Premium Ships
Introduction
Getting a Premium Ship
Premium Ships Pictorial
Premium Light Cruiser Details
Premium Light Cruisers in Combat
Premium Light Cruiser Pros / Cons
Premium Heavy Cruiser Details
Premium Heavy Cruisers in Combat
Premium Heavy Cruiser Pros / Cons
Shipyard Photographs
There are 8 premium ships available to the players once Navyfield goes retail, one light cruiser and one heavy cruiser for each nation. Since only the moderators and Team NF have had access to these ships prior to the retail, I hope this report will clear up some questions players have had about them. I played with each one of these ships, testing out and endless variety of engines, armor, fcs, and weapons. This is what I found...
Unlike other ships in the game, premium ships must be bought with real money. It costs $2.99 for a light cruiser and $4.99 for a heavy cruiser. Once you have bought the ship it never goes away and any of your bridge officers with the appropriate level can use them - they do not have a spot in the ship tree. Premium ships cannot be traded, and they take up one of the six docks available in it's national shipyard.
These are 3d animations of the premium ships, courtesy of Team NF. They show version 1.107 paint schemes and typical gun arrangements. You can find detailed technical information for each ship below, or by clicking the pictures - which will take you to the Ships portion of this website.
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The premium light cruisers differ very little from each other, but are completely different than any other ship in the game. They are based on the monitors and harbor defense ships of World War I, emphasizing armor and weapons over speed and maneuverability. All of them carry only two guns, are very slow, and have lots of room for armor. The fire control systems (FCS) for each one is very limited and comparable to a frigate rather than a light cruiser, and even the best bridge officers will not be able to see their shells impact at maximum range for just about any respectable cruiser weapon. These ships were meant to be close range fighters to take out destroyers, frigates, and other early light cruisers. They are extremely vulnerable to torpedoes no matter how much bulge is added, but there's plenty of room for armor and can withstand a great deal of gunfire. Their narrow and low silhouette make them very hard to hit, further increasing their survivability versus enemy guns. Each one has reasonable turning force, and torpedoes can be avoided with a little bit of skill.
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Premium Light Cruisers in Combat
In combat the difference between high level and low level crews is apparent - but nothing illustrates this more than in the premium light cruisers. Even a level 50 crew will struggle to use one of these ships effectively, but a level 75+ crew will be absolutely phenomenal. The ability to block-shot and retain a high soft defense makes these ships extremely dangerous in the hands of high level crews, and they have the available tonnage to accommodate them. Only the German Bayern class is hampered by a lack of available tonnage, but can still be use very effectively if the user doesn't mind sacrifices in other areas.
As I said previously, the lack of long range FCS means that you'll want to use these ships primarily for killing escorts. You won't do a lot of long range shooting with these ships, and will find yourself primarily using 6 or 8 inch guns within the 25 degree elevation or less. This can be somewhat remedied by the use of "Finder" FCS instead of the "Aiming", but it still falls short of normal CL standards, and using Finder instead of Aiming fire control will negatively affect the spread for your guns.
These CL's are also hampered by very slow speeds, usually cruising at around 21 or 22 knots, maxing out in the low 30's. Your narrow shape and turning force will allow you to dodge incoming enemy fire (including air attacks), and you should have enough armor and soft defense (at high levels) to close range with bigger and slower ships, but for the most part you are better off letting enemy destroyers come to you instead of trying to chase down heavy cruisers and battleships. Once in range, however, you can deliver a very powerful punch to ships that under-estimate you or which are already damaged.
Another weakness is the lack of torpedo defense, which happens to be a very common weapon among the destroyers which are your primary target. Even with 255 bulge and 900 soft defense you can only hope to absorb six or seven torpedoes at best, and your slow speed makes you an easy target to line up and run down. Only your small size and agility give you any chance of surviving torpedo attacks, so your best bet is to destroy enemy torpedo ships before anything else, even when under fire from much heavier ships.
A great role for these ships is as escorts for larger ships that otherwise are too busy to deal with smaller enemy targets closing on them - especially aircraft carriers and battleships. Also, in games like Operation Convoy these ships are perfect for defending key areas around box spawn locations and drop off points. While its possible to use these ships as offensive weapons, they are at their best on the defense where their slow speed isn't that much of a burden. I think any CV or BB would appreciate an escort by one of these ships, as long as they know how to escort properly and don't get in the way of the ships they are trying to protect.
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Small size makes them hard to hit.
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Can hold a variety of medium caliber naval guns.
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Lots of space for armor and high level crew.
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Five support slots for maximum soft defense and repair rate.
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Ideal for games like Op Convoy where defending an area is a winning strategy.
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Excellent escorts for battleships and aircraft carriers.
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Hard to hit with dive bombers.
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Can be used by any BO with the right nationality and level.
Bad Points
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Slow speed.
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Few guns.
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Very short visual range.
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Minimal torpedo defense.
The premium heavy cruisers allow players to equip large naval guns on cruisers, but the heavy cruiser FCS means that your marking range generally runs out before your shell range does. Regardless, these ships pack more of a punch than just about any other non-premium heavy cruiser they'll come up against, and in most respects are better. While they are definitely out-gunned by battle-cruisers and pocket-battleships, they are only slightly out-ranged. For example, the Portland carries the same guns as the Alaska and only has 4 inches less marking range, and has one more support slot. The Japanese Asama has six inches less marking range than the Alaska, but comfortably carries 14 inch guns with plenty of ammunition. Another thing to keep in mind is that while a missed shell will not be marked outside the ships maximum marking range, a hit will be. So if you feel you know the ranges of large caliber naval guns well enough to fire just outside the marking range, you can stand on even ground with ships a class higher than you!
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Premium Heavy Cruisers in Combat
If a player feels comfortable shooting at the limits of the heavy cruiser FCS and even a little beyond, these ships can be very deadly against battle-cruisers, pocket-battleships, and early battleships. Premium heavy cruisers have more gun space than the regular CA counter-parts, which usually results in more range and more ammunition, and they will dominate CL / CA games. A well played premium CA with a good crew can stand up against most warships it'll encounter on the map with the exception of high level battleships. Their T slots, when used for anti-aircraft duties, can comfortably fend off aerial attacks by enemy dive-bombers - even the Japanese which are usually deficient in this area. As a matter of fact, the Japanese Asama class premium heavy cruiser carries the most AA guns of any major Japanese warships until the Yamato.
In some cases the premium CA's are redundant though. The Germans, for example, get the Moltke only one level before the P Project II which is slightly better in terms of gun space and marking range. However the Molke offers 4 more T slots than the P Project and is more capable of defending itself from air attacks. If you are on the Bismarck side of the German ship tree I you will probably find little use for the Moltke once you reach the Scharnhorst which is just three levels higher. Even though the Moltke has 2 more T slots than the Scharnhorst, it suffers from a distinct lack of marking range and gun space. Oddly enough, the Moltke is also the best of the premium heavy cruisers, so while it might be redundant I wouldn't go so far as to call it a waste of money either. Its 4 main guns and 10 secondary guns make it an extremely efficient killer in both offensive and defensive roles. The limited FCS keeps it from eclipsing the need to buy the low level German battleships, especially when you compare it to ships similar to its level. The best use of it will be made by German players on the CV route looking for a reliable gunship to help grind up to the higher levels.
The Pensacola and the Furious, on the other hand, are very useful ships because they are available so early. The Asama is extremely useful for Japanese players who have suffered from a lack of AA power. Unfortunately the concept of using only two huge main guns instead of 4 or 6 smaller ones does not translate very well in the game, especially since the FCS marking range is so short that you can't use the range advantage the bigger guns give you. In games like Op Convoy where enemy aircraft are not a problem, using the abundant T slots of the premium ships for torpedo launchers can be very deadly. As a matter of fact, all the premium ships seem like they would dominate in Operation Convoy matches where the lack of long range FCS isn't so much of an issue.
In the end, the best part about premium heavy cruisers is that they aren't a part of the ship tree, and any bridge officer can use them as long as they have the right nationality and level. Their five support slots make them ideal for training up crews that didn't fit on your earlier ships and need to catch up.
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Adequate room for armor.
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Can hold a variety of large caliber naval guns.
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Five support slots for maximum soft defense and repair rate.
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Ideal for games like Op Convoy.
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Excellent against other cruisers and can stand up to bigger ships in some cases.
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Can be used by any BO with the right nationality and level.
Bad Points
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Few guns.
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Very short FCS marking range.
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Redundant in some cases depending on ship line.
Here's a full pictorial on what these ships look like in your shipyard. Remember that each premium ship still occupies one of the 6 available berths available to players for each nation. You cannot trade premium ships, so before you buy one make sure you'll be able to get the most out of it.
| Texas Crew | Texas Guns | Pensacola Crew | Pensacola Guns |
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| Tiger Crew | Tiger Guns | Furious Crew | Furious Guns |
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| Dhonburi Crew | Dhonburi Guns | Asama Crew | Asama Guns |
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| Bayern Crew | Bayern Guns | Moltke Crew | Moltke Guns |
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