Germany · Tier VIII Aircraft Carrier
Graf Zeppelin B
AP dive-bomber carrier with an unusually heavy secondary battery (strike-first, no Repair Party)
Aircraft Carrier Commander Skills — verified — 24 skills
Recommended role
AP dive-bomber carrier with an unusually heavy secondary battery (strike-first, no Repair Party)
Graf Zeppelin B · Tier 8 Aircraft Carrier · Balanced playstyle
- 1
Last Gasp
1 ptEssential5 out of 5Graf Zeppelin B's attack runs are long and telegraphed; a free Engine Boost on the last flight is what gets that flight out alive. One point, permanent value.
In game: Fully restores the squadron's Engine Boost for the last attack flight. · Unlocked from 1 total points.
- 2
Secondary Armament Expert
2 ptsEssential5 out of 5Unusual for a carrier, and correct here: Graf Zeppelin B carries a genuinely heavy 150 mm plus 105 mm secondary suite, so a secondary reload bonus is real damage rather than flavour.
In game: -10% secondary battery reload; +10% continuous AA and flak damage; +10% depth-charge damage. · Unlocked from 3 total points.
- 3
Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5The signature pick. Graf Zeppelin B's dive bombers drop AP bombs, so this is one of the very few carriers where the AP ammunition bonus applies to its main damage tool.
In game: +3% damage of AP bombs and AP rockets. · Unlocked from 6 total points.
- 4
Aircraft Armor
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5No Repair Party and only two consumable slots means lost planes stay lost; cutting continuous AA damage keeps squadron size up all match.
In game: -10% continuous AA damage received by your aircraft. · Unlocked from 9 total points.
- 5
Survivability Expert
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5Aircraft hit points per tier — the other half of keeping enough planes alive to finish an AP bomb run.
In game: +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. · Unlocked from 12 total points.
- 6
Enhanced Aircraft Armor
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5Flak is what deletes the large German squadrons on approach; this is the biggest single survivability jump available.
In game: -25% flak damage received by your aircraft. · Unlocked from 16 total points.
- 7
Bomber Flight Control
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5Faster bomber cruising speed shortens the trip to and from the target, which directly raises how many AP bomb runs you get.
In game: +5% cruising speed of bombers. · Unlocked from 20 total points.
- 8
Search and Destroy
1 ptRecommended4 out of 5The final point: Graf Zeppelin B's only second consumable is the Patrol Fighter, so a wider patrol radius is the cheapest way to add value to it.
In game: +10% patrol radius of Patrol Fighters and Interceptors. · Unlocked from 21 total points.
Class-based recommendation
Slot 1
Air Groups Modification 1
Helps aircraft return to the carrier sooner.
Slot 2
Aircraft Engines Modification 1
Extends engine boost for safer approaches and exits.
Slot 3
Attack Aircraft Modification 1
Gives attack aircraft more time on the attack run.
Slot 4
Torpedo Bombers Modification 2
Improves torpedo-bomber survivability during attack runs.
Slot 5
Flight Control Modification 1
Supports aircraft restoration and a healthier reserve.
Build complete — every recommended skill is already unlocked at 21 points.
- This is a no-reset path: every skill taken at an earlier milestone is still in the final 21-point build, so you never pay to redistribute points.
- Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition is taken early because Graf Zeppelin B is one of the few carriers whose dive bombers actually drop AP bombs.
- Secondary Armament Expert is included deliberately — this carrier's 150 mm and 105 mm secondaries are listed as a genuine strength, unlike most carriers.
- The middle block is all about plane survival: with no Repair Party and only two consumable slots, losing squadrons is the fastest way to lose the match.
- Points are banked between 12 and 16 for Enhanced Aircraft Armor rather than buying a cheap skill the final build would not keep.
- Open with the AP dive bombers against battleships and heavy cruisers — that is where AP bombs pay, not against destroyers.
- Use the rocket planes for destroyers and soft targets; remember German rocket planes climb noticeably at the start of an attack run, so commit early.
- Fly around AA clusters instead of through them: with no Repair Party, every plane you lose is gone for good.
- Drop the Patrol Fighter over the ally being attacked, not over your own carrier.
- Do not treat the strong secondaries as a plan — they are a punishment for anyone who reaches you, not a reason to sail forward.
Ship class / skill tree
Aircraft Carrier Commander Skills
Verified — 24 skills, 6 per row
Dive bomber ordnance
Armor-Piercing bombs
Makes Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition apply
Secondary battery
150 mm and 105 mm batteries
Unusually strong for a carrier
Consumables
Damage Control Party · Patrol Fighter
Two slots only — no Repair Party
Commander skill points
1 – 21
Progression milestones at 1/3/6/9/12/16/20/21
Final 21-point build
Last Gasp 1 · Secondary Armament Expert 2 · Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition 3 · Aircraft Armor 3 · Survivability Expert 3 · Enhanced Aircraft Armor 4 · Bomber Flight Control 4 · Search and Destroy 1
Unverified — Total 21 — curated prototype, not an official recommendation
Only values confirmed from the supplied sources are listed. Unverified numbers such as reload, detection, hit points, radar range/duration and torpedo range are deliberately omitted.
Skill data: Skill names, point costs and effects taken from the current World of Warships Wiki commander skill list (last edited 11 Aug 2026), using the current skill names rather than legacy aliases.
Build: Ship characteristics: current World of Warships Wiki Ship:Graf_Zeppelin_B page (AP dive bombs, HE rocket planes, aerial torpedoes, 150 mm and 105 mm secondary batteries, and a two-slot Damage Control Party / Patrol Fighter consumable set with no Repair Party). Skill mechanics: the verified Aircraft Carrier commander skill catalog in this app. Progression: curated beginner-safe no-reset recommendation — not an official Wargaming build.
Hidden Menace
4 ptsAvoid / Inefficient1 out of 5Avoid on this ship: -50% safe altitude and -50% returning squadron speed punish exactly the long German attack runs, and the carrier already wants to be behind the line rather than sneaking.
Pyrotechnician
3 ptsOptional2 out of 5Fire chance applies to HE rockets and HE bombs; Graf Zeppelin B's bombers drop AP, so half of this skill is inactive.
Full skill table for Graf Zeppelin B
Aircraft Carrier Commander Skills — 24 skills, 6 per row
Laid out like the in-game tree for this class. Each row is one point cost.
- Last GaspEssential5 out of 5
- Improved Engine BoostRecommended4 out of 5
- Engine TechieSituational3 out of 5
- Air SupremacyRecommended4 out of 5
- Direction Center for FightersSituational3 out of 5
- Search and DestroyRecommended4 out of 5
- Torpedo BomberSituational3 out of 5
- Swift Flying FishSituational3 out of 5
- Improved EnginesRecommended4 out of 5
- Combat Maneuver SpecialistSituational3 out of 5
- Secondary Armament ExpertEssential5 out of 5
- Patrol Group LeaderRecommended4 out of 5
- Sight StabilizationSituational3 out of 5
- Enhanced Armor-Piercing AmmunitionEssential5 out of 5
- PyrotechnicianOptional2 out of 5
- Aircraft ArmorEssential5 out of 5
- Survivability ExpertEssential5 out of 5
- InterceptorSituational3 out of 5
- Bomber Flight ControlEssential5 out of 5
- Proximity FuzeSituational3 out of 5
- Defensive Fire ExpertSituational3 out of 5
- Enhanced Aircraft ArmorEssential5 out of 5
- Hidden MenaceAvoid / Inefficient1 out of 5
- Enhanced ReactionsSituational3 out of 5
Showing 24 of 24 aircraft carrier commander skills , rated for Graf Zeppelin B.
Last Gasp
1 ptEssential5 out of 5Fully restores the squadron's Engine Boost for the last attack flight.
Graf Zeppelin B's attack runs are long and telegraphed; a free Engine Boost on the last flight is what gets that flight out alive. One point, permanent value.
Secondary Armament Expert
2 ptsEssential5 out of 5-10% secondary battery reload; +10% continuous AA and flak damage; +10% depth-charge damage.
Unusual for a carrier, and correct here: Graf Zeppelin B carries a genuinely heavy 150 mm plus 105 mm secondary suite, so a secondary reload bonus is real damage rather than flavour.
Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5+3% damage of AP bombs and AP rockets.
Does not increase penetration.
The signature pick. Graf Zeppelin B's dive bombers drop AP bombs, so this is one of the very few carriers where the AP ammunition bonus applies to its main damage tool.
Aircraft Armor
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5-10% continuous AA damage received by your aircraft.
No Repair Party and only two consumable slots means lost planes stay lost; cutting continuous AA damage keeps squadron size up all match.
Survivability Expert
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5+25 aircraft HP per ship tier.
Has no effect on the carrier's own hull HP.
Aircraft hit points per tier — the other half of keeping enough planes alive to finish an AP bomb run.
Bomber Flight Control
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5+5% cruising speed of bombers.
Does not apply to torpedo bombers.
Faster bomber cruising speed shortens the trip to and from the target, which directly raises how many AP bomb runs you get.
Enhanced Aircraft Armor
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5-25% flak damage received by your aircraft.
Flak is what deletes the large German squadrons on approach; this is the biggest single survivability jump available.
Improved Engine Boost
1 ptRecommended4 out of 5+5% aircraft Engine Boost duration.
Longer boost pairs with Last Gasp for escaping after a drop.
Air Supremacy
1 ptRecommended4 out of 5-5% aircraft restoration time.
Faster restoration matters on a carrier with no Repair Party, but this build prefers to lose fewer planes rather than replace them faster.
Search and Destroy
1 ptRecommended4 out of 5+10% patrol radius of Patrol Fighters and Interceptors.
The final point: Graf Zeppelin B's only second consumable is the Patrol Fighter, so a wider patrol radius is the cheapest way to add value to it.
Improved Engines
2 ptsRecommended4 out of 5+2.5% squadron speed.
Squadron speed helps every attack type; a fine two-point swap if you find the trip to target too slow.
Patrol Group Leader
2 ptsRecommended4 out of 5+1 charge of the Patrol Fighter / Interceptor consumable.
An extra Patrol Fighter charge is a solid alternative if you use fighters to protect allies rather than yourself.
Engine Techie
1 ptSituational3 out of 5-20% Engine Cooling cooldown.
Only pays off if you actually use Engine Cooling constantly.
Direction Center for Fighters
1 ptSituational3 out of 5+1 aircraft in the Combat Air Patrol (CAP) Fighter group.
Does not apply to the Patrol Fighter consumable.
One more fighter in the CAP group; cheap, but Graf Zeppelin B has no tactical fighter identity to build around.
Torpedo Bomber
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5-10% aerial torpedo arming distance.
Shorter arming distance is useful against destroyers if you lean on the torpedo squadron.
Swift Flying Fish
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5+5% aerial torpedo speed.
Listed on some older pages under the legacy name “Swift Fish”.
Faster aerial torpedoes, same caveat: it supports the secondary attack type only.
Combat Maneuver Specialist
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5+1 charge and +10% action time for the squadron's In-flight Repair consumable.
Current name for the in-flight repair skill; older pages still show it as “Repair Specialist”.
In-flight Repair charges help large squadrons crossing AA, but the armour skills do more for the same plan.
Sight Stabilization
3 ptsSituational3 out of 5+7.5% aiming speed for attack squadrons.
Helpful for the rocket planes and torpedo bombers; AP bombs are aimed with a long settling reticle instead, so it does less here than on Yorktown.
Interceptor
3 ptsSituational3 out of 5Patrol Fighters are replaced by Interceptors: +10% patrol radius, invulnerable to enemy fighters, but they cannot attack fighters and cannot spot ships.
Trades your fighters' ability to attack fighters and spot ships for patrol radius; a specialist choice, not a beginner one.
Proximity Fuze
4 ptsSituational3 out of 5Reduces the target's torpedo protection by 10 percentage points.
No effect against ships without torpedo protection, such as destroyers.
Only affects aerial torpedoes. Graf Zeppelin B does carry them, but the AP bombs are the reason to play the ship.
Defensive Fire Expert
4 ptsSituational3 out of 5Greatly increases the carrier's own short-range continuous AA damage.
Current name for the skill previously called “Close Quarters Expert”. The exact current multiplier was not independently confirmed, so no number is stated here.
The carrier's own short-range AA, which matters only once something has already reached you — by then the game is usually decided.
Enhanced Reactions
4 ptsSituational3 out of 5Patrol Fighters / Interceptors: -80% time before attack, +25% action time, +50% arrival time.
A four-point fighter tuning skill on a ship whose four points are better spent keeping bombers alive.
Pyrotechnician
3 ptsOptional2 out of 5+1% fire chance for HE rockets; +5% fire chance for HE bombs.
Fire chance applies to HE rockets and HE bombs; Graf Zeppelin B's bombers drop AP, so half of this skill is inactive.
Hidden Menace
4 ptsAvoid / Inefficient1 out of 5-15% carrier detectability and -20% Damage Control Party cooldown, at the cost of -50% safe flight altitude and -50% returning squadron speed.
The lower safe altitude and slower return trip mean squadrons spend longer exposed while climbing out and returning to the carrier.
Avoid on this ship: -50% safe altitude and -50% returning squadron speed punish exactly the long German attack runs, and the carrier already wants to be behind the line rather than sneaking.