Zuihō
Also called: 瑞凤 Beta- Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot threaten the hull
- Launch from positions where the recall path stays inside your team's AA umbrella
- Avoid: Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
On this page
Zuihō Community Stats
Across 6,900+ Standard battles from 200+ players, Zuihō averages a 63% win rate, 70,500 damage and 1.2 kills per battle, and survives 59% of them.
Zuihō Community Stats
Log in to GamingDiver and upload your data to see Community Data for Zuihō: community win rate, damage, survival, spotting, and your own comparison.
Zuihō Community Stats
Record History
Playstyle
Overview
Zuihō is the Tier V Japanese carrier: a balanced strike kit across dive bombers and air torpedoes without a single dominant weapon. The kit rewards reading the enemy AA and picking the squadron that fits the next target. Her air-torpedo alpha is among the heaviest in the cohort. WG's own post leads on her concealment, and the data backs it: 12.31 km is the best surface detection of any Tier V carrier, so the hull itself is harder to hunt than her squadrons suggest.
Positioning
Stay a full map cell behind the brawl line, far enough back that a rotated DD or radar cruiser cannot threaten the hull. Launch from positions where the recall path stays inside your team's AA umbrella, not over open water where intercepting fighters can finish off limping squadrons. Longer trip back, fewer waves per match.
Potato Avoidance
Trading a full squadron for one high-value kill
Match impact comes from cycling waves across multiple targets, not committing a dive into layered AA for one battleship. When a target's AA is heavy, route around and find a softer pick rather than burning planes through the wall.
Signature Traits
5 km AA reach, best of T5 CVs.
12.3 km surface detect, top quartile of T5 CVs. Stays dark longer.
- Heavy air torpedoes · 8000 damage
- Burny bombs · 38%
- Fast air torpedoes · 55 kn
- Punchy HE · 2100 max
- Punch-through secondaries · 21 mm
36500 HP, bottom quartile of T5 CVs. She dies fast if a surface ship reaches her, so hold position behind the fleet and keep clear of pushes.
196 AA DPS, bottom quartile of T5 CVs. Aircraft chew through with impunity; lean on positioning over AA.
How to get Zuihō
Zuihō is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition paths: Containers and Doubloons. 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.
- ContainersAppears in official container odds below; availability depends on the container being sold or awarded.
- DoubloonsDoubloons in the Legends Store (May 2026).
While you save up, check active promo codes for free doubloons, camouflages, and other rewards.
Best listed chance for this ship
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Super V crate
4.166667%
One of the Tier V Premium ships
Event · Super V crate · 1 of 24 ships
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Spectral Vault 4.0
0.26087%
Tier V Premium ship
Archived · Spectral Vault 4.0 · 1 of 23 ships
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Spectral Vault 3.0
0.239565%
Tier V Premium ship
Archived · Spectral Vault 3.0 · 2 paths combined · 1 of 23 ships
Show 2 paths
- Spectral Vault 3.00.21087%
- Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.028696%
Show all 7 containers (4 more)
-
Mystic Lantern
0.2%
Tier V Premium ship
Event · Mystic Lantern · 1 of 25 ships
-
Spectral Vault 2.0
0.090043%
Tier V Premium ship
Archived · Spectral Vault 2.0 · 4 paths combined · 1 of 23 ships
Show 4 paths
- Spectral Vault 2.00.06087%
- Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.00.021087%
- Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.005217%
- Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.00287%
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Spectral Vault 1.0
0.019108%
Tier V Premium ship
Archived · Spectral Vault 1.0 · 7 paths combined · 1 of 23 ships
Show 7 paths
- Spectral Vault 1.00.008609%
- Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.00.005478%
- Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 3.00.002109%
- Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.00.001898%
- Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.00047%
- Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.000287%
- Spectral Vault 1.0 → Spectral Vault 2.0 → Spectral Vault 3.0 → Spectral Vault 4.00.000258%
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Mystic Box
0.012%
Tier V Premium ship
Event · Mystic Box · 1 of 25 ships
Official WG availability sources
-
The Return of Treasure Hunt
Crates
Start: 2022-08-05
- 150 cells opened: Super V Crate
- Five ships of Tier V previously not included in possible drops, were added to the crate. Those are: Arizona, Hyūga, Zuihō, Anshan, and Huanghe.
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5 Years Strong: Loyalty Reward for All Captains!
Sale
Start: 2024-03-25
- Besides the anniversary rewards, we've launched a special sale where you can purchase two selected Premium ships per week at a 50% discount, with new ships on discount every week!
- Japanese Tier V Premium aircraft carrier Zuihō
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Anniversary Update: New Horizons
Crates
Start: 2022-07-21
- This time, you can acquire up to two Super V crates, including the usual crate-exclusive Shinonome, but also the latest Tier V Premium ships added to the range of available drops—this means Arizona, Hyūga, Zuihō, Anshan, and Huanghe!
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Three Years Young: Anniversary Gifts
Crates
Start: 2022-07-25
- Additionally, all Tier V Premium ships released since the first instance of Treasure Hunt concluded (those being Arizona, Hyūga, Zuihō, Anshan, and Huanghe) have been added to the possible drops.
-
Battle of Midway: Themed Missions & Historical Ships
Doubloons
2026-05-29
- If you're looking to expand your fleet with Zuihō, Hyūga, or Atago (the latter will also be available for doubloons during this update), you can use a free coupon to get a 4,000-doubloon discount on one of these ships.
-
September update: the Redinforcements
Doubloons
2021-08-26
- Tier V Japanese Aircraft Carrier Zuihō, available for doubloons.
Show direct source rows
- Mystic Box 0.012% · Tier V Premium ship
- Mystic Lantern 0.2% · Tier V Premium ship
- Spectral Vault 1.0 0.008609% · Tier V Premium ship
- Spectral Vault 2.0 0.06087% · Tier V Premium ship
- Spectral Vault 3.0 0.21087% · Tier V Premium ship
Want the full picture? Each container page charts the odds as you open more crates - including pity guaranteed-reward timers and, for GD Supporters, pack math personalized to your port.
Builds
Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.
Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here, or browse the Ship Builds guide for proven loadouts across the fleet.
Cohort position
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Where Zuihō sits among Tier V CVs (7 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.
See 14 mid-pack stats
Not standouts for Zuihō -- 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.
Peers in this cohort
Compare Tier V Aircraft CarriersStats & specs
Customize in the Build Tool →ƒ
2 planes per drop x 2 bombs each = 4.ƒ
4 bombs x 5,200 alpha = 20,800, if every bomb hits. Before armor, saturation and the target's damage reduction; a real drop lands a share of it.ƒ
3 planes per drop x 1 torpedo each = 3.ƒ
3 torpedoes x 8,000 alpha = 24,000, if every torpedo hits. Before armor, saturation and the target's damage reduction; a real drop lands a share of it.ƒ
Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 3.1 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.ƒ
Dual-purpose: your secondaries doing double duty against aircraft. The same mounts appear on the Secondary Battery card - shared guns, not extra hardware.ƒ
Dual-purpose: your secondaries doing double duty against aircraft. The same mounts appear on the Secondary Battery card - shared guns, not extra hardware.ƒ
Effective DPS in in-game units (raw aura damage × 3.5 × hit probability, summed per contributing aura) - matches the Close-range AA DPS headline's currency. Includes 63 from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.ƒ
Effective DPS: 38 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 1 hit probability = 133 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.ƒ
Far 63 + Medium 133 = 196ƒ
Each ~2 s salvo fires 2 AA explosions in quick succession, each leaving 2 clouds ahead of the attacking squadron - up to 4 clouds per salvo × 180 damage each. Planes that fly into a cloud take its damage; clouds dissipate before the next salvo lands. Defensive AA Fire, where fitted, multiplies the AA explosions within each salvo, and commander skills that raise the Number of AA explosions add to it.ƒ
Damage a plane takes for flying into one flak cloud, before any reductions.ƒ
Every potential cloud spawns - the full pattern, every salvo. Often called flak 'hit chance', but spawned clouds always damage planes that fly into them - the roll is on spawning.ƒ
A new flak salvo (the AA explosions above) fires roughly every 2 s.ƒ
Flak keeps firing while at least one secondary battery mount is operational - even losing every dedicated AA mount does not stop it.ƒ
The activation band: flak fires while attacking planes are inside it. Clouds are placed ahead of the planes' path, so clouds can land short of 2.5 km or past 5 km - once planes get inside the band, new salvos stop. AA range bonuses push the outer edge out; the 2.5 km inner edge does not move.ƒ
Sum of each gun family's fires/min (per side): 0.8 + 2.9 = 3.7. Per side: the barrels that bear on one broadside target (mounts × barrels / 2). A ceiling: assumes every shell hits and ignores the four-fire cap and Fire Prevention.ƒ
Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), with each reload counted in whole 1/7 s ticks (guns fire on the first tick after the reload), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 1×2 127 mm (1/side) × 60/6 s × 2100 = 21,000 + 3×2 127 mm (3/side) × 60/5 s × 2100 = 75,600. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).ƒ
Fires/min (per side) 3.7 × (1 − 0.233 fire resistance) × 60 s × 0.003 of max HP per second × 54,550 HP = 27,715. Per side: the barrels that bear on one broadside target (mounts × barrels / 2). A ceiling: assumes every shell hits and ignores the four-fire cap and Fire Prevention.ƒ
Secondary DPM (per side) 96,600 + secondary fire DPM 27,715 = 124,315: shell damage plus fire damage against one T5 battleship, every shell hitting.ƒ
Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.ƒ
4 km × 57 + 30 = 258 m.ƒ
Dual-purpose: the same mounts also fire at aircraft, so they appear on the AA Defense card too - shared guns, not extra hardware.ƒ
1×2 barrels / 2 sides × 60 / 6 s × 0.08 (8% fire chance) = 0.8. Per side: the barrels that bear on one broadside target (mounts × barrels / 2). A ceiling: assumes every shell hits and ignores the four-fire cap and Fire Prevention.Show 1 more gun family
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Dual-purpose: the same mounts also fire at aircraft, so they appear on the AA Defense card too - shared guns, not extra hardware.ƒ
3×2 barrels / 2 sides × 60 / 5 s × 0.08 (8% fire chance) = 2.9. Per side: the barrels that bear on one broadside target (mounts × barrels / 2). A ceiling: assumes every shell hits and ignores the four-fire cap and Fire Prevention.ƒ
top speed / 4 + 4.9 = 28 / 4 + 4.9 = 11.9 kt. Base value; speed modifiers scale it.ƒ
Seconds from top speed to a dead stop after ordering full reverse: reverse power winds in over the reverse spool-up while water drag does most of the braking, using the ship's own reverse-power ratio. The full curve is on the acceleration chart. Full reverse stops about a quarter faster than a plain Stop order from top speed.ƒ
Speed below which the engine's built-in power boost applies in reverse.ƒ
Time to reach 90% of top speed (25.2 kt of 28.0 kt).ƒ
Time to reach 99% of top speed (27.7 kt of 28.0 kt). 99% rather than 100% because true top speed is asymptotic (thrust meets drag), so the last fraction of a knot is never quite gained.ƒ
Base value, no camouflage. With a Grade IV permanent camo (or any disposable camo): 12.31 km x 0.955 = 11.76 km. Camouflage does not change detectability by air.ƒ
Detectability by sea 12.31 km x 0.955 (Grade IV permanent camo or any disposable camo) = 11.76 km.ƒ
Air detectability 8.62 km + gun-firing bloom 0 km = 8.62 km. The bloom tracks main-battery caliber x 0.020.ƒ
Sea detectability 12.31 km + 2.0 km while burning = 14.31 km.ƒ
Air detectability 8.62 km + 3.0 km while burning = 11.62 km.
Automatic Damage Control Party∞ charges · 90 s reload · 60 s active
Automatic Fighter4 charges · 40 s reload · 150 s active · 5 km patrol radius ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000):
Under the hood
Show
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All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.
The constants behind the formulas and the long tail: shell and dispersion inputs, fixed-range anchors, salvo math, layered AA. Click the formula chip on any row to see how it is calculated.
AA defense
Only families that reach 5 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 25mm Type96 Triple 1 3x3 -> 40 DPS @ 3.1 km; 25mm Type96 7x3 -> 93 DPS @ 3.1 km; 127mm40 Type89 Mod A 1x2 -> 16 DPS @ 5 km; 127mm40 Type 89 3x2 -> 47 DPS @ 5 km.@ 5 km: 16 + 47 = 63; @ 3.1 km: 40 + 93 + 16 + 47 = 196. Cumulative AA DPS at each family range threshold. Inner ranges stack the outer families, so a target closing the distance hits stronger AA bubbles as it crosses each band.40 + 93 + 16 + 47 = 196 DPS: the sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (3.1 km).40 × 3.1 + 93 × 3.1 + 16 × 5 + 47 × 5 = 727. 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 firepower
max(2100 (127 mm), 2100 (127 mm)) = 2100. Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 2100 from the 127 mm family.max(8% (127 mm), 8% (127 mm)) = 8%. Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 8% from the 127 mm family.max(21 mm (127 mm), 21 mm (127 mm)) = 21 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: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.Ship Charts
Background
A small and reasonably fast aircraft carrier originally built as a submarine tender then subsequently converted into a carrier. Despite her small size, that did not allow her to carry a large air group, Zuihō was equipped with good torpedo protection and a sufficiently powerful artillery for her type.
Armor Beta
Hull HP 36,500, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds.
Overmatched by 91+ AP guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.
Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 23%, fires burn 60s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →
| Section | Plates | HP cap | Threats | Tactic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 19 mm primary (range 19–30 mm) | 2,000 (5% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ AP (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm19 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP. |
| Hull (midship) | 20 mm primary (range 15–30 mm) | 27,400 (75% of HP) | Overmatched by 305mm+ AP (Indefatigable, Toulon)Angle bounces 283mm20 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 15 mm primary (range 10–15 mm) | 1,400 (4% of HP) | Overmatched by 283mm+ AP (Moltke, Graf Spee)Angle bounces 203mm15 mm: HE pens from 127mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 30 mm primary (range 19–30 mm) | ≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap) | Citadel pen: full damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage | Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. An AP citadel penetration deals the shell's full damage, the biggest single hit available; only over-penetrations are damped, to ×0.10. |
| Superstructure | 6 mm primary (range 6–20 mm) | 10 (0% 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). |
| Secondary mount (127 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 (25 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 | 11,000 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.
Balance History
Latest 6 of 8 indexed balance updates affecting Zuihō. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.
Ministry of Balance: Summertime Refit
- Torpedo bomber maximum speed increased from 118 to 125 knots.
- Torpedo arming time reduced from 6.5 to 6 seconds.
- Chance of causing flooding increased by ~40%.
- Dive bomber maximum spread reduced by 20%.
- Dive bomber minimum spread reduced by 25%.
Holiday Update: Christmas on the Waves
- Dive bomber movement speed increased from 115 to 125 knots.
- Torpedo bomber movement speed increased from 108 to 118 knots.
Ministry of Balance: Season of Change
- Torpedo strike aiming time reduced from 8 to 6.5 seconds.
- Torpedo speed increased from 50 to 55 knots.
Ministry of Balance: Aerial Adjustments
- Torpedo bombers:
- Torpedo bomber restoration time increased from 67 to 100 s.
- Torpedo bomber base speed reduced from 114 to 108 kts.
- Torpedo arming time increased from 7 to 8 s.
- Torpedo speed reduced from 55 to 50 kts.
- Dive bombers:
- Dive bomber restoration time increased from 60 to 85 s.
- Dive bomber base speed reduced from 121 to 115 kts.
Ministry of Balance: Carriers 2.0 – First Wave
- Dive Bombers:
- Bombs per aircraft increased from 1 to 2.
- Number of aircraft in squadron increased from 6 to 8.
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,575 to 1,850 (squadron HP reduced from 15,450 to 14,800).
- Base speed increased from 110 to 121 knots.
- Maximum flight range set to 27 kilometers.
- Bomb damage reduced from 10,400 to 5,200.
- Bomb fire-setting chances reduced from 55 to 38%.
- HE bomb penetration reduced from 53.4 to 43.6 mm.
- Bomb splash radius reduced.
- Aircraft restoration time reduced from 68 to 60 seconds.
- Aircraft restored increased from 1 to 2.
- Torpedo Bombers:
- Number of aircraft in squadron increased from 6 to 9.
- Number of attacking aircraft per strike increased from 2 to 3.
- Maximum HP per aircraft reduced from 2,625 to 1,650 (squadron HP reduced from 15,750 to 14,850).
- Base speed increased from 104 to 114 knots.
- Maximum flight range set to 28 kilometers.
- Torpedo arming time increased from 3.66 to 7 seconds.
- Torpedo damage increased from 6,966 to 9,100.
- Torpedo speed increased from 50 to 55 knots.
- Maximum & starting hangar aircraft increased from 10 to 18.
- Aircraft restoration time reduced from 73 to 67 seconds.
- Aircraft restored increased from 1 to 3.
Ministry of Balance Reports: Carrier Changes
- Zuihō was our first Premium aircraft carrier, and we played it very safe with her. As a result, the ship deserves some improvements to help her out:
- Dive bomber hangar capacity increased from 10 to 12 planes.
- HE bomb damage increased from 9,400 to 10,400.
Skins & permanent camouflages
Every custom exterior Zuihō can equip.
DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
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.
