GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Dresden

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Dresden

Beta

Germany · Tier I · Cruiser · Tech Tree: Dresden

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

Playstyle

Stay near your team; do not push ahead alone
Avoid: Sailing in a straight line

Key characteristics

2 sigma accuracyHigh HE / fire outputLow fire chance

Community Data

Dresden Community Stats

Log in to GamingDiver and upload your data to see Community Data for Dresden: community win rate, damage, survival, spotting, and your own comparison.

Playstyle

Overview

Dresden is a Tier I German cruiser - a tutorial-tier ship. The kit is for learning basic mechanics: movement, aiming, shell travel time, gun rotation, and reading the minimap. Match impact comes from making fewer mistakes than the other Tier I players, not from gear advantages. Notable: best turret traverse rate in T1 CAs (10) and best HE DPM in T1 CAs (140,000).

Positioning

Stay near your team; do not push ahead alone. At Tier I the goal is practicing the basics, so pick a teammate to follow and learn how to lead your shots while their ship is in your field of vision.

Potato Avoidance

Sailing in a straight line

Even Tier I players will lead a predictable target; learn to make small course changes between salvos to break enemy aim. This is the single highest-impact habit to build at this tier.

Signature Traits

HE DPM machine

140000 HE DPM, best of T1 CAs. Sustained fire pressure.

Heavy citadel belt

80.0 mm citadel belt, best of T1 CAs. Citadels through angle are rare.

Heavy belt

Citadel belt in the top bracket. Incoming AP rarely citadels through angle.

Low fire chance

4.0% fire chance per HE shell, bottom decile of T1 CAs. AP carries more weight.

Slow HE shells

710.0 m/s HE muzzle velocity, bottom decile of T1 CAs. Lobby trajectory, harder to land at range.

Acquisition

How to get Dresden

Dresden is available in the Dresden branch of the Germany Tech Tree as an early line ship.

Show Germany tech-tree branch diagram

Germany Tech Tree

Dresden sits in the Dresden branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Germany tree.

1 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

Builds Beta

AL Graf Spee, AL Hipper, and AL Roon are useful German cruiser commander directions. Inspirations usually support accuracy, reload, concealment, agility, or survivability so the ship can keep influencing fights without giving up easy citadels.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Graf Spee AL Hipper AL Roon

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

Cohort position

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Where Dresden sits among Tier I CAs (13 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.

BestTraverse-to-turn ratio7.87 × (1/13) BestHE DPM140,000 (1/12) BestCitadel belt80 mm (1/13) Top 25%Main battery reload3.6 s (3/13) Top 25%Fires per minute4.67 (3/12) Top 25%Main dispersion82.8 m (3/13) Top 25%Deck armor50 mm (3/13) Bottom 25%Hit points11,900 HP (11/13) Bottom 25%Stealth profile8.86 km / 5.32 km (11/13 / 11/13) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber105 mm (12/13) Bottom 25%Main battery range9.94 km (11/13) WorstHE velocity710 m/s (12/12) WorstStern armor10 mm (1 of 5 tied)

See 11 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Dresden -- here's where she sits on every other ranked stat in the cohort.

Max speed25 kt(5/13) Rudder shift6.4 s(9/13) HE shell damage1,200(9/12) Acceleration7.9 s(7/13) Engine power18,800 hp(5/13) Turn-speed retention32.4 hp/m(8/13) Displacement4,268 t(8/13) Power-to-weight4.4 hp/t(5/13) AA threat15(10/13) Max armor100 mm(5/13) Bow armor19 mm(7/13)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 12 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.

Survivability

Hit Points11,900

Displacement4,268 t

Armor range6–100 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 9, 10, 19, 50, 80, 100 mm

Armor material/layer entries33

Fire resistance0%

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.

8,600

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.

5,100

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 105 mm L/40 MPL C/04

Mounts / barrels12 mounts / 12 barrels

Reload time4 s

Firing range (base)9 km

Firing range (top fire control)9.9 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 = (9036/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 82.8 m

82.8 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 82.8 × 0.6 = 49.7 m

49.7 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 82.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 26.4 m

26.4 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 49.7 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 15.9 m

15.9 m

Turret turn time

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

18 s

Base shells/min

7 broadside guns x 60 / 4 s base reload = 105.

105

HE shells

HE Damage1,200

HE Velocity710 m/s

Fire Chance4%

HE penetration

18 mm ≈ 105 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

18 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

1,200 HE damage x 7 broadside guns = 8,400.

8,400

Base HE DPM

8,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4 s base reload = 126,000.

126,000

Base fires/min

7 HE shells x 60 / 4 s reload x 4% fire chance = 4.2.

4.2

AP shells

Min Ricochet91 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

AP overmatch

floor(105 mm caliber / 14.3) = 7 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

7 mm

AA Defense

AA mount points4

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (5×3.5×0.85) = 15. 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 range

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

1 km

7.92 mm MG 084×1 8mm

DPS5

Range1 km

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 18,800 hp

Engine power18,800 hp

Maximum speed25 kt

Turning circle radius580 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio7.9× ok

Concealment

Detectability by sea8.86 km

Detectability by air5.32 km

Smoke firing penalty3.05 km

Detect after firing main guns8.86 km

Detect Fire Sea10.86 km

Detect Fire Air8.32 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Module options (1)

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

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range9,036 → 9939.6 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

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

Max Horiz Disp82.8 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (9036/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 82.8 m

Max Vert Disp49.7 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 82.8 × 0.6 = 49.7 m

Med Horiz Disp26.4 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 82.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 26.4 m

Med Vert Disp15.9 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 49.7 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 15.9 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

HE penetration18 mm

18 mm ≈ 105 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch7 mm

floor(105 mm caliber / 14.3) = 7 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

Broadside guns used for alpha7

Barrels that can bear on one beam (7 of 12); casemate/wing mounts only fire one side.

Turret turn time18 s

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

HE full-salvo alpha8,400

1,200 HE damage x 7 broadside guns = 8,400.

Base HE DPM126,000

8,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4 s base reload = 126,000.

Base shells/min105

7 broadside guns x 60 / 4 s base reload = 105.

Base fires/min4.2

7 HE shells x 60 / 4 s reload x 4% fire chance = 4.2.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS15

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (5×3.5×0.85) = 15. 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 range1 km

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

AA threat index15

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

Armor

Hull HP 11,900, 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	19 mm primary (range 6–100 mm)	1,000 (8% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T IIAngle bounces 203mm19 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)	9 mm	9,900 (83% of HP)	Overmatched by 150mm+ (Celebes, Königsberg)Angle bounces 127mm9 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	10 mm primary (range 6–10 mm)	1,000 (8% of HP)	Overmatched by 150mm+ (Celebes, Königsberg)Angle bounces 127mm10 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	80 mm primary (range 6–80 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 6–50 mm)	300 (3% 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	8,600 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 (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	5,100 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 Dresden can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Primary official WG sources

GamingDiver has not indexed a focused official WG source card for this ship yet. The guide still uses the spreadsheet, in-game data, balance history, and community-data pipeline where available.

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