CHAPAYEV

Country
Soviet Union (USSR)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
7.0

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

B

PVP rating

C

Chapayev was based on Kirov-class cruiser but with significant changes in armament. Chapayev has twelve 152 mm guns in 4×3 configuration. The HE can penetrate battleship’s deck armor. Combined with high velocity and decent accuracy, Chapayev’s firepower is still good even at long range. The reload is a bit slow, but not bad. However, unlike most Soviet cruisers that has long range, the range of Chapayev’s guns is just average. The shell arc is decent. It can lob shells from behind island, although not as good as other light cruisers. Most of the time, the player must fight in open water.

Just like other cruisers in its MMweight, Chapayev has thin armor. It can be deleted by battleships from any angle. Because Chapayev mostly fights in open water, this poses a lot more risk compared to other cruisers that can just hide behind island. This is further complicated by bad maneuverability, big size, and bad concealment. At least it has fast speed for quick repositioning. Unfortunately, it has short range which makes it uncomfortable to play. Chapayev has 6 km torpedoes, but those are only useful against clueless players.

Playstyle

At the start of the battle, sail to a flank. Stay a bit behind so you don’t get spotted first. If the enemy is spotted, let your battleships shoot the enemy first. Just like all cruisers, you need to find a good island to hide while still being able to lob shells. However, this is sometimes impossible.

Since utilizing islands is hard, Chapayev is often forced to fight in open water. If you’re fighting in open water, you must stay at more than 13 km from enemy battleship. Speed juke to dodge shells. You can try this simple speed juke tactic: 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. Turn your ship to increase its effectiveness. If you can’t evade enemy’s shells, try to make them hit your angled belt armor. Don’t show broadside and don’t bowtank the enemy. Always keep your ship angled.

To maximize your effectiveness, try to create a crossfire with your teammates. If your teammate is tanking, you sail to the side of the enemy ship and shoot at their broadside.

Shoot AP against broadsiding cruiser, battleship or CV. Aim at the waterline if the enemy is a cruiser or CV. Aim at the upper belt or superstructure if the enemy is a battleship. Shoot HE if the enemy is angling or is a destroyer. If you’re not sure which ammunition to use, just keep shooting HE.

In a CV battle, always stay close to allied ships (especially BBs and CV) so you can protect each other with overlapping AA. You have long range and fast shell velocity, so you don’t need to get close to the enemy anyway.

Is it worth to buy?

Chapayev must fight at long range due to bad armor and maneuverability. Unfortunately, it only has 15.9 km range which severely limits its engagement range. Since it has good guns, sniping is not a problem. The bigger problem is avoiding incoming attacks from battleships. This requires more skill and experience.

Chapayev is a tech tree ship. If you want to buy it, you just need to grind it. No need to spend money. Chapayev’s performance is average. The continuations are terrible. Among all cruisers in Soviet tech tree line, the top tier ship (Pr84) is the only good ship and worth to grind. In general, this line is not recommended for new players.

Strengths
High velocity guns, decent accuracy, fast speed, has torpedoes
Weaknesses
Slow reload, bad concealment, bad armor, big size, no planes
Consumables
Elite DC, elite repair (3 charges), anti-air barrage (4 charges)
General playstyle
Kiting, flanking, sniping
Role/specialty
Damage dealer
Preferred enemy target
Cruiser, BB

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 anti-air barrage
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 – noise reduction
Damage control: buoyancy reserve – emergency flooding – extinguish
Torpedo: engine maintenance – excess charge – weak point attack

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