The modern warship, the Arkansas cruiser, is primarily characterized by its high main gun damage, but it has relatively weak mobility and anti-air capabilities, making it particularly vulnerable when facing enemy missile saturation attacks. However, new players need not worry; this guide will help you quickly get a handle on this powerful cruiser, allowing you to maintain your firepower while improving your survival rate.

The Arkansas cruiser can be obtained through the season shop for 8,000 season points. Its base attributes include one of the top five single-shot main gun damages in the game, but it has slower turning speed and anti-air missile reload times. The hull durability is moderate, and it can easily be sunk by torpedoes at close range.
For the main guns, prioritize equipping the TMF155 or the Bofors L/50. The former balances fire rate and critical hit chance, while the latter has a longer range but requires trajectory prediction. For missiles, the YJ-21 is recommended due to its high armor-piercing capability, which effectively targets weakly armored areas of enemy capital ships. For the anti-air module, a mixed configuration of Sidewinder and M22 is suggested; the former focuses on intercepting missiles, while the latter strengthens air defense. For torpedoes, choose the Black Shark, which offers balanced range and damage, suitable for mid-range suppression of enemy destroyers. After maxing out the main guns, upgrade the thrusters and armor next. Upgrading the thrusters increases speed by 15%, making turning less cumbersome, and upgrading the armor to at least purple reduces burning damage by 30%.

The core strategy for this ship is long-range engagement, avoiding close combat. At the start, follow your teammates' battleships, maintaining a distance of 10-15 kilometers and using the main guns for pinpoint shots, prioritizing the stern of enemy cruisers (where the armor is thinnest). If an enemy submarine or destroyer gets too close, immediately launch torpedoes to block their path, switch the main guns to high-explosive rounds to target the superstructure, and aim to trigger burning damage. Remember that the anti-air missiles take 15 seconds to reload, so try to find cover during this window, or position yourself behind terrain to continue firing.

The Arkansas fears aircraft carriers and fast destroyers the most. It's best to team up with the Zumwalt, as its stealth skill can help block line of sight. When encountering an enemy carrier, hide in the archipelago area and use anti-aircraft guns to support your teammates in shooting down planes. When engaging battleships, change positions after two rounds to avoid being focused. If the enemy has a high-burst ship like the Bismarck, don't engage head-on; instead, flank and target its engine room.

The advantages of the Arkansas cruiser are its powerful main guns and low cost, but its weaknesses are also evident. When playing, focus on leveraging its strengths and avoiding its weaknesses, making good use of terrain for cover and prioritizing soft targets. Invest all resources into the main guns and anti-air defenses, and remember not to go solo or rush to the front lines. This method is suitable for free-to-play or low-spending players, and as long as positioning is not mishandled, reaching the middle ranks in ranked matches should be no problem.