Through the Spy Glass: Hayate

A new campaign ship is here! One of the nine Kamikaze-class destroyers, Hayate was completed by the end of 1925. Her warpath was quite short—in fact, Hayate became the first Japanese ship lost during the Pacific war. The destroyer was sunk by coastal defense guns during the first assault on Wake Island on December 11, with multiple hits resulting in explosions of the magazines. Most of her 8 completed sisters shared her fate, with Kamikaze herself being the only one to survive the whirlwind of WWII; Harukaze technically did too, but she surrendered in such poor condition that she was quickly stricken off. Please note, Legends' Hayate is not the Kamikaze-class one: she takes the name from the sunken ship.

If you've always been a Japanese destroyer enthusiast but felt you never could efficiently defend yourself in a gun duel with other destroyers, it's time to take a look at this impressive newcomer. This hybrid destroyer brings the best of both the torpedo boat and gunboat worlds: very fast-firing, hard-hitting 5-inch (127 mm) dual-purpose guns; substantial base HP of 20,800; and a competitive collection of ten torpedo tubes in two quintuple-tube launchers, unleashing the usual devastating long-lance weapons. What's the drawback then? An average top speed and maneuverability, mediocre main battery firing range paired with a very long reload on the torpedo tubes. The latter can be offset with the Torpedo Reload Booster consumable, but you'll have to sacrifice your Smoke Generator for it. In essence, Hayate is able to duel with other destroyers rather comfortably while still being able to carry out very efficient and stealthy torpedo attacks.

Takeo Kurita is the dedicated Japanese "gunboat" Commander—a perfect pick to helm Hayate. His "The Quickening" base trait will reduce the cooldown time of your Engine Boost.

• Observant Rage to reduce your main battery reload time while increasing your torpedo acquisition range (at the cost of a slower rudder-shift time).
• Look at Me Now to remain undetected while closing in on your targets.
• Reaching Out to increase the range at which you can make use of your fast-reloading guns.
• Cloudy Daze to keep your Engine Boost cooldown as low as possible and compensate for your mediocre speed.
• Unstoppable to ensure that you'll stay on the move after having your engine or rudder incapacitated.

We also recommend selecting the following inspirations:

• William Sims' Built to Last for increased survivability, useful when engaging other destroyers.
• Erich Bey's Shifty to further reduce your detectability range, allowing you to get the jump on most enemies.

Start some fires, launch the torps, and keep turning the tide!