Destroyer - France Tier VIII Hoche - Captain & Torpedo Build
- Build focus: A hybrid torpedo and AP ambush build for Hoche, combining fast 9 km torpedoes with powerful 150 mm AP shells.
- Captain skills: Use a customized Cassard destroyer build focused on torpedoes while also taking Heavy AP Shells for cruiser ambushes. A standard Cassard build also works if you want to share a commander.
- Gun-focused alternative: Trade Swift Fish and Fill the Tubes for Fearless Brawler and Gun Feeder if you prefer to emphasize the main battery.
- Engine Boost: Engine Boost is important to Hoche's mobility-focused playstyle. If the Engine Boost modification is unavailable, Engine Room Protection and Survivability-related skills can be used as a substitute, although this is an inferior option.
- Combat role: Alternate between torpedo attacks against large targets and AP ambushes against broadside cruisers. Avoid prolonged close-range fights with enemy destroyers because of Hoche's low gun DPM.
- AP advantage: Hoche's 150 mm AP has improved ricochet angles, allowing well-aimed AP salvos to punish broadside cruisers at close and medium ranges.
- Applies to: VIII Hoche.
Hoche is an unusual French destroyer with German origins. Originally commissioned as Z-25, the ship was transferred to France as a war prize after World War II and renamed Hoche. In World of Warships, that history is reflected in a hybrid design: the ship combines the mobility expected from a French destroyer with the 150 mm artillery associated with the German large-gun destroyer concept.
The key to Hoche is knowing when to use each half of the ship. Her torpedoes provide the safest way to pressure large targets, while the main battery becomes particularly dangerous when a cruiser gives you a broadside. Hoche's 150 mm AP has a 60-degree ricochet check and only guaranteed ricochet beyond 67.5 degrees, giving the ammunition considerably more flexibility against angled targets than conventional destroyer AP.
This makes Heavy AP Shells a natural fit for the recommended build. Rather than trying to win every engagement through raw gun DPM, use the ship's speed and torpedoes to manipulate enemy positioning. A battleship or cruiser attempting to dodge incoming torpedoes may expose its broadside, creating the opportunity for a high-damage AP salvo.
Hoche's main battery is also unusually accurate for a destroyer. The guns use the same dispersion formula associated with the Elbing-style artillery, while the three twin 150 mm turrets reload in 5.5 seconds. This combination makes accurate AP fire a meaningful part of the ship's damage output, particularly against cruisers that give you the right target angle.
The ship's biggest weakness is the lack of a Smoke Generator. Hoche therefore cannot simply disappear after committing to an engagement. Engine Boost becomes especially valuable because speed is one of the primary tools available for controlling distance and escaping unfavorable situations. This also makes the Engine Boost Modification a stronger choice than a purely defensive alternative for the intended playstyle.
Enemy destroyers are a particularly awkward matchup. Hoche's artillery is accurate and hard-hitting when the target presents the right angle, but her overall gun DPM is not suited to prolonged knife fights. If a destroyer engagement is unavoidable, use Hoche's speed and superior ballistics to create a mid- to long-range fight rather than allowing the opponent to force a close-range brawl.
Overall, Hoche works best as a torpedo boat and AP ambusher hybrid. Launch torpedoes at large targets to influence their movement, then use the resulting changes in course to look for broadside cruiser opportunities. The ship rewards players who constantly switch between these two roles instead of attempting to play it as either a pure torpedo destroyer or a conventional gunboat.