Minekaze Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Minekaze is a Tier IV Japanese stealth-leaning destroyer with strong surface detection (5.8 km). The kit opens detection windows most peer DDs cannot match, so her value is contesting caps from concealment edges where the detection band holds. Standout traits: best magazine armor in T4 DDs (12 mm).

Positioning

Hold concealment edges on the contested cap at 5.8 km detection. The band opens windows for unspotted torpedo drops and clean repositions; lean into the gaps your peer DDs cannot read, and back out before detection closes.

Potato Avoidance

Burning the 5.8 km concealment advantage on guns

Every salvo lights you up and gives back the detection edge that makes the kit work; reserve guns for finishing damage on already-spotted ships, and prioritize torpedo drops you can fire while undetected.

Signature Traits

Heavy magazine armor

12.0 mm magazine protection, best of T4 DDs. Detonation-resistant.

Thick citadel floor

12.0 mm citadel bottom, best of T4 DDs. Deep-water torps and underwater pen do less.

Fast torp reload

42.0 s torpedo reload, top decile of T4 DDs. More frequent drops than peers.

Fast for the class

39.0 kt, top decile of T4 DDs. Lets you rotate flanks or escape disengagements.

Slow reload

9.8 s reload, worst of T4 DDs. Salvos punish more, but cycle is slower than peers.

Fragile HP pool

10900.0 HP, bottom decile of T4 DDs. Trade hits sparingly.

Acquisition

How to get Minekaze

Minekaze is available in the Gunboat Destroyers branch of the Japan Tech Tree for 500,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 125,000 credits.

Show Japan tech-tree branch diagram

Japan Tech Tree

Minekaze sits in the Gunboat Destroyers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Japan tree.

5 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all Japan lines.

JapanIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Hybrid Battleship

Carrier

Tier VIIsePJSB527 Tier VIIIDewaPJSB309 Tier VIISuwoPJSB308 Tier VIIIKitakazePJSD219 Tier VIIIYūgumoPJSD209 Tier VIIITakahashiPJSC209 Tier VIIKagerōPJSD208 Tier VIIShimantoPJSC208 Tier VIShiratsuyuPJSD207 Tier VIOmonoPJSC207 Tier VHatsuharuPJSD206 Tier VGokasePJSC206 Tier IVMinekazePJSD205 Tier IVAganoPJSC205 Tier VIIAkizukiPJSD108 Tier VIIShōkakuPJSA108 Tier VIAkatsukiPJSD107 Tier VFubukiPJSD106 Tier IVMutsukiPJSD105 Tier IChikumaPJSC035 Tier IIWakatakePJSD024 Tier VIIIIzumoPJSB021 Tier ★YamatoPJSB018 Tier IITenryūPJSC015 Tier IIIKumaPJSC013 Tier VIIAmagiPJSB013 Tier ★ShimakazePJSD012 Tier VIIIIbukiPJSC012 Tier VINagatoPJSB010 Tier VIIMogamiPJSC009 Tier VRyūjōPJSA009 Tier VIMyōkōPJSC008 Tier IIIIshizuchiPJSB008 Tier VAobaPJSC007 Tier IVKongōPJSB007 Tier VFusōPJSB006 Tier IVFurutakaPJSC005 Tier IIIIsokazePJSD003 Tier IIIHōshōPJSA002

Builds Beta

AL Asashio, AL Yukikaze, and Abraham V. Hellsinger are useful Japanese destroyer commander directions. Inspirations usually start with concealment, then add HP, torpedo reload, defensive gun comfort, or speed depending on whether you want safer scouting or harder cap fights. Guns are defensive tools: use HE mainly when you are already spotted, finishing a destroyer, or farming a battleship late only when it is safe and your spotting/torpedo job is secure.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Asashio AL Yukikaze Abraham V. Hellsinger

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Cohort position

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Where Minekaze sits among Tier IV DDs (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.

BestRudder shift2.8 s (1 of 2 tied) BestMain dispersion80.3 m (1 of 2 tied) BestTorpedo reload42 s (1/21) Top 10%Max speed39 kt (3/21) Top 10%Displacement1,650 t (2/21) Top 10%Citadel belt18 mm (3/20) Top 25%Stealth profile5.84 km / 2.92 km (6/21 / 6/21) Top 25%AP arming threshold20 mm (5/19) Top 25%Power-to-weight23.33 hp/t (5/21) Top 25%Max armor18 mm (6/21) Top 25%Stern armor14 mm (5/20) Top 25%Deck armor18 mm (5/19) Bottom 25%Main battery range9.58 km (19/21) Bottom 25%AP DPM48,980 (18/19) Bottom 25%Acceleration11.7 s (19/21) Bottom 25%Torpedo damage10,833 (18/21) Bottom 10%Hit points10,900 HP (20/21) Bottom 10%Fires per minute1.71 (20/21) Bottom 10%HE DPM41,633 (20/21) WorstMain battery reload9.8 s (21/21)

See 15 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Minekaze -- 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.

Traverse-to-turn ratio4.31 ×(15/21) Main battery caliber120 mm(16/21) HE fire chance7%(16/21) AP velocity825 m/s(7/19) HE velocity825 m/s(9/21) Engine power38,500 hp(11/21) Turn-speed retention70 hp/m(11/21) AA DPS41(13/21) AA range3.1 km(9/21) AA threat75(14/21) Torpedo range6 km(15/21) Torpedo speed59 kt(13/21) Bow armor14 mm(7/20) NormSigma2(20 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.01 s(15 of 19 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.

SmokeEngine Boost

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 9,600 → 10,900

Displacement1,650 t

Armor range6–18 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 12, 14, 18 mm

Armor material/layer entries27

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.

5,500

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.

3,300

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 120 mm 3rd Year Type

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 4 barrels

Reload time10.9 s

Firing range (base)8.7 km

Firing range (top fire control)9.6 km

Turret traverse9 °/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 = (8711/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 80.3 m

80.3 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 80.3 × 0.6 = 48.2 m

48.2 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 80.3 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 25.7 m

25.7 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 48.2 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 15.4 m

15.4 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

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

20 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

4 broadside guns x 60 / 10.9 s base reload = 22.

22

HE shells

HE Damage1,700

HE Velocity825 m/s

Fire Chance7%

HE penetration

ƒ

20 mm ≈ 120 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

20 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

1,700 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 6,800.

6,800

Base HE DPM

ƒ

6,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.9 s base reload = 37,431.

37,431

Base fires/min

ƒ

4 HE shells x 60 / 10.9 s reload x 7% fire chance = 1.54.

1.54

AP shells

AP Damage2,000

AP Velocity825 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.01 s

Fuse Threshold20 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(120 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

8 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 × 1750 × 20.3^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 825^1.38 = 143 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

143 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (12 km), where the shell has slowed to 255 m/s: 1e-7 × 1750 × 20.3^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 255^1.38 = 28.3 mm.

28.3 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

2,000 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,000.

8,000

Base AP DPM

ƒ

8,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.9 s base reload = 44,037.

44,037

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.

7

◇

Torpedoes

ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm double

Launchers / tubes3 launchers × 2 tubes = 6 tubes

Reload time42 s

Projectile speed59 kt

Range6 km

Maximum simulated damage9,933 (est.)

Alpha damage29,800

Torpedo detectability1.2 km

Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s

Torp Turn7.2 s

Torp Arming182 m

Per-side salvo damage

ƒ

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

59,598

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 2 → 4

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: (4×3.5×1) + (8×3.5×0.95) = 41. 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.

41

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

3.1 km

25 mm Type96 mod. 1 (upgraded hull only)1×2 25mm

13 mm Type93 (upgraded hull only)1×2 13mm

13 mm Type93 (upgraded hull only)2×1 13mm

7.7 mm Type92 (stock hull only)2×1 8mm

DPS4

Range3.1 km

DPS8

Range1.2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Medium 4 + Near 8 = 12

12

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 38,500 hp

Engine power38,500 hp

Maximum speed39 kt

Turning circle radius550 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio4.3× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea5.84 km

Detectability by air2.92 km

Smoke firing penalty2.1 km

Detect after firing main guns5.84 km

Detect Fire Sea7.84 km

Detect Fire Air5.92 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 40 s reload · 5 s active

Smoke Generator2 charges · 240 s reload · 15 s emit / 73 s cloud active

Engine Boost2 charges · 180 s reload · 120 s active · +8% speed bonus

Module options (2)

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

HullTrade-off

Hit points9,600 → 10,900
Rudder shift4.2 → 2.8 s
AA mounts2 → 4
Close-range AA DPS3 → 12
Maximum AA range1 → 3.1 km
Turret traverse9 → 5 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range8,711 → 9582.1 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 Disp80.3 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (8711/30·(8−0.5)/1000 + 0.5)·30 = 80.3 m

Max Vert Disp48.2 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 80.3 × 0.6 = 48.2 m

Med Horiz Disp25.7 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 80.3 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 25.7 m

Med Vert Disp15.4 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 48.2 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 15.4 m

Dispersion familyDD Disp.

Standard destroyer dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close143 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 × 1750 × 20.3^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 825^1.38 = 143 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far28.3 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (12 km), where the shell has slowed to 255 m/s: 1e-7 × 1750 × 20.3^0.69 × 0.12^-1.07 × 255^1.38 = 28.3 mm.

HE penetration20 mm

20 mm ≈ 120 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch8 mm

floor(120 mm caliber / 14.3) = 8 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius7

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 alpha4

All 4 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time20 s

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

HE full-salvo alpha6,800

1,700 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 6,800.

AP full-salvo alpha8,000

2,000 AP damage x 4 broadside guns = 8,000.

Base HE DPM37,431

6,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.9 s base reload = 37,431.

Base AP DPM44,037

8,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 10.9 s base reload = 44,037.

Base shells/min22

4 broadside guns x 60 / 10.9 s base reload = 22.

Base fires/min1.54

4 HE shells x 60 / 10.9 s reload x 7% fire chance = 1.54.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.2 km

Estimated torpedo reaction time7.8 s

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

Torpedo speed59 kt

Travel time to max range39.1 s

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

Tube count6

3 launchers x 2 tubes.

Per-side salvo6 torpedoes

6 (centerline launchers train across - full salvo to either side).

Full-salvo damage59,598

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

Per-side salvo damage59,598

per-side salvo x per-torpedo simulated damage.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS41

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (4×3.5×1) + (8×3.5×0.95) = 41. 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 range3.1 km

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

AA threat index75

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

Armor

Hull HP 9,600 → 10,900 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
Bow	14 mm primary (range 10–14 mm)	1,600 (15% of HP)	Overmatched by 203mm+ (Desert Falcon, Baleares)Angle bounces 152mm14 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.
Stern	14 mm primary (range 10–14 mm)	1,200 (11% of HP)	Overmatched by 203mm+ (Desert Falcon, Baleares)Angle bounces 152mm14 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	18 mm primary (range 10–18 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	6 mm primary (range 6–18 mm)	400 (4% 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	5,500 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 (25 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	3,300 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.

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Minekaze

Minekaze Community Stats