Battleships - Italy Tier VIII Marcantonio Colonna & BA Binah / Tier IX Giuseppe Verdi
Captain & Ship Build and Strategy Guide
- Build focus: SAP secondary battleship build
- Playstyle: Aggressive close-range brawler using Exhaust Smoke
- Main strength: Powerful SAP secondaries at close range
- Main weakness: Reduced effectiveness at mid and long range
- Skill option: Preventive Maintenance can be exchanged for Gun Feeder
- Alternative: Standard Italian battleship tank build is viable, but Roma is generally a better choice for that playstyle
- Smoke: Use Exhaust Smoke to approach, reposition and attack while maintaining concealment
- Warning: Radar, Hydroacoustic Search and accurate blindfire can expose you while using Smoke
- Applies to: Giuseppe Verdi, Marcantonio Colonna and BA Binah
Giuseppe Verdi, Marcantonio Colonna and BA Binah are Italian battleships built around a particularly aggressive concept: a strong SAP secondary battery combined with Exhaust Smoke. Rather than competing with conventional battleships at long range, these ships are designed to become increasingly dangerous as the engagement moves closer. The current WoWS Captain Builds guide recommends the same secondary-focused setup for all three ships.
Marcantonio Colonna and BA Binah are Tier VIII, while Giuseppe Verdi is Tier IX. BA Binah is the themed version of Marcantonio Colonna and has identical performance. The real gameplay distinction from a conventional Italian battleship is that these ships sacrifice some mid- and long-range effectiveness to make their secondary battery the centerpiece of the build.
The secondary build is therefore the natural choice. Preventive Maintenance can be exchanged for Gun Feeder according to personal preference, but the important part is maintaining the skills and upgrades that maximize the ship's ability to survive long enough to reach effective secondary range.
Exhaust Smoke is what makes the close-range approach possible. It allows you to move into an attacking position while remaining concealed, then turn broadside to an enemy and let the SAP secondaries work without immediately exposing the ship to every gun on the opposing team. Marcantonio Colonna, for example, currently has Enhanced Exhaust Smoke Generator as her defining consumable.
The smoke does not make you invulnerable. Radar and Hydroacoustic Search can still reveal or threaten you, while attentive opponents can use gunfire indicators, last-known positions and blindfire to punish predictable smoke positions. Avoid sitting stationary in smoke when the enemy has a good reason to know where you are.
Early in the battle, resist the temptation to charge simply because the ship is built for brawling. Your mid- and long-range performance is weaker, but that does not mean you need to rush into secondary range immediately. Use the main battery to contribute damage while watching the minimap and waiting for an enemy flank to become vulnerable.
The ideal engagement develops when an enemy ship is isolated or already committed to fighting your teammates. Use Smoke to close the final distance, then bring the secondary battery into action while your main guns punish broadside targets. SAP is particularly effective once you can maintain sustained fire against a target rather than relying on a single large salvo.
A standard Italian battleship tank build can still be used, especially if you want to share a commander, but it does not exploit these ships as effectively. For a conventional Italian battleship experience, Roma is generally the more appropriate choice. The current Italian battleship build is centered on survivability and close- to mid-range SAP damage rather than secondary specialization.
These ships are at their best when the battle starts collapsing into close quarters. Preserve your HP early, identify the flank where your secondary battery can have the most impact and then use Smoke to create an engagement on your terms. The goal is not simply to get close—it is to arrive when the enemy has the fewest options for escaping or focusing you.
Giuseppe Verdi, Marcantonio Colonna and BA Binah reward aggressive but calculated play. Their SAP secondaries can shred opponents at close range, but the same commitment that makes them dangerous can also make them easy targets. Pick the right moment, use Exhaust Smoke intelligently and make the enemy pay for staying within secondary range.