KALININGRAD

Country
Soviet / Russia

Class
Battleship

MMweight
8.0

Obtain Method
Prism

Arena rating

B

PVP rating

B

Kaliningrad is a fast battleship design with 2×3 406 mm guns all located at the front. The guns are similar to what is found on Pr23, but with much faster reload. Kaliningrad has the fastest reload in its tier. Compared to Richelieu (a French battleship with similar gun layout), Kaliningrad has higher caliber, better accuracy, and better penetration. Kaliningrad’s guns have high shell velocity, comparable to French guns. The gun retains its performance at long distance. This makes Kaliningrad one of the best damage dealers in its tier.

As a trade of having murderous guns, Kaliningrad has the lowest survivability in its tier. Kaliningrad has very low HP pool, even lower than some MMweight 7.0 battleships. The armor is weak, especially the side and stern. The citadel is huge. Kaliningrad can be easily citadeled by light cruisers. Battleships can one shot Kaliningrad from the back. Even when bowtanking, shots aimed at its superstructure can inflict a lot of damage. The low HP also means it suffers a lot when being attacked. Kaliningrad desperately needs a teammate to tank damage for it. Kaliningrad has fast speed and decent surface detection, so it can choose a good position quickly before engaging the enemy.

Kaliningrad has evasion consumable, which if activated will greatly reduce the accuracy of enemy guns aimed at this ship. This consumable will also boost its AA. It’s a great consumable to be used when Kaliningrad needs to turn back and retreat.

Playstyle

At the start of the battle, sail to a flank. Find a big island, then hide behind it. The island will cover your side armor. Point your bow straight towards the enemy. Make sure that only 1-2 enemies can shoot at you. If you get focused by the enemies, reverse and hide behind the island. Let your teammates tank for you.

If there’s no island, sail to a flank and keep your bow pointed straight towards the enemy. Stay at >16 km range (more if it’s a CV battle). If you’re getting focused, stop shooting and reverse. You’ll not be detected anymore after 20 seconds (unless there’s an enemy destroyer/cruiser/plane near you). Change your position to a safer place. If needed, activate the evasion comsumable. This consumable can be a life saver if triggered at the correct time.

Don’t shoot your guns and stay undetected before you get a good position. Use AP as your primary ammunition. Switch to HE against destroyers, angled battleships, or bowtanking cruisers that can’t be overmatched by your guns (Wichita, Oregon City, Alaska). Ask your teammate to cover the flank so the enemy can’t rush you. If you’re getting rushed from the front, keep reversing. If the enemy in front of you is an MAP user (KGV, Lion) or HE spammer, you’ll suffer. If there’s an enemy behind you, activate evasion consumable and run away as fast as possible.

Is it worth to buy?

Kaliningrad is very strong if undisturbed. But in a team battle, that rarely happens. You need to position yourself carefully, especially considering most islands in this game are too small or too forward. To make Kaliningrad sustainable, you’ll need plenty of crew skills. This makes Kaliningrad a high investment ship and not suitable for new players.

Kaliningrad is a prism ship. You need money to buy it. Considering that this is not a pay-to-win game, spending money for Kaliningrad is probably not worth it.

Strengths
Very fast reload, high shell velocity, good accuracy, good penetration, fast speed, fast rudder shift, good AA
Weaknesses
Low base HP, bad armor, huge citadel, big turning radius, no fighter plane.
General playstyle
Sniping
Preferred fighting range
Long range

Recommended Build

Equipment
Slot 1: adv. disaster retardant module
Slot 2: disaster control module
Slot 3: aiming system module
Consumables
Slot 1: elite damage control
Slot 2: elite repair
Slot 3: adv. AA evasion
Crew Skills (after basic skill)
Captain: hull protection- extinguish – boost morale
Gun: crack gunner – extinguish – burn the ship behind
Engine: extinguish – noise reduction – quick shift
Damage control: emergency flooding – buoyancy reserve – extinguish

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