I have multiple concerns for the state of toptier bluewater, especially after the next major update. Unless major overhauls take place to accommodate these new ships they’d simply disembowel every match, leaving little chance for newer battleship users to counter them.
First off, the Bismarck, the one that everyone knows and loves (given it is one of the battleships that may get added in the next update). It would inherit the borderline impenetrable armour scheme of the Scharnhorst (refer to the below image) and the high penetration values as well as fire rate of the Mutsu/Amagi even at long ranges (refer to Navweaps’s 38 SK C/34 article). Given both of their already notorious reputations, the Bismarck will encapsulate both of them and make it basically a juggernaut at every match it goes to and it will simply be unkillable except at long ranges via plunging fire. Unless there is a major change in how battleships are placed, it and its sheer numbers will just ruin everything for other battleship users trying to have fun in this gamemode.
A comparison between Scharnhorst and Bismarck’s armour schemes. Notice anything?
What about the Iowa and Yamato? Their firerate would be slower (thus they may be overwhelmed by multiple Bismarcks) and their armour schemes aren’t as sophisticated but their armour penetration values are greater, thus they have some chance against it and alongside the Nagato/Mutsu and Amagi may be the only ships actually capable of fighting the Bismarck.
Secondly is the compression/matchmaking. If you are in a Fargo, Sverdlov or the like, downtiers are exceptionally rare due to the marchmaking, and you basically can’t do anything in full uptiers because the battleships there will simply take all of your hits and disembowel you in a few salvoes. Decompression in theory is the only solution to balance things, but in practice extends the match queues which can deter newer players.
Soon enough, weaker battleships like the Colossus and Francesco Caracciolo will soon have to put up with the Bismarck’s overwhelming firepower and turtleback armour which would discourage non-German new battleship users from continuing to play their respective nations.
Thirdly, is the very limited map options. This also goes for bluewater in general; Nobody wants to play the exact same match types over again. There are only three; Domination (same as ground, except many maps of this mode are mainly boat-centric and requires them to win), Encounter (convoy destruction) and Conquest (the most boring one, just sit inside a huge circle and expect your teammates to follow suit). Simply think of and add more gamemodes, so that it may flourish, a shore bombardment mode at least!
Lastly, and possibly the only positive thing that will come out of this, is the heightened interest in the gamemode. Because everyone knows the big three of battleships (Yamato, Iowa and Bismarck) and how iconic they are, should they get announced, this will generate a lot of hype and interest in naval. But if Gaijin doesn’t make the right accommodations for this influx of interested players wanting to get these battleships, they will leave as soon as they came in.
In conclusion, toptier bluewater is in a bad state, and if Gaijin doesn’t up their game and actually fix it, then it will be even more inhospitable.