World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Friant

Beta
Open-water kiting cruiserKite at range, bleed fires, and never get pinned.
Playstyle
  • Hold under 10 km with islands tight enough to break vision on demand
  • Avoid: Open-water broadside trading
Key characteristics
Heavy torpedoes2 sigma accuracy12 km gun rangeEasily spotted
Community Data

Friant Community Stats

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

Log in & upload to see Community Data

Playstyle

Overview

Friant is a Tier II French all-rounder light cruiser with 139mm guns at 11.7 km: no single dominant trait, but competent at AP citadels, HE pressure, and cap support. Adapt to the team comp - DD hunter, BB chip, or cap contester - rather than locking into one role. Standout traits: best main battery range in T2 CAs (11.7 km) and best torpedo alpha in T2 CAs (12,233).

Positioning

Hold under 10 km with islands tight enough to break vision on demand. The HE pressure rewards a steady firing arc more than rotation play; pick a corner of the map you can hold and work fires from there.

Potato Avoidance

Open-water broadside trading

Her 139mm shells citadel cruisers on the wrong frame, and her 20,300-HP hull does not recover from a punished salvo. Pick rotations and angles deliberately; the chip-damage role pays better than the trade-blow role on a cruiser of this profile.

Signature Traits

Long gun range

11.69 km main battery reach, best of T2 CAs.

Heavy torpedoes

12233.0 damage per torpedo, best of T2 CAs.

Thick bow plate

30.0 mm bow, best of T2 CAs. Harder for same-tier guns to overmatch.

Strong torpedo belt

4.0% torpedo damage reduction, top decile of T2 CAs.

Slow torp reload

84.0 s torpedo reload, worst of T2 CAs. Long wait between drops.

Easily spotted

10.9 km surface detect, worst of T2 CAs. Visible before you can react; position early.

Acquisition

How to get Friant

Friant is available in the Rapid Cruisers branch of the France Tech Tree for 13,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 2,600 credits.

Show France tech-tree branch diagram
France Tech Tree

Friant sits in the Rapid Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full France tree.

Builds Beta

AL Saint Louis, Andre Lemmonier, and Andre Roux are useful French 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 Saint LouisAndre LemonnierAndré Roux

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

Cohort position

Hide

Where Friant sits among Tier II CAs (19 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 range11.69 km (1/19) BestTorpedo damage12,233 (1/5) BestBow armor30 mm (1/19) Top 10%Engine power54,000 hp (2/19) Top 10%Turn-speed retention96.4 hp/m (2/19) Top 10%Power-to-weight9 hp/t (2/19) Top 25%Max speed30 kt (3/19) Top 25%Secondary fire chance5% (3/11) Top 25%AP arming threshold23 mm (4/18) Top 25%AA range4 km (4/19) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber139 mm (17/19) Bottom 25%Main battery reload10.8 s (17/19) Bottom 25%AP velocity790 m/s (16/18) WorstConcealment10.9 km (19/19) WorstTorpedo range6 km (1 of 2 tied) WorstTorpedo reload84 s (5/5) WorstMax armor30 mm (19/19) WorstCitadel belt20 mm (19/19)
See 27 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Friant -- 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 points20,300 HP(14/19) Air detection5.77 km(15/19) Rudder shift7.8 s(7/19) Traverse-to-turn ratio4.43 ×(11/19) Sigma2(9/19) HE shell damage2,000(13/18) HE fire chance8%(9/18) Fires per minute3.56(13/18) HE DPM88,889(11/18) AP shell damage2,700(11/18) AP DPM120,000(13/18) Main dispersion106.3 m(14/19) Secondary DPM (per side)39,000(7/11) HE alpha1,300(7/11) Secondary HE pen15 mm(5/11) HE velocity840 m/s(11/18) Acceleration8.8 s(15/19) Displacement6,000 t(7/19) Secondary range3 km(5/11) AA DPS40(7/19) AA threat110(7/13) Stern armor14 mm(10/19) Deck armor30 mm(14/19) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(11 of 18 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(17 of 18 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(17 of 18 tied at this value) NormTorpedo speed57 kt(3 of 5 tied at this value)

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

Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 18,900 → 20,300
Displacement6,000 t
Armor range6–30 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 13, 14, 20, 30 mm
Armor material/layer entries41
Fire resistanceInitial: 0% → 3.3%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction4%
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.
10,200
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.
6,100
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 139 mm/55 Mle 1921
Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels
Reload time12 s
Firing range (base)10.6 km
Firing range (top fire control)11.7 km
Turret traverse7 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
2
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (10629/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 106.3 m
106.3 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 106.3 × 0.6 = 63.8 m
63.8 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 106.3 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 34 m
34 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 63.8 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 20.4 m
20.4 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.
25.7 s
Base shells/min
ƒ8 broadside guns x 60 / 12 s base reload = 40.
40
HE shells
HE Damage2,000
HE Velocity840 m/s
Fire Chance8%
HE penetration
ƒ23 mm ≈ 139 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
23 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,000 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 16,000.
16,000
Base HE DPM
ƒ16,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 12 s base reload = 80,000.
80,000
Base fires/min
ƒ8 HE shells x 60 / 12 s reload x 8% fire chance = 3.2.
3.2
AP shells
AP Damage2,700
AP Velocity790 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.025 s
Fuse Threshold23 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(139 mm caliber / 14.3) = 9 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
9 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 × 2041 × 39.5^0.69 × 0.139^-1.07 × 790^1.38 = 212.4 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
212.4 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (14.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 269 m/s: 1e-7 × 2041 × 39.5^0.69 × 0.139^-1.07 × 269^1.38 = 48 mm.
48 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,700 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 21,600.
21,600
Base AP DPM
ƒ21,600 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 12 s base reload = 108,000.
108,000
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.
8
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: 550 mm 19D Mle 1
Launchers / tubes4 launchers × 3 tubes = 12 tubes
Reload time84 s
Projectile speed57 kt
Range6 km
Maximum simulated damage11,233 (est.)
Alpha damage33,700
Torpedo detectability1.2 km
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn7.2 s
Torp Arming176 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒper-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.
67,398
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 6 → 2
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (6×3.5×0.85) + (7×3.5×0.9) = 40. 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.
40
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
4 km
13.2 mm/76 Mle 1929 (upgraded hull only)2×1 13mm
75 mm/50 Mle 1922 (stock hull only)4×1 75mm
8 mm Mle 1914 (stock hull only)2×1 8mm
90 mm/50 Mle 1926 (DP)4×1 90mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 7 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
7
Range4 km
Near aura
DPS6
Range1.2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 7 + Near 6 = 13
13
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts4
Firing range3.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
Caliber90 mm
Reload time4 s
HE Damage1,300
Muzzle Velocity850 m/s
Fire Chance5%
Armor Pen15 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 @ 3 km
ƒ3 km × 57 + 30 = 201 m.
201 m
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 54,000 hp
Engine power54,000 hp
Maximum speed30 kt
Turning circle radius560 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio4.4× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea10.9 km
Detectability by air5.77 km
Smoke firing penalty4.01 km
Detect after firing main guns10.9 km
Detect Fire Sea12.9 km
Detect Fire Air8.77 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Module options (3)

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

HullTrade-off
  • Hit points18,900 → 20,300
  • Rudder shift10.9 → 7.8 s
  • AA mounts6 → 2
  • Close-range AA DPS5 → 6
  • Maximum AA range3 → 1.2 km
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range10,629 → 11691.9 m
TorpedoesUpgrade
  • Range4.5 → 6 km

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 Disp106.3 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (10629/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 106.3 m
Max Vert Disp63.8 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 106.3 × 0.6 = 63.8 m
Med Horiz Disp34 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 106.3 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 34 m
Med Vert Disp20.4 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 63.8 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 20.4 m
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close212.4 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 × 2041 × 39.5^0.69 × 0.139^-1.07 × 790^1.38 = 212.4 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far48 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 269 m/s: 1e-7 × 2041 × 39.5^0.69 × 0.139^-1.07 × 269^1.38 = 48 mm.
HE penetration23 mm
23 mm ≈ 139 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch9 mm
floor(139 mm caliber / 14.3) = 9 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius8
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 time25.7 s
180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.
HE full-salvo alpha16,000
2,000 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 16,000.
AP full-salvo alpha21,600
2,700 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 21,600.
Base HE DPM80,000
16,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 12 s base reload = 80,000.
Base AP DPM108,000
21,600 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 12 s base reload = 108,000.
Base shells/min40
8 broadside guns x 60 / 12 s base reload = 40.
Base fires/min3.2
8 HE shells x 60 / 12 s reload x 8% fire chance = 3.2.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.2 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time8.1 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed57 kt
Travel time to max range40.5 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 damage134,796
tube count x per-torpedo simulated damage (all torpedoes hitting).
Per-side salvo damage67,398
per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS40
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (6×3.5×0.85) + (7×3.5×0.9) = 40. 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 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index110
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 @ 3 km201 m
3 km × 57 + 30 = 201 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)39,000
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 90 mm (2/side) × 60/4 × 1300 = 39,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha1300
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1300 from the 90 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 90 mm family.
Max HE pen15 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: 15 mm from the 90 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 18,90020,300 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
Bow30 mm primary (range 6–30 mm)2,600 (13% of HP)
Overmatch not possible at T IIIAngle 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)14 mm15,200 (75% of HP)
Overmatched by 203mm+ (Furutaka)Angle bounces 152mm14 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern14 mm primary (range 6–14 mm)1,900 (9% of HP)
Overmatched by 203mm+ (Furutaka)Angle bounces 152mm14 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel20 mm primary (range 6–20 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).
Superstructure6 mm primary (range 6–30 mm)900 (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 HP10,200 magazine HPMagazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HPPer-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 (90 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP800 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-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 HP200 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-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 HP6,100 module HPIncapacitated at 0 HPWhen 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 Friant can equip, from in-game data.

  • Friant default exterior
    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