Tromp
Today we look at the Tier 10 Premium Dutch Destroyer Tromp. She will be available in World of Warships as of patch 0.11.11.
Quick Overview
Tromp adds a brand-new flavor of destroyer to the game. Notably, she’s the first destroyer to come equipped with the Air Strike capability. In addition to that, she carries 150mm guns that are loaded with HE shells that have enhanced penetration characteristics. Finally, she carries two fast-reloading triple torpedo launchers, one mounted on each side of the ship. All these tools combine to give Tromp multiple ways to be built and played. Keep in mind, however, that no matter which build you decide to use Tromp is sluggish and lacks tools designed to escape or survive. This makes her unforgiving of positioning mistakes and requires planning that some people may not be comfortable with.
Having said that, if you’re someone who likes ships with unique capabilities and playstyles or if you’re someone who likes a good long-range gunboat, Tromp may be worth checking out.
Note: In my time playing Tromp I never settled on a single “perfect” build. Instead, I use two very different builds depending on my mood. I’m calling these the “Area Control” and “Gunboat” builds. I hope the variation gives you enough of a view of the ship to know whether it’s something you’re interested in or not.
Upgrades (Area Control)
Captain Skills (Area Control)
Recommended Play Style (Area Control)
If you’re looking for something new and interesting, or even a fantastic team-play setup, this is it. My goal with this build is to take advantage of everything Tromp offers except the guns. The assumption here is that when I need the guns, they are good enough. But trust me when I say you really, really hope you don’t need them.
This build focuses on torpedoes (which reload in 53.6 seconds) and Air Strikes (which reloads in 48 seconds) as primary weapons. I dive into an area of control and utilize the very good 5.9 km detectability to establish a good camping position. That’s when Air Strike’s reticle becomes a huge advantage. It gives you a bird’s eye view and using this view you can either see a spotted enemy or see exactly where their guns are firing from. Even in smoke this view makes it very easy to see the location of a firing enemy with plenty of information to make good Air Strike drops or torpedo launches. Repeatedly throwing Air Strikes and torpedoes at a Sherman or Harugumo who is sitting in smoke trying to wear down your friends is hilarious fun and can have a big influence on the match (even if they don’t do much damage). Note that the penetration on the Tromp’s Air Strike planes is lower than that of its cruiser counterparts and that you’re unlikely to do much alpha damage against anything but the lightest targets.
If you end up in a kiting situation, the torpedoes become a decent deterrent. Just know that because there are only three per side, and they don’t hit very hard, you’re going to have a hard time racking up meaningful damage with them. They are far more effective at herding enemies than they are as a quick-kill tool like most torpedo boats would have.
Finally, be aware that survivability is low with this build and with Tromp’s lack of agility you may find yourself in salty back-to-port-early scenarios more often than you’d like.
Upgrades (Gunboat)
Captain Skills (Gunboat)
Recommended Play Style (Gunboat)
If you like gunboats, commonly play solo, or just like being an irritant in random battles, the Tromp functions well as a mid-to-long-range gunboat. In fact, this is the build I would recommend for most players and the one I’ll use most commonly myself.
This build focuses on enhancing guns and survivability while using Tromp’s other tools when the opportunity arises. Tromp’s HE shells have enhanced penetration characteristics that give them 30mm of penetration stock, and 37mm of penetration if you skill into IFHE. The higher penetration from IFHE can be nice for doing extra damage to the fore and aft armor of battleships, but it cuts down your fire chance significantly (from ~12% down to ~6%). However, the problem is that for IFHE to work its magic you must be constantly firing your guns, and your enemy needs to have sections of vulnerable armor, and you have to hit them. Because of its general sluggishness and lack of survivability, Tromp can struggle to be a constant-firing-dodging-laughing menace like Delny or Kléber. It handles more like an Elbing without the added benefit of the smoke. Having said all that, I’m sure plenty of people will prefer IFHE and it’s worth checking out.
Your approach in this build will be to stay at 15km+ and dump shells onto enemies any time they’re worried about something other than you. The fantastic fire chance and great damage against light armor will stack up as the match wears on, assuming you can avoid being focused by the enemy team. If you see an opportunity to jump behind an island and start dropping Air Strikes (especially against smoke-camping DD’s) take it. Just know that if you get caught in a knife fight without help, you’re probably going to lose, so approach situations like that with caution. Drop your torpedoes in bottleneck areas and occasionally you’ll land one and perhaps even get a flood out of it.