World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Phoenix

Also called: 凤凰城 Beta
Hydro cruiserSonar-first support: contest islands and smoke without spending detection.
Playstyle
  • Sit 10-13 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line
  • Avoid: Open-water broadside trading
Key characteristics
SonarHeavy citadel beltFast turret traverseFast for the classFast AP shellsLow AP DPM
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Community Data

Phoenix Community Stats

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Playstyle

Overview

Phoenix is a Tier III American light cruiser with Sonar as her vision tool. Hydro lets her contest islands and smoke without exposing the hull to vision cycles, which shapes how she pressures caps. Standout traits: best heavy citadel belt in T3 CAs (76 mm) and top-decile turret traverse rate in T3 CAs (10).

Positioning

Sit 10-13 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line. Hydro (3.5 km on ships, 2.5 km on torpedoes) lights up DDs and incoming torpedoes inside its bubble, so you can push the cap edge from cover without taking the spotting cycle; prefer cover positions over open-water flanks. Your guns lose penetration at range, so aim AP at broadsides you can still citadel and put HE into superstructures and upper-hull sections, rather than the bow-in or belt armor your shells bounce and shatter on.

Potato Avoidance

Open-water broadside trading

Her 152mm shells citadel cruisers on the wrong frame, and her 24,000-HP hull does not recover from a punished salvo. Pick rotations and angles deliberately; the chip-damage role pays better than the trade-blow role on a cruiser of this profile.

Signature Traits

Heavy citadel belt

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

ELITE MAIN BATTERY
  • Fast turret traverse · 10.0°
  • Big-caliber overmatch · 10.6 mm
  • Fast AP shells · 11.87 s
  • Overmatch specialist
Fast for the class

35.0 kt, top decile of T3 CAs. Lets you rotate flanks or escape disengagements.

WEAK MAIN BATTERY
  • Low AP DPM · 67500 AP
  • Low fire chance · 7.0%
Acquisition

How to get Phoenix

Phoenix is available in the Early U.S. Cruisers branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 85,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 17,000 credits.

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

Phoenix sits in the Early U.S. Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.

The early U.S. cruisers focus on providing a powerful broadside from their rapid-firing guns, and they are your starting point to the U.S. Tech Trees. From Tier III, you gain access to a useful self-defense tool: Sonar.
Advantages
High rate of fire, Sonar consumable starting at Tier III
Disadvantages
Limited main battery firing angles, Low-velocity shells

Builds Beta

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

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Cohort position

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Where Phoenix 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.

BestCitadel belt76 mm (1 of 4 tied) Top 25%Max speed35 kt (3/13) Top 25%Traverse-to-turn ratio6.11 × (3/13) Top 25%Main battery caliber152 mm (4/13) Top 25%Engine power90,000 hp (3/13) Top 25%Turn-speed retention142.9 hp/m (3/13) Top 25%Torpedo reload44 s (3/12) Bottom 25%Torpedo range5.49 km (11/12) WorstFires per minute1.58 (12/12) WorstHE DPM47,250 (12/12) WorstAP DPM67,500 (13/13) WorstNo secondaries (9 of 13 in cohort) WorstDeck armor10 mm (1 of 4 tied)
See 26 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Phoenix -- 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 points24,000 HP(7/13) Concealment10.34 km(10/13) Air detection6.2 km(9/13) Rudder shift5.4 s(5/13) Main battery range12.8 km(6/13) Main battery reload8 s(8/13) HE shell damage2,100(8/12) Main dispersion113.3 m(5/13) AP velocity853 m/s(5/13) HE velocity853 m/s(5/12) Acceleration24.4 s(10/13) AP arming threshold25 mm(9/13) Displacement7,850 t(8/13) Power-to-weight11.46 hp/t(5/13) AA DPS123(6/13) AA range3.1 km(7/13) AA threat271(9/13) Torpedo damage≈10,833(7/12) Torpedo speed56 kt(9/12) Max armor76 mm(5/13) NormSigma2(12 of 13 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(10 of 13 tied at this value) NormAP ricochet start45°(12 of 13 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(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: 22,300 → 24,000
Displacement7,850 t
Armor range6–76 mm
Plate armor thicknesses6, 10, 13, 15, 25, 37, 38, 76 mm
Armor material/layer entries38
Fire resistanceInitial: 6.7% → 10%
Fire duration30 s
Torp Reduction0%
Main Battery
ModuleArtillery: 152 mm/53 Mk14
Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 6 barrels
Reload time8 s
Firing range (base)11.6 km
Firing range (top fire control)12.8 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 =(1163630·81.11000+1.1)·30=113.3m
113.3 m
Max Vert Disp
ƒVertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: σV=σH·radiusOnMax =113.3·0.6=68m
68 m
Med Horiz Disp
ƒ50%-hit horizontal radius: σH,50=σH·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =113.3·0.32(σ=2)=36.2m
36.2 m
Med Vert Disp
ƒ50%-hit vertical radius: σV,50=σV·GetHalfHitsRatio(σ) =68·0.319(σ=2)=21.7m
21.7 m
Turret turn time
ƒ180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.
18 s
Base shells/min
ƒ3 broadside guns x 60 / 8 s base reload = 22.5.
22.5
HE shells
HE Damage2,100 → 2,200
HE Velocity853 m/s → 914 m/s
Fire Chance7% → 12%
HE penetration
ƒ25 mm ≈ 152 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).
25 mm
HE full-salvo alpha
ƒ2,200 HE damage x 3 broadside guns = 6,600.
6,600
Base HE DPM
ƒ6,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8 s base reload = 49,500.
49,500
Base fires/min
ƒ22.5 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 2.7.
2.7
AP shells
AP Damage3,000 → 3,100
AP Velocity853 m/s → 914 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: P=107·K·m0.69·d1.07·v01.38 =107·1772·47.60.69·0.1521.07·9141.38=233.1mm. Matches the in-game spec card.
233.1 mm
AP Pen Far
ƒSame formula at the ship's max firing range (16 km), where the shell has slowed to 268.6 m/s: P=107·1772·47.60.69·0.1521.07·268.61.38=43mm.
43 mm
AP full-salvo alpha
ƒ3,100 AP damage x 3 broadside guns = 9,300.
9,300
Base AP DPM
ƒ9,300 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8 s base reload = 69,750.
69,750
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: Mark 11
Launchers / tubes2 launchers × 2 tubes = 4 tubes
Reload time44 s
Projectile speed56 kt
Range5.49 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=32,500·0.333=10,833.
≈ 10,833
Torpedo detectability1.1 km
Flooding chance192%
Torpedo launcher traverse25 °/s
Torp Turn
ƒTime to rotate the launchers 180 deg: tturn=180°25°/s=7.2s.
7.2 s
Torp Arming173 m
Per-side salvo damage
ƒOne side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 2 x 10,833 = 21,666.
21,666
AA Defense
AA mount pointsInitial: 4 → 10
Close-range AA DPS
ƒSum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (6×3.5×0.9) + (15×3.5×0.9) + (19×3.5×0.85) = 123. 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.
123
Maximum AA range
ƒLongest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
3.1 km
76.2 mm Mk10Initial: 2×1 → 4×1 76mm
28 mm Mk2 mod. 2 (upgraded hull only)2×4 28mm
12.7 mm Browning M2 mod. 1 (upgraded hull only)4×1 13mm
7.6 mm Hotchkiss Mk1 (stock hull only)2×1 8mm
Medium aura
DPS15
Range3.1 km
Far aura
DPSInitial: 2 → 6
Range3 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒMedium 15 + Far 6 = 21
21
Near aura
DPS19
Range1.2 km
Total DPS in Aura
ƒMedium 15 + Far 6 + Near 19 = 40
40
Maneuverability
Engine moduleEngine: 90,000 hp
Engine power90,000 hp
Maximum speed35 kt
Turning circle radius630 m
Rudder shift time5.4 s
Engine power-boost threshold7 kt
Engine spool-up time15.3 s
Reverse spool-up time7.7 s
Acceleration 0-90%
ƒTime to reach 90% of top speed (31.5 kt of 35 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.
24.4 s
Acceleration 0-99%
ƒTime to reach 99% of top speed (34.6 kt of 35 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.
39.1 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·35.0·0.5144630=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 sea10.34 km
Detectability by air6.2 km
Smoke firing penalty4.65 km
Detect after firing main guns
ƒmax(base sea detectability, gun-firing bloom range). Firing never pulls your detection closer than base concealment.
10.34 km
Detect Fire Sea12.34 km
Detect Fire Air9.2 km
Guaranteed Detect2 km
Consumables
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
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.

HullUpgrade
  • Hit points22,300 → 24,000
  • Rudder shift9.1 → 7 s
  • AA mounts4 → 10
  • Close-range AA DPS4 → 40
  • Maximum AA range3 → 3.1 km
Fire controlUpgrade
  • Main battery range11,636 → 12799.6 m
ArtilleryUpgrade
  • HE fire chance7 → 12 %

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 Disp113.3 m
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{11636}{30}\cdot\dfrac{8-1.1}{1000} + 1.1\right)\cdot 30 = 113.3\,\text{m}$
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 Disp68 m
Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 113.3 \cdot 0.6 = 68\,\text{m}$
Shell scatter height @ 10 km58.3 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 Disp36.2 m
50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 113.3 \cdot 0.32\;(\sigma = 2) = 36.2\,\text{m}$
Med Vert Disp21.7 m
50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 68 \cdot 0.319\;(\sigma = 2) = 21.7\,\text{m}$
Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.
Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.
AP Pen Close233.1 mm
Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 1772 \cdot 47.6^{0.69} \cdot 0.152^{-1.07} \cdot 914^{1.38} = 233.1\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.
AP Pen Far43 mm
Same formula at the ship's max firing range (16 km), where the shell has slowed to 268.6 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 1772 \cdot 47.6^{0.69} \cdot 0.152^{-1.07} \cdot 268.6^{1.38} = 43\,\text{mm}$.
HE penetration25 mm
25 mm ≈ 152 mm caliber / 6 (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 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 alpha3
Barrels that can bear on one beam (3 of 6); casemate/wing mounts only fire one side.
Turret turn time18 s
180 degrees / 10 deg/s traverse speed = 18 s.
HE full-salvo alpha6,600
2,200 HE damage x 3 broadside guns = 6,600.
AP full-salvo alpha9,300
3,100 AP damage x 3 broadside guns = 9,300.
Base HE DPM49,500
6,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8 s base reload = 49,500.
Base AP DPM69,750
9,300 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 8 s base reload = 69,750.
Base shells/min22.5
3 broadside guns x 60 / 8 s base reload = 22.5.
Base fires/min2.7
22.5 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 2.7.

Torpedoes

Torpedo detectability1.1 km
Estimated torpedo reaction time7.6 s
detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Torpedo speed56 kt
Travel time to max range37.7 s
range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).
Tube count4
2 launchers x 2 tubes.
Per-side salvo2 torpedoes
tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).
Full-salvo damage43,332
All tubes hitting one target: tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 4 x 10,833 = 43,332.
Per-side salvo damage21,666
One side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 2 x 10,833 = 21,666.

AA defense

Close-range AA DPS123
Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (6×3.5×0.9) + (15×3.5×0.9) + (19×3.5×0.85) = 123. 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 range3.1 km
Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.
AA threat index271
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 22,30024,000 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.

Farming6 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)3,200 (13% 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 6–25 mm)18,000 (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 10–25 mm)1,800 (8% 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 13–76 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.
Superstructure6 mm primary (range 6–10 mm)800 (3% 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 HP12,000 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 HP7,200 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.
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Acceleration and Ballistics Chart

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

  • Phoenix 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.