So you've made it to level 53 in the Kriegsmarine, the baddest of all NF's navies.
Presumably, you have gone the Admiral Hipper route and now it's time to remodel as
a Prinz Eugen. Or perhaps it is time to turn back and enlist in another navy. If you
have made it this far and:

- You still use torpedoes on your T-mounts
- You still use triple 5.9" guns instead of double 8" guns
- You weigh your ship down with unecessary armor
- You wonder why you're the only ship of the KM on the rush

... You should seriously consider leaving the Kriegsmarine. This navy will not be fun
for you from here on out, even though it is questionable how fun it could have been
playing in that manner.

This guide is for the serious, somewhat historical, and reasonably intelligent and
patient KM player who has decided (or is deciding) to go the AH route and play
smartly for the team and refine his or her own experience for the Scharnhorst.

Firstly, there is really only one appropriate way to outfit your new chick-magnet of a
heavy cruiser:

- The x2 8"/60 SK C/34 L guns on the R-mounts
- Either the x2 3.46"/78 SK C/31 L or x2 5"/61 KM 40 A anti-aircraft
guns on the T-mounts, the differences will be discussed later in the guide.
- Heavy CA II Engine
- Scout Aircraft
- As much armor as you like so long as you do not give up a single knot. The PE is
already slower than its predecessor.

YOU'RE MISSION OBJECTIVES!

Ein: Support the Battle Line or if you want, the carriers in the backfield
Zwei: See "Ein"
Drei: See "Ein"
...
Einhundert: See "Ein"

Overiew:

You are a heavy cruiser. The bigger ships can do everything better than you can.
They can destroy ships and aircraft more quickly and easily and take more
punishment from gunfire and torpedoes and bombs. They can't, however, do
everything all of the time. If they are firing at ships, they aren't firing at aircraft, and
if they're dodging torpedoes and/or bombs, they probably aren't firing at anything.
That is where your ship comes in! Your job is to pick up the weak end of the
battleship's task so it can complete other priorities.

The inauspicious heavy cruiser. When used with skill and discipline, can be the ace
in the hole in any battle line; even those in Great Battles.

Positioning

You should select one, or maybe two if you are feeling ambitious, battleships to
shadow. The best ones are ones going on the flank, and even better if they are
your KM brethren, since they *should* empathize with your situation. You should
position your ship with the battleship(s) in between you and the enemy. No point in
making yourself a target to the enemy before your own battle line is in range.
Secondly, your ship should be positioned slightly ahead (running) of the battleships
by anywhere from bow-to-stern or maybe half a ship-length. This is so that you do
not tie up the battleship if it makes an unanticipated turn. You will be able to safely
move out of his path and double back after you see his course of action.

Anti-Aircraft

You're most immediate charge will be anti-aircraft duties. Sometimes the battleships
have their own impressive arsenal so your services aren't as important, but
invariably, some always get through and sometimes the battleship is preocupied, so
always be watchful. I highly suggest you utilize the f11 "3D mode" to better track
down enemy aircraft. It's not a very consistant duty; it depends a lot on the nature
of aircraft attacking you in battle and the strength of your team's AA defenses.
Some games will keep you busy on aircraft, racking up a couple thousand personal
credits, and other times you will hardly shoot down a scout. Anyway, there is
another guide for how exactly anti-aircraft works, but I'll run down how it relates to
your role.

My advice - there is debate on this - is to go for the KM40 5" AA instead of the C/31
3.46" AA. I would use the latter in blitz, where you only face scout aircraft and its
superior rate of fire, kinder angles, and larger ammo reserves are better suited to
quickly downing weakly-armored scouts. However, as a support CA, you will often
be called to dish out against formidable oponents, and in tough situations, the
C/31's will not harvest any metal fruit as the tougher aircraft can take three, four, or
even more shots from it. The KM40's, on the other hand, will usually destroy aircraft
in one hit and they have more range. I have never decimated as many divebombers
with C/31 as I have with KM40, especially in clutch situations when enemy bombers
are bearing down on my objective battleship. For the record, I have never run out
of ammo with the KM40's, and I manage to get upwards of 3000 personal credits
from aircraft a few times a day.

Surface Warfare

You're next role is to destroy smaller enemy ships approaching your battleships.
Battleship shells landing on destroyers are shells that are not landing on enemy
battleships! Battleships hate dealing with the little guys, so take care of the smaller
ships that come near the battle line. If it is too much for you to handle, don't run,
you're battleships will help you out.

Do not attack enemy battleships if there are other targets. It is a feeble and selfish
attempt with little effect.

Enemy heavy cruisers are in the middle of the pecking order. They require too much
time to deal with (more time = more time not spent defending battleships) and there
is a possibility you may lose, and since you are not running and using your KM speed
and range to your advantage, you can't afford to back out from your main objective
of supporting the battleships. Try not to attract their attention, but if push comes to
shove, engage the enemy heavy cruisers, but keep sharp on the situation of your
battleships.

Sacrifice
[doesn't really belong in a survival guide... w/e]

If there comes a time when your battleships are clearly taking a beating from the
enemy battle line, and they're turning to pull away from enemy fire, it may be a
smart idea to turn into the fire and afford your battleship time to escape.
Remember, even though there is no real teamwork in Great Battle, your XP is gained
from the combined attack of your team, and frankly, a battleship still fighting is more
helpful to everyone than a hopeless cruiser on the run from the enemy battle line.

As you turn in, you should hopefully come into range quickly, and you can pester the
enemy battle line. Hopefully you can find your counterpart and inflict some
reasonable damage instead of just annoying the battleships in your final moments.
Be as annoying as possible. Go flank speed. You want to do everything to take
their mind off of the retreating battleship and turn their guns on you.

Detachment

If your battle line is destroyed, and you're the only one left in your sector, you have
transformed roles. You're a freed bird. You can (and should) run from the enemy
battle line and pick on smaller ships. Use your KM speed and range to harrass the
enemy, and do not get tempted into rushing. Remember, your battle line lost; there
is no battleship to draw fire from you if you step into their field of vision. Use your
anti-aircraft to keep you in the dark.

Conclusion

Hopefully that information was helpful. Another little bit, if you have to choose
between tasks (all threats are present), you have to make a decision as to what
you think the battleship is most capable of dealing with and bring up the slack with
the other task, or double task if it's necessary.

With Respect, Commanders of the Kriegsmarine!

SanktPauli