Commander Skills for Cruisers / World of Warships / WoWS
By Denis Marasan ☆ 26/Jan/2020In this part of the Guide on World of Warships (play now!), I’ll cover the selection of Commander Skills for all types of Cruisers, including Small Light Cruisers, Light Cruisers, Heavy Cruisers and Large Heavy Cruisers, both linear, premium and promo, for both ordinary and Unique Commanders in World of Warship. Links to the Guides on Commander Skills for Battleships 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 the Commander Skill Builder available on the World of Warships official web-site.
Disclaimer:
In this guide on World of Warships, I mostly cover the first-order skills for Cruisers. 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.
Commander Skills for Small Light Cruisers
Small Light Cruisers are Cruisers with main battery caliber up to and including 139 mm. Speaking of high-tier Small Light Cruisers these are tier X Smolensk (Soviet) and Colbert (French), as well as tier VII Atlanta and Flint (both US Navy). All Small Light Cruisers feature glass modules and high fire with short firing range because of small caliber.
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 Small Light Cruisers suffer from having glass modules, the selection of this skill is very desirable. Otherwise, select Adrenaline Rush (2) to maximize your damage at your own risk.
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 is a great choice for Light Small Cruisers. Nevertheless, you may select another great skill instead of Basic Firing Training, the fiery Demolition Expert (3) that increases the chance of fire. They both increase damage dealt to enemy ships, but Basic Firing Training increases the direct damage dealt by main caliber guns and AA mounts, thus increasing your AA defense in passing, whereas Demolition Expert increases a chance of inflicting delayed damage (aka Damage over Time = DoT) by fires.
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, as well as approaching enemy ships closer to maximize your damage.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) improves the armor penetration capacity of HE shells fired from both main and secondary 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 also decreases the chance of setting an enemy ship on fire, making the selection of Demolition Expert (3) as a second-order skill very desirable.
Second-order skills to consider
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 looks like it’s tailored for Small Light Cruisers. But since this is the level 4 skill its selection significantly constricts the choice of Commander Skills. Avoid it when possible.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the armament carried by ships and aircraft. This skill helps to decrease the negative impact on chances of setting fire from the Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) skill. Demolition Expert is also particularly good on Small Light Cruisers since these ships have very low chances of setting fire to enemy ships.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship's consumables. The problem with Small Light Cruisers is this skill fits in at the expense of the damage dealt only. To maximize your play try avoiding this skill when possible.
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 as the second level 1 skill in the case you’ve gone for three level 4 skills.
Incoming Fire Alert (1) A warning about a salvo fired at your ship from a distance of more than 4.5 km. This is a good alternative to Priority Target (1) as the first-order skill, though it helps to deal with the consequences of careless play instead of proactive analysis of the game situation as in the case of Priority Target.
Commander Skills for Light Cruisers
Light Cruisers are Cruisers with the main battery caliber from 140 mm to approx. 180 mm (6-inch). These are USN Cruisers (a line to Worcester), Soviet Cruisers (up to tier VIII Chapaev), British Cruisers (a line to Minotaur), as well as many low-tier Cruisers. Since British Light Cruisers have no HE shells, they don’t require such skills as Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) and Demolition Expert (3) and are considered separately below.
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. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the armament carried by ships and aircraft. This skill helps to decrease the negative impact on chances of setting fire from the Inertia Fuse for HE Shells skill. Not applicable to linear British Light Cruisers (see below).
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, as well as approaching enemy ships closer to maximize your damage.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) improves the armor penetration capacity of HE shells fired from both main and secondary 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 also decreases the chance of setting an enemy ship on fire, making the selection of Demolition Expert very desirable. Not applicable to linear British Light Cruisers (see below).
Second-order skills to consider
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. A great choice for high-tier Light Cruisers with the Repair Party consumable. Arguably the best second-order skill for USN Light Cruisers since the more consumables your Cruiser has the more topical this skill is.
Jack of All Trades (2) reduces the reload time of all consumables for the ship and squadrons. Arguably the best second-order skill for USN Light Cruisers since the more consumables your Cruiser has the more topical this skill is.
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.
Incoming Fire Alert (1) A warning about a salvo fired at your ship from a distance of more than 4.5 km. This is a good alternative to Priority Target (1) as the first-order skill, though it helps to deal with the consequences of careless play instead of proactive analysis of the game situation as in the case of Priority Target.
Commander Skills for British Light Cruisers
Since British Cruisers have no HE shells, they don’t require such skills as Inertia Fuse for HE Shells (4) and Demolition Expert (3). So the Commander Skills build is as follows:
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. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. Since British Light Cruisers feature an enhanced Repair Party consumable this skill increases the number of Hit Points you can restore. Besides, the more consumables your Cruiser has the more topical this skill is.
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, as well as approaching enemy ships closer to maximize your damage.
Second-order skills to consider
Advanced Firing Training (4) or Basic Firing Training (3) – Since 10 Skill Points is enough to ensure comfortable play on British Light Cruisers, the idea of selecting these skills to boost AA defense is not too bad.
Vigilance (3) extends the torpedo acquisition range, even while the “Hydroacoustic Search” consumable is active. Again, since 10 Skill Points is enough for ensuring comfortable play on British Light Cruisers, you may go nuts and select something like Vigilance, the more so you’ve got the “Hydroacoustic Search” that effectively stacks with 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 tier X Minotaur is great, this skill is topical on lower-tier British Light Cruisers. The selection of Expert Marksman will make these ships’ handling more convenient.
Last Stand (2) When the engine or steering gears are incapacitated, they continue to operate but with a penalty. Though the engine and steering gears on British Light Cruisers are rather durable, the selection of this skill still makes sense.
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.
Incoming Fire Alert (1) A warning about a salvo fired at your ship from a distance of more than 4.5 km. This is a good alternative to Priority Target (1) as the first-order skill, though it helps to deal with the consequences of careless play instead of proactive analysis of the game situation as in the case of Priority Target.
Commander Skills for Heavy Cruisers
Heavy Cruisers are Cruisers with the main battery caliber from 200 mm (8-inch) and above. These are USN Cruisers (a line to Des Moines), IJN Cruisers, high-tier Soviet Cruisers (Dmitri Donskoi and Moskva), British Cruisers (a line to Goliath), German, French and Italian Cruisers. Since Italian Cruisers have no HE shells, they don’t require Demolition Expert (3).
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. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
Demolition Expert (3) increases the chances of setting fire to the target for the armament carried by ships and aircraft. A great skill for maximizing your damage by setting enemies on fire. Since Italian Cruisers have no HE shells you’ll better opt for Superintendent (3).
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, as well as approaching enemy ships closer to maximize your damage.
Second-order skills to consider
Superintendent (3) increases the capacity of your ship’s consumables. A great choice for high-tier Heavy Cruisers with the Repair Party consumable. Besides, the more consumables your Cruiser has the more topical this skill is.
Vigilance (3) extends the torpedo acquisition range, even while the “Hydroacoustic Search” consumable is active. Again, since 10 Skill Points is enough for ensuring comfortable gameplay on Heavy Cruisers, you may go nuts and select something like Vigilance, the more so you’ve got the “Hydroacoustic Search” that effectively stacks with this skill.
Last Stand (2) When the engine or steering gears are incapacitated, they continue to operate but with a penalty. Low-tier Japanese Cruisers (up to tier VI Aoba), as well as French Cruisers (up to tier VI La Galissonnière), suffer from fragile modules. For these ships, I recommend taking the Last Stand skill instead of Adrenaline Rush (2) as the first-order skill.
Expert Marksman (2) increases the traverse speed of main battery guns. A great second-order skill for Cruisers 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.
High Alert (2) reduces the reload time of Damage Control Party. Again, since 10 Skill Points is enough for ensuring comfortable gameplay on Heavy Cruisers, you may go nuts and select something like Vigilance High Alert.
Expert Loader (1) accelerates shell type switching if all main battery guns are loaded. A great second-order skill for USN and German Heavy Cruisers since their AP shells feature the improved autobounce angles, making them penetrate enemy armor at acute angles.
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.
Incoming Fire Alert (1) A warning about a salvo fired at your ship from a distance of more than 4.5 km. This is a good alternative to Priority Target (1) as the first-order skill, though it helps to deal with the consequences of careless play instead of proactive analysis of the game situation as in the case of Priority Target.
Commander Skills for Large Heavy Cruisers
Large Heavy Cruisers are Cruisers with the main battery caliber of approx. 300 mm (12-inch) and above. These are USN Puerto Rico and Alaska, IJN Azuma and Yoshino, Soviet Kronshtadt and Stalingrad, and German Admiral Graf Spee. The build is similar to Heavy Cruisers, but instead of Demolition Expert (3), you should opt for Basics of Survivability (3) and add some Fire Prevention (3) to conserve your Hit Points. BTW, since most if not all Large Heavy Cruisers are premium (or promo) you may plant a Batteship Commander with survivability build.
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. Effectively increases your damage per second with time because of the Hit Points loss.
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, as well as approaching enemy ships closer to maximize your damage.
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. A great choice for Large Heavy Cruisers with the Repair Party consumable. Besides, the more consumables your Cruiser has the more topical this skill is.
Expert Marksman (2) increases the traverse speed of main battery guns. A great second-order skill for Cruisers 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.
High Alert (2) reduces the reload time of Damage Control Party. A great second-order skill for Large Heavy Cruisers.
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 good second-order skill for ordinary Commanders since the reload time on Large Heavy Cruisers is not-too-long and the 50% reduction of time is acceptable to make an impact on play.
Incoming Fire Alert (1) A warning about a salvo fired at your ship from a distance of more than 4.5 km. This is a good alternative to Priority Target (1) as the first-order skill, though it helps to deal with the consequences of careless play instead of proactive analysis of the game situation as in the case of Priority Target.
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