Azur Lane ship tier list breakdown

You may have seen our list of the best ships you can play in the hit mobile game Azur Lane, but as devoted players might know, there’s a lot more where that came from, with several “ship girls” available to choose from. So you can know how each ship ranks, we have broken down the full list of available ships into tiers. They go from grade D to grade S, and you have plenty of choices.

Grade D is a decent enough ship to get started with, but they aren’t solid enough to cut it for the long haul. Meanwhile, grade S is the top-of-the-line ship that you can ask for in terms of firepower, evasion, defense, and strength. So if you have to make a choice, grade S is the best way to go. And the other tiers in-between are definitely worth experimenting with too.

Here is our complete tier list of all the ships available in Azur Lane. We have included the name and type of each ship as well as their tier ranking.

D Tier

You can use these when you first start but don’t expect them to get you through the whole game. You’ll be replacing these ships rather quickly.

• Izuzu- Light Cruiser
• Zeppy- Aircraft Carrier
• Chaser- Light Aircraft Carrier
• Anniversary Kizuna AI – Aircraft Carrier
• Curacoa Retrofit – Light Cruiser
• Fumiruiru – Aircraft Carrier
• Akagi – Aircraft Carrier
• Taihou – Aircraft Carrier
• Sendai Retrofit – Light Cruiser
• Tanikaze – Destroyer
• Shangri-La – Aircraft Carrier

C Tier

Aside from the Prinz Eugen, most of these ships will probably need a replacement midway through the game. Still, some players may want to give them a shot if they’re looking for a challenge. You may also have noticed some ships have “Retrofit” in their name. These can be “retrofitted” to get an increase in rarity. For collectors, they can make a real solid addition to the crew.

• Newcastle Retrofit- Light Cruiser
• Kagerou Retrofit- Destroyer
• Curlew Retrofit- Light Cruiser
• Hiryuu Retrofit- Aircraft Carrier
• Souryuu Retrofit- Aircraft Carrier
• London- Heavy Cruiser
• Wichita- Heavy Cruiser
• Arizona- Battleship
• Zuikaku- Aircraft Carrier
• Shoukaku- Aircraft Carrier
• Prinz Eugen- Heavy Cruiser
• Belfast- Light Cruiser
• Kawakaze- Destroyer
• Sirius- Light Cruiser

B Tier

B-Tier ships are a better addition to your crew compared to C and D-Tier. That said, they will eventually run out of steam a little later on unless you know how to handle yourself in battle.

• Hyuuga Retrofit- Aviation Battleship
• Hood – Battle Cruiser
• Jean Bart – Battleship
• Shouhou- Light Aircraft Carrier
• Tirpitz – Battleship
• Mogami Retrofit – Heavy Cruiser
• Ark Royal- Aircraft Carrier
• Kizuna AI- Destroyer
• Cleveland- Light Cruiser
• Columbia- Light Cruiser
• Nicholas Retrofit- Destroyer
• Z1 Retrofit- Destroyer
• Javelin- Destroyer
• Little Bel- Light Cruiser
• Aurora- Light Cruiser
• Queen Elizabeth- Battleship
• U-81- Submarine
• I-19- Submarine
• Kaga- Aircraft Carrier
• Izumo- Battleship
• North Carolina- Battleship
• Ibuki- Heavy Cruiser
• Albacore- Submarine

A Tier

While they’re not quite “god-level” like the S Tier ships, the A Tier models will do your team proud with their balance of firepower, defense, and speed. You can’t go wrong with any of these.

• Portland Retrofit- Heavy Cruiser
• Saratoga Retrofit- Aircraft Carrier
• Laffey Retrofit- Destroyer
• Z23 Retrofit- Destroyer
• Vestal- Repair Ship
• Jintsuu Retrofit- Light Cruiser
• Washington- Battleship
• U-101- Submarine
• I-168- Submarine
• Amagi- Battle Cruiser
• King George V- Battleship
• Bismarck- Battleship
• Saint Louis- Heavy Cruiser
• Montpelier- Light Cruiser
• Neptune- Light Cruiser
• Eldridge- Destroyer
• Illustrious- Aircraft Carrier
• Swiftsure- Light Cruiser
• Graf Zeppelin- Aircraft Carrier
• Bunker Hill- Aircraft Carrier
• Mikasa- Battleship
• Kitakaze- Destroyer
• Yat-Sen Retrofit – Light Cruiser
• Ping Hai Retrofit – Light Cruiser
• Ning Hai Retrofit – Light Cruiser
• Minneapolis – Heavy Cruiser
• Duke of York – Battleship

S Tier

The S Tier is quite simply the best of the best out there. Add them to your fleet without hesitation, and they’re going to last for a good while. Some are pretty rare (like the Friedrich der Grosse), but all the more worth it when it comes to victory.

• Ayanami- Destroyer
• Unicorn- Light Aircraft Carrier
• Helena- Light Cruiser
• I-13- Submarine Carrier
• U-47- Submarine
• Centaur- Light Aircraft Carrier
• Essex- Aircraft Carrier
• Enterprise- Aircraft Carrier
• Warspite Retrofit- Battleship
• Monarch- Battleship
• Roon- Heavy Cruiser
• San Diego Retrofit- Light Cruiser
• Yukikaze- Destroyer
• Akashi- Repair Ship
• Nagato- Battleship
• Gascogne- Battleship
• Georgia- Battleship
• Seattle- Light Cruiser
• Friedrich der Grosse- Battleship
• Azuma- Large Cruiser

Original story by Robert Workman, update by Davy Davison