Azur Lane(EN) In-Depth Equipment Guide Series: Heavy Cruiser Main Guns


Heavy Cruiser Main Gun Overview
There are not too many heavy cruiser(CA) guns in the game compared to other guns. The choices are usually very straightforward.

Both AP guns and HE guns are good choices at this caliber. AP modifiers against medium armor enemies are especially desirable. To see all armor modifiers, click here.

Turret rotation is narrower than CL and DD guns. CA guns usually only get 40 degrees. The main guns are pretty much blind to things that are not directly in front of them. Other things need to be killed by secondary guns or other ships.

CA guns are too big to be used as BB/BC secondaries so their only role as of now is to function as main guns.


Heavy Cruiser Main Gun Analyses
Twin 203mm Main Gun (SK C)
Damage
50x6
Stats
FP+45
Inherent Damage Modifier
110%
Base Fire Rate
7.65s/wave
Total Firing Time
1.00s/wave
Firing Delay- Adjusted DPS
36.87
In-Game Range
55
Acquisition Range
70
Firing Range
50+10
Spread Range
15°
Firing Angle
40°
Attribute
Lock
Ammo
AP
Armor Modifiers (L/M/H)
75%/110%/75%
"Gold Eugen" gun. Stereotypical top tier CA gun.
Firing pattern is 2x3, so the twin gun fires three consecutive times with 2 shells each.
High damage, favorable AP shell, high accuracy(low dispersion). Very solid performance overall.
Reload is kind of slow.
The purple(T2) version of this gun is usable as a substitute AP gun for this one.
Although this is usually the "best" choice for a CA, it's not always the case. It's unlikely that this gun will be a "bad" choice for anyone in the game right now, but if you want to maximize other aspects of a ship you can try playing around with the following guns.

Obtainable from: DE boxes, 7-3, 8-4
203mm Mounted Gun

Damage
46x4
Stats
FP+25
Base Fire Rate
6.17s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
55
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
15°
Ammo
HE
"Atago gun". Top choice among normally-obtainable CA HE guns for most situations.
Shoots 2x2. As expected, effective against light armor. Not as good as AP against med.
Similar to the relationship between the Triple 155mm gold and Belfast, this gun has a special relationship with Atago and other CAs that have skills that interact with HE shells.
Reload is faster than the gold Eugen Gun, but not by much. Theoretical DPS therefore is lower.
This is where you need to consider what kind of enemies you are fighting to choose between this and gold Eugen.

Obtainable from: JP boxes, 4-2, 8-3, 8-4, 12-1


 Prototype 203mm (Type 3) Mounted Gun
試作型203mm(3号)連装砲T0の画像
Damage
48x4
Stats
FP+45
Base Fire Rate
5.92s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
55
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
15°
Ammo
HE
Strictly better version of the 203mm gun above.
Better stats all around. Decent HE choice for CA main guns. Good choice for Atago and other ships that interact with HE shells.
Fast reload. A little worse than the US 203mm Advanced but shell pattern is often considered more favorable(low spread range). Potential candidate for CAs with firing-based skill triggers.

Availability is limited as it is not in boxes or maps.

Obtainable from: Core data
Prototype 203mm Main Gun (SK C)
試作203mmSKC三連装砲T0のアイコン
Damage
50x6
Stats
FP+45
Base Fire Rate
7.32s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
55
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
22°
Ammo
AP
Often considered a strict upgrade to the twin 203mm (Eugen gun), but the difference is not as big as between the 152mm proto and the Tbts (see CL gun page).
No bonus armor modifiers. Same damage as Eugen gun with a different firing pattern (3x2 instead of 2x3),

Reload is faster and it ends up being a little significant in the long run. In additional to faster raw reload, the firing pattern decreases effective firing time(every wave of shells has a 0.5s delay until the next, therefore 3x2 is more favorable than 2x3). However the inherent modifier is lower than Eugen gun (105% vs 110%), causing the damage per shell number to be slightly lower.

Based on various testing by Chinese players this runs smoother in non-boss battles but for single boss battles the difference between this and Eugen gun is negligible. If you are debating whether to invest plates into this gun for upgrades, keep this in mind.

Obtainable from: Research


Prototype Triple 203mm Main Gun
試製203mm三連装砲T0のアイコン

Damage
52x3
Stats
FP+45
Base Fire Rate
5.39s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
60
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
10°
Ammo
HE
The best HE CA gun as of now. Unlike the AP Proto SKC vs regular SKC(Eugen gun) comparison, this gun has significant advantage over other HE options.
High inherent modifier (130%) coupled with favorable firing pattern (1x3). The low dispersion is because it fires one shell at a time for 3 times. Accuracy is very good. ROF and DPS are both better than the 203mm No.3.

Obtainable from: Research
Twin 203mm Main Gun
Damage
48x4
Stats
FP+25
Base Fire Rate
6.42s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
55
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
15°
Ammo
AP
UK's knockoff version of the Eugen gun. The "faster reload for fewer shells" version. Except in most cases this isn't really worth it. If anything it's closer to being the AP version of the Japanese 203mm (Atago gun) above.
You can argue that the purple version of the gold Eugen gun at T2 is better than this gun. Both are used as transitional weapons towards gold Eugen.

Obtainable from: UK boxes, 4-4, 8-4


Triple 203mm Advanced Main Gun
Damage
52x3
Stats
FP+25
Base Fire Rate
5.59s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
60
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
45°
Ammo
HE
Not a very popular gun but it is rather peculiar.
Highest alpha damage at 52 among all normally obtainable CA guns, actually beating gold Eugen.
The reload is also the fastest among all normally obtainable CA guns.
HE shells makes this relevant on HE-oriented maps.
Because it only fires 3 shells compared  the 4-6 to most guns, theoretical DPS isn't too good. This is mostly due to the "faster" reload not being magnitudes faster than the others and therefore couldn't make up for the low number of shells per salvo.
The biggest problem with the gun is that it has a 45 degree dispersion, making it a pseudo-scatter gun. This makes it very hard to use unless you play manually to make up for it.
Special T0 weapons will beat this gun in terms of rate of fire and shell behavior, but if you don't have them, you can try to use this gun for the fast rate of fire for ships with firing-triggered skills, like Houston and Wichita. Once you get the faster reloading T0 weapons this is pretty much obsolete, though.

Obtainable from: US boxes, 4-3, 7-3, 8-3, 8-4


Triple 203mm Main Gun
Damage
39x3
Stats
FP+12
Base Fire Rate
6.48s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
60
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
45°
Ammo
HE
The only blue T3 CA gun in the game.
I guess this is the "non-advanced" version of that "advanced" gun above.
It has the same advantages and disadvantages compared to the gun above. Good HE and decent alpha(for its rarity) and bad dispersion/spread range.
But it's worse than the gun above in every way. So this is your typical transitional blue weapon.
Probably not worth too much of your time and investment. Looks pretty cute though so maybe keep one as your waifu.

Obtainable from: US boxes, 1-4

Triple 283mm Main Gun (SK C/28)
283mmSKC28三連装砲T3のアイコン
Damage
55x6
Stats
FP+25
Base Fire Rate
8.98s/wave
Attribute
Lock
Range
60
Firing Angle
40°
Spread Range
25°
Ammo
AP
CA version of the 283mm SKC. Note that the equipment images are exactly the same. You have to click in to find out.
This gun can only be equipped on Deutschland class CAs.
Unlike the BB version that fires normal ammo, this CA version fires AP ammo. Much more relevant.
The special attribute of this gun is that it fires in a volley fashion despite of it being a front-row gun. Shells travel over enemy shields and knock them on the head.
Per shot damage is the highest among CA guns, but reload is also the slowest. Very expected of pocket battleship guns.
Theoretical DPS is very high, but this doesn't always translate to practice because of the reload. It's also worth mentioning that Deutschland class ships do have decent barrages. Although this is their special gun, it actually goes against their barrage triggers. People who want to trigger those barrages opt for the American 203mm Advanced gun.

For what it's worth, it gives you options. And that, in my opinion, is always good.

Obtainable from: DE boxes

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