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 CruiserZeppy- Aircraft CarrierChaser- Light Aircraft CarrierAnniversary Kizuna AI – Aircraft CarrierCuracoa Retrofit – Light CruiserFumiruiru – Aircraft CarrierAkagi – Aircraft CarrierTaihou – Aircraft CarrierSendai Retrofit – Light CruiserTanikaze – DestroyerShangri-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 CruiserKagerou Retrofit- DestroyerCurlew Retrofit- Light CruiserHiryuu Retrofit- Aircraft CarrierSouryuu Retrofit- Aircraft CarrierLondon- Heavy CruiserWichita- Heavy CruiserArizona- BattleshipZuikaku- Aircraft CarrierShoukaku- Aircraft CarrierPrinz Eugen- Heavy CruiserBelfast- Light CruiserKawakaze- DestroyerSirius- 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 BattleshipHood – Battle CruiserJean Bart – BattleshipShouhou- Light Aircraft CarrierTirpitz – BattleshipMogami Retrofit – Heavy CruiserArk Royal- Aircraft CarrierKizuna AI- DestroyerCleveland- Light CruiserColumbia- Light CruiserNicholas Retrofit- DestroyerZ1 Retrofit- DestroyerJavelin- DestroyerLittle Bel- Light CruiserAurora- Light CruiserQueen Elizabeth- BattleshipU-81- SubmarineI-19- SubmarineKaga- Aircraft CarrierIzumo- BattleshipNorth Carolina- BattleshipIbuki- Heavy CruiserAlbacore- 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 CruiserSaratoga Retrofit- Aircraft CarrierLaffey Retrofit- DestroyerZ23 Retrofit- DestroyerVestal- Repair ShipJintsuu Retrofit- Light CruiserWashington- BattleshipU-101- SubmarineI-168- SubmarineAmagi- Battle CruiserKing George V- BattleshipBismarck- BattleshipSaint Louis- Heavy CruiserMontpelier- Light CruiserNeptune- Light CruiserEldridge- DestroyerIllustrious- Aircraft CarrierSwiftsure- Light CruiserGraf Zeppelin- Aircraft CarrierBunker Hill- Aircraft CarrierMikasa- BattleshipKitakaze- DestroyerYat-Sen Retrofit – Light CruiserPing Hai Retrofit – Light CruiserNing Hai Retrofit – Light CruiserMinneapolis – Heavy CruiserDuke 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- DestroyerUnicorn- Light Aircraft CarrierHelena- Light CruiserI-13- Submarine CarrierU-47- SubmarineCentaur- Light Aircraft CarrierEssex- Aircraft CarrierEnterprise- Aircraft CarrierWarspite Retrofit- BattleshipMonarch- BattleshipRoon- Heavy CruiserSan Diego Retrofit- Light CruiserYukikaze- DestroyerAkashi- Repair ShipNagato- BattleshipGascogne- BattleshipGeorgia- BattleshipSeattle- Light CruiserFriedrich der Grosse- BattleshipAzuma- Large Cruiser

Original story by Robert Workman, update by Davy Davison