User:InterconKW/sandbox

Larger than destroyers yet smaller than battleships, cruisers have fulfilled as many roles as they had designations; common ones include "light", "heavy", "protected", "armored", "torpedo", and later, "missile" cruisers. Cruisers are often called upon to hunt down enemy destroyers, perform quick response duties, escort and protect merchant shipping or larger vessels like battleships and aircraft carriers from various threats, provide an additional layer of defense... whatever needs to be done at any given moment.

In World of Warships, cruisers serve as the primary class to apply consistent damage and provide utility, though the cruiser lines of each nation are usually unique in characteristics. Cruisers often come with a wide array of tools to help them adapt to many situations and can have up to four (4) slots for consumables, the most of any ship class. As with all other ships, the first slot will be filled with Damage Control Party ; after that, options abound depending on which nation is being played. Hydroacoustic Search  increases the range at which your ship can detect enemy ships and torpedoes, even through smoke screens; Defensive AA Fire  increases the intensity (but not necessarily effectiveness) of a cruiser's anti-aircraft batteries, greatly reducing the performance of enemy aircraft unfortunate enough to be caught on the receiving end; Catapult Fighter  launches fighter aircraft from the cruiser's catapults that escorts the cruiser and engages enemy aircraft that wander too close; Spotting Aircraft  allows a cruiser to extend the range of its main battery guns for a period of time; Surveillance Radar  detects enemy ships outside of their visibility range for a short duration; Engine Boost  increases the top speed of a ship for the duration of the consumable; Smoke Generator  provides cover where needed on the battlefield and obscures enemy vision; and at Tiers VI and higher (Tier II for Pan-American, tier III for British), they receive access to the same Repair Party  ability that battleships have, enabling them to regenerate some of the damage taken during battle.

Cruisers by Nation

U.S.A.

I Erie

II Chester

II Albany

III St. Louis

III Charleston

IV Phoenix

V Omaha

V Marblehead

V Marblehead Lima

V Rattlehead

VI Pensacola

VI Dallas

VII Atlanta

VII New Orleans

VII Helena

VII Indianapolis

VII Atlanta B

VII Boise

VII Flint

VIII Baltimore

VIII Cleveland

VIII Wichita

VIII Anchorage

VIII Congress

VIII Rochester

VIII San Diego

VIII Bridgeport

VIII AL Montpelier

IX Buffalo

IX Seattle

IX Vallejo

IX Alaska

IX Tulsa

IX Alaska B

IX Cambridge

IX Fort Worth

IX Fort Worth Golden

X Des Moines

X Worcester

X Puerto Rico

X Salem

X Hawaii

X Austin

X Puerto Rico B

X Hawaii Golden

★ Jacksonville

★ Annapolis

Japan

I Hashidate

II Chikuma

III Tenryū

III Katori

IV Yūbari

IV Kuma

IV Iwaki Alpha

V Furutaka

V Agano

V Yahagi

V Desert Falcon

VI Aoba

VI Gokase

VII Myōkō

VII Omono

VII Tokachi

VII Maya

VII ARP Myōkō

VII ARP Ashigara

VII ARP Haguro

VII Southern Dragon

VII Eastern Dragon

VII ARP Nachi

VIII Mogami

VIII Tone

VIII Atago

VIII Shimanto

VIII Atago B

VIII ARP Takao

VIII ARP Maya

IX Ibuki

IX Takahashi

IX Azuma

IX AL Azuma

IX Chikuma II

IX Chikuma II Golden

IX Suzuya

IX Suzuya Golden

IX Suzuya VL

IX BA Takahashi

IX Azuma B

X Zaō

X Yodo

X Yoshino

X Yoshino B

X Kitakami

X Kushiro

X Zaō CLR

Germany

I Hermelin

II Dresden

II Emden

III Kolberg

IV Karlsruhe

V Königsberg

VI Deutschland

VI Nürnberg

VI Admiral Graf Spee

VI Leipzig

VI HSF Admiral Graf Spee

VII Admiral Scheer

VII Yorck

VII München

VII Weimar

VII Nürnberg '44

VII München B

VIII Knesebeck

VIII Admiral Hipper

VIII Prinz Eugen

VIII Mainz

VIII Schill

VIII Mainz B

VIII Cross of Dorn

VIII Wiesbaden

VIII Schill B

IX Manteuffel

IX Roon

IX Siegfried

IX Ägir

IX Admiral Schröder

IX Blücher

IX Roon CLR

IX AL Ägir

X Prinz Adalbert

X Hindenburg

X Hildebrand

X Bremen

X AL Hindenburg

X Bremen Golden

★ Clausewitz

U.S.S.R.

I Orlan

II Diana

II Diana Lima

II Novik

III Aurora

III Bogatyr

III Oleg

III Varyag

III AL Avrora

IV Svietlana

V Murmansk

V Kotovsky

V Krasny Krym

V Mikoyan

V Kirov

VI Budyonny

VI Molotov

VI Admiral Makarov

VII Shchors

VII Lazo

VII Lazo B

VIII Chapayev

VIII Tallinn

VIII Mikhail Kutuzov

VIII Ochakov

VIII Pyotr Bagration

VIII Dmitry Pozharsky

VIII Kiberpankov

IX Dmitri Donskoi

IX Riga

IX Kronshtadt

IX Kozma Minin

X Moskva

X Alexander Nevsky

X Petropavlovsk

X Stalingrad

X Smolensk B

X Smolensk

X Sevastopol

X Komissar

X PTRPVLSK

★ Novosibirsk

Pan-Asia

I Chengan

III Ning Hai

V Chungking

VI Rahmat

VI Huanghe

VII Chumphon

VII Lanzhou

VIII Harbin

VIII Irian

VIII Wukong

VIII Narai

VIII Piñatian

VIII AL Harbin

IX Sejong

IX Dalian

IX Mengchong

IX Tianjin

IX Baotou

X Jinan

X Incheon

File:Ship PZSC730 Taejong.png
X Taejong

U.K.

I Black Swan

II Weymouth

III Caledon

IV Danae

V Emerald

V Hawkins

V Exeter

VI Leander

VI Devonshire

VI London

VI Dido

VI Orion '44

VII Fiji

VII Surrey

VII Belfast

VIII Edinburgh

VIII Albemarle

VIII Cheshire

VIII Tiger '59

VIII Belfast '43

VIII Hampshire

VIII Nottingham

VIII AL Cheshire

VIII Érne

VIII STAR Edinburgh

IX Neptune

IX Drake

IX Aberdeen

IX Cursed Fang

X Monmouth

X Minotaur

X Goliath

X Plymouth

X Gibraltar

X Defence

★ Edgar

Europe

I Gryf

VI Elli

VIII Regele Carol I

X Svea

Italy

I Eritrea

II Nino Bixio

III Taranto

IV Alberto di Giussano

V Raimondo Montecuccoli

V Genova

VI Trento

VI Duca d'Aosta

VII Zara

VII Duca degli Abruzzi

VII Francesco Ferruccio

VII Gorizia

VII Optio

VII Fiume

VII AL Gorizia

VIII Amalfi

IX Brindisi

IX Michelangelo

IX Ferrante Gonzaga

IX Messina

X Venezia

X Napoli

X Napoli B

★ Piemonte

France

I Bougainville

II Jurien de la Gravière

III Friant

IV Duguay-Trouin

V Émile Bertin

VI La Galissonnière

VI De Grasse

VI Dupleix

VI Montcalm

VII Algérie

VII Toulon

VIII Charles Martel

VIII Cherbourg

VIII Bayard

IX Saint-Louis

IX Brest

IX Carnot

IX Le Havre

IX BA Utnapishtim's Ship

X Henri IV

X Marseille

X Colbert

X Brennus

X Amiral Lartigue

★ Condé

Commonwealth

II Port Jackson

III Caradoc

IV Dunedin

V Delhi

VI Hobart

VI Perth

VI Mysore

VII Uganda

VII Gambia

VIII Auckland

IX Encounter

IX Hector

X Cerberus

X Brisbane

X Pioneer

X Brisbane B

Netherlands

I Van Kinsbergen

II Gelderland

III Java

IV De Ruyter

V Celebes

VI Kijkduin

VII Eendracht

VIII Jaarsveld

VIII Haarlem

VIII De Zeven Provinciën

VIII Vrijheid

IX Menno van Coehoorn

IX Johan de Witt

IX Van Speijk

X Utrecht

X Gouden Leeuw

X Prins van Oranje

X Prins van Oranje Golden

Pan-America

I Hércules

II Almirante Barroso

II Almirante Abreu

III Vicente Guerrero

IV Córdoba

V La Argentina

VI Almirante Cochrane

VII Coronel Bolognesi

VII Nueve de Julio

VIII Ignacio Allende

VIII Almirante Grau

VIII Comandante Aguirre

IX Santander

X San Martín

X Almirante Irízar

Spain

I Júpiter

II Méndez Núñez

III Navarra

IV Almirante Cervera

V Galicia

VI Baleares

VI Canarias

VII Asturias

VIII Cataluña

VIII Numancia

IX Andalucía

IX Almirante Oquendo

X Castilla

Captains must note the unique characteristics of each nation's cruiser line:

• American cruisers tend to have strong anti-aircraft defenses and a large array of teamplay-oriented consumables like Surveillance Radar , as well as high damage output effective at shorter ranges, combined with conventional armor layouts that make them susceptible to damage but protect them from citadel hits. Additionally, they typically do not carry torpedoes. Of course, there are some exceptions.
• Japanese cruisers are manuverable, stealthy, and have powerful torpedo armaments and high-explosive shells with good fire chances, but lack sufficient anti-aircraft defense and have relatively vulnerable citadels despite decent armor coverage.
• German cruisers are large, with mediocre concealment, access to a typical improved German Hydroacoustic Search , armor-piercing shells that inflict relatively large amounts of damage, as well as high-explosive shells that have improved penetration formulas but lower damage. The Hindenburg line are reliable damage dealers, while the "Panzerschiffe" line to Prinz Adalbert trades consistent damage output for large guns, sturdy protection and manually controlled secondary batteries.
• French cruisers are sleek and fast, able to quickly reposition using Engine Boost , with excellent firing ranges and spaced armor at high tiers, but with fairly weak anti-aircraft defenses and low main battery damage per minute.
• Russian cruisers have very long firing ranges with comfortable ballistics due to their high muzzle velocity and are well protected against both HE and AP overmatch when angled, but have highly vulnerable citadels when not. They also typically have large detection ranges, and worse ship handling attributes compared to other nations.
• British cruisers consist of light cruisers (to Minotaur) with quick-firing, mid-caliber guns only being able to fire AP rounds, and heavy cruisers (to Goliath) with large calibre guns that have great HE rounds but poor AP rounds. Both lines have generous compliments of torpedoes that can be launched one by one, improved handling characteristics and unique consumable combinations, but are hindered by exceptionally poor armor layouts rendering them vulnerable to citadel hits.
• Italian cruisers have access to SAP shells that do high damage to lightly armored opponents and unique consumables, but have a large detection range, slow torpedoes, and no HE shells for their main battery limiting their ability to set fires.
• Dutch cruisers have excellent anti-aircraft defenses and starting from tier VI have the ability to call in carpet-bomb airstrikes, though they do not carry torpedoes. The line starts off as fragile light cruisers - Towards Utrecht they double down on their high manuverability and damage output, but towards Gouden Leeuw, starting from Tier VIII, they have large calibre guns and heavy armor, suffering the increased fire and flooding durations of other "Large Cruisers".
• Pan-Asian cruisers are stealthy, barely-armored "superlight" cruisers armed with a large number of powerful and stealthly deep-water torpedoes, heavy anti-aircraft defenses, and rapid-firing destroyer calibre guns that struggle to do direct damage to larger vessels at higher tiers but provide strong firestarting capabilities.
• Pan-American cruisers have armament similar to American and British light cruisers, with good anti-aircraft defenses and combat instructions previously only found on superships that augment their high survivability with an improved Repair Party . However, their main guns only fire AP rounds, and they have weak armor.
• Spanish cruisers are largely based on Italian export designs, and have high detectability, spaced armor at higher tiers as well as large caliber guns with decent ballistics. Despite their lower damage per minute, they are capable of using their "Burst Fire" alternative fire mode to deal a large, precise alpha strike when needed.
• Commonwealth cruisers are often derived from British-style designs - They have vulnerable citadels, but compensate for it with a high output of damaging high-explosive shells fired from the cover of their Crawling Smoke Generator , as well as improved tools to detect and attack submarines.

Historical Background

Rather than a category of vessel, the designation of "cruiser" originally described the purpose or mission for the ship; to "cruise" long distances in escort, scouting, and raiding duties, or simply to provide an intermediate military presence where the deployment of larger, more expensive battleships were deemed strategically and financially unwise. The advent of steam power and steel accelerated the growth of the cruiser's development, discarding unwieldy, unreliable sails and wooden hulls for powerful engines and stronger hulls and components. Up to the opening stages of World War II, the various naval treaties — or their evasion thereof — created classes of cruisers such as "heavy cruiser", "battlecruiser", or "pocket battleship", reflecting their disproportionate firepower and performance in contrast to what the treaties were supposed to limit. In the present day, advances in technology and a blurring of lines between surface ship classes result in "destroyers" capable of performing the duties that once required a cruiser's services more cheaply, efficiently and effectively, leading to its declining use in most navies. However, certain large and heavily-armed destroyers are still referred to as cruisers on occasion, reflecting their versatility.

This is reflected in World of Warships: While the various nations had different mindsets when it came to the duties expected of cruisers, and outfitted them accordingly, cruisers can be considered the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none class of warship. Almost all of them are able to adequately respond to changes in the battlefield and project considerable influence in the sector, outgunning anything they cannot outrun, and outrunning anything they cannot outgun; they are most commonly expected to act as destroyer and AA screens. A good cruiser captain watches the flow of battle and adapts to the circumstances as they unfold.