GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Buffalo

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Buffalo

Also called: 水牛城 Beta

U.S.A. · Tier VIII · CA Cruiser · Tech Tree: Bombarding Heavy Cruisers

AP citadel cruiserGuns earn citadels on broadsides; Surveillance Radar sets cap fights on top.

Playstyle

Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts
Avoid: Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position tool

Key characteristics

Radar (9 km)High AP DPMWide always-pen zoneSpotter planeDefensive AASlow AP shells

On this page

Community stats
Playstyle
How to get Buffalo
Builds
Cohort position
Stats and specs
Armor
Charts
Balance history
Exteriors

Community Data

Buffalo Community Stats

Log in to GamingDiver and upload your data to see Community Data for Buffalo: community win rate, damage, survival, spotting, and your own comparison.

Playstyle

Overview

Buffalo is a Tier VIII American heavy cruiser whose 203mm guns earn citadels on broadside cruisers and chip battleships (400,000 AP DPM). Surveillance Radar (9 km) is the cap-control consumable on top, so she sets fights as well as winning them. Standout traits: best AP always-pen window in T8 CAs (60°) and end-plate armor (27 mm).

Positioning

Hold 12-15 km from a contested cap with an island close enough to break sightline when focus shifts. Push the radar forward only once the destroyer fight is yours; burning the drop to fish for a lone DD kill leaves the next push with no answer to smoke or vision.

Potato Avoidance

Using radar like a destroyer hunter rather than a position tool

The consumable's value is locking down a cap your team can take, not stealing a single salvo on a lone DD. Burn it early to fish for a kill and the next push has no answer to smoke or vision. Yours reaches 9 km for 30 s, which is the whole window your team gets to act on what it shows.

Signature Traits

Surveillance Radar

9 km range, 30 s duration. Detects all enemy ships within a fixed radius regardless of line-of-sight. Controls caps and punishes smoke-firing DDs.

ELITE MAIN BATTERY ↗

Wide always-pen zone · 60°
Late auto-bounce · 67.5°

ELITE ARMOR ↗

Thick end plates · 27 mm
Thick bow plate · 27 mm
Thick stern plate · 27 mm

Slow AP shells ↗

762 m/s AP muzzle velocity, bottom quartile of T8 CAs. Lobby trajectory, more lead, easier to dodge at range.

Light secondaries ↗

108000 secondary DPM (theoretical), bottom quartile of T8 CAs. Less per-minute secondary throughput than peers; brawl trade depends more on the mains.

Acquisition

How to get Buffalo

Buffalo is available in the Bombarding Heavy Cruisers branch of the U.S. Tech Tree for 25,000,000 credits after researching it in the branch. Known module upgrades cost up to 5,000,000 credits.

Show U.S.A. tech-tree branch diagram

U.S. Tech Tree

Buffalo sits in the Bombarding Heavy Cruisers branch. The highlighted path shows the local branch context inside the full U.S. tree.

U.S. heavy cruisers are well suited to bombarding enemy ships with powerful, super-heavy armor-piercing shells and high-explosive shells, but they lack torpedoes entirely. Starting from Tier VII, they bring Radar and Sonar together to the battle to detect hidden enemy warships.

Advantages: Improved AP shells, Long-duration Radar starting at Tier VII
Disadvantages: Low-velocity shells, Poor protection

5 ships in highlighted branch · scroll to inspect all U.S. lines.

U.S.A.IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII

Destroyer

Cruiser

Light cruiser split

Battleship

Alternative battleship

Hybrid battleship

Carrier

Tier IIWickesPASD027 Tier IIIClemsonPASD019 Tier IVFarragutPASD005 Tier VMahanPASD006 Tier VIBensonPASD008 Tier VIIFletcherPASD021 Tier VIIIAllen M. SumnerPASD114 Tier IAlbanyPASC003 Tier IISt. LouisPASC004 Tier IIIPhoenixPASC024 Tier IVOmahaPASC005 Tier VPensacolaPASC012 Tier VINew OrleansPASC014 Tier VIIBaltimorePASC017 Tier VIIIBuffaloPASC109 Tier VDallasPASC206 Tier VIHelenaPASC207 Tier VIIClevelandPASC208 Tier VIIISeattlePASC209 Tier IIIWyomingPASB004 Tier IVNew YorkPASB006 Tier IVNevadaPASB105 Tier VNew MexicoPASB034 Tier VIColoradoPASB008 Tier VIIIowaPASB018 Tier VIIIMainePASB118 Tier VTennesseePASB106 Tier VINorth CarolinaPASB012 Tier VIIKansasPASB108 Tier VIIIMinnesotaPASB109 Tier VIConnecticutPASB207 Tier VIINebraskaPASB208 Tier VIIIDelawarePASB209 Tier IIILangleyPASA004 Tier VRangerPASA006 Tier VIILexingtonPASA012

Builds

Pair with a commander whose unique skill complements her main armament; check the build tool for current recommendations.

Open in Build Tool →

Commanders frequently paired with this ship AL Baltimore AL Montpelier Captain Janeway

Have a build you swear by? Open it in the Build Tool and hit Save build to share it here.

Cohort position

Hide ▾

Where Buffalo sits among Tier VIII CAs (34 ships). Notable standouts are shown first; the rest of the cohort-ranked stats are in the expand below. Acquisition variants (Black Friday, Founders Edition) are counted once with their base ship, not as separate peers.

BestAP ricochet start60° (1 of 7 tied) BestEnd plates27 mm (1 of 10 tied / 7/35) Top 25%Fires per minute11.2 (6/29) Top 25%HE DPM224,000 (8/29) Top 25%AP DPM400,000 (5/34) Top 25%Secondary HE alpha1,800 (7/27) Top 25%AP auto-bounce angle67.5° (5/34) Top 25%Effective HE DPM (incl. fire)315,809 (6/29) Top 25%AA DPS605 (6/35) Top 25%Max armor206 mm (8/35) WorstSecondary DPM (per side)108,000 (1 of 5 tied) WorstSecondary fire chance5% (1 of 11 tied) WorstAP velocity762 m/s (1 of 6 tied) WorstNo torpedoes (14 of 35 in cohort) WorstRepair heal rate0.5 %/s (1 of 16 tied)

See 35 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Buffalo -- here's where she sits on every other ranked stat in the cohort. Stats tagged NORM are tied across more than half the cohort, so the value is the cohort default rather than a standout.

Hit points47,800 HP(15/35) Max speed33 kt(23/35) Concealment13.04 km(21/35) Smoke fire bloom7.52 km(19/35) Air detection7.82 km(22/35) Rudder shift11.2 s(25/35) Turning circle800 m(25/35) Traverse-to-turn ratio5.76 ×(20/35) Main battery caliber203 mm(19/35) Main battery range15.56 km(18/35) Main battery reload9 s(15/35) Sigma2.05(17/35) HE shell damage2,800(19/29) HE fire chance14%(18/29) AP shell damage5,000(21/34) Main dispersion140.4 m(16/35) Secondary HE pen21 mm(13/27) HE velocity823 m/s(22/29) Acceleration28 s(21/35) AP arming threshold34 mm(15/34) Engine power120,000 hp(22/35) Turn-speed retention150 hp/m(24/35) Displacement20,254 t(18/35) Power-to-weight5.92 hp/t(20/35) AP pen at 10 km263 mm(19/34) AA range5 km(23/35) AA threat2,010(12/35) Flak per wave (expected)1,944(14/35) Citadel belt152 mm(17/35) Deck armor38 mm(26/34) NormSecondary dispersion bracket57(20 of 28 tied at this value) NormAP fuse timer0.03 s(24 of 34 tied at this value) NormTurn speed retained81%(32 of 35 tied at this value) NormSecondary range5 km(22 of 28 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(33 of 35 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Compare Tier VIII Cruisers

Show all 34 peers

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →

Survivability

Hit PointsInitial: 42,500 → 47,800

Displacement20,254 t

Hull dimensions

Length x beam at the waterline, with the hull's draft where the client carries one. Ships whose client entry holds only the 260 x 20 m placeholder use a curated real-world figure instead, and any ship we have no trustworthy size for omits this row rather than print the placeholder. Length matters when dodging torpedoes; beam and draft shape how hard the ship is to hit.

205.3 x 21.6 m (published figure)

Armor range6–206 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 27, 38, 40, 76, 127, 152, 206 mm

Armor material/layer entries60

Fire resistance

Does not reduce the damage a burning fire does per second: replay-measured burn ticks run at the full rate on every ship. By elimination it lowers how often hits set you on fire; ignition-rate replay data is consistent with that but too confounded by attacker mix to measure the reduction directly.

40%

Fire duration30 s

Fire damage

Each fire ticks 0.3% of max HP per second for the full 30 s, so one unattended fire burns 9% of the pool (4,302 HP on this ship). 4 fire points can burn at once. Verified against measured burn ticks in replay data.

0.3% of HP per second

Flood duration40 s

Flood damage

A flood ticks 0.25% of max HP per second for the 40 s duration, so one unattended flood costs 10% of the pool (4,780 HP on this ship). Verified against measured flood ticks in replay data.

0.25% of HP per second

Torp Reduction

Reduces torpedo hit damage. Replay data shows no effect on floods: flood ticks run at the full rate and flood frequency does not decline with protection.

19%

Magazine HP

Per-turret powder-magazine HP, a separate pool from the ship's. Penetrating hits wear it down and the turret is likelier to be knocked out as it falls, so a larger pool keeps the guns firing through punishment that silences a peer's.

23,900

Steering gear HP

Durability of the steering gears. As this pool drops, hits are likelier to jam the rudder; unlike most modules the steering can be knocked out and repaired but is never permanently destroyed.

14,300

Effective HP

Base 47,800 HP plus everything Repair Party can restore: 0.5%/s x 28 s = 6,692 HP per charge, x2 charges = 13,384 HP. Ceiling, not a prediction: a charge only restores damage actually taken, and only the regeneratable share of it. Across 1,826 players in our replay corpus the median ship realized about half of this, mostly because half the charges go unspent — when Repair Party IS pressed it returns ~97% of the per-charge figure above.

61,184

Repairable: penetration50%

Repairable: citadel33%

Repairable: steering gear50%

Main Battery

ModuleArtillery: 203 mm Mk15

Mounts / barrels4 mounts / 12 barrels

Reload timeInitial: 11.5 s → 10 s

Firing range (base)14.1 km

Firing range (top fire control)15.6 km

Turret traverseInitial: 6 °/s → 7 °/s

Turret armor229 mm

Turret traverse arcs

How far each mount can train, in degrees to either side of the mount's own facing, read from in-game data. A rear turret with ±150° leaves a 60° blind wedge over the bow; one-sided arcs are wing mounts that cover a single side. The data does not say which way each mount faces, so the arcs are listed per mount without bow/stern angles.

4x ±150°

Guns to bear

How far off the bow (or stern) the ship must angle before every main turret can fire: the widest blind wedge among the rear-facing (or forward-facing) mounts, from each mount's trainable arc. Mount facing is inferred from turret stations and verified against known layouts, including Izumo's aft-facing forward turret.

30° off bow / 30° off stern

See the firing-arcs diagram ↓

AP pen max range200 mm

HE fire DPM vs T8 BB82628

Effective HE DPM vs T8 BB284228

Shell Grouping (σ)2.05

Max Horiz Disp

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:

σ_{H} = (\frac{R}{30} \cdot \frac{idealRadius - minRadius}{idealDistance} + minRadius) \cdot 30

= (\frac{15563.9}{30} \cdot \frac{8 - 1.1}{1000} + 1.1) \cdot 30 = 140.4 m

140.4 m at 15.6 km

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range:

σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax

= 140.4 \cdot 0.6 = 84.2 m

84.2 m at 15.6 km

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius:

σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 140.4 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 41.1 m

41.1 m at 15.6 km

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius:

σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 84.2 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 24.7 m

24.7 m at 15.6 km

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.

30 s

Shells/min

Zero upgrades: 12 broadside guns x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 62.6. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 12 broadside guns x 60 / 9 s all-upgrades reload = 80.

Initial: 62.6 → 80

HE shells

HE Damage2,800

HE Velocity823 m/s

Fire Chance14%

HE penetration

34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

34 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

2,800 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 33,600.

33,600

HE DPM

Zero upgrades: 33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 175,304. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 9 s all-upgrades reload = 224,000.

Initial: 175,304 → 224,000

Fires/min

Zero upgrades: 62.6 shells/min x 14% fire chance = 8.77. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 80 shells/min x 14% fire chance = 11.2.

Initial: 8.77 → 11.2

AP shells

AP Damage5,000

AP Velocity762 m/s

Min Ricochet60 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet67.5 deg

Fuse Timer0.033 s

Fuse Threshold34 mm

AP overmatch

floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

14 mm

AP Pen Close

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity:

P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v_{0}^{1.38}

= 10^{- 7} \cdot 2919 \cdot 152^{0.69} \cdot {0.203}^{- 1.07} \cdot 762^{1.38} = 488.4 mm

. Matches the in-game spec card.

488.4 mm point-blank

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 398.5 m/s:

P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2919 \cdot 152^{0.69} \cdot {0.203}^{- 1.07} \cdot {398.5}^{1.38} = 199.7 mm

199.7 mm at 15.6 km

AP full-salvo alpha

5,000 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 60,000.

60,000

AP DPM

Zero upgrades: 60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 313,043. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 9 s all-upgrades reload = 400,000.

Initial: 313,043 → 400,000

AP AOE Radius

AP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.

AA Defense

AA mount points31

Maximum AA range

Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 3.5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.

5 km

20 mm Oerlikon Mk20Initial: 20 mm Oerlikon Mk4 (16×1) → 20 mm Oerlikon Mk20 (16×2)

40 mm Bofors Mk1Initial: 11×2 → 4×2 40mm

40 mm Bofors Mk2Initial: 4×4 → 11×4 40mm

127 mm Mk32 (DP)

Dual-purpose: your secondaries doing double duty against aircraft. The same mounts appear on the Secondary Battery card - shared guns, not extra hardware.

6×2 127mm

Guns127 mm Mk32 (DP)

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS in in-game units (raw aura damage × 3.5 × hit probability, summed per contributing aura) - matches the Close-range AA DPS headline's currency. Includes 98 from dual-purpose secondaries firing as AA in this range band.

Range5 km

Guns40 mm Bofors Mk1 + 40 mm Bofors Mk2

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS: 107 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.9 hit probability = 337 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.

Initial: 293 → 337

Range3.5 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 98 + Medium 337 = 435

435

Guns20 mm Oerlikon Mk20

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS: 57 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.85 hit probability = 170 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.

Initial: 101 → 170

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 98 + Medium 337 + Near 170 = 605

605

Bursts

Each ~2 s wave fires 2 quick salvos of 4 clouds ahead of the attacking squadron, plus 1 stray cloud farther out that appear off-beat between waves - up to 9 clouds per wave × 240 damage each. Planes that fly into a cloud take its damage; clouds dissipate before the next wave lands. Defensive AA Fire, where fitted, multiplies the salvo repeats within each wave.

2 salvos × 4 clouds + 1 outer

Cloud damage

Damage a plane takes for flying into one flak cloud, before any reductions.

240

Cloud spawn chance

Each cloud in the pattern rolls this chance to spawn, so waves average fewer clouds than the maximum. Often called flak 'hit chance', but spawned clouds always damage planes that fly into them - the roll is on spawning.

90%

Wave rate

A flak wave spawns roughly every 2 s - timed frame-by-frame from gameplay footage and consistent across ships.

every ~2 s

Fired by

Flak keeps firing while at least one secondary battery mount is operational - even losing every other AA mount does not stop it.

Secondary battery

Flak zone

The activation band: flak fires while attacking planes are inside it. Clouds are placed ahead of the planes' path, so bursts can land short of 2.5 km or past 5 km - once planes get inside the band, new waves stop. AA range bonuses push the outer edge out; the 2.5 km inner edge does not move.

2.5-5 km

See the AA layers diagram ↓

Secondary Battery

Mounts6

Firing range5.0 km

Shell Grouping (σ)1

127 mm Mk32 (DP)

Dual-purpose: the same mounts also fire at aircraft, so they appear on the AA Defense card too - shared guns, not extra hardware.

6×2 127mm

Caliber127 mm

Reload time6 s

HE Damage1,800

Muzzle Velocity792 m/s

Fire Chance5%

Armor Pen21 mm

Secondary dispersion type

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Standard

Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

315 m

Maneuverability

Engine power120,000 hp

Maximum speed33 kt

Turning circle radius800 m

Rudder shift time11.2 s

Engine power-boost threshold7 kt

Engine spool-up time15.3 s

Reverse spool-up time7.7 s

Reverse speed

top speed / 4 + 4.9 = 33 / 4 + 4.9 = 13.2 kt. The community reverse-speed model from the WoWs ShipBuilder project, the same source as the acceleration model on this card. Base value; speed modifiers scale it. Not shown on the in-game card.

13.2 kt

Crash stop

Seconds from top speed to a dead stop after ordering full reverse: reverse power winds in over the reverse spool-up while water drag does most of the braking. Same community-model simulation as the acceleration times, using the ship's own reverse-power ratio from in-game data. The full curve is on the acceleration chart.

29.6 s

Engine boost threshold (reverse)

Speed below which the engine's built-in power boost applies in reverse. Matches the in-game maneuverability card's reverse threshold (Vampire II reads 10.5 here and the card shows 11; the card rounds half up).

9.9 kt

Acceleration 0-90%

Time to reach 90% of top speed (29.7 kt of 33 kt), from our in-house acceleration model.

28 s

Acceleration 0-99%

Time to reach 99% of top speed (32.7 kt of 33 kt). 99% rather than 100% because true top speed is asymptotic (thrust meets drag), so the last fraction of a knot is never quite gained.

46.3 s

Traverse-to-turn ratio

How many degrees the turret can swing for each degree the hull turns. Turn rate

ω_{hull} = \frac{180}{π} \cdot \frac{V_{max} (m/s)}{R_{turn}} = \frac{180}{π} \cdot \frac{33.0 \cdot 0.5144}{800} = 1.22 ° / s

, so

ratio = \frac{ω_{turret}}{ω_{hull}} = \frac{6}{1.22} = 4.9 \times

. Below 5 the turrets drag in a turning fight; 25+ keeps up with any rudder.

4.9× drags

See the full acceleration curve ↓

Concealment

Detectability by sea13.04 km

Detectability by air7.82 km

Smoke firing penalty7.52 km

Detect when firing (sea)

Equal to the ship's main battery range (never below base detectability): firing makes you visible to everyone you can reach. Matches the in-game 'Detect Firing Sea' value on all 8 unmodified captures, and range-modified captures track the modified range.

15.56 km

Detect when firing (air)

Air detectability plus the gun-firing bloom (4.06 km, which tracks main-battery caliber x 0.020). Matches the in-game 'Detect Firing Air' value on every captured ship.

11.88 km

Detect when on fire (sea)

Base sea detectability + 2.0 km while burning; matches the in-game 'Detect Fire Sea' value on every captured ship.

15.04 km

Detect when on fire (air)

Base air detectability + 3.0 km while burning; matches the in-game 'Detect Fire Air' value on every captured ship.

10.82 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

Damage Control Party∞ charges · 60 s reload · 5 s active

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 100 s active · 4.92 km ship detect
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{164 \times 30}{1000} = 4.92 km$
· 3.42 km torpedo detect
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{114 \times 30}{1000} = 3.42 km$

Defensive AA Fire3 charges · 140 s reload · 25 s active · ×2 flak burst boost
ƒ
Repeats the flak burst pattern ×2 within each wave - more clouds in the air over the wave, at the same spots.

Choose one

Surveillance Radar2 charges · 180 s reload · 30 s active · 9 km radar range
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{300 \times 30}{1000} = 9 km$

Catapult Fighter4 charges · 80 s reload · 90 s active · 5 km patrol radius
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{167 \times 30}{1000} = 5 km$
· 1 squadron size

Observation Seaplane4 charges · 200 s reload · 30 s active · 1 squadron size · Tightens main-battery shell grouping

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 6,692 HP (14% of max HP) total heal (per charge)
ƒ
Heal per second (0.5%) x effective active time (28 s) = up to 14% of max HP restored per charge.
· 13,384 HP (28% of max HP) total heal (all charges)
ƒ
14% per charge x 2 charges = up to 28% of max HP if the whole Repair Party loadout is used.
· 239 HP/s (0.5% of max HP) heal per second
ƒ
0.5% of max HP (47,800 HP) per second = 239 HP/s. WoWS heals a flat percent of MAX HP each second, so this rate holds at any health level.

Module options (3)

Stats above use the fully-upgraded modules. These are the research-tree alternatives; trade-offs are flagged.

HullUpgrade

Hit points42,500 → 47,800
Rudder shift20.4 → 14.6 s
Close-range AA DPS127 → 164
Turret traverse6 → 7 °/s

Fire controlUpgrade

Main battery range14,149 → 15563.9 m

ArtilleryUpgrade

Base reload11.5 → 10 s

See all derived stats

Show ▾

All values are ship base stats with modifications and upgrade changes denoted inline.

Numbers the spec table cannot show directly: alpha-strike math, DPM, dispersion, AP penetration. Click the formula chip on any row to reveal how it is calculated.

Main battery formulas

Shell Grouping (σ)2.05

Max Horiz Disp140.4 m at 15.6 km

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:  $σ_{H} = (\frac{R}{30} \cdot \frac{idealRadius - minRadius}{idealDistance} + minRadius) \cdot 30$   $= (\frac{15563.9}{30} \cdot \frac{8 - 1.1}{1000} + 1.1) \cdot 30 = 140.4 m$

Shell scatter width @ 5 km67.5 m

Horizontal scatter at a fixed 5 km, from the same verified dispersion model as the rows below - a knife-fight-range anchor comparable across ships.

Shell scatter width @ 10 km102 m

How wide your shells scatter at 10 km, from the same dispersion model as the max-range figure above. Picking a fixed range makes this number directly comparable from ship to ship: max-range dispersion makes a longer-range gun look worse even when it's tighter at any common range. The interactive Dispersion tab on the Charts card plots the full curve from 0 to max range.

Shell scatter width @ 15 km136.5 m

Horizontal scatter at a fixed 15 km, from the same verified dispersion model - the long-range anchor. Only shown when the ship's guns reach 15 km.

Max Vert Disp84.2 m at 15.6 km

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax$ $= 140.4 \cdot 0.6 = 84.2 m$

Shell scatter height @ 10 km53.9 m

How tall the same scatter ellipse is at 10 km. Comparable from ship to ship for the same reason as the width value above. The height/width ratio is a piecewise-linear curve through three points from the ship's own dispersion data:  $radiusOnZero = 0.2$  at 0 m,  $radiusOnDelim = 0.5$  at  $delim \cdot R_{m a x} = 0.5 \cdot 15563.9 = 7782$  m, and  $radiusOnMax = 0.6$  at 15563.9 m. Above the kink:  $k = 0.5 + (0.6 - 0.5) \cdot \frac{10000 - 7782}{15563.9 - 7782} = 0.5285$ , so  $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot k = 102 \cdot 0.5285 = 53.9 m$ .

Med Horiz Disp41.1 m at 15.6 km

50%-hit horizontal radius: $σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 140.4 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 41.1 m$

Med Vert Disp24.7 m at 15.6 km

50%-hit vertical radius: $σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 84.2 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 24.7 m$

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close488.4 mm point-blank

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v_{0}^{1.38}$   $= 10^{- 7} \cdot 2919 \cdot 152^{0.69} \cdot {0.203}^{- 1.07} \cdot 762^{1.38} = 488.4 mm$ . Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far199.7 mm at 15.6 km

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.6 km), where the shell has slowed to 398.5 m/s:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2919 \cdot 152^{0.69} \cdot {0.203}^{- 1.07} \cdot {398.5}^{1.38} = 199.7 mm$ .

AP pen 5 km355 mm

AP penetration at a fixed 5 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v^{1.38}$ . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.

AP pen 10 km263 mm

AP penetration at a fixed 10 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v^{1.38}$ . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.

AP pen 15 km205 mm

AP penetration at a fixed 15 km, read off the same PC-validated ballistic curve as AP Pen Close/Far: the shell's impact velocity at that range fed through the canonical community AP formula  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v^{1.38}$ . Fixed anchors make ships directly comparable at the same fighting distance; the Charts card plots the full curve.

HE flight time @ 10 km5.88 s

How long an HE shell takes to reach a target at a fixed 10 km, from the same numerically integrated trajectory the Charts card plots. The shell slows under quadratic air drag,  $a_{drag} = k ρ v^{2}$ , where  $ρ$  is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and  $k$  bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.333 \cdot {0.203}^{2}}{8 \cdot 118} = 4.57 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 823 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77: the game clock runs faster than real time, and that factor was measured against stopwatch runs in the Training Room. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.

AP flight time @ 10 km6.04 s

How long an AP shell takes to reach a target at a fixed 10 km, from the same numerically integrated trajectory the Charts card plots. The shell slows under quadratic air drag,  $a_{drag} = k ρ v^{2}$ , where  $ρ$  is air density from a standard-atmosphere profile and  $k$  bundles the shell's drag coefficient, caliber and mass:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.356 \cdot {0.203}^{2}}{8 \cdot 152} = 3.79 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 762 m/s muzzle velocity in 0.02 s steps under gravity 9.8 m/s² until the shell lands, then divides by 2.77: the game clock runs faster than real time, and that factor was measured against stopwatch runs in the Training Room. Lower is better, since a faster shell is harder to dodge and needs less lead.

HE penetration34 mm

34 mm ≈ 203 mm caliber / 6 (standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch14 mm

floor(203 mm caliber / 14.3) = 14 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius45

AP shell over-penetration splash radius; scales with shell mass. Wickes 102mm = 3, standard 152mm CL ~ 20, Iowa 406mm ~ 270, Yamato 460mm = 400, Incomparable 650mm = 550 (max). Larger value = bigger splash damage area when AP over-pens.

Broadside guns used for alpha12

All 12 barrels bear on the broadside.

Turret turn time30 s

180 degrees / 6 deg/s traverse speed = 30 s.

HE full-salvo alpha33,600

2,800 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 33,600.

AP full-salvo alpha60,000

5,000 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 60,000.

HE DPMInitial: 175,304 → 224,000

Zero upgrades: 33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 175,304. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 33,600 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 9 s all-upgrades reload = 224,000.

AP DPMInitial: 313,043 → 400,000

Zero upgrades: 60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 313,043. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 60,000 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 9 s all-upgrades reload = 400,000.

Shells/minInitial: 62.6 → 80

Zero upgrades: 12 broadside guns x 60 / 11.5 s base reload = 62.6. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 12 broadside guns x 60 / 9 s all-upgrades reload = 80.

Fires/minInitial: 8.77 → 11.2

Zero upgrades: 62.6 shells/min x 14% fire chance = 8.77. All upgrades (top gun + Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 80 shells/min x 14% fire chance = 11.2.

AA defense

AA DPS at max range98

Only families that reach 5 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 40mm Bofors Mk1 4x2 -> 90 DPS @ 3.5 km; 40mm Bofors 11x4 -> 247 DPS @ 3.5 km; 20mm Oerlikon MK20 Twin12 16x2 -> 170 DPS @ 2 km; 5in38 Mk32 Mod12 6x2 -> 98 DPS @ 5 km.

Maximum AA range5 km

Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 3.5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.

AA DPS layered by range98 DPS @ 5 km, 435 DPS @ 3.5 km, 605 DPS @ 2 km

Cumulative AA DPS at each family range threshold. Inner ranges stack the outer families, so a target closing the distance hits stronger AA bubbles as it crosses each band.

AA DPS at point-blank605

Sum of every family's average DPS, achievable only inside the closest-range family (2 km).

AA threat index2010

SUM over AA auras of (aura DPS x aura range km). A plane crossing the AA bubble is exposed to each aura for a time proportional to that aura's range, so long-reach DPS is worth more than the same DPS in a short bubble. Units: DPS*km; used to rank overall AA threat across the cohort.

Near aura range2 km

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary dispersion typeStandard

Max dispersion = range (km) × 57 + 30. Each dispersion type sets its own slope; this is not a percentage applied to a standard baseline.

Max secondary dispersion @ 5 km315 m

5 km × 57 + 30 = 315 m.

Secondary battery firepower

Secondary DPM (per side)108,000

Sum across all secondary families of (per-side barrels × 60 / reload_s × alpha), where per-side barrels = mounts × barrels-per-mount / 2 (the guns that bear on one broadside target). Per-family: 6×2 127 mm (6/side) × 60/6 × 1800 = 108,000. Assumes every shell hits (real hit rate is lower; the Brawl matchup tool on the Compare page folds in dispersion + target armor).

Max HE alpha1800

Maximum HE damage per shell across secondary HE families. Best on this ship: 1800 from the 127 mm family.

Max HE fire chance5%

Maximum per-shell fire chance across secondary HE families (before target fire resistance is applied). Best on this ship: 5% from the 127 mm family.

Max HE pen21 mm

Maximum HE armor penetration across secondary HE families (caliber × 1/6 for most nations; 1/4 for German/UK BBs). Shells whose pen falls under a plate's armor thickness shatter for 0 hull damage though fire chance still applies. Best on this ship: 21 mm from the 127 mm family.

Armor Beta

Hull HP 42,500 → 47,800 with hull upgrade, distributed across 5 hull zones, each with its own plate thicknesses, saturation cap, and pen thresholds. HP caps are the exact in-game values, not estimated.

Bow & stern27 mm

Overmatched by 72+ AP guns across the bracket. Can’t reliably bow-tank; gets bow-citadelled and overpenned.

Belt / citadel152 mm

AP can citadel a flat broadside even at range. Stay angled and avoid showing the full side.

Farming16 mm

Superstructure and extremities take HE pens and AP overpens from nearly any gun: steady chip damage. Fire resistance 40%, fires burn 30s. Range-by-range in the Compare tool →

Section	Plates	HP cap	Threats	Tactic
Bow	27 mm primary (range 27–76 mm)	2,700 (6% of HP)	Overmatched by 406mm+ AP (Hawke, Iowa)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Bow-tank fits behind this exterior plate. Saturation is FAST here; the cap is often only a few thousand HP.
Hull (midship)	27 mm primary (range 6–152 mm)	35,900 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 406mm+ AP (Hawke, Iowa)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	27 mm primary (range 27–127 mm)	3,200 (7% of HP)	Overmatched by 406mm+ AP (Hawke, Iowa)Angle bounces 380mm27 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	152 mm primary (range 27–152 mm)	≈ 165,500 (effectively no cap)	Citadel pen: full damageOver-pen: ×0.10 damage	Effectively no cap; citadel pool sits at ~165k HP on every ship. An AP citadel penetration deals the shell's full damage, the biggest single hit available; only over-penetrations are damped, to ×0.10.
Superstructure	16 mm	1,700 (4% of HP)	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage	Any HE ≥16 mm pens at full damage. HE-spam target, and the section saturates fast (often only a few thousand HP).
Turret (module, per magazine)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	23,900 magazine HP	Turret knocked out	Per-turret powder-magazine HP, a separate pool that does not drain ship HP. As it is worn down the turret is likelier to be knocked out, and a smaller pool gets there faster.
Secondary mount (127 mm mount)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	800 per-mount HP	Destroyed at 0 HP	Per-mount HP for the heaviest secondary on this ship. A mount destroyed at 0 HP is out for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. Smaller (lighter-caliber) secondaries typically share the same HP value.
AA mount (40 mm mount)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	200 per-mount HP	Destroyed at 0 HP	Per-mount HP for the heaviest AA on this ship. An AA mount destroyed at 0 HP stops shooting down planes for the rest of the battle; DCP does not repair destroyed mounts. HE shells specifically target AA mounts since the small-caliber HP pool falls fast.
Rudder (module)	separate HP pool, does not drain ship HP	14,300 module HP	Incapacitated at 0 HP	When module HP reaches 0 the rudder locks at its current angle until DCP repairs it. Repair via Damage Control Party.

Saturation cap = HP a section can absorb before further damage to it is reduced (the "bow-tank" effect). Citadel pool is ~165k on every ship (effectively no cap); damage is gated by pen/over-pen multipliers instead. Superstructure saturates fast but HE always pens regardless of the plate thickness. Rudder (and other module HPs) are a separate pool from ship HP: damaging a module doesn't drain ship HP. Incapacitated modules like the rudder and engine are restored by DCP, but secondary and AA mounts destroyed at 0 HP stay out for the rest of the battle.

Open in Charting Tool

Ship Charts

Balance History

Balance updates affecting Buffalo. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×1

2026-07-30

Ministry of Balance: Anniversary Tune-Up

credit earnings increased by 2%.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

Every custom exterior Buffalo can equip, from in-game data.

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes permanent camouflage for BuffaloStars and Stripes

Primary official WG sources

Filtered to official World of Warships: Legends pages where this ship is a focus, reward, line member, or high-context variant mention.

2022-07-14 · Official ship feature / stats Strive for Greatness: Tier VIII development blog Official source 2022-07-21 · Patch notes Anniversary Update: New Horizons Patch notes 2025-06-26 · Patch notes July Update: Of Stars and Freedom Patch notes 2026-07-30 · Patch notes Anniversary Update: Tides of Adventure Patch notes

Buffalo

Buffalo Community Stats

Buffalo Community Stats

Playstyle

Overview

Positioning

Potato Avoidance

Signature Traits →

How to get Buffalo

Builds

Cohort position

Peers in this cohort

Stats & specs

See all derived stats

Main battery formulas

AA defense

Secondary battery dispersion

Secondary battery firepower

Armor Beta

Ship Charts

Balance History

Ministry of Balance: Anniversary Tune-Up

Skins & permanent camouflages

Primary official WG sources

Signature Traits