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WoWs Legends progression guide

Best Tech Tree Lines to Grind in WoWs Legends

A plain-language guide to every World of Warships: Legends Tech Tree line, grouped by nation, with the ships in each branch and how to choose what to grind first.

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Grind what you enjoy

A Tech Tree line keeps the same job from bottom to top. If you like spotting and torpedoes, a destroyer line stays that way; if you like armor and big guns, a battleship line rewards patience. Pick the playstyle first, then the nation.

Lower ships are the tutorial

Every line starts low so you learn its tools before the expensive hulls. Treat the early tiers as practice for the line's strengths rather than a tax to rush through.

Tech Tree ships are the free path

These hulls are researched with experience and bought with silver, so a line is the no-spend way to grow a fleet. Premiums are shortcuts, not requirements.

Finish a branch before starting another

Spreading experience thin across many lines stalls all of them. Commit to one branch, reach the ships you wanted, then open the next.

USA

Fast Battleships

Tier VII to ★

Iowa VII Maine VIII Montana ★

Bombarding Heavy Cruisers

Tier V to ★

Pensacola V New Orleans VI Baltimore VII Buffalo VIII Des Moines ★

Fire-Starting Light Cruisers

Tier V to ★

Dallas V Helena VI Cleveland VII Seattle VIII Worcester ★

Bomber Carriers

Tier III to VII

Langley III Ranger V Lexington VII

Universal Destroyers

Tier II to ★

Wickes II Clemson III Farragut IV Mahan V Benson VI Fletcher VII Allen M. Sumner VIII Gearing ★

At Tier VIII: Allen M. Sumner

Gunboat destroyer. Damage from sustained main-battery pressure, not torpedo dumps.

Strengths

Big torpedo salvo
Sharp rudder
Lingering smoke

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Engine Boost

Heavy Battleships

Tier IV to VIII

Nevada IV Tennessee V North Carolina VI Kansas VII Minnesota VIII

Aviation Battleships

Tier VI to ★

Connecticut VI Nebraska VII Delaware VIII Louisiana ★

Recon Destroyers

Tier V to VIII

Kane V Hughes VI Osborne VII Christopher VIII

At Tier VIII: Christopher

Advanced Radar destroyer. A radar gunboat: scan the cap yourself and out-trade what you light.

Strengths

Heavy HE shells
Heavy torpedoes
Heavy AP shells
Long gun range

Weaknesses

Stiff AP fuse
Slow acceleration

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Long-Range Surveillance Radar
Defensive AA Fire

Standard U.S. Battleships

Tier III to VI

Wyoming III New York IV New Mexico V Colorado VI

Early U.S. Cruisers

Tier II to IV

St. Louis II Phoenix III Omaha IV

Japan

Outranging Battleships

Tier III to ★

Ishizuchi III Kongō IV Fusō V Nagato VI Amagi VII Izumo VIII Yamato ★

Offensive Strike Carriers

Tier III to VII

Hōshō III Ryūjō V Shōkaku VII

Gunboat Destroyers

Tier IV to VIII

Minekaze IV Hatsuharu V Shiratsuyu VI Akizuki VII Kitakaze VIII

At Tier VIII: Kitakaze

Gunboat destroyer. Damage from sustained main-battery pressure, not torpedo dumps.

Strengths

Improved HE penetration
AP DPM machine
Best-in-class stealth
Heavy torpedoes

Weaknesses

Visible torps
Slow torp reload

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Engine Boost
Torpedo Reload Booster

Combat Heavy Cruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Furutaka IV Aoba V Myōkō VI Mogami VII Ibuki VIII

Aviation Battleships

Tier VI to ★

Ise VI Suwo VII Dewa VIII Aki ★

Torpedo Cruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Agano IV Gokase V Omono VI Shimanto VII Takahashi VIII

Early Japanese Cruisers

Tier II to III

Tenryū II Kuma III

Torpedo Destroyers

Tier II to ★

Wakatake II Isokaze III Mutsuki IV Fubuki V Akatsuki VI Kagerō VII Yūgumo VIII Shimakaze ★

At Tier VIII: Yūgumo

Torpedo destroyer. Lives on its torpedoes; deal damage from concealment rather than the gun duel.

Strengths

Best-in-class stealth
Heavy torpedoes
Heavy HE shells
Module-wrecking torpedoes

Weaknesses

Fragile HP pool
Low AP DPM

Consumables

Smoke Generator or Torpedo Reload Booster
Engine Boost

Russia

Piercing Heavy Cruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Kotovsky IV Gorky V Tallinn VI Riga VII Petropavlovsk VIII

Artillery Cruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Kirov IV Budyonny V Shchors VI Chapayev VIIDmitri Donskoi VIII

Strike Carriers

Tier III to VII

Komsomolets III Serov V Pobeda VII

Early Soviet Cruisers

Tier II to III

Bogatyr II Svietlana III

Fiery Destroyers

Tier II to ★

Derzki II Izyaslav III Podvoisky IV Gnevny V Minsk VI Tashkent VII Delny VIII Khabarovsk ★

At Tier VIII: Delny

Gunboat destroyer. A gun-first destroyer: lean on main-battery DPM and treat the torpedoes as a finisher.

Strengths

Thickest plate
Fast for the class
Heavy citadel belt
Big torpedo salvo

Weaknesses

Easily spotted

Consumables

Smoke Generator or Repair Party
Engine Boost

Juggernaut Battleships

Tier III to VIII

Gangut III Pyotr Velikiy IV Izmail V Sinop VI Vladivostok VIISovetsky Soyuz VIII

Generalist Destroyers

Tier IV to VIII

Soobrazitelny IV Boevoi V Kiev VI Udaloi VII Neustrashimy VIII

At Tier VIII: Neustrashimy

Gunboat destroyer. Damage from sustained main-battery pressure, not torpedo dumps.

Strengths

Deep effective HP
Big torpedo salvo
Super-heal
Fast heal cycle

Weaknesses

Easily spotted
Slow acceleration

Consumables

Repair Party
Engine Boost
Smoke Generator

Germany

Breakthrough Battlecruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Derfflinger IV Mackensen V Prinz Heinrich VI Zieten VII Prinz Rupprecht VIII

Atlantic Carriers

Tier III to ★

Rhein III Weser V August von Parseval VII Manfred von Richthofen ★

Area-Control Destroyers

Tier II to ★

V-25 II V-170 III T-22 IVErnst Gaede VLeberecht Maass VIZ-23 VII Z-46 VIII Z-52 ★

At Tier VIII: Z-46

Stealth destroyer. Best-in-class concealment: win caps from detection ranges peers cannot reach.

Strengths

Improved HE penetration

Weaknesses

Short gun range
Pattern widens fast with range

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Engine Boost
Sonar

Hunter Destroyers

Tier VI to VIII

Z-31 VI Gustav-Julius Maerker VII Felix Schultz VIII

At Tier VIII: Felix Schultz

Long-range gunboat. Out-range peer DDs and kite cruisers; HE spam from open water.

Strengths

Big-caliber AP overmatch
Heavy AP shells
Long gun range
Close-range AP brick

Weaknesses

Stiff AP fuse
Easily spotted

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Engine Boost
Defensive AA Fire

Fire-Support Cruisers

Tier II to VIII

Kolberg II Karlsruhe III Königsberg IV Nürnberg V Yorck VIAdmiral Hipper VIIRoon VIII

Brawler Battleships

Tier III to ★

Kaiser III König IV Bayern V Gneisenau VI Bismarck VII Friedrich der Große VIII Großer Kurfürst ★

U.K.

Pursuit Battlecruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Tiger IV Renown V Rooke VI Hawke VII Duncan VIII

Flamethrowing Battleships

Tier III to ★

Orion III Iron Duke IV Queen Elizabeth V King George V VI Vanguard VII Temeraire VIII Conqueror ★

Armored Carriers

Tier III to VII

Hermes III Furious V Implacable VII

Dueling Destroyers

Tier II to ★

Valkyrie II Wakeful III Acasta IV Icarus V Jervis VI Lightning VII Jutland VIII Daring ★

At Tier VIII: Jutland

Smoke destroyer. The smoke cycle holds cap edges and trades gunfire from cover.

Strengths

Big torpedo salvo
Long-duration sonar
Extra smoke charges
Fast smoke cycle

Weaknesses

Shallow effective HP
Slow for the class

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Sonar
Repair Party

Supercharges replaces Propulsion Mod. 2 from Tier V up (+5% range, -5% sigma, +10% AP penetration).

Royal Heavy Cruisers

Tier IV to VIII

Hawkins IV Devonshire V Surrey VI Albemarle VII Drake VIII

Skirmishing Cruisers

Tier II to ★

Caledon II Danae III Emerald IV Leander V Fiji VI Edinburgh VII Neptune VIII Minotaur ★

France

Cruiser Hunters

Tier VI to VIII

Toulon VI Cherbourg VII Brest VIII

Fast Battleships

Tier III to ★

Courbet III Bretagne IV Normandie V Lyon VI Richelieu VII Alsace VIII Bourgogne ★

Rapid Cruisers

Tier II to ★

Friant II Duguay-Trouin III Émile Bertin IV La Galissonnière V Algérie VI Charles Martel VII Saint-Louis VIII Henri IV ★

Ambush Destroyers

Tier II to ★

Fusilier II Bourrasque III Jaguar IV Guépard V Vauquelin VI Le Fantasque VII Mogador VIII Kléber ★

At Tier VIII: Mogador

Gunboat destroyer. Wins cap trades with gun output; the torpedoes are a bonus, not the core threat.

Strengths

Torpedoes on both beams
Big-caliber AP overmatch
Long-range AP brick
Fast for the class

Weaknesses

Low AP DPM
Slow reload

Consumables

Main Battery Reload Booster
Engine Boost

French Torpedo Destroyers

Tier IV to VIII

L'Adroit IV Duchaffault V Le Hardi VI L'Aventurier VII Orage VIII

At Tier VIII: Orage

Torpedo destroyer. Built around the torpedo battery: flood lanes with fish and avoid stand-up gun fights.

Strengths

Torpedoes on both beams
Accelerating torpedoes
Short torpedo warning
Long-reach AA

Weaknesses

Low AP DPM
Low HE DPM

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Engine Boost

Italy

Evasive Cruisers

Tier II to ★

Taranto IIAlberto di Giussano IIIRaimondo Montecuccoli IVTrento V Zara VI Amalfi VII Brindisi VIII Venezia ★

Destroyer Hunters

Tier II to ★

Nazario Sauro II Turbine III Maestrale IV Aviere V Luca Tarigo VI Vittorio Cuniberti VII Adriatico VIII Attilio Regolo ★

At Tier VIII: Adriatico

SAP destroyer. Main guns fire high-alpha SAP in place of AP; lean on agility and exhaust smoke, and pick targets your SAP bites rather than shatters on.

Strengths

Long smoke deployment
Long-range torps

Weaknesses

Weak AA
Weak torpedoes

Consumables

Exhaust Smoke Generator
Engine Boost

Bruiser Battleships

Tier III to ★

Dante Alighieri IIIConte di Cavour IVAndrea Doria V Francesco Caracciolo VI Vittorio Veneto VII Lepanto VIII Cristoforo Colombo ★

Netherlands

Airstrike Cruisers

Tier V to ★

Kijkduin V Eendracht VI Haarlem VII Johan de Witt VIII Gouden Leeuw ★

Early Dutch Cruisers

Tier II to IV

Java II De Ruyter III Celebes IV

Pan-America

Early Pan-American Cruisers

Tier II to III

Vicente Guerrero II Córdoba III

Advanced Sonar Cruisers

Tier IV to VIII

La Argentina IV Almirante Cochrane V Coronel Bolognesi VI Ignacio Allende VII Santander VIII

Pan-Asia

Destroyer-Cruisers

Tier IV to ★

Chungking IV Rahmat V Chumphon VI Harbin VII Sejong VIII Jinan ★

Capital Ship Destroyers

Tier II to VIII

Phra Ruang II Shenyang III Jianwei IV Fushun V Gadjah Mada VI Hsienyang VII Chung Mu VIII

At Tier VIII: Chung Mu

Deep-water torpedo destroyer. Deep-water torpedoes ignore destroyers; save them for cruisers and battleships.

Strengths

Deep-water torpedoes
Long smoke deployment
Big torpedo salvo
Long gun range

Weaknesses

Fragile HP pool

Consumables

Smoke Generator or Surveillance Radar
Engine Boost
Torpedo Reload Booster

Pan-Europe

Contesting Destroyers

Tier IV to ★

Muavenet IV Stord V Grom VI Split VII Lambros Katsonis VIII Gdańsk ★

At Tier VIII: Lambros Katsonis

Gunboat destroyer. A gun-first destroyer: lean on main-battery DPM and treat the torpedoes as a finisher.

Strengths

Improved HE penetration
Torpedoes on both beams
Heavy HE shells
HE DPM machine

Weaknesses

Weak torpedoes
Small torpedo salvo

Consumables

Smoke Generator
Engine Boost or Defensive AA Fire
Surveillance Radar

No Propulsion Mod. 2 from Tier V up: the slot offers only two upgrades.

Area-Denial Destroyers

Tier II to ★

Romulus II Klas Horn III Visby IV Västerås V Skåne VI Östergötland VII Småland VIII Halland ★

At Tier VIII: Småland

Gunboat destroyer. Wins cap trades with gun output; the torpedoes are a bonus, not the core threat.

Strengths

Top-tier AA
Long-range torps
HE DPM machine
Fast torpedoes

Weaknesses

Weak torpedoes
Visible torps

Consumables

Engine Boost
Repair Party or Surveillance Radar
Defensive AA Fire

Spain

Ready Rack Cruisers

Tier V to ★

Baleares V Asturias VI Cataluña VII Andalucía VIII Castilla ★

Early Spanish Cruisers

Tier II to IV

Navarra II Almirante Cervera III Galicia IV

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