MINOTAUR

Country
United Kingdom (UK)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
9.6

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

B

PVP rating

C

On its own Minotaur won’t do much, but it has a lot of utility in battle which helps the team win. The AP performance is great for a light cruiser, but it must attack broadside targets in order to maximize damage output. The armor is very weak so a small mistake can be fatal. Smokescreen really helps it survive when attacking or retreating.

Playstyle

Minotaur’s AP DPM is terrifying because of very fast reload and good penetration. Even though individually those shells don’t do a lot of damage, if it gets to farm a broadsiding enemy, Minotaur can quickly melt any ship. However just like all British light cruisers, its HE performance is terrible. Minotaur is not suitable for kiting. The best position for Minotaur is around capture bases and islands. To farm damage, hide behind an island or smoke then lob shells to broadsiding enemies. Flanking with the help of smokescreen is also good. With a good smokescreen usage, it can farm the enemy’s broadside without getting shot in return. Smokescreen can also help conceal badly damaged allies so they can hide, retreat, and repair. Minotaur has slow shell velocity and bad accuracy, so it shouldn’t be used for sniping. Minotaur’s damage output will drop considerably if the enemy is actively maneuvering.

Minotaur has bad armor, typical of British light cruisers. It’s hard to directly fight cruisers, not to mention battleships. Just a single salvo can severely damage this ship or even destroy it. Staying undetected is the prime method of staying alive. If you get shot, quickly retreat and hide. Stop shooting when retreating. Use repair consumable when the HP is 60% or below. Saving repair consumable is not a wise decision.

Minotaur has excellent surface detectability. This makes Minotaur the top pick to capture bases, spot enemies, and support ally DDs. Minotaur also has a lot of torpedoes with long range which it can launch from stealth. In some cases, Minotaur can even replace a destroyer’s role. Minotaur’s damage output might be low, but this utility can be very useful in team battles.

Minotaur has strong AA power. Coupled with smokescreen, it can guard teammates and itself. In a CV battle, always stay close to allied ships (especially BBs and CV) so you can react quickly and protect them from enemy planes.

Minotaur is a light cruiser with destroyer-like utility, good AP burst damage, and generally very team-oriented. While this looks good on paper, if the team is bad Minotaur can’t do anything. By itself, Minotaur can’t tank and inflict damage simultaneously. Someone else has to tank for it. If the team collapses, Minotaur will quickly go down. Unfortunately, nowadays there are too many bad players even in arena. This makes utility less important than firepower and tankiness. Even light cruiser players are expected to tank and deal 100k+ damage in order to carry the team. That’s just how bad the situation is. In the past, Minotaur is a great cruiser. Now, not so much.

Is it worth to buy?

Minotaur is the top tier ship of the British light cruiser tech tree line. It’s a good light cruiser, but heavily dependent on teammates. If you’re familiar with smokescreen and want to play like a destroyer, grind this ship.

Strengths
Good AP penetration, very fast reload, fast turret rotation speed, great concealment, great maneuverability, good AA, good torpedoes
Weaknesses
Bad HE, bad accuracy, bad armor, no planes
Consumables
Elite DC, super repair (3 charges), smokescreen (3 charges)
General playstyle
Flanking, lobbing shells from behind island, torpedo spread
Role/specialty
Spotter, site capturer, area denial, wide AA protection, ally smoke protection
Preferred enemy target
BB, DD, plane

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 – boost morale- hull protection
Gun: crack gunner – ADA enhancement – burn the ship behind
Engine: noise reduction – quick shift – adv. quick shift
Damage control: buoyancy reserve – emergency flooding – extinguish
Torpedo: engine maintenance – excess charge – weak point attack

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