Aoba

12.2

Cruiser | Japan | Tier VI

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VI

2,660,000

Aoba — Japanese Tier VI cruiser.

Aoba represented a further development of Furutaka with main battery guns placed in twin turrets to achieve a longer gun range. Moreover, she outstripped her predecessor in torpedo armament power and AA defense capabilities.

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 Model C turret	5.5	36	116	3,300	17	4,700		0	240,000

	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 ()
Aoba (A)	30,500	6	105	3	4	15/2/4	2			0	380,000
Aoba (B)	31,900	6	105	3	4	15/2/4	2			14,000	980,000

	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 ()
Type8 mod. 2	0.6	102	7.2	16,266	59	10		0	400,000

	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SUO_INCREASE_DIST (%)	Maximum Firing Range (km)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Type6 mod. 1		0		0	240,000
Type6 mod. 2		0		6,000	520,000

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 102,000 hp	35		0	180,000

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning. The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
For a graphic summary of ships Tiers VIII thru XI see LittleWhiteMouse's "Actual AA DPS".

Aoba isn't really much of a departure from her predecessor Furutaka. She is very similar to Furutaka's C Hull and continues traits that will persist through the entire Japanese heavy cruiser line. They are anti-ship combatants, skirmishers that specialize in medium to long ranges, and are ships that need other ships to draw fire or to support in order to do well in. Aoba is a very good vessel to be a captain in, so long as the captain knows her well.

One of thing to notice is the slightly less responsive turrets (common to the next two tiers, culminating in Mogami's super-slow 155 mm turrets) and faster gun reload time of 4 seconds at best over her predecessor. Her responsiveness to fluid situations is improved for a Japanese cruiser. This allows her to be where needed and to support when it is asked. Aoba can smash tier V light cruisers with ease and be a wary force for other heavy cruisers and battleships but not so much with carriers as her AA suite is sufficient to only defend herself alone.

Her torpedoes are the same Type 8 mod.2 of the Furutaka upgrade but, perplexingly, their reload is longer. Unfortunately, the positioning of the racks at the rear of the ship is a sort of downgrade from Furutaka. Granted, this makes Aoba a dangerous ship to chase, but it also makes it more obvious to the enemy when she launches torpedoes, as the forward firing angle is quite shallow. [Annoyingly enough, these rear mounted torpedoes also creates a blind spot where you cannot spot friendly ships trying to pass close to you. -- Huh? - Ed.]

It's best that to let Aoba behave as an anti-ship combatant rather than a AA screen. Aoba retains the narrow hull of Furutaka and thus can bow in and expect not to be hit (very often) by battleship guns at longer ranges allowing continued fire. Combined with her excellent maneuverability and fast reverse speed of 17 knots, holding that heading is not difficult and while she can still dodge the occasional torpedo salvo if coming from the front or rear, especially with Hydroacoustic Search  active to give more time.

That being said, while Aoba is an anti-ship combatant, it does not have the armor or the reload speed to engage in gunnery duels with rapid firing American cruisers such as the equivalent tier Dallas and come out unscathed. It is a threat to equivalent tier cruisers, but like Furutaka, Aoba is a skirmisher, good at harassment, great at medium to long ranges at about 8-15 kilometers where she can still use her maneuverability to avoid gunfire, and requires friendly ships to draw fire, or islands to duck behind to give her breathing space.

Pros:

Narrow hull like most Japanese cruisers making it hard to hit her when she is facing bow or stern to enemy shells, also provides protection from bombs.
Very thick central deck armor (48 mm): even the biggest AP shells can ricochet.
Torpedo bulges rises above the waterline that covers ~75% of the citadel and helps shatter small shells.
Guns beat the equivalent ships of other nations, much better for dealing with cruisers of the equivalent tier.
Decent fire chance combine with her strong penetration, she rivals strong HE ship Devonshire.
Rate of fire, while slow for the tier, beats any Japanese heavy cruiser.
Good rudder shift and turning circle, makes it slightly easier to re-position and dodge shells.
Above average AA suite when Defensive AA Fire  is equipped and activated.

Cons:

Like most Japanese cruisers her armor is weak that makes her vulnerable to anything fired at her.
Slower firing rate of guns and traverse time compared to many equivalent tier cruisers.
Only 6 shells max in a salvo which is the least amount at her tier, although her fire chance, penetration, and accuracy makes it up.
Torpedo tubes have a very limited launching arc that require excessive boardside to use.
Rudder shift is slower than her predecessor without upgrades.
Despite better characteristics, she largely plays the same as Furutaka but with harder matchmaking.

Research

Captains should first research Aoba's second hull for the increase in health and maneuverability it provides. Lastly, captains should research the upgraded Gun Fire Control System to increase the ship's maximum firing range.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 keeps the guns and torpedo tubes active and firing.
Slot 1: Damage Control System Modification 1  makes the ship more resistant to fires and flooding.
Slot 3: Main Battery Modification 2 makes her guns more comfortable and saves a skill point that would otherwise be spent on Grease the Gears to improve her gun handling. Aiming Systems Modification 1 gives her guns more accuracy and is an alternative.
Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 1 allows for a faster rudder shift to dodge incoming fire. Propulsion Modification 1 improves the ship's acceleration and is a viable alternative if you prefer to dodge incoming fire and torpedoes by changing speed in addition to changing direction.

Commander Skills

The key skills for Aoba are identical to those used on Furutaka and include Grease the Gears at Level 1, Adrenaline Rush at Level 3, and Concealment Expert at Level 4. Captains who use the ship’s torpedoes often may also wish to invest in one or more of the torpedo skills if they have points remaining after investing in her main guns and concealment. The AA skills, particularly Expert AA Marksman, are almost always a good choice for leftover skill points on cruisers. While Pyrotechnician could be taken at Level 2 to improve her shells' fire chances, her rate of fire is too low to properly take advantage of the relative small boost to fire chance per shell. Captains may also with to invest in Top Grade Gunner to improve the slow rate of fire when they find themselves unable to drop off detection using her concealment.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack				Defense
1	Grease the Gears +15% main battery traverse speed. ★★	Swift Fish +5% torpedo speed. ★	Consumables Specialist -10% cooldown time of Main Battery Reload Booster, Torpedo Reload Booster, Spotting Aircraft, Catapult Fighter, and Defensive AA Fire.	Gun Feeder -40% time to switch shell type. ★	Incoming Fire Alert Receive a warning of a salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5km. ★	Last Stand The ship remains able to move and maneuver - slowly - while the engine or steering gears are incapacitated. ★
2	Demolition Expert +1% chance of main and secondary HE shells causing a fire. +15% to the fragmentation damage area of HE ordnance fired at submarines. ★★	Fill the Tubes -10% torpedo tubes reload time. ★	Consumables Enhancements +10% action time of Hydroacoustic Search, Surveillance Radar, Smoke Generator, & Engine Boost.	Eye in the Sky Spotting Aircraft: • +2 charges • -50% cooldown time • -50% action time.	Priority Target The detection indicator will show the number of enemies targeting you with main battery. ★★	Focus Fire Training In the priority AA sector: +25% continuous damage. +1 flak burst per salvo –10% reload time of Air strike armament. ★★
3	Heavy HE and SAP Shells +10% HE and SAP shell damage. +15% ship detectability guns 149mm and up.	Enhanced Torpedo Explosive Charge +15% torpedo damage. ★	Adrenaline Rush -0.2% reload time of all armaments per 1% HP lost +0.2% AA continuous damage per 1% HP lost. ★★★	Heavy AP Shells +5% damage for AP shells 190mm and larger. ★	Superintendent +1 charge to all consumables. ★★	Survivability Expert +450 HP per ship tier. ★
4	Top Grade Gunner -10% reload time of secondary batteries If enemy ship is spotted within detectability range, -8% reload time of main battery. ★	Outnumbered If there are fewer allies than visible enemies within the ship's base main caliber firing range: +8% ship speed -10% main battery dispersion. ★	Radio Location Shows the direction to the nearest enemy ship. The enemy is alerted that a bearing has been taken.. ★	Inertial Fuse for HE Shells +25% armor penetration of HE shells Base fire chance reduced by half.	Concealment Expert -10% detectability range of the ship. ★★★	AA Defense and ASW Expert +20% continuous AA damage. +20% flak damage. +15% damage from depth charges. ★
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Aoba can equip the following consumables:

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

Signals

Aoba captains should mount the standard flags to improve the ship's performance in battle. To improve upon the ship's armaments, India X-Ray (), Victor Lima (), and Juliet Whiskey Unaone () flags are recommended to increase the fire chance and flooding chances respectively. To improve the ship’s survivability, captains should mount November Foxtrot () and India Yankee () flags. Sierra Mike () flags are recommended to increase the ship’s already high top speed.

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 +15% 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

References

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 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 • 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 Kii • VIII Ignis Purgatio • VIII Ragnarok • IX Izumo • IX Musashi • IX Hizen • IX Iwami • IX Daisen • X Yamato • 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 • 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 • VII Fiji • VII Surrey • VII Belfast • VIII Edinburgh • VIII Albemarle • VIII Cheshire • VIII Tiger '59 • VIII Belfast '43 • VIII Hampshire • VIII Nottingham • VIII STAR Edinburgh • IX Neptune • IX Drake • X Minotaur • X Goliath • X Plymouth • X Gibraltar • X Monmouth • ★ Edgar
U.S.A.	I Erie • II Chester • II Albany • III St. Louis • III Charleston • IV Phoenix • V Omaha • V Marblehead • V Marblehead Lima • 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
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 • X Jinan
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 Mainz B • VIII Cross of Dorn • IX Roon • IX Siegfried • IX Ägir • IX Admiral Schröder • X Hindenburg • ★ Clausewitz
Europe	I Gryf • VI Elli
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 • VIII Chapayev • VIII Tallinn • VIII Mikhail Kutuzov • VIII Ochakov • VIII Pyotr Bagration • VIII Bagration • IX Dmitri Donskoi • IX Riga • IX Kronshtadt • X Moskva • X Alexander Nevsky • X Petropavlovsk • X Stalingrad • X Smolensk • X Sevastopol
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 Gorizia • VIII Amalfi • IX Brindisi • X Venezia • X Napoli • X Napoli B
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 • X Gouden Leeuw
France	I Bougainville • II Jurien de la Gravière • III Friant • IV Duguay-Trouin • V Émile Bertin • VI La Galissonnière • VI De Grasse • VI Dupleix • 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
Commonwealth	VI Perth • VI Mysore • IX Hector • X Brisbane
Spain	VI Canarias
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

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Aoba

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Compatible Upgrades