HOOD

Country
United Kingdom (UK)

Class
Battleship

MMweight
7.0

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

C

PVP rating

B

“The Mighty Hood” is perhaps the most popular battleship of the Royal Navy. Hood was a fast battleship with strong armament for its time. Hood has 4×2 381 mm guns. The guns have sufficient caliber to overmatch most ships in its MMweight (except Gneisenau, York, and Wichita). Against targets that the AP can’t penetrate, use HE. Hood’s HE is pretty strong. It has good penetration and very high fire chance. Hood’s HE is better than Vanguard’s HE.

The shell velocity is slow, which makes aiming at long range or maneuvering targets hard. It has short range anyway, so sniping is not recommended. The accuracy is a bit lower than its competitors. Hood has vertical dispersion pattern, which makes it very effective against bowtanking enemies but less effective against broadsiding enemies. Sometimes, Hood has to switch to HE even against broadsiding enemies because most of the shells don’t hit.

Hood can be overmatched from the bow and stern by 380 mm guns. The side armor is thin and the big size makes it easy to get hit. However, with steep angling Hood can bounce a lot of shells. Hood has big HP pool, rivaling some battleships at higher tier. However, due to bad armor, Hood can melt quickly under focused fire.

Hood has long hull and very large turning radius. Hood takes a long time to turn, which makes it much more vulnerable when maneuvering. Hood’s surface detectability is average. Fortunately, it has the fastest speed in its MMweight that allows it to run around the map and freely control how it wants to engage the enemy.

Playstyle

At the start of the match, sail to the far side of a flank, ahead of your teammates. Activate engine overload consumable if needed. Your speed will help you reach a good position before your teammates. Before you shoot, angle your ship first. Do not show broadside. You can let your teammates shoot the enemy while you maneuver. This is because Hood’s armor and maneuverability is bad. Only after your position is safe, then you shoot. Use AP as your default ammunition. Use HE when you’re fighting at long range, against maneuvering targets, or targets that AP fail to penetrate (such as bowtanking Gneisenau, York, and Wichita). Hood enjoys fighting at medium range, between 10-14 km.

Use speed juke to dodge incoming shells. You can try this simple tactic: stay at medium range, sail at 1/4 speed when the enemy isn’t shooting, accelerate to full speed when the enemy shoots at you, reverse if the enemy shoots in front of your ship. Use engine overload if needed.

At the flank, Hood can create crossfire with the slower teammates at the center. Hood can be used to push, but you must do it very carefully because if you overextend you can’t turn back. Remember to always angle your ship. Don’t bowtank. Firing full salvo exposes your citadel too much, so in close combat it’s often safer to not use the two back guns.

If the situation turns bad and you’re still quite far from the enemy, activate the engine overload consumable then turn back. You don’t need to run away. Kiting is good. Hood is not suitable for sniping anyway.

Is it worth to buy?

Hood is a decent ship. It requires more skill than some other ships, but it has the potential to turn the tide of the battle. The overmatching guns combined with fast speed make Hood a battleship to be reckoned with.

Hood is a tech tree ship, so you don’t need to spend money to get it. However, Hood’s continuations in the tech tree are not good. They have terrible firepower and bad armor. It’s advisable that new players avoid this tech tree and grind another line instead.

Strengths
Good fire chance. Amazing acceleration. Good speed. Has engine booster. Big HP pool. Good repair.
Weaknesses
Vertical-style dispersion, short range, big size, bad armor, bad maneuverability, low alpha damage, no fighter plane
General playstyle
Kiting, flanking
Preferred fighting range
Medium range

Recommended Build

Equipment
Slot 1: adv. disaster retardant module
Slot 2: engine enhancement module
Slot 3: aiming system module
Consumables
Slot 1: elite damage control
Slot 2: elite repair
Slot 3: elite engine overload
Crew Skills (after basic skill)
Captain: artillery warning – boost morale – hull protection
Gun: crack gunner – high speed aiming – burn the ship behind
Engine: quick shift – adv. quick shift – steering master
Damage control: buoyancy reserve -emergency flooding – extinguish

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