LONDON

Country
United Kingdom (UK)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
6.5

Obtain Method
Gem

Arena rating

C?

PVP rating

B

London belongs to the second group of County-class heavy cruisers. The earlier group of County-class cruisers have bigger forward superstructure and slightly more armor.

London has decent reload. Just like other British heavy cruisers, London has great HE penetration and damage. The AP performance is decent, mainly because it has enough caliber to overmatch most cruisers in MMweight 7.0 and below. However, the low accuracy is its biggest issue. If you’re not sure which ammunition to choose, just use HE. HE can cause fires in case the shot isn’t accurate as long as it hits. London’s damage output is very high in its tier.

London’s overall armor is bad. Only the cheek armor is somewhat good. Still, a battleship can destroy it from any angle. Unlike County, London doesn’t have smokescreen but has engine overload consumable. London has average speed for a cruiser (32 knots), but the engine overload consumable can increase its speed by 20% (38.4 knots) for 50 seconds. London has good maneuverability and the speed boost can help evading the enemy’s attacks.

London 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 each side with 10 km range. Those torpedoes are generally used as an alternative method of attacking when brawling or kiting.

London’s concealment is bad. It’s not good for capturing bases, spotting enemies, or hunting DDs. The AA is also not good.

Playstyle

London has two different play styles. First is the more common style: long range supporter. Stay at more than 11 km away from the enemy and shoot HE at them. Use AP if the enemy is broadsiding (especially light cruisers). In order to increase its survivability, lobbing shells from behind island is recommended. You must exert extra caution to angling and speed juking. You can try this simple speed juke tactic: sail at 1/4 speed, then fully accelerate if the enemy shoots at you, reverse if the enemy shoots in front of your ship. Use engine overload consumable if you need more speed.

The second style is aggressive brawler. London’s armor can work only if your ship is angled against the enemy. Do not bowtank and do not show broadside. Use islands to cover the side of your ship while you’re getting closer to the enemy. Use engine overload at close range. At point blank range, use your torpedoes to devastate the enemy. This play style is much more dangerous because one wrong move can get you killed.

Is it worth to buy?

London is a good damage dealer, but it’s requires much more skill to use. This ship is not recommended for new players.

Strengths
Good HE penetration, fast reload, great maneuverability, has torpedoes, has engine overload.
Weaknesses
Bad accuracy, bad armor, bad concealment, slow speed, no planes.
Consumables
Elite DC, elite repair (3 charges), engine overload (5 charges)
General playstyle
Flanking, kiting, lobbing shells from behind island, ambushing, brawling
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 engine overload
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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