Azur Lane

Azur Lane Tier List - Best Large and Heavy Cruisers (March 2024)

Updated: Apr 26th 2023

Explore the world of Azur Lane and stay ahead of the competition with the latest heavy cruiser tier list! In this side-scrolling shoot ‘em up mobile game for Android and IOS, players command a fleet of moe anthropomorphic characters inspired by real-life warships of World War II. As a captain, it’s crucial to know which heavy cruisers reign supreme in battle. With our comprehensive tier list, you can strategize your next move and dominate the seas. Join millions of fans already playing Azur Lane and take your gaming experience to the next level with our heavy cruiser tier list.

 
Azur Lane Tier List - Best Large and Heavy Cruisers (March 2024)
Azur Lane Tier List - Best Large and Heavy Cruisers (March 2024)

Disclaimer: Please be reminded that Tier Lists are not "definite" measures of the character's strength and potential. There are a lot of factors to be considered like the characters' availability, their synergy with your team, their utility, equipment, etc. As such, please use our tier lists as what they're meant to be - a guide. Use tier lists to help you decide whether you'll want to invest resources and time to build a character. At the end of the day, it's you who will decide which ones you'll use based on preference and performance.

Azur Lane Ship Classification (CA, CB)

CA and CB are ship classifications used in naval terminology and in the game. In Azur Lane, they are positioned in the Vanguard (frontline) slots in a fleet formation. Here are the definitions for each of them:

  • Heavy Cruisers (CA): Heavy cruisers are vanguard units that can deal significant damage and absorb enemy attacks to protect more fragile ships. They have lower evasion and slower movement compared to other escort ships, except for the Sakura (IJN) Heavy Cruisers, which have slightly higher evasion and faster mobility. Heavy cruisers can equip torpedoes, and some Eagle Union (USN) ships can equip Destroyer-type guns as secondary weapons.
  • Large Cruisers (CB): In the game, large Cruisers are vanguard-type ships having more firepower and durability than Heavy Cruisers bringing them close enough to the firepower of battleships. As of this writing, there are only five ships in the game under this category.

SS Tier

Agir, Azuma, Brest, Drake, Kronshtadt

S Tier

Anchorage, Azusa Miura, Cheshire, Kala Ideas, Prinz Heinrich, Roon µ, San Francisco

A Tier

Baltimore, Blucher, Bremerton, Ibuki, Kursk, Minneapolis, Northampton II, Prinz Adalbert, Roon, Saint Louis, Tallinn, Yume Minami

B Tier

Chikuma, Kasumi (Venus Vacation), Little Cheshire, London, New Orleans, Pola, Portland, Shropshire

C Tier

Admiral Graf Spee, Atago, Baltimore µ, Deutschland, Elegant Kizuna AI, Haguro, Maya, Mogami, Takao, Wichita, Zara

D Tier

Algerie, Chicago, Choukai, Exeter, Houston, Indianapolis, Lila Decyrus, Little Prinz Eugen, Little Spee, Nakiri Ayame, Namiko, Northampton, Prinz Eugen, Suffolk, Trento META, York

E Tier

Admiral Hipper, Admiral Hipper µ, Aoba, Ashigara, Astoria, Black Heart, Bolzano, Dorsetshire, Foch, Furutaka, Kako, Kent, Kinugasa, Kumano, Myoukou, Nachi, Norfolk, Noire, Pensacola, Quincy, Salt Lake City, Suzuya, Sussex, Trento, Trieste, Vincennes, Yorck

Best Azur Lane Light Cruisers Description

Unfortunately, we won't be able to give a description to all shipgirls in the game so we will just provide the description for the SS and S-tier units for your perusal.

Agir

Construction: Research

Rarity: Decisive

Faction: Iron Blood

Agir is a large cruiser with high durability and damage output, best used as a main tank in the vanguard. When Agir's torpedoes hit an enemy, decrease their Speed for a short duration. This ship gains increased Evasion if she has not run out of Ammo.

If equipped with a Normal or AP main gun, Agir takes less damage and has a higher critical rate. If equipped with a HE main gun, Agir deals more damage but loses the ability to ignite enemies. If equipped with a high-caliber main gun, Agir's main gun efficiency is increased.

Lastly, when Agir fires her main gun, she can inflict Armor Break to enemies hit by her rounds. Once every 8 times the main gun fires, a special barrage is fired. If she is equipped with a high-caliber main gun, her special barrage is fired every 4 times the main gun fires, giving her exceptional damage output.

Azuma

Construction: Research

Rarity: Decisive

Faction: Sakura Empire

One of the few large cruisers in the game, Azuma boasts high durability and damage output. By default, Azuma's high caliber Main Gun increases damage dealt based on the distance traveled and Burn damage dealt to enemies. She has a chance to increase her own Evasion and Accuracy every 20s. She also fires a special barrage every 8 times her main guns are fired, with improved efficiency and frequency if equipped with a Prototype 310mm gun and based on the proximity of the nearest enemy.

However, once Azuma gains access to Fate Simulation, she gains a chance every 20s to increase its Evasion, Accuracy, and decrease Torpedo damage taken for 12s. It can also fire a special barrage every 8 times its main guns are fired. The special barrage inflicts a special burn to all enemies it hits. If equipped with a high caliber Main Gun (280mm or more), the ship gains an increase in main gun efficiency and the special barrage is improved based on proximity to the nearest enemy, and fired every 4 times the main gun is fired instead.

Brest

Construction: Research

Rarity: Decisive

Faction: Iris Libre

Brest boasts high survivability and can be incredibly tanky, perfect for taking the main vanguard position. She has passive boosts to her FP and Accuracy. At the beginning of the battle, if there are 3 ships in the Vanguard, her EVA increases and DMG taken decreases. She also gains SPD and EVA at the start of the battle. If equipped with Iris Libre gear, her Main Gun Crit DMG and AA increase.

She fires a special barrage every 8 times she fires her Main Guns, and if she has a large-caliber Main Gun, the number of shots required is reduced to 4 and the properties of the barrage change. The first time the barrage fires, it restores HP to the ship with the lowest percentage HP left in the fleet, and the second time it restores Brest's HP.

Drake

Construction: Research

Rarity: Decisive

Faction: Royal Navy

Drake is an outstanding heavy cruiser boasting incredible survivability and damage output. Drake has an increased critical rate and change ammo type for her built-in secondary gun. When her main gun uses Normal or High Explosive (HE) ammo, her main gun ammo type changes to HE that has a chance to inflict Burn. She can fire a special barrage every 30s (20s) that ignores shields and heals her for a percentage of the damage dealt. She also gains buffs to her FP, EVA, and RLD depending on her position in the fleet.

The very useful buffs and properties mentioned above are further improved by her Fate Simulation. Her Flintlock Burst skill that changes ammo type and increases the crit rate of her built-in secondary gun, has better modifiers and the number of main gun hits needed to trigger her All Out Assault attack to just six. Her special barrage still ignores shields and heals Drake for a higher percentage of the damage dealt. However, the positional requirements to activate the buffs to her FP, EVA and RLD has been removed, making her buffs available and active until the end of the battle.

Kronshtadt

Construction: 04:42:50

Rarity: UR (Ultra Rare)

Faction: Northern Parliament

Kronshtadt is a powerful large cruiser with outstanding all-around combat effectiveness. Kronshtadt's FP and EVA are increased by 3.5% (8%) and a special barrage is fired every 8 times she fires her main gun, or every 4 times if equipped with a high-caliber main gun.

Her damage from AP ammo is decreased by 3.5% (8%), and a special barrage is fired every 4 times the secondary gun fires, decreasing the FP of enemies hit by 5%. Kronshtadt also has a one-time ability to decrease burn damage taken and heal, and provides a buff to fleets not including her by decreasing BB main gun spread and firing a special barrage that decreases enemy Speed.

There you have it, our list for the best heavy and large cruisers in Azur Lane. Please come back for more Azur Lane tier lists and information.



Paul, Staff Writer

PaulVhayste started writing free guides and walkthroughs in 2006 for several online gaming sites. He has written hundreds of guides covering games from a wide variety of genres across different platforms. He's an avid JRPG and mobile gaming fan, and regularly plays games on the PC, Steam Deck, PS5, and mobile platforms. He strives to continue making comprehensive and easy-to-follow guides for his readers.

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