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William Sims

Also called: Уильям Симс · ウィリアム・シムス

U.S.A. Battleship Commander
U.S.A.BattleshipHistoricalSurvivability
Overview

Built to Last gives a battleship an HP bonus per ship tier, so he suits tanky battleships such as Maine, Vermont and California. Pair him with Flammable Cannonier, Gyrating Drillbits and Marksmanship to build on his sturdy base. Reaching Out XXL and Fight Fire With Fire are good additions, and Will to Rebuild rounds out the set.

Commander Bio

William Sims (1858–1936) was an admiral and visionary reformer who revolutionized U.S. Navy gunnery and naval tactics in the early 20th century. Among the Navy's most influential modernizers, he commanded U.S. Naval Forces in Europe during World War I, coordinating critical operations against German submarines and naval threats. Sims' innovations in gunnery standards, naval technology, and officer training established doctrines that would fundamentally define American naval warfare for generations.

Read more from WG: Through the Spy Glass: USS Somers ↗

Recommended on

30 ship guides

Skills

13 + base trait

Try William Sims in the Build Tool →

Balance alertThe Farsight skill was rebalanced on 2026-10-05.See details ↓ +8 more

William SimsSkill tree

Base Trait
Built to Last
Skill Tree · 5 ranks

William SimsBattle stats

From every player’s loadout in Debrief replays of Standard and Ranked battles, updated daily.

Skill balance changes

Recent balance updates affecting skills this commander carries.

REWORK Farsight 2026-10-05
  • Reworked into a long-range sniper skill with the Halloween 2026 update.
  • New passive effects: main battery dispersion -5%, battleship gun traverse speed -1.5°/s, and a warning indicator for incoming long-range enemy fire.
  • New special effect, while no detected enemy ship is within 9 / 8.5 / 8 / 7.5 km (by skill rank): +10% damage on citadel hits and a +10% battleship AP shell penetration multiplier.
  • Removed: the +15% torpedo acquisition range and the -30% torpedo damage taken while an ally was within 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 km.
Ministry of Balance: All Hallows' Overhaul Read the full official post
BUFF Properly Meticulous 2026-04-30
  • Secondary battery survivability is now improved by 15/20/25/30% instead of 5/10/15/20%
  • Secondary battery dispersion is now reduced by 6/9/12/15% instead of 3/6/9/12%
  • Secondary battery reload time is now reduced by 6/9/12/15% instead of 5/8/10/15%
Ministry of Balance: Viva la Marina! Read the full official post
BUFF No-Fly Zone 2025-07-31
  • Ship's average AA damage per second is now increased by 4/8/12/15% instead of 3/6/8/10%.
Ministry of Balance: Back to the Naval Academy Read the full official post
BUFF Crisscross 2025-07-31
  • Battleship gun traverse speed is now increased by 0.4/0.8/1.2/1.5°/s instead of 0.3/0.6/0.9/1.2°/s.
  • Cruiser gun traverse speed is now increased by 0.5/1.0/1.5/2.0°/s instead of 0.3/0.6/0.9/1.2°/s.
  • Destroyer gun traverse speed is now increased by 2/3/4/5°/s instead of 0.8/1.6/2.4/3.2°/s.
Ministry of Balance: Back to the Naval Academy Read the full official post
NERF Gyrating Drillbits 2024-10-10
  • Battleship gun traverse speed effect reduced from +0.4/+0.8/+1.2/+1.5 °/s to +0.3/+0.6/+0.9/+1.2 °/s
  • Battleship main gun AP shell damage effect reduced from +3/+6/+8/+10% to +2/+4/+6/+8%
  • Negative effect on maximum battleship speed reduced from –7/–7/–7/–10% to –7/–7/–7/–7%
Ministry of Balance: Trick and Treat Read the full official post
CHANGE Properly Meticulous 2024-04-25
  • Increased survivability of secondary battery by 5/10/15/20%
  • Reduced secondary battery dispersion by -3/-6/-9/-12%
  • Enhanced secondary targeting duration has been increased from +10/+20/+25/+35% to +10/+20/+30/+40%
Ministry of Balance: Old Gold Read the full official post
CHANGE Will to Rebuild 2023-04-06
  • Rate of HP restoration per second reduced from 0.5 to 0.3%.
  • Will to Rebuild now restores Saturation up to 20%.
Ministry of Balance Reports: German Commander Refit & More Read the full official post
CHANGE Fight Fire With Fire 2023-04-06
  • Static fire damage reduction swapped with fire reduction per active fire: 6/9/12/15% of damage, depending on rank.
Ministry of Balance Reports: German Commander Refit & More Read the full official post
CHANGE Farsight 2023-04-06
  • Activation range increased at lower ranks from 1.5/2/2.75/3.5 km to 2/2.5/3/3.5 km.
  • The debuff that removed a Repair Party consumable charge has been removed; Farsight no longer has any trade-offs.
Ministry of Balance Reports: German Commander Refit & More Read the full official post

Linked ship guides

AL Sov. Rossiya Achilles Aigle Akizuki Alabama B Allen M. Sumner Arizona Arkansas Arkansas FE Constellation Elbing FR25 Fletcher Friesland Gearing Haida Hayate Hill Karl von Schönberg Laffey Lüshun Minegumo Provorny Rhode Island Somers CE Somme Velos Vermont Wisconsin Z-52

Official sources

Through the Spy Glass: Somme Through the Spy Glass: Rhode Island Through the Spy Glass: Laffey Through the Spy Glass: Minegumo Through the Spy Glass: Wisconsin Through the Spy Glass: K. Schönberg Through the Spy Glass: Velos Through the Spy Glass: Haida Through the Spy Glass: Lüshun Bureau Overview: Vermont and Z-52 Through the Spy Glass: FR25 Through the Spy Glass: Constellation Through the Spy Glass: Elbing Through the Spy Glass: Hayate Through the spy glass: USS Hill Through the Spy Glass: USS Somers Through the Spy Glass: Provorny MINISTRY OF BALANCE: ALL HALLOWS' OVERHAUL Halloween Update: The Restless Fleet