The ultimate increase in French capital ship design, "Bretagne" increased the number of heavy guns on the lower battery to 18 on each side, from the 15 of the "Bretagne" of 1766 and 16 on the "Océan"s. In the original design, half of these guns were 36-pounder long guns, as to maximise firepower at the price of standardisation on 30-pounder long guns that typically prevailed at the time, the other half being 60-pounder Paixhans guns. The middle deck fielded 18 30-pounder short guns and another 18 Paixhans guns of 60 pounds. The upper battery was armed with 38 30-pounder howitzers. Two 50-pounders and 18 30-pounder caronades complemented the armament on the deck. This gave "Bretagne" a broadside of 2924 pounds (1431 kilogrammes), compared to the 2400 of the original "Océan" design.