LION

Country
United Kingdom (UK)

Class
Battleship

MMweight
8.8

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

C

PVP rating

B

Lion was a fast battleship project from the Royal Navy. It was a larger, improved version of the preceding King George V (KGV) class. The ship was laid down but never completed. Lion has 3×3 406 mm guns. In many aspects, it’s similar to KGV. The main characteristic of this line is MAP ammunition. MAP can penetrate bow and stern armor, citadeling the enemy from the front or the back. However, MAP struggles to penetrate the belt armor of a broadsiding enemy. Read more about MAP and other ammunitions here. Another characteristic of this line is vertical style dispersion. The shells tend to hit along the vertical axis of the enemy ship. Which means if they’re broadsiding, only a few shells will hit the body (and some will hit the superstructure). But if the enemy is bowtanking, most of the shells will hit. MAP and vertical style dispersion makes this ship a great counter to enemies that are on bowtanking.

Unlike KGV, Lion has a competitive gun caliber for its tier. Lion can citadel a broadsiding battleship, although the vertical dispersion pattern makes its damage lower than other battleships. The main downside of Lion is the shell velocity. It’s awfully slow (725 m/s). This makes Lion almost impossible to use by beginners. Even more experienced players still struggle to hit a target more than 15 km away. The AP has improved ricochet angle penetration. Even if the enemy is angled, AP can still penetrate it.

When the enemy is bowtanking, load MAP. When the enemy is broadsiding, load AP. When the enemy is angling, both MAP and AP are effective. Playing British battleships is more of a psychological battle. The enemy must predict what ammunition you’re going to use. Wrong prediction will give you massive advantage. The enemy can’t just angle against your ship because as long as your aim is good, you can penetrate him.

Lion has weak armor. The side armor can easily be citadeled and it gets burned very easily. Even regular penetrations can inflict a lot of damage. Only the bow armor is strong. Lion has bad turret firing angle so it has to show a lot of broadside to fire all guns. To play Lion you need a lot of experience and skill.

Lion has amazing acceleration. The acceleration level is 50% better than most battleships, on par with cruisers. Lion has best-in-class maneuverability, comparable to a battlecruiser. The speed is pretty good for a battleship (30 knots). A good Lion player can speed juke fully broadside at 15 km and still can’t be hit by the enemy.

Lion has the best surface detectability in its tier (14.8 km base with camo, 12.7 km with crew skills). A Lion with sufficient crew skills has similar surface detectability as some battlecruisers. Imagine the horror when you’re sailing in a battlecruiser, but suddenly a battleship appears 13 km from you and it shoots a full AP salvo before you can react.

Playstyle

Lion is not good at sniping due to its dispersion pattern and slow shell velocity. At the start of the battle, sail to a flank. Due to its excellent surface detectability, Lion can sail much more forward than other battleships. Lion is a good spotter among battleships. Use MAP as your default ammunition. Only change to AP if the enemy is broadsiding.

If your team’s firepower is superior in your flank, you push with your teammates. Point your bow towards the enemy when pushing. Use an island to cover your weak side armor. Don’t play too aggressively because you don’t have the armor to sustain an intense battle. Regularly switch the tanking role between you and your teammates so everyone has time to repair.

If the enemy team’s firepower is superior, don’t push. Turn back and kite at medium range. Don’t immediately run away because your team needs you to protect the flank. Run away only when your HP is low.

If you’re an experienced player and has artillery warning skill, you can sail in open water and fire all guns. This poses a risk of getting citadeled because you’re showing a lot of broadside, so you must always maneuver and use speed juke to dodge the enemy’s attack. You can try this simple tactic: stay at medium range (12-15 km), 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.

Is it worth to buy?

Lion is hard to use but with sufficient skill can be very annoying to deal with. It’s good for people with good reflex and like to play mind games with the enemy. Often, the presence of Lion is already a deterrent that makes the enemy hesitant to push. This allows your teammates to gain map control.

Lion is a tech tree ship, which means you just have to grind it. No need to spend money. In general, L3 line is not a priority for new players because it requires a lot of skill to have an average performance.

Strengths
MAP ammunition can penetrate any bow and stern armor. Amazing acceleration. Good maneuverability. Good repair. Has fighter planes.
Weaknesses
Bad turret firing angle, very slow shell velocity, vertical style dispersion, bad armor, bad AA
General playstyle
Pushing, flanking, kiting
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
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 – noise reduction
Damage control: emergency flooding – buoyancy reserve – extinguish

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