Kirov Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Kirov is a Tier IV Soviet light cruiser with Sonar as her vision tool. Hydro lets her contest islands and smoke without exposing the hull to vision cycles, which shapes how she pressures caps. Standout traits: best AP fuse timer in T4 CAs (0.033 s).

Positioning

Sit 12-15 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line. Hydro (4.1 km on ships, 3 km on torpedoes) lights up DDs and incoming torpedoes inside its bubble, so you can push the cap edge from cover without taking the spotting cycle; prefer cover positions over open-water flanks.

Potato Avoidance

Open-water broadside trading

Her 180mm shells citadel cruisers on the wrong frame, and her 26,200-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

Heavy armor

150.0 mm max plate, best of T4 CAs.

Hardened superstructure

13.0 mm superstructure, best of T4 CAs. HE farms less.

Thick deck armor

150.0 mm armor deck, best of T4 CAs. Eats plunging fire and HE that peers don't.

Fast for the class

35.5 kt, top decile of T4 CAs. Lets you rotate flanks or escape disengagements.

Easily spotted

12.42 km surface detect, worst of T4 CAs. Visible before you can react; position early.

Slow AP shells

800.0 m/s AP muzzle velocity, bottom decile of T4 CAs. Lobby trajectory, more lead, easier to dodge at range.

Acquisition

How to get Kirov

Kirov is available in the Artillery Cruisers branch of the U.S.S.R. Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits.

Show U.S.S.R. tech-tree branch diagram

U.S.S.R. Tech Tree

Kirov sits in the Artillery Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S.S.R. tree.

5 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.S.S.R. lines.

U.S.S.R.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Carrier

Tier VIIINeustrashimyPRSD709 Tier VIIIDelnyPRSD410 Tier VIITashkentPRSD409 Tier VIIIPetropavlovskPRSC310 Tier IVSoobrazitelnyPRSD304 Tier VGorkyPRSC216 Tier IVKotovskyPRSC215 Tier VIIRigaPRSC209 Tier VITallinnPRSC208 Tier VIMinskPRSD207 Tier VGnevnyPRSD206 Tier IVPodvoiskyPRSD205 Tier ★KhabarovskPRSD110 Tier VIKievPRSD109 Tier VIIIDm. DonskoiPRSC109 Tier VIIISovetsky SoyuzPRSB109 Tier VIIChapayevPRSC108 Tier VIIVladivostokPRSB108 Tier VIIPobedaPRSA108 Tier VIIUdaloiPRSD107 Tier VIShchorsPRSC107 Tier VISinopPRSB107 Tier VBoevoiPRSD106 Tier VBudyonnyPRSC106 Tier VIzmailPRSB106 Tier VSerovPRSA106 Tier IVKirovPRSC105 Tier IVPyotr VelikiyPRSB105 Tier IIIIzyaslavPRSD104 Tier IIISvietlanaPRSC104 Tier IIIGangutPRSB104 Tier IIIKomsomoletsPRSA104 Tier IIDerzkiPRSD103 Tier IIBogatyrPRSC103 Tier INovikPRSC102

Builds Beta

Build for range, accuracy, reload, rudder, concealment, and survivability.

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Cohort position

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Where Kirov sits among Tier IV CAs (21 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.

BestAP fuse timer0.03 s (1 of 5 tied) BestMax armor150 mm (1 of 3 tied) BestDeck armor150 mm (1 of 3 tied) Top 10%Max speed35.5 kt (3/21) Top 10%Main battery range14.15 km (3/21) Top 10%Torpedo speed64 kt (3/20) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.58 × (5/21) Top 25%Main battery caliber180 mm (5/21) Top 25%HE fire chance13% (6/20) Top 25%Engine power110,000 hp (4/21) Bottom 25%Rudder shift10.2 s (18/21) Bottom 25%Main battery reload12.2 s (17/21) Bottom 25%AP arming threshold30 mm (17/21) Bottom 10%Citadel belt50 mm (19/20) WorstStealth profile12.42 km / 7.45 km (21/21 / 21/21) WorstAP velocity800 m/s (21/21) WorstHE velocity800 m/s (20/20) WorstTorpedo range4.02 km (1 of 3 tied) WorstBow armor15 mm (1 of 2 tied) WorstStern armor20 mm (1 of 3 tied)

See 24 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Kirov -- 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 points26,200 HP(13/21) HE shell damage2,300(8/20) Fires per minute5.75(10/20) HE DPM101,803(15/20) AP shell damage3,800(7/21) AP DPM168,197(8/21) Main dispersion121.7 m(14/21) Secondary DPM (per side)63,000(5/15) HE alpha1,400(9/15) Secondary fire chance6%(7/15) Secondary HE pen17 mm(7/15) Acceleration9.7 s(13/21) Turn-speed retention127.9 hp/m(13/21) Displacement9,436 t(16/21) Power-to-weight11.66 hp/t(7/21) AA DPS135(14/21) AA range3.5 km(13/21) AA threat444(10/21) Torpedo damage14,400(11/20) Torpedo reload70 s(11/20) NormSigma2(19 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(19 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(19 of 21 tied at this value) NormSecondary range4 km(11 of 15 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 20 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 4.13 kmFighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 23,400 → 26,200

Displacement9,436 t

Armor range10–150 mm

Plate armor thicknesses10, 13, 15, 18, 20, 40, 50, 70, 100, 150 mm

Armor material/layer entries49

Fire resistanceInitial: 13.3% → 16.6%

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.

13,100

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.

7,900

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 180 mm/57 MK-3-180 U

Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 9 barrels

Reload time13.5 s

Firing range (base)12.9 km

Firing range (top fire control)14.1 km

Turret traverse8 °/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 = (12860/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 121.7 m

121.7 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 121.7 × 0.6 = 73 m

73 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 121.7 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 38.9 m

38.9 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 73 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 23.3 m

23.3 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.

22.5 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

9 broadside guns x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 40.

40

HE shells

HE Damage2,300 → 2,500

HE Velocity800 m/s

Fire Chance13%

HE penetration

ƒ

30 mm ≈ 180 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

30 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

2,500 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 22,500.

22,500

Base HE DPM

ƒ

22,500 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 100,000.

100,000

Base fires/min

ƒ

9 HE shells x 60 / 13.5 s reload x 13% fire chance = 5.2.

5.2

AP shells

AP Damage3,800 → 4,100

AP Velocity800 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold30 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(180 mm caliber / 14.3) = 12 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

12 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 × 2300 × 97.5^0.69 × 0.18^-1.07 × 800^1.38 = 344.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

344.6 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 377 m/s: 1e-7 × 2300 × 97.5^0.69 × 0.18^-1.07 × 377^1.38 = 122 mm.

122 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

4,100 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 36,900.

36,900

Base AP DPM

ƒ

36,900 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 164,000.

164,000

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.

20

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 53-36 mod. 1

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 3 tubes = 6 tubes

Reload time70 s

Projectile speed64 kt

Range4.02 km

Maximum simulated damage13,400 (est.)

Alpha damage40,200

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming198 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

40,200

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 10 → 9

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: (32×3.5×0.9) + (11×3.5×0.9) = 135. 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.

135

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

3.5 km

37 mm 70-K (upgraded hull only)9×1 37mm

45 mm 21-K (stock hull only)6×1 45mm

12.7 mm DShK (stock hull only)4×1 13mm

100 mm/56 B-34 (DP)6×1 100mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 11 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

11

Range3.5 km

DPS32

Range3.2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 11 + Medium 32 = 43

43

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts6

Firing range4.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber100 mm

Reload time4 s

HE Damage1,400

Muzzle Velocity895 m/s

Fire Chance6%

Armor Pen17 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Secondary dispersion type

ƒ

Max 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

ƒ

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

258 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 110,000 hp

Engine power110,000 hp

Maximum speed35.5 kt

Turning circle radius860 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio6.6× slow

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.42 km

Detectability by air7.45 km

Smoke firing penalty6.57 km

Detect after firing main guns12.42 km

Detect Fire Sea14.42 km

Detect Fire Air10.45 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 90 s active · 4.13 km ship detect · 2.97 km torpedo detect

Catapult Fighter3 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

Module options (2)

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

HullTrade-off

Hit points23,400 → 26,200
Rudder shift13.4 → 10.2 s
AA mounts10 → 9
Close-range AA DPS27 → 32
Maximum AA range2.5 → 3.2 km
Turret traverse8 → 10 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range12,860 → 14,146 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 Disp121.7 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (12860/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 121.7 m

Max Vert Disp73 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 121.7 × 0.6 = 73 m

Med Horiz Disp38.9 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 121.7 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 38.9 m

Med Vert Disp23.3 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 73 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 23.3 m

AP Pen Close344.6 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 × 2300 × 97.5^0.69 × 0.18^-1.07 × 800^1.38 = 344.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far122 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 377 m/s: 1e-7 × 2300 × 97.5^0.69 × 0.18^-1.07 × 377^1.38 = 122 mm.

HE penetration30 mm

30 mm ≈ 180 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch12 mm

floor(180 mm caliber / 14.3) = 12 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius20

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 alpha9

All 9 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time22.5 s

180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.

HE full-salvo alpha22,500

2,500 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 22,500.

AP full-salvo alpha36,900

4,100 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 36,900.

Base HE DPM100,000

22,500 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 100,000.

Base AP DPM164,000

36,900 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 164,000.

Base shells/min40

9 broadside guns x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 40.

Base fires/min5.2

9 HE shells x 60 / 13.5 s reload x 13% fire chance = 5.2.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time7.8 s

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

Torpedo speed64 kt

Travel time to max range24.2 s

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

Tube count6

2 launchers x 3 tubes.

Per-side salvo3 torpedoes

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

Full-salvo damage80,400

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

Per-side salvo damage40,200

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS135

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (32×3.5×0.9) + (11×3.5×0.9) = 135. 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 index444

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)63,000

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: 6×1 100 mm (3/side) × 60/4 × 1400 = 63,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1400

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1400 from the 100 mm family.

Max HE fire chance6%

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.

Max HE pen17 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: 17 mm from the 100 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 23,400 → 26,200 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	15 mm primary (range 13–15 mm)	1,300 (5% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm15 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)	20 mm	19,700 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Courbet, Dante Alighieri)Angle bounces 283mm20 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 13–20 mm)	1,500 (6% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Courbet, Dante Alighieri)Angle bounces 283mm20 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	50 mm primary (range 10–50 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 13–150 mm)	1,700 (6% 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	13,100 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.
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 (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.
Rudder (module)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	7,900 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.

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 Kirov can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Kirov

Kirov Community Stats