GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Worcester
World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Worcester

Beta
U.S.A. · Tier ★ · Cruiser
HE fire-spam cruiserSustained HE and fires from range or island cover.
Playstyle
  • Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts
  • Avoid: Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position tool
Key characteristics
High HE / fire outputHigh AP DPMStrong AARadar (10 km)Defensive AA
Community Data

Worcester Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Worcester is a Legendary 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. AA (689 AA DPS at 6 km, +100% Defensive AA flak burst) is heavy enough to make her the team's air-defense anchor on top of the lead role; CV strikes route around her, not through. Standout traits: best turret traverse rate in Legendary CAs (50) and best fires per minute in Legendary CAs (21.1).

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, 30 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

21.07 fires/min, best of Legendary CAs. Keeps DCP on cooldown.

Long-reach AA

6.0 km AA reach, best of Legendary CAs.

Thick end plates

32.0 mm bow and stern plating, both in the top bracket of Legendary CAs. Same-tier guns can't overmatch the ends.

Top-tier AA

689.0 AA DPS, top decile of Legendary CAs (median 566.0).

All-Weather

No stat falls into the cohort's bottom decile across Legendary CAs. Stable baseline in every category, no glaring weakness to play around.

Acquisition

How to get Worcester

Worcester is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.

Official WG availability sources

Builds Beta

Build for reload, range, HE/fire performance, Radar utility, concealment, and survivability.

Open in Build Tool →

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Cohort position

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Where Worcester sits among Legendary CAs (21 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 minute21.07 (1/20) BestAA range6 km (1 of 4 tied) BestEnd plates32 mm (1 of 4 tied / 1 of 5 tied) Top 10%HE DPM386,341 (2/20) Top 10%AP DPM561,951 (3/21) Top 10%Acceleration9.9 s (3/21) Top 10%AA DPS689 (2/21) Top 10%AA threat3,164 (3/21) Top 25%Rudder shift10.6 s (4/21) Top 25%Main battery reload4.1 s (5/21) Top 25%Main dispersion138.8 m (6/21) Top 25%AP arming threshold25 mm (6/21) Bottom 25%Max speed33 kt (18/21) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber152 mm (17/21) Bottom 25%Main battery range15.34 km (19/21) Bottom 25%AP velocity762 m/s (19/21) Bottom 25%Max armor127 mm (17/21) WorstNo secondaries (8 of 21 in cohort) WorstNo torpedoes (8 of 21 in cohort) WorstRepair heal rate0.5 %/s (1 of 10 tied)
See 18 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Worcester -- 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 points45,400 HP(16/21) Concealment12.8 km(10/21) Air detection7.68 km(10/21) Traverse-to-turn ratio19.02 ×(7/21) Sigma2.05(13/21) HE shell damage2,200(15/20) HE fire chance12%(15/20) HE velocity812 m/s(13/20) AP fuse timer0.03 s(13/21) Engine power120,000 hp(15/21) Turn-speed retention162.2 hp/m(16/21) Displacement18,286 t(7/21) Power-to-weight6.56 hp/t(12/21) Citadel belt127 mm(15/21) Deck armor127 mm(7/21) NormAP ricochet start45°(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(15 of 21 tied at this value)

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →Shell ballistics chartMore tools in the WoWS Legends Data Lab

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

Radar 10 kmSonar 4.93 kmRepair 2Def-AAFighter
Survivability
Hit Points45,400
Displacement18,286 t
Armor range6–127 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 19, 25, 30, 32, 40, 51, 76, 89, 102, 127 mm
Armor material/layer entries63
Fire resistance40%
Fire duration30 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.
22,700
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.
13,600
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 12×152 mm
Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 12 barrels
Reload time4.6 s
Firing range15.3 km
Turret traverse25 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)
ƒShell grouping (sigma); shown in-game as Shell Grouping.
2.05
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15339/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 138.8 m
138.8 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 138.8 × 0.6 = 83.3 m
83.3 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 138.8 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 43.6 m
43.6 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 83.3 × 0.313 (σ=2.05) = 26.1 m
26.1 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 25 deg/s traverse speed = 7.2 s.
7.2 s
Base shells/min
ƒ12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 156.5.
156.5
HE shells
HE Damage2,200
HE Velocity812 m/s
Fire Chance12%
HE penetration
ƒIn-game data: 30 mm = 152 mm caliber / 5.07 (non-standard HE penetration ratio).
30 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,200 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 26,400.
26,400
Base HE DPM
ƒ26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 344,348.
344,348
Installed HE DPM
ƒ26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 386,341.
386,341
Base fires/min
ƒ12 HE shells x 60 / 4.6 s reload x 12% fire chance = 18.78.
18.78
AP shells
AP Damage3,200
AP Velocity762 m/s
Min Ricochet45 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg
Fuse Timer0.025 s
Fuse Threshold25 mm
AP overmatch
ƒfloor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
10 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 × 2692 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 319.5 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
319.5 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 321.7 m/s: 1e-7 × 2692 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 321.7^1.38 = 97.2 mm.
97.2 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ3,200 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 38,400.
38,400
Base AP DPM
ƒ38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 500,870.
500,870
Installed AP DPM
ƒ38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 561,951.
561,951
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.
16
AA Defense
AA mount points25
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (157×3.5×0.9) + (40×3.5×0.85) + (24×3.5×0.9) = 689. 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.
689
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
6 km
76.2 mm Mk3311×2 76mm
76.2 mm Mk342×1 76mm
20 mm Oerlikon Mk2012×2 20mm
Far aura
DPS
ƒIncludes 24 continuous AA damage from dual-purpose main battery firing as AA in this range band.
24
Range6 km
Medium aura
DPS157
Range5 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 24 + Medium 157 = 181
181
Near aura
DPS40
Range2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒFar 24 + Medium 157 + Near 40 = 221
221
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 120,000 hp
Engine power120,000 hp
Maximum speed33 kt
Turning circle radius740 m
Engine power multiplier speed threshold7 kt
Traverse-to-turn ratio19.0× snappy
Concealment
Detectability by sea12.8 km
Detectability by air7.68 km
Smoke firing penalty6.31 km
Detect after firing main guns12.8 km
Detect Fire Sea14.8 km
Detect Fire Air10.68 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
✦
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Choose one
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 96 s active · 4.93 km ship detect · 3.47 km torpedo detect
Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost
Choose one
Surveillance Radar2 charges · 120 s reload · 30 s active · 10 km radar range
Catapult Fighter4 charges · 70 s reload · 55 s active · 5.56 km patrol radius · 1 squadron size
Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 0.5% heal per second · 14% of max HP total heal
Module options (1)

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

HullUpgrade
  • Turret traverse25 → 50 °/s

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 Disp138.8 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range. (R/30·(idealRadius−minRadius)/idealDistance + minRadius)·30 = (15339/30·(8−1.1)/1000 + 1.1)·30 = 138.8 m
Max Vert Disp83.3 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range = max horizontal × radiusOnMax = 138.8 × 0.6 = 83.3 m
Med Horiz Disp43.6 m
50%-hit horizontal radius = max horizontal × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 138.8 × 0.314 (σ=2.05) = 43.6 m
Med Vert Disp26.1 m
50%-hit vertical radius = max vertical × GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) = 83.3 × 0.313 (σ=2.05) = 26.1 m
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close319.5 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 × 2692 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 762^1.38 = 319.5 mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far97.2 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.2 km), where the shell has slowed to 321.7 m/s: 1e-7 × 2692 × 59^0.69 × 0.152^-1.07 × 321.7^1.38 = 97.2 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 Radius16
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 time7.2 s
180 degrees / 25 deg/s traverse speed = 7.2 s.
HE full-salvo alpha26,400
2,200 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 26,400.
AP full-salvo alpha38,400
3,200 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 38,400.
Base HE DPM344,348
26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 344,348.
Base AP DPM500,870
38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 500,870.
Installed HE DPM386,341
26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 386,341.
Installed AP DPM561,951
38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 561,951.
Base shells/min156.5
12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 156.5.
Installed shells/min175.6
12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.1 s installed Artillery reload = 175.6.
Base fires/min18.78
12 HE shells x 60 / 4.6 s reload x 12% fire chance = 18.78.
Installed fires/min21.07
12 HE shells x 60 / 4.1 s installed reload x 12% fire chance = 21.07.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS689
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (157×3.5×0.9) + (40×3.5×0.85) + (24×3.5×0.9) = 689. 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 index3164
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 45,400, 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
Bow32 mm primary (range 32–40 mm)1,400 (3% of HP)
Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 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)16 mm primary (range 6–102 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.
Stern32 mm primary (range 6–102 mm)3,600 (8% of HP)
Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel127 mm primary (range 25–127 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).
Superstructure127 mmno cap
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 HP22,700 magazine HPMagazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HPPer-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 (76 mm mount)separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP200 per-mount HPDestroyed at 0 HPPer-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 HP13,600 module HPIncapacitated at 0 HPWhen 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.

Balance History

Balance updates affecting Worcester. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×6Main Battery ×6
2022-01-27

February update: fortes fortuna adiuvat

  • Main battery reload time decreased from 6 to 4.6 s.
  • Fire-setting chances for HE shells increased from 10 to 12%.
  • HE shell penetration increased from 25 to 30 mm*.
  • Turning circle radius decreased from 750 to 740 m.
  • Radar reload time decreased from 180 to 120 s.
  • Shell grouping increased by 2.5%.
  • *These represent raw penetration values, which must be greater than the armor you’re hitting by 1 mm to penetrate. This means that Worcester is now able to effectively penetrate 29 mm of armor with her HE shells.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

Primary official WG sources

Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.

2026-03-27 · Early access / tech tree line Pan-American Cruisers Are Coming to Early Access Line source 2021-05-13 · Patch notes May Update: Things Are Heating Up! Patch notes 2021-12-16 · Patch notes Holiday Update: Chilling With the Beasts Patch notes 2022-01-27 · Patch notes February update: fortes fortuna adiuvat Patch notes 2023-04-06 · Patch notes April Update: Blossom in Gold Patch notes