Azur Lane

Azur Lane Best Gear: Current meta

Azur Lane Best Gear

In the ever-evolving world of Azur Lane, having the right equipment isn’t just an advantage—it’s essential. As of May 2025, the current meta emphasizes both strategic fleet composition and optimized gear choices to tackle high-rank content such as World 15 Hard (W15H) and Arbiter fights. This guide distills the latest community consensus on which pieces to prioritize crafting in the Gear Lab, which equipment to enhance to +13, and the best-in-slot (BiS) gear for each ship class. Whether you’re building a Light BB + Heavy CV team or configuring specialized AA carriers, these recommendations will keep your fleet at peak performance.

Gear Lab Priority

Efficient use of your Gear Lab resources means focusing on a curated list of equipment that delivers the highest payoff across multiple content types.

  • DD Guns: The QF 2-pounder Pom-Pom is invaluable for its rapid fire and anti-air utility, making it a top-tier pick for destroyers.
  • Cruiser Guns: The Twin 152 mm (6″/53 Mk 18) excels in both damage and reload, offering great versatility for light and heavy cruisers.
  • BB Main Guns: Triple 406 mm Mk 6 stands out for battleships, striking a balance between raw firepower and shell velocity.
  • Aircraft: For carriers, Type 0 Fighter Model 32 remains the gold standard for air superiority, while SB2C Helldiver is the go-to torpedo bomber.
  • Anti-Air Guns: Single 76 mm (3″/50 caliber) offers critical AA performance early on, though later upgrades like the Quad 40 mm Bofors should be crafted when available.

+13 Enhancement Priority

Enhancing certain pieces to +13 amplifies their impact, especially in endgame content:

  • Dual 153 mm Trailer Guns: +13 greatly boosts cruiser main gun performance, essential for sustaining DPS in long fights.
  • Gold Gear Caution: Not all UR gear outperforms purple or blue options; focus on +13’ing equipment listed in the ECGC +13 priority guide until you can assess situational needs.

Best-in-Slot Equipment by Class

Meta considerations often hinge on armor types and buffs, so here’s the BiS for each ship category under the current Light BB + Heavy CV and AA-carry configurations:

Destroyers (DD)

  • BiS Gun: QF 2-pounder Pom-Pom +13 for high AA and DPS.
  • Torpedo: 533 mm Quintuple mounts, enhanced as resources allow.

Cruisers (CL/CA)

  • Light Cruisers: Twin 152 mm (6″/53 Mk 18) +13 for balanced burst.
  • Heavy Cruisers: Triple 203 mm Main Gun Mount Mk 15 for boss fights.

Battleships (BB)

  • BiS Gun: Triple 406 mm Mk 6, capable of penetrating heavy armor.
  • Auxiliary: Officer’s Sword augment for general use; switch to Bowgun against low-evasion bosses.

Aircraft Carriers (CV/CVL)

  • Fighter: Type 0 Fighter Model 32 for fleet air superiority.
  • HB Bomber: SB2C Helldiver for torpedo strikes; Haruna CV aircraft for heavy CV setups.
  • Auxiliary: Scepter augment on at least one carrier per fleet for consistent support buffs.

Situational Gearing & Meta Notes

While these recommendations serve as a robust baseline, remember that gearing remains situational, choose equipment that counters the armor types and mechanics of the encounter. The current meta often pairs a Light BB fleet (e.g., Alsace-based builds) with a Heavy CV fleet (e.g., Shinano with AmagiCV & Implacable), leveraging newer planes and BB weapons for maximum efficiency. Ultimately, gear choices should complement your ship skills and fleet composition, so don’t hesitate to adapt when facing specific Arbiter modifiers or Siren mechanics.

By focusing your Gear Lab crafts, prioritizing key +13 enhancements, and equipping BiS items tailored to each ship class, you’ll ensure your fleets are ready to dominate whatever the Sirens throw at you—today’s meta included!

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Jake Skudder

Jake is an SEO-minded Football, Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer and successful Editor in Chief. Most importantly, he is a Gacha players who specialises in Genshin Impact. On top of that, Jake has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012 under the name Jake Jeremy. His work has also been featured on Sportskeeda, Pro Sports Extra, Wrestling Headlines, NoobFeed, Wrestlingnewsco and Keen Gamer, again under the name Jake Jeremy. Previously, he worked as the Editor in Chief of 24Wrestling, building the site profile with a view to selling the domain, which was accomplished in 2019. Jake was previously the Editor in Chief for Fight Fans, a combat sports and pro wrestling site that was launched in January 2021 and broke into millions of pageviews within the first two years. He previously worked for Snack Media and their GiveMeSport site, creating Evergreen and Trending content that would deliver pageviews via Google as the UFC and MMA SEO Lead. Jake managed to take an area of GiveMeSport that had zero traction on Organic and push it to audiences across the globe. Jake also has a record of long-term video and written interview content with the likes of the Professional Fighters League, ONE and Cage Warriors, working directly with the brands to promote bouts, fighters and special events. Jake also previously worked for the biggest independent wrestling company in the UK, PROGRESS Wrestling, as PR Head and Head of Media across the social channels of the company.

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