GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Danae

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Danae

Beta

U.K. · Tier III · Cruiser · Tech Tree: Skirmishing Cruisers

Utility cruiserFlexible support -- spot, screen, and farm where the team needs it.

Playstyle

Sit 10-13 km on a flank that gives you firing arcs into rotated cruisers and exposed BB broadsides
Avoid: Firing AP into thin destroyers or unangled bows

Key characteristics

2 sigma accuracyLobs over islandsSonarQuick-fuse AP

Community Data

Danae Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Danae is a Tier III British AP-only cruiser with strong AP DPM (153,529): she carries no HE shells at all, so every salvo is AP into broadsides or wasted. The hull is fragile, so the kit is fragile-spammer chasing soft targets and dodging in open water rather than trading punches. She also packs the super-heal, but the kit is offense first, sustain second. Sonar (3.9 km on ships and 2.8 km on torpedoes, 90 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 turret traverse rate in T3 CAs (10) and best AP always-pen window in T3 CAs (65°).

Positioning

Sit 10-13 km on a flank that gives you firing arcs into rotated cruisers and exposed BB broadsides. The hull is fragile; ration trades to ones that pay AP citadels back, and lean on speed and consumables to dodge focus when it comes. Open water is fine when the closest threat is far enough that the salvo timing favors you.

Potato Avoidance

Firing AP into thin destroyers or unangled bows

Without HE the wrong target nets over-pens or shatters; pick broadside cruisers and BB sides only, and route around situations where the only shot is into a bow. AP discipline is the kit.

Signature Traits

Wide always-pen zone

65.0° AP min ricochet angle, best of T3 CAs. Larger impact-angle window where shells always penetrate.

Late auto-bounce

80.0° AP guaranteed ricochet angle, best of T3 CAs. Auto-bounce kicks in later than peers'.

Heavy citadel belt

76.0 mm citadel belt, best of T3 CAs. Citadels through angle are rare.

High-arc AP shells

46.1° impact angle at max range, best of T3 CAs. Lobs over island cover.

Quick-fuse AP

0.0 s AP fuse timer, bottom decile of T3 CAs. Detonates earlier in the plate; trades belt-citadels for reliable damage against thin targets (cruiser-on-cruiser specialty).

Short AA reach

2.5 km AA reach, bottom quartile of T3 CAs. Drops bombs and rockets land before AA bites.

Acquisition

How to get Danae

Danae is available in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 85,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 21,240 credits.

Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram

U.K. Tech Tree

Danae sits in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

8 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.K. lines.

U.K.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Battleship Split

Carrier

Tier VRenownPBSB547 Tier VIIVanguardPBSB508 Tier VIIIDrakePBSC209 Tier VIIIDuncanPBSB209 Tier VIIAlbemarlePBSC208 Tier VIIHawkePBSB208 Tier VISurreyPBSC207 Tier VIRookePBSB207 Tier VDevonshirePBSC206 Tier IVHawkinsPBSC205 Tier IVTigerPBSB205 Tier IIIHermesPBSA204 Tier VIIITemerairePBSB112 Tier ★DaringPBSD110 Tier ★MinotaurPBSC110 Tier ★ConquerorPBSB110 Tier VIIIJutlandPBSD109 Tier VIIINeptunePBSC109 Tier VIILightningPBSD108 Tier VIIEdinburghPBSC108 Tier VIIImplacablePBSA108 Tier VIJervisPBSD107 Tier VIFijiPBSC107 Tier VIKing George VPBSB107 Tier VIcarusPBSD106 Tier VLeanderPBSC106 Tier VQueen ElizabethPBSB106 Tier VFuriousPBSA106 Tier IVAcastaPBSD105 Tier IVEmeraldPBSC105 Tier IVIron DukePBSB105 Tier IIIWakefulPBSD104 Tier IIIDanaePBSC104 Tier IIIOrionPBSB104 Tier IIValkyriePBSD103 Tier IICaledonPBSC103 Tier IWeymouthPBSC102

Builds Beta

Build for concealment, reload, torpedo utility, handling, and survivability.

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Cohort position

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Where Danae sits among Tier III CAs (12 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.

BestMain dispersion111.8 m (1/12) BestAP arming threshold12 mm (1/12) BestAP ricochet start65° (1/12) BestAP auto-bounce angle80° (1/12) BestCitadel belt76 mm (1 of 4 tied) Top 10%Stealth profile9.55 km / 5.73 km (2/12 / 2/12) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.11 × (3/12) Top 25%Main battery caliber152 mm (4/12) Top 25%AP DPM153,529 (4/12) Top 25%Acceleration8.8 s (3/12) Top 25%Displacement6,090 t (4/12) Top 25%AA DPS153 (3/12) Top 25%AA threat343 (4/12) Top 25%Torpedo speed59 kt (3/11) Bottom 25%Main battery range12.57 km (11/12) Bottom 25%Power-to-weight6.57 hp/t (10/12) WorstNo secondaries (8 of 12 in cohort) WorstAP fuse timer0 s (12/12) WorstEngine power40,000 hp (1 of 2 tied) WorstTurn-speed retention74.1 hp/m (1 of 2 tied) WorstAA range2.5 km (1 of 2 tied) WorstBow armor15 mm (1 of 4 tied) WorstDeck armor10 mm (1 of 3 tied)

See 12 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Danae -- 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 points23,000 HP(8/12) Max speed30 kt(9/12) Rudder shift7.9 s(6/12) Main battery reload6.8 s(6/12) AP shell damage2,900(5/12) AP velocity853 m/s(5/12) Torpedo range6 km(7/11) Torpedo damage11,967(5/11) Torpedo reload71 s(8/11) Max armor76 mm(5/12) Stern armor25 mm(5/12) NormSigma2(11 of 12 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 11 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 3.87 kmRepair 2

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 20,300 → 23,000

Displacement6,090 t

Armor range10–76 mm

Plate armor thicknesses10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 25, 38, 57, 76 mm

Armor material/layer entries41

Fire resistanceInitial: 6.7% → 10%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction0%

Magazine HP

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.

11,500

Steering gear HP

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.

6,900

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/45 CPXIV

Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 6 barrels

Reload time7.5 s

Firing range (base)11.4 km

Firing range (top fire control)12.6 km

Turret traverse10 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

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

Max Horiz Disp

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (11427/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 111.8 m

111.8 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 111.8 × 0.6 = 67.1 m

67.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 111.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 35.7 m

35.7 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 67.1 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 21.4 m

21.4 m

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.

18 s

Base shells/min

6 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 48.

HE shells

HE penetration

floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.

25 mm

AP shells

AP Damage2,900

AP Velocity853 m/s

Min Ricochet65 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet80 deg

Fuse Timer0.004 s

Fuse Threshold12 mm

AP overmatch

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 mm

AP Pen Close

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 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 853^1.38 = 236.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

236.6 mm

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 257.8 m/s: 1e-7 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 257.8^1.38 = 45.4 mm.

45.4 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

2,900 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 17,400.

17,400

Base AP DPM

17,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 139,200.

139,200

AP AOE Radius

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.

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Mk V

Launchers / tubes4 launchers × 3 tubes = 12 tubes

Reload time71 s

Projectile speed59 kt

Range6 km

Maximum simulated damage11,067 (est.)

Alpha damage33,200

Torpedo detectability1.2 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming182 m

Per-side salvo damage

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

66,402

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 8 → 6

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (39×3.5×0.9) + (10×3.5×0.85) = 153. 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.

153

Maximum AA range

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

2.5 km

40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIIIInitial: 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. QF Mk II (2×1) → 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII (2×8)

12.7 mm Mk III4×4 13mm

76.2 mm/45 HA Mk IV (stock hull only)2×1 76mm

DPS39

Range2.5 km

DPSInitial: 13 → 10

Range1.2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Medium 39 + Near 10 = 49

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 40,000 hp

Engine power40,000 hp

Maximum speed30 kt

Turning circle radius540 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold27.9 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio6.1× slow

Concealment

Detectability by sea9.55 km

Detectability by air5.73 km

Smoke firing penalty4.21 km

Detect after firing main guns9.55 km

Detect Fire Sea11.55 km

Detect Fire Air8.73 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

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

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 90 s active · 3.87 km ship detect · 2.8 km torpedo detect

Module options (3)

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

HullTrade-off

Hit points20,300 → 23,000
Rudder shift11.1 → 7.9 s
AA mounts8 → 6
Close-range AA DPS31 → 49
Maximum AA range3 → 2.5 km

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range11,427 → 12569.7 m

TorpedoesTrade-off

Reload62 → 71 s
Alpha damage27,300 → 33,200
Display damage9,100 → 11,067
Speed53 → 59 kt

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 Disp111.8 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (11427/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 111.8 m

Max Vert Disp67.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 111.8 × 0.6 = 67.1 m

Med Horiz Disp35.7 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 111.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 35.7 m

Med Vert Disp21.4 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 67.1 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 21.4 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close236.6 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 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 853^1.38 = 236.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far45.4 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 257.8 m/s: 1e-7 × 2045 × 45.36^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 257.8^1.38 = 45.4 mm.

HE penetration25 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius10

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 time18 s

180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.

AP full-salvo alpha17,400

2,900 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 17,400.

Base AP DPM139,200

17,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 139,200.

Base shells/min48

6 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 48.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.2 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time7.8 s

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

Torpedo speed59 kt

Travel time to max range39.1 s

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

Tube count12

4 launchers x 3 tubes.

Per-side salvo6 torpedoes

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

Full-salvo damage132,804

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

Per-side salvo damage66,402

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS153

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (39×3.5×0.9) + (10×3.5×0.85) = 153. 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 range2.5 km

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

AA threat index343

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 range1.2 km

Armor

Hull HP 20,300 → 23,000 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	15 mm primary (range 10–38 mm)	2,600 (11% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm15 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	25 mm primary (range 13–25 mm)	17,300 (75% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	25 mm primary (range 10–38 mm)	1,700 (7% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IVAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	76 mm primary (range 10–76 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	10 mm	2,600 (11% 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	11,500 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.
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	6,900 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.

Balance History

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

Buff ×14

2023-06-15

Ministry of Balance: Italian Concerto

Stock Hull HP increased from 18,400 to 20,300.
Bow HP increased from 2,100 to 2,300.
Stern HP increased from 1,400 to 1,500.
Hull HP increased from 13,800 to 15,200.
Magazine HP increased from 9,200 to 10,200.
Steering Gear HP increased from 5,500 to 6,100.
Superstructure HP increased from 2,000 to 2,300.
Upgraded Hull HP increased from 20,900 to 23,000.
Bow HP increased from 2,400 to 2,600.
Stern HP increased from 1,600 to 1,700.
+4 more official change lines in the source post.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Primary official WG sources

Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.

2022-09-29 · Patch notes Halloween Update: New Friends, Old Foes Patch notes