World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Kotovsky

Beta
Open-water kiting cruiserKite at range, bleed fires, and never get pinned.
Playstyle
  • Sit 12-15 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line
  • Avoid: Open-water broadside trading
Key characteristics
2 sigma accuracy14 km gun rangeSonarShort torp range
Community Data

Kotovsky Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Kotovsky 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 deck armor in T4 CAs (150 mm) and top-decile turret traverse rate in T4 CAs (12).

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 152mm shells citadel cruisers on the wrong frame, and her 25,700-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.

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.

Heavy powerplant

120000.0 hp engine, top decile of T4 CAs. More headroom for accelerating out of stops and maintaining speed in turns.

Short torp range

4.02 km torpedo range, bottom quartile of T4 CAs. Must close to deliver.

Thin stern plate

20.0 mm stern, bottom quartile of T4 CAs.

Acquisition

How to get Kotovsky

Kotovsky is available in the Piercing Heavy 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. Official source cards below may also show its temporary Early Access window before it became a normal Tech Tree unlock. Container chances are shown as the listed odds of receiving this exact ship, dividing grouped ship-pool odds across the resolved ships and including nested container paths when a crate can drop another crate.

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

Kotovsky sits in the Piercing Heavy Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S.S.R. tree.

Best listed chance for this ship

Official WG availability sources
Show direct source rows

Builds Beta

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

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Cohort position

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Where Kotovsky 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.

BestMax armor150 mm (1 of 3 tied) BestDeck armor150 mm (1 of 3 tied) Top 10%Max speed35.5 kt (3/21) Top 10%Engine power120,000 hp (3/21) Top 10%Power-to-weight14.05 hp/t (2/21) Top 10%Torpedo speed64 kt (3/20) Top 10%Citadel belt100 mm (2/20) Top 25%Main battery range14.05 km (4/21) Bottom 25%Stealth profile11.94 km / 7.16 km (18/21 / 18/21) Bottom 25%Fires per minute4.27 (17/20) WorstTorpedo range4.02 km (1 of 3 tied) WorstStern armor20 mm (1 of 3 tied)
See 31 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Kotovsky -- 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 points25,700 HP(15/21) Rudder shift9.6 s(15/21) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.69 ×(11/21) Main battery caliber152 mm(13/21) Main battery reload9 s(13/21) HE shell damage2,150(15/20) HE DPM114,667(12/20) AP shell damage3,150(8/21) AP DPM168,000(9/21) Main dispersion121.1 m(13/21) Secondary DPM (per side)63,000(5/15) HE alpha1,400(9/15) Secondary fire chance6%(7/15) Secondary HE pen17 mm(7/15) AP velocity880 m/s(10/21) HE velocity880 m/s(10/20) Acceleration9.7 s(13/21) AP fuse timer0.03 s(12/21) AP arming threshold25 mm(9/21) Turn-speed retention141.2 hp/m(10/21) Displacement8,540 t(7/21) AA DPS149(12/21) AA range3.5 km(13/21) AA threat408(12/21) Torpedo damage14,400(11/20) Torpedo reload70 s(11/20) Bow armor20 mm(15/20) 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)

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

Sonar 4.13 kmFighter
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 22,700 → 25,700
Displacement8,540 t
Armor range6–150 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 16, 20, 35, 50, 100, 150 mm
Armor material/layer entries32
Fire resistanceInitial: 13.3% → 16.6%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction10%
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.
12,900
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.
7,700
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/52 MK-2
Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels
Reload time10 s
Firing range (base)12.8 km
Firing range (top fire control)14.1 km
Turret traverse7 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
2
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (12773/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 121.1 m
121.1 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 121.1 × 0.6 = 72.7 m
72.7 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 121.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 38.7 m
38.7 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 72.7 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 23.2 m
23.2 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.
25.7 s
Base shells/min
ƒ8 broadside guns x 60 / 10 s base reload = 48.
48
HE shells
HE Damage2,150
HE Velocity880 m/s
Fire Chance8%
HE penetration
ƒ25 mm ≈ 152 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
25 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,150 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 17,200.
17,200
Base HE DPM
ƒ17,200 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10 s base reload = 103,200.
103,200
Base fires/min
ƒ8 HE shells x 60 / 10 s reload x 8% fire chance = 3.84.
3.84
AP shells
AP Damage3,150
AP Velocity880 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.025 s
Fuse Threshold25 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
10 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 × 2300 × 51.5^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 880^1.38 = 303.2 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
303.2 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (17.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 383.6 m/s: 1e-7 × 2300 × 51.5^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 383.6^1.38 = 96.4 mm.
96.4 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ3,150 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 25,200.
25,200
Base AP DPM
ƒ25,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10 s base reload = 151,200.
151,200
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.
12
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Triple 39-U
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
ƒper-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.
40,200
AA Defense
AA mount points10
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (26×3.5×0.9) + (13×3.5×0.85) + (9×3.5×0.9) = 149. 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.
149
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
3.5 km
37 mm 70-K (upgraded hull only)6×1 37mm
12.7 mm DShK4×1 13mm
45 mm 21-K (stock hull only)6×1 45mm
100 mm/56 B-34 (DP)6×1 100mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 9 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
9
Range3.5 km
Medium aura
DPS26
Range3.2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 9 + Medium 26 = 35
35
Near aura
DPSInitial: 16 → 13
Range1.2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 9 + Medium 26 + Near 13 = 48
48
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
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
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 120,000 hp
Engine power120,000 hp
Maximum speed35.5 kt
Turning circle radius850 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio5.7× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea11.94 km
Detectability by air7.16 km
Smoke firing penalty5.68 km
Detect after firing main guns11.94 km
Detect Fire Sea13.94 km
Detect Fire Air10.16 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.

HullUpgrade
  • Hit points22,700 → 25,700
  • Rudder shift13.5 → 9.6 s
  • Close-range AA DPS27 → 39
  • Maximum AA range2.5 → 3.2 km
  • Turret traverse7 → 12 °/s
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range12,773 → 14050.3 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 Disp121.1 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (12773/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 121.1 m
Max Vert Disp72.7 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 121.1 × 0.6 = 72.7 m
Med Horiz Disp38.7 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 121.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 38.7 m
Med Vert Disp23.2 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 72.7 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 23.2 m
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close303.2 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 × 51.5^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 880^1.38 = 303.2 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far96.4 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 383.6 m/s: 1e-7 × 2300 × 51.5^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 383.6^1.38 = 96.4 mm.
HE penetration25 mm
25 mm ≈ 152 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch10 mm
floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius12
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 alpha8
All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time25.7 s
180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.
HE full-salvo alpha17,200
2,150 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 17,200.
AP full-salvo alpha25,200
3,150 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 25,200.
Base HE DPM103,200
17,200 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10 s base reload = 103,200.
Base AP DPM151,200
25,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10 s base reload = 151,200.
Base shells/min48
8 broadside guns x 60 / 10 s base reload = 48.
Base fires/min3.84
8 HE shells x 60 / 10 s reload x 8% fire chance = 3.84.

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 DPS149
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (26×3.5×0.9) + (13×3.5×0.85) + (9×3.5×0.9) = 149. 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 index408
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 range1.2 km

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 22,70025,700 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
Bow20 mm primary (range 16–20 mm)1,900 (7% of HP)
Overmatched by 305mm+ (Courbet, Dante Alighieri)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)16 mm primary (range 6–35 mm)19,300 (75% of HP)
Overmatched by 283mm+ (Nassau, Von Der Tann)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern20 mm primary (range 10–20 mm)1,000 (4% of HP)
Overmatched by 305mm+ (Courbet, Dante Alighieri)Angle bounces 283mm20 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel100 mm primary (range 10–100 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).
Superstructure10 mm primary (range 10–150 mm)1,300 (5% 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 HP12,900 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 (100 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 (37 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.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP7,700 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 Kotovsky. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×2
2026-03-26

Ministry of Balance: Spring Renewal

  • Thickness of stock hull plating of the bow side, bow deck, stern side, and stern deck increased from 13 to 16 mm.
  • Thickness of upgraded hull plating of the bow side, bow deck, stern side, and stern deck increased from 13 to 16 mm.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Kotovsky 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.