World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Hércules

Also called: 赫丘利 Beta
Tutorial-tier shipLearn the fundamentals: movement, aim, shell travel, and reading the minimap.
Playstyle
  • Stay near your team; do not push ahead alone
  • Avoid: Sailing in a straight line
Key characteristics
11.1 km gun rangeStrong torpedo beltSharp rudderThin armor
On this page
Community Data

Hércules Community Stats

Hércules has 18 Standard battles from 17 players so far, too few for stable community averages.

Community Data

Hércules Community Stats

Log in to GamingDiver and upload your data to see Community Data for Hércules: community win rate, damage, survival, spotting, and your own comparison.

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Playstyle

Overview

Hércules is a Tier I Pan-American cruiser - a tutorial-tier ship. The kit is for learning basic mechanics: movement, aiming, shell travel time, gun rotation, and reading the minimap. Match impact comes from making fewer mistakes than the other Tier I players, not from gear advantages. Notable: best main battery range in T1 CAs (11.1 km, 1st of 12) and best torpedo belt percent in T1 CAs (7, 1st of 12).

Positioning

Stay near your team; do not push ahead alone. At Tier I the goal is practicing the basics, so pick a teammate to follow and learn how to lead your shots while their ship is in your field of vision.

Potato Avoidance

Sailing in a straight line

Even Tier I players will lead a predictable target; learn to make small course changes between salvos to break enemy aim. This is the single highest-impact habit to build at this tier.

Signature Traits

Long gun range ↗

11.1 km main battery reach, best of T1 CAs.

ELITE ARMOR ↗
  • Strong torpedo belt · 7%
  • Torpedo belt specialist
Sharp rudder ↗

3 s rudder shift, top decile of T1 CAs. Snappy weave.

ARMOR DOWNSIDES ↗
  • Thin armor · 10 mm
  • Light citadel belt · 10 mm
Acquisition

How to get Hércules

Hércules is available in the Hércules branch of the Pan-America Tech Tree as an early line ship. Official source cards below may also show its temporary Early Access window before it became a normal Tech Tree unlock.

History: Early Access Mar 2026 – Apr 2026 (temporary crate drops, now ended).

While you save up, check active promo codes for free doubloons, camouflages, and other rewards.

Show Pan-America tech-tree branch diagram
Pan-America Tech Tree

Hércules sits in the Hércules branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full Pan-America tree.

Official WG availability sources

Builds

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

Open in Build Tool →

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 Hércules sits among Tier I CAs (11 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.

BestRudder shift3 s (1/12) BestTurning circle320 m (1/12) BestMain battery range11.14 km (1/12) BestDisplacement1,860 t (1/12) Top 10%Air detection4.66 km (2/12) Top 10%Main battery reload3.5 s (2/12) Top 25%Smoke fire bloom2.89 km (3/12) Top 25%Time to 90% speed22.1 s (4/12) Top 25%AA threat90 (3/12) Bottom 25%Power / turn radius17.2 hp/m (11/12) WorstMain battery caliber102 mm (12/12) WorstHE shell damage800 (11/11) WorstMain dispersion98.6 m (12/12) WorstEngine power5,500 hp (12/12) WorstMax armor10 mm (1 of 3 tied) WorstCitadel belt10 mm (1 of 3 tied)
See 10 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Hércules -- 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 points12,600 HP(8/12) Max speed20.3 kt(8/12) Concealment8.62 km(8/12) HE fire chance6%(9/11) Fires per minute4.03(4/11) HE DPM53,760(9/11) HE velocity811 m/s(8/11) Acceleration (0-12 kt)12.3 s(8/12) Power-to-weight2.96 hp/t(9/12) NormTurn speed retained81%(11 of 12 tied at this value)
Survivability
Hit Points12,600
Displacement1,860 t
Hull dimensions
ƒLength x beam at the waterline, plus draft. Length matters when dodging torpedoes; beam and draft shape how hard the ship is to hit.
91.8 x 11.06 m
Armor range6–10 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 10 mm
Armor material/layer entries22
Fire resistance
ƒtop hull: 1 − 1 fire coefficient = 0%. Lowers how often hits set you on fire. It does not reduce the damage a burning fire does per second; fires burn at the full rate on every ship.
0%
Fire duration30 s
Fire damage
ƒOne unattended fire: 0.003 of max HP per second (0.3%) × 30 s = 0.09 of the pool; 0.09 × 12,600 HP = 1,134 HP on this ship. 4 fire points can burn at once.
0.3% of HP per second
Flood duration40 s
Flood damage
ƒOne unattended flood: 0.0025 of max HP per second (0.25%) × 40 s = 0.1 of the pool; 0.1 × 12,600 HP = 1,260 HP on this ship.
0.25% of HP per second
Torp Reduction
ƒ1 − 0.31 hull torpedo-damage coefficient / 0.333 unprotected baseline = 7%. Reduces torpedo hit damage. It does not affect flooding: floods start as often and tick at the full rate.
7%
Magazine HP
ƒPer-turret powder-magazine HP, a separate pool from the ship's. Penetrating hits wear it down and the turret is likelier to be knocked out as it falls, so a larger pool keeps the guns firing through punishment that silences a peer's.
3,200
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.
1,900
Repairable: penetration50%
Repairable: steering gear50%
Section HP
Bow section HP
ƒDamage saturation pool for the bow: penetrations here deal their normal share until twice this much penetration damage has landed on the section (2 × 1,000 = 2,000), then further hits on it deal half damage. A penetration deals 0.33 × the shell's max damage; once the section is saturated it deals exactly half of that (0.5 × 0.33 = 0.165 × max damage), so a 3,000-damage shell's pen goes from 990 to 495. Overpens (0.1 × max damage) and citadels (1.0 ×) ignore saturation. Pens on the ship's other, unsaturated sections still deal the normal 0.33 ×. A larger pool keeps that part of the ship taking full damage for longer; a small one saturates fast and protects the ship's HP.
1,000
Casemate section HP
ƒThis section has no practical saturation cap: every hit here keeps dealing its normal share of damage (on most ships the citadel; on many destroyers the casemate).
No saturation cap
Hull section HP
ƒDamage saturation pool for the hull: penetrations here deal their normal share until twice this much penetration damage has landed on the section (2 × 4,700 = 9,400), then further hits on it deal half damage. A penetration deals 0.33 × the shell's max damage; once the section is saturated it deals exactly half of that (0.5 × 0.33 = 0.165 × max damage), so a 3,000-damage shell's pen goes from 990 to 495. Overpens (0.1 × max damage) and citadels (1.0 ×) ignore saturation. Pens on the ship's other, unsaturated sections still deal the normal 0.33 ×. A larger pool keeps that part of the ship taking full damage for longer; a small one saturates fast and protects the ship's HP.
4,700
Superstructure section HP
ƒDamage saturation pool for the superstructure: penetrations here deal their normal share until twice this much penetration damage has landed on the section (2 × 300 = 600), then further hits on it deal half damage. A penetration deals 0.33 × the shell's max damage; once the section is saturated it deals exactly half of that (0.5 × 0.33 = 0.165 × max damage), so a 3,000-damage shell's pen goes from 990 to 495. Overpens (0.1 × max damage) and citadels (1.0 ×) ignore saturation. Pens on the ship's other, unsaturated sections still deal the normal 0.33 ×. The superstructure is not exempt: it saturates exactly like the bow and stern, so shells aimed at it stop dealing full damage once this pool is used up. A larger pool keeps that part of the ship taking full damage for longer; a small one saturates fast and protects the ship's HP.
300
Stern section HP
ƒDamage saturation pool for the stern: penetrations here deal their normal share until twice this much penetration damage has landed on the section (2 × 600 = 1,200), then further hits on it deal half damage. A penetration deals 0.33 × the shell's max damage; once the section is saturated it deals exactly half of that (0.5 × 0.33 = 0.165 × max damage), so a 3,000-damage shell's pen goes from 990 to 495. Overpens (0.1 × max damage) and citadels (1.0 ×) ignore saturation. Pens on the ship's other, unsaturated sections still deal the normal 0.33 ×. A larger pool keeps that part of the ship taking full damage for longer; a small one saturates fast and protects the ship's HP.
600
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 102 mm/45 QF Mk.XVI
Mounts / barrels2 mounts / 4 barrels
Reload time3.5 s
Firing range (base)10.1 km
Firing range (top fire control)11.1 km
Turret traverse8 °/s
Turret armor3 mm
Guns to bear
ƒ180° − 153° (the most restricted aft-facing mount's arc) = 27° off bow; 180° − 153° (the most restricted forward-facing mount's arc) = 27° off stern. How far off the bow (or stern) the ship must angle before every main turret can fire: the widest blind wedge among the rear-facing (or forward-facing) mounts, from each mount's trainable arc.
27° off bow / 27° off stern
Shell Grouping (σ)2
Dispersion type
ƒIn practice: 10% tighter (better) horizontal dispersion and 10% less vertical spread at max range (11.1 km) than a standard cruiser: about 99 m wide × 59 m tall, against 110 m × 66 m. Also on this curve (225): AL Avrora, AL Yukikaze, AL Z24, Acasta, Achilles, Adriatico, Aigle, Akatsuki, Akizuki, Albany, Allen M. Sumner, Attilio Regolo and 213 more.
Standard destroyer
Max Horiz Disp
ƒHorizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the dispersion model: σH=(R30·idealRadius−minRadiusidealDistance+minRadius)·30 =(1114330·8−0.51000+0.5)·30=98.6m
98.6 m at 11.1 km
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: σV=σH·radiusOnMax =98.6·0.6=59.1m
59.1 m at 11.1 km
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius: σH,50=σH·0.6σ =98.6·0.62=29.6m
29.6 m at 11.1 km
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius: σV,50=σV·0.6σ =59.1·0.62=17.7m
17.7 m at 11.1 km
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 8 deg/s traverse speed = 22.5 s.
22.5 s
Shells/min
ƒ4 broadside guns x 60 / 3.571 s (3.5 s = 25 ticks) base reload = 67.2.
67.2
HE shells
HE alpha800
HE Velocity811 m/s
Fire Chance6%
HE penetration
ƒ17 mm ≈ 102 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
17 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ800 HE damage x 4 broadside guns = 3,200.
3,200
HE DPM
ƒ3,200 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 3.571 s (3.5 s = 25 ticks) base reload = 53,760.
53,760
Fires/min
ƒ67.2 shells/min × 0.06 (6% fire chance) = 4.03.
4.03
AA Defense
AA mount points4
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 2 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.
2 km
20 mm Oerlikon Mk44×1 20mm
Near aura
Guns20 mm Oerlikon Mk4
Continuous DPS
ƒEffective DPS: 15 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.85 hit probability = 45 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.
45
Range2 km
Maneuverability
Engine power5,500 hp
Maximum speed20.3 kt
Turning circle radius320 m
Rudder shift time3 s
Engine power-boost threshold7.0 kt
Engine spool-up time15.3 s
Reverse spool-up time7.7 s
Reverse speed
ƒtop speed / 4 + 4.9 = 20.3 / 4 + 4.9 = 10.0 kt. Base value; speed modifiers scale it.
10.0 kt
Crash stop
ƒSeconds 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.
25.6 s
Engine boost threshold (reverse)
ƒSpeed below which the engine's built-in power boost applies in reverse.
7.0 kt
Acceleration 0-90%
ƒTime to reach 90% of top speed (18.3 kt of 20.3 kt).
22.1 s
Acceleration 0-99%
ƒTime to reach 99% of top speed (20.1 kt of 20.3 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.
35.6 s
Guns in a full turn
ƒWith the rudder hard over the hull turns 7.8°/s, so a target drifts across the bow at that rate. Turret traverse minus hull turn: 8 − 7.8 = +0.2°/s, so the guns hold the target through the turn. Main Battery Mod. 2 (+20% traverse) and Mod. 3 (−15%) move this line.
hold target (+0.2°/s spare)
Concealment
Detectability by sea
ƒBase value, no camouflage. With a Grade IV permanent camo (or any disposable camo): 8.62 km x 0.955 = 8.23 km. Camouflage does not change detectability by air.
8.62 km
With Grade IV camouflage (sea)
ƒDetectability by sea 8.62 km x 0.955 (Grade IV permanent camo or any disposable camo) = 8.23 km.
8.23 km
Detectability by air4.66 km
Smoke firing penalty2.89 km
Detect when firing (sea)
ƒLarger of 11.14 km range and 2.89 km smoke firing penalty = 11.14 km. When you fire, you can be seen out to your main battery range. Skills that shorten your range don't shorten this below your smoke firing penalty.
11.14 km
Detect when firing (air)
ƒAir detectability 4.66 km + gun-firing bloom 2.4 km = 7.06 km. The bloom tracks main-battery caliber x 0.020.
7.06 km
Detect when on fire (sea)
ƒSea detectability 8.62 km + 2.0 km while burning = 10.62 km.
10.62 km
Detect when on fire (air)
ƒAir detectability 4.66 km + 3.0 km while burning = 7.66 km.
7.66 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
✦
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Module options (1)

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

Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range10,130 → 11,143 m

Under the hood

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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.

Main battery formulas

vs standard cruiser10% tighter H · 10% shorter V
H = horizontal, V = vertical spread. This ship's curve against the standard cruiser curve, both evaluated at this ship's max range (11.1 km) with the same model as Max Horiz/Vert Disp: horizontal 99 / 110 m − 1 = -10%, vertical 59 / 66 m − 1 = -10%. Shell grouping (σ) is separate: it sets how shells bunch toward the centre of this ellipse.
Shell scatter width @ 5 km52.5 m
(166.7 × (8 − 0.5) / 1000 + 0.5) × 30 = 52.5 m. Horizontal scatter at a fixed 5 km, from the same dispersion model as the rows below - a knife-fight-range anchor comparable across ships.
Shell scatter width @ 10 km90 m
(333.3 × (8 − 0.5) / 1000 + 0.5) × 30 = 90 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.
Shell scatter height @ 5 km24.6 m
How tall the scatter ellipse is at a fixed 5 km, from the same model, comparable from ship to ship. The height/width ratio is a piecewise-linear curve through three points from the ship's own dispersion data: radiusOnZero=0.2 at 0 m, radiusOnDelim=0.5 at delim·Rmax=0.5·11143=5572 m, and radiusOnMax=0.6 at 11143 m. Below the kink: k=0.2+(0.5−0.2)·50005572=0.4692, so σV=σH·k=52.5·0.4692=24.6m.
Shell scatter height @ 10 km52.2 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. The height/width ratio is a piecewise-linear curve through three points from the ship's own dispersion data: radiusOnZero=0.2 at 0 m, radiusOnDelim=0.5 at delim·Rmax=0.5·11143=5572 m, and radiusOnMax=0.6 at 11143 m. Above the kink: k=0.5+(0.6−0.5)·10000−557211143−5572=0.5795, so σV=σH·k=90·0.5795=52.2m.
HE flight time @ 10 km7.59 s
How long an HE shell takes to reach a target at a fixed 10 km, from the same numerically integrated trajectory the Charts card plots. The shell slows under quadratic air drag, adrag=kρv2, where ρ is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and k bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass: k=πCdd28m=π·0.3142·0.10228·15.88=8.08×10−5. That runs from a 811 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77 because the game clock runs faster than real time. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.
Guns per full salvo (alpha, DPM)4
2 mounts × 2 barrels = 4; all 4 bear on the broadside.

Model inputs

HE muzzle velocity811 m/s
Starting speed of the HE shell; sets its flight time and lead.
idealRadius8
Horizontal dispersion growth per idealDistance of range, in 30 m units; the slope of the scatter-width line.
minRadius0.5
Horizontal dispersion at zero range, in 30 m units; the intercept of the scatter-width line.
idealDistance1,000 m
Range step over which horizontal dispersion grows by idealRadius.
taperDist4,000 m
Inside this range the scatter width tapers toward minRadius instead of following the line.
radiusOnZero0.2
Vertical scatter as a share of horizontal at zero range.
radiusOnDelim0.5
Vertical scatter as a share of horizontal at the delim point.
radiusOnMax0.6
Vertical scatter as a share of horizontal at maximum range.
delim0.5
Where the vertical-scatter curve bends, as a share of maximum range.

AA defense

AA DPS at max range45
Only families that reach 2 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 20mm Oerlikon MK4 4x1 -> 45 DPS @ 2 km.
AA DPS layered by range45 DPS @ 2 km
@ 2 km: 45 from one family. 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.
AA DPS at point-blank45
45 = 45 DPS: the sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (2 km).
AA threat index90
45 × 2 = 90. 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
Open in Charting Tool

Ship Charts

Background

British River-class frigates, designed to escort convoys in the North Atlantic, were sold off in large numbers after World War II. USS Asheville, a Canadian-built ship, remained in the U.S. Navy until 1946 but was later sold to Argentina. There, she initially served under the name Hércules, then Juan B. Azopardo until 1973.

Armor Beta

Hull HP 12,600, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds.

Bow & stern6 mm

Overmatched by 60+ AP guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.

Farming6 mm

Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 0%, fires burn 30s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →

Section Plates HP cap Threats Tactic
Bow6 mm primary (range 6–10 mm)1,000 (8% of HP)
Overmatched by 127mm+ AP (Farragut)6 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.
Stern6 mm primary (range 6–10 mm)600 (5% of HP)
Overmatched by 127mm+ AP (Farragut)6 mm: HE pens from 127mm+
Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel10 mm primary (range 6–10 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.
Superstructure6 mm300 (2% 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 HP3,200 magazine HPTurret knocked outPer-turret powder-magazine HP, a separate pool that does not drain ship HP. As it is worn down the turret is likelier to be knocked out, and a smaller pool gets there faster.
AA mount (20 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 HP1,900 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.

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Hércules can equip.

  • Hércules 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.