World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Fusō

Beta
Mid-range battleship anchorHold a mid-range lane and trade with the enemy line.
Playstyle
  • Hold 14-17 km on a flank with firing arcs into rotating cruisers and broadside BBs
  • Avoid: Idle reloads
Key characteristics
17 km gun rangeHigh HE / fire outputHigh AP DPMSpotter planeEasily spotted
Community Data

Fusō Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Fusō is a Tier V Japanese AP-DPM battleship (291,429 AP DPM): her main battery throughput is cohort-best, so the kit pays out by punishing every broadside she catches rather than waiting for a perfect alpha salvo. Keep the guns reloading on targets, not on cover. Standout traits: best main battery range in T5 BBs (16.7 km) and best HE DPM in T5 BBs (162,857).

Positioning

Hold 14-17 km on a flank with firing arcs into rotating cruisers and broadside BBs. The kit's value is salvo cycle count, so prioritize a position where the next reload always has a target; bow on between salvos and trade angles rather than holding broadside for a single shot.

Potato Avoidance

Idle reloads

The kit pays for itself when the guns are cycling on targets; a 20-second window between salvos because no broadside is available is the kit doing nothing. Pre-rotate turrets toward likely-broadside ships before you need the shot.

Signature Traits

Long gun range

16.68 km main battery reach, best of T5 BBs.

HE DPM machine

162857 HE DPM, best of T5 BBs. Sustained fire pressure.

AP DPM machine

291429 AP DPM, best of T5 BBs. Punishes broadsides.

Punchy HE secondaries

2500.0 max HE alpha per secondary shell, best of T5 BBs. Bigger per-shell damage than peers.

Easily spotted

14.9 km surface detect, worst of T5 BBs. Visible before you can react; position early.

Sluggish rudder

19.5 s rudder shift, bottom decile of T5 BBs. Hard to dodge incoming AP; lean on island cover.

Acquisition

How to get Fusō

Fusō is available in the Outranging Battleships branch of the Japan Tech Tree for 2,400,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 600,000 credits.

Show Japan tech-tree branch diagram
Japan Tech Tree

Fusō sits in the Outranging Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Japan tree.

Builds Beta

AL Fusou, Arpeggio Haruna, and Arpeggio Kirishima are useful Japanese battleship commander directions. Inspirations usually favor accuracy, reload, AP performance, HP, survivability, or secondary/brawling bonuses depending on how aggressively you want to play.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL FusouArpeggio HarunaArpeggio Kirishima

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 Fusō sits among Tier V 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.

BestMain battery range16.68 km (1/24) BestHE DPM162,857 (1 of 3 tied) BestAP DPM291,429 (1 of 3 tied) BestHE alpha2,500 (1 of 3 tied) Top 25%Hit points57,100 HP (6/24) Top 25%Main battery reload25.2 s (7/24) Top 25%Main dispersion188.8 m (4/24) Top 25%Secondary DPM (per side)205,800 (6/24) Top 25%Secondary HE pen25 mm (5/23) Top 25%AA range5 km (7/24) Bottom 25%Rudder shift19.5 s (22/24) WorstStealth profile14.9 km / 11.92 km (1 of 3 tied / 1 of 3 tied) WorstSigma1.5 (1 of 4 tied) WorstHE fire chance25% (1 of 4 tied) WorstDeck armor76 mm (1 of 9 tied)
See 26 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Fusō -- 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 speed24.5 kt(14/24) Traverse-to-turn ratio3.28 ×(12/24) Main battery caliber356 mm(13/24) Fires per minute7.14(8/24) Secondary fire chance9%(11/23) AP velocity775 m/s(15/24) HE velocity805 m/s(13/24) Acceleration7.8 s(13/24) AP arming threshold59 mm(11/24) Engine power70,000 hp(16/24) Turn-speed retention94.6 hp/m(15/24) Displacement39,105 t(18/24) Power-to-weight1.79 hp/t(16/24) AA DPS178(13/24) AA threat653(12/24) Repair charges3(12/24) Max armor305 mm(17/24) Citadel belt305 mm(13/24) Bow armor25 mm(17/24) Stern armor25 mm(17/24) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(19 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(23 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(23 of 24 tied at this value) NormSecondary range4 km(16 of 24 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(22 of 24 tied at this value)

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

Repair 3Fighter
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 44,900 → 57,100
Displacement39,105 t
Armor range6–305 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 19, 25, 32, 35, 38, 40, 44, 51, 57, 70, 76, 83, 95, 99, 102, 120, 131, 140, 152, 203, 229, 241, 305 mm
Armor material/layer entries65
Fire resistanceInitial: 20% → 23.3%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction34%
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.
28,600
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.
17,100
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 356 mm/45 Type41
Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 12 barrels
Reload time28 s
Firing range (base)15.2 km
Firing range (top fire control)16.7 km
Turret traverse3.2 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
1.5
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15167/30·(10−2.5)/1000 + 2.5)·30 = 188.8 m
188.8 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 188.8 × 0.7 = 132.1 m
132.1 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 188.8 × 0.382 (σ=1.5) = 72.1 m
72.1 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 132.1 × 0.382 (σ=1.5) = 50.5 m
50.5 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 3.2 deg/s traverse speed = 56.2 s.
56.2 s
Base shells/min
ƒ12 broadside guns x 60 / 28 s base reload = 25.7.
25.7
HE shells
HE Damage5,700
HE Velocity805 m/s
Fire Chance25%
HE penetration
ƒ59 mm ≈ 356 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
59 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ5,700 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 68,400.
68,400
Base HE DPM
ƒ68,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 146,571.
146,571
Base fires/min
ƒ12 HE shells x 60 / 28 s reload x 25% fire chance = 6.43.
6.43
AP shells
AP Damage10,200
AP Velocity775 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold59 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(356 mm caliber / 14.3) = 24 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
24 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 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 775^1.38 = 696.8 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
696.8 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (20.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 455.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 455.1^1.38 = 334.3 mm.
334.3 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ10,200 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 122,400.
122,400
Base AP DPM
ƒ122,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 262,286.
262,286
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.
60
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 18 → 27
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (48×3.5×0.75) + (20×3.5×0.75) = 178. 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.
178
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
5 km
25 mm/60 Type96 mod. 1Initial: 8×1 → 17×1 25mm
25 mm Type96 mod. 1 (upgraded hull only)10×2 25mm
13 mm Type93 (stock hull only)10×2 13mm
127 mm Type89 A1 (DP)4×2 127mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 20 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
20
Range5 km
Medium aura
DPSInitial: 10 → 48
Range3.1 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 20 + Medium 48 = 68
68
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts18
Firing range4.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
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 @ 4 km
ƒ4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.
258 m
127 mm Type89 A1 (×4)
Caliber127 mm
Reload time5 s
HE Damage2,100
Muzzle Velocity725 m/s
Fire Chance8%
Armor Pen21 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Show 1 more gun family
152 mm 41st Year Type (×14)
Caliber152 mm
Reload time10 s
HE Damage2,500
Muzzle Velocity825 m/s
Fire Chance9%
Armor Pen25 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 70,000 hp
Engine power70,000 hp
Maximum speed24.5 kt
Turning circle radius740 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio3.3× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea14.9 km
Detectability by air11.92 km
Smoke firing penalty13.03 km
Detect after firing main guns14.9 km
Detect Fire Sea16.9 km
Detect Fire Air14.92 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 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
Choose one
Catapult Fighter3 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Observation Seaplane3 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · +10% main-battery range bonus
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 points44,900 → 57,100
  • Rudder shift22.4 → 19.5 s
  • AA mounts18 → 27
  • Close-range AA DPS39 → 48
  • Turret traverse3.2 → 5 °/s
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range15,167 → 16683.7 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)1.5
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp188.8 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15167/30·(10−2.5)/1000 + 2.5)·30 = 188.8 m
Max Vert Disp132.1 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 188.8 × 0.7 = 132.1 m
Med Horiz Disp72.1 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 188.8 × 0.382 (σ=1.5) = 72.1 m
Med Vert Disp50.5 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 132.1 × 0.382 (σ=1.5) = 50.5 m
AP Pen Close696.8 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 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 775^1.38 = 696.8 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far334.3 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20.9 km), where the shell has slowed to 455.1 m/s: 1e-7 × 2657 × 673.5^0.69 × 0.356^-1.07 × 455.1^1.38 = 334.3 mm.
HE penetration59 mm
59 mm ≈ 356 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch24 mm
floor(356 mm caliber / 14.3) = 24 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius60
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 alpha12
All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time56.2 s
180 degrees / 3.2 deg/s traverse speed = 56.2 s.
HE full-salvo alpha68,400
5,700 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 68,400.
AP full-salvo alpha122,400
10,200 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 122,400.
Base HE DPM146,571
68,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 146,571.
Base AP DPM262,286
122,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 28 s base reload = 262,286.
Base shells/min25.7
12 broadside guns x 60 / 28 s base reload = 25.7.
Base fires/min6.43
12 HE shells x 60 / 28 s reload x 25% fire chance = 6.43.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS178
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (48×3.5×0.75) + (20×3.5×0.75) = 178. 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 range5 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index653
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.

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)205,800
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: 4×2 127 mm (4/side) × 60/5 × 2100 = 100,800 + 14×1 152 mm (7/side) × 60/10 × 2500 = 105,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha2500
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2500 from the 152 mm family.
Max HE fire chance9%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 9% from the 152 mm family.
Max HE pen25 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: 25 mm from the 152 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 44,90057,100 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
Bow25 mm primary (range 25–102 mm)3,700 (6% of HP)
Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Gneisenau)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+
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 19–305 mm)42,800 (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.
Stern25 mm primary (range 25–229 mm)3,400 (6% of HP)
Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Gneisenau)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel305 mm primary (range 16–305 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).
Superstructure152 mm primary (range 152–305 mm)1,500 (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 HP28,600 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 (152 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 (25 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.
Engine (module, research)engine coefficient (unconfirmed)-0.120 research estimateLargest on BB/BC; zero on destroyersEngine durability isn't a per-ship HP field in the binary. This small negative coefficient is non-zero only on battleships, battlecruisers, and the heaviest cruisers, and is exactly zero on every destroyer, so it scales with hull displacement rather than any commander skill. Most likely an engine drag or power term in the same family as the decoded deceleration fields; exact meaning unconfirmed in the current decoder.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP17,100 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.

Balance History

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

Buff ×1
2026-04-30

Ministry of Balance: Viva la Marina!

  • Improved dispersion with a new variant of Japanese dispersion inspired by Amagi.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Fusō default exterior
    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.