Moltke Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Moltke is a Tier IV German fast battleship at 28.4 kn. Mobility lets her rotate flanks battleship-fast and pick fights where her guns get the first salvo. HE pen sits at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6, so HE spam is a real damage option here - pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE round. Standout traits: best AP shell velocity in T4 BBs (855).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 12-15 km with bow toward the closest threat, then use the speed advantage at 28.4 kn to rotate to the cap that needs a second battleship rather than the one your team already has. Mobility means you can pick which fight you are in; do not waste it by holding center the whole match.

Potato Avoidance

Using the 28.4-kn speed to push rather than to rotate

The mobility advantage is about picking which cap fight you arrive at, not about leading the brawl line; a fast BB that overextends loses HP that the kit cannot trade back.

Signature Traits

Improved HE penetration

HE pen at the 1/4 caliber ratio instead of the standard 1/6. HE-spam is a real damage option here, not just a fire-starter; pens roughly 1.5x more armor than a same-caliber peer's HE, shared by 6/24 T4 BBs.

Flat AP shells

855.0 m/s AP muzzle velocity, best of T4 BBs. Flatter trajectory, less lead, harder to dodge.

Punch-through secondaries

38.0 mm best HE pen across secondary families, best of T4 BBs. Pens hull plates peers' secondaries shatter on.

High-arc AP shells

35.7° impact angle at max range, best of T4 BBs. Lobs over island cover.

High-arc HE shells

35.7° HE impact angle at max range, best of T4 BBs. Lobs over cover.

Quick-fuse AP

0.01 s AP fuse timer, bottom quartile of T4 BBs. Detonates earlier in the plate; trades belt-citadels for reliable damage against thin targets (cruiser-on-cruiser specialty).

Acquisition

How to get Moltke

Moltke is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Containers. 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.

ContainersAppears in official container odds below; availability depends on the container being sold or awarded.

Best listed chance for this ship

Battle of Jutland Crate 1% Tier IV Premium ship Event containers · Battle of Jutland Crate · 1 of 2 ships
Mystic Box 0.05% Tier IV Premium ship Event containers · Mystic Box · 1 of 16 ships

Official WG availability sources

Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.

Show direct source rows

Battle of Jutland Crate 1% · Tier IV Premium ship
Mystic Box 0.05% · Tier IV Premium ship

Builds Beta

Build for main-battery reload/accuracy, survivability, speed, and secondary utility if leaning into closer fights.

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Cohort position

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Where Moltke sits among Tier IV BBs (24 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 HE pen38 mm (1 of 4 tied) BestAP velocity855 m/s (1 of 3 tied) BestAP arming threshold47 mm (1/24) BestSecondary range5 km (1 of 3 tied) Top 10%Stealth profile12.77 km / 10.22 km (3/24 / 3/24) Top 10%Main battery reload21.6 s (2/24) Top 10%HE velocity855 m/s (3/24) Top 25%Max speed28.4 kt (6/24) Top 25%Rudder shift16 s (7/24) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio3.88 × (6/24) Top 25%Main dispersion173.6 m (5/24) Top 25%Engine power85,782 hp (5/24) Top 25%Turn-speed retention132 hp/m (5/24) Top 25%Displacement25,400 t (4/24) Top 25%Power-to-weight3.38 hp/t (4/24) Top 25%Max armor350 mm (5/24) Bottom 25%Hit points42,800 HP (20/24) Bottom 25%HE DPM93,056 (19/24) Bottom 25%AA DPS75 (21/24) Bottom 25%AA range3 km (19/24) Bottom 25%AA threat133 (21/23) WorstMain battery caliber283 mm (24/24) WorstAP shell damage7,200 (24/24) WorstAP fuse timer0.01 s (1 of 6 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (21 of 24 in cohort)

See 16 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Moltke -- 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.

Main battery range14.95 km(9/24) Sigma1.8(11/24) HE fire chance25%(18/24) Fires per minute6.94(8/24) AP DPM200,000(11/24) Secondary DPM (per side)135,613(13/24) HE alpha1,800(15/23) Secondary fire chance10%(7/23) Acceleration8.52 s(18/24) Repair charges3(11/24) Citadel belt200 mm(16/23) Bow armor30 mm(12/23) Stern armor30 mm(13/23) Deck armor120 mm(12/23) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 24 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(20 of 24 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 23 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 5.7 kmRepair 3

Survivability

Hit Points42,800

Displacement25,400 t

Armor range13–350 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 19, 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, 155, 170, 200, 250, 270, 350 mm

Armor material/layer entries92

Fire resistance16.6%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction17%

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.

21,400

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.

12,800

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 283 mm/50 SK L/50 Drh LC/1908

Mounts / barrels5 mounts / 10 barrels

Reload time24 s

Firing range14.9 km

Turret traverse5 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

1.8

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14950/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 173.6 m

173.6 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 173.6 × 0.6 = 104.1 m

104.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 173.6 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 59.7 m

59.7 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 104.1 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 35.8 m

35.8 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.

36 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

10 broadside guns x 60 / 24 s base reload = 25.

25

HE shells

HE Damage3,350

HE Velocity855 m/s

Fire Chance25%

HE penetration

ƒ

71 mm ≈ 283 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

71 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

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3,350 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 33,500.

33,500

Base HE DPM

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33,500 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 24 s base reload = 83,750.

83,750

Base fires/min

ƒ

10 HE shells x 60 / 24 s reload x 25% fire chance = 6.25.

6.25

AP shells

AP Damage7,200

AP Velocity855 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.01 s

Fuse Threshold47 mm

AP overmatch

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floor(283 mm caliber / 14.3) = 19 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

19 mm

AP Pen Close

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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 × 2789 × 302^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 855^1.38 = 615.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

615.7 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 315.4 m/s: 1e-7 × 2789 × 302^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 315.4^1.38 = 155.5 mm.

155.5 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

7,200 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 72,000.

72,000

Base AP DPM

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72,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 24 s base reload = 180,000.

180,000

AP AOE Radius

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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.

35

AA Defense

AA mount points8

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: (19×3.5×0.7) + (11×3.5×0.75) = 75. 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.

75

Maximum AA range

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

3 km

7.92 mm MG 088×1 8mm

88 mm L/45 MPL C/13 (DP)8×1 88mm

DPS

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

11

Range3 km

DPS19

Range1 km

Total DPS in Aura

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Far 11 + Near 19 = 30

30

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts20

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Secondary dispersion type

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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

Caliber150 mm

Reload time8.57 s

HE Damage1,800

Muzzle Velocity835 m/s

Fire Chance10%

Armor Pen38 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Show 1 more gun family

Caliber88 mm

Reload time4 s

HE Damage1,000

Muzzle Velocity890 m/s

Fire Chance4%

Armor Pen15 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 85,782 hp

Engine power85,782 hp

Maximum speed28.4 kt

Turning circle radius650 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio3.9× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.77 km

Detectability by air10.22 km

Smoke firing penalty9.18 km

Detect after firing main guns12.77 km

Detect Fire Sea14.77 km

Detect Fire Air13.22 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party3 charges · 40 s reload · 10 s active

Repair Party3 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal

Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 112 s active · 5.7 km ship detect · 3.97 km torpedo detect

Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade

Turret traverse5 → 3.5 °/s

See all derived stats

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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)1.8

Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.

Max Horiz Disp173.6 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14950/30·(10−1.6)/1000 + 1.6)·30 = 173.6 m

Max Vert Disp104.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 173.6 × 0.6 = 104.1 m

Med Horiz Disp59.7 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 173.6 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 59.7 m

Med Vert Disp35.8 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 104.1 × 0.344 (σ=1.8) = 35.8 m

AP Pen Close615.7 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 × 2789 × 302^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 855^1.38 = 615.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far155.5 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (18.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 315.4 m/s: 1e-7 × 2789 × 302^0.69 × 0.283^-1.07 × 315.4^1.38 = 155.5 mm.

HE penetration71 mm

71 mm ≈ 283 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

Improved HE PenYes

This ship's HE shells use a 1/4 (~0.25) caliber-to-pen ratio instead of the standard 1/6 (~0.167) - 0.251 in this case. Lets HE pen ~70mm armor instead of ~47mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch19 mm

floor(283 mm caliber / 14.3) = 19 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius35

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 alpha10

All 10 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time36 s

180 degrees / 5 deg/s traverse speed = 36 s.

HE full-salvo alpha33,500

3,350 HE damage x 10 broadside guns = 33,500.

AP full-salvo alpha72,000

7,200 AP damage x 10 broadside guns = 72,000.

Base HE DPM83,750

33,500 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 24 s base reload = 83,750.

Base AP DPM180,000

72,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 24 s base reload = 180,000.

Base shells/min25

10 broadside guns x 60 / 24 s base reload = 25.

Base fires/min6.25

10 HE shells x 60 / 24 s reload x 25% fire chance = 6.25.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS75

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (19×3.5×0.7) + (11×3.5×0.75) = 75. 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 km

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

AA threat index133

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 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)135,613

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: 12×1 150 mm (6/side) × 60/8.57 × 1800 = 75,613 + 8×1 88 mm (4/side) × 60/4 × 1000 = 60,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1800

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 150 mm family.

Max HE fire chance10%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 10% from the 150 mm family.

Max HE pen38 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: 38 mm from the 150 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 42,800, 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	30 mm primary (range 19–120 mm)	1,900 (4% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	200 mm primary (range 19–270 mm)	32,100 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches200 mm: no common HE pens	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	30 mm primary (range 19–100 mm)	1,400 (3% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VAngle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	200 mm primary (range 13–200 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	50 mm primary (range 50–350 mm)	1,100 (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 HP	21,400 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 (150 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 (8 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	12,800 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 Moltke can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Moltke

Moltke Community Stats