World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Constellation W

Beta
U.S.A. · Tier VII · Battleship · Constellation Variant
Mid-range battleship anchorHold a mid-range lane and trade with the enemy line.
Playstyle
  • Choose a useful lane early, angle into the fight, and support objectives from mid-range instead of chas…
  • Avoid: Do not abandon your flank too early or show broadside while relocating; American battleships win throug…
Community Data

Constellation W Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Constellation W is a Tier VII American premium battleship best treated as an American battleship for reliable fire support, flank anchoring, and punishing broadside mistakes with consistent salvos. Its value comes from disciplined salvos, careful angling, and committing only when destroyers and crossfires are under control.

Positioning

Choose a useful lane early, angle into the fight, and support objectives from mid-range instead of chasing damage across the map. Use cover and angled lanes to move from salvo pressure into a controlled close-range threat only after the flank is safe.

Potato Avoidance

Abandon your flank too early or show broadside while relocating…

The common throw is overcommitting before the minimap is settled, then losing the ship’s best tools before they can matter late.

Acquisition

How to get Constellation W

Constellation W 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.

Best listed chance for this ship

  • Spectral Vault 5.0 0.375% Tier VII Premium ship Event containers · Spectral Vault 5.0 · 1 of 40 ships
  • Spectral Vault 4.0 0.15625% Tier VII Premium ship Event containers · Spectral Vault 4.0 · 2 paths combined · 1 of 40 ships
    Show 2 paths
    • Spectral Vault 4.00.1%
    • Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.05625%
  • Piñata Chest 0.125% Tier V, VI, or VII Premium ship Event containers · Piñata Chest · 1 of 24 ships
Show all 7 containers (4 more)
  • Spectral Vault 3.0 0.078437% Tier VII Premium ship Event containers · Spectral Vault 3.0 · 4 paths combined · 1 of 40 ships
    Show 4 paths
    • Spectral Vault 3.00.05%
    • Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.01125%
    • Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.011%
    • Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.006188%
  • Mystic Lantern 0.074419% Tier VII Premium ship Event containers · Mystic Lantern · 1 of 43 ships
  • Spectral Vault 2.0 0.013469% Tier VII Premium ship Event containers · Spectral Vault 2.0 · 7 paths combined · 1 of 40 ships
    Show 7 paths
    • Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.00.005%
    • Spectral Vault 2.00.0025%
    • Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.002%
    • Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.001125%
    • Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.001125%
    • Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.0011%
    • Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.000619%
  • Spectral Vault 1.0 0.001997% Tier VII Premium ship Event containers · Spectral Vault 1.0 · 11 paths combined · 1 of 40 ships
    Show 11 paths
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 3.00.0005%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.00.00045%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.00.000225%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.00018%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.000112%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.00011%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.000101%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.000101%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.000099%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.000062%
    • Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.0 → Spectral Vault 5.00.000056%
Official WG availability sources
  • Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
  • Through the Spy Glass: Constellation Ship feature / release Start: 2023-05-22 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
Show direct source rows

Builds Beta

AL Colorado, AL New Jersey, and Al Massachusetts are useful American battleship commander directions. Inspirations usually favor accuracy, reload, AP performance, HP, survivability, or secondary/brawling bonuses depending on how aggressively you want to play.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL ColoradoAL New Jersey

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

The stats below come from the base ship, Constellation. This ship is built on the same hull; in-game data for the variant itself is not available.

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

Radar 11 kmRepair 3Fighter
Survivability
Hit Points63,300
Displacement44,517 t
Armor range19–305 mm
Plate armor thicknesses19, 25, 27, 32, 38, 50, 51, 57, 76, 102, 114, 127, 152, 178, 229, 305 mm
Armor material/layer entries64
Fire resistance36.6%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction20%
Magazine HP
ƒThe 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.
31,700
Steering gear HP
ƒDurability 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.
19,000
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 406 mm Mk5
Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels
Reload time25 s
Firing range16.7 km
Turret traverse5 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
1.9
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (16728/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 188.5 m
188.5 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 188.5 × 0.6 = 113.1 m
113.1 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 188.5 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 62.5 m
62.5 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 113.1 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 37.5 m
37.5 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.
36 s
Base shells/min
ƒ8 broadside guns x 60 / 25 s base reload = 19.2.
19.2
HE shells
HE Damage5,700
HE Velocity803 m/s
Fire Chance36%
HE penetration
ƒ68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
68 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ5,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 45,600.
45,600
Base HE DPM
ƒ45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 25 s base reload = 109,440.
109,440
Installed HE DPM
ƒ45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 22.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 121,600.
121,600
Base fires/min
ƒ8 HE shells x 60 / 25 s reload x 36% fire chance = 6.91.
6.91
AP shells
AP Damage12,400
AP Velocity768 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold68 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
28 mm
AP Pen Close
ƒCanonical 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 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 768^1.38 = 787.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
787.7 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (20.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 478.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 478.9^1.38 = 410.5 mm.
410.5 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ12,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 99,200.
99,200
Base AP DPM
ƒ99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 25 s base reload = 238,080.
238,080
Installed AP DPM
ƒ99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 22.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 264,533.
264,533
AP AOE Radius
ƒAP 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.
150
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm triple
Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 3 tubes = 6 tubes
Reload time98 s
Projectile speed55 kt
Range9.15 km
Maximum simulated damage15,533 (est.)
Alpha damage46,600
Torpedo detectability1.1 km
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn7.2 s
Torp Arming170 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒper-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.
46,599
AA Defense
AA mount points58
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (89×3.5×0.75) + (115×3.5×0.7) + (49×3.5×0.75) = 644. 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.
644
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
5 km
40 mm Bofors Mk212×4 40mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk48×1 20mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk2016×2 20mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk.422×1 20mm
127 mm Mk32 (DP)10×2 127mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 49 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
49
Range5 km
Medium aura
DPS89
Range3.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 49 + Medium 89 = 138
138
Near aura
DPS115
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 49 + Medium 89 + Near 115 = 253
253
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts10
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
ƒMax 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
ƒ5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.
315 m
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 180,000 hp
Engine power180,000 hp
Maximum speed33.2 kt
Turning circle radius830 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio4.2× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea15.21 km
Detectability by air12.17 km
Smoke firing penalty14.67 km
Detect after firing main guns15.21 km
Detect Fire Sea17.21 km
Detect Fire Air15.17 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active
Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal
Surveillance Radar2 charges · 150 s reload · 30 s active · 11 km radar range
Choose one
Catapult Fighter3 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Observation Seaplane3 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · +10% main-battery range bonus
Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost

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)1.9
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp188.5 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (16728/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 188.5 m
Max Vert Disp113.1 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 188.5 × 0.6 = 113.1 m
Med Horiz Disp62.5 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 188.5 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 62.5 m
Med Vert Disp37.5 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 113.1 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 37.5 m
AP Pen Close787.7 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 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 768^1.38 = 787.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far410.5 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 478.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 2636 × 1016^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 478.9^1.38 = 410.5 mm.
HE penetration68 mm
68 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch28 mm
floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius150
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
All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time36 s
180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.
HE full-salvo alpha45,600
5,700 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 45,600.
AP full-salvo alpha99,200
12,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 99,200.
Base HE DPM109,440
45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 25 s base reload = 109,440.
Base AP DPM238,080
99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 25 s base reload = 238,080.
Installed HE DPM121,600
45,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 22.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 121,600.
Installed AP DPM264,533
99,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 22.5 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 264,533.
Base shells/min19.2
8 broadside guns x 60 / 25 s base reload = 19.2.
Installed shells/min21.3
8 broadside guns x 60 / 22.5 s installed Artillery reload = 21.3.
Base fires/min6.91
8 HE shells x 60 / 25 s reload x 36% fire chance = 6.91.
Installed fires/min7.68
8 HE shells x 60 / 22.5 s installed reload x 36% fire chance = 7.68.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.1 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time7.7 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed55 kt
Travel time to max range64 s
range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Tube count6
2 launchers x 3 tubes.
Per-side salvo3 torpedoes
tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).
Full-salvo damage93,198
tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).
Per-side salvo damage46,599
per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS644
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (89×3.5×0.75) + (115×3.5×0.7) + (49×3.5×0.75) = 644. 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 index2024
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)180,000
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: 10×2 127 mm (10/side) × 60/6 × 1800 = 180,000. 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.

Balance History

Balance updates affecting Constellation W. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×1Main Battery ×1
2024-12-12

Ministry of Balance: Breaking the Ice

  • Constellation is a solid ship in competitive environments, but in regular battles, she can suffer in unexpected situations. We aren't changing her vulnerable nature, but we're giving her the means to dish out some additional damage thanks to a better reload.
  • Main battery gun reload time reduced from 27 to 25 s.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Constellation W default exterior
    DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Primary official WG sources

GamingDiver has indexed official WG mentions for this ship, but none are focused enough to show as a primary source card here. Low-context list, crate, comparison, or passing mentions are intentionally filtered out.

Source status No high-context source card yet Filtered for precision