King George V & Duke of York Review

Firepower:

Duke of York and KGV boast an unconventional array of 10x 356mm guns, with somewhat appalling firing arcs. The immediate thing people will notice is that these are not high-performance weapons. Shell damage is low, penetration is mediocre, and ballistics are sluggish. These guns boast decent dispersion and 2 sigma, which helps. But good aim at weakpoints (deck and turrets) will be needed to make these guns work. The presence of Rapid Reload 1 adds some burst DPM when used, but this consumable is not very notable and does not propel these guns to stardom. Being small-caliber, both ships reload slightly faster than many of their tier-mates, but they have comparatively short firing range, specifically in DoY’s case.

Both ships start battles with HE preloaded. However, this shell type is very weak and usually not worth using. The HE penetration is abysmal, and what fullpens she scores tend to do less than 1000 damage per hit. A lousy 14% fire chance is not reliable enough to compensate for this low damage, so this shell is best used on destroyers only. Her AP is not strong, but will yield better results if you place your shots well. Targeting the deck and turrets of enemy battleships is the best way to maximise your damage output, as your shells can fullpen here. The APCS commander skill helps this long-range performance, so I suggest taking it when available.

Protection:

Historically, the KGV class ships were very well protected. This is not mirrored in-game. The two ships boast average HP pools, but suffer from an exceedingly thin deck which allows most cruiser shells to penetrate. Battleships hitting your deck will take large chunks out of your HP very quickly, so you’ll need to be careful to keep your guns floating. Use and abuse of evasion, specifically concealment, will be the key to negating your weak armour. It is advised to let enemy ships begin shooting at your teammates before breaking cover.

There is one upside in the armour scheme, which is belt armour. Both ships boast the thickest belts at their tier, which will halfpen or bounce anything that hits it. If you end up in a brawl, I unironically suggest showing as much broadside as possible to bait shots into your belt. If your enemy takes the bait, it will halve their damage output and give you the upper hand. At long range though, shells tend to be plunging downward and hitting your deck, so you’ll want to minimise your profile by angling.

Evasion:

As far as agility is concerned, the KGVs are very meh. Both ships are reasonably quick, and both pack a decent turning circle (though KGV holds the advantage here). The two ships also have identical rudder shift time, which is disappointingly average at the tier. You can’t wiggle out of trouble like certain British premiums can. KGV also boasts a very bland acceleration stat, but DoY has a longer and more tedious one. For small BBs like this, I would have liked to see a better showing in this segment.

Both ships in this class pack a considerable advantage here: a best-in-tier concealment stat. Building into stealth will drop the detection range of these ships to nearly 9.00km. This concealment is very valuable on a ship like this, allowing multiple things:

- You won’t be the first BB spotted and focused

- You can surprise enemy cruisers at uncomfortably close range

- You can disengage from combat more easily than other ships.

There’s a catch to this concealment though; you need to be willing to use it. The stat does not matter if you break cover the instant a target is in range, or continue firing when trying to disengage. If you don’t have the trigger discipline to do this, rudder equipment will suit you better.

Duke of York gets a bonus to her evasion, with the presence of two smoke charges. I suggest using these immediately before getting spotted (right before an enemy enters your detection range) to minimise blind-fire. Enemies who see your chonky battleship slow down and smoke up won’t hesitate to hit you anyway, so activate it just before they see you. The smoke can also be used to assist in disengaging from trouble.

Anti-Air:

King George V has very uninspiring AA power. She will not stop or even frighten a CV. Moving on.

Duke of York on the other hand is depicted in her late-war fit, which covered the ship in AA guns. She packs a monstrous AA battery which is plainly visible scattered across her decks. Indeed, her small-caliber AA damage reflects this, dealing 348 damage compared to KGV’s 179.

Unfortunately, Duke of York’s AA is a trap. That high damage sits tantalizingly there, begging you to further boost it with AA equipment. Doing this is a complete waste of time. While DoY’s AA damage is high, most of it is concentrated in the small-caliber mounts. These have a pathetic 1.5km range, meaning enemy squadrons generally spend no more than 3-4 seconds within range before escaping. In addition, DoY does NOT have a DFAA consumable, meaning she cannot double her AA damage temporarily. HMS Hood, another British BB at the tier, does have DFAA 2, making her a better AA ship than Duke of York. If you’re looking for an anti-air battleship, DoY is not a good pick.