Zao

Revision as of 07:33, 2 April 2018

13.3

Cruiser | Japan | Tier X

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X

20,000,000

Zaō — Japanese Tier X cruiser.

A very powerful cruiser in all respects. Compared with the preceding classes of heavy cruisers, Zao had a greater number of main battery and AA guns, thick armor, and a reinforced torpedo armament.

Modules

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Dispersion (m)	Maximum HE Shell Damage (HP)	Chance of Fire on Target Caused by HE Shell (%)	Maximum AP Shell Damage (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
203 mm/50 3rd Year Type No.2 in a triple turret	4.4	30	136	3,400	19	5,400		0	2,100,000

	Hit Points (HP)	Armor (mm)	Armor (mm)	Main Turrets (pcs.)	Secondary Gun Turrets (pcs.)	AA Mounts (pcs.)	Torpedo Tubes (pcs.)	Hangar Capacity (pcs.)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Zaō	44,900	16	203	4	6	20/11/9/6	4			0	2,800,000

	Rate of Fire (shots/min)	Torpedo Tubes Reload Time (sec)	180° Turn Time (sec)	Maximum Damage (HP)	Torpedo Speed (knot)	Torpedo Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Type93 mod. 3	0.4	171	7.2	23,766	67	12		30,000	2,500,000
Type F3	0.6	104	7.2	21,366	76	8		0	2,500,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Type10 mod. 1		0		0	1,600,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 159,000 hp	34.5		0	1,400,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5
Slot 6

Player Opinion

Performance

The Zao, by all means of appearance and handling, can be considered the very pinnacle of what the Japanese might have expected with their heavy cruisers as she has potent guns in the form of twelve 203's in four triple mount turrets, a reasonable array of secondary batteries, an impressive AA suite for a Japanese heavy cruiser and ergonomics. Called by veteran Alpha Testers and Closed Beta Testers by her old name "Senjo", she is essentially the other side of the cruiser pinnacle: hard hitting shells with flatter and faster speeds at the cost of slow rate of fire. What she cannot overwhelm with unloading lots of ordnance at, she demolishes with damage if the shells ever punch through and there are rare cases that only this heavy cruiser was able to deal glancing damage to the mighty Yamato.

However, as stealthy as she is, the Zao cannot take an enduring beating as she can NOT trade shell for shell with her peers as she has the longest reload of 13 seconds which will be a detriment to brawls and adding the fact her turrets turn fairly slower as a consequence to her glaring ergonomic advantages. The torpedoes are insanely fast and packs a considerable punch where in they have the potential to destroy the toughest battleships with a single salvo should all torpedoes connect. However, it has two disadvantages to the player: its very VERY limited launch arc due to the tube location close to the stern and the fact that this blazing fast speed comes at an 8km range which means you literally need to swoop in like an eagle, dump your torpedoes while turning away then get out of Dodge which can cost you more HP than you bargain for. Though Zao may not be able to stand out with a very high profile that long compared to her colleagues Moskva, Hindenburg and Des Moines, she uses her ability to gain the initiative in firing first and with the fast shell velocity means most rounds are guaranteed to connect. Another edge is her rather potent HE which has a fairly high chance to set ships on fire which means if her already impressive AP does not cut it anymore, her HE shells will do the job quite nicely, especially when dealing with tough targets like battleships or easily snipe fast running destroyers such as the notorious Khabarovsk. While her HE can do quite the damage through shell hits and fires, her AP can pack a devastating hit to any ship that shows its broadside too close to the Zao.

A summary of one of the Zao's playstyle can be said into a quote: "hide until an opportunity presents itself, strike like you intend to cripple them, vanish like you never existed"

Pros:

Four triple mount turrets that give her good broadside.
Very tight grouping of shells, even at range.
The AA suite is reasonable.
Fast shell velocity.
Low detection range for a Tier X cruiser.
Fast cruiser of 34.5 knots
Good concealment values; a fully kitted captain will have the initiative in shooting first
Good shooting angles for both X and Y turrets
Fastest torpedoes at her tier.
Very potent torpedo damage.
HE shells have high fire chance.

Cons:

Longest load time out of all tier 10 cruisers at 13.7 seconds.
Questionable turning circle.
Tubes are located very near the stern which may limit torpedo runs.
Torpedoes have an 8 km range.
Lowest HP among her peers.
Slow turret traverse which will limit reactive aiming.
Tubes are fairly easy to incapacitate or destroy.
Consumables are rather bland compared to other cruisers in her tier.

Research

None, as the ship is elite when bought.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Zaō are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 keeps the guns and torpedo tubes active and firing.
Slot 2: Damage Control System Modification 1  makes the ship more resistant to fires and flooding.
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1 gives her guns more accuracy.
Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 2 allows for a faster rudder shift to dodge incoming fire.
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1  decreases the detection range allowing greater stealth.
Slot 6: Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 increases the range allowing more flexibility in target selection.

Commander Skills

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Endurance		Attack		Support		Versatility
1	Priority Target Situational Awareness indicator will show the number of opponents currently aiming at you with main battery guns. ★★★	Preventative Maintenance -30% to the risk of incapacitation of main turrets, torpedo tubes, steering gear, engines. ★★	Expert Loader -50% to reload time when shell type is switched. ★	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time.	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time.	Incoming Fire Alert Indicator of long-range enemy artillery fire. ★	Last Gasp Completely restores the engine boost for the last attack flight of the carrier's planes.
2	High Alert -10% to reload time of Damage Control Party consumable. ★	Jack of All Trades -5% to reload time of all consumables. ★	Expert Marksman +2.5 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber up to 139mm. +0.7 deg/sec to traverse speed of guns with a caliber above 139mm. ★★★	Torpedo Acceleration +5 knots to torpedo speed. -20% to torpedo range.	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen.	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed.	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% to reload times of all types of armament for each 1% of total health lost. +0.2% squadron speed for each 1% of total health lost. ★★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★
3	Basics of Survivability -15% to time of repair, fire extinguishing, and recovery from flooding. ★	Survivability Expert +350 ship HP for each ship tier. +15 aircraft HP for each ship tier. ★	Torpedo Armament Expertise -10% to reload time of torpedo tubes.	Aircraft Armor Reduces continuous damage to aircraft in all AA defense zones. -10% continuous damage.	Basic Firing Training -10% to reload time of main battery guns with a caliber up to and including 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +10% to continuous damage from AA guns. ★	Superintendent +1 additional charge to all consumables mounted on a ship. ★★	Demolition Expert +2% chance of HE shells causing a fire on target. +1% chance of rockets causing a fire on target. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire on target. ★★★	Vigilance +25% to detection range of enemy torpedoes. ★★
4	Manual Fire Control for Secondary Armament Tightens dispersion of shells from secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only.	Fire Prevention -10% to the risk of fire. The maximum number of fires on a ship is reduced to three. ★	Inertia Fuse for HE Shells +30% to the armor penetration capacity of HE shells. -1% chance of fire on target caused by shells <=139mm. -3% chance of fire on target caused by shells >139mm.	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +5% attack aircraft aiming speed. +5% torpedo bomber aiming speed. +10% dive bomber aiming speed.	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% damage/sec. within the explosion radius of shells fired from long-range AA defenses. ★★	Massive AA Fire Instantaneous Damage +100%. Priority AA sector cooldown +50%.	Radio Position Finding Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken. ★	Concealment Expert -10% to the detection radius of all ships and aircraft. ★★★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Meh Χ - Not recommended

Consumables

Zaō can equip the following consumables:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party 
Slot 2: Defensive AA Fire  or Hydroacoustic Search 
Slot 3: Spotting Aircraft  or Catapult Fighter 
Slot 4: Repair Party

Camouflage

Type 1, 2, or 5 camouflage can be equipped for credits; Types 1 or 5 are recommended at a minimum to reduce detectibility range.

Players who wish to spend doubloons can equip Zaō with Type 20 camouflage that lowers her detection radius, reduces the accuracy of incoming shells, reduces her repair costs, and increases the amount of experience she earns.

Signals

Recommended Signal Flags
Combat
Juliet Charlie -100% to the risk of magazine detonation. ★	Juliet Yankee Bissotwo -20% to flooding duration.	India Yankee -20% to fire duration.	Hotel Yankee -20% to damage received when ramming the enemy. +50% to damage dealt when ramming the enemy.	Victor Lima +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +4% chance of torpedoes causing flooding. ★★★	India X-Ray +1% chance for HE bombs and shells with a caliber above 160mm causing a fire. +0.5% chance for bombs and smaller shells causing a fire. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating. ★★★
Juliet Whiskey Unaone +15% chance of causing flooding. +5% to the risk of your ship's magazine detonating.	Mike Yankee Soxisix +5% to secondary battery maximum firing range. -5% to maximum dispersion of secondary battery shells. -5% to secondary battery loading time.	November Echo Setteseven +5% continuous AA damage at all ranges. +5% damage from flak bursts. ★	Sierra Mike +5% to the ship's maximum speed.	November Foxtrot -5% reload time on all consumables. ★	India Delta +20% to the amount of HP recovered when Repair Party  is used. ★★★
X-Ray Papa Unaone +10% action time of a Smoke Generator .	Sierra Bravo +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search  -10% reload time of Defensive AA Fire .

Note: Use of the Juliet Charlie signal makes detonation impossible.

Gallery

Ships of Japan

Destroyers	II Tachibana • II Umikaze • II Tachibana Lima • III Wakatake • IV Isokaze • V Minekaze • V Fūjin • V Kamikaze • V Kamikaze R • V Mutsuki • VI Fubuki • VI Hatsuharu • VI Shinonome B • VI Shinonome • VII Akatsuki • VII Shiratsuyu • VII Yūdachi • VIII Akizuki • VIII Kagerō • VIII Asashio • VIII HSF Harekaze II • VIII Asashio B • VIII HSF Harekaze • VIII AL Yukikaze • IX Yūgumo • IX Kitakaze • IX Minegumo • IX STAR Kitakaze • X Shimakaze • X Harugumo • X Hayate • ★ Yamagiri
Cruisers	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami
Battleships	II Mikasa • III Kawachi • IV Myōgi • IV Ishizuchi • V Kongō • V ARP Kongō • V ARP Kirishima • V ARP Haruna • V ARP Hiei • V HSF Hiei • VI Fusō • VI Mutsu • VI Ise • VII Nagato • VII Ashitaka • VII Hyūga • VIII Amagi • VIII Yumihari • VIII Kii • VIII Ignis Purgatio • VIII Ragnarok • IX Izumo • IX Adatara • IX Musashi • IX Hizen • IX Iwami • IX Daisen • IX Tsurugi • IX Iwami B • X Yamato • X Bungo • X Shikishima • X ARP Yamato • ★ Satsuma
Aircraft Carriers	IV Hōshō • VI Ryūjō • VIII Shōkaku • VIII Kaga • VIII Kaga B • X Hakuryū • ★ Sekiryu

Cruisers

Japan	I Hashidate • II Chikuma • III Tenryū • III Katori • IV Yūbari • IV Kuma • IV Iwaki Alpha • V Furutaka • V Agano • V Yahagi • VI Aoba • VI Gokase • VII Myōkō • VII Omono • VII Tokachi • VII Maya • VII ARP Myōkō • VII ARP Ashigara • VII ARP Haguro • VII Southern Dragon • VII Eastern Dragon • VII ARP Nachi • VIII Mogami • VIII Tone • VIII Atago • VIII Shimanto • VIII Atago B • VIII ARP Takao • VIII ARP Maya • IX Ibuki • IX Takahashi • IX Azuma • IX AL Azuma • IX Chikuma II • X Zaō • X Yodo • X Yoshino • X Yoshino B • X Kitakami
U.K.	I Black Swan • II Weymouth • III Caledon • IV Danae • V Emerald • V Hawkins • V Exeter • VI Leander • VI Devonshire • VI London • VI Dido • VI Orion '44 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII AL Cheshire • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Monmouth • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Defence • ★ Edgar
France	I Bougainville • II Jurien de la Gravière • III Friant • IV Duguay-Trouin • V Émile Bertin • VI La Galissonnière • VI De Grasse • VI Dupleix • VI Montcalm • VII Algérie • VII Toulon • VIII Charles Martel • VIII Cherbourg • VIII Bayard • IX Saint-Louis • IX Brest • IX Carnot • X Henri IV • X Marseille • X Colbert • ★ Condé
U.S.S.R.	I Orlan • II Diana • II Diana Lima • II Novik • III Aurora • III Bogatyr • III Oleg • III Varyag • III AL Avrora • IV Svietlana • V Murmansk • V Kotovsky • V Krasny Krym • V Mikoyan • V Kirov • VI Budyonny • VI Molotov • VI Admiral Makarov • VII Shchors • VII Lazo • VII Lazo B • VIII Chapayev • VIII Tallinn • VIII Mikhail Kutuzov • VIII Ochakov • VIII Pyotr Bagration • VIII Dmitry Pozharsky • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk B • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol • X Kommissar • ★ Novosibirsk
U.S.A.	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • V Rattlehead • VI Pensacola • VI Dallas • VII Atlanta • VII New Orleans • VII Helena • VII Indianapolis • VII Atlanta B • VII Boise • VII Flint • VIII Baltimore • VIII Cleveland • VIII Wichita • VIII Anchorage • VIII Congress • VIII Rochester • VIII San Diego • VIII AL Montpelier • IX Buffalo • IX Seattle • IX Vallejo • IX Alaska • IX Tulsa • IX Alaska B • X Des Moines • X Worcester • X Puerto Rico • X Salem • X Austin • ★ Annapolis
Germany	I Hermelin • II Dresden • II Emden • III Kolberg • IV Karlsruhe • V Königsberg • VI Nürnberg • VI Admiral Graf Spee • VI Leipzig • VI HSF Admiral Graf Spee • VII Yorck • VII München • VII Weimar • VIII Admiral Hipper • VIII Prinz Eugen • VIII Mainz • VIII Schill • VIII Mainz B • VIII Cross of Dorn • VIII Wiesbaden • IX Roon • IX Siegfried • IX Ägir • IX Admiral Schröder • IX Roon CLR • X Hindenburg • ★ Clausewitz
Pan-Asia	I Chengan • III Ning Hai • V Chungking • VI Rahmat • VI Huanghe • VII Chumphon • VIII Harbin • VIII Irian • VIII Wukong • IX Sejong • IX Dalian • IX Mengchong • IX Tianjin • X Jinan
Spain	I Júpiter • II Méndez Núñez • III Navarra • IV Almirante Cervera • V Galicia • VI Baleares • VI Canarias • VII Asturias • VIII Cataluña • VIII Numancia • IX Andalucía • X Castilla
Europe	I Gryf • VI Elli
Netherlands	I Van Kinsbergen • II Gelderland • III Java • IV De Ruyter • V Celebes • VI Kijkduin • VII Eendracht • VIII Haarlem • VIII De Zeven Provinciën • IX Johan de Witt • IX Van Speijk • X Gouden Leeuw • X Prins van Oranje
Italy	I Eritrea • II Nino Bixio • III Taranto • IV Alberto di Giussano • V Raimondo Montecuccoli • V Genova • VI Trento • VI Duca d'Aosta • VII Zara • VII Duca degli Abruzzi • VII Francesco Ferruccio • VII Gorizia • VIII Amalfi • IX Brindisi • IX Michelangelo • X Venezia • X Napoli • X Napoli B • ★ Piemonte
Commonwealth	I Sutlej • II Port Jackson • III Caradoc • IV Dunedin • V Delhi • VI Hobart • VI Perth • VI Mysore • VII Uganda • VIII Auckland • IX Encounter • IX Hector • X Cerberus • X Brisbane
Pan-America	I Hércules • II Almirante Barroso • II Almirante Abreu • III Vicente Guerrero • IV Córdoba • V La Argentina • VI Almirante Cochrane • VII Coronel Bolognesi • VII Nueve de Julio • VIII Ignacio Allende • VIII Almirante Grau • IX Santander • X San Martín

@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 | Dogfighting Expert =
 | Incoming Fire Alert = 1
-| Evasive Maneuver = 1
+| Evasive Maneuver =
 | High Alert = 1

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Zao

Revision as of 07:33, 2 April 2018

Modules

Compatible Upgrades