Seattle Build & Guide | WoWs Legends

Playstyle

Overview

Seattle is a Tier VIII American light cruiser whose signature kit is Surveillance Radar (10 km). The radar drop is what makes her valuable in cap fights; the guns are the secondary story. Standout traits: best fires per minute in T8 CAs (14.6) and best AA reach in T8 CAs (6 km).

Positioning

Hold 12-15 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

10 km range, 35 s duration. Detects all enemy ships within a fixed radius regardless of line-of-sight. Controls caps and punishes smoke-firing DDs.

High fire pressure

14.64 fires/min, best of T8 CAs. Keeps DCP on cooldown.

Long-reach AA

6.0 km AA reach, best of T8 CAs.

AP DPM machine

390508 AP DPM, top decile of T8 CAs. Punishes broadsides.

HE DPM machine

268475 HE DPM, top decile of T8 CAs. Sustained fire pressure.

Quick-fuse AP

0.01 s AP fuse timer, bottom quartile of T8 CAs. Detonates earlier in the plate; trades belt-citadels for reliable damage against thin targets (cruiser-on-cruiser specialty).

Acquisition

How to get Seattle

Seattle is available in the Fire-Starting Light Cruisers branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 25,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 5,000,000 credits.

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

U.S. Tech Tree

Seattle sits in the Fire-Starting Light Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.

U.S. light cruisers are perfect for starting fires with hails of high-explosive shells thanks to their numerous rapid-firing guns, but they lack torpedoes entirely. Starting from Tier VII, they bring Radar and Sonar together to the battle to detect hidden enemy warships.

Advantages: High rate of fire, Long-duration Radar starting at Tier VII
Disadvantages: Low-velocity shells, Poor protection

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

U.S.A.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII

Destroyer

Cruiser

Light cruiser split

Battleship

Alternative battleship

Hybrid battleship

Carrier

Tier IIWickesPASD027 Tier IIIClemsonPASD019 Tier IVFarragutPASD005 Tier VMahanPASD006 Tier VIBensonPASD008 Tier VIIFletcherPASD021 Tier VIIIA. M. SumnerPASD114 Tier IAlbanyPASC003 Tier IISt. LouisPASC004 Tier IIIPhoenixPASC024 Tier IVOmahaPASC005 Tier VPensacolaPASC012 Tier VINew OrleansPASC014 Tier VIIBaltimorePASC017 Tier VIIIBuffaloPASC109 Tier VDallasPASC206 Tier VIHelenaPASC207 Tier VIIClevelandPASC208 Tier VIIISeattlePASC209 Tier IIIWyomingPASB004 Tier IVNew YorkPASB006 Tier IVNevadaPASB105 Tier VNew MexicoPASB034 Tier VIColoradoPASB008 Tier VIIIowaPASB018 Tier VIIIMainePASB118 Tier VTennesseePASB106 Tier VINorth CarolinaPASB012 Tier VIIKansasPASB108 Tier VIIIMinnesotaPASB109 Tier VIConnecticutPASB207 Tier VIINebraskaPASB208 Tier VIIIDelawarePASB209 Tier IIILangleyPASA004 Tier VRangerPASA006 Tier VIILexingtonPASA012

Builds Beta

Build for reload, radar utility, concealment, AA/sonar support, and survivability.

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Cohort position

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Where Seattle 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.

BestFires per minute14.64 (1/25) BestAA range6 km (1 of 5 tied) Top 10%HE DPM268,475 (3/25) Top 10%AP DPM390,508 (3/27) Top 25%Main battery reload5.9 s (7/27) Top 25%Main dispersion129.2 m (4/27) Top 25%AP arming threshold25 mm (7/27) Top 25%Deck armor127 mm (6/26) Bottom 25%Hit points43,600 HP (22/27) Bottom 25%Main battery range15.34 km (23/27) Bottom 25%HE velocity812 m/s (23/25) Bottom 25%Acceleration11.55 s (23/27) Bottom 25%AP fuse timer0.01 s (25/27) WorstNo secondaries (7 of 27 in cohort) WorstAP velocity762 m/s (1 of 5 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (11 of 27 in cohort)

See 21 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Seattle -- 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.

Max speed33 kt(17/27) Concealment12.78 km(14/27) Air detection7.67 km(14/27) Rudder shift11.3 s(8/27) Traverse-to-turn ratio6.17 ×(13/27) Main battery caliber152 mm(21/27) Sigma2.05(13/27) Engine power125,000 hp(15/27) Turn-speed retention166.7 hp/m(13/27) Displacement17,675 t(8/27) Power-to-weight7.07 hp/t(10/27) AA DPS524(10/27) AA threat1,851(15/27) Max armor152 mm(15/27) Citadel belt102 mm(21/27) Bow armor25 mm(17/27) Stern armor25 mm(20/27) NormAP ricochet start45°(21 of 27 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(20 of 27 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(25 of 27 tied at this value) NormRepair heal rate0.5 %/s(14 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 10 kmSonar 5.2 kmRepair 2Def-AAFighter

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 41,800 → 43,600

Displacement17,675 t

Armor range13–152 mm

Plate armor thicknesses13, 16, 25, 27, 32, 40, 51, 63, 89, 102, 127, 152 mm

Armor material/layer entries49

Fire resistance40%

Fire duration30 s

Torp Reduction4%

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.

21,800

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.

13,100

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 12×152 mm

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 12 barrels

Reload time6.5 s

Firing range (base)13.9 km

Firing range (top fire control)15.3 km

Turret traverse8 °/s

Shell Grouping (σ)

ƒ

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

2.05

Max Horiz Disp

ƒ

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13945/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 129.2 m

129.2 m

Max Vert Disp

ƒ

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 129.2 × 0.6 = 77.5 m

77.5 m

Med Horiz Disp

ƒ

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 129.2 × 0.313 (σ=2.05) = 40.5 m

40.5 m

Med Vert Disp

ƒ

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 77.5 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 24.3 m

24.3 m

Turret turn time

ƒ

180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.

22.5 s

Base shells/min

ƒ

12 broadside guns x 60 / 6.5 s base reload = 110.8.

110.8

HE shells

HE Damage2,200 → 2,300

HE Velocity812 m/s

Fire Chance12% → 14%

HE penetration

ƒ

In-game data: 30 mm = 152 mm caliber / 5.07 (non-standard HE penetration ratio).

30 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

ƒ

2,300 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 27,600.

27,600

Base HE DPM

ƒ

27,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.5 s base reload = 254,769.

254,769

Installed HE DPM

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27,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.9 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 280,678.

280,678

Base fires/min

ƒ

12 HE shells x 60 / 6.5 s reload x 14% fire chance = 15.51.

15.51

AP shells

AP Damage3,200 → 3,500

AP Velocity762 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.01 s

Fuse Threshold25 mm

AP overmatch

ƒ

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 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 × 2445 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 290.2 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

290.2 mm

AP Pen Far

ƒ

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 322 m/s: 1e-7 × 2445 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 322^1.38 = 88.4 mm.

88.4 mm

AP full-salvo alpha

ƒ

3,500 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 42,000.

42,000

Base AP DPM

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42,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.5 s base reload = 387,692.

387,692

Installed AP DPM

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42,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.9 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 427,119.

427,119

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.

15

AA Defense

AA mount pointsInitial: 30 → 36

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: (90×3.5×0.9) + (49×3.5×0.85) + (30×3.5×0.9) = 524. 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.

524

Maximum AA range

ƒ

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

6 km

40 mm Bofors Mk2Initial: 40 mm Bofors Mk1 (12×2) → 40 mm Bofors Mk2 (12×4)

20 mm Oerlikon Mk4Initial: 18×1 → 24×1 20mm

DPS

ƒ

Includes 30 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose main battery firing as AA in this range band.

30

Range6 km

DPSInitial: 65 → 90

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

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Far 30 + Medium 90 = 120

120

DPSInitial: 37 → 49

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

ƒ

Far 30 + Medium 90 + Near 49 = 169

169

Maneuverability

Engine moduleEngine: 125,000 hp

Engine power125,000 hp

Maximum speed33 kt

Turning circle radius750 m

Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt

Traverse-to-turn ratio6.2× slow

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.78 km

Detectability by air7.67 km

Smoke firing penalty6.3 km

Detect after firing main guns12.78 km

Detect Fire Sea14.78 km

Detect Fire Air10.67 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 · 150 s reload · 35 s active · 10 km radar range

Choose one

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal

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

Module options (2)

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

HullUpgrade

Hit points41,800 → 43,600
Rudder shift15.8 → 11.3 s
AA mounts30 → 36
Close-range AA DPS102 → 139
Turret traverse8 → 11 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range13,945 → 15339.5 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)2.05

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

Max Horiz Disp129.2 m

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (13945/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 129.2 m

Max Vert Disp77.5 m

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 129.2 × 0.6 = 77.5 m

Med Horiz Disp40.5 m

50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 129.2 × 0.313 (σ=2.05) = 40.5 m

Med Vert Disp24.3 m

50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 77.5 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 24.3 m

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close290.2 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 × 2445 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 290.2 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far88.4 mm

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 322 m/s: 1e-7 × 2445 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 322^1.38 = 88.4 mm.

HE penetration30 mm

In-game data: 30 mm = 152 mm caliber / 5.07 (non-standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius15

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 alpha12

All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time22.5 s

180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.

HE full-salvo alpha27,600

2,300 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 27,600.

AP full-salvo alpha42,000

3,500 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 42,000.

Base HE DPM254,769

27,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.5 s base reload = 254,769.

Base AP DPM387,692

42,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 6.5 s base reload = 387,692.

Installed HE DPM280,678

27,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.9 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 280,678.

Installed AP DPM427,119

42,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 5.9 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 427,119.

Base shells/min110.8

12 broadside guns x 60 / 6.5 s base reload = 110.8.

Installed shells/min122

12 broadside guns x 60 / 5.9 s installed Artillery reload = 122.

Base fires/min15.51

12 HE shells x 60 / 6.5 s reload x 14% fire chance = 15.51.

Installed fires/min17.08

12 HE shells x 60 / 5.9 s installed reload x 14% fire chance = 17.08.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS524

Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (90×3.5×0.9) + (49×3.5×0.85) + (30×3.5×0.9) = 524. 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 range6 km

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

AA threat index1851

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

Armor

Hull HP 41,800 → 43,600 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)	2,500 (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)	89 mm primary (range 16–89 mm)	32,700 (75% of HP)	No common caliber overmatches89 mm: standard HE shatters; improved HE (DE / FR BB) pens from 356mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	25 mm primary (range 25–152 mm)	2,700 (6% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ (Bismarck, Richelieu)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	102 mm primary (range 13–102 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen ×0.33 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 (×0.33 direct pen, ×0.10 over-pen).
Superstructure	25 mm primary (range 25–152 mm)	2,500 (6% 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	21,800 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.
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.
Rudder (module)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	13,100 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 Seattle can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior

Seattle

Seattle Community Stats