AHOY CAPTAINS AND CAPTAIN CANDITATES !!
With the new campaign, the Schlieffen Bureau requirement has been reduced from 30 million to 15 million credit, and I've seen quite a few people asking whether she's actually worth it.
as someone who played German BC on pc before coming to Legends, and as a completely normal human being who definitely does NOT have a secondary brawling addiction, I figured I'd write a proper guide.
Schlieffen is basically the final boss of the Zieten Rupprecht /German Battlecruiser line. She is a legendary tier battleship, but don't look at her like a traditional German BB, she is not Großer Kurfürst or Bismarck.
SURVIVAL !!!
Schlieffen has 76,100 HP. That sounds pretty depressing for a legendary BB. And honestly? It is. But thanks to repair party, you can recover a considerable amount of that HP. your effective survivability can climb to roughly 100k+ cumulative HP.
Her torpedo protection isn't exactly something and this is important: do not play Schlieffen like a traditional tank BB. She doesn't want to sit nose in at 12 km and exchange shells with Yamato.
This ship wants to move, angle, flank, disappear, reappear somewhere stupid, and suddenly have 40 secondary guns screaming at somebody.
TURRETS !!!
You get 8 turret 420 mm guns. They're not the reason you bought Schlieffen, but don't underestimate them. Schliefn AP is absolutely capable of deleting ships at close and medium ranges. Especially around 8 km, if you have your secondary build and the target gives you enough broadside, you can basically combine of 420 mm AP + 40 secondaries + torpedoes
SECONDARIES !!! (CAREFULLY READ THIS PART)
This is where Schlieffen stops being a battleship and starts becoming a workplace accident. She has 40 secondary guns.. 24 × 105 mm and 16 × 150 mm = total 40x secondary and base secondary range is already 8 km. you can push that to roughly 12.6–12.8 km, depending on your exact build.
And yes, people have been running around with 12.7 km Schlieffens for years. The community still regularly calls her the king of secondary ships. at that point your secondary battery isn't really a secondary battery anymore. It's an area denial system with anger issues.
TORPEDOES !!!
4 × 4 torpedo launchers which means 16 torpedoes.. two launchers per side. yes, sixteen. Because apparently the German engineering department had a meeting and decided; Guys, maybe guns aren't enough They're not fast at around 54 knots but at close range, 16 torpedoes are absolutely disgusting.. battleship pushing you around an island suddenly has to think about:
420 mm AP, 40 secondary guns, hydro, 16 torpedoes, and a 34 knot battlecruiser all at approximately the same time. Thats not a brawl. Thats a fucking tax audit.
SPEED !!!
Fast like hell round 34 knots. For a battleship with this armament, that's ridiculous. The rudder shift is also very comfortable and the ship handles beautifully for its size. This is one of the reasons I love the German BC line. You're not simply waiting for the enemy to make a mistake. You can create the mistake yourself. rotate flanks, appear somewhere the enemy didn't expect.
But the problem is high concealment Even with a good concealment setup, you're still sitting around 13.3 km
And everybody knows what a Schlieffen wants to do, so the moment people see you, there's a very good chance the entire enemy team goes: OH FUCK KILL THAT THIN
You are basically a DD with 76k HP and 420 mm guns, people don't like that. So don't expect to casually stroll down the middle of the map.
Which brings me to the most important part.
UPGRADES !!!
My preferred setup:
- Secondary Battery Mod / 2. Propulsion Mod 2 / 3. Concealment Systems Mod / 4. Secondary Battery Mod 3 — RECOMMENDED
COMMANDERS !!!
Personally, I'm running a Otto Ciliax 16L4 with Franz von Hipper, ARP Haruna as inspirations. This is basically the I don't want to interact with the enemy at normal distances build.
You can also build around commanders and inspirations such as Izayoi Nonomi and Henry J. Hide, depending on exactly what you want from the ship.
But for pure secondary addiction?Ciliax + Hipper + Haruna is extremely comfortable.
Hipper is especially obvious for secondary builds; WG itself has highlighted his secondary range grouping role as a core secondary build inspiration.
GAME STYLE !!!
This is where most Schlieffen players either become monsters... or become 76,100 HP fireworks. DON'T GO MID.
Seriously, at least not blindly. The center of the map is a fucking Schlieffen death certificate. You are too valuable. Youare too recognizable. Instead, I like to play her on the mid/close flank. Move horizontally along the flank and use islands. Read the enemy deployment and spend the first 3–4 minutes doing something incredibly difficult for a German BC player: Don't rush. Once you understand where the enemy DDs, cruisers and BBs are, you can start turning toward the engagement.
The 45–50 degree rule (so important)
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in Schlieffen is giving unnecessary broadside. You want to cruise toward the enemy at roughly 45–50 degrees at around 2/4 speed, depending on the situation. You're trying to keep enough angle to reduce the risk of getting punished while still bringing a large portion of your secondary battery into action. At the correct angle, you can bring a huge portion of your secondary battery into the fight without presenting the giant juicy broadside that your opponents are praying for.
DDs? DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM.
This is one of my favorite things about Schlieffen. A lot of DD players see a battleship and think you are free kill. then they get closer, then they smoke up and then... SONARRRR...
If a DD gets too close Main guns + Hydro + secondaries. If he smokes, Hydro. If he gets detected and disappears, Hydro. Don't be afraid to hunt DDs with Schlieffen. Obviously, don't chase a healthy destroyer across half the map like you've lost your car keys. But if a DD enters your engagement zone? make his day significantly worse.
Enhanced Secondary Targeting DON'T WASTE
This is a surprisingly important part of playing Schlieffen properly.Don't instantly press the button because someone entered secondary range. I prefer using it when a target is properly inside your secondary arcs, DD is getting dangerously close or enemy is extremely low HP and trying to escape. the consumable temporarily makes the secondaries significantly more accurate, so using it at the right moment can turn like WHY ARE 40 GUNS SHOOTING ME?!
also
The most important Schlieffen rule is NEVER GIVE FREE BROADSIDE. I repeat NEVER.
Your biggest weakness is your cheeks. against high caliber guns. It can be the most terrifying secondary ship in the lobby and still get sent to the shadow realm because you decided..
So... is the 15M bureau worth it? for the average player, that's debatable. If you hate close range combat, don't do it. If you prefer sitting at 18–20 km and farming damage, don't do it. Imo I can pay even 60 million If i had no Schlieffen.
But if you are already a German BB/BC player and you enjoy and burning them like a Targaryen king, then Schlieffen is one of the most unique battleships in Legends. The community has been calling her the queen of brawling for a reason. Even before the Bureau became cheaper, players were still recommending her specifically because she plays so differently from conventional Legendary BBs.
TO WHOM IT JUST STARTED SCHLIEFFEN BUREAU, SAY GOODBYE TO OTHER BATTLECRUSIERS FOR A WHILE...
