Queen Elizabeth Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Queen Elizabeth is a Tier V British battleship with 381mm guns at 15.8 km on a 27-second reload. Her damage profile is AP into broadside targets and HE for chip pressure when no broadsides are available. 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 sigma in T5 BBs (2).

Positioning

Anchor a flank at 12-15 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

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 T5 BBs.

Tight grouping

Sigma 2.0, best of T5 BBs. More shells land near aim.

Thick stern plate

32.0 mm stern, best of T5 BBs.

Heavy HE shells

6300.0 damage per HE shell, top decile of T5 BBs. Punishes superstructure and modules harder than peers.

Long-reach AA

5.0 km AA reach, top decile of T5 BBs.

Stiff AP fuse

64.0 mm AP arming threshold, bottom decile of T5 BBs. Over-pens thin plates; the trade-off pays off when most targets are battleship belt armor.

Acquisition

How to get Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth is available in the Flamethrowing Battleships branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 2,400,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 600,000 credits.

Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram

U.K. Tech Tree

Queen Elizabeth sits in the Flamethrowing Battleships branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

7 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.K. lines.

U.K.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII★

Destroyer

Cruiser

Cruiser Split

Battleship

Battleship Split

Carrier

Tier VRenownPBSB547 Tier VIIVanguardPBSB508 Tier VIIIDrakePBSC209 Tier VIIIDuncanPBSB209 Tier VIIAlbemarlePBSC208 Tier VIIHawkePBSB208 Tier VISurreyPBSC207 Tier VIRookePBSB207 Tier VDevonshirePBSC206 Tier IVHawkinsPBSC205 Tier IVTigerPBSB205 Tier IIIHermesPBSA204 Tier VIIITemerairePBSB112 Tier ★DaringPBSD110 Tier ★MinotaurPBSC110 Tier ★ConquerorPBSB110 Tier VIIIJutlandPBSD109 Tier VIIINeptunePBSC109 Tier VIILightningPBSD108 Tier VIIEdinburghPBSC108 Tier VIIImplacablePBSA108 Tier VIJervisPBSD107 Tier VIFijiPBSC107 Tier VIKing George VPBSB107 Tier VIcarusPBSD106 Tier VLeanderPBSC106 Tier VQueen ElizabethPBSB106 Tier VFuriousPBSA106 Tier IVAcastaPBSD105 Tier IVEmeraldPBSC105 Tier IVIron DukePBSB105 Tier IIIWakefulPBSD104 Tier IIIDanaePBSC104 Tier IIIOrionPBSB104 Tier IIValkyriePBSD103 Tier IICaledonPBSC103 Tier IWeymouthPBSC102

Builds Beta

Build for accuracy, reload, AP performance, survivability, and fire resistance.

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Cohort position

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Where Queen Elizabeth sits among Tier V 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.

BestSigma2 (1 of 5 tied) BestStern armor32 mm (1 of 3 tied) Top 10%HE shell damage6,300 (3/24) Top 25%Main battery caliber381 mm (5/24) Top 25%HE fire chance35% (5/24) Top 25%AP shell damage11,400 (5/24) Top 25%Main dispersion198.5 m (6/24) Top 25%Turn-speed retention117.6 hp/m (7/24) Top 25%AA DPS325 (4/24) Top 25%AA range5 km (7/24) Top 25%AA threat982 (6/24) Bottom 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio2.95 × (21/24) Bottom 25%HE alpha1,700 (21/23) Bottom 25%Secondary fire chance8% (19/23) Bottom 25%Secondary HE pen19 mm (21/23) Bottom 25%AP fuse timer0.01 s (21/24) Bottom 25%AP arming threshold64 mm (20/24) WorstAP velocity731.5 m/s (1 of 3 tied) WorstHE velocity731.5 m/s (1 of 4 tied)

See 25 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Queen Elizabeth -- 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 points55,300 HP(11/24) Max speed23.5 kt(17/24) Concealment14.26 km(12/24) Air detection11.41 km(12/24) Rudder shift18.7 s(15/24) Main battery range15.76 km(14/24) Main battery reload27 s(15/24) Fires per minute6.22(17/24) HE DPM112,000(15/24) AP DPM202,667(18/24) Secondary DPM (per side)204,000(9/24) Acceleration7.6 s(9/24) Engine power80,000 hp(9/24) Displacement37,696 t(13/24) Power-to-weight2.12 hp/t(11/24) Repair charges3(12/24) Max armor330 mm(13/24) Citadel belt330 mm(10/24) Bow armor25 mm(17/24) Deck armor108 mm(9/24) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(23 of 24 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(23 of 24 tied at this value) NormSecondary range4 km(16 of 24 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(22 of 24 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

AL Fusou vs

AL Queen Elizabeth vs

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.

Repair 3Fighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 53,100 → 55,300

Displacement37,696 t

Armor range16–330 mm

Plate armor thicknesses16, 19, 25, 32, 38, 40, 51, 57, 64, 76, 89, 102, 108, 127, 152, 254, 267, 330 mm

Armor material/layer entries84

Fire resistanceInitial: 20% → 23.3%

Fire duration60 s

Torp Reduction22%

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.

27,700

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.

16,600

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 381 mm/42 Mk I

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 8 barrels

Reload time30 s

Firing range (base)14.3 km

Firing range (top fire control)15.8 km

Turret traverse3 °/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 = (14323/30·(12−1.7)/1000 + 1.7)·30 = 198.5 m

198.5 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 198.5 × 0.6 = 119.1 m

119.1 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 198.5 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 63.4 m

63.4 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 119.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 38.1 m

38.1 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.

60 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.

16

HE shells

HE Damage6,300

HE Velocity731.5 m/s

Fire Chance35%

HE penetration

ƒ

95 mm ≈ 381 mm caliber / 4 (improved HE penetration: German BBs, Yamato-class, and a handful of others).

95 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

6,300 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 50,400.

50,400

Base HE DPM

ƒ

50,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 100,800.

100,800

Base fires/min

ƒ

8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 35% fire chance = 5.6.

5.6

AP shells

AP Damage11,400

AP Velocity731.5 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.015 s

Fuse Threshold64 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(381 mm caliber / 14.3) = 26 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

26 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 × 2190 × 879^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 731.5^1.38 = 592.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

592.7 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 463.6 m/s: 1e-7 × 2190 × 879^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 463.6^1.38 = 315.9 mm.

315.9 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

11,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 91,200.

91,200

Base AP DPM

ƒ

91,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 182,400.

182,400

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.

90

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 18 → 22

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: (43×3.5×0.75) + (49×3.5×0.7) + (35×3.5×0.75) = 325. 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.

325

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

5 km

40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII4×8 40mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk IVInitial: 8×1 → 14×1 20mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk V (upgraded hull only)4×2 20mm

12.7 mm Mk III (stock hull only)6×4 13mm

114 mm/45 Mark II BD (DP)10×2 114mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 35 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

35

Range5 km

DPSInitial: 44 → 43

Range2.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 35 + Medium 43 = 78

78

DPSInitial: 19 → 49

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 35 + Medium 43 + Near 49 = 127

127

S

Secondary Battery

Mounts10

Firing range4.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

Caliber114 mm

Reload time5 s

HE Damage1,700

Muzzle Velocity746 m/s

Fire Chance8%

Armor Pen19 mm

Min Ricochet91°

Max Ricochet60°

Secondary dispersion type

ƒ

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 @ 4 km

ƒ

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

258 m

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 80,000 hp

Engine power80,000 hp

Maximum speed23.5 kt

Turning circle radius680 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio2.9× drags

Concealment

Detectability by sea14.26 km

Detectability by air11.41 km

Smoke firing penalty13.07 km

Detect after firing main guns14.26 km

Detect Fire Sea16.26 km

Detect Fire Air14.41 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 80 s reload · 15 s active

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

Choose one

Catapult Fighter3 charges · 60 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size

Observation Seaplane3 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 points53,100 → 55,300
Rudder shift26.2 → 18.7 s
AA mounts18 → 22
Close-range AA DPS71 → 92
Turret traverse3 → 5 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range14,323 → 15755.3 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)2

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

Max Horiz Disp198.5 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (14323/30·(12−1.7)/1000 + 1.7)·30 = 198.5 m

Max Vert Disp119.1 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 198.5 × 0.6 = 119.1 m

Med Horiz Disp63.4 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 198.5 × 0.319 (σ=2) = 63.4 m

Med Vert Disp38.1 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 119.1 × 0.32 (σ=2) = 38.1 m

Dispersion familyWarspite Disp.

Warspite-family dispersion. JP BB Disp. is superior past 50% of max range; below that, behaves better than JP BB Disp. but worse than US/UK BB.

AP Pen Close592.7 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 × 2190 × 879^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 731.5^1.38 = 592.7 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far315.9 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 463.6 m/s: 1e-7 × 2190 × 879^0.69 × 0.381^-1.07 × 463.6^1.38 = 315.9 mm.

HE penetration95 mm

95 mm ≈ 381 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) - 0.249 in this case. Lets HE pen ~95mm armor instead of ~63mm. Hits every German cruiser (150mm CL, 203mm CA) and BB (350mm+), British heavy cruisers / Lion / Nelson, a handful of other premiums.

AP overmatch26 mm

floor(381 mm caliber / 14.3) = 26 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius90

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 alpha8

All 8 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time60 s

180 degrees / 3 deg/s traverse speed = 60 s.

HE full-salvo alpha50,400

6,300 HE damage x 8 broadside guns = 50,400.

AP full-salvo alpha91,200

11,400 AP damage x 8 broadside guns = 91,200.

Base HE DPM100,800

50,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 100,800.

Base AP DPM182,400

91,200 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 30 s base reload = 182,400.

Base shells/min16

8 broadside guns x 60 / 30 s base reload = 16.

Base fires/min5.6

8 HE shells x 60 / 30 s reload x 35% fire chance = 5.6.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS325

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (43×3.5×0.75) + (49×3.5×0.7) + (35×3.5×0.75) = 325. 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 km

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

AA threat index982

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 @ 4 km258 m

4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)204,000

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: 10×2 114 mm (10/side) × 60/5 × 1700 = 204,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1700

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1700 from the 114 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 114 mm family.

Max HE pen19 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: 19 mm from the 114 mm family.

Armor

Hull HP 53,100 → 55,300 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 19–152 mm)	2,800 (5% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bayern, Gneisenau)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)	152 mm primary (range 16–254 mm)	41,500 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches152 mm: no common HE pens	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	32 mm primary (range 19–102 mm)	2,000 (4% of HP)	Overmatch not possible at T VIAngle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	330 mm primary (range 19–330 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	16 mm primary (range 16–76 mm)	3,300 (6% of HP)	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damageDamage multiplier ×0.6	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	27,700 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 (114 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 (40 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.
Engine (module, research)	engine coefficient (unconfirmed)	-0.050 research estimate	Largest on BB/BC; zero on destroyers	Engine 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 HP	16,600 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 Queen Elizabeth can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth Community Stats