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KMS Mainz

A ship that most players can do fairly well in, while being one of those ships that experienced players can generally influence most matches.
Captn_Thatch

KMS Mainz

  • Excellent Damage Potential
  • Long Range Sonar
  • Torpedoes
  • Improved HE Pen

Scope:

v 3.9. is coming to an end, with the final week of The Origin of Wisdom Campaign which yields the headliner ship for this review, KMS Mainz. Mainz falls into the German Navy as a Premium Cruiser and has 2 sisters in game, Hipper, Eugen and herself under her completed Russian version, Tallinn. Mainz is a GOOD ship, with a MODERATE skill floor and an EXTREME skill ceiling.

Rating Matrix:

  • [BAD, WEAK, AVERAGE, GOOD, GREAT]
  • {LOW, MODERATE, HIGH, EXTREME}

History:

Mainz represents a slight design variation of the Admiral Hipper Class. The Admiral Hipper Class was developed in 1934-1935 with two separate designs, the first of which completed in 1935 featuring 20.3cm (8in) main battery and the second, completed in 1936 featuring 15.5cm (6in) main battery. Namely designed within Treaty limitations of 10,000 Tonne, the finished Admiral Hipper Cruisers were completed largely exceeding these values.

Seydlitz and Lutzow, 2 of the planned 5 Admiral Hipper Class ships, were intended to feature the 15.5cm design, though, they would later be reverted to the 20.3cm design.

Seydlitz was laid down in December 1936 and launched in January 1939 however work was never completed as she was near completion in 1940. Due to the outbreak of World War 2, German priorities had changed. The ship's intended design was again changed, as the ship was then converted to an aircraft carrier and renamed Weser. The ship was scuttled in 1945 still incomplete.

Lutzow was laid down August 1937 and launched in July 1939. The Soviet Union requested to purchase the ship, and by February 1940, the sale was agreed to. Transfer was completed in April 1940. By September 1940, the ship was renamed Petropavlovsk, but had not been completed by the German invasion of Leningrad in June 1941, where the ship was being completed by the Soviet Union. The ship was used for defensive fire by the Soviets, where she was then damaged by the Germans.

Petropavlovsk would later be sunk in April 1942, raised in September 1942, the ship was renamed Tallinn, and was subsequently repaired then used in the Soviet Liberation of Leningrad in 1944. After the war, the ship was used as a stationary training platform and floating barracks before being broken up for scrap about a decade later.

Strengths:

  • 37mm Effective HE Penetration
  • Excellent HE DPM
  • Excellent Gunnery Range
  • 12 Torpedoes
  • Turtleback Armor-Scheme

Weaknesses:

  • Poor HE Alpha
  • Awful Fire Chance %
  • Short Range Torpedoes
  • Large Detection Ring
  • 25mm Plating

The Basics:

Mianz has a lot of tools in her basket that are mainly gimmicks and not generally going to be used in most situations. She has a fancy turtleback armor scheme, resilient enough AA, torpedoes, long range hydro, HE 1/4 pen, excellent DPM, and all of the fixings to make for some solid defensive rankings with plenty of offensive capability. Don't be fooled, Mainz will rest atop a lot of places here.

Mainz follows a different iteration and playstyle than her sisters Prinz Eugen and Admiral Hipper, technically with less armor, and far superior DPM values, Mainz tends to prefer a bit more range. Limited by just 6km reach, your torpedoes are generally relegated for self-defense. Long-Range Hydro-Acoustic Search that punches out to 5.4km is excellent for keeping smaller targets at bay and identifying torpedo threats well before they become lethal.

Mainz main issue comes more from her size and ability to reposition. Many cruisers will out handle her in such a way that leaves Mainz exposed to better concealed, and better positioned threats. For a Cruiser Light, lacking radar while presenting a large concealment ring hands Mainz issues in trying to perform the general task of CL's, and that is cap defense and hunting smaller ships. Smaller boats will both generously out maneuver Mainz, and out spot her, to the tune where most destroyers will be able to avoid her, where Mainz has no response for this.

Mainz may have very generous potential damage values, but she is generally limited to just that and in most situations will struggle to perform critical team focused tasks. This ship is a Raider at heart, and as such she is capable of raising hell on a target with a mission but will struggle when the engagement turns directly towards Mainz.

Offense:

  • GOOD

Mainz has a lot of things going for her in this spot and is arguably a bit more capable than her sisters. For starters, Mainz fires off 4 more rifles, even though they are smaller caliber, have excellent penetration values. Mainz also sports 4 more torpedoes and is fairly on par in terms of armor and HP/EHP.

Stock Main Battery Range

  • Sigfried: 17.1
  • Riga: 16.1
  • Bagration: 16
  • Chapayev: 16
  • Kutuzov: 16
  • Hipper: 15.8
  • Martel: 15.8
  • Azuma: 15.8
  • P. Eugen: 15.8
  • Mainz: 15.8
  • Ochakov: 15.5
  • Baltimore: 15.5
  • AL Balti: 15.5
  • Wichita: 15.5
  • Albemarle: 15.5
  • Amalfi: 15.4
  • Mogami: 15.3
  • Suzuya: 15.3
  • Edinburgh: 15.3
  • Cleveland: 15.3
  • Atago: 14.7

15.8 is just a tick above the average. This is not so much better that you can run away triumphantly, but it will respond well to buffs. This translates to 19.1km reach when all is said and done.

HE Alpha Strike

  • Azuma: 4500
  • Sigfried: 4400
  • Albemarle: 3300
  • Atago: 3300
  • Mogami: 3300
  • Amalfi: 3100
  • Riga: 3050
  • Baltimore: 3000
  • Martel: 2800
  • AL Balti: 2800
  • Wichita: 2800
  • Hipper: 2700
  • Suzuya: 2700
  • Bagration: 2500
  • P. Eugen: 2500
  • Chapayev: 2300
  • Cleveland: 2300
  • Kutuzov: 2200
  • Ochakov: 2200
  • Mainz: 1700
  • Edinburgh: 0

Mainz HE alpha is just dreadful. The kicker here, is that German CA/CLs have 'built in' IFHE, EoP, (or whatever you wish to call it), the mechanism which translates into increased penetration, at a cost of alpha and fire chance.

HE Broadside Weight

  • Azuma: 40,500
  • Suzuya: 40,500
  • Mogami: 33,000
  • Atago: 33,000
  • Albemarle: 27,900
  • Amalfi: 27,900
  • Chapayev: 27,600
  • Cleveland: 27,600
  • Riga: 27,450
  • Baltimore: 27,000
  • Sigfried: 26,400
  • Kutuzov: 26,400
  • Martel: 25,200
  • AL Balti: 25,200
  • Wichita: 25,200
  • Bagration: 22,500
  • Hipper: 21,600
  • P. Eugen: 20,000
  • Mainz: 20,400
  • Ochakov: 17,600
  • Edinburgh: 0

at 20.4k Broadside Alpha, Mainz is not so heavy hitting. However, as said before that 35+mm HE penetration will allow her to penetrate a lot more targets than the norm. This translates these potential numbers into higher effective numbers.

Shell Fire Chance %

  • Sigfried: 34
  • Azuma: 27
  • Albemarle: 17
  • Atago: 17
  • Mogami: 17
  • Amalfi: 15
  • Martel: 15
  • Riga: 14
  • Baltimore: 14
  • AL Balti: 14
  • Wichita: 14
  • Cleveland: 13
  • P. Eugen: 13
  • Hipper: 13
  • Bagration: 13
  • Chapayev: 12
  • Kutuzov: 12
  • Ochakov: 12
  • Suzuya: 11
  • Mainz: 8
  • Edinburgh: 0

More of the previous points brought to light. Mainz has the worst fire chance of anything firing HE.

Kit Shells per Minute

  • Cleveland: 126
  • Mainz: 120
  • Edinburgh: 109
  • Kutuzov: 102
  • Suzuya: 90
  • Chapayev: 90
  • Ochakov: 82
  • AL Balti: 55.6
  • Martel: 54
  • Wichita: 54
  • Baltimore: 50.9
  • Bagration: 49
  • Hipper: 47.5
  • Albemarle: 43.2
  • Atago: 42
  • Mogami: 40
  • Amalfi: 38.2
  • P. Eugen: 36.9
  • Riga: 34.8
  • Azuma: 23.5
  • Sigfried: 14

  1. Ships equipped for DPM: Edinburgh, Azuma, Hipper, Atago, Cleveland, AL Baltimore, Kutuzov.
  2. Ships equipped for Range: Baltimore, Mogami, Suzuya, Albemarle, Mainz, Eugen, Martel, Chapayev, Riga, Amalfi, Bagration.
  3. Equipment only, no commander skills.

Let's take a second here. Mainz puts up the second most shells a minute, while focusing entirely on range. Then, lets double back to the crap-load of potential damage all of these shells store with their ability to penetrate the bulk of the pack. Now, let's triple back to Mainz having the ability to plop these anywhere on the map, just about every 6s.

It's not exactly rocket surgery to see Mainz just literally slings a lot of numbers around.

Ballistics:

  • 37mm Effective HE Penetration
  • Standard Cruiser Dispersion

I'm keeping the ballistics section here short and sweet. Mainz is a bonafide HE spammer with excellent HE penetration and fairly good ballistic values. Her shells have a higher drag value, so expect flatter arcs with steeper drop offs towards the end of the flight time. Mainz has strong dispersion and responds very well to commander skills.

In terms of gun handling, Mainz performs quite well. Her rearward and forward firing angles are not so horrendous, but keep in mind that Mainz does have thin enough plating to be overmatched. While this won't end in a citadel, it will often end in a chunk of damage. Your angles are forgiving enough.

Now, let's glorify this ship even more by making her look absurd.

Torpedo Alpha Strike

  • Chapayev: 17,933
  • Mogami: 17,233
  • Suzuya: 17,233
  • Martel: 15,833
  • Edinburgh: 15,533
  • Albemarle: 15,533
  • Atago: 15,300
  • Ochakov: 15,100
  • Kutuzov: 14,400
  • Bagration: 14,400
  • Sigfried: 13,700
  • P. Eugen: 13,700
  • Mainz: 13,700
  • Hipper: 13,700
  • Amalfi: 12,667
  • Azuma: 0
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • Riga: 0

16x13,7k. 8 torpedoes per side.

Stock Torpedo Range

  • Amalfi: 12
  • Mogami: 11
  • Suzuya: 11
  • Edinburgh: 10
  • Albemarle: 10
  • Martel: 10
  • Atago: 8
  • Kutuzov: 8
  • Ochakov: 8
  • Bagration: 8
  • P. Eugen: 8
  • Mainz: 6
  • Hipper: 6
  • Sigfried: 6
  • Chapayev: 4
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • Azuma: 0
  • Riga: 0

The kicker here, is that something will have to be suicidally close for Mainz to capitalize on these. Whatever does wander too close, will pay for it. Inside 6km, Mainz is a monster where she can doll out some of the highest potential values in the game, period. Her torpedo arcs are quite forgiving.

Torpedo Damage per Minute

  • Mogami: 151,776
  • Suzuya: 151,776
  • Mainz: 146,133
  • Atago: 145,425
  • P. Eugen: 145,058
  • Hipper: 145,058
  • Edinburgh: 103,533
  • Albemarle: 77,665
  • Sigfried: 73,066
  • Ochakov: 69,160
  • Kutuzov: 65,954
  • Bagration: 65,954
  • Martel: 63,332
  • Chapayev: 43,620
  • Amalfi: 32,000
  • Azuma: 0
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • Riga: 0

Mainz compensates firing extra fish with a longer reload, but still hangs near her sisters. The IJN CA's still own this card, but not by that much of a margin.

Torpedo Broadside Weight

  • Mogami: 137,864
  • Suzuya: 137,864
  • Atago: 122,400
  • Mainz: 109,600
  • P. Eugen: 82,200
  • Hipper: 82,200
  • Ochakov: 75,500
  • Kutuzov: 72,000
  • Bagration: 72,000
  • Edinburgh: 62,132
  • Albemarle: 62,132
  • Sigfried: 54,800
  • Chapayev: 53,799
  • Amalfi: 50,668
  • Martel: 47,499
  • Azuma: 0
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • *Riga: 0

109k is generally enough Alpha punch before reductions to sink just about anything you run into. Save for maybe a full health Yamato.

Mainz has a lot going on here, excellent HE DPM numbers, high shell counts and wonderful potential damage values, 16 torpedoes coupled with 37mm of HE penetration are strong markers. This is easily one of the stronger weapons platforms of any cruiser and arguably takes on Suzuya.

Defense:

  • GREAT

Defensively, Mainz checks quite a lot of boxes and thus warrants an earnest rating. This is one of those instances where the ship will stretch the limits of the matrix, and you will see why. Let's dive in.

Base HP

  • Sigfried: 55,500
  • Azuma: 52,500
  • P. Eugen: 45,000
  • Hipper: 43,800
  • Amalfi: 42,800
  • Mainz: 42,500
  • Baltimore: 42,400
  • AL Balti: 42,400
  • Bagration: 42,000
  • *Riga: 42,000
  • Kutuzov: 40,700
  • Atago: 40,100
  • Albemarle: 39,400
  • Mogami: 39,100
  • Suzuya: 38,000
  • Martel: 38,000
  • Wichita: 37,900
  • Chapayev: 37,000
  • Cleveland: 36,900
  • Edinburgh: 36,400
  • Ochakov: 34,730

In terms of Base HP, Mainz has a pretty good spot here.

Effective HP

  • Azuma: 86,184
  • Sigfried: 73,980
  • Albemarle: 70,880
  • Baltimore: 65,624
  • AL Balti: 65,624
  • Edinburgh: 65,480
  • Amalfi: 60,692
  • P. Eugen: 60,120
  • Hipper: 58,472
  • Mainz: 56,780
  • Bagration: 56,112
  • Riga: 56,112
  • Atago: 54,440
  • Kutuzov: 54,364
  • Mogami: 52,204
  • Chapayev: 51,504
  • Suzuya: 50,768
  • Wichita: 50,612
  • Martel: 48,584
  • Cleveland: 47,204
  • Ochakov: 46,378

This Effective HP is fairly average. Especially considering Mainz is very much a CA in disguise as a CL with her 155mm. In terms of CL's, Mainz ranks very well. In terms of CA's, more so middle of the pack.

Torpedo Damage Reduction System (%)

  • Sigfried: 22
  • Azuma: 22
  • Mainz: 22
  • Amalfi: 19
  • Albemarle: 19
  • Riga: 19
  • Mogami: 16
  • Atago: 16
  • Martel: 16
  • Bagration: 16
  • Suzuya: 10
  • Hipper: 10
  • P. Eugen: 10
  • Baltimore: 4
  • Cleveland: 4
  • AL Balti: 4
  • Wichita: 4
  • Chapayev: 0
  • Kutuzov: 0
  • Ochakov: 0
  • Edinburgh: 0

Mainz with 22% Torpedo Reduction and 5.4km sonar? This is excellent for any cruiser.

Armor Layout:

  • 25mm Accessory Plating
  • 40mm Nose, 25mm Upper Bow
  • 25mm Torpedo Belt
  • 80mm Casemate Belt, 25mm Freeboard
  • 27mm Main Deck
  • 80mm Sloped internal Casemate Deck
  • Above Water Citadel
  • 40mm Citadel Deck Slope, 30mm Deck

For a cruiser, this is an actual armor scheme complete with a functional turtleback; complete with 200m of plating, spaced. Mainz will eat a lot of full penetrations due to her 25mm plating but will generally avoid citadel penetrations due to this armor scheme.

Let's recap. Good HP, average EHP. Strong AA. Strong Armor scheme. Long range defensive sonar, and an ability to use that sonar in terms of gunnery and defensive efficacy. This metric would be hard pressed not to yield a strong rating. The literal only things Mainz would be missing for a perfect score would be better HP/EHP and surveillance radar.

Anti-Air Suite:

  • GREAT

Anti-Air Averaged Damage per Second

  • Baltimore: 365
  • AL Balti: 365
  • Cleveland: 363
  • Mainz: 357
  • Sigfried: 354
  • Azuma: 342
  • Hipper: 288
  • Bagration: 280
  • P. Eugen: 279
  • Kutuzov: 264
  • Edinburgh: 263
  • Riga: 262
  • Amalfi: 240
  • Wichita: 217
  • Albemarle: 211
  • Chapayev: 207
  • Martel: 204
  • Ochakov: 196
  • Mogami: 127
  • Atago: 90
  • Suzuya: 67

These numbers are hard to argue against, Mainz has a solid AA Aura, and pushes out to 4.5km. The 4.5km is just a little short, but the 357/s is very strong.

Maneuverability:

  • AVERAGE

I guess you can call this section an area of balance. Maybe?

Max Base Speed

  • Amalfi: 38.1
  • Ochakov: 36
  • Chapayev: 35.5
  • Atago: 35.5
  • Bagration: 35.5
  • Azuma: 35
  • *Riga: 34.5
  • Mogami: 34.5
  • Suzuya: 34.5
  • Martel: 33.5
  • Sigfried: 33.5
  • Wichita: 33.5
  • Mainz: 33
  • Albemarle: 33
  • Cleveland: 33
  • Kutuzov: 33
  • Edinburgh: 32.5
  • Baltimore: 32.5
  • AL Balti: 32.5
  • P. Eugen: 32
  • Hipper: 32

33 knots is kind of slow, but its fast enough to get out of the way.

Turn Radius (m)

  • Azuma: 920
  • Riga: 920
  • Bagration: 890
  • Chapayev: 890
  • Sigfried: 880
  • Atago: 790
  • P. Eugen: 770
  • Kutuzov: 760
  • Mogami: 750
  • Suzuya: 750
  • Ochakov: 750
  • Hipper: 740
  • Baltimore: 730
  • AL Balti: 730
  • Mainz: 720
  • Albemarle: 720
  • Martel: 690
  • Edinburgh: 680
  • Amalfi: 680
  • Wichita: 680
  • Cleveland: 660

720m is quite a good turn radius all things considered.

Stock Rudder Shift (s)

  • Sigfried: 14
  • Azuma: 12.3
  • *Riga: 11.5
  • Amalfi: 11
  • Albemarle: 10.7
  • Bagration: 10.5
  • Mainz: 10.5
  • P. Eugen: 9.8
  • Hipper: 9.7
  • Martel: 8.9
  • Chapayev: 8.7
  • Edinburgh: 8.6
  • Atago: 8.1
  • Ochakov: 7.4
  • Cleveland: 7.2
  • Baltimore: 7
  • AL Balti: 7
  • Kutuzov: 6.5
  • Mogami: 6.4
  • Wichita: 6
  • Suzuya: 5.6

10.5 is kind of slow, but it is not the kind of slow that will get you killed. This is the kind of rudder shift that when you slap a rudder mod on becomes somewhat workable. Mainz practically spins on a dime so, keep in mind that while her rudder shift may be somewhat slow, her turn radius is not.

Let's recap. Mainz is slow, but not so slow she's weak. She takes a few seconds longer to start turning into a rather good turn radius. Average...ish?

Concealment:

  • WEAK

9.7km maxed. This build supports an 18.3km reach, and a 5.1 air detection. AL Graf Spee is a wonderful little monster of a build here with her Ghost perk. Otherwise, I would generally take Augustin.

Kit Surface Concealment

  • Riga: 13.1
  • Chapayev: 12.9
  • Kutuzov: 12
  • Sigfried: 11.8
  • P. Eugen: 11.7
  • Mainz: 11.8
  • Hipper: 11.6
  • Martel: 11.6
  • Ochakov: 11.4
  • Cleveland: 11.3
  • Mogami: 11.1
  • Azuma: 10.9
  • Albemarle: 10.9
  • Bagration: 10.8
  • Edinburgh: 10.8
  • Atago: 10.6
  • Baltimore: 10.5
  • AL Balti: 10.5
  • Wichita: 10.4
  • Suzuya: 10.2
  • Amalfi: 9.2

Shy of that specific build, this is more about where you will find Mainz hovering, and I would say while 9.7 is spectacular, 11.8 is not and the only difference there is the commander and commander skills.

Consumables:

  • GOOD

Long-Range sonar, with independently slotted Fighters, and a rather average heal. Another reason to run AL Graf Spee, her perk will push this heal from 255/s to 270/s. That sounds very slight but works out to be a little less than 1k health and pushes Mainz to match Eugen in terms of heal-ability.

Hydro-Acoustic Search: 3.8km torpedo detection with 5.6km ship detection and a 118s duration. Comes stock with a 180s reload and x2 charges.

Repair Party Effective Values

  • Albemarle: (35,000)
  • Azuma: (33,684)
  • Edinburgh: (29,080)
  • Sigfried: 330/s 28s. 60sr x2~~ (18,480)
  • P. Eugen: 270/s 28s. 60sr x2~~ (15,120)
  • Hipper: 262/s 28s. 60sr x2 ~~ (14,672)
  • Chapayev: (14,504)
  • Mainz: 255/s 28s. 60sr x2~~ (14,280)
  • Baltimore: (14,224)
  • AL Balti: (14,224)
  • Riga: (14,112)
  • Bagration: (14,112)
  • Kutuzov: (13,664)
  • Atago: (13,440)
  • Mogami: (13,104)
  • Suzuya: (12,768)
  • Wichita: (12,712)
  • Amalfi: (11,928)
  • Ochakov: (11,648)
  • Cleveland: (10,304)
  • Martel: (10,080)

Patrol Fighters: The standard 100s duration with an 80s reload and 3 charges.

Commanders:

  • GREAT

Ha. There are so many German Cruiser commanders. Generally, I prefer to run AL Graf Spee. Augustin makes for a solid contender as well.

Reinhard Scheer: Eh, pass. He's more of a hybrid commander, and there are a very specific set of skill that works best on Mainz.

Karl von Muller: Muller is more or less the free version of Augustin or Graf Spee. Pair with Norman Scott (Directed Impact +5% Sigma) and Nikolay Kuznetsov (+6% Gun Range).

  • Hearty: +5% Speed
  • Beyond Range: +10% Gun Range
  • Igniter: +3% Fire Chance
  • Velocious: +5% Speed
  • Fixated: +5% Sigma, -5% Dispersion
  • Fully Packed: +1 Consumables, -5% Consumable Reload

Gunther Lutjens: Pass, his skill set leans more onto the actual CL, not Mainz.

AL Hipper: Lacking Fully Packed is a huge hit. She misses out on additional heals and sonar. Pass.

AL Graf Spee: This is the build I tend to lean on here AL Graf Spee can be downright viscious with that 9.7km concealment. Concealment is one of the more important factors concerning cruiser meta, among other things. Pair with Jerzy Swirski (-4% Concealment) and Mikawa Gunichi (-6% Concealment). Mainz still walks away with 18.3km reach and a 34.6knot speed.

  • Pocket Battleship: Heal +6%
  • Beyond Range: +10% Gun Range
  • Ghost: -8% Concealment, -20% Air Concealment
  • Velocious: +5% Speed
  • Fixated: +5% Sigma, -5% Dispersion
  • Fully Packed: +1 Consumables, -5% Consumables Reload

Augustin Riegerwald: Norman Scott (Directed Impact -5% Sigma) Ivan B D Lightful (Phantom Bane -3% Gun Reload, -12% Detectability time after firing). This build is more well-rounded but completely lacks a concealment focus, meaning, Mainz will be generally unable to contest certain areas due to poor concealability. Augustin improves heavily on sigma and dispersion values, while keeping the 18.3km reach, and knocking down the reload to 5.6s. These skill perks give Mainz AP a bit more wiggle room and a hearty 4400 Alpha.

  • Merciless: -3% Gun Reload, +3% AP Alpha
  • Beyond Range: +10% Gun Range
  • Kraken Shells: +5% Speed, +10% AP Pen
  • Punch Through: +10% AP Alpha, +6% AP Pen
  • Fixated: +5% Sigma, -5% Dispersion
  • Fully Packed: +1 Consumables, -5% Consumable Reload

Upgrades:

  • Mainz is a premium ship without any upgrades

Modifications:

Slot 1: Aiming Systems Mod 1

  • The main takeaway, as always, is the -7% to dispersion.

Slot 2: Steering Gears Mod 2

  • Mainz is prone to being set on fire. Mainz also has a pretty chunky rudder shift. Ironically, the only wrong choice here is propulsion mod.

Slot 3: Concealment Mod 1

  • Mainz has pretty weak concealment values before specific commander skills come to rescue her. In either build, this is generally necessary, otherwise Mainz will forgo key areas until late in the match.

Slot 4: Gun Fire Control System Mod 2

  • +5% to gun range is the end goal. Mainz has wonderful DPM values, and more so is hindered by range than reload. DPM builds can get fairly meme-worthy but will sacrifice range and overall efficacy to get there. Some people just want to watch the world burn.

Research:

  • Montana

Summary:

  • GREAT

Honestly. It would be very hard to have a weapons system like this, and a defensive system to match and not hold on to some very stellar ratings. Maneuverability can be somewhat objective, and subjective, while being a critical aspect to measure performance. Mainz is not so fast nor agile that she will win many races, but she does not necessarily have to as her projectiles fly a lot faster than she can sail. Limited by what she can see, Mainz has wonderful potential values and awful concealment values. Those captains who encounter a Mainz will generally identify her as a threat and stay away.

This is why this ship has such a relative high skill index, and skill ceiling despite rather and extremely forgiving potential damage values. Coupled with Graf Spee, this ship has the concealment values to lay mayhem into the opposition by bringing a lot of firepower into a closer area. Mainz is not per se the strongest ship in close engagements due to somewhat clunky handling and her large profile, but she absolutely has the capacity to spew damage nearly at will.

A full tier higher than the current controversial Weimar, Mainz brings more to the table in some senses of utility and defense but is met with a tier that is much better equipped to deal with her potentials. Many ships of the tier will sport 40mm of armor, which negates much of the effect that Mainz improved HE pen characteristics sacrifice to get. Mainz will never likely be a firestarter, but her threat lays in her potential and ability to ignore most armor schemes; when that threat is taken away, as is more commonly found in T7 Battleships, Mainz tends to fall from more standard ratings, into higher potential ratings. The resulting difference is exactly as anticipated, Weimar fundamentally exceeds her tier values, and while Mainz ranks well among them, is still fundamentally relevant to those statistics in her tier spread.

Mainz is certainly a very strong ship with an ability to flex around a number of key playstyles. When Mainz is allowed to pick her engagements at will or undeterred, she is undoubtedly one of the most influential ships in her spread. Her potentials are that significant and her access to 35mm+ HE penetration allows her to boil down many engagements to a simple term of time/damage.

Mainz is a ship that most players can do fairly well in, while being one of those ships that experienced players can generally influence most matches. In terms of competitive, I'd suspect Mainz will likely be a choice, much and for the same reasons Hindenburg is found in PC Competitive play. Mainz, compared to Eugen, is a near textbook example of power-creep.