Through the Spy Glass: Ark Royal

Ark Royal, named after the English flagship of the force that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588, was a ship that did A LOT during the early WWII years. The carrier scored the first kill of the war on a U-boat in 1939; participated in the Norwegian campaign and attack on Mers-el-Kébir; provided support for Mediterranean convoys, including supplying Malta; and last in this list, but probably the most famous action of hers, was hunting and fatally damaging Bismarck in 1941. Her glorious warpath was put to an end by a German submarine torpedo, but Ark Royal's reputation of being a lucky ship was warranted—the full complement of her crew managed to escape with their lives.

To celebrate this ship, go get a unique Unsinkable Sam patch (Ark Royal was one of the three ships the famous cat resided on) with the code M75L88NS4A at https://wowslegends.com/code-redeemer. 

Historians, rejoice! This legendary aircraft carrier (figuratively, not tier-wise) is finally making her debut in Legends. The ship follows the same playstyle as her Tech Tree counterpart, but with a slight flair that we'll uncover right after we praise her looks for a moment—isn’t she just a stunning vessel? In terms of gameplay, the only comparative point we have is Furious, so we'll benchmark one to explain the stats of the other. Ark Royal obviously services Fairey Swordfish as both HE carpet bombers and torpedo bombers. These aircraft have good speed; an improved restoration time; and most significantly of all, an increased attack unit and squadron size (3 and 9, respectively, compared to Furious' 2 and 6). On the other hand, Ark Royal's plane HP is significantly reduced, meaning that you'll have to be extra careful of the targets you decide to engage, especially if they are grouped, as Swordfish won't survive under AA fire for long. On the other hand, the potential of their ordnance is nothing to scoff at. The ship’s concealment and speed are fairly standard, although for a Tier V carrier, Ark Royal benefits from having excellent torpedo protection (25% damage reduction).

Our Commander pick will have to cater to this newcomer's weakness—plane HP—and Denis Boyd can do just that. His Under the Radar base trait will start by reducing your carrier's detectability from the air. Then:

• Contact is Imminent for improved torpedo speed, allowing you to make sure all three hit the target on every attack.
• One-Way Ticket for extra torpedo damage.
• Out of Sight for sneakier and stronger dive bombers.
• “Burn, Baby, Burn!” to upgrade both the damage and fire-setting chances of your bombs.
• The Vault for an overall increase in aircraft HP while also reducing incoming damage to your carrier if you're close to an ally.

For inspirations, we can focus on the ship's AA defenses and survivability:

• Ernest King's “I Come Prepared” for improved AA firing range.
• Reinhard Scheer's Fire Alarm to reduce the risk of catching fire, paired with a reduction on the cooldown of your Damage Control Party.

Fly with Ark Royal, and turn the tide!