Yamato

Built shortly before World War II, Yamato was the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleship ever constructed. In World of Warships it was one of the original tech tree battleships, and the in-game representation attempts to match what was built in the real world. She’s a capable tank with accurate and devastating 460 mm main guns. Let’s dig into the IJN tier 10 tech tree battleship, Yamato.

Offensive Tools

Guns

There’s a lot to be said about Yamato’s 460 mm guns and their enormous armor piercing (AP) shells. For a long time they were the biggest guns in the game, and the game grew up around them. While there are now larger guns available the fact remains that Yamato’s accurate, long-range guns are still among the most capable damage dealers available.

With a stock range of 26.6 km and an available Spotting Plane consumable, players looking to maximize Yamato’s guns are free to ignore range and focus on reload and accuracy instead.

This decision will made in modification slot 6. You can choose Main Battery Modification 3, which results in a reload of 26.4 seconds and maximum dispersion of 256 m, or you can choose Main Battery Director System (the Unique Upgrade, available through the Research Bureau) which means the reload is 30 seconds but now with a maximum dispersion of 238 m.

No matter which you choose, Yamato is a threat to land devastating strikes on any ship from nearly anywhere on the map.

Defensive Tools

Range, Accuracy, & Angled Armor

While it’s worth mentioning that Yamato’s torpedo belt is fantastic with a 55% damage reduction, it’s also to be noted that torpedo protection should always be a backup plan. Instead, I’ll focus on what you can actively do to make the ship’s defenses work well for you.

If you’re doing your job, you’re going to get shot at in Yamato. It’s a huge, slow ship that is prone to fires, so dodging is really out of the question. Instead, use your gun range and accuracy along with good reload to punish anyone firing at you. With a couple of well-placed salvos you can eliminate enemy ships altogether, or at least make them scramble for cover.

Additionally, your armor is excellent when angled, but weak when broadside. Use this to your advantage. Maintaining an angle of 20 degrees means you have 410 mm of belt armor. Since enemy ship angles are sometimes hard to read, you can use clever angles to entice enemy battleships to aim for your side, where you can bounce shells.

If all else fails, sit directly nose-in to enemies while reversing and use only your front guns.

Support Tools

Psychological Warfare & Tanking

Well-played battleships should always focus on being imposing, and Yamato is designed to be great at it. If Yamato is keeping guns on an area, and landing accurate shots, everyone on the enemy team will be forced to pay attention. Don’t be afraid to throw AP shells at nose-on battleships if that’s the only shot you have. While they’ll do some damage because the shells are just enormous, they’ll also keep that ship from adjusting position. Pin enemy ships down and let your teammates reposition for better shots.

Pay attention to attracting and deflecting enemy fire for your team (tanking). Yamato is very hard to damage when angled, whether facing towards, or away, from enemies. Position her at a comfortable firing range (think 18 km) to keep some of the fire-starting ships inaccurate or out of range. Then, work to maintain good angles against larger enemy ships. Remember, if you keep enemies firing at you, you’re keeping them from firing at friendlies.

What To Do

Maintain an obvious presence.

So how do you combine Yamato’s tools? My opinion is that you should use the ship to maintain an obvious, imposing presence on the map. Use your guns and devastating AP shells early and often to force enemy ships into hiding, cover, or defensive positions. Then use them mid-match to destroy ships as they attempt to reposition. Always have an escape plan, such as an island you can duck behind, or enough range to become unspotted, in case you end up with too many fires on deck. Escape, repair, and then get back to being a menace.

Some of the best moments in Yamato are enormous cross-map hits, so don’t become target obsessed and miss out on them. Always be on the lookout for ships who are playing on a different flank and are poorly angled against you. When you see a broadside ship not paying attention, don’t be afraid to put some shells into their citadel.

What To Avoid

Overcommitting

Yamato is slow and huge in all ways, and its guns have horrible turret traverse even when you attempt to spec for it. Because of all of these things you really, really have to pay attention to your positioning. The goal is to push forward enough to be menacing, but not so far that you can’t reposition somewhat safely. If you find yourself overcommitted, and it’s easy to do, begin reversing back into a more favorable position immediately.

How To Fight It

Focus Fire & Decrease Range

Yamato’s biggest weaknesses are its inability to reposition and slow turret traverse (no really, it’s awful). Your goal should be to light fires and cause floods early to wear Yamato down and force an attempt to reposition. During a turn, Yamato often exposes a vulnerable broadside, when that happens, aim for the citadel at the waterline just behind the second turret. A Yamato on the move also gives faster ships an opportunity to flank and close distance, leading to close-quarters brawling where Yamato is at a disadvantage.

Overall Opinion

FUN

Yamato has been around a long time in World of Warships and it remains an aspirational ship for a lot of players whether it’s because they appreciate naval history or just want to make pixels explode in the most efficient manner possible.

It would be hard for me to say anything about Yamato that hasn’t been said by someone else already, so I’ll just say that I really enjoy the ship and believe it is still worth working to get.

Unfortunately, the tech tree that you traverse to get to Yamato shows its age more than Yamato. It’s pretty hit or miss, and there really isn’t a lot in that line that prepares you for Yamato. You go from Amagi, a battlecruiser at tier 8, to Izumo, a fire-prone ship with all-forward 410 mm main guns, to Yamato. You can learn to make all three of those ships work, but the approach is very different between the three of them. Have some patience once you get to Yamato and take some time to understand how it works. Once you get it, Yamato is still one of the best battleships for people who like to blow up enemies with enormous main guns.

Takeaway: The tech tree line is rough, but Yamato is a great, rewarding ship to have at tier 10, plus, the guns sound amazing.