SVERDLOV

Country
Soviet Union (USSR)

Class
Cruiser

MMweight
8.0

Obtain Method
Tech Tree

Arena rating

D

PVP rating

D

Sverdlov is a light cruiser with plenty of guns. It has twelve 152 mm guns in 4×3 configuration. However, in its MMweight, 152 mm HE penetration is not sufficient anymore to penetrate battleship’s deck armor. Sverdlov also has slow reload and bad accuracy, which makes its damage output very low. Sverdlov is capable of sniping due to fast shell velocity and long range. Sverdlov’s guns are only good against other cruisers, and even then, there are other cruisers that can do the job better. 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.

For a light cruiser, this ship’s armor is decent but battleship guns can penetrate it from any angle. Sverdlov’s maneuverability and speed are average, but the surface detectability is bad. Sverdlov 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, Sverdlov is often forced to fight in open water. However, bad armor complicates this playstyle. If you’re fighting in open water, you must stay at more than 14 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.

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?

Sverdlov must fight at long range due to bad armor. Unfortunately, bad accuracy and low penetration will make its damage output very low. The only time Sverdlov has a chance of fighting back is if the enemy is a bad cruiser player.

Sverdlov is a tech tree ship. If you want to buy it, you just need to grind it. No need to spend money. Among all cruisers in Soviet tech tree line, the top tier ship (Pr84) is the only good ship and worth to grind. If you have a lot of unused free exp, you can use that to skip Sverdlov. In general, this line is not recommended for new players.

Strengths
High velocity guns, long range, has torpedoes
Weaknesses
Bad accuracy, low penetration, slow reload, bad armor, bad concealment, 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

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 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

Back to cruiser reviews