondary armament-focused ships are used in close quarters, selecting this skill is desirable.
High Alert (2) reduces the reload time of Damage Control Party. This is a great second-order skill for any Battleship.
Expert Loader (1) accelerates shell type switching if all main battery guns are loaded. A great second-order skill for some Unique USA and Italian Commanders, having the Rapid Loader trait instead. A not-so-good skill for ordinary Commanders since the reload time on Battleships is too long and the 50% reduction of time is insufficient to make an impact on play.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) Improves the armor penetration capacity of HE shells fired from both main and secondary battery guns. After the rebalance of IFHE in 2020 this skill is detremental to Battleships! Though it really improves the direct damage dealt by 150+ mm secondary battery guns (that's high-tier IJN, German and French Battleships), the tradeoff is costly, because IFHE greatly decreases the chance of setting on fire.
A Commander Skills Build for Soviet Battleship Kremlin (Kreml?)
This build is particularly good for Soviet tier X Battleship Kremlin and lower tier Soviet Battleships. Since she has a fast-reloading Damage Control Party, you don’t really need the skills like High Alert (2) and Fire Prevention (4) which is a game-changer! In fact, high-tier Soviet Battleships only require 10 Commander Skill Points to play efficiently. Though you may still select those skills as second-order skills.
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.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship’s HP decreases. Great second-order skill; may be considered as a first-order skill.
Basics of Survivability (3) accelerates repairs of modules, firefighting, and recovery from flooding. This skill greatly increases the survivability of Battleships and Large Heavy Cruisers in World of Warships.
Concealment Expert (4) reduces detectability by 10%. By reducing the detectability range combined with the Concealment System Modification 1 module this skill permits conserving Hit Points by staying concealed for longer and disappearing on open water 20 seconds after firing the main battery guns.
Second-order skills to consider
Advanced Firing Training (4) extends the firing range of secondary battery guns. Increases the efficiency of long-range AA mounts. This skill is great for the sake of increasing the AA defense.
Basic Firing Training (3) improves the effectiveness of secondary battery guns and AA mounts. This skill is great for the sake of increasing the AA defense.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. Since Soviet Battleships have a limited number of Repair Party activations this skill looks even better than ever.
A Commander Skills Build for high-tier British Battleships
Since tier IX and X British Battleships Lion and Conqueror have a special Repair Party consumable capable of restoring an unbelievable amount of Hit Points, this greatly impacts the selection of Commander Skills for these ships. The idea is to lose Hit Points to decrease the main battery guns reload time as much as possible in order to maximize damage per minute by selecting the Adrenaline Rush (2) skill. Though in the case you don’t like the idea of playing on a Battleship without a large Hit Points pool you can use a standard survivability build instead.
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.
Adrenaline Rush (2) increases the reload speed of all armaments as the ship’s HP decreases. Great second-order skill; may be considered as a first-order skill. This skill is mandatory for this build!
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. Since every Battleship has a Repair Party consumable this skill increases the number of Hit Points you can restore. And the more consumables your Battleships have the better Superintendent looks.
Concealment Expert (4) reduces detectability by 10%. By reducing the detectability range combined with the Concealment System Modification 1 module this skill permits conserving Hit Points by staying concealed for longer and disappearing on open water 20 seconds after firing the main battery guns.
Second-order skills to consider
Advanced Firing Training (4) extends the firing range of secondary battery guns. Increases the efficiency of long-range AA mounts. This skill is great for the sake of increasing the AA defense.
Basic Firing Training (3) improves the effectiveness of secondary battery guns and AA mounts. This skill is great for the sake of increasing the AA defense.
Basics of Survivability (3) accelerates repairs of modules, firefighting, and recovery from flooding. Though the idea of this build is losing as much Hit Points as possible for boosting the reload I personally vote for this skill.
Jack of All Trades (2) reduces the reload time of all consumables for the ship and squadrons. This skill is particularly good when using Unique British Commanders with Handyman trait instead.
Expert Marksman (2) increases the traverse speed of main battery guns. This skill is particularly good when using Unique British Commanders with Master Marksman instead, though the gun traverse speed on both Lion and Conqueror are good. Nevertheless, it will make the ship handling more convenient.
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