Zao

13.3

Cruiser | Japan | Tier X

Tech Tree Position

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Battle Levels

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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 ninja among Tier X cruisers, the Zao specializes in striking with a single massive salvo, then slipping away before the enemy can retaliate.

Japanese cruiser captains will be delighted to know that the Zao finally gets an entire new model of gun, replacing the venerable 3rd Year Type that has been the trademark of the line since the Furutaka all the way back in Tier V. And what an upgrade it is! The HE and especially AP shells gain considerable potency, and Zao delivers them with an accuracy and velocity unprecedented in the line. To further sweeten the deal, Zao also gains two barrels for a total of twelve, and they are mounted in a friendlier setup of four triple turrets. The one downside is that the turret traverse---already a drawback of the line---suffers a further setback. This makes it especially important that the Zao is doing the ambushing rather than the reverse.

Fortunately this is not difficult to ensure: Zao can reach a detectability radius of 9.90 km with a (highly recommended) stealth build, which is the best among all Tier X heavy cruisers and nearly as good as the light cruisers. This stealth combines well with her high-alpha, low-rate-of-fire main battery: she can fire a punishing salvo, then go dark before the enemy can effectively return fire.

Her upgraded torpedoes offer another opportunity to use her stealth: with a 12 km range, she can launch these from beyond her detection radius, and even from beyond the range of radar. With two quintuple launchers on each side they can easily devastate unwary victims, and can serve as a good area denial tool. However, their poor firing angles and extremely long reload means they must be used judiciously, with their poor usefulness in brawls being worth a special mention because of their poor firing angles. (The stock torpedoes offer ludicrous speed and a faster reload, but their much shorter range renders them useless in most situations.)

Zao's survivability is on the lower side of T10 cruisers, and can sometimes be a mixed bag. She has the smallest health pool of all Tier X cruisers, even counting the light cruisers (with the exception of Smolensk and Colbert), and her armor is not particularly thick. Her anti-aircraft suite and consumable toolkit are unremarkable. However, she does have a few factors working in her favor. She is relatively fast and has a good rudder shift (albeit with a slightly lackluster turning circle), giving her decent ability to reposition and dodge incoming fire. Her citadel is quite hard to hit, is protected by a small but steeply angled turtleback, and her hull is rather narrow - the so-called "troll armor" - often allowing her to seem to cheat death by the virtue of avoiding taking citadel hits and yielding over penetrations against large caliber AP when broadside. Still, taking Zao into a stand-up fight is not advisable, as her low HP pool can prove to be her undoing in fights against enemy BBs with large caliber (434mm+) guns due to overmatch, as well as against some cruisers.

Pros:

Very good HE firepower with high alpha damage, good fire starting ability and superb accuracy (which can be further enhanced by equipping the Improved Bridge () unique upgrade and the Aiming Systems Modification 1 upgrade)
Good AP performance with high damage per volley, great accuracy and decent penetration
Very good ballistics performance with fast flight time at all ranges
High base speed of 34.5 knots
Good maneuverability (7.7 seconds rudder shift time)
Fast, powerful torpedoes, with two quintuple launchers on each side of the ship
Excellent concealment with all relevant upgrades

Cons:

One of the lowest health pools among Tier 10 cruisers
Poor main battery firing angles - bringing all guns to bear while staying reasonably well protected can be quite tricky and must be done with care
Subpar turret traverse speed
Very 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

Research

The only research to be done is the torpedoes, which are highly recommended, as unlike the stock torpedoes they can be launched from beyond detection range.

Optimal Configuration

Upgrades

The recommended upgrades for Zaō are as follows:

Slot 1: Main Armaments Modification 1 or Spotting Aircraft Modification 1
Slot 2: Engine Room Protection
Slot 3: Aiming Systems Modification 1
Slot 4: Steering Gears Modification 1 or Propulsion Modification 1
Slot 5: Concealment System Modification 1 
Slot 6: Gun Fire Control System Modification 2 or Improved Bridge ()

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. Χ	Direction Center for Fighters +1 fighter to carrier fighter squadrons or catapult fighters.	Improved Engine Boost +10% Aircraft engine boost time. Χ	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. Χ
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. Χ	Smoke Screen Expert +20% to the radius of the smoke screen. Χ	Improved Engines +2.5% Squadron speed. Χ	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. Χ
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. Χ	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 secondary batteries. -15% for Tier I-VI ships. -60% for Tier VII-X ships. Manually selected target only. Χ	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 +25% to the armor penetration of HE shells. -50% to base chance of fire caused by HE shells. Χ	Sight Stabilization Speeds up the aiming of a carrier's aircraft. +7.5% attack aircraft and torpedo bomber aiming speed. +15% dive bomber aiming speed. Χ	Advanced Firing Training +20% to firing range of main battery guns with a caliber up to 139mm and all secondary battery guns. +15% AA flak burst damage.	Massive AA Fire +100% instantaneous damage. No boost to continuous damage in a reinforced sector. Shorter effective cooldown.	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 detectability 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

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Compatible Upgrades