Just today I’ve finally got every single boat in the Italian coastal tree (barring the premmies) after two long years of grinding, and apparently it’s one of the worst coastal trees in-game (or so it has been parroted around as such). After reading through Sgt_Blop’s full review of the French coastal tree, I’ve pondered about doing something similar. Here’s the result of that.
Minor disclaimer: Obviously I am not in a position to TELL people how to play it, rather to ADVISE people on how to play it (tips and tricks, etc.). As such, don’t take the reviews of the boats at face value. Feel free to submit any other tips you have found! Now, onto the reviews…
Rank I
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MAS 561 (Reserve), and MAS 555 (1.0): These two boats will be the first to greet you when you set foot in this tree. Their rear-mounted Breda 20 mm autocannons can do a good amount of damage at their BR, though it may struggle against heavily armoured targets in case of an uptier (MPK-163, Type 4 mod.2). The MAS 555 is essentially just a MAS 561 without its 12,7 mm SAFAT and 6.5 mm; Both of them are rather fast and maneuverable at 80 km/h once spaded.
They can be used in hit-and-run tactics. One thing that should be noted is the 12,7 mm SAFAT on the MAS 561 has NO tracers, thus making it very hard to hit targets with it. -
VAS 201 (1.3): On the contrary, the VAS-201 is just your textbook river gunboat, with slow speed, robust armament for its BR (two Breda 20 mms) and good durability. Avoid fighting heavily armoured targets unless you know what you’re doing, and in larger maps it may be rendered useless due to its speed.
Rank II
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MS-15 (1.3) and MS-53 (1.7): Two identical boats in rank II boasting the same armament of two single Breda 20 mms, the MS-53 is inferior to its cousin (besides being slower and having two more torpedoes) due to the fact the rear gun has an extremely awkward placement, being unable to fire anywhere but two small areas to each side of the boat and the stern. I recommend avoiding this one altogether. However, the MS-15 has snappier firing angles and is overall better than it. I suggest using the MS-15 like an S-38; utilising hit and run tactics to your advantage.
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Stefano Turr (1.7): An absolute unit. This thing has extremely good survivability at its BR of 1.7, but with one major downback. It utilises the same 12,7 mm guns on the MAS-561 with no tracers whatsoever, thus there is a learning curve. However, there are three of them so that should be sufficient to cause some fair amount of damage. Owing to its steel construction, it’s also slower than its counterparts, so treat this one more like a gunboat than a true torpedo boat.
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MAS-441 (2.0): The final boat I’ve researched to complete the tree. Haven’t played it but from what I’ve witnessed it’s just a slow fishing boat with a 40mm gun that does some good damage.
Rank III
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GIS-811 (2.3): Essentially just an MTB Vosper(2) with a single Breda 20 mm and a Flakvierling, It has poor survivability for its BR, and you will have to expose your full broadside if you wish to use the full extent of its firepower. However, I strongly advise against this unless you want a free ticket back to the hangar. I recommend playing it conservatively and/or in an ambushing role.
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MV-611 (2.3): When I first got this boat I absolutely despised it. Horrible survivability, as well as the notoriously slow RoF and clip size of the Breda 20 mms essentially ruined my time in it. Looking back nowadays, it can dominate full downtiers but is absolutely sad at uptiers. I suggest playing it defensively and not to fully expose yourself to the enemy.
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MS-472 (2.3): The MS-472 is something like an elongated Dark Aggressor, with poor survivability. However, seeing as your single 40 mm Bofors gun is mounted right at the front of the ship, you can expose only your bow to the enemy and keep your silhouette rather small, especially in calm seas.
Rank IV
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MS-473 (3.0): The MS-473 is similar to the MS-472. Seeing as you have traded off your two torpedoes for another Bofors gun you will have to play this one far more conservatively. At this point your survivability is among the worst at your BR of 3.0 and so you’ll really have to pick your fights. Feast yourself with the abundance of U.S. PT boats (given that you fire the first shot of the duel), but if you see something larger than a gunboat then don’t bother fighting it.
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MC 490 (3.3): One of my favourite boats on this tree. It has a steel hull (thus making it more survivable than its counterparts like the VLT-1), two Bofors guns with snappy firing angles and fairly good speed. It’s neither a breakthrough nor backline boat, but rather in between. Not much else to say about it.
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Gabbiano (3.7): It’s the textbook corvette. It’s slow, has an okay survivability, has a mediocre secondary armament of three Breda 20 mm guns (of course) and two dual 20 mm Isotta-Fraschini guns, and its 100mm gun is okay at best. It used to be very good, capable of immediately hull breaking boats with a single touch but nowadays it just doesn’t do much compared to before, while also having a slow reload time. It also has two torpedo mounts on either side of the ship but those are extremely situational.
Use it as defensively as possible, avoid large maps and uptiers. Due to its speed, by the time it gets to a certain capture point some destroyers will already be near that point and your armament is simply not enough to fend them off.
Rank V:
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Alano (3.7): A copypaste LCS(L)(3). Seeing as I HATE copypaste vehicles, I haven’t bothered playing it. Yet, I can give a bit of insight on how to use it effectively from observations. You are a slow, heavily armed behemoth that can saw through many-a-boat with ease with your two dual Bofors guns, but you aren’t invincible. Coastal ships like the M-802 and the like can easily deal with you, so if you see one then you’re better off repeatedly harassing them if you can.
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Albatros/Alcione (both 4.0): A pair of frigates, both of which are one and the same. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed my time in the Alcione (seeing as I got it before the Albatros). It has two fairly decent (for its BR at least) 76mm autoloading guns with the same RoF as the infamous SKR-7’s guns and a dual Bofors 40/70 gun at the back to deal with pesky boats. As I haven’t truly spaded it yet I haven’t seen the extent of the anti-submarine mortars’ effectiveness at close range but from what I heard they’re garbage. Also, it’s slower than its contemporaries and it gets uptiered more often than not to face opponents stronger than it can stomach.
I recommend using it as a backline support vehicle, racking up assists and delivering the coup de grâce to any critically damaged enemies. -
Saetta (4.7): MY BELOVED. It’s considerably durable for a boat, has very good Bofors 40/70 guns with a fast fire rate that can disembowel every single boat at its BR and most importantly, has missiles. You aren’t all invincible however, since there are plenty of boats capable of dealing with you. The stock grind can be painful as you can die to a destroyer with no means to defend yourself against them until the missiles have been unlocked.
Once you’ve mopped up the last boat stragglers early in the game, don’t expose yourself fully to the enemy, rather lie in-wait for your destroyer prey hiding behind an island. Once you’ve memorised the ammorack locations of your opponents, you can exploit this by tossing a missile straight for there and sure enough, you’ve got yourself an instant kill. Thanks to its long range of 10 km and proximity fuse, you can also get kills from afar with it (with a bit of skill on the user’s part) and use it as an area denial tool for aircraft.IMPORTANT: The missiles are incapable of one-tapping certain well-armoured destroyers (like the Akizuki and Frank Knox). As such, avoid fighting any destroyer that hasn’t got a defined above-waterline ammo rack (i.e. the Davis, Moffett and certain German and British destroyers). Don’t attack your prey if it’s sharply angled, for that alone can negate the effects of your missile.
In conclusion, while some of the boats have poor survivability and are outright piss-poor, others are actually very good and desirable to use. If you’re looking to own and use some not-so-well-known vehicles, then you’ve come to the right place!
Edit 1: I’ve played a single match on the MAS-441 (i’ll play a few more dw), and it simply impressed me. Though it’s a very slow boat and its gun has a low velocity, you can use that to your advantage by flinging shells over low islands. It’s also surprisingly resilient compared to other similar boats. (i.e. the R-130 or Ha-Go (mod.1))
