PRINZ EUGEN

Country
German

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
8.0

Obtain Method
Prism

Arena rating

A

PVP rating

B

Prinz Eugen is an Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser. It’s perhaps the most popular cruiser of Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine. Prinz Eugen was involved in the Battle of Denmark Strait in which Hood was sunk.

Just like Hipper, Prinz Eugen has 4×2 203 mm guns with good accuracy, long range, and fast shell velocity. This makes Prinz Eugen capable of fighting even at very long range. The shells have sufficient penetration to deal decent damage. The reload is faster than Hipper, but still slow. Prinz Eugen has flat shell arc so it’s hard to lob shell over islands. Eugen’s HE performance is slightly below average compared to other heavy cruisers, but still better than light cruisers when fighting battleships. Eugen’s AP performance is among the best in its tier, capable of punishing any ship if they’re broadsiding. The shells retain high performance over long distance.

Unlike Hipper, Prinz Eugen has good armor. The bow armor can tank 380 mm shells. Prinz Eugen can tank even 406 mm shells if well angled (not to mention 4 repairs) which makes its survivability incredibly high compared to other cruisers. This allows the player to move more aggressively and gain map control. However, this doesn’t mean Eugen players can be reckless. Of course, if broadsiding it can get citadeled like any other ship. Prinz Eugen has slow speed, bad maneuverability, and bad concealment. It’s relatively easy to get hit. The player must plan ahead before committing to attack.

Prinz Eugen has decent amount of torpedoes: six on each side. There are two torpedo variants. The first variant is very long range but slow torpedoes. The second variant is very short range but fast torpedoes. In most cases, the long range torpedoes are much more useful because it can cover a large area and doesn’t necessitate a suicidal rush to use. The long range torpedoes can be launched from stealth. Still, due to slow speed, those torpedoes rarely hit anything and mostly serve as a deterrent to make the enemy afraid of pushing.

Prinz Eugen can be used to rush and torpedo the enemy from point blank range, but the damage output from torpedoes on one side is not enough to sink a full HP battleship. To sink a full HP battleship, Eugen needs to use the guns too and turn around to launch the torpedoes from the other side. This move is very risky. Not to mention that the enemy can just run away before it gets close enough. Its concealment is bad so it can’t do sneak attack. Eugen also doesn’t have the speed to chase the enemy. The only time a torpedo ambush can be successful is when the enemy ignores it for a long time.

The underwater search is a useful consumable to detect ships inside smokescreen and torpedoes from long range. Equip it if you’re not expecting to fight a CV.

Playstyle

At the start of the battle, sail to a flank. Don’t sail too forward. Don’t get yourself spotted first. Remember, shooting will increase your detectability range so don’t do that unless you absolutely need to. 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. Ideally, you want to be able to lob shells to the enemy but the enemy can’t see or shoot you back. If you’re getting shot, just move closer to the island to hide or run away.

If there’s no such island, fight in open water at more than 12 km from enemy battleship. Angle your ship away from the enemy (kiting position). 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 away to increase its effectiveness. If the enemy is chasing you, drop your torpedoes too. Don’t show broadside. If your HP is low, just run away and stop shooting. Once you get out of your basic detection range, you won’t be spotted anymore.

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. Your primary targets are cruisers and broadsiding battleships. Eugen’s AP is very strong. Launch torpedoes as often as possible to key areas where the enemy is likely to push into.

If the enemies are few and none of them can overmatch your armor, you can play more aggressively. Because Eugen has good armor, you can use it to sail to a flank and push the enemy. Push together with your teammates to actively create crossfire. If possible, ask your teammate to cover you from the side. Angle your ship, turn slightly to the left and right regularly, speed juke to dodge shells. Always change your direction and speed to throw off the enemy’s aim. If the enemy is shooting at your teammate, you can show more broadside to fire a full salvo. Turn to angle your ship again if you’re getting shot.

If you like adrenaline rush, Eugen can be used to ambush an enemy. This move is very risky and requires more practice. Ideally, the enemy is bowtanking, not maneuvering, and is currently taking cover from behind an island. Use the same island to hide yourself as you move closer. Quietly approach the enemy that’s on the other side of the island. If possible, try to not get spotted. The plan is to torpedo the enemy at point blank range. Rush the enemy while keeping your ship angled towards the enemy. If needed, turn your ship to the left and right regularly to throw off the enemy’s aim. When the enemy is very close (less than 2 km), drop your torpedoes. If the enemy is not sinking yet, turn your ship around and drop torpedoes from the other side. Or you can just gun down the enemy. You might get sunk quickly, but if successful you might win the battle. It’s a high risk – high reward strategy.

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, so you don’t need to get close to the enemy anyway.

Is it worth to buy?

Prinz Eugen is a cruiser that has good firepower and survivability. Eugen is the only cruiser in its MMweight that can be played actively and doesn’t always rely on teammates. In fact, Eugen is still competitive even in higher tier battles.

Prinz Eugen is a prism ship. If you want to get it, you must spend money. Prinz Eugen is worth to buy if you like playing cruisers. Keep in mind that this is not a pay-to-win game. Skill matters more than the ship. If you play badly, even a lower tier ship can sink your ship easily.

Strengths
Long range, good accuracy, fast shell velocity, good penetration, good armor, good torpedoes, has fighter planes
Weaknesses
Slow reload, slow speed, bad maneuverability, bad concealment, bad AA
Consumables
Elite DC, elite repair (4 charges), anti-air barrage (3 charges) / underwater search (4 charges)
General playstyle
Kiting, sniping, flanking, pushing (carefully), torpedo spread, ambushing
Role/specialty
Damage dealer, area denial, offtank, ambushing
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: elite repair
Slot 3: elite underwater search
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
Damage control: buoyancy reserve – emergency flooding – extinguish
Torpedo: engine maintenance – excess charge – weak point attack

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