World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Lepanto

Beta
Bow-tank battleshipHold the line bow-in; your armor shrugs what peers can't crack.
Playstyle
  • Anchor a flank at 14-17 km with bow toward the closest threat
  • Avoid: Leading the push alone
Key characteristics
Spotter planeLight citadel belt
Community Data

Lepanto Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Lepanto is a Tier VIII Italian all-rounder battleship with 381mm guns at 17.2 km: she has no single dominant kit trait but is competent across the board. The role flexes by team comp - mid-range AP anchor by default, brawl support when the team commits, sniper when the line sits back. Versatility is the value, not specialization. Standout traits: best flat HE shells in T8 BBs (880) and best AP always-pen window in T8 BBs (55°).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 14-17 km with bow toward the closest threat. Rotate one or two map cells with the team rather than holding solo; a battleship alone on a flank is a free focus target for the enemy.

Potato Avoidance

Leading the push alone

A battleship caught broadside by two same-tier guns at mid range loses more HP than any single salvo trades back, so rotate with the team or hold your angle instead of charging in first.

Signature Traits

Fast turret traverse

6.0°/s turret traverse, best of T8 BBs. Tracks fast-rotating targets peers can't keep up with.

Flat HE shells

880.0 m/s HE muzzle velocity, best of T8 BBs. Flatter trajectory, easier to land at range.

Wide always-pen zone

55.0° AP min ricochet angle, best of T8 BBs. Larger impact-angle window where shells always penetrate.

Late auto-bounce

70.0° AP guaranteed ricochet angle, best of T8 BBs. Auto-bounce kicks in later than peers'.

Light citadel belt

100.0 mm citadel belt, bottom decile of T8 BBs. Citadels through angle are possible.

Low fire chance

24.0% fire chance per HE shell, bottom quartile of T8 BBs. AP carries more weight.

Acquisition

How to get Lepanto

Lepanto is available in the Bruiser Battleships branch of the Italy Tech Tree for 25,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 6,250,000 credits.

Show Italy tech-tree branch diagram
Italy Tech Tree

Lepanto sits in the Bruiser Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Italy tree.

Builds Beta

Build for survivability, secondary range/uptime, smoke/push tools, and main-battery consistency. Treat secondaries as pressure, not the whole plan.

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Cohort position

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Where Lepanto sits among Tier VIII BBs (25 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.

BestSecondary DPM (per side)481,412 (1/25) BestHE velocity880 m/s (1 of 2 tied) BestAP ricochet start55° (1/25) BestAP auto-bounce angle70° (1/25) BestRepair charges4 (1 of 2 tied) BestBow armor35 mm (1 of 2 tied) Top 10%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.28 × (2/25) Top 25%AP velocity850 m/s (5/25) Top 25%AP arming threshold64 mm (7/25) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber381 mm (21/25) Bottom 25%Sigma1.6 (21/25) Bottom 25%Fires per minute5.72 (22/25) Bottom 25%AP shell damage11,000 (22/25) Bottom 25%Deck armor100 mm (23/25) Bottom 10%Citadel belt100 mm (24/25) WorstAA range4 km (1 of 4 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (18 of 25 in cohort)
See 24 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Lepanto -- 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 points75,900 HP(11/25) Max speed29.5 kt(17/25) Concealment15.49 km(11/25) Air detection12.4 km(9/25) Rudder shift21.8 s(15/25) Main battery range17.21 km(10/25) Main battery reload30.2 s(19/25) HE shell damage5,400(19/25) HE DPM128,742(12/25) AP DPM262,252(13/25) Main dispersion219.3 m(12/25) Acceleration9.44 s(14/25) Engine power160,000 hp(11/25) Turn-speed retention175.8 hp/m(13/25) Displacement54,950 t(13/25) Power-to-weight2.91 hp/t(13/25) Secondary range6 km(8/25) AA DPS591(11/25) AA threat1,932(12/25) Max armor380 mm(14/25) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(21 of 25 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(22 of 25 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(18 of 25 tied at this value) NormStern armor32 mm(23 of 25 tied at this value)

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

Repair 4SmokeFighter
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 72,100 → 75,900
Displacement54,950 t
Armor range19–380 mm
Plate armor thicknesses19, 25, 32, 35, 38, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 80, 100, 130, 150, 200, 300, 350, 370, 380 mm
Armor material/layer entries66
Fire resistance40%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction47%
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.
38,000
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.
22,800
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 381 mm/50 1934
Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 12 barrels
Reload time33.5 s
Firing range (base)15.6 km
Firing range (top fire control)17.2 km
Turret traverse6 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
1.6
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15645/30·(12−2.2)/1000 + 2.2)·30 = 219.3 m
219.3 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 219.3 × 0.6 = 131.6 m
131.6 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 219.3 × 0.369 (σ=1.6) = 81 m
81 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 131.6 × 0.369 (σ=1.6) = 48.6 m
48.6 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.
30 s
Base shells/min
ƒ12 broadside guns x 60 / 33.5 s base reload = 21.5.
21.5
HE shells
HE Damage5,400
HE Velocity880 m/s
Fire Chance24%
HE penetration
ƒ64 mm ≈ 381 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
64 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ5,400 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 64,800.
64,800
Base HE DPM
ƒ64,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 33.5 s base reload = 116,060.
116,060
Installed HE DPM
ƒ64,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30.2 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 128,742.
128,742
Base fires/min
ƒ12 HE shells x 60 / 33.5 s reload x 24% fire chance = 5.16.
5.16
AP shells
AP Damage11,000
AP Velocity850 m/s
Min Ricochet55 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet70 deg
Fuse Timer0.033 s
Fuse Threshold64 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(381 mm caliber / 14.3) = 26 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
26 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 × 2434 × 884.8^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 850^1.38 = 814.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
814.1 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (21.5 km), where the shell has slowed to 543.3 m/s: 1e-7 × 2434 × 884.8^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 543.3^1.38 = 438.9 mm.
438.9 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ11,000 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 132,000.
132,000
Base AP DPM
ƒ132,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 33.5 s base reload = 236,418.
236,418
Installed AP DPM
ƒ132,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30.2 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 262,252.
262,252
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.
120
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 22 → 32
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (117×3.5×0.75) + (57×3.5×0.7) + (55×3.5×0.75) = 591. 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.
591
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
4 km
37 mm/54 Breda 1938Initial: 4×2 → 8×2 37mm
37 mm/54 Breda 19398×4 37mm
20 mm/70 Breda 1941Initial: 10×6 → 16×6 20mm
90 mm/50 OTO 1939 (DP)12×2 90mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 55 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
55
Range4 km
Medium aura
DPSInitial: 97 → 117
Range3.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 55 + Medium 117 = 172
172
Near aura
DPSInitial: 36 → 57
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 55 + Medium 117 + Near 57 = 229
229
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts18
Firing range6.0 km
Shell Grouping (σ)1
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 @ 6 km
ƒ6 km × 57 + 30 = 372 m.
372 m
152 mm/55 OTO 1936 (×6)
Caliber152 mm
Reload time8.5 s
SAP Damage3,800
Muzzle Velocity930 m/s
Armor Pen42.3 mm
Min Ricochet70°
Max Ricochet90°
Show 1 more gun family
90 mm/50 OTO 1939 (×12)
Caliber90 mm
Reload time6 s
SAP Damage2,000
Muzzle Velocity850 m/s
Armor Pen26 mm
Min Ricochet70°
Max Ricochet90°
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 160,000 hp
Engine power160,000 hp
Maximum speed29.5 kt
Turning circle radius910 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio6.3× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea15.49 km
Detectability by air12.4 km
Smoke firing penalty10.65 km
Detect after firing main guns15.49 km
Detect Fire Sea17.49 km
Detect Fire Air15.4 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active
Repair Party4 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal
Exhaust Smoke Generator3 charges · 150 s reload · 30 s emit / 10 s cloud active
Choose one
Catapult Fighter4 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Observation Seaplane4 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · +10% main-battery range bonus
Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost
Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade
  • Hit points72,100 → 75,900
  • Rudder shift30.5 → 21.8 s
  • AA mounts22 → 32
  • Close-range AA DPS133 → 174
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range15,645 → 17209.5 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)1.6
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp219.3 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15645/30·(12−2.2)/1000 + 2.2)·30 = 219.3 m
Max Vert Disp131.6 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 219.3 × 0.6 = 131.6 m
Med Horiz Disp81 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 219.3 × 0.369 (σ=1.6) = 81 m
Med Vert Disp48.6 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 131.6 × 0.369 (σ=1.6) = 48.6 m
Dispersion familyEU BB Disp.
Standard BB dispersion. Used as the baseline for cross-family comparisons.
AP Pen Close814.1 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 × 2434 × 884.8^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 850^1.38 = 814.1 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far438.9 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (21.5 km), where the shell has slowed to 543.3 m/s: 1e-7 × 2434 × 884.8^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 543.3^1.38 = 438.9 mm.
HE penetration64 mm
64 mm ≈ 381 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
AP overmatch26 mm
floor(381 mm caliber / 14.3) = 26 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius120
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 alpha12
All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time30 s
180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.
HE full-salvo alpha64,800
5,400 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 64,800.
AP full-salvo alpha132,000
11,000 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 132,000.
Base HE DPM116,060
64,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 33.5 s base reload = 116,060.
Base AP DPM236,418
132,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 33.5 s base reload = 236,418.
Installed HE DPM128,742
64,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30.2 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 128,742.
Installed AP DPM262,252
132,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30.2 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 262,252.
Base shells/min21.5
12 broadside guns x 60 / 33.5 s base reload = 21.5.
Installed shells/min23.8
12 broadside guns x 60 / 30.2 s installed Artillery reload = 23.8.
Base fires/min5.16
12 HE shells x 60 / 33.5 s reload x 24% fire chance = 5.16.
Installed fires/min5.72
12 HE shells x 60 / 30.2 s installed reload x 24% fire chance = 5.72.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS591
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (117×3.5×0.75) + (57×3.5×0.7) + (55×3.5×0.75) = 591. 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 range4 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index1932
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 @ 6 km372 m
6 km × 57 + 30 = 372 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)481,412
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: 6×3 152 mm (9/side) × 60/8.5 × 3800 = 241,412 + 12×2 90 mm (12/side) × 60/6 × 2000 = 240,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max SAP alpha3800
Maximum SAP damage per shell across secondary SAP families. Best on this ship: 3800 from the 152 mm family.
Max SAP pen42.3 mm
Maximum SAP armor penetration across secondary SAP families. SAP auto-bounces past its ricochet angles but never shatters on plate it can pen, and it starts no fires. Best on this ship: 42.3 mm from the 152 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 72,10075,900 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
Bow35 mm primary (range 32–80 mm)3,700 (5% of HP)
No common caliber overmatches35 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 19–380 mm)56,900 (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.
Stern32 mm primary (range 32–200 mm)4,000 (5% of HP)
Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel100 mm primary (range 25–100 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).
Superstructure100 mm primary (range 100–370 mm)2,500 (3% 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 HP38,000 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 (152 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.
Engine (module, research)engine coefficient (unconfirmed)-0.100 research estimateLargest on BB/BC; zero on destroyersEngine durability isn't a per-ship HP field in the binary. This small negative coefficient is non-zero only on battleships, battlecruisers, and the heaviest cruisers, and is exactly zero on every destroyer, so it scales with hull displacement rather than any commander skill. Most likely an engine drag or power term in the same family as the decoded deceleration fields; exact meaning unconfirmed in the current decoder.
Rudder (module)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP22,800 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 Lepanto. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Nerf ×4Buff ×2Main Battery ×5Consumable ×1
2023-07-20

Anniversary Update: Summer Waves

  • Secondary battery range reduced from 6.25 to 6 km 152-mm secondary battery gun reload time increased from 5 to 8.5 seconds 90-mm secondary battery gun reload time increased from 3.5 to 6 seconds.
Read the full official post
2023-06-15

Ministry of Balance: Italian Concerto

  • Secondary battery firing range increased from 6 to 6.25 km.
  • Main Battery AP shell damage reduced from 12,000 to 11,000.
  • Main Battery AP shell ricochet angles increased from 45/60 to 55/70 degrees.
  • Main Battery HE shell damage reduced from 5,800 to 5,400.
  • Visibility when firing in smoke reduced from 14.2 to 10.65 km.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

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.