World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Nelson W

Beta
U.K. · Tier VI · Battleship · Nelson Variant
Mid-range battleship anchorHold a mid-range lane and trade with the enemy line.
Playstyle
  • Play mid-range angles where you can disengage when focused, heal efficiently, and re-enter once enemy a…
  • Avoid: Do not rely on healing to excuse bad positioning; broadside or permanently spotted battleships still me…
Community Data

Nelson W Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Nelson W is a Tier VI British premium battleship best treated as a British battleship that applies steady pressure, punishes mistakes, and uses repair or concealment windows to outlast bad trades. Its value comes from disciplined salvos, careful angling, and committing only when destroyers and crossfires are under control.

Positioning

Play mid-range angles where you can disengage when focused, heal efficiently, and re-enter once enemy attention moves elsewhere. Use angled mid-range lanes where the main battery can punish mistakes while armor and positioning limit return fire.

Potato Avoidance

Rely on healing to excuse bad positioning; broadside or permanently…

The common throw is overcommitting before the minimap is settled, then losing the ship’s best tools before they can matter late.

Acquisition

How to get Nelson W

Nelson W 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.

Best listed chance for this ship

  • Santa Level 5 0.486111% Tier VI Premium ship Event containers · Santa Level 5 · 1 of 36 ships
  • Santa Level 4 0.1875% Tier VI Premium ship Event containers · Santa Level 4 · 2 paths combined · 1 of 36 ships
    Show 2 paths
    • Santa Level 40.138889%
    • Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.048611%
  • Piñata Chest 0.16% Tier V or VI Premium ship Event containers · Piñata Chest · 1 of 25 ships
Show all 7 containers (4 more)
  • Santa Level 3 0.135764% Tier VI Premium ship Event containers · Santa Level 3 · 4 paths combined · 1 of 36 ships
    Show 4 paths
    • Santa Level 30.083333%
    • Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 50.024306%
    • Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 40.020833%
    • Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.007292%
  • Santa Level 2 0.057517% Tier VI Premium ship Event containers · Santa Level 2 · 7 paths combined · 1 of 36 ships
    Show 7 paths
    • Santa Level 20.027778%
    • Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 30.0125%
    • Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 40.006944%
    • Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 50.003646%
    • Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 40.003125%
    • Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.002431%
    • Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.001094%
  • Champion's Box 0.027153% Tier VI Premium ship Event containers · Champion's Box · 4 paths combined · 1 of 36 ships
    Show 4 paths
    • Champion's Box → Santa Level 30.016667%
    • Champion's Box → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 50.004861%
    • Champion's Box → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 40.004167%
    • Champion's Box → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.001458%
  • Santa Level 1 0.014065% Tier VI Premium ship Event containers · Santa Level 1 · 10 paths combined · 1 of 36 ships
    Show 10 paths
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 30.004167%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 20.004167%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 30.001875%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 50.001215%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 40.001042%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 50.000547%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 40.000469%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.000365%
    • Santa Level 1 → Santa Level 2 → Santa Level 3 → Santa Level 4 → Santa Level 50.000164%
    • Santa Level 10.000056%
Official WG availability sources
  • Official WoWS Legends container odds Containers Official container drop rows linked below include direct and nested effective ship odds.
  • Through the Spy Glass: Atlântico Ship feature / release Start: 2023-03-15 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
  • Through the Spy Glass: Collingwood Ship feature / release Start: 2023-04-17 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
  • Through the Spy Glass: Defence Ship feature / release Start: 2024-12-17 · End: open/unknown end Official Through the Spy Glass feature for this ship; useful as a release/availability source, but not a guaranteed current-store listing.
Show direct source rows

Builds Beta

AL Hood, AL Nelson, and AL Queen Elizabeth are useful British battleship commander directions. Inspirations usually favor accuracy, reload, AP performance, HP, survivability, or secondary/brawling bonuses depending on how aggressively you want to play.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL HoodAL NelsonAL Queen Elizabeth

Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.

The stats below come from the base ship, Nelson. This ship is built on the same hull; in-game data for the variant itself is not available.

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

Repair 2
Survivability
Hit Points59,400
Displacement41,250 t
Armor range9–356 mm
Plate armor thicknesses9, 13, 16, 25, 32, 38, 40, 76, 95, 102, 108, 127, 152, 165, 254, 305, 330, 340, 356 mm
Armor material/layer entries63
Fire resistance30%
Fire duration60 s
Torp Reduction19%
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.
29,700
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.
17,800
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 406 mm/45 Mk I
Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 9 barrels
Reload time30 s
Firing range16 km
Turret traverse4 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
1.9
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (16000/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 220 m
220 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 220 × 0.6 = 132 m
132 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 220 × 0.331 (σ=1.9) = 72.9 m
72.9 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 132 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 43.8 m
43.8 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.
45 s
Base shells/min
ƒ9 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 18.
18
HE shells
HE Damage6,900
HE Velocity788 m/s
Fire Chance46%
HE penetration
ƒ102 mm ≈ 406 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).
102 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ6,900 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 62,100.
62,100
Base HE DPM
ƒ62,100 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 124,200.
124,200
Base fires/min
ƒ9 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 46% fire chance = 8.28.
8.28
AP shells
AP Damage12,000
AP Velocity788 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.015 s
Fuse Threshold68 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
28 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 × 2266 × 929^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 788^1.38 = 659.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
659.6 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (20 km), where the shell has slowed to 468.5 m/s: 1e-7 × 2266 × 929^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 468.5^1.38 = 321.8 mm.
321.8 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ12,000 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 108,000.
108,000
Base AP DPM
ƒ108,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 216,000.
216,000
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 points45
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (64×3.5×0.75) + (91×3.5×0.7) + (14×3.5×0.75) = 428. 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.
428
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
4.5 km
40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII6×8 40mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk IV39×1 20mm
120 mm/40 QF Mk VIII (DP)6×1 120mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 14 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.
14
Range4.5 km
Medium aura
DPS64
Range2.5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 14 + Medium 64 = 78
78
Near aura
DPS91
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 14 + Medium 64 + Near 91 = 169
169
S
Secondary Battery
Mounts12
Firing range5.0 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 @ 5 km
ƒ5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.
315 m
120 mm/40 QF Mk VIII (×6)
Caliber120 mm
Reload time5 s
HE Damage1,700
Muzzle Velocity749 m/s
Fire Chance8%
Armor Pen20 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Show 1 more gun family
152 mm/50 Mk XXII (×6)
Caliber152 mm
Reload time12 s
HE Damage2,150
Muzzle Velocity884 m/s
Fire Chance9%
Armor Pen25 mm
Min Ricochet91°
Max Ricochet60°
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 46,000 hp
Engine power46,000 hp
Maximum speed24 kt
Turning circle radius750 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio4.2× drags
Concealment
Detectability by sea14.59 km
Detectability by air11.67 km
Smoke firing penalty14.1 km
Detect after firing main guns14.59 km
Detect Fire Sea16.59 km
Detect Fire Air14.67 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active
Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 20 s active · 2% heal per second · 40% of max HP total heal
Secondary Battery Booster3 charges · 160 s reload · 30 s active · +100% damage boost · +50% reload boost

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)1.9
Shell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
Max Horiz Disp220 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (16000/30·(12−2)/1000 + 2)·30 = 220 m
Max Vert Disp132 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 220 × 0.6 = 132 m
Med Horiz Disp72.9 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 220 × 0.331 (σ=1.9) = 72.9 m
Med Vert Disp43.8 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 132 × 0.332 (σ=1.9) = 43.8 m
AP Pen Close659.6 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 × 2266 × 929^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 788^1.38 = 659.6 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far321.8 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20 km), where the shell has slowed to 468.5 m/s: 1e-7 × 2266 × 929^0.69 × 0.406^-1.07 × 468.5^1.38 = 321.8 mm.
HE penetration102 mm
102 mm ≈ 406 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 ~101mm armor instead of ~67mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.
AP overmatch28 mm
floor(406 mm caliber / 14.3) = 28 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 alpha9
All 9 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time45 s
180 degrees / 4 deg/s traverse speed = 45 s.
HE full-salvo alpha62,100
6,900 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 62,100.
AP full-salvo alpha108,000
12,000 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 108,000.
Base HE DPM124,200
62,100 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 124,200.
Base AP DPM216,000
108,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 216,000.
Base shells/min18
9 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 18.
Base fires/min8.28
9 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 46% fire chance = 8.28.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS428
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (64×3.5×0.75) + (91×3.5×0.7) + (14×3.5×0.75) = 428. 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 range4.5 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index1031
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)125,700
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: 6×1 120 mm (3/side) × 60/5 × 1700 = 61,200 + 6×2 152 mm (6/side) × 60/12 × 2150 = 64,500. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).
Max HE alpha2150
Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2150 from the 152 mm family.
Max HE fire chance9%
Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 9% from the 152 mm family.
Max HE pen25 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: 25 mm from the 152 mm family.
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Nelson W default exterior
    DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Primary official WG sources

GamingDiver has indexed official WG mentions for this ship, but none are focused enough to show as a primary source card here. Low-context list, crate, comparison, or passing mentions are intentionally filtered out.

Source status No high-context source card yet Filtered for precision