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Zaō is a Legendary Japanese IJN cruiser with the improved AP fuse: her AP shells arm at 60% of the standard armor threshold, so they citadel cruisers that would over-pen a normal CA round. Lean on AP into broadsides and short-angled cruisers - HE-spamming this hull leaves the cohort's best damage tool on the rack. Sonar (4.4 km on ships and 3.1 km on torpedoes, 96 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 torpedo alpha in Legendary CAs (22,267) and top-decile torpedo speed in Legendary CAs (67 kt).
Sit 12-15 km from a contested cap where an island shadows you from the opposite battleship line. Hydro (4.4 km on ships, 3.1 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.
Her 203mm shells citadel cruisers on the wrong frame, and her 44,900-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.
AP arms at 60% of the standard armor threshold (vs 0.9 default). Lets your AP pen broadsiding cruisers that would over-pen a normal CA, citadel hunts the cohort can't pull off, unique in Legendary CAs.
131.1 m max horizontal dispersion, top decile of Legendary CAs. Accurate at range.
Zaō is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.
Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.
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Where Zaō sits among Legendary CAs (22 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.
Not standouts for Zaō -- 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.
Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active
Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 96 s active · 4.44 km ship detect 
Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · +100% flak burst boost
Catapult Fighter3 charges · 80 s reload · 90 s active · 5 km patrol radius 
Repair Party2 charges · 60 s reload · 28 s active · 7,543 HP (16.8% of max HP) total heal (per charge) 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.
Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model: $\sigma_H = \left(\dfrac{R}{30}\cdot\dfrac{\text{idealRadius}-\text{minRadius}}{\text{idealDistance}} + \text{minRadius}\right)\cdot 30$ $= \left(\dfrac{15479}{30}\cdot\dfrac{8-0.5}{1000} + 0.5\right)\cdot 30 = 131.1\,\text{m}$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.Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $\sigma_V = \sigma_H \cdot \text{radiusOnMax}$ $= 131.1 \cdot 0.6 = 78.7\,\text{m}$How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above.50%-hit horizontal radius: $\sigma_{H,50} = \sigma_H \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 131.1 \cdot 0.314\;(\sigma = 2.05) = 41.1\,\text{m}$50%-hit vertical radius: $\sigma_{V,50} = \sigma_V \cdot \text{GetHalfHitsRatio}(\sigma)$ $= 78.7 \cdot 0.314\;(\sigma = 2.05) = 24.7\,\text{m}$Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{-1.07} \cdot v_0^{1.38}$ $= 10^{-7}\cdot 2468 \cdot 155^{0.69} \cdot 0.203^{-1.07} \cdot 920^{1.38} = 542.9\,\text{mm}$. Matches the in-game spec card.Same formula at the ship's max firing range (19.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 438.1 m/s: $P = 10^{-7}\cdot 2468 \cdot 155^{0.69} \cdot 0.203^{-1.07} \cdot 438.1^{1.38} = 195\,\text{mm}$.34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).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.All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.3,400 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 40,800.5,400 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 64,800.40,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 181,333.64,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 288,000.40,800 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 12.2 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 200,656.64,800 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 12.2 s installed reload (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10%) = 318,689.12 broadside guns x 60 / 13.5 s base reload = 53.3.12 broadside guns x 60 / 12.2 s installed Artillery reload = 59.53.3 shells/min x 19% fire chance = 10.13.59 shells/min x 19% fire chance = 11.21.detectability / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).range / (speed kt x 2.6 community game-speed factor).4 launchers x 5 tubes.tube count / 2 (symmetric port/starboard launcher layout; common on cruisers and battleships with deck torpedoes).All tubes hitting one target: tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 20 x 22,267 = 445,340.One side firing, all torpedoes hitting: per-side tubes x per-torpedo simulated damage = 10 x 22,267 = 222,670.Sum across every AA aura on this ship of (aura.continuous_damage x 3.5 x aura.hit_probability). Here: (49×3.5×0.9) + (61×3.5×0.85) + (43×3.5×0.9) = 471. 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.Longest-reaching aura across AA-only + dual-purpose auras.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.Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 6×2 100 mm (6/side) × 60/3 × 1700 = 204,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1700 from the 100 mm family.Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 6% from the 100 mm family.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: 17 mm from the 100 mm family.Hull HP 44,900, 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.
Overmatched by 51+ guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.
AP can citadel a flat broadside even at range. Stay angled and avoid showing the full side.
Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 40%, fires burn 30s. Range-by-range in the ballistics tool →
| Section | Plates | HP cap | Threats | Tactic |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 25 mm primary (range 25–40 mm) | 1,900 (4% of HP) | Overmatched by 380mm+ (Alsace, Bourgogne)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+ | Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP. |
| Hull (midship) | 30 mm primary (range 25–203 mm) | 33,700 (75% of HP) | Overmatched by 460mm+ (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm30 mm: HE pens from 203mm+ | Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest. |
| Stern | 25 mm primary (range 25–40 mm) | 2,700 (6% of HP) | Overmatched by 380mm+ (Alsace, Bourgogne)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+ | Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation. |
| Citadel | 152 mm primary (range 6–152 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 | 16 mm | 2,200 (5% 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 HP | 22,500 magazine HP | Magazine detonation1–30% chance · below ~75% HP | Per-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. |
| Secondary mount (100 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 (40 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 | 13,500 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.
Every custom exterior Zaō can equip, from in-game data.
Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.