Japan · Tier X Battleship
Yamato
Long-range / mid-long-range Heavy Battleship (AP-focused, survivability-oriented)
Battleship Commander Skills — verified — 24 skills
Recommended role
Long-range / mid-long-range Heavy Battleship (AP-focused, survivability-oriented)
Yamato · Tier 10 Battleship · Balanced playstyle
- 1
Emergency Repair Specialist
1 ptEssential5 out of 5One point for faster Damage Control Party and Repair Party cooldowns — the cheapest survivability skill in the tree and safe to take first.
In game: -3% cooldown of Damage Control Party and Repair Party. · Unlocked from 1 total points.
- 2
Grease the Gears
2 ptsEssential5 out of 5Yamato's turrets traverse very slowly. +20% traverse is the difference between landing a salvo and turning past the target.
In game: +20% main battery turret traverse speed. · Unlocked from 3 total points.
- 3
Adrenaline Rush
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5Yamato usually fights while damaged; faster reload on every armament scales with the HP you have already lost.
In game: For each 1% of HP lost: -0.2% reload time of all armaments and +0.2% continuous AA damage. · Unlocked from 6 total points.
- 4
Concealment Expert
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5-10% detectability lets a slow battleship disengage, reposition and pick its engagement range instead of being focused.
In game: -10% ship detectability radius. · Unlocked from 10 total points.
- 5
Fire Prevention Expert
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5Fewer simultaneous fires plus -10% fire risk is the single biggest reduction in incoming HE damage for a large battleship.
In game: -10% fire risk and one fewer maximum simultaneous fire (to three; the superstructure is limited to one fire zone). · Unlocked from 14 total points.
- 6
Basics of Survivability
3 ptsRecommended4 out of 5Faster fire extinguishing, flooding recovery and module repair — it makes every Damage Control Party use count for more.
In game: -15% module restoration, fire extinguishing and flooding recovery time. · Unlocked from 17 total points.
- 7
Emergency Repair Expert
4 ptsRecommended4 out of 5+1 Repair Party charge and +10% action time. The strongest 4-point survivability capstone for the no-reset path.
In game: +1 charge and +10% action time for Damage Control Party and Repair Party (Damage Control Party has unlimited charges on most ships). · Unlocked from 21 total points.
Class-based recommendation
Slot 1
Main Armaments Modification 1
Protects the main battery that provides most of the ship's damage.
Slot 2
Damage Control System Modification 1
Improves resistance to fires and flooding during sustained fights.
Slot 3
Aiming Systems Modification 1
Makes long reloads more rewarding by improving salvo accuracy.
Alternative: Artillery Plotting Room Modification 1American battleships carry this in place of Aiming Systems Modification 1.
Slot 4
Damage Control System Modification 2
Shortens the time spent taking fire and flooding damage.
Slot 5
Concealment System Modification 1
Helps the ship disengage and reposition between salvos.
Slot 6
Main Battery Modification 3
Improves main-battery reload for more consistent damage.
Build complete — every recommended skill is already unlocked at 21 points.
- This is a no-reset path: every skill you take at a milestone stays in the final 21-point build, so you never pay to redistribute points.
- Yamato is an AP-focused long-range battleship. Its guns are already excellent, so points go into staying alive and into turret traverse, which is its real weakness.
- Concealment Expert and Fire Prevention Expert are the two big four-point spikes: they decide when you fight and how much chip damage you take.
- Yamato has weak close-range citadel angles and very slow turret traverse, so the default build deliberately skips the secondary-brawling skills.
- Fight at mid to long range and use your accuracy; do not push into secondary range by default.
- Angle your bow to incoming fire, but remember that broadside at close range exposes a very large citadel.
- Start your turret traverse before you need it — even with Grease the Gears, Yamato's turrets are slow.
- Hold Repair Party for after a big salvo or a fire cluster rather than using it on the first fire.
Ship class / skill tree
Battleship Commander Skills
Verified — 24 skills, 6 per row
Commander skill points
1 – 21
Progression milestones at 1/3/6/10/14/17/21
Final 21-point build
ERS 1 · Grease 2 · Adrenaline 3 · Concealment 4 · Fire Prevention 4 · Basics 3 · Emergency Repair Expert 4
Unverified — Total 21 — curated prototype, not an official recommendation
Only values confirmed from the supplied sources are listed. Unverified numbers such as reload, detection, hit points, radar range/duration and torpedo range are deliberately omitted.
Skill data: Skill names, point costs and effects taken from the current World of Warships Wiki battleship skill list (Aug/Sep 2026).
Build: Skill mechanics: current World of Warships Wiki. Progression: curated balanced prototype based on standard IJN battleship / Yamato community builds — not an official Wargaming recommendation.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells
2 ptsAvoid / Inefficient1 out of 5Not a default Yamato skill: Yamato wins with AP, and IFHE halves your base fire chance for HE you rarely fire.
Focus Fire Training
3 ptsOptional2 out of 5AA and airstrike focused; little value on a default Yamato build.
Demolition Expert
1 ptOptional2 out of 5Yamato is an AP ship; +1% fire chance changes very little.
Gun Feeder
1 ptOptional2 out of 5You fire AP almost exclusively, so faster shell switching rarely matters.
Incoming Fire Alert
1 ptOptional2 out of 5Nice to know, but a slow battleship often cannot react in time.
Full skill table for Yamato
Battleship Commander Skills — 24 skills, 6 per row
Laid out like the in-game tree for this class. Each row is one point cost.
- Gun FeederOptional2 out of 5
- Demolition ExpertOptional2 out of 5
- Consumables SpecialistSituational3 out of 5
- Emergency Repair SpecialistEssential5 out of 5
- Incoming Fire AlertOptional2 out of 5
- Preventive MaintenanceSituational3 out of 5
- Grease the GearsEssential5 out of 5
- Inertia Fuse for HE ShellsAvoid / Inefficient1 out of 5
- BriskSituational3 out of 5
- VigilanceSituational3 out of 5
- Priority TargetSituational3 out of 5
- AA Defense and ASW ExpertSituational3 out of 5
- Super-Heavy AP ShellsSituational3 out of 5
- Long-Range Secondary Battery ShellsSituational3 out of 5
- Adrenaline RushEssential5 out of 5
- Basics of SurvivabilityRecommended4 out of 5
- Improved Repair Party ReadinessSituational3 out of 5
- Focus Fire TrainingOptional2 out of 5
- FuriousSituational3 out of 5
- Manual Secondary Battery AimingSituational3 out of 5
- Close Quarters CombatSituational3 out of 5
- Emergency Repair ExpertRecommended4 out of 5
- Concealment ExpertEssential5 out of 5
- Fire Prevention ExpertEssential5 out of 5
Showing 24 of 24 battleship commander skills , rated for Yamato.
Emergency Repair Specialist
1 ptEssential5 out of 5-3% cooldown of Damage Control Party and Repair Party.
One point for faster Damage Control Party and Repair Party cooldowns — the cheapest survivability skill in the tree and safe to take first.
Grease the Gears
2 ptsEssential5 out of 5+20% main battery turret traverse speed.
Yamato's turrets traverse very slowly. +20% traverse is the difference between landing a salvo and turning past the target.
Adrenaline Rush
3 ptsEssential5 out of 5For each 1% of HP lost: -0.2% reload time of all armaments and +0.2% continuous AA damage.
Yamato usually fights while damaged; faster reload on every armament scales with the HP you have already lost.
Concealment Expert
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5-10% ship detectability radius.
-10% detectability lets a slow battleship disengage, reposition and pick its engagement range instead of being focused.
Fire Prevention Expert
4 ptsEssential5 out of 5-10% fire risk and one fewer maximum simultaneous fire (to three; the superstructure is limited to one fire zone).
Fewer simultaneous fires plus -10% fire risk is the single biggest reduction in incoming HE damage for a large battleship.
Basics of Survivability
3 ptsRecommended4 out of 5-15% module restoration, fire extinguishing and flooding recovery time.
Faster fire extinguishing, flooding recovery and module repair — it makes every Damage Control Party use count for more.
Emergency Repair Expert
4 ptsRecommended4 out of 5+1 charge and +10% action time for Damage Control Party and Repair Party (Damage Control Party has unlimited charges on most ships).
+1 Repair Party charge and +10% action time. The strongest 4-point survivability capstone for the no-reset path.
Consumables Specialist
1 ptSituational3 out of 5-7.5% cooldown of consumables, except Damage Control Party and Repair Party (and their special variants).
Does not affect Damage Control Party or Repair Party, so it does little on a standard Yamato.
Preventive Maintenance
1 ptSituational3 out of 5-30% risk of module incapacitation; +15% survivability of secondary and AA mounts.
Cheap module protection — a reasonable 1-point filler if you keep losing turrets.
Brisk
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5+10% ship speed while your ship is undetected.
Speed while undetected helps repositioning, but Yamato is rarely undetected for long.
Vigilance
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5+25% enemy torpedo acquisition range; +7% torpedo protection.
Helps against torpedo ambushes when you play closer than mid range.
Priority Target
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5Shows the number of enemies currently aiming their main battery at your ship.
Useful information skill; on Yamato the balanced path spends those 2 points on turret traverse instead.
AA Defense and ASW Expert
2 ptsSituational3 out of 5+15% continuous AA and flak damage; +10% depth charge damage; -40% consumable reload/preparation time while AA is active.
Only worth it when you regularly meet carriers.
Super-Heavy AP Shells
3 ptsSituational3 out of 5+7.5% AP shell damage; -10% damage received from fires and flooding; +25% fire and flooding duration. Does not increase AP penetration.
Alternate offensive choice: +7.5% AP damage and less fire/flood damage taken, but it is not part of the default no-reset survivability path.
Long-Range Secondary Battery Shells
3 ptsSituational3 out of 5+20% secondary battery firing range.
Secondary specialisation. Fine in a dedicated brawling build, but Yamato's weak close-range citadel angles mean the default build stays at mid-long range.
Improved Repair Party Readiness
3 ptsSituational3 out of 5-0.8% Repair Party cooldown for each multiple of the ship's base HP in potential damage; once per battle, +1 Repair Party charge after 2,000,000 potential damage.
Viable advanced alternative: shorter Repair Party cooldown the more potential damage you tank. Good once you are comfortable holding a flank.
Furious
4 ptsSituational3 out of 5While a fire or flooding is active: -10% main battery reload for the first instance, and a further -5% for each additional instance, up to five.
Rewards being on fire, which is the opposite of what Fire Prevention Expert is trying to achieve.
Manual Secondary Battery Aiming
4 ptsSituational3 out of 5Permanent -10% secondary battery reload and -10% secondary dispersion; when firing at a priority target, dispersion improves to -50% over 45 seconds.
Secondary specialisation. Strong on brawling battleships; not part of the default long-range Yamato path.
Close Quarters Combat
4 ptsSituational3 out of 5-10% main battery reload while an enemy ship is spotted within your secondary battery firing range.
Secondary specialisation. Requires fighting inside secondary range, which is exactly where Yamato is most vulnerable.
Gun Feeder
1 ptOptional2 out of 5-40% minimum main battery shell-type switching time.
You fire AP almost exclusively, so faster shell switching rarely matters.
Demolition Expert
1 ptOptional2 out of 5+1% chance of setting a fire with main and secondary battery HE shells; +15% explosion radius of munitions, except depth charges used against submarines.
Yamato is an AP ship; +1% fire chance changes very little.
Incoming Fire Alert
1 ptOptional2 out of 5Warns you about a main battery salvo fired at your ship from more than 4.5 km away.
Nice to know, but a slow battleship often cannot react in time.
Focus Fire Training
3 ptsOptional2 out of 5+1 flak shell; -15% Airstrike reload; -10% aircraft preparation time where applicable; +1.5% priority sector damage and +25% sector reinforcement speed.
AA and airstrike focused; little value on a default Yamato build.
Inertia Fuse for HE Shells
2 ptsAvoid / Inefficient1 out of 5+25% HE shell armour penetration; base HE fire chance is halved.
Not a default Yamato skill: Yamato wins with AP, and IFHE halves your base fire chance for HE you rarely fire.