Through the Spy Glass: Niord

Niord's design is reminiscent of German battlecruisers from the World War I era. In an alternate timeline, Niord might have been laid down in Germany by 1918, purchased by Sweden in the 1920s, and gradually completed by the late 1930s. Her main artillery is complemented by four quintuple-tube torpedo launchers. 

In Legends, Niord is a Pan-European Tier VIII Premium battleship. She's armed with a main battery with high accuracy and a short reload time. Her AP shells offer strong damage per minute, and her HE shells boast excellent armor penetration. She also carries fast, long-range torpedoes. Thanks to excellent concealment and high speed, Niord is great at evading enemy fire. 

In this update, you can obtain Niord for free by heading to the Campaign menu, claiming the free Admiralty Backing, and completing all 100 campaign milestones. At the end of the campaign, you'll be given the choice between two ships: Pan-European battleship Niord or Japanese destroyer Minegumo. If that's a painful choice, don't worry—the ship you don't choose will still be available to purchase with doubloons! 

Try these recommended upgrades for Niord: 

• Aiming Systems Mod. 1 
• Propulsion Mod. 2 
• Concealment System Mod. 1 
• Main Battery Mod. 3 

Commander Janko Vukovich is a good match for Niord. His Stone Skinned base trait reduces fire duration on your ship by up to 10%. 

Recommended skills: 

• Reckless Gunman, reducing your battleship's main battery reload time by up to 8% at the cost of enemy torpedo detectability being reduced by 15%. 
• Porcupine, increasing secondary battery range by up to 12%, tightening shell grouping by up to 18%, and increasing accuracy. 
• Firefighter, reducing the chances of your ship catching fire by up to 15% and the maximum number of fires to three; accelerating Damage Control Party cooldown by up to 15% at the cost of its duration being reduced by 40%. 
• Properly Meticulous, reducing secondary battery reload time by up to 15% and increasing Enhanced Secondary Targeting duration by up to 35%. 
• Fight Fire With Fire, removing damage-over-time effects from your ship whenever there are three concurrent fires and reducing fire damage by up to 15%. This effect can only be triggered if Damage Control Party is on cooldown or fully depleted. 

Inspirations: 

• Nobutake Kondō, improving battleship concealment by up to 6%. 
• Jerzy Świrski, improving ship concealment by up to 4%. 

Turn the tide with Niord!