Bellerophon Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Bellerophon is a Tier III British battleship built around the super-heal: her Repair Party returns more HP per charge than any peer in the cohort, so her sustain is what lets her hold trades that other battleships would have to disengage from. HE pen sits at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6, so HE spam is a real damage option here - pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE round. Standout traits: best HE alpha in T3 BBs (5,200) and best magazine armor in T3 BBs (76 mm).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 10-13 km where the team can rotate behind you and where island cover is within one heal cycle. The super-heal lets you hold mid-range trades that a standard BB would lose, but only if you finish each trade before the next focus volley arrives; open-water trades faster than the heal cycles still drain HP net-negative.

Potato Avoidance

Treating the super-heal as a license to push

The Repair Party out-cycles what a standard BB can recover, but it does not out-cycle two flanks of focus fire at once. Spend the heal on absorbed damage from a trade you won, not on damage you took because you led the push alone.

Signature Traits

Improved HE penetration

HE pen at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6. HE-spam is a real damage option here, not just a fire-starter; pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE, shared by 7/17 T3 BBs.

Heavy HE shells

5200.0 damage per HE shell, best of T3 BBs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

Heavy magazine armor

76.0 mm magazine protection, best of T3 BBs. Detonation-resistant.

Thick bow plate

32.0 mm bow, top decile of T3 BBs. Harder for same-tier guns to overmatch.

Fast flanking BB

Speed in the top bracket. Rotates flanks and dictates engagement angles.

Low AP DPM

144000 AP DPM, bottom quartile of T3 BBs. Citadel windows matter more than spam.

Acquisition

How to get Bellerophon

Bellerophon is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Containers. Container chances are shown as the listed odds of receiving this exact ship, dividing grouped ship-pool odds across the resolved ships and including nested container paths when a crate can drop another crate.

ContainersAppears in official container odds below; availability depends on the container being sold or awarded.

Best listed chance for this ship

Battle of Jutland Crate 0.75% Tier III Premium ship Event containers · Battle of Jutland Crate · 1 of 4 ships

Official WG availability sources

Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
Darkness & Light: a tale of two Halloween events Event/store source Start: 2021-10-01 · End: open/unknown end Official ship/event post that can indicate store, collaboration, event, return, or limited availability.

Show direct source rows

Battle of Jutland Crate 0.75% · Tier III Premium ship

Builds Beta

Build for main-battery consistency, survivability, range/AP support, and fire resistance.

Open in Build Tool →

Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Bellerophon sits among Tier III BBs (17 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 damage5,200 (1 of 2 tied) Top 10%Bow armor32 mm (2/17) Top 25%Max speed24 kt (3/17) Top 25%Rudder shift13.2 s (3/17) Top 25%Sigma1.8 (5/17) Top 25%HE fire chance32% (5/17) Top 25%AP fuse timer0.01 s (3/17) Bottom 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio2.38 × (16/17) Bottom 25%Secondary DPM (per side)84,000 (15/17) Bottom 25%HE alpha1,500 (14/16) Bottom 25%Secondary fire chance6% (13/16) Bottom 25%Secondary HE pen17 mm (15/16) Bottom 25%Engine power25,000 hp (14/16) Bottom 25%Turn-speed retention44.6 hp/m (15/16) WorstAP DPM144,000 (1 of 2 tied)

See 26 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Bellerophon -- 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 points38,100 HP(10/17) Concealment12.45 km(9/17) Air detection9.96 km(10/17) Main battery caliber305 mm(9/17) Main battery range13.63 km(10/17) Main battery reload27 s(11/17) Fires per minute5.69(8/17) HE DPM92,444(8/17) AP shell damage8,100(11/17) Main dispersion196.3 m(13/17) AP velocity831 m/s(10/17) HE velocity831 m/s(12/17) Acceleration7.2 s(11/17) AP arming threshold51 mm(9/17) Displacement22,456 t(7/17) Power-to-weight1.11 hp/t(12/16) Secondary range4.5 km(7/17) AA DPS71(8/17) AA range3 km(9/17) AA threat181(7/14) Repair charges3(9/17) Max armor279 mm(13/17) Citadel belt254 mm(9/17) Stern armor30 mm(7/17) Deck armor76 mm(13/17) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(14 of 17 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 16 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.

Repair 3

Survivability

Hit Points38,100

Displacement22,456 t

Armor range13–279 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 19, 25, 30, 32, 38, 51, 57, 76, 102, 127, 152, 178, 203, 229, 254, 279 mm

Armor material/layer entries75

Fire resistance10%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction13%

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.

19,100

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.

11,400

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 305 mm/45 Mk X

Mounts / barrels5 mounts / 10 barrels

Reload time30 s

Firing range13.6 km

Turret traverse3 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

1.8

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13632/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 196.3 m

196.3 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 196.3 × 0.6 = 117.8 m

117.8 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 196.3 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 67.5 m

67.5 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 117.8 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 40.5 m

40.5 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.

60 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.

16

HE shells

HE Damage5,200

HE Velocity831 m/s

Fire Chance32%

HE penetration

ƒ

76 mm ≈ 305 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

76 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

5,200 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 41,600.

41,600

Base HE DPM

ƒ

41,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 83,200.

83,200

Base fires/min

ƒ

8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 32% fire chance = 5.12.

5.12

AP shells

AP Damage8,100

AP Velocity831 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.015 s

Fuse Threshold51 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(305 mm caliber / 14.3) = 21 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

21 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 × 2187 × 389.8^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 831^1.38 = 510.9 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

510.9 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17 km), where the shell has slowed to 389.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2187 × 389.8^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 389.2^1.38 = 179.4 mm.

179.4 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

8,100 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 64,800.

64,800

Base AP DPM

ƒ

64,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 129,600.

129,600

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.

40

AA Defense

AA mount points6

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: (3×3.5×0.75) + (24×3.5×0.75) = 71. 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.

71

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

3 km

76.2 mm/45 HA Mk IV2×1 76mm

40 mm/39 Vickers QF Mk.II on a Mk.II HA mount4×1 40mm

DPS3

Range3 km

DPS24

Range2.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 3 + Medium 24 = 27

27

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts14

Firing range4.5 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber102 mm

Reload time7.5 s

HE Damage1,500

Muzzle Velocity873 m/s

Fire Chance6%

Armor Pen17 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: 25,000 hp

Engine power25,000 hp

Maximum speed24 kt

Turning circle radius560 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio2.4× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.45 km

Detectability by air9.96 km

Smoke firing penalty9.5 km

Detect after firing main guns12.45 km

Detect Fire Sea14.45 km

Detect Fire Air12.96 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active

Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal

Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost

Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade

Turret traverse3 → 5 °/s

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)1.8

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

Max Horiz Disp196.3 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13632/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 196.3 m

Max Vert Disp117.8 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 196.3 × 0.6 = 117.8 m

Med Horiz Disp67.5 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 196.3 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 67.5 m

Med Vert Disp40.5 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 117.8 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 40.5 m

AP Pen Close510.9 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 × 2187 × 389.8^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 831^1.38 = 510.9 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far179.4 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17 km), where the shell has slowed to 389.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2187 × 389.8^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 389.2^1.38 = 179.4 mm.

HE penetration76 mm

76 mm ≈ 305 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

Improved HE PenYes

This ship's HE shells use a 1/4 (~0.25) caliber-to-pen ratio instead of the standard 1/6 (~0.167) - 0.249 in this case. Lets HE pen ~76mm armor instead of ~50mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch21 mm

floor(305 mm caliber / 14.3) = 21 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius40

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 alpha8

Barrels that can bear on one beam (8 of 10); casemate/wing mounts only fire one side.

Turret turn time60 s

180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.

HE full-salvo alpha41,600

5,200 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 41,600.

AP full-salvo alpha64,800

8,100 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 64,800.

Base HE DPM83,200

41,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 83,200.

Base AP DPM129,600

64,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 129,600.

Base shells/min16

8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.

Base fires/min5.12

8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 32% fire chance = 5.12.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS71

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (3×3.5×0.75) + (24×3.5×0.75) = 71. 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 range3 km

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

AA threat index181

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)84,000

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: 14×1 102 mm (7/side) × 60/7.5 × 1500 = 84,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1500

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1500 from the 102 mm family.

Max HE fire chance6%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 6% from the 102 mm family.

Max HE pen17 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: 17 mm from the 102 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 38,100, 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	32 mm primary (range 19–178 mm)	2,500 (7% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle bounces 410mm32 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)	32 mm primary (range 19–254 mm)	28,600 (75% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	30 mm primary (range 19–127 mm)	1,500 (4% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	254 mm primary (range 19–254 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	13 mm primary (range 13–279 mm)	1,400 (4% of HP)	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damageDamage multiplier ×0.6	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	19,100 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 (102 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 (76 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	11,400 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 Bellerophon can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Bellerophon

Bellerophon Community Stats