Desert Falcon Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Desert Falcon is a Tier IV Japanese IJN cruiser with the improved AP fuse: her AP shells arm at 60% of the standard armor threshold, so they citadel cruisers that would over-pen a normal CA round. Lean on AP into broadsides and short-angled cruisers - HE-spamming this hull leaves the cohort's best damage tool on the rack. Sonar (4.1 km on ships and 3 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 AP fuse timer in T4 CAs (0.033 s).

Positioning

Sit 10-13 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line. Hydro (4.1 km on ships, 3 km on torpedoes) lights up DDs and incoming torpedoes inside its bubble, so you can push the cap edge from cover without taking the spotting cycle; prefer cover positions over open-water flanks.

Potato Avoidance

Holding torpedoes for a perfect drop

The torps are a threat tool: putting them into a lane forces rotations even when they miss. Drops on probable lanes are worth more than waiting for a guaranteed broadside that never appears.

Signature Traits

Improved AP fuse (IJN cruiser)

AP arms at 60% of the standard armor threshold (vs 0.9 default). Lets your AP pen broadsiding cruisers that would over-pen a normal CA, citadel hunts the cohort can't pull off, shared by 4/21 T4 CAs.

Big-caliber overmatch

14.2 mm overmatch threshold, best of T4 CAs. Punishes bow-tanking ships peers can't crack.

Close-range AP brick

371.6 mm AP pen at 1.5 km, top decile of T4 CAs. Citadels broadside cruisers up close.

Long-range AP brick

140.3 mm AP pen at max range, top decile of T4 CAs. Threatens citadels even from range.

Heavy HE shells

3300.0 damage per HE shell, best of T4 CAs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

Stiff AP fuse

34.0 mm AP arming threshold, worst of T4 CAs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Acquisition

How to get Desert Falcon

Desert Falcon is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.

Premium/EventAvailability usually depends on store rotations, event reruns, collaborations, coupons, or special offers.

Builds Beta

Build for reload, accuracy, rudder, concealment, torpedo utility, and survivability.

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Cohort position

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Where Desert Falcon sits among Tier IV CAs (21 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 battery caliber203 mm (1 of 2 tied) BestHE fire chance17% (1 of 2 tied) BestAP shell damage4,700 (1 of 2 tied) BestHE alpha2,000 (1/15) BestSecondary fire chance8% (1/15) BestSecondary HE pen20 mm (1/15) BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 5 tied) BestCitadel belt105 mm (1/20) Top 10%Hit points30,700 HP (3/21) Top 10%Main dispersion116.8 m (3/21) Top 10%AA range4.5 km (3/21) Top 25%Rudder shift7.5 s (5/21) Top 25%Torpedo range9.99 km (4/20) Top 25%Torpedo damage16,267 (5/20) Top 25%Max armor105 mm (5/21) Bottom 25%Main battery range13.35 km (19/21) Bottom 25%Main battery reload12.2 s (17/21) Bottom 25%HE DPM97,377 (16/20) Bottom 25%AP velocity840 m/s (19/21) Bottom 25%HE velocity840 m/s (18/20) Bottom 25%Displacement11,454 t (19/21) Bottom 25%AA DPS58 (18/21) Bottom 25%AA threat140 (18/21) WorstTraverse-to-turn ratio3.69 × (1 of 2 tied) WorstAP arming threshold34 mm (1 of 2 tied) WorstDeck armor10 mm (1 of 2 tied)

See 18 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Desert Falcon -- 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.

Max speed34.5 kt(8/21) Concealment10.74 km(11/21) Air detection6.44 km(9/21) Fires per minute5.02(12/20) AP DPM138,689(15/21) Secondary DPM (per side)48,000(9/15) Acceleration9.5 s(7/21) Engine power102,000 hp(7/21) Turn-speed retention136 hp/m(11/21) Power-to-weight8.91 hp/t(13/21) Torpedo speed59 kt(12/20) Torpedo reload94 s(15/20) Bow armor20 mm(15/20) Stern armor25 mm(13/20) NormSigma2(19 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(19 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(19 of 21 tied at this value) NormSecondary range4 km(11 of 15 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 20 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 4.13 kmFighter

Survivability

Hit Points30,700

Displacement11,454 t

Armor range6–105 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 13, 20, 21, 25, 35, 48, 51, 57, 76, 105 mm

Armor material/layer entries55

Fire resistance16.6%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction0%

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.

15,400

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.

9,200

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 203 mm 3rd Year Type mod. 2

Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 6 barrels

Reload time13.5 s

Firing range (base)12.1 km

Firing range (top fire control)13.4 km

Turret traverse5 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

2

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (12138/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 116.8 m

116.8 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 116.8 × 0.6 = 70.1 m

70.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

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50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 116.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 37.3 m

37.3 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 70.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 22.4 m

22.4 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.

36 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

6 broadside guns x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 26.7.

26.7

HE shells

HE Damage3,300

HE Velocity840 m/s

Fire Chance17%

HE penetration

ƒ

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

34 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

3,300 HE damage x 6 broadside guns = 19,800.

19,800

Base HE DPM

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19,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 88,000.

88,000

Base fires/min

ƒ

6 HE shells x 60 / 13.5 s reload x 17% fire chance = 4.53.

4.53

AP shells

AP Damage4,700

AP Velocity840 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold34 mm

Improved AP FuseYes

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 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 840^1.38 = 414.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

414.7 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (16.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 383 m/s: 1e-7 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 383^1.38 = 140.3 mm.

140.3 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

4,700 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 28,200.

28,200

Base AP DPM

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28,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 125,333.

125,333

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.

24

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 610 mm quadruple

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time94 s

Projectile speed59 kt

Range9.99 km

Maximum simulated damage14,967 (est.)

Alpha damage44,900

Torpedo detectability1.5 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming455 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

59,868

AA Defense

AA mount points4

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: (4×3.5×0.85) + (8×3.5×0.85) + (7×3.5×0.9) = 58. 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.

58

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

4.5 km

13 mm Type932×2 13mm

7.7 mm Type922×1 8mm

120 mm 10th Year Type mod. C (DP)4×1 120mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 7 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

7

Range4.5 km

DPS8

Range1.2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 7 + Outer Near 8 = 15

15

DPS4

Range1 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 7 + Outer Near 8 + Inner Near 4 = 19

19

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts4

Firing range4.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber120 mm

Reload time5 s

HE Damage2,000

Muzzle Velocity825 m/s

Fire Chance8%

Armor Pen20 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 km

ƒ

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

258 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 102,000 hp

Engine power102,000 hp

Maximum speed34.5 kt

Turning circle radius750 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio3.7× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea10.74 km

Detectability by air6.44 km

Smoke firing penalty5.91 km

Detect after firing main guns10.74 km

Detect Fire Sea12.74 km

Detect Fire Air9.44 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 90 s active · 4.13 km ship detect · 2.97 km torpedo detect

Catapult Fighter3 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade

Turret traverse5 → 6 °/s

See all derived stats

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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 Disp116.8 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (12138/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 116.8 m

Max Vert Disp70.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 116.8 × 0.6 = 70.1 m

Med Horiz Disp37.3 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 116.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 37.3 m

Med Vert Disp22.4 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 70.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 22.4 m

AP Pen Close414.7 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 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 840^1.38 = 414.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far140.3 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (16.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 383 m/s: 1e-7 × 2468 × 125.85^0.69 × 0.203^-1.07 × 383^1.38 = 140.3 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 Radius24

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 time36 s

180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.

HE full-salvo alpha19,800

3,300 HE damage x 6 broadside guns = 19,800.

AP full-salvo alpha28,200

4,700 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 28,200.

Base HE DPM88,000

19,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 88,000.

Base AP DPM125,333

28,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 125,333.

Base shells/min26.7

6 broadside guns x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 26.7.

Base fires/min4.53

6 HE shells x 60 / 13.5 s reload x 17% fire chance = 4.53.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.5 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time9.8 s

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

Torpedo speed59 kt

Travel time to max range65.1 s

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

Tube count8

2 launchers x 4 tubes.

Per-side salvo4 torpedoes

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

Full-salvo damage119,736

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

Per-side salvo damage59,868

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS58

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (4×3.5×0.85) + (8×3.5×0.85) + (7×3.5×0.9) = 58. 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 range4.5 km

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

AA threat index140

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

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 km258 m

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)48,000

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: 4×1 120 mm (2/side) × 60/5 × 2000 = 48,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha2000

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2000 from the 120 mm family.

Max HE fire chance8%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 120 mm family.

Max HE pen20 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: 20 mm from the 120 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 30,700, 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	20 mm primary (range 13–20 mm)	1,000 (3% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Courbet, Dante Alighieri)Angle bounces 283mm20 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)	35 mm primary (range 6–105 mm)	23,000 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches35 mm: most HE shatters, standard pen from 283mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	25 mm primary (range 13–25 mm)	900 (3% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	105 mm primary (range 13–105 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	6 mm primary (range 6–10 mm)	1,900 (6% 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	15,400 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 (120 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 (13 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	9,200 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 Desert Falcon can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Desert Falcon

Desert Falcon Community Stats