1. The 14.3 Caliber Overmatch Rule Explained
The cornerstone of high-tier naval armor interaction is the 14.3 overmatch equation: Shell Diameter (in mm) ÷ 14.3. If the resulting caliber value exceeds the nominal thickness of the target armor plate, the shell completely bypasses all ricochet angle checks and penetrates regardless of how sharply angled the target is. For example, a 406mm shell overmatches up to 28.39mm of plating, allowing battleships like Iowa and Montana to punch directly through the 27mm bow plating of standard heavy cruisers like Des Moines or Baltimore.
2. Ricochet Thresholds & Auto-Bounce Angles
When overmatch is not applicable, armor piercing (AP) shells undergo ricochet calculations based on the angle of incidence. Standard AP shells ricochet automatically when impacting armor at angles greater than 60 degrees from normal (0 to 30 degrees relative to the ship centerline). Between 45 and 60 degrees, a random probability check occurs. Certain naval lines (notably American heavy cruisers and British light cruisers) enjoy enhanced bounce angles that only begin ricochet calculations at 60 to 67.5 degrees.
3. Defensive Bow Angling vs Tactical Kiting (Stern-Away)
While nose-in bow angling protects against non-overmatching artillery, it severely immobilizes your vessel and makes you vulnerable to crossfires and torpedo sweeps. The superior high-level survival technique is kiting: angling your stern away from approaching enemies at 35 degrees. This enables you to utilize all rear gun turrets, throttle down to bait salvos into the water, and instantly accelerate forward away from torpedo spreads while presenting minimal broadside target area.
4. Citadel Protection & Turtleback Armor Schemes
The citadel is the heavily armored internal machinery and magazine compartment of the warship. Penetrations inside this zone yield 100% shell alpha damage and can sink vessels in a single coordinated salvo. German battleships and cruisers utilize a sloped internal "turtleback" armor deck that deflects close-range flat-trajectory shells upward into the upper deck, making them nearly immune to close-quarters citadels while remaining vulnerable to plunging long-range deck penetrations.
5. Concealment Resetting & Vision Management
Firing your main guns blooms your ship detection radius to your maximum firing range for precisely 20 seconds. If taking heavy focus fire while kiting, cease firing immediately. Break line of sight behind island geometry or allow your detection timer to expire if hostile spotting destroyers are eliminated. Re-entering concealment allows your Repair Party consumable to restore citadel and fire damage safely.