The Wacht class was the first design prepared in accordance with Caprivi's directives, and it proved to be a failure, owing to poor seakeeping as a result of its smaller size, and a gun battery that was insufficient to allow them to engage comparable vessels in other fleets.

She was launched on 27 August 1887 and Vizeadmiral (Vice Admiral) Alexander von Monts, the chief of the Marinestation der Nordsee (North Sea Naval Station) christened the ship.

During training exercises with the squadron, Wacht suffered a burst boiler tube on 20 June that forced her to return to port for repairs.

[5] Late in the year, Wacht joined a squadron of four old ironclads—Kaiser, Deutschland, Friedrich der Grosse, and Preussen that escorted Kaiser Wilhelm II and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria aboard their yacht Hohenzollern to Greece for the wedding of Princess Sophie, the Kaiser's sister, to Constantine, then the crown prince of the Kingdom of Greece.

Wacht developed boiler problems that necessitated repairs at the naval arsenal at Pola; she remained there until 29 January 1890, when she was able to get underway again.

On 6 October 1891, she was recommissioned for sea trials that lasted until the end of February 1892; during this period, her commander was KK Hermann da Fonseca-Wollheim.

She was assigned to II Division of the Maneuver Squadron on 8 March and KK Ludwig Borckenhagen relieved Fonseca-Wollheim, Wacht thereafter taking part in exercises in the North Sea off the coast of Norway.

[5] Wacht was recommissioned on 13 January 1893, initially serving as a training ship for engine and boiler room crews for torpedo boats.

In early March, she was reassigned to serve as a flotilla leader for torpedo boats, and in mid-April, she was once again detached to escort Hohenzollern, though this was the new yacht of that name, while it was being taken from Swinemünde to Kiel.

While on the way, the vessels encountered the Flensburg-flagged merchant ship SS Electra that had run aground and Wacht pulled her free and towed er to Kiel.

The annual fleet maneuvers were held from 20 August to 23 September in the North and Baltic Seas, and upon their conclusion, I Torpedo-boat Flotilla was dissolved for the year.

[7] In 1894, Wacht was assigned to II Division of the Maneuver Squadron; during this period, the ships conducted a lengthy cruise in the North Sea, visiting ports in Norway and the Shetland Islands from 3 April to late June.

Wacht did not remain in service with the unit long, owing to the poor condition of her engines, and she was decommissioned in Wilhelmshaven on 8 December for repairs.

During these exercises on 5 September, Wacht damaged her screws in a collision with the torpedo boat D5, forcing her to return to Kiel for repairs, though she was able to take part in the final stage of the maneuvers in the North Sea.

While out of service, she was reclassified as a "Kleiner Kreuzer" (small cruiser) on 27 February 1899; she was recommissioned on 6 April to replace the aviso Greif in II Division.

The unit operated with II Squadron in the North Sea in August, and on the last day of the month, the fleet maneuvers began in the Baltic.