World of Warships Blitz - new US battleship branch & USS Kansas review

Since we're getting three new ships in the tech tree, I'm expanding the review a bit to cover more details (sorry if it got a bit long in return, table of contents below for skipping).
0:00 Smoke shenanigans
0:55 Intro
1:41 Tech tree branch
2:58 History
3:57 Comparisons
9:42 Ship skills
10:33 Modules
13:35 Captain skills
15:19 Tiers 9 and 10
16:10 Camo and Honours
18:08 Haunted Seas / Domination
26:13 Southern Archipelago / Domination
34:05 Conclusion

[@parkerwicker]

Mmmm. Tasty snack for my Harugumo

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

large HP pool, burns reasonably easily. What's not to like.

[@imashovel2747]

Cruisers: shows broadside to one of these Cruisers a few moments later: oh, im dead

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

to be fair, that Belfast would have been dead halfway through if I was in a Hipper or Wichita. 29s reload is noticeable.

[@scottlongmore7114]

@@FunandGameswithTerry true

[@viciousgrin9044]

hence we have these now, we should get the french destroyers soon to even out the weight. 56 knots sounds proper tasty

[@sherwindavesandrino6026]

Cant wait

[@jcwoodman5285]

Man that 29 sec reload is appalling...

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

It is very noticeable. You sit there, taking two salvos from a regular USN BB, French or Roma, while watching the clock tick down. Then you get three hits for 3k dmg. Not for me... but I appreciate the very different setup and style.

[@tobythomas1830]

Yup , I totally agree only 14 salvos tops per battle. With lackluster caliber an not to mention crappy range. Hopefully it’s a horrible stepping stone to a awesome ship lol

[@whyyoumadbro2370]

Can’t wait when I encounter them! More food for my Akatsuki.

[@aerynhellscythe3145]

Wanted to grind the original us BB line but stopped at t6!! What a floating bricks I can't imagine players went through to get to North Carolina!

[@scottlongmore7114]

pain i did

[@Scorpion-rp5sx]

Nice review…. Thank you

[@adityarai4764]

Love your commentary mid game!

[@hattrick8684]

The cruiser one always gets me. I have a hard time killing cruisers. I either don’t see them in the match, they aren’t any in the match or only 1, when I do get my sights on one someone else gets the final blow. It takes me forever to do cruiser challenges. When I get cruiser missions I go to tier I-III to complete them.

[@explorationandhistorywithethan]

Ah yes, an oversized West Virginia.

[@markkelly7654]

when u said dont stand still in smoke broadside.. what a noob in a belfast..i never sit still in my belfast in smoke...

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

You'd be surprised how much I see that, even in top tiers.

[@mooref2p674]

I only take the extra precise aim because I have Dewey… I have 5-6 precise aims…

[@dudditz]

Please always choose Closequarter expert skill it helps a lot 😊 The t8 will replace north caro in a skirmish role, better accuracy better aa tanky.. looks in this regards even better then alabama For randoms in platoon its still dope..wont surpass roma/ Richelieu in dmg terms.. the reload is meh..hope they dont screw up this line like they did with russian bb and the uk cruiser T10 we will see.. didnt yet buy camo for monti so if its better im happy 😃 Apcs on those ships, when you ‚kite‘ from alabama you lead shots too much, the citadel was more center

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Yeah, the gun ballistics take some getting used to. The key to those ships is positioning, and going up against DDs is a daunting task, since you can't run, and can't do an emergency HE switch like you could on the other line with a rapid reload. Best you can do is take it on the chin, and hope the torp defence and HP pool hold.

[@PR-xm1gi]

Are they better than the nor carrie, the Iowa and the Montana?

[@rickmulder1853]

So basically it’s another unnecessary bb line. Terrible speed and reload really seems to make this line useless

[@briangregg8581]

It looks very cool though. I would assign it to amphibious shore bombardment.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Absolutely, they look bulky af

[@zacklp3844]

@@FunandGameswithTerry 16 inch Canon on the Atlantik Wall

[@hansenkho3835]

Moral of the opening, some of those smokers are either noob or an idiot..lol Anyway Terry, how much xp it need to unlock this new BB?

[@David-qp9bq]

Looks like a slightly underwealming ship. I saved 160k xp on fat Colorado tho so I'll try it anyway

[@glencropley4431]

Hey Terry do you know when or if the Italian battleship line will come out ? World of warships has them all ready thanks

[@deltawarshipdelta8565]

In general wows Blitz will ad a new line that has been released on pc a couple of months later ( it also can be a year ) but the line will for sure come in blitz as every line so far that has been added. + I think that the next line that could be expected would be the French DD line

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

I don't think there's necessarily an alignment between PC and Blitz, but in general, I'll expect everything to show up here eventually. Just realised that means we'll get German CVs... which means I actually have to git gud 🤣

[@RNLittorio]

I simply cannot see any advantages of kansas compared to the NC... perhaps a larger hp pool and more guns?

[@stevenmoore4612]

My oh my these things are mega thicc! They are definitely ships I will not be playing, since like you I hate slow ships especially at this tier. I don’t like long Range sniping and being constantly HE spammed and harassed by pesky destroyers like what I went through in the Colorado which was a nightmare grind. The only upsides I can see with these is their long range guns with good accuracy, but the reload time is absolutely abysmal. Also the standard with American battleships is the great anti air defenses that seem pretty good on this ship. Other than that though that’s about it. These are pretty much the complete opposite to my kind of play style. But maybe I’ll try out Kansas for the hell of it.

[@nitsu2947]

The only one i loved out of all was the New Mex, that's because she had a comically fast rudder time. Possible 10 to 9 seconds with upgrades

[@stevenmoore4612]

Well at tier VI all the battleships pretty much have the same speed so New Mexico is pretty good, but at tier VII Colorado struggles since all the other battleships at tier VII are getting faster and more maneuverable like the Gneisenau, George V, Nagato, Sinop, and in the future the Italian tier VII Francesco Caraciolo is also pretty fast and maneuverable as well. Colorado is simply falling behind at tier VII.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

The key in this thing is positioning. Colorado is a shotgun with weak deck plating, but monster belt armour, so she works best at midrange. This thing can utilise range, so the lack of speed isn't that huge of a factor anymore, if you build her for max range and position smartly around central spots.

[@michaelkovacic2608]

I sure as hell won't be driving these, I'm really happy with destroyers. Btw, Terry whats your opinion on the Belfast in the current meta, I have thought about getting her from the shipyard. And can we please get a Haida review? I would be especially interested in this ship since I could use it as a commander trainer, but getting a commander up to elite is a commitment of several hundred battles, so I want to know what I pay for :)

[@davidjoslin3829]

Belfast is a great crusier. One of the best and my favorite. Great dd hunter. Just have to be mindful about getting rushed by dds since you don't have torps as a deterrent. AP is great at wrecking them. You won't be disappointed with it

[@michaelkovacic2608]

@@davidjoslin3829 hey man, thanks for the response, can you tell me how potent the HE is against battleships? I love the RN light cruiser line, especially Minotaur, but your only means of dealing with BBs are torps or close-range AP on bow or stern, neither of which is optimal. Can the fire starting capability and raw damage compete with Russian or US light cruisers? Because if so, Belfast would essentialy be a threat at all ranges, unlike the tech tree.

[@TheSoulfire73]

Belfast is still strong. I run the legendary commander with the mist weaver+. HE is still annoying to the enemy ships.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

I haven't played Belfast much - she's unusual for a RN CL in that she can use HE, and doesn't have torps. Radar / Sonar / Smoke is a potent combo, good utility against DDs and you can deal with BBs either by kiting, or by using your smoke screens (just don't sit still in them). I think the only other T7 ship with a radar is the Indianapolis. The guns are very similar to Brooklyn's in terms of damage and fire chance, would have to check with ballistics, probably more direct. Shchors is still a strong competition imo, with 6% fire chance instead of 4, and DD-rush-defence-torps, but less versatile. I'd see Belfast as a great all-rounder.

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

I just recently got Belfast, and so far its worked better than expected. As a fan of US light cruisers I was happilly suprised, and expect she might be in my top 10 favs...

[@JRowan]

@terry how much difference would having Dewey as your captain make for the Kansas and the rest of this line?

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

So many things to talk about, so little time... looking at Dewey's skills, he gets: * better torpedo detection (useful) * better AA defence expert (very useful) * improved precise aiming (+2 charges, meaning you must take survivalist - extremely useful) * improved extinguisher & compartment (yes, extinguisher is a must on these IMO) * horizontal protection expert (more tankies, with still more improved fire protection, means you could ditch the fire protection mod in slot 2) All in all, I'd say Dewey is custom-made for the new line, and a very powerful improvement.

[@JRowan]

@@FunandGameswithTerry thanks Terry, I got lucky and got him in a crate and was pretty excited to see the things that really make this line more fun to play. Great tips!

[@stevfredyt6155]

When’s the release date?

[@HighlanderNorth1]

I foresee a reload buff coming up a month or 3 after the Kansas is released. A 29sec reload is not going to sit well with my significant impatience.

[@wheels-n-tires1846]

Right??? You can go get a coffee refill and a donut while youre waiting!!!😲🤣

[@mobile_plays2853]

I don't think they're going to buff it's reload

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Yeah, same. It's kind of their thing - you have to learn to make them count. You can definitely do 100k dmg, with some help from the event team

[@shp27493]

You get only 14 salvos the whole game and if you sit back you’ll hit very little of what you shoot.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

@@shp27493 Yeah, and there's always going to be those games where your teammates are able to stomp the enemy team so quickly that by the time you get there, you're only able to get off a handful of salvoes before the game is over! Or, your teammates delete the enemy ships on A or C base so quickly that you are barely able to reach the action and get off maybe 1 salvo, before everyone is relocating across to the other side of the map to help out there. But you can't keep up with the action. That's what I disliked about the tier 3-7 American battleships from the get-go, and why I grinded literally every other BB line to tier 7, 8 or 9, before I grinded the American BB line past tier 4! The downside to that, was that I was learning battleship play on the much less forgiving French and Japanese lines, which were easier to get into trouble with, due to their superior speed and inferior armor!

[@tajp917]

I really don’t think that line split was necessary, German BBs are food enough for all of us

[@driller7714]

Would love to see some more French BB vids.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

There will be. Have to do something else besides BBs as well though :)

[@MrJinx5721]

I didn’t know the West Virginia could be faster than anything🧐. Kansas is super vulnerable at close range bc a WV’s guns can punch through the deck. Now if the Kansas has a Bismarck next to it the WV is screwed . I know this bc I have been in the scenario as the WV😂

[@sweet_stranger114]

Lol. There is no chance of west virginia in front of kansas. Even at close range. Wth you are talking about?

[@MrJinx5721]

@@sweet_stranger114 I have played West Virginia for a while and those guns punch through easily, the secondaries also do very well if aimed correctly. I should have mentioned that Kansas has poor penetration on belt armor and that most players who use it are used to NC’s guns which punch through everything. Kansas also has a significantly longer reload which gives Virginia a shooting advantage 2:4.

[@no_wongheihere]

what did u use to play? HD wowsb 🧐

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

I'm playing on an Asus ROG 3, 60fps, max graphics. Recording & upload in 2340x1080

[@deltawarshipdelta8565]

To bad you can’t dev strike the Belfast at the beginning that would have made him learn his lesson. Extra thick battleships for torp and fire spam we will see how this turns out

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

I'm going with Jingles' approach here. If someone does something stupid, doesn't mean they're stupid, they might just have started playing, be a kid etc. Doesn't mean we can't have a laugh, though.

[@kevinli750]

That dashed "L" is pronounced like a "w", and the "w" is actually a "v". So it is pronounced more like bWyskaVicha.

[@anaveragepotato.]

Tell us Terry... Does Russian BB's makes sense now?

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

At least the new USN BBs have lots of guns :)

[@hattrick8684]

16/l45 is Mark 6, Mark 7 is 50 calibre. 45 calibre is Mark 6. That bothers me. The “Gneisenau class” also really bothers me. There’s no Gneisenau class, only Scharnehorst. Also the Minnesota should have the 127mm/L54 not the 127mm/38.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

I tend to spend a lot of time researching naval guns in particular, and yeah, irks be as well. That said, Kansas is basically from an alternate history, where the naval treaty didn't happen, the South Dakotas didn't get scrapped and survived into WW2, so I'm somewhat prepared for suspension of disbelief.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

And don't get me started on the woefully underpowered secondaries on Massachusetts.

[@tobythomas1830]

I’ve been so disappointed with the new ships. Maybe it’s my expectations. Same with the Florida WG straight up nerfed there guns from the New Mexico. And I really don’t see the point , it’s not as if it would just be OP. I absolutely love my New Mexico with lvl12 captain. And I was hoping for this branch to be like the NM. The NM moves like a 🐌 but it has strong guns , obviously reloads faster then the Kansas an has a RR. The Kansas has so many Cons versus the pros I don’t see it being anyone’s favorite. I don’t mind slow ships, I don’t mind the more guns lower caliber, I don’t mind lowering the crit chance . But all of them on one ship is ridiculous. You can’t go into a battle in a BB an your strongest strengths are AA cover an being able to spunge up torps like a boss. I guess I’m not seeing the trade offs for all the cons they put on this ship. I really want to like it but WG needs to change something. Either reduce the reload time or give it more damage or more of a crit chance. Sorry for the bickering, awesome review an analysis of the ship as always .

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

I'm having a hard time to come to terms with the new BB line myself. I played some test games in Vermont yesterday, and I'm just sitting there, in a line with other BBs, lobbing a salvo across the map twice a minute. Honestly felt like a battle line from the age of sail :) But there are probably people out there who enjoy this kind of playstyle, and after the disappointing Russian BBs, having an alternative to Yamato isn't a bad thing. For everyone else, big fire damage pinata :)

[@tobythomas1830]

@@FunandGameswithTerry ok so after I have a few battles with her . She not that bad other then the long reload. I’ve had some really good game with her. I still think they need to modify her some how. Either reduce the reload time or buff the damage . Idk rather then another mediocre T8 they could of made a contender with the Richi, Roma, and the Odin.

[@malithvibushitha9722]

Now we all know west Virginia going to f yea

[@briansupermag3918]

I guess im going to skip. My ROMA N Richy have me covered

[@thamizhansurya8519]

This reload time makes me skip 20 seconds of the video🤣🤣

[@SilentGamin102]

Kansas = 406mm, 127mm, a lot of aa guns Minnesota = 406mm, 127mm, a lot of aa guns Vermont = 457mm, 127mm, a lot of aa guns Pretty similar from VIII - IX , but heck they're slow but pack a punch

[@mocha8ar]

You are not comfort with this ship. It can be seen when we (suprisingly) at same team using this ship at match. 😁

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Not my favourite kind of ship. I prefer something faster, more dynamic :)

[@mocha8ar]

@@FunandGameswithTerry agree, even ultranoob player like me would be difficult to use this ship

[@scottlongmore7114]

wow record breaking 29 second reload and goes 22knts 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥oooooooooooooooooooooooooooof and i don't like slow ships either

[@scottlongmore7114]

and German invasion or Japanese wtf impractical

[@ksc4622]

So there are 2 us bb branch: fast battleships and faaat battleships Glad they didn't actually build any of these.. sore to the eyes

[@Michu3187]

May you share a quarter of the gold and silver you have 🤪

[@shp27493]

14 salvos in the whole battle. No, thanks.