Game:

République (2016)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 18:18

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République — French Tier X battleship.

A version of the battleship design of the post-war period. Her main distinguishing features were very powerful AA guns and 431 mm main battery guns, which were developed in France in the late 1930s.

Performance
République has a fairly unique play style compared to that of the other Tier X battleships. Luckily, she plays quite similarly to the previous ships in the French battleship line, so lessons learned in the previous ships will be useful with République. She is primarily a "flanker", relying on her mobility and good accuracy to punish enemy broadsides from unexpected positions. Her AP shells have the best penetration characteristics in the game up to 15km, and second to Yamato from 16km onwards. In addition, her 17 inch guns are able to overmatch 30mm, a plating found on many high tier cruisers, which when coupled with her fast speed and good mobility make République an excellent cruiser hunter. In addition to this excellent AP, it is worth nothing that the High Explosive shells on the République are also surprisingly effective, having the same fire chance as the tier 10 British Battleship Conqueror of 48% and a very good HE alpha damage. However it is more viable to fire the punishing AP shells, and to use the HE shells only towards angled enemy battleships.

République has an excellent mobility advantage over her same-tier counterparts, and — combined with her average concealment — her play style becomes fairly similar to that of Montana and a little bit like a heavy cruiser as well. Her mobility is best used to reach opportunistic positions and flanks, where her amazing guns and gun handling will facilitate destruction of enemy ships from the side. Her mobility can also be used to close within "brawling" range of isolated battleships, allowing République to make use of her secondary battery. The ability to mount a speed boost consumable, coupled that with fairly good turret arcs, means that she is able to run away from enemy ships angled while still firing at them, effecting "kiting" the enemy and maximizing survivability in situations in which you need to flee. République’s citadel is protected by a turtleback armor scheme that gives her some protection against citadel hits, but it is by no means as strong as the turtleback armor found on German counterpart Großer Kurfürst and brawling is possible, but not recommended. Her mobility also allows her to dictate engagement ranges easily, although her concealment leaves something to be desired.

As strong as she is against cruisers, she is also weak against them. Unlike Großer Kurfürst, the biggest flaw with République is the 32mm plating that covers every non-superstructure surface of the ship, a trait she shares with Conqueror. This makes her incredibly vulnerable to HE shells with a caliber of 203mm or higher, as well as IFHE-equipped light cruisers. Additionally, she does not feature a unique heal found on the Conqueror that allow her to heal up 100% damage taken from flooding or fires.Ships such as Des Moines, Conqueror, Zao, and Harugumo (with IFHE) are extreme threats to République, more so than most enemy battleships. Her plating also makes her vulnerable to overmatch hits from Yamato and Musashi. République also suffers from the same weakness Yamato possesses, with a vulnerable section of "cheek" armor below the front turret when bow-in. However with her armor scheme and turtleback, the "cheek" is protected enough to avoid instant deletions that a Yamato would face.

Overall, République possesses a unique play style for a battleship; her mobility, guns, reload time, and ammo choices make her play more similarly to a high-tier cruiser than a battleship, while her concealment, hit points, and damage are still those of a battleship. République can be a very fun ship to play, even if her "competitive" potential — in Clan Battles, for example — is tempered by concerns about her survivability due to her 32mm plating. If you are looking for a ship that is a middle ground between Montana and Yamato but play similar to a cruiser and have its own unique abilities, République is a perfect ship.

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