Buffalo Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Buffalo is a Tier VIII American heavy cruiser whose signature kit is Surveillance Radar (10 km). The radar drop is what makes her valuable in cap fights; the guns are the secondary story. Standout traits: best AP always-pen window in T8 CAs (60°).

Positioning

Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts. Push the radar forward only once the destroyer fight is yours; burning the drop to fish for a lone DD kill leaves the next push with no answer to smoke or vision.

Potato Avoidance

Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position…

The consumable's value is locking down a cap your team can take, not stealing a single salvo on a lone DD. Burn it early to fish for a kill and the next push has no answer to smoke or vision.

Signature Traits

Surveillance Radar

10 km range, 30 s duration. Detects all enemy ships within a fixed radius regardless of line-of-sight. Controls caps and punishes smoke-firing DDs.

Wide always-pen zone

60.0° AP min ricochet angle, best of T8 CAs. Larger impact-angle window where shells always penetrate.

Hardened superstructure

206.0 mm superstructure, best of T8 CAs. HE farms less.

Late auto-bounce

67.5° AP guaranteed ricochet angle, top decile of T8 CAs. Auto-bounce kicks in later than peers'.

Thick bow plate

27.0 mm bow, top decile of T8 CAs. Harder for same-tier guns to overmatch.

Light secondaries

108000.0 secondary DPM (theoretical), bottom quartile of T8 CAs. Less per-minute secondary throughput than peers; brawl trade depends more on the mains.

Acquisition

How to get Buffalo

Buffalo is available in the Bombarding Heavy Cruisers branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 25,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 5,000,000 credits.

Show U.S.A. tech-tree branch diagram

U.S. Tech Tree

Buffalo sits in the Bombarding Heavy Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.

U.S. heavy cruisers are well suited to bombarding enemy ships with powerful, super-heavy armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells, but they lack torpedoes entirely. Starting from Tier VII, they bring Radar and Sonar together to the battle to detect hidden enemy warships.

Advantages: Improved AP shells, Long-duration Radar starting at Tier VII
Disadvantages: Low-velocity shells, Poor protection

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

U.S.A.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII

Destroyer

Cruiser

Light cruiser split

Battleship

Alternative battleship

Hybrid battleship

Carrier

Tier IIWickesPASD027 Tier IIIClemsonPASD019 Tier IVFarragutPASD005 Tier VMahanPASD006 Tier VIBensonPASD008 Tier VIIFletcherPASD021 Tier VIIIA. M. SumnerPASD114 Tier IAlbanyPASC003 Tier IISt. LouisPASC004 Tier IIIPhoenixPASC024 Tier IVOmahaPASC005 Tier VPensacolaPASC012 Tier VINew OrleansPASC014 Tier VIIBaltimorePASC017 Tier VIIIBuffaloPASC109 Tier VDallasPASC206 Tier VIHelenaPASC207 Tier VIIClevelandPASC208 Tier VIIISeattlePASC209 Tier IIIWyomingPASB004 Tier IVNew YorkPASB006 Tier IVNevadaPASB105 Tier VNew MexicoPASB034 Tier VIColoradoPASB008 Tier VIIIowaPASB018 Tier VIIIMainePASB118 Tier VTennesseePASB106 Tier VINorth CarolinaPASB012 Tier VIIKansasPASB108 Tier VIIIMinnesotaPASB109 Tier VIConnecticutPASB207 Tier VIINebraskaPASB208 Tier VIIIDelawarePASB209 Tier IIILangleyPASA004 Tier VRangerPASA006 Tier VIILexingtonPASA012

Builds Beta

AL Baltimore, AL Montpelier, and Captain Janeway are useful American cruiser commander directions. Inspirations usually support accuracy, reload, concealment, agility, or survivability so the ship can keep influencing fights without giving up easy citadels.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Baltimore AL Montpelier

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Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Buffalo sits among Tier VIII CAs (27 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.

BestAP ricochet start60° (1 of 4 tied) Top 10%AP auto-bounce angle67.5° (3/27) Top 25%Fires per minute9.79 (7/25) Top 25%AP DPM349,515 (7/27) Top 25%Main dispersion130.6 m (7/27) Top 25%HE alpha1,800 (5/20) Top 25%Acceleration9.9 s (5/27) Top 25%AA DPS604 (5/27) Top 25%Max armor206 mm (6/27) Top 25%Bow armor27 mm (5/27) Bottom 25%HE velocity823 m/s (20/25) WorstSecondary DPM (per side)108,000 (1 of 3 tied) WorstSecondary fire chance5% (1 of 7 tied) WorstAP velocity762 m/s (1 of 5 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (11 of 27 in cohort)

See 30 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Buffalo -- 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 points47,800 HP(11/27) Max speed33 kt(17/27) Concealment13.04 km(17/27) Air detection7.82 km(16/27) Rudder shift14.6 s(19/27) Traverse-to-turn ratio4.94 ×(19/27) Main battery caliber203 mm(15/27) Main battery range15.56 km(15/27) Main battery reload10.3 s(13/27) Sigma2.05(13/27) HE shell damage2,800(16/25) HE fire chance14%(15/25) HE DPM195,728(8/25) AP shell damage5,000(16/27) Secondary HE pen21 mm(9/20) AP arming threshold34 mm(13/27) Engine power120,000 hp(18/27) Turn-speed retention150 hp/m(18/27) Displacement20,254 t(15/27) Power-to-weight5.92 hp/t(16/27) AA range5 km(19/27) AA threat2,007(9/27) Citadel belt152 mm(12/27) Stern armor27 mm(9/27) Deck armor76 mm(17/26) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(16 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(18 of 27 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(17 of 21 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(25 of 27 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(14 of 27 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 26 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.

Radar 10 kmSonar 5.47 kmRepair 2Def-AAFighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 42,500 → 47,800

Displacement20,254 t

Armor range6–206 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 27, 38, 40, 76, 127, 152, 206 mm

Armor material/layer entries60

Fire resistance40%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction19%

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.

23,900

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.

14,300

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 203 mm Mk15

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 12 barrels

Reload time11.5 s

Firing range (base)14.1 km

Firing range (top fire control)15.6 km

Turret traverse6 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

2.05

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14149/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 130.6 m

130.6 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 130.6 × 0.6 = 78.4 m

78.4 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 130.6 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 41 m

41 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 78.4 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 24.6 m

24.6 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.

30 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

12 broadside guns x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 62.6.

62.6

HE shells

HE Damage2,800

HE Velocity823 m/s

Fire Chance14%

HE penetration

ƒ

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

34 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

2,800 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 33,600.

33,600

Base HE DPM

ƒ

33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 175,304.

175,304

Installed HE DPM

ƒ

33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 195,728.

195,728

Base fires/min

ƒ

12 HE shells x 60 / 11.5 s reload x 14% fire chance = 8.77.

8.77

AP shells

AP Damage5,000

AP Velocity762 m/s

Min Ricochet60 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet67.5 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold34 mm

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 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 488.4 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

488.4 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.5 km), where the shell has slowed to 367.8 m/s: 1e-7 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 367.8^1.38 = 178.7 mm.

178.7 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

5,000 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 60,000.

60,000

Base AP DPM

ƒ

60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 313,043.

313,043

Installed AP DPM

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60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 349,515.

349,515

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.

45

AA Defense

AA mount points31

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: (107×3.5×0.9) + (57×3.5×0.85) + (31×3.5×0.9) = 604. 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.

604

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

5 km

20 mm Oerlikon Mk20Initial: 20 mm Oerlikon Mk4 (16×1) → 20 mm Oerlikon Mk20 (16×2)

40 mm Bofors Mk1Initial: 11×2 → 4×2 40mm

40 mm Bofors Mk2Initial: 4×4 → 11×4 40mm

127 mm Mk32 (DP)6×2 127mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 31 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

31

Range5 km

DPSInitial: 93 → 107

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 31 + Medium 107 = 138

138

DPSInitial: 34 → 57

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 31 + Medium 107 + Near 57 = 195

195

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts6

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber127 mm

Reload time6 s

HE Damage1,800

Muzzle Velocity792 m/s

Fire Chance5%

Armor Pen21 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 @ 5 km

ƒ

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

315 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 120,000 hp

Engine power120,000 hp

Maximum speed33 kt

Turning circle radius800 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio4.9× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea13.04 km

Detectability by air7.82 km

Smoke firing penalty7.52 km

Detect after firing main guns13.04 km

Detect Fire Sea15.04 km

Detect Fire Air10.82 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 100 s active · 5.47 km ship detect · 3.8 km torpedo detect

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

Choose one

Surveillance Radar2 charges · 180 s reload · 30 s active · 10 km radar range

Catapult Fighter4 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

Observation Seaplane4 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · +10% main-battery range bonus

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal

Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points42,500 → 47,800
Rudder shift20.4 → 14.6 s
Close-range AA DPS127 → 164

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range14,149 → 15563.9 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)2.05

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

Max Horiz Disp130.6 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14149/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 130.6 m

Max Vert Disp78.4 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 130.6 × 0.6 = 78.4 m

Med Horiz Disp41 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 130.6 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 41 m

Med Vert Disp24.6 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 78.4 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 24.6 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close488.4 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 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 488.4 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far178.7 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.5 km), where the shell has slowed to 367.8 m/s: 1e-7 × 2919 × 152^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 367.8^1.38 = 178.7 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 Radius45

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 alpha12

All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time30 s

180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.

HE full-salvo alpha33,600

2,800 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 33,600.

AP full-salvo alpha60,000

5,000 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 60,000.

Base HE DPM175,304

33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 175,304.

Base AP DPM313,043

60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 313,043.

Installed HE DPM195,728

33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 195,728.

Installed AP DPM349,515

60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 349,515.

Base shells/min62.6

12 broadside guns x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 62.6.

Installed shells/min69.9

12 broadside guns x 60 / 10.3 s installed Artillery reload = 69.9.

Base fires/min8.77

12 HE shells x 60 / 11.5 s reload x 14% fire chance = 8.77.

Installed fires/min9.79

12 HE shells x 60 / 10.3 s installed reload x 14% fire chance = 9.79.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS604

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (107×3.5×0.9) + (57×3.5×0.85) + (31×3.5×0.9) = 604. 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 range5 km

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

AA threat index2007

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.

Near aura range2 km

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 @ 5 km315 m

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)108,000

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: 6×2 127 mm (6/side) × 60/6 × 1800 = 108,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1800

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 mm family.

Max HE fire chance5%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 5% from the 127 mm family.

Max HE pen21 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: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 42,500 → 47,800 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	27 mm primary (range 27–76 mm)	2,700 (6% of HP)	Overmatched by 406mm+ (Hawke, Iowa)Angle bounces 380mm27 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)	16 mm primary (range 6–152 mm)	35,900 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	27 mm primary (range 27–127 mm)	3,200 (7% of HP)	Overmatched by 406mm+ (Hawke, Iowa)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	152 mm primary (range 27–152 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.33 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 (×0.33 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure	206 mm	1,700 (4% 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	23,900 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 (127 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 (40 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	14,300 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 Buffalo can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Buffalo

Buffalo Community Stats