ALBEMARLE

Country
United Kingdom (UK)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
8.0

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

C

PVP rating

C

Albemarle doesn’t have many improvements over Surrey. The great HE penetration gives it an advantage compared to other cruisers when fighting battleships, but the accuracy is bad and the survivability is terrible. To use it properly, the player needs a lot of skill and experience.

Playstyle

Albemarle’s guns has slow shell velocity, but the air drag is better than US cruisers. Because it has great HE penetration, any shell that hits has a high chance to set fire. Albemarle’s AP penetration is bad. Even if the enemy is broadsiding, it’s generally better to stick with HE. Aim at different parts of the enemy so you can set multiple fires.

The main downside of its guns is terrible accuracy. Even at medium range, most of the shells will miss. This forces Albemarle players to not fight at long range. However, Albemarle’s armor is trash. Even 380 mm guns can citadel Albemarle from any angle. Not to mention it has to show a lot of broadside to fire all of its guns. It does have good maneuverability, but because of its big size, hitting it is easy. There’s really no good range for Albemarle to deal damage in a battle with battleships around. In order to increase its survivability, lobbing shells from behind island is recommended. Kiting and flanking are also good, but you must exert extra caution to angling and speed juking. Use smokescreen if needed.

Albemarle has torpedoes, but don’t blindly rush the enemies unless your enemy is a cruiser without torpedo. The torpedo angle is great, but it only has 4 torpedoes on each side with 10 km range. Those torpedoes are generally used as an alternative method of attacking when kiting.

Just like other British heavy cruisers, Albemarle’s smokescreen only has 4 puffs. If you’re sailing at full speed and you activate the smokescreen consumable, you must hit reverse immediately. If you don’t do that, Albemarle will be out of the smokescreen when the consumable deactivates. If you just want to use smokescreen as a cover before turning broadside or running away, you don’t need to slow down.

Albemarle has good concealment. It can be used for capturing bases, spotting enemies, or hunting DDs. However, the player must be extra careful due to its bad armor and short smokescreen. If you’re spotted while capturing the base, immediately use smoke then turn away. Abandon the capture base if needed because your life is more important. Albemarle’s AA is not good, but it has smokescreen which can help protect itself.

Is it worth to buy?

Albemarle is below average, but it’s a tech tree ship. The top tier ship is Duke of Edinburgh, a good cruiser. You should grind it if you are familiar with using smokescreen and like burning enemies. If you have a lot of unused free exp, maybe it’s worth to use them to skip this ship.

Strengths
Good HE penetration, great maneuverability, good concealment, has torpedoes, has fighter planes
Weaknesses
Bad AP performance, bad accuracy, bad turret firing angle, bad armor, slow speed, planes only have 3 km spotting ability
Consumables
Elite DC, super repair (4 charges), smokescreen (3 charges)
General playstyle
Flanking, kiting, lobbing shells from behind island
Role/specialty
Ally smoke protection
Preferred enemy target
Cruiser, BB

Recommended Build

Equipment
Slot 1: adv. disaster retardant module
Slot 2: engine enhancement module
Slot 3: cruiser aiming system module
Consumables
Slot 1: elite damage control
Slot 2: super repair
Slot 3: elite smokescreen
Crew Skills (after basic skill)
Captain: artillery warning – hull protection – boost morale
Gun: crack gunner – high speed aiming – burn the ship behind
Engine: quick shift – adv. quick shift – steering master – noise reduction
Damage control: buoyancy reserve – emergency flooding – extinguish
Torpedo: engine maintenance – excess charge – weak point attack

Back to cruiser reviews