BLACK PRINCE

Country
United Kingdom (UK)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
9.0

Obtain Method
Prism

Arena rating

A

PVP rating

A

Black Prince is using Neptune’s hull but the guns are similar to Duke of Edinburgh in a 3×3 configuration. Compared to Duke’s guns, Black has much slower reload, worse accuracy, and shorter range. Despite those shortcomings, it’s still the British 234 mm guns. It has excellent HE performance and high shell velocity. This makes Black Prince a very strong HE spammer that can be dangerous at any range.

Black Prince has the best torpedoes among British CAs (10 torpedoes per side and 13.5 km base range). It can torpedo from stealth and create a wall of torpedoes that cover a wide area. It can also use the torpedoes to ambush the enemy and cripple a high tier battleship.

Black Prince’s armor is one of the strongest among cruisers. The bow armor can bounce 381 mm guns and the belt armor can bounce 460 mm guns with proper angling. Keep in mind that 406 mm can citadel Black Prince from the bow. So if you see the enemy has 406 mm guns or bigger, angle your ship.

Black Prince has excellent maneuverability so it’s hard to hit this ship. Black Prince is even more maneuverable than Neptune. The concealment is decent for a heavy cruiser; better than Oxford but worse than Neptune. It also has smokescreen to protect itself or retreat during focused fire. Black Prince only has 2 repair charges but each charge can repair up to 45%.

Playstyle

Even though the accuracy is average among cruisers, the high HE penetration and shell velocity makes it a potent damage dealer. Unlike Oxford or Duke of Edinburgh, Black Prince has much better armor so it can play more aggressively.

To use Black Prince, sail to a flank and observe the enemies first. If there are battleships with 406+ mm caliber or too many enemies, play at more than 13 km range. That will give Black sufficient time to angle or dodge enemy’s shells. Use smokescreen if you’re under attack. Do not bowtank an enemy that has 406+ mm guns or MAP. If there are few enemies and none of them can overmatch it, Black can play aggressively. Sometimes, Black can be the main tank and lead the push.

Use HE ammunition all the time. Black’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. Black’s firepower at close range is lower than other cruisers due to slow reload, but it has torpedoes.

Black’s torpedoes is useful for area denial. Whenever you see an enemy within range or moving towards you, launch your torpedoes towards it. You can also blindly launch torpedoes to a smokescreen or capture base. Who knows, maybe you can hit an enemy destroyer. The other way to use torpedoes is for ambushing. Use a big island as cover, then rush the enemy that’s hiding behind that island. Make sure your repair and damage control is ready. Use smokescreen if necessary. Unlike other cruisers with torpedoes, Black’s strong armor makes ambushing safer.

Black Prince is not good for capturing bases, spotting enemies, or hunting DDs because the concealment is not good enough for that. Black’s AA is not good, but with smokescreen it can protect itself from planes.

Is it worth to buy?

Black Prince has good firepower and survivability which makes it versatile in many situations. It’s also very easy to use.

Black Prince is a prism ship. If you want to buy it, you need to spend money. Among all prism ships, Black Prince is one the best cruisers. Buying this ship is worth of your money.

Keep in mind that this is not a pay-to-win game. Having a good ship doesn’t guarantee victory. If you play badly, even a lower tier ship can kill you in 1 minute. This also means that you’re not obligated to buy this ship. It’s ok if you don’t have money or don’t want to spend money for this game. Staying as an F2P player is completely fine. You can reach the highest rank in arena and have >80% win rate in PVP without spending any money.

Strengths
Good HE penetration, good fire chance, good mid-range accuracy, high shell velocity, good armor, great maneuverability, good torpedoes
Weaknesses
Bad AP performance, bad long-range accuracy, slow reload, slow speed, no planes
Consumables
Elite DC, super repair (2 charges), smokescreen (3 charges)
General playstyle
Sniping, flanking, kiting, pushing (carefully), torpedo spread, ambushing
Role/specialty
Damage dealer, area denial, ally smoke protection
Preferred enemy target
Cruiser, BB, DD

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

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