Design History

This ship, being a Tier X in the Soviet Tech Tree, didn’t exist. From what I could find, this ship is based on Project 84, a design for a 15,000t AA cruiser. The design, as far as I can tell, does not have torpedoes, like it does ingame, but it is an interesting design because it has the largest DP guns in WoWs:B, as most others are 6in and below, while Pr. 84 has an impressive 7.1in bore size.

Without further adieu, let’s dive into the details of the ship.

At a Glance

Alexander Nevsky is, at first glance and without opening up the stats, an awful ship. Less barrels than any other TX Cruiser (Most have 10+), a poor layout, and huge size. Opening up the stats, it gets even worse: the huge size means poor maneuverability, and her armor is very poor as well. Her guns have a long reload for a ship like this, and there is no Rapid Reload, compounding this. Her range was also (stealth) nerfed in the last patch from 13.74 to 13.29, but even so, it is best in tier for light cruisers. The concealment is also terrible, and the AA, while good (it will shoot down a full concentrated strike before it leaves your range), doesn’t mitigate much damage from CV’s because of the large size, and bad handling. TLDR? If you’re a stats is everything person, don’t buy this ship.

Survivability

Dmitri Donskoi is a particularly squishy T9 cruiser. That carries over to the T10, except there a ton of 17+in BB’s that will absolutely ruin your day, and there is no increase in protection whatsoever. The citadel protection of 7.50% is worst in tier, only comparable to Smolensk. Fire & Flooding resistance is above average at 15%, but with the amount of HE and Torps being thrown around at Tier X these days, this doesn’t really matter all that much. The armor is 25mm at the extremities, a 30mm deck, which is just a damage pinata for T10 CV’s, and a very thin 140mm belt. You are going to be eating cits and full pens left and right in this ship.The HP is basically the only redeeming factor of the ship here. 39k, a full 2k more than the Worcester, and 5k more than Minotaur. This ship sits in the middle, leaning slightly towards light cruisers, as this is still 3k less than the 42k median for Heavies at this tier. Nothing is special about the ship here, aside from how shockingly bad it is.

Maneuverability/Concealment

We have achieved battleship levels of bad here. The stock 22.26s TTFS is awful. Most other cruisers (not even light/heavy) have ~15.00s. This is one of the biggest things in need of a buff, at least to 16s, to make up for the Smolensk levels of protection this ship has. The turn time of 11.1s is also very bad for a light cruiser. This also needs a buff, to about 9s. The turning rate is actually not bad, and the speed is very good, at 35.43 kts.Concealment is poor, at 10.81km, but the concealment of all Soviet ships is poor, and so does not need any changes. The fact that she is spotted at 15.81KM after firing does make it a very difficult job to run from any BB. In short, this category, like the one above, is not where the ship shines. It needs some buffs to be at least middle of the road, because, as I stated above, the protection is so bad that it needs extra maneuverability to survive in a T10 match.

Anti-Aircraft Armaments

Like the rest of the new Soviet cruisers, Alexander Nevsky boasts above average AA DPS, clocking in at 532, and bolstered by ADA II, boosting it up to 1064. The range is also improved from the abysmal AA that most other Soviet ships have, with 4.2 on the long range and 2.1 on the short, vs. 3.6 and 1.8 on DM Donskoi. You can shoot down full attacks, especially since you have the range to do so. Clear Skies aren’t the hardest thing for this ship.

Torpedo Battery

These torpedoes are the very standard Top-Tier/Premium torpedoes found on ships like Ochakov, Smolensk*,* Pyotr Bagration, and Dmitri Donskoi. They have six kilometer range, and an Alpha of roughly 3,500. They aren’t bad, per se, but you shouldn’t be close enough to use them. There isn’t really much else to say, since they don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, as most damage comes from your guns.

Main Battery

Alright, here we go. The singular saving grace of this ship are the guns. These are, without a doubt, the best cruiser guns in the game. They have the shell weight of 203’s, and the range too, with the signature Soviet Ballistics allowing them to reach their very good range in a short 6s. However, the good times just about end there. The fire chance is still very low for a ship that was designed to replace a ship that didn’t fit with the supposed firestarting playstyle offered by the Tier V-VIII Soviet cruisers. 6.5% is better than most others, but then again, the other ships have twelve guns and a much faster reload then Nevsky’s 6.2s. The turret traverse, in signature Soviet Cruiser fashion, is very bad for the tier. It is faster than heavies, but slower than lights, and it takes an eternity to get them turned to the other side of the ship. This being said, the rearward gun angles are amazing, but the forward angles leave a bit to be desired.
These guns, for me, feel very conflicted. They can citadel battleships at ranges that would make most heavy cruisers jealous, not to mention light cruisers. But at the same time, there are so few, and the reload so slow, that there it takes an absolute eternity to kill something. In addition, one of the ships’ selling points, the range, was stealth nerfed in the last patch, and so now it has to get even closer, which for this ship is an absolute death sentence.

Build

This build may spark confusion, or conflict in the comments, since it is different from most reviews listed recently. The only build that is similar to mine was Terrys First Impressions on the ship, back when it was even worse than it is now.

Equipment

Slot I: Main Battery II or Main Battery Modification III
Slot II: Propulsion System Modification I
Slot III: Steering Gears Modification II or Propulsion System Modification II

Supplies

High Grade Coal or Preventative Maintenance Pack
Improved Crew Rations
Refined Diesel

Commander Skills

Emergency Response
Battlefield Support
Artillery Maintenance Expert
Air Defense Expert
Daredevil
Generalist
Expert Marksman
Adrenaline Rish
Demolition Expert
Honor Seeker
Armor Piercing Capped Shell
Citadel Strike

Balancing

This ship has, in my opinion, boatloads (pun unintended) of potential. It is just sorely, sorely in need of help. Even the recent buffs came with a nerf. In my book, this ship should fit into the meta as a Long-Range Des Moines. It trades DPM and maneuverability for accuracy, ease of aim, and range. The problem with the ship right now is the fact that the downsides are absolutely there, but the upsides are nigh invisible save for that one in ten 120k game. This ship needs, first and foremost, better handling. 16-18s TTFS would be a huge improvement. The range needs to be reverted back to what it was, and the guns need an improved fire chance of 8%. (Donskoi will receive this too). Main battery reload will be reduced again to 5.8s. With these buffs I think the ship might have a fighting chance without adding more Radars to the T10 meta (sorry Slai).

Conclusion

There is no reason to grind past Tier VII in the Soviet tech tree. Everything after that is either strictly mediocre or downright trash. I mean, look at it. You go from Schors, one of the strongest Tier VII tech tree cruisers, to the Chapayev, or, if you’re especially masochistic, the Tallinn, from the Minsk to the Tashkent, and from Sinop to the Vladivostok. None of the latter are legitimately good ships, and all of them were either powercrept or just plain DoA. Why? I just don’t understand. What’s worse, the Tier X’s are either bad or mediocre. Nevsky is basically the only decent Soviet T X. Just, don’t. Please. On a lighter note, I have to say that I do love all of the soviet cruisers in their own right. Nevsky especially is a favorite of mine. That’s all folks. Stay safe, and take care.

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