This list is based on general PvE performance. PvP performance is not considered.
Ships are considered to be at maximum limit break and with reasonable equipment.
Ships with retrofits and unique augments are rated assuming these are completed. The effect the retrofit/augment had on their performance is mentioned in their descriptions.
Within each tier, ships are ordered by their class, followed by rarity. Ship order within the same tier is not an indication of performance.
FAQ
What is a "niche" tier?
In short, its a "read the descriptions before use" tag. Ships in these tiers may perform significantly worse if used for the wrong content or without their desired fleet composition. Note that most Gunboat Destroyers are considered "niche" due to the inherent nature of their class.
Where are the submarines?
Submarines don't really fit into a tier list for other ship types due to how different they work. Broadly speaking they can fit into 2 tiers: Gold-rarity and purple-rarity, with specializations generally made very clear by thier skill descriptions.
I can't find a certain ship
You can use Ctrl+F to search for a ship. Aside from submarines (see above), very new ships may not have been added to the list yet. A handful of very low tier (T5) ships haven't been added yet either.
Is this list meant for World 13/14/etc.?
Each ship is assumed to be in a "reasonable" PvE situation, where they’re being used for content that they would be good at, within what you could expect to encounter in-game. From an endgame perspective, this is closest to Operation Siren where a variety of enemy types exist, thus a variety of specializations are useful. If you want to build a specific fleet for a specific map, it may be better to ask someone for more detailed advice.
What does the "support" rating mean?
A "support" rating is included to make it clear which ships have their tier position due to support effects rather than their own strength. Naturally, the support abilities of many ships are limited on what types of ship they apply to. While some consideration to this availability of their support is considered in this rating, the descriptions of high support ships should be checked to ensure they're being used with compatible fleets.
Equipment recommendation info and FAQ
Equipment recommendations are general-purpose and thus specialist equipment isn't considered to avoid confusion. The recommendations are intended to be "good enough" for most content, even if not strictly the best at everything. (Note: some niche ships are only useful in specialist applications, so they are instead recommended with somewhat specialized equipment)
Some highly limited equipments are only recommended on ships that make effective use of it, even if it would technically be the best for every ship (e.g. you wouldn't want to waste your best gun on a torpedo-focused ship).
What enemies have light/medium/heavy armor?
Most mob enemies have either light or medium armor. Heavy armor is rare in mobs until World 14.
For bosses, the ship class of the boss of each map can be looked up on the wiki. These classes correspond to the following armor types:
Heavy Cruisers (CA), Battlecruisers (BC), Light Carriers (CVL) and Standard Carriers (CV): Medium armor (with exception to the boss of 13-4, which is heavy)
Battleships (BB): Heavy armor
(Note: these are for enemies encountered in story mode. Player-owned and event ships have a few more exceptions)