Iowa Still Worth It?

[DaBung]

I enjoy fast battleships and like the Iowa class (they look nice), so she has been on my wish list for a while. I have heard mixed things about her, some seem to think she is good while others seem to suggest she has been power crept. I don’t understand the latter in particular as at least on paper she seems quite strong: 9 16inch guns (that are accurate at range?), good armour, high speed, etc… what exactly is weak? 
 

I have the Colorado from that mission last patch so I only have to grind through her (which I don’t like, being a speed demon)… I know people think highly of NC too, but Iowa is the one I am curious about. 

[doerhoff_damian]

yes the Iowa is still worth it. Espacially with the accuracy Module

[Aethervoxx]

I believe so. I liked the Iowa  though I have now  exp ground onto the Montana (Cpt got the promotion )

[Johnny_Moneto]

Iowa is fine.

[gabberworld]

i was not able make Iowa work for me at all. 134 battles with only 29.85% winrate

 

Montana is better with 40% but im not happy with that result either

 

i not recommend that line at-least not in beginning 

[lameoll]

iowa is not that bad  But not that interesting as it used to be.

 

these days i would pick an izumo over an iowa tbh

[totally_potato]

6 hours ago, DaBung said:

I enjoy fast battleships and like the Iowa class (they look nice), so she has been on my wish list for a while. I have heard mixed things about her, some seem to think she is good while others seem to suggest she has been power crept. I don’t understand the latter in particular as at least on paper she seems quite strong: 9 16inch guns (that are accurate at range?), good armour, high speed, etc… what exactly is weak? 
 

I have the Colorado from that mission last patch so I only have to grind through her (which I don’t like, being a speed demon)… I know people think highly of NC too, but Iowa is the one I am curious about. 

thing is mate

• 16 inch guns are now the standard caliber for T9. So its not that special. But it can overmatch quite a few cruisers. 9 guns isn't special, and they are decently accurate at range. 
• The armor isn't special. Big bow and stern leads to more HE penetrating there, 38mm helps you vs HE of standard and IFHE CLs, Standard CA, and DDs that aren't the German heavy DDs (Elbing line) or some reckless guy with IFHE specced German DD (Z-52 line). Everything else pens your deck with HE and there is a ton of everything else. The belt is decent, but cit is pretty big so you will hit it. Its waterline I think so its not as ez as hitting a flat Soyuz cit, but its not particularly hard either. And you have a cheek weakness which isn't Yamato prominent but its def there. Also the superstructure is gigantic. Its only defining thing in survivability is probably the heal which heals 0.66% HP stock per second vs the standard 0.5% per second.
• She is fast yes, but in a straight line. She doesn't turn particularly well. And you lose a ton of speed in the process. And there are many BBs you'll face in her tier spread that are similar or faster in speed. 
• Decent concealment tho

TLDR you are getting this ship for historical purposes if at all.

Not saying its a bad ship

But there are better options.

[Spartan_Renegade]

 

Iowa's armor scheme is insufficient, to put it mildly, you'll still eat regular pen damage and cits when caught showing broadside Though it's a very solid 'cruiser killer  BB when played right.  If you did well with NC, you'll have no problem with Iowa's playstyle. The latter has great speed, sufficient AA defense, and concealment so most vets would suggest that you always be on the move and that you point the bow towards the enemy and use the rear turret only in the direst situations. Grinding Iowa the hard way will totally be worth it in the end cause Monty is still one of the best all-rounder BBs in the game, despite lacking gimmicks.  

[Ocsimano18]

Iowa is a good ship, the grind is enjoyable. She’s eclipsed by Musashis, JBs and Georgias, but that’s true for any other T9 BB.

[Bindolaf_Werebane]

Along with Izumo, it's a J-liner favorite.

[Yedwy]

I have a Missouri so for me she is pointless, that Said she is quite powercrept and speed only serves to get you crossfired faster, unless you are backline sailing that is

[RenamedUser_92906789]

Short answer no.

 

Long answer ... why bother going for the Montana?

[tocqueville8]

10 hours ago, DaBung said:

good armour

The armor is good against HE spam, and the improved heal and high speed are also useful to escape spammers.

 

BUT

 

The Iowa is also the only BB where I recall getting Dev Struck by other BBs. Twice. And not in point-blank range drive-bys, either.

Her citadel is just very exposed.

 

She's still a good BB and she's the tech tree ship where I keep Halsey.

[HTN02]

for me its a must have because of this youtube channel:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Ftxa2jwg8R4IWDw48uyBw

 

its from a Iowa class, the New Jersey, and the guy explains everything on and around the ship.

[lameoll]

1 hour ago, nambr9 said:

 

Long answer ... why bother going for the Montana?

HOw dare u sir!.

you dont talk down to the montana! 

[totally_potato]

1 hour ago, nambr9 said:

Long answer ... why bother going for the Montana?

becoz its a great line for beginners?

[Spartan_Renegade]

1 hour ago, nambr9 said:

Short answer no.

 

Long answer ... why bother going for the Montana?

 

To blap cruisers in one salvo? 

[Bindolaf_Werebane]

2 hours ago, nambr9 said:

Short answer no.

 

Long answer ... why bother going for the Montana?

I disagree. Montana is a beast. If you look at my stats (don't), you'll see that Montana makes me look halfway decent.

[Northern_Nightowl]

Vor 5 Stunden, totally_potato sagte:

But there are better options.

 

Vor 3 Stunden, Ocsimano18 sagte:

Iowa is a good ship, the grind is enjoyable. She’s eclipsed by Musashis, JBs and Georgias, but that’s true for any other T9 BB.

What are those better options? Just asking, as the Iowa is presently the lone tech tree T9 BB that I have, so I surely lack comparison data.

 

But I am sure about one thing: I'm most often favouring the Iowa over the Georgia (I have both), 3 more main gun barrels are really handy. The speed boost of Georgia only seldom make it up for having around 5k more health on Iowa.

 

And an advantage of Iowa over the Colorado and the North Carolina: you can't get uptiered by two steps as it is common at T7 and T8.

 

Regards, Nightowl

[totally_potato]

4 minutes ago, Northern_Nightowl said:

What are those better options? Just asking, as the Iowa is presently the lone tech tree T9 BB that I have, so I surely lack comparison data.

 

But I am sure about one thing: I'm most often favouring the Iowa over the Georgia (I have both), 3 more main gun barrels are really handy. The speed boost of Georgia only seldom make it up for having around 5k more health on Iowa.

 

And an advantage of Iowa over the Colorado and the North Carolina: you can't get uptiered by two steps as it is common at T7 and T8.

 

Regards, Nightowl

I mean Iowa is a fast BB concept, which literally every T9 that isn't the fat burger american T9 counterpart Minnesota, are. If you want to flank, you have the Lepanto, Georgia and Alsace, you want to brawl, you have FDG/Pommern, and Lepanto, you want to play your typical mid range normal BB gameplay, there is Izumo, if you want gun presence there is Musashi. 

There are so many options to choose. Iowa is basically a good beginners BB, but once you are a vet, and understand the game, and have a fair few T9 BBs, you will never miss the Iowa's gameplay.

 

Also Iowa, while she does have 3 more guns, are lower caliber, and they reload in the standard 30 seconds. Georgia has 18 inch guns with high alpha, that gives several ships especially cruisers a run for their money. And you have BC dispersion and fast reload. And that extra 4-5k HP honestly doesn't mean a whole lot tbh. Yes you'll probably survive in more scenarios in tanking than Gerogia, but a Georgia is much more survivable thnx to decent concealment and 40 knots speed. So yeah

[RenamedUser_92906789]

1 hour ago, Spartan_Renegade said:

 

To blap cruisers in one salvo? 

 

When Monty will overmatch 30 mil plating, thats getting pretty common, then sure I will call her a good ship.

 

Btw, every bb can blap broadside cruisers ;)

[DaBung]

I always had the impression that Georgia was on of the most OP BBs at T9 and I have her already (and JB for that matter). I don’t expect Iowa to compete with them, but it seems she is still competitive generally with the other BBs at that tier from this albeit not overly strong. 
 

Iowa’s are one of the first ships that come to mind when someone says “battleship”, even though I am not American. Probably along with Bismarck. I think both are particularly good looking ships.

[LemonadeWarriorITA]

22 hours ago, nambr9 said:

Short answer no.

 

Long answer ... why bother going for the Montana?

Whenever I struggle with winning with Randoms I know I can take my Montana out to farm some wins. The hull and guns are amazing to get crap done. Spam AP or HE, brawl or snipe, Monty does it all. Couldn't name a better battleship for Randoms at tier 10.

 

On 8/9/2021 at 3:02 AM, lameoll said:

iowa is not that bad  But not that interesting as it used to be.

 

these days i would pick an izumo over an iowa tbh

I think if you could look inside the messroom of the Izumo you'd see a picture of Stalin.

[Panocek]

21 hours ago, Spartan_Renegade said:

 

To blap cruisers in one salvo? 

The moment said cruiser stop showing full broadside, Montana falls off dramatically due to lack of overmatch. And for abusing clueless broadsiding scrubs, you don't need 406mm guns either

 

19 hours ago, Northern_Nightowl said:

What are those better options? Just asking, as the Iowa is presently the lone tech tree T9 BB that I have, so I surely lack comparison data.

 

But I am sure about one thing: I'm most often favouring the Iowa over the Georgia (I have both), 3 more main gun barrels are really handy. The speed boost of Georgia only seldom make it up for having around 5k more health on Iowa.

When you have broadsides for days to abuse, then 9gun broadside from Iowa can be more painful than 6 barrels on Georgia. Issue is, when facing T10 cruisers with 30mm plating and they are not dumb enough to keep showing broadside, 406mm just don't cut it. And you determine strength of a ship whether it can stay effective despite enemy efforts to minimize your effectiveness.

 

For "better options" at tier 9 BB... mentioned premiums would be one, though 380mm armed Jean Bart didn't liked armor changes either. Izumo I suppose is not as such travesty as she was before, after being repeatedly hit with a buff stick, FdG always was... eh, Lepanto and Alsace at least can deliver 12gun broadside giggles while not being cripplingly slow like Minniesota.

 

So, in a sense, tech tree T9 BBs seems to be decently balanced, Iowa included, as they all are unimpressive.

19 hours ago, Northern_Nightowl said:

And an advantage of Iowa over the Colorado and the North Carolina: you can't get uptiered by two steps as it is common at T7 and T8.

Not much of an advantage when hull is sidegrade to tier 8, not an upgrade. Guns are modest upgrade as well, only a little bit of shell velocity and penetration.

[G01ngToxicCommand0]

21 hours ago, HTN02 said:

for me its a must have because of this youtube channel:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Ftxa2jwg8R4IWDw48uyBw

 

its from a Iowa class, the New Jersey, and the guy explains everything on and around the ship.

That curator is a legend - I love that channel