Credit to YURRA, based on the work shared on Pastebin, original available here. This has been heavily edited, but the original source, the bulk of it, and the idea came from that Pastebin article.
- fast planes with subpar HP
- Long aiming times, Sight Stabilization is almost required (Hakuryu has a base time of 6s for its rocket planes, 2s for its TBs, and 6s for DBs, with SS reducing that to 5.5s, 1.8s, and 4.5s respectively) This makes Hakuryu slower than only the Midway.
- subpar rocket armament
- excellent TBs that get access to 4 heals (as opposed to the usual 3)
- Long range, high speed torpedoes, with a decent chance of causing flooding. Drops the fewest torpedoes per flight of all lines, with 1 per attacking flight at T4, and 2 per attacking flight starting at T6 all the way to T10. In comparison, at T8 the German and USN CVs get 3 torpedoes per attacking flight with their upgraded TBs, and the RN gets 3 torpedoes per attacking flight with the base TBs at T10.
- AP bombers that are extremely effective against cruisers and most BBs
- the CVs themselves have good concealment
- overall, one of the best CV branches
- average to subpar plane speed (except for rocket planes which have very high speed)
- average plane HP
- Longest aiming times of all branches, Sight Stabilization is nearly mandatory to use effectively. (Midway has an attrocious 6.5s base aiming speed for its HVAR rocket planes and Torpedo bombers, and 5.5s for DBs, while SS brings that down to 4.8s and 3.8s respectively)
- great rocket armament
- weak torpedo armament at T4 and T6, decent at T8 and T10 - T8 upgraded TBs drop 3 torpedoes per attacking flight, while T10 upgraded TBs drop 6.
- excellent HE DBs, very usable against DDs.
- the CVs themselves have poor concealment which doesn't allow much liberty with positioning
- overall a good CV branch, and the best branch for starters
- subpar plane speed - slowest of all of the lines
- highest plane HP of all tech tree CVs
- good rocket armament against lightly armored targets, extremely accurate
- Fairly slow to aim, Sight Stablization is an option, but not required. (Audacious has a base aiming speed for its Rocket Planes of 6.2s, 5.7s for TBs, and 5s for its carpet bombers. SS reduces this to 5.7s, 5.2s, and 4.1s respectively.)
- decent TBs with high agility and reliable, accurate, but slow and short ranged torps, that have a high chance to cause flooding.
- special HE DBs with a carpet bombing drop pattern (poor against maneuvering, small and heavily armored targets, though it will set fires to even heavily armored BBs, and can regularly set multiple fires on one ship)
- relies mostly on Damage over Time (DoT) from fires and floods to take out most targets, rather than alpha damage.
- The most effective rockets against DDs.
- the CVs themselves have decent concealment
- overall the worst CV branch, but very fun to play.
- best in class plane speed
- worst in class plane HP
- AP rockets that are exceptionally good against cruisers who don't pay attention or are forced into an angle (frequently getting citadels against a broadside cruiser), and while not ideal, are workable against DDs and BBs, it will overpen DDs, but this still does a decent amount of damage.
- TBs with very reliable, fast, but low damage torpedoes.
- T8+ gets heals for not just the TBs like normal, but also the AP DBs, which helps make up for the low plane HP.
- AP DBs that are somewhat inconsistent but exceptionally devastating to BBs (can citadel German BBs)
- the CVs themselves have great concealment
- accurate, long-range secondary armament that can protect themselves against a low health DD that gets too close
- overall, a pretty decent CV branch
- relatively good dispersion at mid and long range
- slow turning turrets
- mediocre durability by BB standards
- mediocre dynamics (Izumo and Yamato are a bit on the lower side)
- 10s DCP duration
- overall a very solid and a good starter branch
- good mid range gun performance (high tiers have good performance at all ranges and an access to a special dispersion upgrade)
- improved heals compared to standard BB heal (0.66% HP/s as opposed to 0.5%), 20s DCP duration
- mediocre durability across the board, very low top speed (22kts) and good agility until T8 where they become pretty average (~27kts) in both aspects, T9 Iowa has a high top speed of 33kts, while Montana tops out at 30kts.
- really well-rounded "jack of all trades" branch
- a good starter branch
- slightly worse accuracy than the Montana branch with superbly high alpha damage and excruciatingly long reload times
- moderate tanking capabilities (except for Kansas)
- 20 s DCP duration
- very low top speed (23kts) which can make proper positioning very difficult
- relies mostly on long range plunging fire to do damage, piercing through the more lighter armored decks of ships rather than the side armor belt.
- Have access to DfAA, and have decent AA capabilities, but they are in open mounts and are easily destroyed.
- Has the choice between fighters or a spotter plane.
- The T10 Vermont carries 12 18in 457mm rifles in 4 triple turrets. She's quite accurate, and she has the highest alpha damage in the game, with each shell having 15,750 max damage.
- These ships are designed to sit back and snipe other ships, either using plunging fire, or the sheer mass of a volley of 12 18in shells.
- an underwhelming sub-branch ending in a solid T10
- subpar main batteries across the board, their horizontal dispersion is fairly good, but due to the velocity of the shells, their vertical dispersion is bad, making the main batteries rather innacurate.
- tough as nails due to their turtleback armor scheme making it very difficult to be citadeled, only vulnerable to dive bombers and plunging fire.
- mediocre to poor agility (by BB standards)
- decent AA
- T8+ get hydro and a good secondary armament (high HE penetration, good range)
- a slightly subpar BB branch offering a different playstyle.
- One of the easier branches to start with, given their turtleback armor scheme allows for many positioning mistakes without the punishment of getting citadeled.
- subpar AP shells, that can still pack quite the punch when an enemy presents their broadside to a RN BB.
- best-in-class HE shells with extremely high fire chance (40% or higher), guns tend to be smaller than their same tier equivalents from other nations, at T8 the Monarch has 15in guns , while the US has been using 16in guns since T7 with the Colorado (The KGV was using 14in guns at T7), it's not until T9 with the Lion that 16in guns are introduced, and 16.5in guns make an appearance as an upgrade for the Lion, and standard for the T10 Conqueror.
- mediocre mid range performance ("standard" BB dispersion, like USN and Germans),- very thin armor plating (highly vulnerable to cruiser HE)
- vulnerable citadels, angles must be considered to prevent being destroyed
- very good damage recovery options (fast cooldown heals, T9 and T10 get insane healing potential, they restore 2%/second, up to 75% of the ships HP and 10% of citadel damage)
- best-in-class concealment (comparable to some cruisers at high tiers)
- overall a solid, oft misunderstood, branch
- fantastic main batteries with good performance at all ranges
- long-range secondary armament, however, not a viable class for a full secondary build, due to the poor armor scheme
- worst in class durability across the board among tech tree ships (beaten only by a few premium BBs)
- good dynamics
- T8+ get access to engine boost
- overall a very good branch
- extremely tough armor across the board (except for Izmail and Pyotr Velikiy)
- limited DCP charges (5 max) with shorter cooldown (40 s)
- one heal charge less compared to her peers
- longer than average main battery reload (ex. 33s instead of the typical 30s)
- has exceptional horizontal dispersion, and extremely high velocity shells, which result in poor vertical dispersion, especially at longer ranges.
- At T10, the Kremlin boasts 9 457mm/48 18in rifles in 3 triple turrets, which have ridiculous 800m/s initial shell velocity.
- Possibly the best AA of any tech tree battleship
- easily the best BB branch in the game
- skill floor is somewhat high, and the skill ceiling is incredibly high.
- Not recommended as a starting branch. One needs to learn when to use DCPs and when not to, as when you're limited to just 5 DCPs, you must know when to simply let your ship burn.
- exceptionally accurate guns with high HE alpha damage, and good ballistics
- T5, 6 and 7 have strong deck armor with the higher tiers being on the low side of cruiser survivability
- good torpedoes (10km-12km) for situational use (kiting away), as they are mounted at the rear, and have poor angles.
- T9/T10 have access to the repair party consumable
- Well suited to kiting, and firing at something, then using its concealment and speed to find a location to hide, and then fire again.
- Can mount hydro or DfAA
- Can mount a fighter or (for T9+) the spotter plane consumable.
- great concealment - 9.90km for T10 Zao with CE and CM1.
- quite a decent branch overall and a good starter branch
- exceptional AP performance (much steeper armor angle needed to ricochet them (60-67.5°)), above average to excellent HE and AP DPM, mediocre ballistics performance (high arcs)
- decent durability (Baltimore and above are resistant to 380mm AP overmatch)
- decent dynamics (Des Moines with the legendary upgrade mounted has extremely good acceleration and agility), relatively low top speed
- T8+ get access to radar (10km range)
- easily the best heavy cruiser branch in the game
- very high AP damage despite relatively low penetration, weak HE shell alpha damage, but with improved penetration (1/4 of caliber) and high fire chance provides overall pretty good damage output, good ballistics
- Has access to heal at T9/T10
- pretty sturdy overall, with T5 and 6 as exceptions. Hipper and above are resistant to 380mm AP overmatch, allowing them to bounce shells from most guns provided they are angled properly.
- Has access to hydro or DfAA. At T8 the Hydro is the full German hydro with 6km ship detection and 4km torpedo detection.
- Has a fighter consumable that launches 3 fighters at T7/T8, or 4 fighters at T9/T10, these are useful for spotting enemies that may be behind islands.
- At T9, gets the choice between the fighter or a spotter plane, which can extend the firing range by 20%.
- overall quite a decent, well balanced branch
- recommended as a starter branch
- High HE alpha damage but low DPM, mediocre ballistics (high shell arcs), the T10 Goliath has very similar AP penetration and flight time to the T10 USN CA Des Moines. Benefits from the 1/4 caliber HE penetration for British Cruisers, meaning that the 234mm HE shells of Goliath penetrate 39mm.
- high long-term survivability (unlike most cruisers, they get heal starting at T5, and T8+ get a maximum of 3 charges of superheal, 2 base) The superheal allows for 2% of HP to be recovered per second (instead of 0.5%), and up to 50% of citadel damage to be recovered, compared to the normal 10%.
- Has the choice between hydro or DfAA.
- very vulnerable citadels, good agility, low top speed
- overall a pretty average and unimpressive branch with a solid T10
- HE does great damage, and has a high fire chance, while AP does a considerable amount of damage as well.
- Choice of DfAA or Hydro
- Has access to heal at T9/T10
- T10 Henri IV has the largest guns in the game for a Tech Tree Heavy Cruiser at 240mm.
- good baseline damage output and good performance at range
- Has access to an improved Engine Boost consumable (20% instead of 8%, for 180s instead of 120s, and 90s reload instead of 120s)
- Access to main battery reload booster (doubles their damage output for a short period of time)
- good agility and excellent top speed when using engine boost
- overall quite a good branch
- Peculiar guns with fantastic ballistics
- Strong AP (high penetration, high damage for calibre, improved ricochet angle (50-65°)), HE damage is roughly half that of the AP damage, but should not be ignored, as the fire chance is quite high.
- T8 Tallinn has 4km torpedoes that deal a lot of damage, only useful for suicide runs, or brawling with a larger opponent. T9 and T10 do not have any torpedoes.
- average durability, great armor plating, all of them have an ice breaker bow that can bounce shots (except for Tallinn, its ice breaker is too thin at 50mm to be effective)
- Subpar dynamics, low top speed (~33kts) great concealment for their size and durability
- Has access to a heal at T9/T10
- T10 Petropavlovsk has turrets that can all rotate 360°, making it easy to switch from target to target, or keep the guns on target when turning.
- Short duration (15 second) 12km radar with stealth radar capability
- Excels at bow-tanking and dealing damage with the AP shells to any opponent that presents a broadside, and HE to anything bow on.
- SAP instead of HE, SAP provides high alpha damage, detonates upon impact and penetrates a fixed amount of armor much like HE, but akin to AP they don't set fires or disable modules, can ricochet (70-80° angles), and can overmatch. They do huge amounts of damage to DDs.
- Long reload times - T8 Amalfi has a 16s reload time
- Relatively short firing range - T8 Amalfi has an upgraded range of 16.15km, but the Spotter Plane consumable makes up for this.
- Decent survivability but vulnerable citadels (except for Venezia) they are primarily open water boats, relying on their agility and smoke to avoid incoming shells and reposition themselves.
- Long Range, decently fast (51kts) torpedoes, T8 Amalfi has 2x4 12km torpedoes, 1x4 launcher on each side. They are used more as an area of denial weapon, or a last ditch defense against a larger target.
- good agility, high top speed
- Has access to a heal at T9/T10
- access to a special full throttle smoke generator (which is basically a free get out of jail card)
- the branch only starts getting good at T8+ with Venezia being one of the better T10 cruisers
- exceptionally high damage output, poor ballistics (this allows them to comfortably shoot over islands), HE has fantastic fire chance, and the T10 is basically a machine gun lighting things on fire.
- subpar durability, good agility but low top speed. Positioning is incredibly important.
- T9 and T10 get a heal
- can mount both hydro and DfAA simultaneously
- Fantastic AA ships
- T8+ get access to radar (9km), the T10 Worcester's radar lasts for 40s base, but this can be increased to last up to 52.8s with the module and skill.
- great concealment - T10 Worcester is 9.76km with CE and CM1
- overall a decent branch
- Guns have great ballistics performance with mostly flat arcs.
- decent damage output (especially once you get to the 180mm guns at T9 and T10, which can pack quite the punch, T10 especially given that they are 180mm guns that fire rapidly, allowing for fantastic fire setting ability), T8 has 155mm guns that are great at setting fires.
- The only "light" cruisers that have guns larger than 155mm, with T9 and T10 packing 180mm main guns.
- T5-T8 have extremely fast (65kts), high damage (18k), 4km torpedoes that are most used as a weapon of last resort, or a suicide weapon. They are mounted with one launcher per side that may have 3, 4, or 5 torpedoes in the launcher.
- T9 and T10 get access to a quintuple launcher on each side that carries torpedoes that go 8km, and that do a lot of damage. These should be used against a larger target that sneaks up on you, as an ambush weapon, or in a brawl.
- T5-T8 are very punishing and even more than T8+ have very large and vulnerable citadels with overall mediocre survivability, mediocre to poor agility with high top speed
- T8+ get access to 12km radar (Chapayev can even stealth-radar) that lasts considerably longer than the 15s radar on the USSR CA line overall a pretty solid branch. At T8 it starts at 20s, T9 25s, T10 30s. These can be upgraded with skills and modules to last as long as 40s.
- Choice between Hydro or DfAA starting at T6.
- Very powerful AA at T8+
- T9+ get a heal
- Overall a great branch, very focused on DPS and setting fires, plays well as a support ship, providing radar and or Hydro to help in hunting DDs, and using the powerful AA (with or without DfAA) to shoot down any threats from enemy squadrons.
- Guns only get access to AP shells, but with improved ricochet angles (60-75°) and very short fuse time, which virtually cannot overpenetrate, which increases their damage output vs broadsides and DDs massively. The shells have high arcs, which allows for shooting over islands, as well as plunging fire into decks of ships at long ranges.
- very weak armor and vulnerable citadels
- have access to smoke and heal from T5 onwards
- T8+ get a supercharged heal which can heals 2% of the total HP per second (compared to standard 0.5% HP/s), and can heal 50% of citadel damage, compared to the normal 10%, allowing it to heal up to 50% of the ships health in one go.
- Good AA, but doesn't have access to DfAA
- Have torpedoes that can be launched tube-by-tube, at T8 they reach out to 10km, at T9/T10 there are 4x4 launchers, with 2x4 on each side of the ship.
- Has access to hydro
- Extremely good acceleration
- T8, 9 and 10 can slot radar (10km) in place of smoke
- great concealment (T8 Edinburgh is 9.19km with CE and CM1, T9 Neptune is 10.32km, T10 Minotaur is 9.05km)
- very hard, yet very fun to play and overall a very good branch
- Best-in-class stealth
- Guns are among the worst in class -- mainly decorative.
- very high torpedo damage, long torpedo reload, subpar torpedo detection range allowing for more time for enemies to react and dodge
- T10 Shimakaze has 20km torpedoes, but they have a 2.5km detection range (massive) allowing for 15.5s of reaction time by the enemy. The 12km torpedoes reduce this to 1.7km, and 9.8s, allowing for more reliable hits.
- low HP pools, compensated by great agility (Shimakaze has a base rudder shift of 3.0s and a speed of 39kts) and small size, making them a difficult target to hit
- T8 Kagero and T9 Yugumo can swap smoke for a torpedo reload booster
- Access to Engine Boost consumable, 8% speed boost for 120s.
- inherently an unreliable branch due to over-reliance on torpedoes, but nonetheless decent
- Poor AA, relies on concealment and smoke
- Recommended as a starter branch
- T5, 6 and 7 are very similar to the Shimakaze branch counterparts but with fewer torpedoes
- T7 Shiratsuyu can swap smoke for a torpedo reload booster
- T8+ have best-in-class guns with great reload and good fire chance
- Despite the guns only being 100mm they have boosted penetration value for HE allowing them 30mm of HE pen, 32mm with IFHE
- A solid torpedo armament with torpedo reload booster allowing them to send two salvos of torpedoes in quick succession, T8 Akizuki having 1x4 10km torpedo launcher, and Kitakaze and Harugamo (T9/T10) have 1x6 12km torpedo launchers, allowing them to put 8 or 12 torps in the water rapidly if needed.
- The ships are large, clumsy and slow (36kts with Kitakaze is the fastest) with a massive turning circle of 830m for Harugamo, and 730m for Akizuki and Kitakaze.
- Engine Boost is available at T2, giving a 8% boost for 120s.
- Smoke Generator is workable, lasts anywhere from a minute to a little over a minute and a half.
- Concealment is passable, at 6.10km for T8/T9 Akizuki/Kitakaze with CE and CM1, or 6.22km for T10 Harugamo.
- Good (but not great) AA due to the dual purpose main battery
- overall a fantastic branch that is very fun to play and can be very powerful.
- low tiers focus on gunpower with their torpedo armament getting much better at T7 and above (at T7+ you get access to 9.2km torpedoes, at T9 10.5km, and at T10, 16.5km)
- as the ships use the same 5x1 127mm/38 turret setup from T6-T9, they get outclassed relative to other ships at around T8. At T10, you get 3x2 127mm/38 turrets (incidentally, the same turrets that are used as Dual Purpose secondaries on T8+ USN BBs), which adds a gun, and increases the firepower a bit.
- At T8+ the line are a good hybrid torpedoboats with decent gunpower. A Gearing is never going to outgun a Harugamo or out torpedo a Shimakaze, but it's a reasonable balance between the two that allows for a good support ship.
- poor ballistics (guns are best suited for close range fighting), but the high arcs also allow you to fire over islands.
- very long smoke duration
- good concealment
- good dynamics
- small profile
- overall a decent branch
- recommended as a starter branch
- Fantastic guns with excellent AP damage, roughly double the max damage of the HE shells.
- HE does less damage but with improved German DD HE penetration allowing for HE pen 1/4 of the gun size. The 128mm guns present on T6-T10 will pen 32mm, allowing it to pen T8-10 BB Bow, Stern, as well as Deck Plating.
- Medium range, decent damage (14k damage) torpedoes in 2x4 configuration, at T8 you get 9.5km/66kt torpedoes, at T10 you get 10.5km/69kt torpedoes that reload every 90s.
- T5+ get access to 5km hydro, at T10, Z-52 has an improved 6km version
- short smoke duration, subpar conceal, large HP pools and large size
- decent to very good branch and a good starter branch
- solid-to-excellent guns with subpar ballistics (high arcs)
- T9 and T10 AP have improved AP ricochet angles
- good HE output, poor HE penetration due to the small size of the guns, especially at T9/T10, IFHE will not help either get past any significant armor thresholds, and even the smallest guns are able to pen the superstructure of T8-10 BBs.
- average, quick, medium range torpedoes (8km at T8, 10km at T9/T10) that can be fired tube-by-tube
- short range, long duration hydro (3km ship and torpedo detection)
- short duration smoke with more charges than usual, quick reload. Smoke action time is only 10s, smoke dispersion time is 40s, and the reload is 70s, so the time between smoke screen going down and being able to lay a new one is only 30s.
- no access to engine boost
- excellent dynamics with improved acceleration parameters, and decent rudder shift. 5.3s base on T8 Lightning, 4.6s base on T10 Daring.
- No access to propulsion mod 1, as it is basically built in
- very good concealment (except for Daring), small profile
- an excellent branch that can teach bad habits in DD play, due to reliance on hydro and short duration smokes
- fantastic gunpower with good ballistics
- T7 and below, the 4km torpedoes are nearly useless, only good for ambushes and suicide runs
- At T8 you get 8km torps, at T10, they drop to 6km torps. This makes the torpedoes useful at T8 and T9 for kiting, and technically you can stealth torp with them, although your concealment is 7.07km (with CE and CM1) in a Kiev, and 7.39km in a Tashkent, so the margin is very small.
- very high speed, >40kts
- Engine Boost increases speed by 8% for 120s
- T8+ can swap smoke for heal
- generally regarded as a fun branch, and quite a solid one at high tiers
- T8 Ognevoi is a torpedoboat with subpar concealment (6.08km with CE and Conceal. Mod. 1) Torpedoes are 10km/57kt, 2x3 launchers, with a 55s reload.
- T9 Udaloi is a gunboat and solid gunpower with decent torpedoes (6.76km with CE and CM1), stock torps are 8km/67kt torps, upgraded they are 10km/60kt.
- T10 Grozovoi is a true universal-type DD with an emphasis on guns
- all have access to engine boost, heal, smoke, and DfAA (with 2 charges stock for each, except DfAA which comes with 4 charges)
- overall a good "jack of all trades" branch
- great gun performance (DPM at low tiers, ballistics at T8+)
- extremely fast torpedoes with medium range
- Main Battery Reload Booster consumable available from T6+
- high top speed (T8+ is 42kts or higher)
- improved engine boost (extra max speed, 20% instead of typical 8%, 180s duration instead of 120s, and 90s reload instead of 120s)
- no access to smoke generator
- special damage saturation mechanics (their midsection can be saturated, unlike that of most DDs)
- pretty hard to learn to play effectively, but overall a very good branch, with a high skill ceiling
- decent guns, comparable to RN DDs
- low damage, high speed, long range torpedoes with fast reload
- no smoke
- Engine Boost Consumable that boosts speed by 8%
- T5+ have access to repair party consumable, which heals 1% of total HP for 10s (14s at T8+).
- T8+ have fantastic AA, in addition to DfAA
- Above average ship dynamics and concealment Ex. T8 Öland has concealment of 5.83km with CE and CM1, a top speed of 35kts, and a Rudder shift time of 3.4s
- Branch has high skill floor and an incredibly high skill ceiling
- Sub-par guns - very similar to the USN DD guns with slightly slower reload, as such have poor ballistics, the high arcs allow shooting over islands, but the long time of flight makes it difficult to hit a moving target at range.
- special "Deep Water Torpedoes" (DWT), which cannot hit DDs, however they hit very hard, are hard to detect or dodge (nearly impossible to dodge without Hydro), and move rather quickly.
- ship dynamics and concealment are very similar to USN DDs (and even better at low tiers)
- smokes with shorter duration but faster cooldown and more charges, but not to the level of short duration smokes of the RN DDs.
- Can mount 7.5km radar in place of smoke starting at T8.
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