sathoon

I know it's performance at max range can be a little ehh, but with it's gargantuan tank it does handle stand-off engagements and kiting quite well, especially with adrenaline rush. Shell velocity is adequate for catching faster BBs and CAs, and the super structure on hull C is a hilariously small target. You could easily argue that Smolensk can wreck it with fire, but Smolensk can wreck anything that can't easily get out of the shell shower once it starts hitting home. Torpedoes are a serious problem though with it's size and rudder shift speed. Found in the end it's not possible to avoid torps every time, and having Vigilance was a big deal for mitigating those situations. Taking a single torp is preferable to eating two, and it's not like other BBs don't benefit from the extra reaction time either

Honestly I kind of feel the same way sometimes: I either survive the battle and use maybe 1-2 charges, or don't live long enough for the extra repair party charge to be relevant. Long cooldown and situational use of the fighter and spotter hardly endear themselves enough to be worth Superindendent, when I could make fire burn for less time or dodge clutch torpedo salvos from up range more effectively.

Yeah that looks pretty much how I'd like my captain skills to be in Yamato, though I'm a long way off 19 points yet. Might stick around in Izumo for a while and train up my captain properly, because I'm quickly finding the traverse and shell velocity are actually very nice for hitting broadside speedsters like Iowa and Republique at range. Adrenaline rush sounds spicy on Izumo with it's big bucket of HP, and was considering picking it up immediately. Or else get a 3rd point and get Basics Of Survivability to mitigate fire damage while I'm down a repair party charge. Tough call right now. Am starting to find that after a few test games, yes. I'm used to having the opposite problem where I felt more vulnerable to shells in Nagato and Amagi, but they could easily turn & change speed fast enough to throw off enemy CAs and DDs aim off and either mitigate or dodge through a full torpedo spread, even from a broadside angle. But Izumo's size and turn speed gives me almost no time at all to react to incoming explode-y bois, especially once they're in the water. Enough for me to second guess Superintendent for now while I work on Izumo, and just try to swallow the doubloon cost later. I'm really tanky, but aggressive torpedoes will cut that tank down to size quickly if my allies either die or leave me exposed. But that's the duality of Random Battles right? The gun performance feels really good, and the weird turret placement doesn't seem so bad, but it's agility is a shameful display to the IJN

So just picked up stock Izumo, despite the buzzing of the community that it's baaaaaaaad (but only 10k exp off hull B, so that's nice), and been getting to grips with it in training (and it's kind growing on me) before I interact with other players, and I have a burning question regarding 3-point commander skills: I've been running Superintendent since Kongo simply because it's often recommended, my highest skill point IJN BB captain is sat at 12 points, can I safely (and temporarily) drop it in favour of Vigilance or Basic Firing Training? I wasn't a good player years ago (RIP stats), and only marginally better now, but I've always been able to avoid torpedoes with great success, though Izumo's massive size and rudder shift time (even when upgraded) reminds me of a beached whale wearing camo paint, especially compared to Amagi or Yamato. The idea that it's a ship so thoroughly reliant on other ships for AA to keep T10 CVs at bay me feel a little naked too. but Basic Firing Training, Vigilance, Superintendent AND Basics Of Survivability (with a mind that the same captain will later helm Yamato) feels a little over-dressed when I also want points on Concealment Expert and Fire Prevention.