World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Danae

Also called: 达娜厄 Beta
AP-only cruiserAP-only: there is no HE, so hunt broadsides and stay mobile in the open.
Playstyle
  • Sit 10-13 km on a flank that gives you firing arcs into rotated cruisers and exposed BB broadsides
  • Avoid: Passing up destroyer shots because the AP over-pens
Key characteristics
Wide always-pen zoneLobs over islandsSonarLate auto-bounceHeavy citadel beltQuick-fuse AP
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Community Data

Danae Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Danae is a Tier III British AP-only cruiser with strong AP DPM (153,529): she carries no HE shells at all, so every salvo is AP into broadsides or wasted. The hull is fragile, so the kit is fragile-spammer chasing soft targets and dodging in open water rather than trading punches. Sonar (3.5 km on ships and 2.5 km on torpedoes, 90 s active, 180 s reload, long uptime) lights up DDs and torpedoes inside its bubble, which lets her contest the cap edge without taking the spotting cycle. Standout traits: best AP always-pen window in T3 CAs (65°) and best AP guaranteed-ricochet angle in T3 CAs (80°).

Positioning

Sit 10-13 km on a flank that gives you firing arcs into rotated cruisers and exposed BB broadsides. The hull is fragile; ration trades to ones that pay AP citadels back, and lean on speed and consumables to dodge focus when it comes. Open water is fine when the closest threat is far enough that the salvo timing favors you. Your AP loses penetration at range, so aim at superstructures or pen-able hull armor, not the bow-in or belt armor it bounces and shatters on.

Potato Avoidance

Passing up destroyer shots because the AP over-pens

Even an over-pen is guaranteed chip damage that wears a DD down and denies its caps and torpedo runs, so keep guns on any destroyer you can see. Save the citadel salvos for broadside cruisers and BB sides, but never hold fire on a spotted DD.

Signature Traits

ELITE MAIN BATTERY
  • Wide always-pen zone · 65.0°
  • Late auto-bounce · 80.0°
  • High-arc AP shells · 46.1°
  • Fast turret traverse · 10.0°
  • Big-caliber overmatch · 10.6 mm
Heavy citadel belt

76.0 mm citadel belt, best of T3 CAs. Citadels through angle are rare.

Quick-fuse AP

0.0 s AP fuse timer, bottom decile of T3 CAs. Detonates earlier in the plate; trades belt-citadels for reliable damage against thin targets (cruiser-on-cruiser specialty).

Short AA reach

2.5 km AA reach, bottom quartile of T3 CAs. Drops bombs and rockets land before AA bites.

Acquisition

How to get Danae

Danae is available in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch of the U.K. Tech Tree for 85,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 21,240 credits.

Show U.K. tech-tree branch diagram
U.K. Tech Tree

Danae sits in the Skirmishing Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.K. tree.

Builds Beta

Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.

Open in Build Tool →

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Cohort position

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Where Danae sits among Tier III CAs (13 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.

BestMain dispersion111.8 m (1/13) BestAcceleration8.5 s (1/13) BestAP arming threshold12 mm (1/13) BestAP ricochet start65° (1/13) BestAP auto-bounce angle80° (1/13) BestCitadel belt76 mm (1 of 4 tied) Top 10%Stealth profile9.55 km / 5.73 km (2/13 / 2/13) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.11 × (3/13) Top 25%Main battery caliber152 mm (4/13) Top 25%AP DPM139,200 (4/13) Top 25%AA DPS153 (3/13) Top 25%AA threat343 (4/13) Top 25%Torpedo speed59 kt (3/12) Bottom 25%Main battery range12.57 km (11/13) Bottom 25%Power-to-weight6.57 hp/t (11/13) WorstNo secondaries (9 of 13 in cohort) WorstAP fuse timer0 s (13/13) WorstEngine power40,000 hp (1 of 2 tied) WorstTurn-speed retention74.1 hp/m (1 of 2 tied) WorstAA range2.5 km (1 of 2 tied) WorstDeck armor10 mm (1 of 4 tied)
See 14 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Danae -- 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 points23,000 HP(8/13) Max speed30 kt(10/13) Rudder shift6.1 s(7/13) Main battery reload7.5 s(7/13) AP shell damage2,900(5/13) AP velocity853 m/s(5/13) Displacement6,090 t(5/13) Torpedo range6 km(8/12) Torpedo damage≈11,067(5/12) Torpedo reload71 s(8/12) Max armor76 mm(5/13) NormSigma2(12 of 13 tied at this value) NormBow armor10 mm(7 of 13 tied at this value) NormStern armor10 mm(7 of 13 tied at this value)
Survivability
Hit PointsInitial: 20,300 → 23,000
Displacement6,090 t
Armor range10–76 mm
Plate armor thicknesses10, 13, 15, 16, 19, 25, 38, 57, 76 mm
Armor material/layer entries41
Fire resistanceInitial: 6.7% → 10%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction0%
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/45 CPXIV
Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 6 barrels
Reload time7.5 s
Firing range (base)11.4 km
Firing range (top fire control)12.6 km
Turret traverse10 °/s
Shell Grouping (σ)2
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: σH=(R30·idealRadiusminRadiusidealDistance+minRadius)·30 =(1142730·81.11000+1.1)·30=111.8m
111.8 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: σV=σH·radiusOnMax =111.8·0.6=67.1m
67.1 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius: σH,50=σH·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =111.8·0.319(σ=2)=35.7m
35.7 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius: σV,50=σV·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =67.1·0.319(σ=2)=21.4m
21.4 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.
18 s
Base shells/min
ƒ6 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 48.
48
HE shells
HE penetration
ƒfloor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.
25 mm
AP shells
AP Damage2,900
AP Velocity853 m/s
Min Ricochet65 deg
Guaranteed Ricochet80 deg
Fuse Timer0.004 s
Fuse Threshold12 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: P=107·K·m0.69·d1.07·v01.38 =107·2045·45.360.69·0.1521.07·8531.38=236.6mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
236.6 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (15.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 257.8 m/s: P=107·2045·45.360.69·0.1521.07·257.81.38=45.4mm.
45.4 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,900 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 17,400.
17,400
Base AP DPM
ƒ17,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 139,200.
139,200
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.
10
Torpedoes
ModuleTorpedoes: 533 mm Mk V
Launchers / tubes4 launchers × 3 tubes = 12 tubes
Reload time71 s
Projectile speed59 kt
Range6 km
Maximum simulated damage
ƒEstimate of WG's in-game value; matches the in-game port screen within ±5%. Saturation: most targets only intersect one hull section, so the sim transfers ~1/3 of the warhead alpha (2/3 when the warhead blast >= 5000 and the burst reaches a second section). For this ship: Dsim=α·c=33,200·0.333=11,067.
≈ 11,067
Torpedo detectability1.2 km
Flooding chance196%
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn
ƒTime to rotate the launchers 180 deg: tturn=180°25°/s=7.2s.
7.2 s
Torp Arming182 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒOne side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 6 x 11,067 = 66,402.
66,402
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 8 → 6
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (39×3.5×0.9) + (10×3.5×0.85) = 153. 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.
153
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
2.5 km
40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIIIInitial: 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. QF Mk II (2×1) → 40 mm Vickers 2-pdr. Mk VIII (2×8)
12.7 mm Mk III4×4 13mm
76.2 mm/45 HA Mk IV (stock hull only)2×1 76mm
Medium aura
DPS39
Range2.5 km
Near aura
DPSInitial: 13 → 10
Range1.2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒMedium 39 + Near 10 = 49
49
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 40,000 hp
Engine power40,000 hp
Maximum speed30 kt
Turning circle radius540 m
Rudder shift time6.1 s
Engine power-boost threshold27.9 kt
Engine spool-up time15.3 s
Reverse spool-up time7.7 s
Acceleration 0-90%
ƒTime to reach 90% of top speed (27.0 kt of 30 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.
8.5 s
Acceleration 0-99%
ƒTime to reach 99% of top speed (29.7 kt of 30 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.
27.7 s
Traverse-to-turn ratio
ƒHow many degrees the turret can swing for each degree the hull turns. Turn rate ωhull=180π·Vmax(m/s)Rturn=180π·30.0·0.5144540=1.64°/s, so ratio=ωturretωhull=101.64=6.1×. Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.
6.1× slow
Concealment
Detectability by sea9.55 km
Detectability by air5.73 km
Smoke firing penalty4.21 km
Detect after firing main guns
ƒmax(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
9.55 km
Detect Fire Sea11.55 km
Detect Fire Air8.73 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 3,220 HP (14% of max HP) total heal (per charge)
ƒHeal per second (0.5%) x effective active time (28 s) = up to 14% of max HP restored per charge.
· 6,440 HP (28% of max HP) total heal (all charges)
ƒ14% per charge x 2 charges = up to 28% of max HP if the whole Repair Party loadout is used.
· 115 HP/s (0.5% of max HP) heal per second
ƒ0.5% of max HP (23,000 HP) per second = 115 HP/s. WoWS heals a flat percent of MAX HP each second, so this rate holds at any health level.
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 90 s active · 3.48 km ship detect
ƒDerived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): 116×301000=3.48 km
· 2.52 km torpedo detect
ƒDerived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): 84×301000=2.52 km
Module options (3)

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

HullTrade-off
  • Hit points20,300 → 23,000
  • Rudder shift11.1 → 7.9 s
  • AA mounts8 → 6
  • Close-range AA DPS31 → 49
  • Maximum AA range3 → 2.5 km
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range11,427 → 12569.7 m
TorpedoesTrade-off
  • Reload62 → 71 s
  • Alpha damage27,300 → 33,200
  • Display damage9,100 → 11,067
  • Speed53 → 59 kt

See all derived stats

Show

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

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
Max Horiz Disp111.8 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{11427}{30}\cdot\dfrac{8-1.1}{1000} + 1.1\right)\cdot 30 = 111.8\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter width @ 10 km102 m
How wide your shells scatter at 10 km, from the same dispersion model as the max-range figure above. Picking a fixed range makes this number directly comparable from ship to ship: max-range dispersion makes a longer-range gun look worse even when it's tighter at any common range. The interactive Dispersion tab on the Charts card plots the full curve from 0 to max range.
Max Vert Disp67.1 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 111.8 \cdot 0.6 = 67.1\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter height @ 10 km58.7 m
How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above.
Med Horiz Disp35.7 m
50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 111.8 \cdot 0.319\;(\sigma = 2) = 35.7\,\text{m}$
Med Vert Disp21.4 m
50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 67.1 \cdot 0.319\;(\sigma = 2) = 21.4\,\text{m}$
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close236.6 mm
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 2045 \cdot 45.36^{0.69} \cdot 0.152^{-1.07} \cdot 853^{1.38} = 236.6\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far45.4 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.7 km), where the shell has slowed to 257.8 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 2045 \cdot 45.36^{0.69} \cdot 0.152^{-1.07} \cdot 257.8^{1.38} = 45.4\,\text{mm}$.
HE penetration25 mm
floor(152 mm caliber / 6): standard HE penetration.
AP overmatch10 mm
floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).
AP AOE Radius10
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 alpha6
All 6 barrels bear on the broadside.
Turret turn time18 s
180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.
AP full-salvo alpha17,400
2,900 AP damage x 6 broadside guns = 17,400.
Base AP DPM139,200
17,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 139,200.
Base shells/min48
6 broadside guns x 60 / 7.5 s base reload = 48.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.2 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time7.8 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed59 kt
Travel time to max range39.1 s
range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Tube count12
4 launchers x 3 tubes.
Per-side salvo6 torpedoes
tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).
Full-salvo damage132,804
All tubes hitting one target: tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 12 x 11,067 = 132,804.
Per-side salvo damage66,402
One side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 6 x 11,067 = 66,402.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS153
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (39×3.5×0.9) + (10×3.5×0.85) = 153. 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 range2.5 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index343
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 range1.2 km

Armor Beta

Hull HP 20,30023,000 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.

Bow & stern10 mm

Overmatched by 95+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.

Belt / citadel76 mm

Thin belt: battleship AP citadels straight through it broadside. Rely on angle, speed and concealment, never sit flat.

Farming10 mm

Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 10%, fires burn 30s. Range-by-range in the ballistics tool →

Section Plates HP cap Threats Tactic
Bow10 mm primary (range 10–38 mm)2,600 (11% of HP)
Overmatched by 150mm+ (Java, Taranto)Angle bounces 127mm10 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)25 mm primary (range 13–25 mm)17,300 (75% of HP)
Overmatch not possible in its bracketAngle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+
Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern10 mm primary (range 10–38 mm)1,700 (7% of HP)
Overmatched by 150mm+ (Java, Taranto)Angle bounces 127mm10 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel76 mm primary (range 10–76 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.
Superstructure10 mm2,600 (11% 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 HP11,500 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 (40 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 HP6,900 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.

Approximated side profile.
Open the 3D armor viewer →
3D armor viewer
Open in Charting Tool

Acceleration and Ballistics Chart

Balance History

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

Buff ×14
2023-06-15

Ministry of Balance: Italian Concerto

  • Stock Hull HP increased from 18,400 to 20,300.
  • Bow HP increased from 2,100 to 2,300.
  • Stern HP increased from 1,400 to 1,500.
  • Hull HP increased from 13,800 to 15,200.
  • Magazine HP increased from 9,200 to 10,200.
  • Steering Gear HP increased from 5,500 to 6,100.
  • Superstructure HP increased from 2,000 to 2,300.
  • Upgraded Hull HP increased from 20,900 to 23,000.
  • Bow HP increased from 2,400 to 2,600.
  • Stern HP increased from 1,600 to 1,700.
  • +4 more official change lines in the source post.
Read the full official post
Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Danae default exterior
    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.