Hi All. Just wanted to share my thoughts on Sibir after a little over 100 battles. I’m a Kremlin main. It was my first tier X ship about five years ago, and I’ve always enjoyed its playstyle, even if it struggles more in today’s meta. I used my birthday coupon on Sibir because I knew I’d like it. Turns out I was right.

I’m not a pro. I just try to play the ship to its strengths. My win rate is around 59-60%, and I like to think that comes from understanding this type of brawler. 

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Gun Behavior and Combat Instruction

Sibir shares the same 457 mm guns as Kremlin, but weirdly enough, they feel more inconsistent. At close range, without the F key active, sometimes you’ll get a solid salvo, and other times the shells will scatter even if the aim was good. It’s hard to explain, but I trust Kremlin’s dispersion more.

That’s where the Combat Instruction comes in. Once it’s charged, pressing the F key gives you 33 seconds of improved main battery accuracy by 20%. This turns your salvos into lasers. You can easily smack BBs and Cruisers for 20k to 60k  damage with just your front turrets, and you won’t even need to expose your broadside. If your target is angled, you’ll still get 10k to 16k into the superstructure. With good timing, you can squeeze out two salvos while the buff is active.

You charge the F key mostly by hitting enemies with your secondaries. Technically it can charge with potential damage, but that’s way slower. You want to be in close enough range for your secondaries to do work and feed the bar.

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Secondaries and Fire Chance

Sibir’s secondaries are nasty. With a full build, they reach up to 11.6 km and have 11% fire chance with flags. They are accurate, they’re reliable, and they help you melt dds and farm fires on anything that comes close. More importantly, they keep your F key charged.

This is why Sibir rewards aggressive positioning. You want to get close enough to use your secondaries and main guns together, but not suicide. I play it peek-a-boo style, hopping from island to island, creating pressure and protecting the flank.

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The Heal

Sibir has a 100 second heal that you can toggle on and off. That’s incredibly useful for sustained fights. You can pause it to avoid overhealing and resume when needed. But you have to remember to turn it off. I’ve definitely left it running by mistake when I was new to the ship and wasted the whole thing.

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Playstyle and Responsibilities

Sibir is not a long range ship. You’re supposed to be near the front, controlling a flank and supporting your dds. If they die and the enemy dd lives, you will get torped to death. You’re slow and fat. You can’t kite. You’re not sneaky. You need a dd or a radar cruiser to spot for you and help you move forward.

If that support dies, your best bet is to switch to cap control and play the objective. Sometimes you just need to survive, draw aggro, and hope your other flank wins. Patience is key.

You are also responsible for taking potential damage so your teammates can survive longer, and for creating crossfire. When the enemy team sees you with a Sibir at mid-map early in the match, they tend to reposition, which often means they will give broadside to me or to another bb positioned farther back.

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Annoying Matchups and What to Do

Ships with airstrikes like Utrecht are awful to deal with. They’ll spam you with fires the entire push. Same with Tromp and other ships that constantly double fire. Your only real options are to push through and kill them behind cover, or to stay out of their airstrike range and wait for a better opportunity. Both options suck, but sitting still is worse.

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Is It Worth It?

For me, absolutely. I love Kremlin, and Sibir feels like a meaner version with more utility. The Combat Instruction really changes the game when used right. You have to take risks to have impact. That’s the trade-off. But it pays off. Most of my wins I’m in the top three of the scoreboard. This ship really can swing a match.

If you’ve never played Kremlin, you might struggle. I’d suggest starting with Kremlin and getting used to this type of brawling before picking up Sibir. But if you already enjoy that playstyle, Sibir is going to feel like a natural upgrade.

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Real Game Example

I had a match where it was me against two enemy Sibirs. Both of them stayed at the edge of the flank and slowly circled back to spawn. They never pushed. Both died doing almost nothing. Meanwhile I was still alive and my flank was pushing. If you play Sibir without engaging at close range, you will underperform.

Will answer any questions you may have. Hope this was helpful.

100 Battles with Sibir