Derfflinger Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Derfflinger is a Tier IV German super-cruiser: a battleship-sized hull with a 305mm main battery on a cruiser frame. She is built to overmatch broadside cruisers with AP, not to brawl with battleships. She also packs the super-heal (0.5%/s, for 28 s, every 80 s, 3 charges): each Repair Party charge returns dramatically more HP than a standard heal, so her durability comes from sustain alongside the lead trait. 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 torpedo belt percent in T4 CAs (22) and best main battery range in T4 CAs (14.6 km).

Positioning

Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to shadow back into, and bow toward the closest BB. The heavy bow plate lets you hold the angle against same-tier guns, which is the protection the citadel needs; the hull does not tank battleship volleys broadside even if it can absorb them bow-on. The big guns reach for full AP citadels at that distance.

Potato Avoidance

Trading the super-heal advantage in open water

The kit rewards finishing the trade behind cover so the heal recovers what the salvo took; sustained open-water exposure burns through all 3 charges before the cooldown completes.

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 6/24 T4 BBs.

Flat AP shells

855.0 m/s AP muzzle velocity, best of T4 BBs. Flatter trajectory, less lead, harder to dodge.

Punch-through secondaries

38.0 mm best HE pen across secondary families, best of T4 BBs. Pens hull plates peers' secondaries shatter on.

Fast AP shells

10.69 s flight time to max range, top decile of T4 BBs. Harder for targets to dodge.

Low HE DPM

69744 HE DPM, bottom decile of T4 BBs. Don't bank on burn pressure.

Low fire chance

22.0% fire chance per HE shell, bottom decile of T4 BBs. AP carries more weight.

Acquisition

How to get Derfflinger

Derfflinger is available in the Breakthrough Battlecruisers branch of the Germany Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits. Official source cards below may also show its temporary Early Access window before it became a normal Tech Tree unlock. 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.

Early AccessOfficial WG line/source notes indicate a temporary Early Access window before normal acquisition.

Show Germany tech-tree branch diagram

Germany Tech Tree

Derfflinger sits in the Breakthrough Battlecruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Germany tree.

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

GermanyIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Battleship

Battleship Split

Carrier

Tier VIIIF. SchultzPGSD209 Tier VIIIP. RupprechtPGSB209 Tier VIIG. J. MaerkerPGSD208 Tier VIIZietenPGSB208 Tier VIZ-31PGSD207 Tier VIP. HeinrichPGSB207 Tier VMackensenPGSB206 Tier IVDerfflingerPGSB205 Tier ★Z-52PGSD110 Tier ★Großer KurfürstPGSB110 Tier ★Manfred von RichthofenPGSA110 Tier VIIIZ-46PGSD109 Tier VIIIRoonPGSC109 Tier VIIIFriedrich der GroßePGSB109 Tier VIIZ-23PGSD108 Tier VIIHipperPGSC108 Tier VIIBismarckPGSB108 Tier VIIAugust von ParsevalPGSA108 Tier VIMaassPGSD107 Tier VIYorckPGSC107 Tier VIGneisenauPGSB107 Tier VGaedePGSD106 Tier VNürnbergPGSC106 Tier VBayernPGSB106 Tier VWeserPGSA106 Tier IVT-22PGSD105 Tier IVKönigsbergPGSC105 Tier IVKönigPGSB105 Tier IIIV-170PGSD104 Tier IIIKarlsruhePGSC104 Tier IIIKaiserPGSB104 Tier IIIRheinPGSA104 Tier IIKolbergPGSC103 Tier IIV-25PGSD102 Tier IDresdenPGSC002

Best listed chance for this ship

Anniversary '23 German crate 10% IV Derfflinger Event containers · Anniversary '23 German crate
German Battleship Big Crate 10% IV Derfflinger Early access containers · German Battleship Big Crate
German Battleship Crate 5% IV Derfflinger Early access containers · German Battleship Crate

Official WG availability sources

Eagles Take-off: German Battleships in Early Access Early Access Start: 2022-08-31 · End: 2022-09-28 Official early-access or tech-tree-line article. Tech-tree ships are temporary crate drops during Early Access, then move to the Tech Tree.
Autumn Update: In the Shadow of Leaves Patch/update availability Start: 2022-08-25 · End: open/unknown end Official update notes with ship availability, release, store, event, or tech-tree context.
Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.

Show direct source rows

Anniversary '23 German crate 10% · IV Derfflinger
German Battleship Big Crate 10% · IV Derfflinger
German Battleship Crate 5% · IV Derfflinger

Builds Beta

Build for survivability, main-battery accuracy, speed, secondary utility, 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 Derfflinger sits among Tier IV BBs (24 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.

BestSecondary HE pen38 mm (1 of 4 tied) BestAP velocity855 m/s (1 of 3 tied) BestSecondary range5 km (1 of 3 tied) Top 10%Main dispersion159.7 m (2/24) Top 10%Deck armor150 mm (3/23) Top 25%Stealth profile12.89 km / 10.31 km (4/24 / 4/24) Top 25%Main battery reload23.4 s (4/24) Top 25%HE velocity850 m/s (5/24) Top 25%AP arming threshold51 mm (6/24) Top 25%Engine power76,634 hp (7/24) Top 25%Turn-speed retention103.6 hp/m (7/24) Top 25%Power-to-weight2.46 hp/t (7/24) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber305 mm (19/24) Bottom 25%Fires per minute4.51 (20/24) Bottom 25%AA range3 km (19/24) Bottom 25%AA threat177 (19/23) Bottom 10%AP DPM164,103 (23/24) WorstSigma1.6 (1 of 4 tied) WorstHE DPM69,744 (24/24) WorstAP fuse timer0.01 s (1 of 6 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (21 of 24 in cohort)

See 18 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Derfflinger -- 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 points47,600 HP(14/24) Max speed26.5 kt(11/24) Rudder shift17.4 s(14/24) Traverse-to-turn ratio3.32 ×(9/24) Main battery range14.62 km(18/24) Secondary DPM (per side)135,613(13/24) HE alpha1,800(15/23) Secondary fire chance10%(7/23) Acceleration7.95 s(15/24) Displacement31,200 t(11/24) AA DPS120(15/24) Repair charges3(11/24) Max armor300 mm(11/24) Citadel belt260 mm(7/23) Bow armor30 mm(12/23) Stern armor30 mm(13/23) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 24 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(20 of 24 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 23 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 PointsInitial: 41,400 → 47,600

Displacement31,200 t

Armor range13–300 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 19, 25, 30, 35, 45, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120, 150, 200, 225, 235, 250, 260, 265, 270, 300 mm

Armor material/layer entries85

Fire resistanceInitial: 13.3% → 16.6%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction22%

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.

23,800

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: 305 mm/50 SK C/08 Drh LC/1912

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time26 s

Firing range (base)13.3 km

Firing range (top fire control)14.6 km

Turret traverse3.5 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

1.6

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13295/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 159.7 m

159.7 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 159.7 × 0.6 = 95.8 m

95.8 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 159.7 × 0.369 (σ=1.6) = 58.9 m

58.9 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 95.8 × 0.37 (σ=1.6) = 35.4 m

35.4 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 3.5 deg/s traverse speed = 51.4 s.

51.4 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

8 broadside guns x 60 / 26 s base reload = 18.5.

18.5

HE shells

HE Damage3,400 → 3,500

HE Velocity850 m/s

Fire Chance22% → 23%

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

3,500 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 28,000.

28,000

Base HE DPM

ƒ

28,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 26 s base reload = 64,615.

64,615

Base fires/min

ƒ

8 HE shells x 60 / 26 s reload x 23% fire chance = 4.25.

4.25

AP shells

AP Damage8,000 → 8,100

AP Velocity855 m/s → 850 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.01 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 × 2289 × 415^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 850^1.38 = 576.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

576.1 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 406.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2289 × 415^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 406.1^1.38 = 207.9 mm.

207.9 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 / 26 s base reload = 149,538.

149,538

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.

50

AA Defense

AA mount points15

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: (37×3.5×0.7) + (11×3.5×0.75) = 120. 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.

120

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

3 km

7.92 mm MG 0815×1 8mm

88 mm L/45 MPL C/13 (DP)8×1 88mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 11 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

11

Range3 km

DPS37

Range1 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 11 + Near 37 = 48

48

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts20

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

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

Caliber150 mm

Reload time8.57 s

HE Damage1,800

Muzzle Velocity835 m/s

Fire Chance10%

Armor Pen38 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Show 1 more gun family

Caliber88 mm

Reload time4 s

HE Damage1,000

Muzzle Velocity890 m/s

Fire Chance4%

Armor Pen15 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 76,634 hp

Engine power76,634 hp

Maximum speed26.5 kt

Turning circle radius740 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio3.3× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.89 km

Detectability by air10.31 km

Smoke firing penalty9.84 km

Detect after firing main guns12.89 km

Detect Fire Sea14.89 km

Detect Fire Air13.31 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party3 charges · 40 s reload · 10 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 (2)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points41,400 → 47,600
Rudder shift22.6 → 17.4 s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range13,295 → 14624.5 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)1.6

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

Max Horiz Disp159.7 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13295/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 159.7 m

Max Vert Disp95.8 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 159.7 × 0.6 = 95.8 m

Med Horiz Disp58.9 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 159.7 × 0.369 (σ=1.6) = 58.9 m

Med Vert Disp35.4 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 95.8 × 0.37 (σ=1.6) = 35.4 m

AP Pen Close576.1 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 × 2289 × 415^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 850^1.38 = 576.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far207.9 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 406.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2289 × 415^0.69 × 0.305^-1.07 × 406.1^1.38 = 207.9 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 Radius50

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 time51.4 s

180 degrees / 3.5 deg/s traverse speed = 51.4 s.

HE full-salvo alpha28,000

3,500 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 28,000.

AP full-salvo alpha64,800

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

Base HE DPM64,615

28,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 26 s base reload = 64,615.

Base AP DPM149,538

64,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 26 s base reload = 149,538.

Base shells/min18.5

8 broadside guns x 60 / 26 s base reload = 18.5.

Base fires/min4.25

8 HE shells x 60 / 26 s reload x 23% fire chance = 4.25.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS120

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (37×3.5×0.7) + (11×3.5×0.75) = 120. 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 index177

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 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)135,613

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: 12×1 150 mm (6/side) × 60/8.57 × 1800 = 75,613 + 8×1 88 mm (4/side) × 60/4 × 1000 = 60,000. 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 150 mm family.

Max HE fire chance10%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 10% from the 150 mm family.

Max HE pen38 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: 38 mm from the 150 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 41,400 → 47,600 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 19–120 mm)	2,600 (5% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle 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)	150 mm primary (range 19–300 mm)	35,700 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches150 mm: no common HE pens	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	30 mm primary (range 19–100 mm)	1,500 (3% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	260 mm primary (range 19–260 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 13–300 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	23,800 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 (150 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 (8 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 Derfflinger can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Derfflinger

Derfflinger Community Stats