

Peeking in and out of cover to take shots with Engine Boost active means that Saint-Louis spends as little time as possible vulnerable to the enemy while still being able to do tons of damage. With Engine Boost activated, Saint-Louis can juke back and forth very rapidly, dodging incoming shells and frustrating enemy ships.

The French cruisers' special consumable, the Engine Boost consumable, may seem underwhelming at first, but it can become a very useful tool. Fortunately, her medium and short range AA batteries are somewhat stronger.

The 'Expert AA Marksman' skill can help, as can mounting Defensive AA Fire and Auxiliary Armaments Modification 2 together. Notably, her long-range AA is fairly weak with but three flak bursts per salvo of her 100mm batteries, and only modest burst damage. Her anti-aircraft armament is also considerably reinforced though not on the level of ships like Neptune. While her rudder shift and turning radius are a little poorer than her predecessor, Saint-Louis does pick up half a knot of speed, 2,900 more hit points, and most crucially, a Repair Party, allowing her to play more aggressively with the promise of being able to recover some health later. Most improvements, however, are defensive. Firepower is similar to the Charles Martel, improving on the already excellent range and gaining the option to improve the rate of fire using the new, final upgrade slot. She keeps the 3x3 203mm main armament that is a feature of the previous French heavy cruisers. She is a direct upgrade in nearly all respects from Charles Martel.
