Battleships - Mikasa & Agincourt
Captain & Ship Build and Strategy Guide
- Build focus: Full secondary build with IFHE
- Playstyle: Aggressive close-range brawler
- Key skill: IFHE for improved secondary penetration
- Concealment: Not a priority for these low-tier secondary builds
- Secondary range: Use the secondary signal for additional range
- Mikasa: IFHE allows her secondaries to penetrate 16mm armor commonly found on Tier III battleships
- Agincourt: IFHE allows her 152mm secondaries to penetrate 31mm armor, reaching the bow, stern and some other armored areas of Tier VII battleships
- Applies to: Mikasa and Agincourt
Mikasa and Agincourt are two unusual low-tier battleships that are best enjoyed by leaning fully into their secondary batteries. Both ships can be built around close-range combat, turning what would otherwise be awkward main-battery platforms into aggressive brawlers.
There is also an interesting historical connection between the two ships. Mikasa survived and is preserved today in Yokosuka as the world's last surviving pre-dreadnought battleship, while Agincourt was one of the British capital ships designated for scrapping under the Washington Naval Treaty.
The recommended build is centered on secondary range, accuracy and penetration, with IFHE playing an important role. For Mikasa, the extra penetration allows her secondary guns to deal direct damage against the 16mm armor found on many Tier III battleships. Agincourt benefits even more from the skill because her numerous 152mm secondaries can reach 31mm penetration.
Concealment skills are not a priority here. Low-tier battles tend to develop quickly, and both ships want to operate close enough to the enemy for their secondary batteries to matter. Enhanced Repair Expert is also less attractive than on higher-tier battleships because low-tier engagements are generally shorter and more decisive.
The basic strategy is simple: get close, select a vulnerable target and let the secondaries work while your main battery adds damage. The difficult part is knowing when to make that commitment. A premature charge can leave you surrounded and focused before the secondary damage has had time to matter.
Timing is therefore more important than simply finding the shortest route toward the enemy. Ideally, wait until opposing ships are already engaged with your team, then push into secondary range while enemy attention is divided. This gives your secondaries time to build damage without exposing the ship unnecessarily early in the battle.
Use islands and friendly ships whenever possible to limit the number of opponents that can shoot at you simultaneously. Once you are committed to a close-range fight, keep your guns active and avoid giving unnecessary broadside exposure to enemy battleships. The secondary signal provides a small but useful improvement to your effective engagement range.
Mikasa and Agincourt are ultimately about controlled aggression. Push too early and you can be destroyed before your build pays off; wait too long and the battle may be over before your secondaries have contributed. Find the moment when the enemy is already committed, close the distance and make the most of the ships' unusual low-tier secondary power.