Azur Lane Tier List - Best Submarines (June 2023)

Discover the thrilling world of Azur Lane, the popular side-scrolling shoot ‘em up mobile game available on Android and IOS. Set in a captivating alternate timeline of World War II, players get to lead an impressive fleet of female moe anthropomorphic characters inspired by real-life warships. Dive into epic battles and hone your strategic skills to conquer the seas and emerge victorious in this exciting game. Join the millions of fans already playing Azur Lane and experience the ultimate gaming adventure today!

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 (SS, SSV)

SS and SSV are ship classifications used in naval terminology and in the game. Submarines in Azur Lane play the role of support attack ships and they're not directly controlled by the player. They can be deployed on maps that allow them. They have their own ammo and fuel cost but they will normally allow you to overcome powerful enemy fleets especially on higher difficulty maps and events. Here are the definitions for each of them:

• SS: These are your standard submarines. Submarines have limited oxygen supply, and once it runs out, they need to resurface, leaving them vulnerable to attacks. However, they can still fight back using the guns equipped to them, usually DD (destroyer) guns.
• SSV (Submarine Seaplane Carrier): This is a special type of submarine that can launch bomber planes. (Interestingly, they existed in real life as well) There's only one SSV in the game so far.

SS Tier

Archerfish, Leonardo da Vinci, U-47

S Tier

Albacore, U-37, U-81, U-96, U-101

A Tier

Minato Aqua

B Tier

Albacore µ, Cavalla, I-13, I-19, I-58, I-168, Nautilus, U-410

C Tier

Ami Futami, Bluegill, Dace, I-25, I-26, I-56, Mami Futami, Surcouf, Torricelli, U-110, U-1206, U-522, U-556, U-557, U-73

Best Azur Lane Submarines 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.

Archerfish

Construction: 00:25:00

Rarity: SR (Super Rare)

Faction: Eagle Union

Archerfish is a powerful submarine that unlocks her full potential when sortied with at least one other Eagle Union submarine. Archerfish deals more damage to Heavy Armor and increases Crit DMG, TRP, and Accuracy for all Eagle Union submarines when paired with at least one Eagle Union sub. This submarine also has an increased OXY (oxygen) capacity which gives her more time submerged and undetected. When resurfacing or leaving the battle, she can fire a torpedo barrage as well.

Leonardo da Vinci

Construction: 00:12:00

Rarity: SR (Super Rare)

Faction: Sardegna Empire

LDV is a powerful submarine that has boosted damage against enemies with Light Armor and boosted TRP and ACC stats. If she is equipped with Sardegna Empire gear, she gains additional boosts to her TRP and ACC. Her skill also summons Canguro 3s after entering the battle to deploy sea mines that can inflict flooding to enemies, further increasing her damage potential. Upon retrieving Canguro, she fires a special barrage as well.

Additionally, LDV has a skill that increases her Oxygen stat by 2 (20) and provides battle support outside of hunting range for submarine fleets once per Sortie. In Operation Siren, the boat's Oxygen is increased by 2 (20) and reduces the AP cost of deploying the Submarine Fleet by 1.5 (6%).

U-47

Construction: 00:11:00

Rarity: SR (Super Rare)

Faction: Iron Blood

U-47's torpedoes inflict 20% (40%) more damage for 5 seconds to the target hit. In regular gameplay, if U-47 is the only submarine deployed, she receives bonuses like increased damage against battleships, higher Search Level, and increased ammo. In Operation Siren, having U-47 as the sole submarine grants increased damage to battleships, ammo, and decreased AP cost for the fleet.

Albacore

Construction: 00:11:00

Rarity: SR (Super Rare)

Faction: Iron Blood

When Albacore resurfaces, she launches torpedoes that have a chance to inflict Burn damage upon hitting enemies. She also fires a special torpedo barrage that burns enemies 5 seconds after she enters, resurfaces, or leaves the battle. She also has increased damage against Destroyers, Light Cruisers, and Aircraft Carriers.

U-37, U-81, U-96, U-101

These submarines take advantage of their shared Wolf Pack Formation skill that increases their stats for each Iron Blood submarine in the same fleet. It's highly recommended to have them deployed together to unlock their full potential. If you only have them individually, don't hesitate to use them if you don't have other better submarines since they're also very capable as standalone units.

That's our tier list for all Azur Lane submarines. Please check out our other tier lists for other ship types in the game. You can also check out our site for other tier lists like this!