G. J. Maerker Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

G. J. Maerker is a Tier VII German long-range gunboat destroyer reaching 11.9 km: her guns out-reach peer DDs and most cruisers can be kited at the edge of her range. The kit is HE spam from open water rather than cap contesting; the torpedoes are a backup, not the primary threat. Standout traits: best high HP pool in T7 DDs (26,700 HP) and best HE fire chance in T7 DDs (12).

Positioning

Sit in open water at the edge of 11.9 km where peer DDs cannot return fire and most cruisers have to push to engage. The kit is HE pressure from distance, not cap contesting; let your peer DDs take the cap while you kite the rotating cruisers and BBs that come to support it.

Potato Avoidance

Overstaying detection after a torpedo drop

The detection window is a hard timer; if you are still firing guns when concealment closes again, you have already taken more damage than the drop earned.

Signature Traits

Big-caliber overmatch

10.5 mm overmatch threshold, best of T7 DDs. Punishes bow-tanking ships peers can't crack.

Long-range AP brick

87.9 mm AP pen at max range, top decile of T7 DDs. Threatens citadels even from range.

High HP pool

26700.0 HP, best of T7 DDs.

High fire chance

12.0% fire chance per HE shell, best of T7 DDs.

Stiff AP fuse

25.0 mm AP arming threshold, worst of T7 DDs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Sluggish rudder

8.2 s rudder shift, worst of T7 DDs. Hard to dodge incoming AP; lean on island cover.

Acquisition

How to get G. J. Maerker

G. J. Maerker is available in the Hunter Destroyers branch of the Germany Tech Tree for 18,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 4,500,000 credits.

Show Germany tech-tree branch diagram

Germany Tech Tree

G. J. Maerker sits in the Hunter Destroyers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Germany tree.

3 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

Build for concealment, survivability, torpedo reload, gun handling, and utility control.

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Cohort position

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Where G. J. Maerker sits among Tier VII DDs (30 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.

BestHit points26,700 HP (1/30) BestMain battery caliber150 mm (1 of 4 tied) BestHE fire chance12% (1 of 2 tied) BestAP shell damage4,000 (1/28) BestMain dispersion52.8 m (1/30) BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 5 tied) BestAP ricochet start60° (1 of 4 tied) BestAP auto-bounce angle67.5° (1 of 4 tied) Top 10%Main battery range11.88 km (2/30) Top 10%Engine power90,360 hp (3/30) Top 10%Turn-speed retention118.9 hp/m (4/30) Top 10%Max armor25 mm (3/30) Top 10%Citadel belt25 mm (3/29) Bottom 25%Max speed35 kt (25/30) Bottom 25%Stealth profile7.24 km / 3.62 km (25/30 / 27/30) Bottom 25%Power-to-weight17.72 hp/t (25/30) Bottom 25%Torpedo range7.98 km (26/29) Bottom 25%Torpedo speed52 kt (26/29) Bottom 10%HE DPM100,000 (29/30) WorstRudder shift8.2 s (30/30) WorstAP arming threshold25 mm (1 of 4 tied) WorstDisplacement5,100 t (30/30)

See 16 mid-pack stats

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

Traverse-to-turn ratio10.31 ×(10/30) Main battery reload5.4 s(23/30) HE shell damage1,800(18/30) Fires per minute6.67(11/30) AP DPM222,222(9/28) AP velocity835 m/s(15/28) HE velocity835 m/s(17/30) Acceleration10 s(11/30) AA DPS234(9/30) AA range3.5 km(19/30) AA threat616(11/30) Torpedo damage15,500(20/29) Torpedo reload90 s(9/29) Bow armor20 mm(14/29) Stern armor20 mm(14/29) Deck armor19 mm(11/25)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 28 peers

Karl von Schönberg vs

Vittorio Cuniberti vs

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.

SmokeEngine Boost

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 24,500 → 26,700

Displacement5,100 t

Armor range13–25 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 19, 20, 25 mm

Armor material/layer entries21

Fire resistanceInitial: 33.3% → 36.6%

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.

12,800

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.

7,700

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 150 mm L/48 Tbts LC/36

Mounts / barrels5 mounts / 5 barrels

Reload time6 s

Firing range (base)10.8 km

Firing range (top fire control)11.9 km

Turret traverse14 °/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 = (10800/30·(4−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 52.8 m

52.8 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 52.8 × 0.6 = 31.7 m

31.7 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 52.8 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 16.9 m

16.9 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 31.7 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 10.1 m

10.1 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 14 deg/s traverse speed = 12.9 s.

12.9 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

5 broadside guns x 60 / 6 s base reload = 50.

50

HE shells

HE Damage1,800

HE Velocity835 m/s

Fire Chance12%

HE penetration

ƒ

38 mm ≈ 150 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

38 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

1,800 HE damage x 5 broadside guns = 9,000.

9,000

Base HE DPM

ƒ

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s base reload = 90,000.

90,000

Installed HE DPM

ƒ

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.4 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 100,000.

100,000

Base fires/min

ƒ

5 HE shells x 60 / 6 s reload x 12% fire chance = 6.

6

AP shells

AP Damage4,000

AP Velocity835 m/s

Min Ricochet60 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet67.5 deg

Fuse Timer0.025 s

Fuse Threshold25 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(150 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 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 × 1933 × 51^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 835^1.38 = 238.8 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

238.8 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 404.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 1933 × 51^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 404.9^1.38 = 87.9 mm.

87.9 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

4,000 AP damage x 5 broadside guns = 20,000.

20,000

Base AP DPM

ƒ

20,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s base reload = 200,000.

200,000

Installed AP DPM

ƒ

20,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.4 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 222,222.

222,222

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.

15

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Zwilling

Launchers / tubes3 launchers × 2 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time90 s

Projectile speed52 kt

Range7.98 km

Maximum simulated damage14,500 (est.)

Alpha damage43,500

Torpedo detectability1.2 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming161 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

116,000

AA Defense

AA mount points12

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: (28×3.5×1) + (41×3.5×0.95) = 234. 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.

234

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

3.5 km

37 mm Flak LM/42Initial: 37 mm Flakzwilling 30 (4×2) → 37 mm Flak LM/42 (4×2)

20 mm Flakvierling 38Initial: 20 mm Flakzwilling 38 (8×2) → 20 mm Flakvierling 38 (8×4)

DPSInitial: 9 → 28

Range3.5 km

DPSInitial: 33 → 41

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Medium 28 + Near 41 = 69

69

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 90,360 hp

Engine power90,360 hp

Maximum speed35 kt

Turning circle radius760 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio10.3× ok

Concealment

Detectability by sea7.24 km

Detectability by air3.62 km

Smoke firing penalty3.11 km

Detect after firing main guns7.24 km

Detect Fire Sea9.24 km

Detect Fire Air6.62 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 40 s reload · 5 s active

Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 15 s emit / 69 s cloud active

Engine Boost2 charges · 180 s reload · 120 s active · +8% speed bonus

Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points24,500 → 26,700
Rudder shift11.5 → 8.2 s
Close-range AA DPS42 → 69

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range10,800 → 11,880 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 Disp52.8 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (10800/30·(4−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 52.8 m

Max Vert Disp31.7 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 52.8 × 0.6 = 31.7 m

Med Horiz Disp16.9 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 52.8 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 16.9 m

Med Vert Disp10.1 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 31.7 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 10.1 m

AP Pen Close238.8 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 × 1933 × 51^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 835^1.38 = 238.8 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far87.9 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (14.8 km), where the shell has slowed to 404.9 m/s: 1e-7 × 1933 × 51^0.69 × 0.15^-1.07 × 404.9^1.38 = 87.9 mm.

HE penetration38 mm

38 mm ≈ 150 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) - 0.253 in this case. Lets HE pen ~37mm armor instead of ~25mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(150 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius15

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 alpha5

All 5 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time12.9 s

180 degrees / 14 deg/s traverse speed = 12.9 s.

HE full-salvo alpha9,000

1,800 HE damage x 5 broadside guns = 9,000.

AP full-salvo alpha20,000

4,000 AP damage x 5 broadside guns = 20,000.

Base HE DPM90,000

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s base reload = 90,000.

Base AP DPM200,000

20,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s base reload = 200,000.

Installed HE DPM100,000

9,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.4 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 100,000.

Installed AP DPM222,222

20,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.4 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 222,222.

Base shells/min50

5 broadside guns x 60 / 6 s base reload = 50.

Installed shells/min55.6

5 broadside guns x 60 / 5.4 s installed Artillery reload = 55.6.

Base fires/min6

5 HE shells x 60 / 6 s reload x 12% fire chance = 6.

Installed fires/min6.67

5 HE shells x 60 / 5.4 s installed reload x 12% fire chance = 6.67.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.2 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8.9 s

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

Torpedo speed52 kt

Travel time to max range59 s

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

Tube count8

3 launchers x 2 tubes.

Per-side salvo8 torpedoes

8 (centerline launchers train across - full salvo to either side).

Full-salvo damage116,000

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

Per-side salvo damage116,000

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS234

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (28×3.5×1) + (41×3.5×0.95) = 234. 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 range3.5 km

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

AA threat index616

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 range2 km

Armor

Hull HP 24,500 → 26,700 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	20 mm primary (range 19–20 mm)	3,300 (12% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Toulon, Cherbourg)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)	19 mm	19,200 (72% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst '43)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	20 mm primary (range 19–20 mm)	2,100 (8% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Toulon, Cherbourg)Angle bounces 283mm20 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	25 mm primary (range 13–25 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.50 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 (×0.50 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure	19 mm	2,300 (9% 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	12,800 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.
AA mount (37 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.
Engine (module, research)	engine coefficient (unconfirmed)	-0.100 research estimate	Largest on BB/BC; zero on destroyers	Engine 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 HP	7,700 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 G. J. Maerker can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

G. J. Maerker

G. J. Maerker Community Stats