Colbert was the second of the Suffren-class cruisers. Designed as a light cruiser, she had typical issues for the Washington Treaty cruisers. Through the interwar period, she was based in Toulon. During World War Two, she participated in Operation Vado, shelling the Italian ports of Genoa and Vado Ligure, without much success. With the fall of France and the creation of the Vichy French Navy, she remained part of the Vichy forces, along with the other vessels stationed in mainland France. With Case Anton, the German military occupation of Vichy France, French sailors scuttled Colbert, along with the rest of the French fleet at Toulon, on 27 November 1942. Her burned-out wreck was scrapped after the war.

Colbert was introduced in Update "La Royale" as a heavy cruiser, owing to the calibre of the main guns and the overall displacement. She is a very good performer against soft targets thanks to outstanding SAP shells, but lacks the survivability or mobility to consistently dictate engagements with enemy vessels. She is best used in the second line, picking off targets while avoiding attention. When fired upon, her best chance is to lay down a smoke screen and retreat, rather than continue the direct exchange. Her two hydroplanes can be used to capture points without exposing the vessel or laying additional smoke screens, while torpedoes can be used for opportunistic kills, especially on open sea maps.