Hakuryū
Beta- Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot t…
- Avoid: Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
Hakuryū Community Stats
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Hakuryū Community Stats
Playstyle
Overview
Hakuryū is the Legendary Japanese legacy strike carrier. Her squadron at 24 planes is the largest in the cohort (cohort median is 24), so her impact comes from volume waves rather than surgical alpha against a single target. Standout traits: best heavy bombs in Legendary CVs (7,250) and best heavy air torpedoes in Legendary CVs (7,400).
Positioning
Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot threaten the hull. Launch from positions where the recall path stays inside your team's AA umbrella, not over open water where intercepting fighters can finish off limping squadrons. Longer trip back, fewer waves per match.
Potato Avoidance
Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
Match impact comes from cycling waves across multiple targets, not committing a dive into layered AA for one battleship. When a target's AA is heavy, route around and find a softer pick rather than burning planes through the wall.
Signature Traits
7250.0 damage per bomb, best of Legendary CVs. Each successful drop bites harder.
7800.0 damage per air-dropped torpedo, best of Legendary CVs. Each torp delete-strike hits harder.
427972.0 secondary DPM per side, best of Legendary CVs. Per-side barrels × shots/min × alpha across every secondary family; real damage scales with hit rate against the target.
34.5 kt, best of Legendary CVs. Lets you rotate flanks or escape disengagements.
1.6 km torpedo detect, worst of Legendary CVs. Targets spot the drop early.
80.0 s to restore one plane, worst of Legendary CVs. Reserves refill slower between sorties.
How to get Hakuryū
Hakuryū is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.
Official WG availability sources
- Autumn Update: In the Shadow of Leaves Patch/update availability Start: 2022-08-25 · End: open/unknown end Official update notes with ship availability, release, store, event, or tech-tree context.
- Colors of Freedom Store price varies 2023-06-20
- Autumn Update: In the Shadow of Leaves Store price varies 2022-08-25
Builds Beta
Build for aircraft speed, restoration, survivability, and strike consistency. Current advice should account for post-balance aircraft HP, base speed, torpedo/dive bomber restoration, and bomb/torpedo performance changes.
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 Hakuryū sits among Legendary CVs (3 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.
See 12 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Hakuryū -- 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.
Stats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartMore tools in the WoWS Legends Data LabAll values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
ƒ
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (113×3.5×1) + (82×3.5×1) = 682. 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.ƒ
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.ƒ
Includes 82 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Far 82 + Medium 113 = 195ƒ
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.ƒ
5.5 km × 57 + 30 = 343.5 m.
Automatic Damage Control Party∞ charges · 90 s reload · 60 s active
Automatic Fighter4 charges · 150 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 4 squadron size
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.
AA defense
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (113×3.5×1) + (82×3.5×1) = 682. 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.Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.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
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.5.5 km × 57 + 30 = 343.5 m.Secondary battery firepower
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: 12×2 100 mm (12/side) × 60/2.86 × 1700 = 427,972. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1700 from the 100 mm family.Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 6% from the 100 mm family.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: 17 mm from the 100 mm family.Armor
Hull HP 63,100, 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 | 40 mm | 3,400 (5% of HP) | No common caliber overmatches40 mm: most HE shatters, standard pen from 283mm+ | Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP. |
| Hull (midship) | 19 mm primary (range 13–130 mm) | 47,300 (75% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)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 | 19 mm primary (range 16–125 mm) | 2,000 (3% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 165 mm primary (range 25–165 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 | 13 mm primary (range 13–57 mm) | 700 (1% 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). |
| Secondary mount (100 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 (40 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 | 18,900 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.
Balance History
Balance updates affecting Hakuryū. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.
Ministry of Balance: Summertime Refit
- Torpedo damage increased from 7,400 to 7,800.
- Torpedo AoE damage increased from 1,000 to 1,100.
- Chance of causing flooding increased by 25%.
- Johan Furstner is still a considerably stronger Commander than Karel Doorman, so we nerfed his unique base trait and unique skill to make both Commanders more comparable in combat effectiveness and Inspiration value.
- Minister of the Navy:
- Fire damage caused by your cruiser's shells or bombs increased by up to 4% instead of 5%.
- Risk Theory:
- Outgoing damage while your cruiser is undetected increased by 1/2/3/4% instead of 1.25/2.5/3.75/5%.
- Main battery, secondary battery, and AA mount survivability is now increased by 75% instead of 50%.
- Maximum HP is now increased by 5% instead of being reduced by 5%.
- +4 more official change lines in the source post.
Ministry of Balance: Aerial Adjustments
- Torpedo.
- Torpedo bomber restoration time increased from 76 to 107 s.
- Torpedo bomber maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,180 to 2,100.
- Torpedo bomber base speed reduced from 153 to 142 kts.
- Dive bomber restoration time increased from 57 to 80 s.
- Dive bomber maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,170 to 2,100.
- Dive bomber base speed reduced from 167 to 130 kts.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Update
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,250 to 2,170 (squadron HP reduced from 27,000 to 26,040).
- Torpedo bombers:
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,300 to 2,180 (squadron HP reduced from 27,600 to 26,160).
- Base speed reduced from 160 to 153 knots.
- Torpedo speed reduced from 50 to 48 knots.
- Torpedo damage reduced from 9,200 to 7,400.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Wave
- Aiming speed increased (aiming circle shrinks faster).
- Bombs per aircraft increased from 1 to 2.
- Number of aircraft in squadron increased from 8 to 12.
- Dive bomber accuracy (likelihood of an individual bomb hitting the inner circle) reduced from 75 to 60%.
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,600 to 2,250 (squadron HP increased from 23,400 to 27,000).
- Base speed increased from 148 to 167 knots.
- Aircraft maximum flight range set to 36 kilometers.
- Bomb damage reduced from 12,500 to 7,250.
- HE bomb penetration reduced from 60.1 to 55 mm.
- Bomb fire-setting chances reduced from 55 to 40%.
- +4 more official change lines in the source post.
Halloween Update: New Friends, Old Foes
- Surface detectability range changed from 15.7 to 14.6 km; air detectability range changed from 12.6 to 10.3 km.
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Hakuryū can equip, from in-game data.
DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
S HellDecorative
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.
