AL TIER LIST

Kopfjäger's opinionated & extra-biased tier list

Ships are compared to others in their own CLASS for tiering purposes,
Ships are tiered under IDEAL conditions pertaining to their own respective skills.
Ships in a tier are listed from BEST TO WORST within the tier.
All skill values mentioned are at MAX level.

Tier Explanations:
Tier 0  : Fucking Broken. Meta-defining
Tier 1  : Best of the Best, use if available, ASAP
Tier 1.5: Nearly as good as the best, but has flaws compared to the best
Tier 2  : Good and perfectly usable, especially if waifu

DD (Destroyer, blue torpedo icon)

Tier 1:
- Poi (Yuudachi)
Skill: 6% chance on firing main gun to boost Firepower, Torpedo, RoF, and Evasion by 40% for 8s
Drop-only, 6-4 Boss node
Poi is best of the best for a simple reason. Superior stat spread compared with an all-rounder skill that pretty much boosts EVERYTHING worth boosting on a DD. The general strat is to gear her with a super-fast DD gun to proc her skill as often as possible, though using a slower but harder hitting gun also works to make use of the firepower boost.

- Ayanami
Skill: 5% chance on firing main gun to boost Torpedo by 60% for 8s
CN: Collection reward for 15* total among the 3 starters, buildable afterwards
JP: Starter choice, drops pretty much everywhere
Ayanami is Poi-lite, but much more focused. She lives and dies by her torps. With her skill procced, Ayanami easily causes OBSCENE damage with her torpedoes.

- Kagerou
Skill: 15% boost of torpedo stat to every DD in the fleet, 30% chance to launch a second salvo on torpedo launch
Drop-only, Relatively common drop at later maps
A relatively common ship that packs a LOT of punch. Combines high torpedo stat with double-torplaunch proc and a fleetwide torpedo boost.


Tier 1.5:
- Z23
Skill: 5% chance on firing main gun to boost Firepower by 60% for 8s
CN: Starter choice, drops pretty much everywhere
JP: Collection reward for 15* total among the 3 starters, buildable afterwards
Z23 is special in one way: She is basically a CL masquerading as a DD. Capable of mounting a CL main gun, she actually has pretty poor torpedo stat, and relies more on her gun to do damage.

- Z46
Skill: 15% chance on firing AA gun to boost AA by 50%, increases AP damage by 25%
CN: Limited crafting back at KMS event
JP: Does not exist yet
Z46 is an all-round decent DD, not really standing out in many ways, but perfectly serviceable overall. Best used with her sisters.

- Z1
Skill: Increases Firepower and Evasion of Z-series ships by 40%
Craftable
Z1's main use is for running the Z-class destroyer trio, where she provides a MASSIVE boost to her sisters. She herself is a pretty normal torpedo-focused DD statwise.


Tier 2:
- Gridley
Skill: 15% boost of torpedo stat to every DD in the fleet, 30% chance to launch a second salvo on torpedo launch
Identical skillset to Kagerou, worse stats

- Maury
Skill: 40% chance every 10s to raise evasion by 60% for 8s, 30% chance to launch a second salvo on torpedo launch
Collection reward
Another DD with double-launch skill, always useful to have.

- Shigure
Skill: 5% chance on firing main gun to boost Evasion by 60% for 8s
Drop-only, earliest at 4-2
Excellent stats, lackluster skill, still pretty good to use overall

- Laffey
Skill: 6% chance on firing main gun to boost Firepower, Torpedo, RoF, and Evasion by 40% for 8s
Starter Choice, drops pretty much everywhere
Same skill as Poi, worse stats everywhere.

- Nowaki
Skill: Every 20s, gain random effect for 10s
CN: ZKK/SKK limited event craft
JP: does not exist yet
RNG-ish skill, but great stats.


Honorable Mention:
- Eldridge
Skill: Upon taking damage, 15% chance to make entire escort fleet to evade all attacks for 10s
PVP Shop only
Often overrated because her skill IS pretty broken in low to midgame PvP matches. Lategame her utterly low HP just causes her to die way too fast to be of use.



CL (Light Cruiser, Yellow gun icon)

Tier 1:
- Cleveland
Skill: 15% chance every 20s to boost Firepower fleetwide by 25%, 25% chance on firing AA guns to boost AA by 40% and reduce Firepower by 20% for 3s
Craftable, also farmable
Cleveland is an oddball. She takes the "Best CL" throne by virtue of her stats alone since her skills are mostly poor and unreliable. What Cleveland DOES offer, is a very solid combination of HP and Evasion that lets her out-tank the vast majority of CAs in the game, paired with her decent Firepower and the fact that she's a gunboat do to good DPS at the same time.

- Belfast
Skill: Increase HE damage by 25% and chance to ignite fire by 3%, 10s after battle starts and 20% chance at every 20s thereafter, create a smokescreen that lasts 10s. Smokescreen provides 35% evasion and 35% reduced damage taken from airstrikes
Craftable
Belfast is an HE-specialist who provides good damage and packs a punch with her torpedoes. Her main selling point is her smokescreen, which is amazing for reducing damage taken in PvE and in cutting down airstrike damage in PVP.

- Edinburgh
Skill: Increase AP damage by 25%
Craftable
Edinburgh is in a similar situation as cleveland. While her skill is arguably MORE relevant, she is placed here mostly based on her stat. She trades some offense for even MORE tankiness compared to Cleveland, and is indisputably the tankiest CL in the game. Very powerful in an all HMS setup.

- Leander Kai
Skill: Increases Firepower of Cruisers (both CL and CA) in the fleet by 15%, At battle start and 20% chance at every 20s thereafter, create a smokescreen that lasts 5s. Smokescreen provides 40% evasion
Craftable, common drop
Arguably the best support-DPS CL in the game. Leander offers extremely solid stats despite her low rarity, paired with two useful skills. As a bonus, she is also a HMS ship, ideal for usage in an all-HMS setup.

- Helena
Skill: 60% chance every 20s to make all enemies take 40% more damage for 10s
Craftable, also farmable
Helena's stats are decent, but her main selling point is her skill, which while amazing when it procs, is hard to time well because it affects ONLY enemies that are on-screen when it procs, IF it procs. This makes her a bit RNG-reliant.


Tier 1.5:
- Ajax Kai
Skill: 60% chance every 20s to boost Firepower by 40% for 10s, increases damage dealt to CAs by 25%
Craftable, common drop
Ajax is a brutal offensive machine, but is put down by her relatively poor defenses.

- Leipzig
Skill: Increases Firepower, Torpedo, and Reload of Cruisers (both CL and CA) in the fleet by 10%
Collection Reward
Leipzig is a solid buff-provider, but is put down by her own somewhat lacking stats. Best used in an all-KMS lineup for maximum impact.

- Abukuma Kai
Skill: 15% boost of torpedo stat to every DD in the fleet, 30% chance to launch a second salvo on torpedo launch
CN: Droppable in several past events and world 8 onwards
JP: Does not exist yet
Abukuma is a DD-support CL. Her own torpedo stat is high, and she is mostly there as a tankier alternative to Kagerou in a DD-heavy composition


Tier 2:
- Phoenix
Skill: Once per battle, when HP falls under 20%, heals 25% HP and increases firepowe by 30% for 15s
Craftable and farmable
Phoenix's claim to fame is her skill, which makes her a monster in PvE clear fleets and powerful in PvP both.

- Brooklyn
Skill: Increases Firepower of Cruisers (both CL and CA) in the fleet by 15%
Craftable and farmable
A worse Leander Kai, has the benefit of being a gunboat, but inferior statwise and lacks additional benefits.


Honorable Mentions:
- San Diego
Skill: doesn't matter
You'll see WAY more of her than you ever want
Best use: Scrap for 10 medals

- Juneau
Skill: When sunk, heals all other ships in fleet for 25% HP
Craftable and Farmable
Has a niche use in PvP trollish defense fleets