Leander Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Leander is a Tier V British AP-only cruiser with strong AP DPM (218,824): she carries no HE shells at all, so every salvo is AP into broadsides or wasted. The hull is fragile, so the kit is fragile-spammer chasing soft targets and dodging in open water rather than trading punches. She also packs the super-heal, but the kit is offense first, sustain second. Sonar (4.4 km on ships and 3.1 km on torpedoes, 92 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. Standout traits: best AP always-pen window in T5 CAs (60°) and best AP guaranteed-ricochet angle in T5 CAs (75°).

Positioning

Sit 12-15 km on a flank that gives you firing arcs into rotated cruisers and exposed BB broadsides. The hull is fragile; ration trades to ones that pay AP citadels back, and lean on speed and consumables to dodge focus when it comes. Open water is fine when the closest threat is far enough that the salvo timing favors you.

Potato Avoidance

Firing AP into thin destroyers or unangled bows

Without HE the wrong target nets over-pens or shatters; pick broadside cruisers and BB sides only, and route around situations where the only shot is into a bow. AP discipline is the kit.

Signature Traits

Wide always-pen zone

60.0° AP min ricochet angle, best of T5 CAs. Larger impact-angle window where shells always penetrate.

Late auto-bounce

75.0° AP guaranteed ricochet angle, best of T5 CAs. Auto-bounce kicks in later than peers'.

Long-reach AA

5.0 km AA reach, best of T5 CAs.

Thick stern plate

32.0 mm stern, top decile of T5 CAs.

Quick-fuse AP

0.01 s AP fuse timer, bottom decile of T5 CAs. Detonates earlier in the plate; trades belt-citadels for reliable damage against thin targets (cruiser-on-cruiser specialty).

Weak torp belt

0.0% torpedo damage reduction, bottom quartile of T5 CAs. Torps hit for closer to their printed damage.

Acquisition

How to get Leander

Leander is available in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 2,400,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 600,000 credits.

Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram

U.K. Tech Tree

Leander sits in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

8 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.K. lines.

U.K.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

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Cohort position

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Where Leander sits among Tier V CAs (28 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 arming threshold12 mm (1 of 2 tied) BestAP ricochet start60° (1 of 3 tied) BestAP auto-bounce angle75° (1 of 2 tied) BestSecondary range5 km (1 of 5 tied) BestAA range5 km (1 of 10 tied) Top 10%Main dispersion121.8 m (3/28) Top 25%Stealth profile10.89 km / 6.53 km (5/28 / 5/28) Top 25%Main battery reload6.8 s (6/28) Top 25%Secondary DPM (per side)120,000 (5/25) Top 25%Acceleration9.2 s (6/28) Top 25%Displacement9,350 t (8/28) Top 25%Stern armor32 mm (4/28) Bottom 25%Main battery range14.15 km (26/28) Bottom 25%AP shell damage3,100 (23/28) Bottom 25%Engine power72,000 hp (23/28) Bottom 25%Turn-speed retention112.5 hp/m (23/28) Bottom 25%Torpedo reload96 s (19/24) Bottom 25%Bow armor20 mm (25/28) Bottom 25%Deck armor32 mm (24/28) WorstAP fuse timer0.01 s (1 of 2 tied)

See 20 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Leander -- 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 points28,700 HP(19/28) Max speed32.5 kt(17/28) Rudder shift10.2 s(15/28) Traverse-to-turn ratio4.68 ×(21/28) Main battery caliber152 mm(19/28) Sigma2(15/28) AP DPM218,824(11/28) HE alpha1,500(11/25) Secondary fire chance6%(13/25) Secondary HE pen17 mm(13/25) AP velocity841 m/s(19/28) Power-to-weight7.7 hp/t(18/28) AA DPS212(15/28) AA threat679(15/28) Torpedo range8.01 km(13/24) Torpedo damage15,433(11/24) Torpedo speed61 kt(11/24) Max armor100 mm(19/28) Citadel belt100 mm(14/28) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(5 of 7 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Almirante Cochrane vs

Show all 27 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 4.4 kmRepair 2Def-AASmokeFighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 24,500 → 28,700

Displacement9,350 t

Armor range6–100 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 13, 16, 20, 25, 32, 37, 51, 76, 89, 100 mm

Armor material/layer entries49

Fire resistanceInitial: 20% → 23.3%

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.

14,400

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.

8,600

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/50 Mk XXI

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time7.5 s

Firing range (base)12.9 km

Firing range (top fire control)14.2 km

Turret traverse7 °/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 = (12867/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 121.8 m

121.8 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 121.8 × 0.6 = 73.1 m

73.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 121.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 38.9 m

38.9 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 73.1 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 23.3 m

23.3 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.

25.7 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

8 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 64.

64

HE shells

HE penetration

ƒ

floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.

25 mm

AP shells

AP Damage3,100

AP Velocity841 m/s

Min Ricochet60 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet75 deg

Fuse Timer0.005 s

Fuse Threshold12 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(152 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 × 2609 × 50.8^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 841^1.38 = 320 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

320 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 306.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2609 × 50.8^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 306.2^1.38 = 79.4 mm.

79.4 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

3,100 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 24,800.

24,800

Base AP DPM

ƒ

24,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 198,400.

198,400

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 Mk IX

Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 4 tubes = 8 tubes

Reload time96 s

Projectile speed61 kt

Range8.01 km

Maximum simulated damage14,333 (est.)

Alpha damage43,000

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming188 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

57,332

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 9 → 11

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: (20×3.5×0.9) + (32×3.5×0.85) + (17×3.5×0.9) = 212. 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.

212

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

5 km

40 mm Bofors Mk IIInitial: 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII (2×8) → 40 mm Bofors Mk II (2×4)

20 mm Oerlikon Mk IV5×1 20mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk V (upgraded hull only)4×2 20mm

12.7 mm Mk III (stock hull only)2×4 13mm

102 mm/45 QF Mk XIX (DP)4×2 102mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 17 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

17

Range5 km

DPS20

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 17 + Medium 20 = 37

37

DPS32

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 17 + Medium 20 + Near 32 = 69

69

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts4

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber102 mm

Reload time3 s

HE Damage1,500

Muzzle Velocity811 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 @ 5 km

ƒ

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

315 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 72,000 hp

Engine power72,000 hp

Maximum speed32.5 kt

Turning circle radius640 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold30.2 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio4.7× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea10.89 km

Detectability by air6.53 km

Smoke firing penalty4.99 km

Detect after firing main guns10.89 km

Detect Fire Sea12.89 km

Detect Fire Air9.53 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 92 s active · 4.4 km ship detect · 3.13 km torpedo detect

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

Choose one

Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 20 s emit / 99 s cloud active

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

Module options (3)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points24,500 → 28,700
Rudder shift14.3 → 10.2 s
AA mounts9 → 11
Close-range AA DPS32 → 52
Maximum AA range2.5 → 3.5 km
Turret traverse7 → 10 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range12,867 → 14153.7 m

TorpedoesTrade-off

Range6 → 8.01 km
Reload106 → 96 s
Alpha damage43,900 → 43,000
Display damage14,633 → 14,333
Speed59 → 61 kt

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 Disp121.8 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (12867/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 121.8 m

Max Vert Disp73.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 121.8 × 0.6 = 73.1 m

Med Horiz Disp38.9 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 121.8 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 38.9 m

Med Vert Disp23.3 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 73.1 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 23.3 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close320 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 × 2609 × 50.8^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 841^1.38 = 320 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far79.4 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (17.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 306.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2609 × 50.8^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 306.2^1.38 = 79.4 mm.

HE penetration25 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(152 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 alpha8

All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time25.7 s

180 degrees / 7 deg/s traverse speed = 25.7 s.

AP full-salvo alpha24,800

3,100 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 24,800.

Base AP DPM198,400

24,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 198,400.

Base shells/min64

8 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 64.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.3 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time8.2 s

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

Torpedo speed61 kt

Travel time to max range50.5 s

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

Tube count8

2 launchers x 4 tubes.

Per-side salvo4 torpedoes

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

Full-salvo damage114,664

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

Per-side salvo damage57,332

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS212

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (20×3.5×0.9) + (32×3.5×0.85) + (17×3.5×0.9) = 212. 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 km

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

AA threat index679

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

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 @ 5 km315 m

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)120,000

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: 4×2 102 mm (4/side) × 60/3 × 1500 = 120,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1500

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1500 from the 102 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 102 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 102 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 24,500 → 28,700 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 13–20 mm)	3,000 (10% of HP)	Overmatched by 305mm+ (Indefatigable, Toulon)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)	76 mm primary (range 16–76 mm)	21,500 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches76 mm: most HE shatters, standard pen from 460mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	32 mm primary (range 13–37 mm)	2,100 (7% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VIAngle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	100 mm primary (range 6–100 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).
Superstructure	10 mm primary (range 10–32 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	14,400 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 (102 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	8,600 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 Leander can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Yt LeanderDecorative

Leander

Leander Community Stats