Italian Battleship Branch Review

Italian battleships Dante Alighieri, Conte di Cavour, Andrea Doria, Francesco Caracciolo, Vittorio Veneto, Lepanto, and Cristoforo Colombo are now available for everyone to research.

Read the article below to learn how to effectively play the newcomers.

Key Features of the Branch ● Tactics ● Upgrades

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Key Features of the Branch[/h2]

Semi-armor-piercing shells instead of HE shells. These shells deal significant damage to weakly and moderately protected ship parts, but do not cause fires and can ricochet.
Numerous main battery guns on Tier IX and X battleships.
Their main guns have short firing ranges, low accuracy, and long reload times.
Good protection thanks to their decent armor that ensures a high level of defense against high-explosive shells; as well as their good maneuverability.
Tier VIII–X ships have the Exhaust Smoke Generator consumable, which allows them to hide from the enemy without having to reduce their speed.

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Tactics[/h2]
Decent maneuverability and armor coupled with low accuracy and short firing ranges define the Italian battleships' gameplay—they are medium- and close-range fighters.

Thanks to their powerful semi-armor-piercing shells with high penetration and damage capabilities, the Italians can boast of having a heavy salvo weight. This applies to Tier IX–X battleships in particular, due to their large number of main battery guns. You can inflict considerable damage to cruisers, as well as the ends, superstructures, and even some of the better-armored casemates of battleships. As for destroyers, they take not more than 1/10 of the maximum damage dealt by a semi-armor-piercing shell. Moreover, semi-armor-piercing shells can ricochet—the "14.3 caliber rule" applies to them, which is something you also need to consider when choosing a target.

You can learn more about the "14.3 caliber rule" by watching a dedicated video.

Italian armor-piercing shells don't have the largest caliber—it's 381 mm for Tier VII–X battleships. However, unlike semi-armor-piercing shells that explode upon contact with armor, armor-piercing shells can strike a ship's citadel, even if it's protected by the casemate's armor belt or plating.

The Italians can enter battle more confidently thanks to the Exhaust Smoke Generator consumable, which appears on high-tier battleships starting with VIII Vittorio Veneto. It allows you to stealthily approach an enemy, escape focused fire even out on open water, or retreat entirely — all without even having to reduce your speed. Exhaust Smoke Generator can also give you the advantage of firing the first salvo, but keep in mind that afterwards you'll be most likely detected due to the high detectability of battleships after firing main battery guns even from within smoke.

Just like other battleships that specialize in fighting at close and medium ranges, the main role of the Italians is to define the attack direction of their team. Make sure to watch the situation on the battlefield carefully though. Despite the Italian battleships having decent armor that provides good protection against high-explosive shells, in case of heavy focused fire from several opponents, it's best to withdraw and change position. That's when Exhaust Smoke Generator and the ships' good maneuverability will come in handy. If the situation allows it, push forward using your numerous main battery guns and powerful semi-armor-piercing shells.

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Upgrades[/h2]
The following upgrades will be useful:

Main Armaments Modification 1
Damage Control System Modification 1
Aiming Systems Modification 1
Damage Control System Modification 2
Concealment System Modification 1
Main Battery Modification 3 or Gun Fire Control System Modification 2