GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Hector

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Hector

Beta

Commonwealth · Tier VIII · Cruiser

Smoke farming cruiserFarm from smoke; lean on team or radar for spotting.

Playstyle

Hold 12-15 km where rotated focus can find island cover within one heal cycle
Avoid: Trading the super-heal advantage in open water

Key characteristics

Long torps (12 km)2.05 sigma accuracyStealthy (11.1 km)Lobs over islandsFragile

Community Data

Hector Community Stats

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

Playstyle

Overview

Hector is a Tier VIII Commonwealth cruiser built around the super-heal: each Repair Party charge returns dramatically more HP than a standard heal, so her durability comes from sustain rather than armor. Sonar (6.2 km on ships and 4.3 km on torpedoes, 100 s active, 180 s reload, long uptime) lights up DDs and torpedoes inside its bubble, which lets her contest the cap edge without taking the spotting cycle.

Positioning

Hold 12-15 km where rotated focus can find island cover within one heal cycle. The super-heal (~2%/s, roughly twice a standard heal) makes sustained trades profitable that would not be on a standard cruiser, but only if you finish the trade behind cover; open-water sustain just feeds shells.

Potato Avoidance

Trading the super-heal advantage in open water

The kit rewards finishing the trade behind cover so the heal recovers what the salvo took; sustained open-water exposure burns through all 2 charges before the cooldown completes.

Signature Traits

Super-heal

Repair Party heals 2.0%/s, best of T8 CAs. Restores more HP per active second than peers.

High-arc AP shells

48.0° impact angle at max range, top decile of T8 CAs. Lobs over island cover.

High-arc HE shells

48.0° HE impact angle at max range, top decile of T8 CAs. Lobs over cover.

Best-in-class stealth

11.1 km surface detect, top decile of T8 CAs. Stays dark longer.

Fragile HP pool

34400.0 HP, bottom decile of T8 CAs. Trade hits sparingly.

Bleeds speed in turns

108.6 hp per metre of turn radius, bottom decile of T8 CAs. Lateral drag outpaces engine output, so speed drops noticeably during sustained turns.

Acquisition

How to get Hector

Hector is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Campaign.

CampaignEarnable in the Oceania's Spectre and Shield of Troy campaigns; campaign ships can later return through other limited methods.

Official WG availability sources

Oceania's Spectre Campaign Breakdown Campaign Start: 2025-03-03 · End: 2025-04-06 Official campaign breakdown naming this ship as a campaign/reward-context ship; explicit source windows are used when present, otherwise the end date is inferred from the next indexed campaign breakdown when available.
Shield of Troy Campaign Breakdown Campaign Start: 2025-09-08 · End: 2025-10-05 Official campaign breakdown naming this ship as a campaign/reward-context ship; explicit source windows are used when present, otherwise the end date is inferred from the next indexed campaign breakdown when available.
Through the Spy Glass: Vampire II Ship feature / release Start: 2025-03-04 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
Through the Spy Glass: Hector Ship feature / release Start: 2025-09-09 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.

Builds Beta

Harold B. Farncomb is the official recommended commander direction, with Careful reducing detectability after firing from smoke. Build for concealment, reload, torpedo pressure, and sonar-supported survivability.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship Harold B. Farncomb

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

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Hector sits among Tier VIII CAs (27 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.

BestRepair heal rate2 %/s (1 of 5 tied) Top 10%Stealth profile11.1 km / 6.66 km (2/27 / 2/27) Top 10%AP arming threshold22 mm (3/27) Top 10%Displacement11,954 t (3/27) Top 25%Max speed34 kt (7/27) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio15.17 × (5/27) Top 25%Torpedo range12 km (3/16) Top 25%Torpedo reload90 s (4/16) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber133 mm (25/27) Bottom 25%Main battery range15.26 km (24/27) Bottom 25%AA DPS363 (25/27) Bottom 25%AA threat1,165 (25/27) Bottom 25%Max armor114 mm (23/27) Bottom 25%Deck armor51 mm (23/26) Bottom 10%HE shell damage1,900 (24/25) Bottom 10%HE fire chance8% (24/25) Bottom 10%AP shell damage2,550 (26/27) Bottom 10%Engine power82,500 hp (26/27) WorstHit points34,400 HP (27/27) WorstNo secondaries (7 of 27 in cohort) WorstHE velocity792 m/s (25/25) WorstTurn-speed retention108.6 hp/m (27/27) WorstEnd plates16 mm (1 of 2 tied / 27/27)

See 18 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Hector -- 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.

Rudder shift11.7 s(9/27) Main battery reload6 s(8/27) Sigma2.05(13/27) Fires per minute8(12/25) HE DPM190,000(9/25) AP DPM255,000(18/27) Main dispersion138.3 m(17/27) AP velocity792 m/s(21/27) Acceleration10.2 s(10/27) Power-to-weight6.9 hp/t(13/27) AA range5.2 km(11/27) Torpedo damage17,233(6/16) Torpedo speed62 kt(9/16) Citadel belt114 mm(18/27) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(18 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(21 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(20 of 27 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(25 of 27 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 26 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.

Sonar 6.2 kmRepair 2Def-AASmoke

Survivability

Hit Points34,400

Displacement11,954 t

Armor range13–114 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 16, 25, 27, 37, 38, 40, 51, 63, 76, 114 mm

Armor material/layer entries54

Fire resistance40%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction7%

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.

17,200

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.

10,300

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 133 mm/50 QF Mk.I

Mounts / barrels7 mounts / 14 barrels

Reload time6.7 s

Firing range15.3 km

Turret traverse20 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

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

2.05

Max Horiz Disp

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15260/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 138.3 m

138.3 m

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 138.3 × 0.6 = 83 m

83 m

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 138.3 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 43.4 m

43.4 m

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 83 × 0.313 (σ=2.05) = 26 m

26 m

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 20 deg/s traverse speed = 9 s.

9 s

Base shells/min

10 broadside guns x 60 / 6.7 s base reload = 89.6.

89.6

HE shells

HE Damage1,900

HE Velocity792 m/s

Fire Chance8%

HE penetration

22 mm ≈ 133 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

22 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

1,900 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 19,000.

19,000

Base HE DPM

19,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.7 s base reload = 170,149.

170,149

Installed HE DPM

19,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 190,000.

190,000

Base fires/min

10 HE shells x 60 / 6.7 s reload x 8% fire chance = 7.16.

7.16

AP shells

AP Damage2,550

AP Velocity792 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold22 mm

AP overmatch

floor(133 mm caliber / 14.3) = 9 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

9 mm

AP Pen Close

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 × 2882 × 36.3^0.69 × 0.133^-1.07 × 792^1.38 = 297.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

297.7 mm

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.1 km), where the shell has slowed to 298.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2882 × 36.3^0.69 × 0.133^-1.07 × 298.2^1.38 = 77.3 mm.

77.3 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

2,550 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 25,500.

25,500

Base AP DPM

25,500 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.7 s base reload = 228,358.

228,358

Installed AP DPM

25,500 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 255,000.

255,000

AP AOE Radius

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.

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm QR Mk IV

Launchers / tubes4 launchers × 4 tubes = 16 tubes

Reload time90 s

Projectile speed62 kt

Range12 km

Maximum simulated damage16,133 (est.)

Alpha damage48,399

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming191 m

Per-side salvo damage

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

129,064

AA Defense

AA mount points20

Close-range AA DPS

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (27×3.5×0.9) + (37×3.5×0.9) + (31×3.5×0.85) + (22×3.5×0.9) = 363. 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.

363

Maximum AA range

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

5.2 km

40 mm Bofors Mk VII8×1 40mm

40 mm/39 QF Mark VII4×4 40mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk V8×2 20mm

DPS

Includes 22 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose main battery firing as AA in this range band.

Range5.2 km

DPS37

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 22 + Outer Medium 37 = 59

DPS27

Range2.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 22 + Outer Medium 37 + Inner Medium 27 = 86

DPS31

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 22 + Outer Medium 37 + Inner Medium 27 + Near 31 = 117

117

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 82,500 hp

Engine power82,500 hp

Maximum speed34 kt

Turning circle radius760 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold31.2 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio15.2× snappy

Concealment

Detectability by sea11.1 km

Detectability by air6.66 km

Smoke firing penalty4.2 km

Detect after firing main guns11.1 km

Detect Fire Sea13.1 km

Detect Fire Air9.66 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active · 2% heal per second · 40% of max HP total heal

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 100 s active · 6.2 km ship detect · 4.27 km torpedo detect

Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost

Smoke Generator3 charges · 160 s reload · 15 s emit / 10 s cloud active

Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade

Turret traverse20 → 10 °/s

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)2.05

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

Max Horiz Disp138.3 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15260/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 138.3 m

Max Vert Disp83 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 138.3 × 0.6 = 83 m

Med Horiz Disp43.4 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 138.3 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 43.4 m

Med Vert Disp26 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 83 × 0.313 (σ=2.05) = 26 m

AP Pen Close297.7 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 × 2882 × 36.3^0.69 × 0.133^-1.07 × 792^1.38 = 297.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far77.3 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.1 km), where the shell has slowed to 298.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2882 × 36.3^0.69 × 0.133^-1.07 × 298.2^1.38 = 77.3 mm.

HE penetration22 mm

22 mm ≈ 133 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch9 mm

floor(133 mm caliber / 14.3) = 9 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius10

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 alpha10

Barrels that can bear on one beam (10 of 14); casemate/wing mounts only fire one side.

Turret turn time9 s

180 degrees / 20 deg/s traverse speed = 9 s.

HE full-salvo alpha19,000

1,900 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 19,000.

AP full-salvo alpha25,500

2,550 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 25,500.

Base HE DPM170,149

19,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.7 s base reload = 170,149.

Base AP DPM228,358

25,500 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.7 s base reload = 228,358.

Installed HE DPM190,000

19,000 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 190,000.

Installed AP DPM255,000

25,500 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 255,000.

Base shells/min89.6

10 broadside guns x 60 / 6.7 s base reload = 89.6.

Installed shells/min100

10 broadside guns x 60 / 6 s installed Artillery reload = 100.

Base fires/min7.16

10 HE shells x 60 / 6.7 s reload x 8% fire chance = 7.16.

Installed fires/min8

10 HE shells x 60 / 6 s installed reload x 8% fire chance = 8.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8.1 s

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

Torpedo speed62 kt

Travel time to max range74.4 s

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

Tube count16

4 launchers x 4 tubes.

Per-side salvo8 torpedoes

tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).

Full-salvo damage258,128

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

Per-side salvo damage129,064

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS363

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (27×3.5×0.9) + (37×3.5×0.9) + (31×3.5×0.85) + (22×3.5×0.9) = 363. 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 range5.2 km

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

AA threat index1165

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 34,400, 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	16 mm primary (range 16–40 mm)	1,100 (3% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm16 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)	25 mm primary (range 16–114 mm)	25,800 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bismarck, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	16 mm primary (range 13–51 mm)	700 (2% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	114 mm primary (range 13–114 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	13 mm primary (range 13–51 mm)	4,300 (12% 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	17,200 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 (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	10,300 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.

Balance History

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

Nerf ×1Buff ×4Commander Skill ×1Main Battery ×1Torpedo ×2

2026-03-26

Ministry of Balance: Spring Renewal

Torpedo damage increased from 16,767 to 17,233.
Torpedo reload time reduced from 96 to 90 s.
Sonar ship detection range increased from 4.9 to 5.6 km.
Sonar torpedo detection range increased from 3.4 to 3.8 km.

Read the full official post

2026-02-19

March Update: Echoes at Sea

Nerfed the Steadfast Soldier skill: HP restoration while the Legendary effect is active has been reduced from 0.5% to 0.3% per second. A single fire on board his ship now neutralizes the skill's effect.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

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.

2025-09-09 · Through the Spy Glass Through the Spy Glass: Hector Ship feature 2025-02-27 · Patch notes March Update: Thirst for Combat Patch notes 2025-09-04 · Patch notes September Update: The Valor Armada Patch notes 2026-02-19 · Patch notes March Update: Echoes at Sea Patch notes 2026-03-26 · Patch notes April Update: Victorious in Metal Patch notes