How To Play KMS Hindenburg In World Of Warships

Table of Contents (Click to Skip):
01:10 - In Game Play Style
06:37 - Stats
10:27 - Modules
177:54 - Battle Start
Battleship Hindenburg is such a fantastic ship and by far my favorite T10 cruiser! She is so consistently strong in basically every measurable area that I'm frequently shocked to see her at the bottom of the T10 Cruiser list with Des Moines. Her AP is exceptionally strong, her HE is good at starting fires thanks to the recent buff to their penetration, she's durable for a cruiser, and with the double rudder upgrades she's actually decently maneuverable. She's not immune to gunfire, but when played at the mid to long ranges she is VERY potent and will reward any player how to use AP and HE effectively with high damage number games, dev strikes, and even the occasional torpedo hits!

[@black07rr]

I know most of these vids no longer pertain, but I’ve been binge watching for the history of the German ships, fixing to build a 1/700th scale Bismarck after I get my new airbrush kit

[@noelwaterman6021]

great vid man. You got some off the best advice in the community , keep it up.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Noel Waterman Thanks for watching and being a part of this channel and thanks for the comment! I definetely plan on continuing to make content so hang out for more!

[@shapiro5000]

Yea - keep it up.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Wilco!

[@travelwell8098]

I'm about half through the Roon and am definitely looking fwd to the Hindenburg. Thanks for the video! It is helpful!

[@shapiro5000]

Great ship - definitely one of my favorite cruisers. I have all cruiser lines maxed except for USN and IJN - I'm at Myoko and Baltimroe but this is one of my favorites. The alpha damage is insane and I can do it all over again in 8.8 seconds (or less with adrenaline rush). It can be made to be good at most roles including AA the only thing it lacks in is killing power against DD's. I'm enjoying this just as much as I'm enjoying the other cruisers but it's much more rewarding than them when someone shows me a broadside :). Damage really can add up fast then.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

I've found that Hindenburg's DD hunting is best with AP, interestingly enough. The HE is nice, but AP at range against broadside and end on targets usually results in decent damage roles. The HE is still quite anemic and that sadly makes killing DD's with it hard. The HE is useful for baiting out DCP's though which can help!

[@shapiro5000]

Yea - Gearing and German destroyers and the like are a bit thicker, you have a good chance of getting real penetrating hits which can ruin their day faster.

[@redtitan75]

Thanks for the video of both Roon and Hindenburg. I am currently midway through Hipper and enjoy it. i also unlocked my first tier 9 cruiser Donskoi and i play her similar to Hinddenburg, mid to long range.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

My experience with the RU Cruisers is a little different, but only because I've not played past Budyonny! :(

[@HAWKSTA24]

I miss your videos bro. You were always clear, concise and informative. Hopefully one day you’ll come back to the WOWs community and make new and updated videos again.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Soon(TM) ;)

[@krenshalld1927]

Just got my Hindenburg this videos is great I did have a few things that took me off guard like over pens on Japan's bb line. Great vid now to figure out my captain skills...

[@Dremtek]

After i saw your german cruiser vids i decided to go on with them. Got stuck at t7 but with that HE buff and the upcoming secondary buff they will be great!

[@jagsdomain203]

Dremtek ahhh the yorck. what can you say about it.... but once you gey past is good times almost to roon. Notser did a sec build, some said it was a joke but with the sec buff could ne worth it. I never find myself thay close. In fact i dont think I ha v e ever fired the torps on my hipper. I have 7 points that nees to spend on tje cap i might put it to that. I have a des that will deffenitly benifit from the sec buff coming.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

The T9 and T10 are fantastic ships for the tier, the T8 is solid too. Yorck is a struggle but once you get past her, the line becomes a treat to play! :)

[@jagsdomain203]

Whiskey's Gaming Lounge Hipper was fun. I just got roon and nor sure how to play her yet. How to get the two aft turrets into the battler is difficult with out getting a cit. but the ap is wonderful

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Staying at a distance with Roon really helps get the rear guns in to play since you can bring them in, shoot, then turn back into the target you are angling to. If you don't it can be really difficult! Up close, you really don't have much of a choice but to angle as best you can. It doesn't always work! :( If you haven't seen it already, I have a Roon video out too! :)

[@Dremtek]

made it ro hipper and now the fun is comin back online! ;)

[@stevesmith6385]

Nice video. Thanks for posting.

[@AntonxxxGorodetsky]

Thanks for the vid, i am hype for this ship

[@admiralnimitz9844]

Brawl Minotaur >Hindenburg How dare you say that sir, I eat Minotaur for breakfast! Also I have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to the guns being fragile. I have only lost one of my guns once in all my battles in her. Finally I find that rate of fire is much better then range, because of that rate of fire the Hindenburg holds my highest damage game. All in all great video and keep up the great work.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

To each their own. I personally find Hindenburg too battleship like in her maneuverability to work in a true brawl and a well played minotaur will murder a hindenburg. Either when played poorly will definitely struggle to beat the other. That said, I run double rudders and think she's not maneuverable enough! :P Minotaur is like a DD, with 16 torpedoes and 10 very painful and fast firing 6" guns :P Hard to "handle that" in a ship like Hindenburg!

[@RPGTKingpin]

I have to agree with this comment. Hindenburg is *the* best brawling cruiser in the game IMO. I have singlehandedly brawled two Minotaurs at once and sunk both, and gone on to badly damage a close range Missouri before being sunk. And I'm not even a good player. Hindenburg with a reload module is monstrously powerful. I have managed to brawl DMs to death on multiple occasions. And as for battleships, it's basically common knowledge that, of everything in the game, Hindenburg is the one thing you should never, ever, ever brawl. Unless you're a Yamato and can citadel her through the front, you're not gonna be able to win that fight without support. She will close the distance, she will flank you, and she will torp you to death all as your shells bounce off her. Additionally, considering Whiskey's commentary on the risk of destroyers, Hindenburg is a wonderful DD hunter when built for it. I use a combination of spotter plane, hydro and vigilance. Coupled with Expert Loader and priority target to predict torp strikes between your spotter and hydro, you become a nightmare for DDs. Additionally, the spotter plane makes you terrifying to RN cruisers and smoke-firing ships in general. Every time a Mino smokes up in a game against a Hindenburg, that's a roll of the dice against getting dev-struck when the Hinden pops its spotter plane to guess where it's positioned. So yeah, I think Whiskey's commentary mentions weaknesses localised around his specific build, rather than the Hindenburg herself. That is the beauty of this ship: She's an incredibly versatile swiss army knife of a cruiser. I'd daresay she's less a cruiser and more of a battlecruiser.

[@VitaliaRules4Ever]

thx for your time. My first Tier 10. :)

[@ollefevre]

You absolutely don't need any buff on turret traverse speed. I run Hindenburg with the reload module and only adrenaline rush at T2 captain skill and guns stay on target at any time. When i get the last 2 skill points, i'll use them on an endurance skill to make that ship even more tanky. I really, but really don't get it with that range module you're using. I mean, 17.8km is really enough for a cruiser imo. I used to use the spotting aircraft but i was using it once in a game at start and that was all so i changed for the fighter plane. You say it's a long to mid range cruiser, which i'm not sure about, and what you do is going in the middle of the map and you're not shooting at anything further than 17.8km away. And you're using what i think are close range mods and skill like rudder mods and turret traverse speed skill along with the range mod. if you're getting closer to target, you'll need to turn your ship and your turrets faster to dodge shell and maintaining fire on target. So for me this range module is a total waste and should be replace with the reload mod to enhance your DPS at close to mid range.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

There are a couple of times in which having EM on Hindenburg has saved my bacon more than I can count. You'd think that a second or two faster on the target wouldn't mean much, but it can be the difference between several salvo's on a perfectly broadside target, or only catching them angled. And yes, double rudder at range is extremely useful because it allows you to dodge incoming fire of enemy battleships you may be harassing. Same with the range module. It's extremely useful at the early game and at the late game when you might be low on HP, out of heals, or have the damage control party on cooldown. To each their own. Generally speaking, the "caveat" to my How to Play videos is that my way is just ONE way to set up the ship to play. I'm pretty successful in the ship as she is my second best T10 (shimakaze being best by WTR anyway) and she out damages all but Yamato by rather large margins and only loses to Yamato by a scant 1k average damage. My way works for me, your way works for you! No reason we can't enjoy the strengths and weaknesses of the ship together! :)

[@ollefevre]

yes, of course it works for each of us, we're just exchanging point of you as you asked for in your video :). For me it's just like the minotaur, turret turn so fast, you don't need EM. How do you know EM saved your life? i mean how do you know your turret wouldn't have follow the target without it? You can only know that without it you wouldn't have the guns on point, right? And for the rest, i'm still not convinced and i'll leave it to each other's playstyle.

[@CP-fz4sr]

Olivier Lefevre I kinda agree. Range module doesn't work for me either. I tried it and didn't do well with it. But to each their own. If it works for him why not. The range plane didn't work for me either. I picked up the regular one and got the commander skill to have 2 planes up at the same time. Im able to tank around with BBs quite well with my Hindy and do 10k damage every 8s if they are broadside.

[@Ganderco]

It makes sense to me that if a player has a high hit rate at long range, he will find the range module useful. For me, I don't have the aiming accuracy to use range over 17 - 18k or so. But if I could hit ships at long range as well as I do at mid range, then yes, I might like it. This is why individual play-style is one of the most important factors concerning who likes what ships and features. This is only my own opinion, I may change my views as I get better and learn more.

[@suryia6706]

Great Video. I'm almost tempted to go back into the hell that is called "CRUISERS". Please do Japanese Cruisers next. TY

[@jagsdomain203]

Suryia I only plau cruiser amd cv. i suck at dd and cant stand sitting waiting for 30 sec for a reload or the 1 mon for turrets to turn.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Battleship Hindenburg is best Battleship. Conveniently disguised as cruiser to fool capitalist and socialist pigs! :)

[@Jaystarzgaming]

The Hindenberg was a I am sorry it was meant to be a Zeppelin why did they shove in a battle ship.

[@uriensthe_gray1220]

It blures the line between Battleship and Cruiser. A true Battlecruiser :-) or sould we say battleshipcruiser :-D Noticed that russian Designers seem to LOVE the spheric "Schrapnellschutz" (shrapnel protection) on the range finders. Even the SMS Kaiser gets them, dispite the fact that only Tirpitz had them in real life.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

I suppose we can call her a Battlecruiser! ;) She kind of lacks the gun size of a true battlecruiser or the armor of a battleship, but hey, she hits hard and fast like one! :) By far my favorite T10 cruiser and she outperforms my T10 BB's easily!

[@christianjohnson9190]

I wish we can be able to control the anchors on the ships so that you can be able to dodge torps or other things

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

+WOW OP given how easy torps are to dodge by just manuevering normally I'm not sure we need it!

[@alvendetti4600]

what aiming system are you using..crosshair and how to aim..

[@dervvy]

Hindenburg, your AA umbrella.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Battleship Hindenburg is best AA screen! :)

[@uriensthe_gray1220]

Some explanations about the choosen commander skills would have been nice.

[@suryia6706]

Suggest you see his first video on the German cruiser playlist. He really covers the subject well there. Hope this helps. Cheers

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Suryia has it. Because of how complicated commander skills are and the already long length of these videos, I break the commander skill discussion off into it's own video to keep time down on these videos!

[@TheGuardianofAzarath]

I'm still grinding the Nernburg, ugh...I just wish you had an option to use credits to buy the prem camo for high tier ships, I have no deblouns, and i'm under orders not to spend any more cash on this game, i tend to go overboard when i do. I still need to get the kurfurst's camo....

[@jagsdomain203]

TheGuardianofAzarath I hear you about not being under orders to not spend money. look at it this way how many shops can you play anyway? I want to het the indi but just keep saying to myself i jave enough ships! I thought thay anout the nur till i was out of her. I have been playing her in ranked and have several 100K games. I just sit at max range amd rain down he. take ap when i can but the gun will hit at max. so just stand back and hold down the mouse button:) You have torps but dont bother you wont survive long enough at that range to use them.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

LOL! Hindenburg is my only T10 with permanent camo although Shimakaze is pretty close to getting it since she's my favorite T10 DD currently. Right now though, no plans beyond that! :) I hear ya on spending on this game! If it wasn't for this channel, I probably would have stopped playing a long time ago! This channel makes it worth playing more!

[@Conflict125]

I have a dilemma now :D I cannot decide which t10 cruiser should I make :D I consider making Moskva, Henri and now Hindi. They all have similar play style which is one that I like. Maybe I will make all of them haha. I'm closest to Henri tho.

[@shapiro5000]

Conflict125 having all 3 with a maxed out commander - I can say they are all strong but it really comes down to what stats are most important to you in your play style. Think about what you do and which tool will be the best for you. I think I average the most damage in Henri IV but probably have the lowest impact since it's all cheap damage to battleships with he fires. In Moskva and Hindenburg I find myself obliterating the enemy cruisers (and destroyers in Moskva with radar and lethal HE) and feel that my damage contribution means more. Moskva has true rail guns but is missing a turret compared to Hindenburg to compensate. It gets radar and angled it can truly tank in the right circumstances with a chance to bounce any hit from anything at the right angles. Also to note, in some conditions it CAN citadel battleships but usually best not to try. Hindenburg has 12 guns, a great AA suite (all long range which is amazing for fleet escort) and is really only lacking radar for utility. I've one shot a Neptune before - quite satisfying!

[@Conflict125]

Thanks for answer! It was really helpful

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

I agree with Jeff, of them, I think Hindenburg is more well rounded, or at least less specialized. That makes her far more entertaining to play as you can play her however best suits your play style. One of these days I'll get to Henri and Mosvka, but it'll be a while!

[@shapiro5000]

Moskva in some ways earns the battleship title like Hindenburg. It's ballistics are on a different level but it doesn't have 12 guns or Hindenburg's rate of fire. Based on why you like Hindenburg, I think you'd like Moskva.

[@ineverexist666]

HE penetration is calculated guncaliber devided by 6, in german BB and Cruiser case its devided by 4. german 150s have 37,5mm pen and 203s have 50,75mm pen. they dont need APHE skill from the Captain you get no benefit out of it in the german Cruisers.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Indeed

[@fnglert]

Fire start chance is the same whether you shatter or pen with HE.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

I'm still not convinced this is 100% accurate, but this has been discussed before on this channel, but not before this video. That said, this video is post "Annotationpocalypse" on YT so I can't annotate the video with the correction without reuploading the video! =O

[@fnglert]

I tested it with a Z46, several hundred shells into New Mexicos in test rooms, shatter or pen doesn't matter. Made a thread about it on na forum, /topic/122057-lerts-fire-test-penetrations-vs-non/ o7 on the annotation thing.

[@GentlistUncle]

this is what the industry calls a "slaughter."

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Yeah it definitely was. Lots of broadsiding cruisers = lots of dead cruisers! Hindenburg delivers punishment every 8-10 seconds! :)

[@jagsdomain203]

I am 100k xp from her. I amazed myself I did 70k xp in just a few battles with roon and getting close. Cant wait

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

You will love her when you get to her! She's truly a special ship!

[@carstenhansen5757]

Stalingrad took over for the Hindi.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

That makes me sad, but not unsurprising given WG's reputation.

[@rodrigoramirop]

I play the hindenburg a lot and I really don't quite understand the skills you took. You basically made the ship a jack of all trades. The steering wheel, ok, I'm not going to say anything about that since its a personal choice. But why the dispersion module? You should have specced AA instead. The accurancy on this ship is amazing as it is. By taking the AA spec, we can have the same radius as the Des Moines, 7.2km. If you combine this with the 100% skill captain and Defensive fire, you MELT planes. But ok, let's assume you are not a AA guy, since theres not too many CVs in t10 matches. Why take defensive fire over Hydro?? If you are not taking 20% AA radius, theres no point taking defensive fire. No point. And why taking the captain skill for stealth if you are not going to use the stealth module to combine and play agressive (as this cruiser should be played)? I mean... should have gone for other skills in that case. You are doing good, but you could be doing great.

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Yes, I leveled out the ship's weaknesses while buffing some of the strengths. The Dispersion module helps the ship at longer ranges where the ship is, in my opinion, most comfortable. Having run the reload module and stealth module, this ship is a friggen barge that is frustrating as heck to play. I hated the play style. This is far more comfortable for me to play. As for AA module and taking DF... yes the AA is great on Hindenburg, but she will never out AA a Des Moines. The Des Moines' AA bubble is 7.2KM for both the 5"/38's AND the 3"/50's which comprise 90% of her AA. That AA DPS WITH DF is MASSIVE, no other ship will touch it until Worcester comes out in the USN line split (because it has the same number of 3"/50's while adding in 6"/47's to replace the 5"/38's). Even with it, taking AA range over accuracy in a tier that sees a CV every tenth battle or so is basically a waste of an upgrade slot. If Hindenburg was sitting at T7 (ignoring the obvious balance issue), then the AA module would be a welcomed upgrade over the accuracy module for a number of reasons. Concealment and taking double rudders. The concealment expert captain skill does not make the ship a "stealth build" any more than taking AFT makes the ship a secondary build or an AA build. The concealment expert captain skill DOES allow this ship to not be seen from space compared to other ships (mostly battleships) which helps it stay alive, but it also allows the ship to stealth up, if necessary, quite easily. Without it, the ship gets seen at further distances than most T10 BB's do, which is bad. As for why the double rudder instead of concealment module then, because the ship's handling is terrible without double rudders. I found myself constantly eating citadels and growing frustrated with it. At longer ranges you can flat out avoid the damage entirely with double rudders instead of eating a citadel or three. It's the way I prefer playing this ship. If it doesn't work for you, then you obviously can enjoy the ship in a much different way than I can. I found the full concealment build to be a massive hindrance to the ship's potential and could never get it to work. Controlled aggression is always key in a cruiser, Hindy is no different. Nothing is stopping me from the occasional romp at close quarters with this build (and actually, this ship works better at closer ranges as a result of the faster turrets and rudder shift time). To each their own! :) The joys of this game is that more focused builds can be achieved if you want, but you will give up a lot of something else to get it, or you can take a generalist build like I do and have consistently good results! :)

[@rohilkapur3571]

Hey Can u please do the french cruisers next

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Unfortunately I am going to be doing Russian DD's and IJN Cruisers next! :( We'll get to French cruisers some day, I promise!

[@rohilkapur3571]

ok IJN cruisers are great can't wait for Zao!

[@PanzerWaffle]

yeah my fav bb :v

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

Is best BB! Because Balans Tovarisch! :D

[@PanzerWaffle]

:D hahaha

[@TheNeckoman]

What is this ship ??????? :O :O :O

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

A Battleship classified as a Cruiser, with 8" guns! :P I'm kidding, shes definitely a heavy cruiser, but she packs a wallop like a battleship does in game! :)

[@Div303]

Ohh my ohh my LMAO!!!

[@dervvy]

If you can't say cruiser then just say battlecruiser lol

[@Whiskey11Gaming]

But it's not a battlecruiser because it doesn't have battleship guns? :P

[@dervvy]

@@Whiskey11Gaming but it looks like it has lol