Aoba Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Aoba is a Tier V Japanese IJN cruiser with the improved AP fuse: her AP shells arm at 60% of the standard armor threshold, so they citadel cruisers that would over-pen a normal CA round. Lean on AP into broadsides and short-angled cruisers - HE-spamming this hull leaves the cohort's best damage tool on the rack. Sonar (4.4 km on ships and 3.1 km on torpedoes, 92 s active, 180 s reload, long uptime) lights up DDs and torpedoes inside its bubble, which lets her contest the cap edge without taking the spotting cycle. Standout traits: best AP fuse timer in T5 CAs (0.033 s).

Positioning

Sit 12-15 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line. Hydro (4.4 km on ships, 3.1 km on torpedoes) lights up DDs and incoming torpedoes inside its bubble, so you can push the cap edge from cover without taking the spotting cycle; prefer cover positions over open-water flanks.

Potato Avoidance

Holding torpedoes for a perfect drop

The torps are a threat tool: putting them into a lane forces rotations even when they miss. Drops on probable lanes are worth more than waiting for a guaranteed broadside that never appears.

Signature Traits

Improved AP fuse (IJN cruiser)

AP arms at 60% of the standard armor threshold (vs 0.9 default). Lets your AP pen broadsiding cruisers that would over-pen a normal CA, citadel hunts the cohort can't pull off, shared by 3/28 T5 CAs.

Big-caliber overmatch

14.2 mm overmatch threshold, top decile of T5 CAs. Punishes bow-tanking ships peers can't crack.

Heavy HE shells

3300.0 damage per HE shell, best of T5 CAs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

High fire chance

17.0% fire chance per HE shell, top decile of T5 CAs.

Punchy HE secondaries

2000.0 max HE alpha per secondary shell, top decile of T5 CAs. Bigger per-shell damage than peers.

Stiff AP fuse

34.0 mm AP arming threshold, bottom decile of T5 CAs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Acquisition

How to get Aoba

Aoba is available in the Combat Heavy Cruisers branch of the Japan Tech Tree for 2,400,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 600,000 credits.

Show Japan tech-tree branch diagram

Japan Tech Tree

Aoba sits in the Combat Heavy Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Japan tree.

5 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all Japan lines.

JapanIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Hybrid Battleship

Carrier

Tier VIIsePJSB527 Tier VIIIDewaPJSB309 Tier VIISuwoPJSB308 Tier VIIIKitakazePJSD219 Tier VIIIYūgumoPJSD209 Tier VIIITakahashiPJSC209 Tier VIIKagerōPJSD208 Tier VIIShimantoPJSC208 Tier VIShiratsuyuPJSD207 Tier VIOmonoPJSC207 Tier VHatsuharuPJSD206 Tier VGokasePJSC206 Tier IVMinekazePJSD205 Tier IVAganoPJSC205 Tier VIIAkizukiPJSD108 Tier VIIShōkakuPJSA108 Tier VIAkatsukiPJSD107 Tier VFubukiPJSD106 Tier IVMutsukiPJSD105 Tier IChikumaPJSC035 Tier IIWakatakePJSD024 Tier VIIIIzumoPJSB021 Tier ★YamatoPJSB018 Tier IITenryūPJSC015 Tier IIIKumaPJSC013 Tier VIIAmagiPJSB013 Tier ★ShimakazePJSD012 Tier VIIIIbukiPJSC012 Tier VINagatoPJSB010 Tier VIIMogamiPJSC009 Tier VRyūjōPJSA009 Tier VIMyōkōPJSC008 Tier IIIIshizuchiPJSB008 Tier VAobaPJSC007 Tier IVKongōPJSB007 Tier VFusōPJSB006 Tier IVFurutakaPJSC005 Tier IIIIsokazePJSD003 Tier IIIHōshōPJSA002

Builds Beta

Gunichi Mikawa and Isoroku Yamamoto are natural Japanese cruiser picks, with AL Atago or Arpeggio Haguro as premium options. Inspirations often support concealment, agility, accuracy, or fire pressure.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Atago Arpeggio Haguro Gunichi Mikawa Isoroku Yamamoto

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Cohort position

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Where Aoba sits among Tier V CAs (28 ships). Notable standouts are shown first; the rest of the cohort-ranked stats are in the expand below. Acquisition variants (Black Friday, Founders Edition) are counted once with their base ship, not as separate peers.

BestHE shell damage3,300 (1 of 3 tied) BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 11 tied) Top 10%HE fire chance17% (3/26) Top 10%HE alpha2,000 (2/25) Top 10%Secondary fire chance8% (3/25) Top 25%Max speed35 kt (7/28) Top 25%Rudder shift8.5 s (4/28) Top 25%Main battery caliber203 mm (6/28) Top 25%AP shell damage4,700 (5/28) Top 25%Main dispersion123.5 m (7/28) Top 25%Secondary HE pen20 mm (5/25) Top 25%Torpedo range9.99 km (5/24) Top 25%Torpedo damage16,267 (4/24) Top 25%Citadel belt105 mm (7/28) Bottom 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio3.44 × (26/28) Bottom 25%AP arming threshold34 mm (23/28) Bottom 25%Torpedo speed59 kt (21/24) Bottom 25%Torpedo reload102 s (22/24) Bottom 10%Secondary DPM (per side)40,000 (24/25) WorstDeck armor25 mm (1 of 2 tied)

See 25 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Aoba -- here's where she sits on every other ranked stat in the cohort. Stats tagged NORM are tied across more than half the cohort, so the value is the cohort default rather than a standout.

Hit points31,900 HP(11/28) Concealment11.36 km(13/28) Air detection6.82 km(12/28) Main battery range14.43 km(17/28) Main battery reload9.9 s(17/28) Sigma2(15/28) Fires per minute6.18(19/26) HE DPM120,000(20/26) AP DPM170,909(20/28) AP velocity840 m/s(21/28) HE velocity840 m/s(19/26) Acceleration9.7 s(15/28) Engine power102,000 hp(10/28) Turn-speed retention143.7 hp/m(9/28) Displacement11,847 t(19/28) Power-to-weight8.61 hp/t(14/28) Secondary range4.5 km(11/25) AA DPS202(17/28) AA range4.5 km(13/28) AA threat665(17/28) Max armor105 mm(11/28) Stern armor30 mm(15/28) NormAP ricochet start45°(25 of 28 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(25 of 28 tied at this value) NormBow armor30 mm(22 of 28 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Almirante Cochrane vs

Show all 27 peers

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chart More tools in the WoWS Legends Data Lab

All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.

Sonar 4.4 kmDef-AAFighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 30,500 → 31,900

Displacement11,847 t

Armor range6–105 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 13, 16, 19, 25, 30, 35, 48, 51, 76, 105 mm

Armor material/layer entries43

Fire resistanceInitial: 20% → 23.3%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction4%

Magazine HP

ƒ

The magazine is the module a detonation comes from. Penetrating hits to it raise the detonation chance from 1% toward 30% as its HP is worn down, so a larger magazine pool rides out citadel hits longer before a detonation becomes likely.

16,000

Steering gear HP

ƒ

Durability of the steering gears. As this pool drops, hits are likelier to jam the rudder; unlike most modules the steering can be knocked out and repaired but is never permanently destroyed.

9,600

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 203 mm/50 Type3

Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 6 barrels

Reload time11 s

Firing range (base)13.1 km

Firing range (top fire control)14.4 km

Turret traverse5 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

2

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13117/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 123.5 m

123.5 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 123.5 × 0.6 = 74.1 m

74.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 123.5 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 39.5 m

39.5 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 74.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 23.7 m

23.7 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.

36 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

6 broadside guns x 60 / 11 s base reload = 32.7.

32.7

HE shells

HE Damage3,300

HE Velocity840 m/s

Fire Chance17%

HE penetration

ƒ

34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

34 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

3,300 HE damage x 6 broadside guns = 19,800.

19,800

Base HE DPM

ƒ

19,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11 s base reload = 108,000.

108,000

Base fires/min

ƒ

6 HE shells x 60 / 11 s reload x 17% fire chance = 5.56.

5.56

AP shells

AP Damage4,700

AP Velocity840 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold34 mm

Improved AP FuseYes

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

14 mm

AP Pen Close

ƒ

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: 1e-7 × Krupp × mass^0.69 × caliber_m^-1.07 × v0^1.38 = 1e-7 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 840^1.38 = 414.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

414.7 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18 km), where the shell has slowed to 369.8 m/s: 1e-7 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 369.8^1.38 = 133.7 mm.

133.7 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

4,700 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 28,200.

28,200

Base AP DPM

ƒ

28,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11 s base reload = 153,818.

153,818

AP AOE Radius

ƒ

AP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.

24

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: Type8 mod. 2

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time102 s

Projectile speed59 kt

Range9.99 km

Maximum simulated damage14,967 (est.)

Alpha damage44,900

Torpedo detectability1.5 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming182 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

59,868

AA Defense

AA mount points17

Close-range AA DPS

ƒ

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (55×3.5×0.9) + (9×3.5×0.9) = 202. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.

202

Maximum AA range

ƒ

Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.

4.5 km

25 mm Type96 mod. 12×3 25mm

25 mm Type96 mod. 1Initial: 2×2 → 15×2 25mm

13 mm Type93 (stock hull only)15×2 13mm

120 mm 10th Year Type mod. B2 (DP)4×1 120mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 9 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

9

Range4.5 km

DPSInitial: 8 → 55

Range3.1 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 9 + Medium 55 = 64

64

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts4

Firing range4.5 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber120 mm

Reload time6 s

HE Damage2,000

Muzzle Velocity825 m/s

Fire Chance8%

Armor Pen20 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Secondary dispersion type

ƒ

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Standard

Max secondary dispersion @ 4.5 km

ƒ

4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.

286.5 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 102,000 hp

Engine power102,000 hp

Maximum speed35 kt

Turning circle radius710 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio3.4× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea11.36 km

Detectability by air6.82 km

Smoke firing penalty6.31 km

Detect after firing main guns11.36 km

Detect Fire Sea13.36 km

Detect Fire Air9.82 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 92 s active · 4.4 km ship detect · 3.13 km torpedo detect

Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost

Catapult Fighter3 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

Module options (2)

Stats above use the fully-upgraded modules. These are the research-tree alternatives; trade-offs are flagged.

HullTrade-off

Hit points30,500 → 31,900
Rudder shift11 → 8.5 s
Close-range AA DPS59 → 55
Turret traverse5 → 6 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range13,117 → 14428.7 m

See all derived stats

Show ▾

Numbers the spec table cannot show directly: alpha-strike math, DPM, dispersion, AP penetration. Click the formula chip on any row to reveal how it is calculated.

Main battery formulas

Shell Grouping (σ)2

Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

Max Horiz Disp123.5 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13117/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 123.5 m

Max Vert Disp74.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 123.5 × 0.6 = 74.1 m

Med Horiz Disp39.5 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 123.5 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 39.5 m

Med Vert Disp23.7 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 74.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 23.7 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close414.7 mm

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: 1e-7 × Krupp × mass^0.69 × caliber_m^-1.07 × v0^1.38 = 1e-7 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 840^1.38 = 414.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far133.7 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18 km), where the shell has slowed to 369.8 m/s: 1e-7 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 369.8^1.38 = 133.7 mm.

HE penetration34 mm

34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch14 mm

floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius24

AP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.

Broadside guns used for alpha6

All 6 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time36 s

180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.

HE full-salvo alpha19,800

3,300 HE damage x 6 broadside guns = 19,800.

AP full-salvo alpha28,200

4,700 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 28,200.

Base HE DPM108,000

19,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11 s base reload = 108,000.

Base AP DPM153,818

28,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11 s base reload = 153,818.

Base shells/min32.7

6 broadside guns x 60 / 11 s base reload = 32.7.

Base fires/min5.56

6 HE shells x 60 / 11 s reload x 17% fire chance = 5.56.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.5 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time9.8 s

detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Torpedo speed59 kt

Travel time to max range65.1 s

range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).

Tube count8

2 launchers x 4 tubes.

Per-side salvo4 torpedoes

tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).

Full-salvo damage119,736

tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).

Per-side salvo damage59,868

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS202

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (55×3.5×0.9) + (9×3.5×0.9) = 202. Covers AA-only mounts plus dual-purpose secondaries (Bismarck 105mm, USN 5"/38 cruiser secondaries) and dual-purpose main batteries (Sumner-class 5"/38, Akizuki-line 100mm). Formula validated against in-game captures on California, Sumner, Manfred von Richthofen, Dante Alighieri (exact) and within +/-17% on the remaining verified ships.

Maximum AA range4.5 km

Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.

AA threat index665

SUM over AA auras of (aura DPS x aura range km). A plane crossing the AA bubble is exposed to each aura for a time proportional to that aura's range, so long-reach DPS is worth more than the same DPS in a short bubble. Units: DPS*km; used to rank overall AA threat across the cohort.

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeStandard

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Max secondary dispersion @ 4.5 km286.5 m

4.5 km × 57 + 30 = 286.5 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)40,000

Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 4×1 120 mm (2/side) × 60/6 × 2000 = 40,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha2000

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2000 from the 120 mm family.

Max HE fire chance8%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 120 mm family.

Max HE pen20 mm

Maximum HE armor penetration across secondary HE families (caliber × 1/6 for most nations; 1/4 for German/UK BBs). Shells whose pen falls under a plate's armor thickness shatter for 0 hull damage though fire chance still applies. Best on this ship: 20 mm from the 120 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 30,500 → 31,900 with hull upgrade, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are the exact in-game values, not estimated.

Section	Plates	HP cap	Threats	Tactic
Bow	30 mm primary (range 16–30 mm)	1,600 (5% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VIAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	48 mm primary (range 6–105 mm)	23,900 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches48 mm: most HE shatters, standard pen from 305mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	30 mm primary (range 13–30 mm)	1,400 (4% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VIAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	105 mm primary (range 6–105 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.10 damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage	Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. Damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead (×0.10 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure	6 mm primary (range 6–25 mm)	1,500 (5% of HP)	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage. HE-spam target, and the section saturates fast (often only a few thousand HP).
Turret (module, per magazine)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	16,000 magazine HP	Magazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HP	Per-turret powder-magazine HP. Detonation chance scales from 1% (no mag damage) to 30% (full mag damage); this range is the in-game value. Detonation can't roll while the ship is above ~75% HP (the standard detonation-protection threshold, not a per-ship stat). Smaller magazines saturate to the 30% ceiling faster.
Secondary mount (120 mm mount)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	800 per-mount HP	Destroyed at 0 HP	Per-mount HP for the heaviest secondary on this ship. A mount destroyed at 0 HP is out for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. Smaller (lighter-caliber) secondaries typically share the same HP value.
AA mount (25 mm mount)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	200 per-mount HP	Destroyed at 0 HP	Per-mount HP for the heaviest AA on this ship. An AA mount destroyed at 0 HP stops shooting down planes for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. HE shells specifically target AA mounts since the small-caliber HP pool falls fast.
Rudder (module)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	9,600 module HP	Incapacitated at 0 HP	When module HP reaches 0 the rudder locks at its current angle until DCP repairs it. Repair via Damage Control Party.

Saturation cap = HP a section can absorb before further damage to it is reduced (the "bow-tank" effect). Citadel pool is ~165k on every ship (effectively no cap); damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead. Superstructure saturates fast but HE always pens regardless of the plate thickness. Rudder (and other module HPs) are a separate pool from ship HP: damaging a module doesn't drain ship HP. Incapacitated modules like the rudder and engine are restored by DCP, but secondary and AA mounts destroyed at 0 HP stay out for the rest of the battle.

Shell ballistics chart

AP penetration, impact velocity, flight time and impact angle vs range. Click to load the interactive chart.

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Aoba can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Aoba

Aoba Community Stats