World of Warships Blitz - Terry & Ergot - German premium cruiser "Graf Spee" review

A lot of you have been asking for this one, and huge thanks to Ergot for joining me on this one (it's one of his favourite ships, too).
AnsiaOrchestra - Epic Battle Theme
audiojungle.ne...
Used with license

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Sorry for the weird audio issues. My microphone has crapped out, I've ordered a new one, should arrive second week of January, and we'll hopefully have some better sound going.

[@lebkuchenmann7663]

3 things: 1. I would rather call it a smaller Scharnhorst than Gneisenau because of the same guns 2. It doesnt only have strong guns for tier 6 but also tier 10 (cruisers). In fact it has the biggest cruiser guns in the game (in case anyone didnt know) 3. Thanks very much for the video i've been thinking about getting her for a long time Nice vid :)

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Good point, hadn't thought of the Scharni having the 280s the Gneisenau had originally, and the 380 version was planned, but never carried out (only that that's what we get in-game). I have yet to get my hands on Scharnhorst (it will happen). She only has the biggest cruiser guns because WG classified a pocket battleship as a cruiser, and a battlecruiser (Hood) as a battleship :D I've been having her on my list for a while as well, now I wish I had gotten her sooner :)

[@lebkuchenmann7663]

Oh yeah youre right i forgot about the thing with Gneisenau.. just said it because its like that ingame but i think it doesnt matter at all

[@mr.onbekend7959]

New azuma cruiser has bigger caliber

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

ah, good point. Since we're talking about that one, does anyone have a clue why she'd be "the bane of all destroyers", or however WG put it in the promotional poster? I mean that thing is basically a battlecruiser, with terrible secondaries, AFAIR, and no torps?

[@mr.onbekend7959]

@@FunandGameswithTerry nu clue at all. She would be more the fear of every cruiser. Looks like a cruiserkiller to me

[@excelsior1018]

Thank you for the timely video. I got Sharnhorst and A. Graf Spee today, and I was totally unsure of how to play this oddball.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

She doesn't have the greatest armour, but packs a decent punch, and has a good health pool. I like playing her at least at secondaries range. Like Ergot said, though, she's still a cruiser, and not made to withstand 356mm AP.

[@alexanderrahl482]

How did I inadvertently join my favorite wowsb KZbinrs fleet lmao. Great video- Eisenhertz

[@asa0046]

thank you mate, thanks to your review, now I become more confidence and know what should do and what shouldn't I do, my battle effectiveness (A.K.A WR) on this ship increase, again thank you

[@chrisdraughn5941]

There is a steep learning curve with the torpedoes on this ship. If you’re used to playing destroyers, this ship will feel very cumbersome to maneuver.

[@r3blxexxx583]

Thanks for the review. This one was really needed cause you can’t find much. I like this ship and wondered why it has such bad reputation. If played correctly it’s one of a few cruisers that can seriously fight BBs. Btw I find the guns relatively accurate over a distance compared to other German Bigger Caliber guns.

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Yeah, don't get me started on the Freddy's dispersion :) I think she's got a bad rep for the same reason the Gneisenau does - she's not immediately intuitive to play. Fast, but not super manoeuvrable, slow reload on the mains, and the three-step weapons layout gets you out of the binocular view when you rotate over the torps, so it takes a certain amount of practice. I've seen people playing her who ignored her secondaries, tried to fend off DDs with AP on the mains, and got frustrated. Which is understandable, when you come from a traditional torpedo cruiser layout, which is what you mostly get in tiers 5 and 6. But totally agree, if you know how to play her, she's got a mean punch. I've brawled a Bayern in her and come out on top :)

[@DailyGenshinRex]

Cruiser.......wait a minute. Doesn't the Graf Spee have the same caliber guns that the schonhorst

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Yes, 283mm if I'm not mistaken. The Deutschland class was one of the reasons the French came up with the Dunkerque class of fast battle... ships/cruisers

[@DailyGenshinRex]

@@FunandGameswithTerry I feel like wowsb needs to add a spot in the tech tree for battle cruisers or cruisers that have battleship caliber guns

[@mihir1700]

The Azuma tier 9 is the best pocket battleship ever

[@DailyGenshinRex]

@@mihir1700 the Azuma is literally a mini Yamato

[@mihir1700]

@@DailyGenshinRex I faced one I was a Tier 10 German Battleship it took me out quick

[@Sniper1234YT]

The main guns sure do pack a punch

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

they do, and they seem to be oddly effective against e.g. the Nürnberg - I've had salvos where most hits were citadels. Guess she's so thinly armoured that things like the 356mm shells would overpen? But don't forget the secondaries - even though it's a relatively small number of guns, they can fire rapidly, and do decent amounts of damage.

[@howabouteverything]

Thanks for the breakdown Terry!

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Welcome :)

[@kardy12]

Funny you should mention the torpedos being better to use from the stern - on my Scharnhorst I tend to use the torpedos particularly effectively when moving away from battleships chasing me - even if I can only use my rear turret while weaving from side to side the torpedos compensate for it and I can toggle between full and half speed to keep at a decent distance which is harder to do when reversing (ironically sank a Gneisenau chasing me with that tactic just a few days ago). When the Graf Spee comes on sale again I might get it as the Scharnhorst is my favourite ship to play at the moment - the same guns in a cruiser a tier lower where the Bayern is a slow hulk sounds interesting. [edit] Well, it came on sale again, and it’s fast become one of my favourites along the Scharnhorst. Maximised turret rotation and traverse acceleration, and it is quite manoeuvrable for a heavy cruiser.

[@Gozar111]

Love the battles. Still not convinced about the Graf. I have very hit and miss battles with her. Will play her more often as she does have a steep learning curve!

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

if you've ever played the Gneisenau, I find her to be rather similar (as in, toned down) - she's a fast, aggressive ship that works best at close to midrange (7km and under), but not super tanky. Her mains are too high calibre for AP to work against DDs, so you've got to switch or rely on secondaries. You'll be challenged to reliably pen BBs with the 280s, try aiming more at bow / stern where the armour is thinner, or superstructure, they might work better there. Torp angles aren't bad, but one of the main learning points is how to utilise the "three armaments" switch effectively. Basically, don't sit on your mains and wait for them to reload - keep your reload timers in mind, so you can get as much fire out as possible. With my secondary build, it's 2:1, so I can fire two secondary salvos while my mains reload. Once you get that rhythm going, she becomes much more dangerous.

[@Gozar111]

Good advice. Might just get the Gneiss!

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Gneisenau has better armour, at least :)

[@caseydale4731]

I'm here re-watching.

[@Snootyboss]

Yup, same here.

[@WorshipinIdols]

May I respectfully suggest the following description: “The Admiral Graf Spee, is a Battleship, with respect to other ship types. Except Battleships”. P.S. I suppose one could say it is at the very light end of the Battlecruiser scale, and the Gneisanau is the Super-Heavy Battlecruiser type. P.S. If in real life the Scharnhorst class had been built according to the specs of the Gneisanau of this game (which was the goal). The Bismarck/Tirpitz would be irrelevant.

[@seasnutz9741]

Ergot OP

[@Cedric8486_1]

I have mine set up like yours Terry, secondary build is the way I like to play her. For the same reasons you mentioned

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

Once you realise you do more damage with a full pen on the 150mm than an overpen on the mains... :)

[@Cedric8486_1]

It is one of the few ships that I have citadel hits using secondary guns

[@dudditz]

You can avoid invites by creating a team, ready up and go to battle as normal Not a fan of german ships.. shame on me as a german 🤣 but great guide 💪🏽

[@FunandGameswithTerry]

oooh, that's a good idea. It's not that I don't want to teamplay, but when I'm talking about the ship in port, it's a bit in the way. I'll try that next time. Also, no shame in not liking German ships, their playstyle certainly isn't for everyone