Petropavlovsk Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Petropavlovsk is a Tier VIII Soviet heavy cruiser whose signature kit is Surveillance Radar (13 km). The radar drop is what makes her valuable in cap fights; the guns are the secondary story. Standout traits: best AP shell velocity in T8 CAs (995) and best flat HE shells in T8 CAs (995).

Positioning

Hold 14-17 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts. Push the radar forward only once the destroyer fight is yours; burning the drop to fish for a lone DD kill leaves the next push with no answer to smoke or vision.

Potato Avoidance

Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position…

The consumable's value is locking down a cap your team can take, not stealing a single salvo on a lone DD. Burn it early to fish for a kill and the next push has no answer to smoke or vision.

Signature Traits

Surveillance Radar

13 km range, 20 s duration. Detects all enemy ships within a fixed radius regardless of line-of-sight. Controls caps and punishes smoke-firing DDs.

Close-range AP brick

763.3 mm AP pen at 1.5 km, best of T8 CAs. Citadels broadside cruisers up close.

Long-range AP brick

385.7 mm AP pen at max range, top decile of T8 CAs. Threatens citadels even from range.

Flat AP shells

995.0 m/s AP muzzle velocity, best of T8 CAs. Flatter trajectory, less lead, harder to dodge.

Flat HE shells

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

Easily spotted

14.45 km surface detect, bottom decile of T8 CAs. Visible before you can react; position early.

Acquisition

How to get Petropavlovsk

Petropavlovsk is available in the Piercing Heavy Cruisers branch of the U.S.S.R. Tech Tree for 25,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 6,250,000 credits.

Show U.S.S.R. tech-tree branch diagram

U.S.S.R. Tech Tree

Petropavlovsk sits in the Piercing Heavy Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S.S.R. tree.

5 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.S.S.R. lines.

U.S.S.R.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Destroyer Split

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Carrier

Tier VIIINeustrashimyPRSD709 Tier VIIIDelnyPRSD410 Tier VIITashkentPRSD409 Tier VIIIPetropavlovskPRSC310 Tier IVSoobrazitelnyPRSD304 Tier VGorkyPRSC216 Tier IVKotovskyPRSC215 Tier VIIRigaPRSC209 Tier VITallinnPRSC208 Tier VIMinskPRSD207 Tier VGnevnyPRSD206 Tier IVPodvoiskyPRSD205 Tier ★KhabarovskPRSD110 Tier VIKievPRSD109 Tier VIIIDm. DonskoiPRSC109 Tier VIIISovetsky SoyuzPRSB109 Tier VIIChapayevPRSC108 Tier VIIVladivostokPRSB108 Tier VIIPobedaPRSA108 Tier VIIUdaloiPRSD107 Tier VIShchorsPRSC107 Tier VISinopPRSB107 Tier VBoevoiPRSD106 Tier VBudyonnyPRSC106 Tier VIzmailPRSB106 Tier VSerovPRSA106 Tier IVKirovPRSC105 Tier IVPyotr VelikiyPRSB105 Tier IIIIzyaslavPRSD104 Tier IIISvietlanaPRSC104 Tier IIIGangutPRSB104 Tier IIIKomsomoletsPRSA104 Tier IIDerzkiPRSD103 Tier IIBogatyrPRSC103 Tier INovikPRSC102

Official WG availability sources

Rust’n’Rumble II: New Weapons, More Fun 17,500 Doubloons 2025-03-14 Tier VIII default; exact price not in source

Builds Beta

AL Avrora, AL Chapayev, and AL Tallinn are useful Soviet cruiser commander directions. Inspirations usually support accuracy, reload, concealment, agility, or survivability so the ship can keep influencing fights without giving up easy citadels.

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Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Avrora AL Chapayev AL Tallinn

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Cohort position

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Where Petropavlovsk sits among Tier VIII CAs (27 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 velocity995 m/s (1/27) BestHE velocity995 m/s (1/25) Top 10%Main battery range16.16 km (2/27) Top 10%Acceleration9.75 s (3/27) Top 25%Secondary dispersion bracket49 (5/21) Top 25%HE alpha1,800 (5/20) Top 25%Secondary fire chance8% (5/20) Top 25%AP ricochet start50° (6/27) Top 25%AP auto-bounce angle65° (6/27) Top 25%AA range5.7 km (6/27) Bottom 25%Max speed32.5 kt (23/27) Bottom 25%Stealth profile14.45 km / 8.67 km (25/27 / 25/27) Bottom 25%Rudder shift15.8 s (22/27) Bottom 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio4.34 × (25/27) Bottom 25%AP DPM221,786 (23/27) Bottom 25%AP fuse timer0.02 s (23/27) Bottom 25%AA DPS406 (23/27) Bottom 10%Sigma1.85 (26/27) Bottom 10%Fires per minute5.4 (24/25) Bottom 10%Citadel belt70 mm (26/27) WorstNo torpedoes (11 of 27 in cohort)

See 23 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Petropavlovsk -- 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 points45,500 HP(16/27) Main battery caliber220 mm(10/27) Main battery reload14 s(18/27) HE shell damage3,050(11/25) HE fire chance14%(15/25) HE DPM117,643(19/25) AP shell damage5,750(11/27) Main dispersion134.4 m(15/27) Secondary DPM (per side)162,000(8/21) Secondary HE pen22 mm(7/20) AP arming threshold37 mm(18/27) Engine power140,000 hp(12/27) Turn-speed retention141.4 hp/m(20/27) Displacement24,750 t(21/27) Power-to-weight5.66 hp/t(18/27) AA threat1,931(11/27) Repair heal rate0.6 %/s(11/27) Max armor200 mm(8/27) Bow armor25 mm(17/27) Stern armor25 mm(20/27) Deck armor120 mm(9/26) NormSecondary range5 km(17 of 21 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(25 of 27 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Show all 26 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.

Radar 13 kmSonar 5.2 kmRepair 2Def-AA

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 40,000 → 45,500

Displacement24,750 t

Armor range16–200 mm

Plate armor thicknesses16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 27, 35, 40, 50, 65, 70, 80, 90, 120, 130, 140, 150, 180, 200 mm

Armor material/layer entries58

Fire resistance40%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction19%

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.

22,800

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.

13,700

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 220 mm/65 SM-6

Mounts / barrels3 mounts / 9 barrels

Reload time15.5 s

Firing range (base)14.7 km

Firing range (top fire control)16.2 km

Turret traverse4.2 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

1.85

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14690/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 134.4 m

134.4 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 134.4 × 0.6 = 80.6 m

80.6 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 134.4 × 0.338 (σ=1.85) = 45.4 m

45.4 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 80.6 × 0.337 (σ=1.85) = 27.2 m

27.2 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 4.2 deg/s traverse speed = 42.9 s.

42.9 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

9 broadside guns x 60 / 15.5 s base reload = 34.8.

34.8

HE shells

HE Damage3,050

HE Velocity995 m/s

Fire Chance14%

HE penetration

ƒ

37 mm ≈ 220 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

37 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

3,050 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 27,450.

27,450

Base HE DPM

ƒ

27,450 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15.5 s base reload = 106,258.

106,258

Installed HE DPM

ƒ

27,450 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 14 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 117,643.

117,643

Base fires/min

ƒ

9 HE shells x 60 / 15.5 s reload x 14% fire chance = 4.88.

4.88

AP shells

AP Damage5,750

AP Velocity995 m/s

Min Ricochet50 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet65 deg

Fuse Timer0.022 s

Fuse Threshold37 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(220 mm caliber / 14.3) = 15 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

15 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 × 2950 × 207^0.69 × 0.22^-1.07 × 995^1.38 = 809.9 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

809.9 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 581.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2950 × 207^0.69 × 0.22^-1.07 × 581.2^1.38 = 385.7 mm.

385.7 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

5,750 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 51,750.

51,750

Base AP DPM

ƒ

51,750 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15.5 s base reload = 200,323.

200,323

Installed AP DPM

ƒ

51,750 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 14 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 221,786.

221,786

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.

40

AA Defense

AA mount points6

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: (72×3.5×0.9) + (57×3.5×0.9) = 406. 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.

406

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

5.7 km

57 mm ZIF-756×4 57mm

130 mm/60 BL-109A (DP)6×2 130mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 57 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

57

Range5.7 km

DPS72

Range4 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 57 + Medium 72 = 129

129

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts6

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber130 mm

Reload time4 s

HE Damage1,800

Muzzle Velocity950 m/s

Fire Chance8%

Armor Pen22 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Secondary dispersion type

ƒ

Max dispersion = range (km) × 49 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Improved (12.5%)

Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km

ƒ

5 km × 49 + 30 = 275 m.

275 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 140,000 hp

Engine power140,000 hp

Maximum speed32.5 kt

Turning circle radius990 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio4.3× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea14.45 km

Detectability by air8.67 km

Smoke firing penalty9.06 km

Detect after firing main guns14.45 km

Detect Fire Sea16.45 km

Detect Fire Air11.67 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 98 s active · 5.2 km ship detect · 3.63 km torpedo detect

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

Surveillance Radar2 charges · 180 s reload · 20 s active · 13 km radar range

Repair Party2 charges · 60 s reload · 28 s active · 0.6% heal per second · 16.8% of max HP total heal

Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points40,000 → 45,500
Rudder shift20.6 → 15.8 s
Turret traverse4.2 → 10 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range14,690 → 16,159 m

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)1.85

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

Max Horiz Disp134.4 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14690/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 134.4 m

Max Vert Disp80.6 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 134.4 × 0.6 = 80.6 m

Med Horiz Disp45.4 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 134.4 × 0.338 (σ=1.85) = 45.4 m

Med Vert Disp27.2 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 80.6 × 0.337 (σ=1.85) = 27.2 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close809.9 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 × 2950 × 207^0.69 × 0.22^-1.07 × 995^1.38 = 809.9 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far385.7 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (20.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 581.2 m/s: 1e-7 × 2950 × 207^0.69 × 0.22^-1.07 × 581.2^1.38 = 385.7 mm.

HE penetration37 mm

37 mm ≈ 220 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch15 mm

floor(220 mm caliber / 14.3) = 15 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius40

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 time42.9 s

180 degrees / 4.2 deg/s traverse speed = 42.9 s.

HE full-salvo alpha27,450

3,050 HE damage x 9 broadside guns = 27,450.

AP full-salvo alpha51,750

5,750 AP damage x 9 broadside guns = 51,750.

Base HE DPM106,258

27,450 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15.5 s base reload = 106,258.

Base AP DPM200,323

51,750 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 15.5 s base reload = 200,323.

Installed HE DPM117,643

27,450 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 14 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 117,643.

Installed AP DPM221,786

51,750 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 14 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 221,786.

Base shells/min34.8

9 broadside guns x 60 / 15.5 s base reload = 34.8.

Installed shells/min38.6

9 broadside guns x 60 / 14 s installed Artillery reload = 38.6.

Base fires/min4.88

9 HE shells x 60 / 15.5 s reload x 14% fire chance = 4.88.

Installed fires/min5.4

9 HE shells x 60 / 14 s installed reload x 14% fire chance = 5.4.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS406

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (72×3.5×0.9) + (57×3.5×0.9) = 406. 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 range5.7 km

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

AA threat index1931

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.

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeImproved (12.5%)

Max dispersion = range (km) × 49 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km275 m

5 km × 49 + 30 = 275 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)162,000

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: 6×2 130 mm (6/side) × 60/4 × 1800 = 162,000. 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 130 mm family.

Max HE fire chance8%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 130 mm family.

Max HE pen22 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: 22 mm from the 130 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 40,000 → 45,500 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	25 mm primary (range 25–40 mm)	2,800 (6% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bismarck, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	16 mm primary (range 16–180 mm)	34,100 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 283mm+ (Scharnhorst '43, Schill)Angle bounces 203mm16 mm: HE pens from 127mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	25 mm primary (range 19–150 mm)	2,600 (6% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bismarck, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	70 mm primary (range 19–70 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	35 mm primary (range 35–200 mm)	1,700 (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	22,800 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 (130 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 (57 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	13,700 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 Petropavlovsk can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Rnr PetroDecorative

Petropavlovsk

Petropavlovsk Community Stats