Izumo- the joke at tier 9

[Ictogan]

Izumo is a great ship. Enjoyed her much more than the Yammy. It just takes a while to get used to it.

 

I grinded about 43 games in Izumo then I rewarded myself with the Yam.

 

The guns are her saving grace, they are pretty powerful and accurate... Or atlaest I remember them being so.

 

The Iowa basically laughs at it, the disparity is pretty wide. Especially now the Iowa got buffed with accuracy, speed and even more AA.

 

Izumo=Big, fat, slow, easily seen, easily catches fire...

 

The guns are pretty much the best 16" guns in the game though due to their high muzzle velocity. Secondaries are insane. Front armor is amazing. And it isn't really slow, just slower than it's competition.

[Molybdane]

Just kill me now. This ship makes me hate the game. Thankfully I'm just 100 k XP from the Yamato.

 

With RNG and an enemy that is happy to spam the bow (it's essential to point the ship at the enemy, never how side or especially rear) with AP only, yes one can have some fun games but all too often the horrid accuracy and weak pen ruins games, and don't get me started on the over-pen mechanics. Sometimes you might as well give up on killing an Atlanta at 10 km. Half shots will miss, rest will over-pen.

 

Just got humiliated by an Amagi in last game at about 12 km sailing side on to me like a noob. His HE spam burned me down and no AP salvo did more then 2 k damage to him. It's the last straw with me.

 

If you fight one spam HE if he is pointing at you, if not use AP on the rear 3rd for easy damage.

 

Look nighttrain, I know of this ships dire reputation, but in this case, it might be you.

 

I saw you today in a match, but I could see you play very briefly, as i was too busy the rest ofthe match doding and shooting. I had a great match btw, you had an okay one, on the Islands of Ice, I think about 1400 exp. Greeted you, but you didn't respond.

 

But I think you don't understand BB tactics much. I saw (only one) example of this today when you shot at a well angled Amagi and did very little damage. You then rammed eachother, a bit of a waste, since the Ami was down to about 20% of its health, while you had half health left.

 

Now I shoot at angles BB's all the time, especially when they are skilled and I don't have a better target, and maybe the ram was unavoidable. So I decided to take a look at your stats to see if it painted a clearer picture.

 

From your IJN BB stats I am guessing that you free expd most BB's partially, some even mostly. All non- ijn BB's of mid-tier or higher are premiums. Every person should do as he pleases regrarding free exp and premiums, but the ships before the Izumo are there to get the hang of (IJN) BB play.

 

 

So before you kill yourself playing the Izumo, I highly recomend you buy back the Nagato and play about a 100 matches in her. Heck, take the rest of my post with an oversized grain of salt; thats good advice regardless.

 

See you on the Islands of Ice.

 

Molybdane (North Carolina)

[nighttrain123]

 

Look nighttrain, I know of this ships dire reputation, but in this case, it might be you.

 

I saw you today in a match, but I could see you play very briefly, as i was too busy the rest ofthe match doding and shooting. I had a great match btw, you had an okay one, on the Islands of Ice, I think about 1400 exp. Greeted you, but you didn't respond.

 

But I think you don't understand BB tactics much. I saw (only one) example of this today when you shot at a well angled Amagi and did very little damage. You then rammed eachother, a bit of a waste, since the Ami was down to about 20% of its health, while you had half health left.

 

Now I shoot at angles BB's all the time, especially when they are skilled and I don't have a better target, and maybe the ram was unavoidable. So I decided to take a look at your stats to see if it painted a clearer picture.

 

From your IJN BB stats I am guessing that you free expd most BB's partially, some even mostly. All non- ijn BB's of mid-tier or higher are premiums. Every person should do as he pleases regrarding free exp and premiums, but the ships before the Izumo are there to get the hang of (IJN) BB play.

 

 

So before you kill yourself playing the Izumo, I highly recomend you buy back the Nagato and play about a 100 matches in her. Heck, take the rest of my post with an oversized grain of salt; thats good advice regardless.

 

See you on the Islands of Ice.

 

Molybdane (North Carolina)

 

Sorry I couldn't reply because of a chat ban. 

 

I didn't want to ram the Amagi but I couldn't get out of his way. If I had turned I could have showed my side, and if I had somehow managed to pass him parallel his rear turrets would have maybe citadelled me, and even if not I'm sure his turn + turret traverse would beat me putting me at a big disadvantage. I gambled I could kill him before we got to ram distance but it didn't work out.

 

I ground this line very early so my stats are crap. I just started playing the line again at Izumo.

 

Actually that battle was good cos 4 torp squadrons attacked me at start and I should have been dead.

[Kittykami]

All these people complaining about IJN BBs??? Is this bizzaro world??

 

It's still the most consistently good line in the game, even after various US BB buffs. Even a moron like me can do decently well in them.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

Izumo is a great ship. Enjoyed her much more than the Yammy. It just takes a while to get used to it.

 

 

The guns are pretty much the best 16" guns in the game though due to their high muzzle velocity. Secondaries are insane. Front armor is amazing. And it isn't really slow, just slower than it's competition.

 

The secondaries don't fire much when you're facing towards threats. Best 16" guns is debatable although they're pretty much the Amagi guns and that's a fine ship.

 

Part of the issue is that almost all other IJN BB are excellent which makes anything that isn't just as good seem horrible. 

 

It actually handles better than a Yam. More responsive, especially the turret rotation but as others have said all the Yam's flaws are forgiven due to her lolpen everything shells.

 

[Lance_Horne]

There is no doubt the Izumo is a challenge, I really like the ship, the problem I have with her is the lack of damage her guns seem to do, I have hit cruisers close in with a full broadside and done  hardly any damage when you would have thought in reality they would have blown the ship to bits, she does have her moments, but they seem few and far between.

As for fighting close range you usually end up a blazing wreck trying to get there!

My worse moment in her was getting blown up when I had full health, even the guy that killed me was shocked, it made one almighty bang, quite a few players close by  commented on it! I have never had it happen before or since, it was the talking point of the game.

I think the Izumo needs a big buff!

[SinkTheOthersNotMe]

I like my izumo and I like it even more than the yamato, why?

 

Because in most battles in my izumo I manage to deal at least 60k dmg while in a yamato -> you might end up sunk very fast and unable to deal much dmg given the meta at tier x.

 

Also, I configured my izumo with AA in mind rather than secondaries, why?

- Secondaries are badly located, given that a proper tanking izumo is almost bow on.

- My secondaries deal on average (when with secondary built so 10.6km range) 10k dmg per battle which is ridiculous.

- Since I tend to stay bow on at 10-16km range I get sunk much more often by a tier 9 CV than by DD.

 

I like the izumo more than the fuso-nagato or amagi because bow on and slightly angled I do much better in it.

 

but this is just me and my build is my own playstyle.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

I tried the AA build but it doesn't matter if you've got a buffed Iowa level of AA. When Hakaryu shows up there is nothing you can do except get rekted.

 

 

 

[ShinGetsu]

I love this ship, I see it has potential, but I just can't makes it to work...

 

I have a litteraly HORRIBLE average damage of around 55k with this... I'm so furious at myself for this. I think I'm being too aggressive. I thought I could tank for my team, but evidence shows me I can't. Each time I'm going first, my team starts camping behind me, do nothing, and I die very, very fast by fires and torps. Also nobody ever try to kills the DDs who just eat me alive.

 

How should I play this ship ? Second line instead of trying to push ? But what's the point of all those HP and armor then ? I really don't understand.

Also i have trouble with those guns. The first battle were very good, but now I can't seems to hit anything. 

 

For now I'm using an AA build. It's useless against tier 9 and 10 CV, but at least it keeps me from being ridiculed by a Hiryu or Shoka. I might try something else tho.

[Quetak]

I think that designers made some mistakes when designing this ship.

You need to bow to survive. But secondaries are useles then.

For full fire power (with secondaries) show your boardside and you are death.

Do you need run away? Okay but without shooting main guns (except reverse mode).

Izumo has some great attributes when you look as solo to them but they are not working together like I wish.

 

I ussualy go near cap point to cover it with secondaries, park here, tank and wait for my death while i do my fantastic 60k dmg.  

 

[Hawker_gb]

Izumo is great ship.

 

Just learn to play it properly.

[ShinGetsu]

Izumo is great ship.

 

Just learn to play it properly.

 

And how do you play it, then ?

I really need to understand where I should go with this ship.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

It makes me worry for the HMS Rodney/Nelson. Might be similarity unresolved to play although the RN ship will likely be T6 or T7.

 

Izumo is simply the worst BB the IJN have for its tier after the Myogi. Although you can even argue the Myogi is better vs it's own tier.

 

I can't name one thing it beats the Iowa over other than it's badly realised secondaries. Dunno how it fares vs the giant Tirp yet...

[shadowwolf9705]

well i am less worried about the Nelson cause the Turret on her are a lot better positioned and the ship is also not as long, the turrets on the Izumo on the other hand are i think they main problem with it, you cant really use them effectively as at the point where you can use them all you show too much broadside and  you show a lot of her rear which is a pretty tempting target aside from the general size of the ship which even if you drive prow forward is an easy to hit target

[anonym_MfZ6T7iwWpUC]

I think part of Izumo's problem is the fact its tier 9. I know its all relative, but there are some real capable ships at around that level.

[Rabid_Turnip]

This ship has been the subject of so many complaints, for so long now - we were even pointing out how in need of love it was in the Beta, dammit! - and it still languishes in the pit of Not Being Cared About By The Devs. Grr.

 

[deadly_if_swallowed]

Well, consider her a stepping stone. I free-xped a large portion to finally unlock Yamato when she was discounted once. But I did not play enough Izumo to know how to handle such a large ship back then.

 

If played correctly, Izumo is a monster though that can rival Iowa without thoughts. You can notice that whenever you have to fight her. Her bow armor is superb although (or because) it houses a huge magazine, her guns pack a punch, and she has nasty secondaries that tend to set a lot of fires. And she does not have much superstructure - only the conning tower and the smokestack. The rest is mostly deck armor or casemate. Since the hull is very similar to Yamato, you better learn her ergonomics before stepping up to T10 where repairs are really expensive. I made the mistake of rushing T10 and paid dearly.

[Ferry_25]

Just wait for Ibuki... You'll be begging on your bare knees in sewerdrained glass for izumo again.

[ShinGetsu]

Well, consider her a stepping stone. I free-xped a large portion to finally unlock Yamato when she was discounted once. But I did not play enough Izumo to know how to handle such a large ship back then.

 

If played correctly, Izumo is a monster though that can rival Iowa without thoughts. You can notice that whenever you have to fight her. Her bow armor is superb although (or because) it houses a huge magazine, her guns pack a punch, and she has nasty secondaries that tend to set a lot of fires. And she does not have much superstructure - only the conning tower and the smokestack. The rest is mostly deck armor or casemate. Since the hull is very similar to Yamato, you better learn her ergonomics before stepping up to T10 where repairs are really expensive. I made the mistake of rushing T10 and paid dearly.

 

Honeslty, I have trouble hitting stuff with the gun. And when I hit, either it does a craptons of damage (rarely) or everything bounce and overpen, and I got at most a whooping 5500 damage... 

Just today, a FdG was broadside at 18 km, I hit him with four salvoes, did almost nothing. But when I forgot him for several seconds, he got 3 citadel on me.

 

Iowa is the only ship I don't have any trouble facing with Izumo, strangely...

 

But what I want to hear is : how do you place it ? First line ? This thing can't tank for long, HE melt it, and team never care to help you when you're tanking for them. I don't even need to mention how the DDs are eating me alive since nobody ever think about shooting at them. Second line then ? But I take the risks of being useless.

[Ictogan]

It makes me worry for the HMS Rodney/Nelson. Might be similarity unresolved to play although the RN ship will likely be T6 or T7.

 

Izumo is simply the worst BB the IJN have for its tier after the Myogi. Although you can even argue the Myogi is better vs it's own tier.

 

I can't name one thing it beats the Iowa over other than it's badly realised secondaries. Dunno how it fares vs the giant Tirp yet...

 

Things she beats the Iowa in other than secondaries:

- Shell velocity

- Rate of fire if Iowa is using accuracy module

- Accuracy if Iowa is using ROF module

- I think turret traverse is also better

 

Just wait for Ibuki... You'll be begging on your bare knees in sewerdrained glass for izumo again.

 

What's the problem with the Ibuki? It's a slightly different Atago at the tier the Atago actually should be(but this gives the Ibuki a really nice consumable slot).

[Ferry_25]

 

Things she beats the Iowa in other than secondaries:

- Shell velocity

- Rate of fire if Iowa is using accuracy module

- Accuracy if Iowa is using ROF module

- I think turret traverse is also better

 

 

What's the problem with the Ibuki? It's a slightly different Atago at the tier the Atago actually should be(but this gives the Ibuki a really nice consumable slot).

 

Nothing. Problem was lying with the inter-PC-chair region. A.k.a. me! I was furiously frustrated (some different F&F ) after an aggrevating match.

[Clawgr]

I suppose it depends on the playstyle (it may be somewhat playable if you went the full concealment build)

, though we all know its a joke ship but a stepstone for the Yamato. Without the Hull (which is quite expensive) she ll spread alot (always compared to other ijn ships). And you paired up against Yamatos way more often (which will penetrate you from the front) making you feeling all that front armor is useless.

 

I feel though you need to grind for this to pass to Yamato, because you need to be prepared for the HE spam/torp spam, +18km detection you will be focused right from the start. That will teach you, how and when to use islands as covers(block some HE, or torps from oneway), start pushing more slowly (before you commit) as you cant exactly turn back (without guns, that style is crap(cant kite) as you also miss more armor from behind).

And when you reach Yamato, you will meet the same problems(though you will be prepared), but that things penetrate everything and if you meet something close range you will get citadels from the front no matter the angle(well not always) and do like 30k dmg on full salvoes, watch other BBs instashoted if they make a big mistake and that moment is what worths that grind.

 

 

[GhostRiderMax123]

 

Honeslty, I have trouble hitting stuff with the gun. And when I hit, either it does a craptons of damage (rarely) or everything bounce and overpen, and I got at most a whooping 5500 damage... 

Just today, a FdG was broadside at 18 km, I hit him with four salvoes, did almost nothing. But when I forgot him for several seconds, he got 3 citadel on me.

 

Iowa is the only ship I don't have any trouble facing with Izumo, strangely...

 

But what I want to hear is : how do you place it ? First line ? This thing can't tank for long, HE melt it, and team never care to help you when you're tanking for them. I don't even need to mention how the DDs are eating me alive since nobody ever think about shooting at them. Second line then ? But I take the risks of being useless.

 

I have been playing my Izumo in a supporting role and I have done ok ish got the first hull upgrade and the range upgrade but to be honest I am still learning it I have only had it a few days. She is not a bad ship but if you get caught out you pay for it dearly.

 

Also anyone got any tips???

[cro_pwr]

I have 95 battles in it with ~77k avg damage on it, which is somewhat on par with my Amagi / Nagato.
Yet, I really dislike the ship... Its a huge hit or miss. Good thing is that you can tank a huge amount of enemy BB shells when you point your nose forward and just sit there... Bad thing is... Thats it... thats the only way you can play it...
You cannot play it like Amagi / Nagato, being agressive, deleting few ships, then kiting enemy while you are falling back. It just doesn't work. As soon as you show anything but your nose, you get punished really hard. side/back armor is non existing, everything will deal 10k damage to you. If you stand still bow on, you have a huge target drawn on your ship that says "Send your HE shells and torps here"... And being tier 9, you will meet t9/10 CVs that will litterary eat you alive with nothing you can do about it... And with the recent changes to pens / overpens, shooting cruisers is just not that rewarding, since you will do a hell lot of a overpens for 1k damage... And one more thing, like Iowa wasn't good enough of competition, now the new "LOL YOU CANT CITADEL ME" german battleships have arrived, and doing any real damage to them is... rare to say at least...

so, for me, from t5-t9 this is by far the BB i enjoyed the least...

from what I see it, his pros and cons are:

 

Pros:

Good bow armor that will bounce most of BB shells

Good range with the upgrade

Good guns that pack quite a punch and are somewhat accurate

 

Cons:

well pretty much everything else but...
TERRIBLE concealment

REALLY weak side / back armor - when kiting something away, you will get penatrated every single time, show any broadside and you lost half of your hp...

Poor manevaureability

Large ship

Guns can go from overpenetrating something to bouncing in a second
Bad AA for tier 9

One trick pony - only one way of playing it that is terribly succeptible to torping, HE spam, focus targeting, getting targeted by CVs etc

 

[Marlekin]

I remember actually using up most of my build up free exp because I tought the Izumo would be awesome. How wrong I was! I stuck with the Izumo untill i couldnt tolerate it any more, and converted free exp. Ships like these make me doubt the viability of any "guns in front" ship. 

 

Either way,

I had some battles where I charged ahead in the Izumo and basically felt unstoppable, tanking everything on the bow armor. This was the recommended gameplay that players advised on the EU and NA forums. These battles were however few and in between.. The really big downside to this way of playing the ship was that its easily countered by torpedo's and HE spam. Usually when trying to dodge torps I would end up showing some side armor, which meant troubles really added up quickly in the Izumo. The huge size and terrible concealment certainly didnt help in that regard. At the end I started playing the Izumo as your typical "BB coward in the back" simply because I felt discouraged about the ship as a whole. Even if that type of gameplay is frowned upon, it did gave me better and more consistent scores. Once in a blue moon when there is no DD or CV around, you can go ahead and bowtank a few lonely ships.