Help me understand Warspite's armor

[Carrier_Ikoma]

She's a very nice ship, sometimes giving me games with 2k+ base exp. But there's just one thing... Taking AP salvos hurts. From any angle I care to try. Her armor values don't seem especially low compared to the Fuso and New Mexico (bit better in some areas, bit less in others), so I'm a little unsure exactly what to try.

 

My question, then: Exactly how should I position and angle to maximize my use of Warspite's armor and minimize vulnerability to critical damage? Since simply angling doesn't seem to do much...

 

Or is it just poorly armored?

[Big_Spud]

Shes heavily armored, but unfortunately uses an incremental armor scheme rather than all-or-nothing.

 

What this means essentially, is that every part of the ship has some measure of protection against HE rounds at close range, which means that AP rounds are less likely to over-penetrate areas like the bow or superstructure.

Although her belt is quite thick (almost as thick as New Mexico's), there are sections of it that are much thinner as they taper towards the front and back. At the top of the belt is a 6 inch thick strake of armor which protects the case-mate guns. This essentially lets just about every ship in the game penetrate you for massive damage if they hit it, because it counts as an AP penetration. Its not uncommon for 8 inch or even 6 inch armed cruisers to hit you for 6-7k salvos if they know to target that spot. At the bottom of the belt, the armor thins out quickly below the waterline, which makes you vulnerable to plunging fire.

 

I've found that the best way to play her is by sticking a little further back than you would with a New Mexico, but closer than a Fuso. At that range you can manage to keep a good angle at the same time as being able to actually dodge most incoming fire from battleships and cruisers with the quick rudder shift time, which helps minimize damage taken from AP and HE salvos. It also gives the added advantage of giving your turrets more time to switch around for sudden threats in different directions.

 

 

TLDR: Angle heavily bow on at about 13-14km. Keep the broadsides hidden until the enemy has fired, and pray that RNG doesn't give him a citpen through your slightly weak frontal bulkhead.

[witcohe]

LittleWhiteMouse's post on the Warspite should give you all the info you need on the Warspite...

 

http://forum.worldofwarships.com/index.php?/topic/59399-premium-ship-review-hms-warspite-20/

 

Check out her posts on the other premium ships too.

[1nv4d3rZ1m]

You have to get close, the deck armor of the Warspite is pretty bad especially around the catapult. Get close and use the belt to bounce things, the best angle is just sharp enough that your rear turrets cant fire, at that angle you should bounce most AP smaller than 16". Use your quick rudder shift to unmask your rear turrets while the enemy is reloading. 

 

But basically get close and angle against same and lower tier BBs, against higher tier BBs you have to use your agility to avoid incoming fire because the armor is not really reliable against 16" guns. 

[10T0nHammer]

You have to get close, the deck armor of the Warspite is pretty bad especially around the catapult. Get close and use the belt to bounce things, the best angle is just sharp enough that your rear turrets cant fire, at that angle you should bounce most AP smaller than 16". Use your quick rudder shift to unmask your rear turrets while the enemy is reloading. 

 

But basically get close and angle against same and lower tier BBs, against higher tier BBs you have to use your agility to avoid incoming fire because the armor is not really reliable against 16" guns. 

 

^^

 

Warspite armor will reliably bounce 14in shells as long as you keep the hull angled. Your bow has some decent armor on it and will make enemy BBs life hell. 15 In shells can hurt if they roll the lucky 7 or if they catch you slightly over angled. 16in shells will cut through your armor like if it was CA armor and you have enough of it to keep the shells from over penetrating.

[Carrier_Ikoma]

TLDR: Angle heavily bow on at about 13-14km. Keep the broadsides hidden until the enemy has fired, and pray that RNG doesn't give him a citpen through your slightly weak frontal bulkhead.

 

I feel like this has happened. And I take it the aft is a lot worse than the bow?

 

And thanks for the detailed answer. Didn't know the deck armor was quite that bad.

 

LittleWhiteMouse's post on the Warspite should give you all the info you need on the Warspite...

 

http://forum.worldofwarships.com/index.php?/topic/59399-premium-ship-review-hms-warspite-20/

 

Check out her posts on the other premium ships too.

 

 

Not only explains the armor in depth but how to maximize the ship in other areas too. Thanks a ton for the link.

 

You have to get close, the deck armor of the Warspite is pretty bad especially around the catapult. Get close and use the belt to bounce things, the best angle is just sharp enough that your rear turrets cant fire, at that angle you should bounce most AP smaller than 16". Use your quick rudder shift to unmask your rear turrets while the enemy is reloading. 

 

But basically get close and angle against same and lower tier BBs, against higher tier BBs you have to use your agility to avoid incoming fire because the armor is not really reliable against 16" guns. 

 

 

^^

 

Warspite armor will reliably bounce 14in shells as long as you keep the hull angled. Your bow has some decent armor on it and will make enemy BBs life hell. 15 In shells can hurt if they roll the lucky 7 or if they catch you slightly over angled. 16in shells will cut through your armor like if it was CA armor and you have enough of it to keep the shells from over penetrating.

 

Seems the general consensus is "just try not to get shot with 16in+ " xD Anyways, thanks for the tips and advice.

 

[10T0nHammer]

Seems the general consensus is "just try not to get shot with 16in+ " xD Anyways, thanks for the tips and advice.

 

Pretty much it lol Vs tier 7-8s can be hell, its smart to stick with allied BBs and have them be meat shields lol Strongest armor in this game is ablative armor made of allied ships

[1nv4d3rZ1m]

Against same tier or lower try and get as close as you can, your belt is strong enough to brawl down fusos and kongos at secondary ranges. Against 16" guns try and stay 12+km so you can dodge the shells and stay near something else that the enemy would rather shoot. Most tier 7+ ships dont consider the Warspite much of a threat but it is perfectly capable of citadeling stuff. 

 

Also buff your heal as much as possible, the warspite has one of the best heals in the game and it even heals more citadel damage. Use it as much as you can. 

[Carrier_Ikoma]

...Can I also just say I much I love this ship?

 

 

 

<3 <3 <3

[aether_tech]

My Warspite keeps getting citadel penetrations from every battleship in the game, when I go nose on at close range.

 

Or just massive damage if i expose my side even a little. Really got to be a painful ship in the last few patches.

[LittleWhiteMouse]

Sixteen inch rifles are the Warspite's bane ... on top of people shooting her from ranges over 14km.

 

A lot of my friends say that I'm weird for always wanting to take my Warspite into Destroyer-laden waters.  I like narrow channels, clustered islands, and spits of headland.  This isn't because I like to kill destroyers (though I do like killing destroyers in my Warspite), it's for protection from other Battleships.  Let's face it: Any Dreadnought of tier 6 or higher can best the Warspite if played competently.  They all hit harder.  And in Battleship duels, all it takes is that one catastrophic hit to turning a winning match into a rout.  You can lose way too many hit points trying to sneak within 8km of an enemy Battleship to finally put the Warspite's armour and secondary batteries to best use.  So instead, I'll try and clear myself out a nice happy nook away from enterprising 14", 15" and 16" rifles.

 

By the time I'm done kicking the snot out of Farraguts and Clevelands, the fight will have matured enough that those big scary Battleships aren't so peachy keen anymore.  And short of eating a torpedo amidships, I can be guaranteed to still have 80% to 95% of all of my HP with several charges of my Repair Party remaining.  And usually I'll have a bunch of little friends that otherwise might not have survived the encounters in the narrows were it not for the Warspite being there to distract and soak up fire (sometimes literally -- ow hot).  This gives those Battleships something else to worry about.  Destroyers that survive until late in the game are a nightmare for BBs and often the perfect distraction while the Warspite is still extracting herself from the narrow channels of wherever she first fought with that 16knot to 23knot top speed of hers when she's wiggling her butt.

 

There's one final reason I like those narrow channels.  There's often a capture point in there.  This is easy XP and money first of all, and second, if you guarantee that your team is holding at least one cap point, well you've made your win that much easier.  And you might just force those big, scary 16" rifle armed Battleships to be dumb enough to close with YOU to dig you out or risk losing the match.

[VonFleet]

Yeah, seemed to be a great ship in Beta. That is why I finally bought it. But I just can't get the damn thing to work. Guns are too damn derpy, armor barely works, and lights like dry cardboard with every shot it seems.

 

I really want to love this ship.

 

I will try playing her more like Mouse mentions above. I have not tried that yet.

[Carrier_Ikoma]

Sixteen inch rifles are the Warspite's bane ... on top of people shooting her from ranges over 14km.

 

A lot of my friends say that I'm weird for always wanting to take my Warspite into Destroyer-laden waters.  I like narrow channels, clustered islands, and spits of headland.  This isn't because I like to kill destroyers (though I do like killing destroyers in my Warspite), it's for protection from other Battleships.  Let's face it: Any Dreadnought of tier 6 or higher can best the Warspite if played competently.  They all hit harder.  And in Battleship duels, all it takes is that one catastrophic hit to turning a winning match into a rout.  You can lose way too many hit points trying to sneak within 8km of an enemy Battleship to finally put the Warspite's armour and secondary batteries to best use.  So instead, I'll try and clear myself out a nice happy nook away from enterprising 14", 15" and 16" rifles.

 

By the time I'm done kicking the snot out of Farraguts and Clevelands, the fight will have matured enough that those big scary Battleships aren't so peachy keen anymore.  And short of eating a torpedo amidships, I can be guaranteed to still have 80% to 95% of all of my HP with several charges of my Repair Party remaining.  And usually I'll have a bunch of little friends that otherwise might not have survived the encounters in the narrows were it not for the Warspite being there to distract and soak up fire (sometimes literally -- ow hot).  This gives those Battleships something else to worry about.  Destroyers that survive until late in the game are a nightmare for BBs and often the perfect distraction while the Warspite is still extracting herself from the narrow channels of wherever she first fought with that 16knot to 23knot top speed of hers when she's wiggling her butt.

 

There's one final reason I like those narrow channels.  There's often a capture point in there.  This is easy XP and money first of all, and second, if you guarantee that your team is holding at least one cap point, well you've made your win that much easier.  And you might just force those big, scary 16" rifle armed Battleships to be dumb enough to close with YOU to dig you out or risk losing the match.

 

My only problem with this is the Warspite's glacial speed. I do go into those channels--Warspite doesn't have too much to fear from DDs-- but often several of my DD and cruiser teammates will have gotten themselves killed just as I'm rounding the bend.

 

Still not a bad way to go just to get those engagement distances down though.

 

And sometimes they are patient enough. Once went with a little DD who did go ahead, but survived, and then we basically wrecked stuff together  ：D

[sharlin648]

I find that the Warspite is oddly vulnerable to 8-inch rounds, sure fire 14-inchers at me all day but 8-inch AP seems to do horrific things.

 

[MrDeaf]

I find that the Warspite is oddly vulnerable to 8-inch rounds, sure fire 14-inchers at me all day but 8-inch AP seems to do horrific things.

 

 

only USN BBs are good at shrugging off <8" AP shells.

 

Warspite will eat a bunch of penetrations from 6" AP

Fuso will eat citadels from 8" AP

[MnemonScarlet]

By the time I'm done kicking the snot out of Farraguts and Clevelands, the fight will have matured enough that those big scary Battleships aren't so peachy keen anymore.  And short of eating a torpedo amidships, I can be guaranteed to still have 80% to 95% of all of my HP with several charges of my Repair Party remaining.  And usually I'll have a bunch of little friends that otherwise might not have survived the encounters in the narrows were it not for the Warspite being there to distract and soak up fire (sometimes literally -- ow hot).  This gives those Battleships something else to worry about.  Destroyers that survive until late in the game are a nightmare for BBs and often the perfect distraction while the Warspite is still extracting herself from the narrow channels of wherever she first fought with that 16knot to 23knot top speed of hers when she's wiggling her butt.

 

It's for this reason that when I see Warspites in games, I try to deal with them quickly. It's pretty bad to be down to less than 30% hp with most of your repairs gone and see some 90% health Warspite show up and start the fight after having sank a bunch of your team. You really want to sink a Warspite before it can leverage that repair party.

[Eisennagel]

I find that the Warspite is oddly vulnerable to 8-inch rounds, sure fire 14-inchers at me all day but 8-inch AP seems to do horrific things.

 

 

Pray you don't meet a Hipper.  

[aether_tech]

 

Pray you don't meet a Hipper.  

 

Been there, been sunk.

 

I put the Hipper as the most dangerous non-CV a Warspite can face up against. AP damage a hipper puts out against the Warspite's deck and command tower is disgustingly high. I don't have the replay anymore, but a few days ago when I was playing a match on Fire Islands, I had a Hipper sitting out at about 15-17 kilomters, and maneuvering hard so that I coulnd't hit him at all. but even my Warspite's maneuverability wasn't enough (just, to slow,) And I was just taking heavy and moderate damage for a few minutes until he sunk me - I couldn't get away. Just a constant barrage of 1k (single shell hits,) up to the 12k! Gota say, the dude knew how to aim. My tower was the bullseye, and he had a +10 Marksmanship Mouse of Supreme Aim or something.

 

Ughh, Hipper.