Zaō

Ship Overview

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 Zaō — Japanese • Legendary Tier • Cruiser.

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

Zaō was released as a purchasable Bureau project reward on December 1st, 2023.

 Navy: IJN
 Ship: Japanese
 Nation: Japan
 Category: Premium

 Tier: Legendary
 Class: Cruiser
 Cost: (Research Bureau) 30 000 000

 Year of Design: 1941
 Predecessor: Ibuki

━━ Ship Traits ━━

Sure Shot: Shells with a good ballistic trajectory maintain velocity, making aiming easier.

Superior HE Damage: Above-average HE shell damage.

Big Yield: Above average torpedo damage.

Ship Stats

Survivability

SURVIVBILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Hitpoints	44 900	-
• Armor (mm)	6 - 203	-
• Torpedo damage reduction (%)	19	-

Maneuverability

MANEUVERABILITY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Maximum speed (kt)	34.5	-
• Turning circle radius (m)	840	-
• Rudder-shift time (sec)	7.7	-

Concealment

CONCEALMENT	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Detectability by sea (km)	12.7	-
• Detectability by air (km)	7.6	-
• Detectability while firing in smoke (km)	7.3	-

Torpedoes

TORPEDOES	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	610mm quintuple	610mm quintuple
• Arrangement	4x5	4x5
• Reload time (sec)	104	171
• 180° turn time (sec)	7.2	7.2
• Maximum simulated damage	21 367	23 767
• Detectability by sea (km)	1.8	1.7
• Range (km)	8	11
• Speed (kt)	76	67

Main Artillery

MAIN BATTERY	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Main artillery name	203mm 18th Year Type	-
• Main artillery arrangement	4x3	-
• Firing range (km)	15.5	-
• Reload time (sec)	13.5	-
• 180° turn time (sec)	30	-
• HE maximum damage	3400	-
• HE fire chance (%)	19	-
• HE penetration (mm)	34	-
• AP maximum damage	5400	-
• Sigma	2.05	-

Secondary Artillery

SECONDARY ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	100mm Type98	-
• Arrangement	6x2	-
• Firing range (km)	5	-
• Reload time (sec)	3	-
• HE maximum damage	1700	-
• HE fire chance (%)	6	-
• HE penetration (mm)	20	-

Anti-Aircraft Artillery

AA ARMAMENT 1	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	25mm/60 Type96 mod. 1	-
• Arrangement	20x1	-
• DPS	36	-
• Range (km)	3.1	-
AA ARMAMENT 2	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	25mm Type96 mod. 1	-
• Arrangement	11x3	-
• DPS	67	-
• Range (km)	3.1	-
AA ARMAMENT 3	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	40mm/60 Type 5	-
• Arrangement	9x2	-
• DPS	99	-
• Range (km)	3.5	-
AA ARMAMENT 4	STOCK	UPGRADED
• Name	100mm Type98	-
• Arrangement	6x2	-
• DPS	125	-
• Range (km)	5	-

Modules, Modifications & Consumables

Modules

Cruiser - Zaō

	Hit Points	Min Armor (mm)	Max Armor (mm)	Torpedo Damage Reduction (%)	Main Battery Turrets	Torpedo Launchers	Rudder Shift (s)
Stock	44 900	6	203	19	4x3	4	7.7

	Turret Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max HE Damage	HE Fire Chance (%)	Max AP Damage
203mm 18th Year Type	4x3	13.5	30	3400	19	5400

	Main Battery Firing Range
Stock	15.5 km

	Launcher Arrangement	Reload Time (s)	180° Turn Time (s)	Max Damage	Range	Speed	Detection
610mm quintuple	4x5	104s	7.2s	21 367	8	76	1.8
610mm quintuple	4x5	171s	7.2s	23 767	11	67	1.7

	Maximum Speed
Stock	34.5 kn

Modifications

Cruiser - Zaō

SLOT 1	Main Battery Mod 2 Main battery traverse speed +20% Torpedo launchers traverse speed +20%	Aiming Systems Mod 1 Main battery dispersion -7% Secondary battery firing range +5% Secondary battery dispersion -5%	Secondary Battery Mod 2 Secondary battery firing range +20% Secondary battery dispersion -20%	AA Guns Mod 2 AA guns firing range +20%
SLOT 2	Damage Control System Mod 2 Damage Control Party duration +20% Fire duration -15% Flood duration -15%	Steering Gears Mod 2 Rudder-shift time -25%	Propulsion Mod 2 Time taken to reach full power when accelerating -50%
SLOT 3	Chromium Plated Barrels Main battery dispersion -5%	Concealment System Mod 1 Detectability range -10% Incoming fire dispersion +5%	Target Acquisition System Mod 1 Spotting range +20% Torpedo acquisition range +20% RGA of ships +50%	Steering Gears Mod 3 Rudder-shift time -40% Steering gear repair time -80%
SLOT 4	Main Battery Mod 3 Main battery reload time -10% Main battery traverse speed -15%	Torpedo Tube Mod 3 Torpedo launcher reload time -15% Risk of torpedo launchers becoming incapacitated +50%	Secondary Battery Mod 3 Secondary battery reload time -20%	Gun Fire Control System Mod 2 Main battery dispersion -3% Main battery range +5%	AA Guns Mod 3 Cooldown time for all consumables -10% Average AA damage per second +25%

Consumables

Cruiser - Zaō

Damage Control Party

Accelerates repairs to damage modules, firefighting efforts and recovery from flooding.

Duration: 5s Relaod time: 60s The number of consumables is unlimited

Sonar

Increases the range of guaranteed acquisition of enemy ships and torpedoes, including those within smoke screens.

Detection of torpedoes: 3.1km Detection of ships: 4.4km Duration: 96s Reload time: 180s Number of consumables: 2

Catapult Fighter

Follows the ship and automatically attacks enemy aircraft.

Duration: 100s Reload time: 80s Number of consumables: 3

Repair Party

Partially restores the ship's HP by repairing light damage.

HP per second: +269 Duration: 28s Reload time: 60s Number of consumables: 2

Defensive AA Fire

Increases the efficiency of AA fire.

Average AA damage: +200% Duration: 40s Reload time: 150s Number of consumables: 2

Community Contributions

Player Opinion

Cruiser - Zaō

Pros:

• Best accuracy of all cruisers (uses DD dispersion formula)
• Good ballistics performance with fast flight time at all ranges
• Good HE firepower with high alpha damage and fire starting ability
• Good AP performance with high damage per volley and decent penetration
• Fast, powerful torpedoes, with two quintuple launchers on each side of the ship
• High base speed of 34.5 knots
• Good maneuverability
• Excellent concealment with all relevant upgrades

Cons:

• Low HP pool for a Legendary Tier heavy cruiser
• Poor main battery firing angles - bringing all guns to bear can be dangerous
• Subpar turret traverse speed
• Poor torpedo firing arcs, with the launchers being located in the aft section
• Because of their exposed position, her torpedo launchers are prone to incapacitations and destruction
• Very long torpedo launchers reload time

Performance

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