In Azur Lane, players can collect various ships, however, each ship falls into a specific tier, with S-tier ships being the best, while F-tier ships should be avoided.
Overview
Azur Lane is a popular side-scrolling, simulation role-playing video game. It is set in an alternate timeline of World War II.
The game allows players to collect female moe anthropomorphic characters, based on warships from the war’s major participants. Players can collect characters from the Royal Navy, United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
Additionally, players can obtain ships from the French Navy, Soviet Navy, People’s Liberation Army Navy and the Republic of China Navy among others. They can also organise them into fleets of six and confront artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled enemies.
That being said, they can also participate in battle against other players. Other gameplay elements, such as customising in-game characters and dormitories, are also present.
When players first start to play Azur Lane, they can choose a starter ship. Personifications of the British destroyer HMS Javelin, Japanese destroyer Ayanami, American destroyer USS Laffey and German destroyer Z23 are available.
Battle
As mentioned above, players can participate in battle, either against other players or against computer-controlled ships.
When preparing for the main gameplay mode, they can organise two fleets consisting of a front and back row. It is important to note that there are three slots available in each row.
Heavy cruisers, light cruisers and destroyers can be placed in the front row. The back row is reserved for aircraft cruisers, monitors, aircraft carriers and repair ships. Additionally, players can allocate monitors, battlecruisers and battleships to the back row.
Players should remember that different combinations of ships are required to achieve victory in different battle situations. After creating fleets, they can select and enter a map.
When entering battle against computer-controlled bots, the player’s fleet is placed on a grid-like map similar to that in the game battleship.
The map contains a variety of nodes. It can either be combat nodes, which are enemy fleets, or non-combat nodes, which provide ammunition.
It is important that players navigate optimally and assemble their fleets tactically to clear obstructing enemies. The goal is to reach the map’s boss.
It is also important to note that when players move their fleet across the map, they can be ambushed in random encounters, which forces them to use fuel and ammo.
Fuel is one of the two in-game resources, while ammo points are assigned to player fleets at each map, one ammo point will be deducted at each battle.
Additionally, players can participate in a player-versus-player (PvP) mode. In this mode, players can prepare a defence fleet and build an offence fleet to challenge opposing players’ defence fleets.
When players defeat an enemy, they can earn tokens. Exclusive characters and items can be obtained by using the tokens. Players’ ranks will also rise if they defeat the enemy’s fleet. However, the ranking system is refreshed every 15 days.
It is important to remember that players will receive no penalty if they lose a challenge, or if their defence fleet is defeated by other players.
Players should also note that certain ships are stronger than others in battle. The ships are divided into different ranks, also known as tiers.
Azur Lane tier list
It is believed that the ships in the S-tier are the best in the game. These ships are usually the most sought after, however, it is difficult to obtain them. While players should avoid the ships in the F-tier, as they have very little value.
S-tier ships
Players will have the best experience playing Azur Lane if they have some of these ships in their collection. The ships will fit in most of the situations in-game, due to their excellent statistics and skills.
The following table indicates some of the ships in the S-tier:
| Ship name | Ship type | Placement |
| Enterprise | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Monarch | Battleship | Back Row |
| Centaur | Light Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Ayanami | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Friedrich der Grosse | Battleship | Back Row |
| Bremerton | Heavy Cruiser | Vanguard |
| U-101 | Submarine | Support |
| Roon | Heavy Cruiser | Vanguard |
| San Diego Retrofit | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Howe | Battleship | Back Row |
A-tier ships
The A-tier ships are quite powerful. However, they are the not as good as the S-tier ships, but they still rank very high in the tier lists. The following table indicates some of the ships in the A-tier:
| A-tier name | A-tier type | Placement |
| Eldridge | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Graf Zeppelin | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Intrepid | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| King George V | Battleship | Back Row |
| Montpelier | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Jean Bart | Battleship | Back Row |
| Saint Louis | Heavy Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Unicorn | Light Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Ping Hai Retrofit | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Yat-Sen Retrofit | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
B-tier ships
This tier features ships that constitute the game’s current meta. Even though they are not as powerful as the above-mentioned ships, they can still dominate the game. The following table indicates some of the B-tier ships:
| B-tier ship | B-tier type | Placement |
| Albacore | Submarine | Support |
| Birmingham | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Champagne | Battleship | Back Row |
| Little Bel | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Hanazuki | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Ibuki | Heavy Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Kawakaze | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Queen Elizabeth | Battleship | Back Row |
| Cleveland | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Dido | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
C-tier ships
The C-tier feature average ships that can hold their ground, however, they have a hard time standing out. Players should thus consider replacing their C-tier ships with one of the above-mentioned ships. The following table indicates some of the C-tier’s ships:
| C-tier ship | C-tier type | Placement |
| Eskimo | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Hiryuu Retrofit | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Prinz Eugen | Heavy Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Victorious | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Zuikaku | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Belfast | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Gangut | Battleship | Back Row |
| Little Renown | Battleship | Back Row |
| Algerie | Heavy Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Kagerou Retrofit | Destroyer | Vanguard |
D-tier ships
It is believed that the D-tier ships are poor choices if players want to build a fleet that would carry them through endgame content. Players should thus consider dropping these ships when they obtain better-ranked ships. The following table indicates some of the ships in the D-tier:
| D-tier ship | D-tier type | Placement |
| Kinu | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Vanguard | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| U-73 | Submarine | Support |
| Akagi | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Support | Battleship | Back Row |
| Eagle | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Fumiruiru | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Carabiniere | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Taihou | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Bataan | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
F-tier ships
It is recommended that players avoid the ships in this tier entirely. They have very little value, except in the early to mid-game. If players want to build the best possible fleet, then these ships should not have a place in their collection.
The following table indicates some of the F-tier ships:
| F-tier ships | F-tier type | Placements |
| Hibiki | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Naganami | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Chaser | Light Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| U-556 | Submarine | Support |
| Anniversary Kizuna Al | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Tanikaze | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Zeppy | Aircraft Carrier | Back Row |
| Tartu | Destroyer | Vanguard |
| Isuzu | Light Cruiser | Vanguard |
| Icarus | Destroyer | Vanguard |
Conclusion
In Azur Lane, players are able to collect female moe anthropomorphic characters, based on warships, from the war’s major participants.
Once players have collected the ships, they can organize them into fleets of six to confront artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled enemies.
However, players can also participate in combat against other players. Other gameplay elements, such as customizing dormitories and customizing in-game characters, are also present.
It is important to note that the game features various ships, and some ships are stronger than others. The ships are divided into different ranks, also known as tiers. It is believed that the ships in the S-tier are the best in the game.
These ships are the most sought after, however, they can be very difficult to obtain. It is recommended that players completely avoid the F-tier ships, as they have very little value, except in the early and mid-game content.
Players should remember that even when they have S-tier ships in their fleets, that it does not guarantee a successful battle. Players should thus come up with a tactical plan and strategically move their ships to defeat their enemies.