GamingDiver / WoWs Legends Ships / Worcester

World of Warships: Legends ship guide

Worcester

Also called: 伍斯特 Beta

U.S.A. · Tier ★ · CL Cruiser · Premium

HE fire-spam cruiserStack HE damage and use Radar to break DD vision at the cap.

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 HE / fire outputHigh AP DPMStrong AADefensive AAThick end plates

On this page

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

Community Data

Worcester Community Stats

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

Playstyle

Overview

Worcester is a Legendary American light cruiser whose 152mm guns farm HE fires and sustained DPM. Surveillance Radar (9 km) is the cap-control consumable on top, so she sets fights as well as winning them. AA (689 AA DPS at 6 km, +100% Defensive AA flak burst) ranks 2 of 21 in Legendary CAs: heavy enough to make a careless strike expensive, though not the umbrella that shuts a carrier out of her grid. Standout traits: best fires per minute in Legendary CAs (21.1) and end-plate armor (32 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. She is genuinely evasive in both phases of a turn, answering the helm in 8.2 s and carving a 740 m circle, so you can break a salvo and still be where you meant to go.

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 ↗

High fire pressure · 21.07 fires
HE DPM machine · 386341 HE

ELITE AA ↗

Long-reach AA · 6 km
Top-tier AA · 689 AA

ELITE ARMOR ↗

Thick end plates · 32 mm
Saturates bow fast · 1400 HP
Thick bow plate · 32 mm

Acquisition

How to get Worcester

Worcester is a Premium ship and not available to unlock in the Tech Tree. Acquisition path: Premium/Event.

Premium/EventAvailability usually depends on store rotations, event reruns, collaborations, coupons, or special offers.

Official WG availability sources

U.S.A. 250: History-Inspired Event & New Alternative Destroyers Event/store source Start: 2026-06-26 · End: open/unknown end Official ship/event post that can indicate store, collaboration, event, return, or limited availability.
April Update: Blossom in Gold Store price varies 2023-04-06

Builds

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

Open in Build Tool →

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Cohort position

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Where Worcester sits among Legendary CAs (20 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.

BestFires per minute21.07 (1/19) BestAA range6 km (1 of 4 tied) BestEnd plates32 mm (1 of 4 tied / 1 of 4 tied) Top 10%HE DPM386,341 (2/19) Top 10%AP DPM561,951 (3/21) Top 10%Effective HE DPM (incl. fire)559,056 (2/19) Top 10%AA DPS689 (2/21) Top 10%AA threat3,164 (3/21) Top 25%Smoke fire bloom6.31 km (5/21) Top 25%Rudder shift8.2 s (4/21) Top 25%Turning circle740 m (4/21) Top 25%Main battery reload4.1 s (5/21) Top 25%Main dispersion138.8 m (6/21) Top 25%AP arming threshold25 mm (6/21) Bottom 25%Max speed33 kt (18/21) Bottom 25%Main battery caliber152 mm (17/21) Bottom 25%Main battery range15.34 km (19/21) Bottom 25%AP velocity762 m/s (19/21) Bottom 25%Flak per wave (expected)1,944 (17/20) Bottom 25%Max armor127 mm (17/21) WorstNo secondaries (8 of 21 in cohort) WorstNo torpedoes (8 of 21 in cohort) WorstRepair heal rate0.5 %/s (1 of 10 tied)

See 21 mid-pack stats

Not standouts for Worcester -- 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 points45,400 HP(16/21) Concealment12.8 km(9/21) Air detection7.68 km(9/21) Traverse-to-turn ratio19.02 ×(7/21) Sigma2.05(13/21) HE shell damage2,200(15/19) HE fire chance12%(14/19) HE velocity812 m/s(13/19) Acceleration27.2 s(11/21) AP fuse timer0.03 s(13/21) Engine power120,000 hp(15/21) Turn-speed retention162.2 hp/m(16/21) Displacement18,286 t(7/21) Power-to-weight6.56 hp/t(12/21) AP pen at 10 km143 mm(16/21) Citadel belt127 mm(15/21) Deck armor51 mm(7/21) NormAP ricochet start45°(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormAP auto-bounce angle60°(14 of 21 tied at this value) NormTurn speed retained81%(18 of 21 tied at this value) NormRepair charges2(15 of 21 tied at this value)

Peers in this cohort

Compare Legendary Cruisers

Show all 20 peers

Stats & specs

Customize in the Build Tool →

Survivability

Hit Points45,400

Displacement18,286 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.

206.8 x 21.9 m (measured from the ship model)

Armor range6–127 mm

Plate armor thicknesses6, 16, 19, 25, 30, 32, 40, 51, 76, 89, 102, 127 mm

Armor material/layer entries63

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 (4,086 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 (4,540 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.

22,700

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.

13,600

Effective HP

Base 45,400 HP plus everything Repair Party can restore: 0.5%/s x 28 s = 6,356 HP per charge, x2 charges = 12,712 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.

58,112

Repairable: penetration50%

Repairable: citadel33%

Repairable: steering gear50%

Main Battery

These main guns are dual-purpose: they also fire at aircraft and feed the AA Defense card.

ModuleArtillery: 12×152 mm

Mounts / barrels6 mounts / 12 barrels

Reload time4.6 s

Firing range15.3 km

Turret traverse25 °/s

Turret armor127 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.

6x ±146°

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.

34° off bow / 34° off stern

See the firing-arcs diagram ↓

AP pen max range105 mm

HE fire DPM vs T8 BB153965

Effective HE DPM vs T8 BB498313

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{15339}{30} \cdot \frac{8 - 1.1}{1000} + 1.1) \cdot 30 = 138.8 m

138.8 m at 15.3 km

Max Vert Disp

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range:

σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax

= 138.8 \cdot 0.6 = 83.3 m

83.3 m at 15.3 km

Med Horiz Disp

50%-hit horizontal radius:

σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 138.8 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 40.6 m

40.6 m at 15.3 km

Med Vert Disp

50%-hit vertical radius:

σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}

= 83.3 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 24.4 m

24.4 m at 15.3 km

Turret turn time

180 degrees / 25 deg/s traverse speed = 7.2 s.

7.2 s

Shells/min

Zero upgrades: 12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 156.5. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.1 s all-upgrades reload = 175.6.

Initial: 156.5 → 175.6

HE shells

HE Damage2,200

HE Velocity812 m/s

Fire Chance12%

HE penetration

In-game data: 30 mm = 152 mm caliber / 5.07 (non-standard HE penetration ratio).

30 mm

HE full-salvo alpha

2,200 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 26,400.

26,400

HE DPM

Zero upgrades: 26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 344,348. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s all-upgrades reload = 386,341.

Initial: 344,348 → 386,341

Fires/min

Zero upgrades: 156.5 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 18.78. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 175.6 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 21.07.

Initial: 18.78 → 21.07

AP shells

AP Damage3,200

AP Velocity762 m/s

Min Ricochet45 deg

Guaranteed Ricochet60 deg

Fuse Timer0.025 s

Fuse Threshold25 mm

AP overmatch

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

10 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 2692 \cdot 59^{0.69} \cdot {0.152}^{- 1.07} \cdot 762^{1.38} = 319.5 mm

. Matches the in-game spec card.

319.5 mm point-blank

AP Pen Far

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 340 m/s:

P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2692 \cdot 59^{0.69} \cdot {0.152}^{- 1.07} \cdot 340^{1.38} = 104.9 mm

104.9 mm at 15.3 km

AP full-salvo alpha

3,200 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 38,400.

38,400

AP DPM

Zero upgrades: 38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 500,870. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s all-upgrades reload = 561,951.

Initial: 500,870 → 561,951

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 points25

Maximum AA range

Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.

6 km

76.2 mm Mk3311×2 76mm

76.2 mm Mk342×1 76mm

20 mm Oerlikon Mk2012×2 20mm

Gunsmain battery (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 76 from dual-purpose main battery firing as AA in this range band.

Range6 km

Guns76.2 mm Mk33 + 76.2 mm Mk34

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS: 157 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.9 hit probability = 495 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.

495

Range5 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 76 + Medium 495 = 571

571

Guns20 mm Oerlikon Mk20

Continuous DPS

Effective DPS: 40 raw aura damage × 3.5 × 0.85 hit probability = 119 - the same in-game units as the Close-range AA DPS headline.

119

Range2 km

Total DPS in Aura

Far 76 + Medium 495 + Near 119 = 690

690

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 main battery mount is operational - even losing every other AA mount does not stop it.

Main 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 6 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.

2.5-6 km

See the AA layers diagram ↓

Maneuverability

Engine power120,000 hp

Maximum speed33 kt

Turning circle radius740 m

Rudder shift time8.2 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.

28.4 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.

27.2 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.

44.8 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}{740} = 1.31 ° / s

, so

ratio = \frac{ω_{turret}}{ω_{hull}} = \frac{25}{1.31} = 19.0 \times

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

19.0× snappy

See the full acceleration curve ↓

Concealment

Detectability by sea12.8 km

Detectability by air7.68 km

Smoke firing penalty6.31 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.

15.34 km

Detect when firing (air)

Air detectability plus the gun-firing bloom (3.04 km, which tracks main-battery caliber x 0.020). Matches the in-game 'Detect Firing Air' value on every captured ship.

10.72 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.

14.8 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.

10.68 km

Guaranteed Detect2 km

✦

Consumables

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

Choose one

Sonar2 charges · 180 s reload · 96 s active · 4.44 km ship detect
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{148 \times 30}{1000} = 4.44 km$
· 3.12 km torpedo detect
ƒ
Derived from the consumable's 30 m grid-unit range (km = grid units x 30 / 1000): $\frac{104 \times 30}{1000} = 3.12 km$

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 · 120 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

Repair Party2 charges · 80 s reload · 28 s active · 6,356 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.
· 12,712 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.
· 227 HP/s (0.5% of max HP) heal per second
ƒ
0.5% of max HP (45,400 HP) per second = 227 HP/s. WoWS heals a flat percent of MAX HP each second, so this rate holds at any health level.

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 Disp138.8 m at 15.3 km

Horizontal dispersion ellipse width at max range, from the verified WoWS dispersion model:  $σ_{H} = (\frac{R}{30} \cdot \frac{idealRadius - minRadius}{idealDistance} + minRadius) \cdot 30$   $= (\frac{15339}{30} \cdot \frac{8 - 1.1}{1000} + 1.1) \cdot 30 = 138.8 m$

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 Disp83.3 m at 15.3 km

Vertical dispersion ellipse height at max range: $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot radiusOnMax$ $= 138.8 \cdot 0.6 = 83.3 m$

Shell scatter height @ 10 km54.1 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  $delim \cdot R_{m a x} = 0.5 \cdot 15339 = 7670$  m, and  $radiusOnMax = 0.6$  at 15339 m. Above the kink:  $k = 0.5 + (0.6 - 0.5) \cdot \frac{10000 - 7670}{15339 - 7670} = 0.5304$ , so  $σ_{V} = σ_{H} \cdot k = 102 \cdot 0.5304 = 54.1 m$ .

Med Horiz Disp40.6 m at 15.3 km

50%-hit horizontal radius: $σ_{H, 50} = σ_{H} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 138.8 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 40.6 m$

Med Vert Disp24.4 m at 15.3 km

50%-hit vertical radius: $σ_{V, 50} = σ_{V} \cdot \frac{0.6}{σ}$ $= 83.3 \cdot \frac{0.6}{2.05} = 24.4 m$

Dispersion familyCruiser Disp.

Standard cruiser dispersion baseline.

AP Pen Close319.5 mm point-blank

Canonical community AP formula (jcw780/wows_shell), evaluated at muzzle velocity:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot K \cdot m^{0.69} \cdot d^{- 1.07} \cdot v_{0}^{1.38}$   $= 10^{- 7} \cdot 2692 \cdot 59^{0.69} \cdot {0.152}^{- 1.07} \cdot 762^{1.38} = 319.5 mm$ . Matches the in-game spec card.

AP Pen Far104.9 mm at 15.3 km

Same formula at the ship's max firing range (15.3 km), where the shell has slowed to 340 m/s:  $P = 10^{- 7} \cdot 2692 \cdot 59^{0.69} \cdot {0.152}^{- 1.07} \cdot 340^{1.38} = 104.9 mm$ .

AP pen 5 km211 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 km143 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 km107 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.

AP flight time @ 10 km6.53 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:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.3225 \cdot {0.152}^{2}}{8 \cdot 59} = 4.96 \times 10^{- 5}$ . 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 flight time @ 10 km6.44 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:  $k = \frac{π C_{d} d^{2}}{8 m} = \frac{π \cdot 0.3 \cdot {0.152}^{2}}{8 \cdot 47.6} = 5.72 \times 10^{- 5}$ . That runs from a 812 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 penetration30 mm

In-game data: 30 mm = 152 mm caliber / 5.07 (non-standard HE penetration ratio).

AP overmatch10 mm

floor(152 mm caliber / 14.3) = 10 mm (AP auto-penetrates plating this thick or less).

AP AOE Radius16

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 time7.2 s

180 degrees / 25 deg/s traverse speed = 7.2 s.

HE full-salvo alpha26,400

2,200 HE damage x 12 broadside guns = 26,400.

AP full-salvo alpha38,400

3,200 AP damage x 12 broadside guns = 38,400.

HE DPMInitial: 344,348 → 386,341

Zero upgrades: 26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 344,348. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 26,400 HE full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s all-upgrades reload = 386,341.

AP DPMInitial: 500,870 → 561,951

Zero upgrades: 38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 500,870. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 38,400 AP full-salvo alpha x 60 / 4.1 s all-upgrades reload = 561,951.

Shells/minInitial: 156.5 → 175.6

Zero upgrades: 12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.6 s base reload = 156.5. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 12 broadside guns x 60 / 4.1 s all-upgrades reload = 175.6.

Fires/minInitial: 18.78 → 21.07

Zero upgrades: 156.5 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 18.78. All upgrades (Main Battery Mod. 3 = -10% reload): 175.6 shells/min x 12% fire chance = 21.07.

AA defense

AA DPS at max range76

Only families that reach 6 km contribute at the outer edge of the AA bubble. In-game families: 3in50 Twin Mark 33 11x2 -> 418 DPS @ 5 km; 3in50 MK34 Radar 2x1 -> 76 DPS @ 5 km; 20mm Oerlikon MK20 Twin12 12x2 -> 119 DPS @ 2 km; Far AA (?) -> 76 DPS @ 6 km.

Maximum AA range6 km

Longest-reaching family on the in-game AA card. Base AirDefense aura max range is 5 km; dual-purpose mount auras extend it.

AA DPS layered by range76 DPS @ 6 km, 570 DPS @ 5 km, 689 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-blank689

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

AA threat index3164

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

Armor Beta

Hull HP 45,400, 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 & stern32 mm

Overmatched by 7 AP guns here: Incomparable SE 25IncomparableYamato and 4 more. Angling still helps against the rest.

Belt / citadel127 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	32 mm primary (range 32–40 mm)	1,400 (3% of HP)	Overmatched by 460mm+ AP (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 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)	25 mm primary (range 6–102 mm)	34,100 (75% of HP)	Overmatched by 380mm+ AP (Alsace, Bourgogne)Angle bounces 356mm25 mm: HE pens from 150mm+	Largest HP pool. Citadel sits behind these plates; thinner deck and side plating absorb the rest.
Stern	32 mm primary (range 6–102 mm)	3,600 (8% of HP)	Overmatched by 460mm+ AP (Aki, Musashi)Angle bounces 410mm32 mm: HE pens from 203mm+	Mirror of bow. Same fast saturation.
Citadel	127 mm primary (range 25–127 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	no cap	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	22,700 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.
AA mount (76 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	13,600 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 Worcester. Cards are condensed; use each source link for full context.

Buff ×7Main Battery ×6

2026-07-30

Ministry of Balance: Anniversary Tune-Up

credit earnings increased by 2%.

Read the full official post

2022-01-27

February update: fortes fortuna adiuvat

Main battery reload time decreased from 6 to 4.6 s.
Fire-setting chances for HE shells increased from 10 to 12%.
HE shell penetration increased from 25 to 30 mm*.
Turning circle radius decreased from 750 to 740 m.
Radar reload time decreased from 180 to 120 s.
Shell grouping increased by 2.5%.
*These represent raw penetration values, which must be greater than the armor you’re hitting by 1 mm to penetrate. This means that Worcester is now able to effectively penetrate 29 mm of armor with her HE shells.

Read the full official post

Exteriors

Skins & permanent camouflages

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

DefaultThe ship’s standard exterior
Worcester IndependenceDecorative
Battle-Hardened
Battle-Hardened skin for WorcesterBattle-Hardened
Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes permanent camouflage for WorcesterStars 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.

2026-03-27 · Early access / tech tree line Pan-American Cruisers Are Coming to Early Access Line source 2021-05-13 · Patch notes May Update: Things Are Heating Up! Patch notes 2021-12-16 · Patch notes Holiday Update: Chilling With the Beasts Patch notes 2022-01-27 · Patch notes February update: fortes fortuna adiuvat Patch notes 2023-04-06 · Patch notes April Update: Blossom in Gold Patch notes 2026-07-30 · Patch notes Anniversary Update: Tides of Adventure Patch notes

Worcester

Worcester Community Stats

Worcester Community Stats

Playstyle

Overview

Positioning

Potato Avoidance

Signature Traits →

How to get Worcester

Builds

Cohort position

Peers in this cohort

Stats & specs

See all derived stats

Main battery formulas

AA defense

Armor Beta

Ship Charts

Balance History

Ministry of Balance: Anniversary Tune-Up

February update: fortes fortuna adiuvat

Skins & permanent camouflages

Primary official WG sources

Signature Traits