Sanzang

13.3

Aircraft Carrier | Pan-Asia | Tier VIII

Tech Tree Position

Battle Levels

12345678910

VIII

Special

Sanzang — Pan-Asian special premium Tier VIII aircraft сarrier.

Sanzang is a Buddhist monk, scientist, philosopher, traveler, and translator. He is not only an eminent person, but also the main character from "Journey to the West", a novel by Wu Cheng'en.

Sanzang was first released in "Lunar New Year" containers on 20 Jan 2021 on all servers.

Modules

	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 ()
Sanzang	47,900	6	152			15/10/5				0	0

	Speed (knot)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_MED_DAMAGE (HP/min)	IDS_SHIP_PARAM_SQUADRON_AMMO_AMOUNT	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
F8F Bearcat	176			1,660		0	0

	Maximum Torpedo Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
BTD Destroyer	6,467	131	2,040		0	0

	Maximum Bomb Damage (HP)	Speed (knot)	Hit Points (HP)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
BTD Destroyer		131	2,150		0	0

	Maximum Speed (knot)		Research price (exp)	Purchase price ()
Propulsion: 120,000 hp	33		0	0

Compatible Upgrades

Slot 1
Slot 2
Slot 3
Slot 4
Slot 5

Player Opinion

Performance

Warning. The data presented in the AA Defense sidebar section may be incorrect.
Refer to the in-game Port screens for more useful data.

As the first Pan-Asian premium aircraft carrier, Sanzang is not a new concept, but is actually a clone of the USN Tier VIII premium Saipan, except for the permanent camouflage. She plays exactly the same as Saipan and shares her strengths and weaknesses. Players who are comfortable with the play style of Saipan should not have any problem playing with Sanzang.

Sanzang shares the same Tiny Tim rockets, stock torpedoes and upgraded HE bombs as the Midway, but has only 6 planes for each plane type per squadron and only 9 of each plane type on deck at the start of the game. On top of that, the plane restoration time is more than 2 minutes, sharing the title of having the worst plane restoration time with Saipan. Like Midway, the HE bombs and rockets have very high alpha damage, but have annoyingly large aiming circles.

For a better and more in-depth review, here is the link to the Saipan page.

Pros:

High alpha bomb and rocket damage/penetration.
Planes have high speed and good-sized HP pools.
Acceptable torpedo bomber aiming speed.
Torpedo bombers drop 2 torpedoes per plane (4 fish per drop).
Good rudder shift, turning circle and top speed, making it easier to reposition the carrier.
Small detection radius by sea.
Good penetration on HE bombs enables them to attack targets with thicker deck armor, which Lexington cannot penetrate with bombs.

Cons:

Low plane count per squadron and on deck.
Horrible plane restoration time of more than 2 minutes for torpedo and dive bombers, and 117s restoration for attack aircraft.
Very weak armor compared to the Lexington or Enterprise.
Anemic AA defenses with stock range of 3.5km and insufficient AA fire power to make attack runs on this carrier expensive.
Despite the good detectability range by sea, detection range by air is 10.4km, giving enemy aircraft carrier more than enough time to maneuver squadron into position before attacking.
Small number of planes makes attacks by enemy fighter squadrons very costly for the player.
Dispersion ellipse of Tiny Tims is very large. Being a premium, Sanzang also does not have the option to mount HVAR rockets which Lexington and Midway can.

Research

As a premium ship, Sanzang doesn't have any upgrades to research.

Optimal Configuration

Sanzang should focus heavily on plane survivability despite the large plane hit point pools (for tier 8) due to the long plane restoration time.

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Sanzang are as follows:

Slot 1: Air Groups Modification 1
Slot 2: Aircraft Engines Modification 1
Slot 3: Torpedo Bombers Modification 1 to allow captains to drop earlier so that they do not need to dodge so much flak.
Slot 4: Bombers Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1  to help further prevent enemies from detecting the ship.

Commander Skills

Captains should focus on plane survivability despite the generous HP pools of the planes due to the long plane restoration time. Air Supremacy, Improved Engines, Aircraft Armor, Survivability Expert, Sight Stabilisation, Enhanced Aircraft Armor and Proximity Fuse are recommended for a 19 point commander, with special emphasis on the defense skills. However, do note that the distribution of skill points is a matter of personal choice. Captains should choose different skills for Sanzang if they feel more comfortable with that playstyle.

Recommended Commander Skills
Cost (points)	Attack			Defense		Support
1	Last Gasp Completely restores engine boost for the last attack squadron. ★	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. ★★	Engine Techie -20% Engine Cooling cooldown time.	Air Supremacy -5% aircraft restoration time. ★★★	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to CAP squadrons. ★	Search and Destroy +10% to action radius of Patrol Fighter and Interceptor squadrons.
2	Torpedo Bomber -10% torpedo arming distance. ★	Swift Fish +5% to torpedo speed.	Improved Engines +2.5% aircraft squadron speed. ★★★	Repair Specialist +1 In-flight Repair consumable +10% its action time. ★★	Secondary Armament Expert +10% flak and continuous damage -10% secondary battery reload time.	Patrol Group Leader +1 fighter to Patrol Fighter or Interceptor squadrons. ★
3	Sight Stabilization +7.5% aiming speed. ★★★	Enhanced Armor-Piercing Ammunition +3% damage from AP bombs and rockets.	Pyrotechnician +1% chance of HE rockets causing a fire. +5% chance of HE bombs causing a fire. ★★	Aircraft Armor -10% continuous AA damage while in an aura. ★★★	Survivability Expert +25 aircraft HP per ship tier. ★★	Interceptor Interceptors replace Patrol Fighters: +10% action radius. Invulnerable to fighters. Cannot attack fighters. Cannot spot ships.
4	Bomber Flight Control +5% speed all bomber types. ★★	Proximity Fuze -10% (absolute) to target's torpedo protection. ★★★	Close Quarters Expert Secondary batteries: +20% range -30% dispersion.	Enhanced Aircraft Armor -25% damage from flak. ★★★	Hidden Menace -15% ship detectability range. -20% Damage Control Party cooldown. +50% aircraft return time.	Enhanced Reactions -80% time before activated Patrol Fighters or Interceptors attack. +25% action time. +50% cooldown time.
Key: ★★★ - Extremely Useful ★★ - Frequently Useful ★ - Occasionally Useful No stars - Not Useful

Consumables

Sanzang can equip the following consumables:

Aircraft Carrier:

Slot 1: Damage Control Party  Infinite charges
Slot 2: CAP Fighter  4

All consumables on the carrier itself are activated at need and cannot be activated manually.

Attack Aircraft:

Slot 1: Engine Cooling  2
Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  3

Torpedo Bombers:

Slot 1: Engine Cooling  2
Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  3
Slot 3: In-flight Repair  3

Bombers:

Slot 1: Engine Cooling  2
Slot 2: Patrol Fighter  3

The In-flight Repair  and Patrol Fighter  consumables have 4 charges with the Repair Specialist and Patrol Group Leader captain skills respectively.

Camouflage

As a premium ship, Sanzang comes with Default permanent camouflage and a set of permanent combat bonuses.

Signals

India X-Ray, Juliet Whiskey Unaone and Victor Lima are the most effective signals for Sanzang. November Echo Setteseven will help to increase the power of Sanzang's horrible AAA. As an aircraft carrier, Sanzang has no risk of detonating so Juliet Charlie would just be wasted.

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

References

Ships of Pan-Asia

Destroyers	II Longjiang • III Phra Ruang • IV Shenyang • V Jianwei • VI Fushun • VI Anshan • VII Gadjah Mada • VIII Hsienyang • VIII Siliwangi • VIII Loyang • VIII Fenyang • VIII Loyang B • VIII Ship Smasha • IX Chung Mu • X Yueyang • X Lüshun • ★ Kunming
Cruisers	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
Battleships	IX Bajie • IX Wujing • IX Sun Yat-Sen • IX Louchuan
Aircraft Carriers	VIII Sanzang

Aircraft Carriers

Japan	IV Hōshō • VI Ryūjō • VIII Shōkaku • VIII Kaga • VIII Kaga B • X Hakuryū • ★ Sekiryu
U.K.	IV Hermes • VI Furious • VI Ark Royal • VIII Implacable • VIII Indomitable • VIII Colossus • X Audacious • X Malta • ★ Eagle
France	VI Béarn
U.S.S.R.	IV Komsomolets • VI Serov • VIII Pobeda • VIII Chkalov • VIII Chkalov B • X Admiral Nakhimov
U.S.A.	IV Langley • VI Independence • VI Ranger • VIII Yorktown • VIII Lexington • VIII Enterprise • VIII Saipan • VIII Hornet • VIII Saipan B • X Essex • X Midway • X Franklin D. Roosevelt • ★ United States
Germany	IV Rhein • VI Weser • VI Erich Loewenhardt • VIII August von Parseval • VIII Graf Zeppelin • VIII Graf Zeppelin B • X Manfred von Richthofen • X Max Immelmann
Pan-Asia	VIII Sanzang
Spain
Europe
Netherlands
Italy	VIII Aquila
Commonwealth
Pan-America

Games

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Tools

Sanzang

Modules

Compatible Upgrades