Iowa

[Fractalised]

 

Hey, 

 

I am close to unlocking the iowa but Im not really sure what upgrades and captain skills to get. The way I see it there are 2 ways to go, AA build or concealment build. At this point I think the AA build is better for the iowa.  how do you guys think about this build? 

 

Captain skills:

BFT,  basics of survivability, expert marksman, vigilance, superintendent,  AFT and manual AA control.  ( 18 point captain) 

 

And for upgrades 

Slot 1: Auxiliary Armaments Modification 1 or Main Armaments Modification 1, I really have no idea what to pick here. 

Slot 2: Aiming Systems Modification 1 or AA Guns Modification 2.  My question is,  do you really feel that dispersion difference or can you go with AA here. 

Slot 3: Artillery Plotting Room Modification 2 or AA Guns Modification 3.  Same as slot 2, 25% AA dps sounds like s lot. 

Slot 4: Damage Control System Modification 1. 

Slot 5: Steering Gears Modification 2.  Dont need the fire and flooding reduction when I have strong AA and I will have superintendent so 5 heals and basics of survivability. 

Slot 6: Concealment System Modification 1 for concealment. 

 

I hope that you guys can help me choose and maybe tell me something about the Iowa AA in general,  how good is it compared to the NC for example. 

 

Tanks in avdance! 

 

 

[RUSSIANBlAS]

I went with AFT then Concealment. It's funny having a ship the size of an Iowa with 12km detection. Helps you run from the Yams too.

 

I played the NC recently and it feels massively buffed compared to what i remember. I might buy her camo and stay with her.

[Azalgor]

Are there that many CVs to go for AA? The 2 captain skills you get at lvl 1 and 4 are plenty to negate tier 9 and Hakuryu, and deny tier 7-8, concielment - if you shoot youll still be visible from all over the map, but might be good to get past some obstacles and deliver a massive blow (if RNG would allow it) to an unsuspecting ship, if youre just one of them campers, well, that wont help you in any case. As for mods, go for defences as its the only thing you have, And the main guns, thow they are still played by RNG, you can just direct them towards the enemy and pray.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

AFT and AA modules is enough for most CV attacks. I Don't think manual AA cover will protect you from the God tier Hakryu with triple T10 squadrons, someone can prove me wrong I hope but I don't think anything other than stacked Defensive Fire can stop that.

 

Low concealment in a huge BB gives you a lot of options. Wait for the next PT and experiment then.

[Fractalised]

Are there that many CVs to go for AA? The 2 captain skills you get at lvl 1 and 4 are plenty to negate tier 9 and Hakuryu, and deny tier 7-8, concielment - if you shoot youll still be visible from all over the map, but might be good to get past some obstacles and deliver a massive blow (if RNG would allow it) to an unsuspecting ship, if youre just one of them campers, well, that wont help you in any case. As for mods, go for defences as its the only thing you have, And the main guns, thow they are still played by RNG, you can just direct them towards the enemy and pray.

 

I dont think there are that much carriers but when I play a lot with a CV player in the division, so I think it might be worth it. The question is how much should I invest.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

AFT and range extending AA module does me fine in her.

[Panocek]

AFT and AA modules is enough for most CV attacks. I Don't think manual AA cover will protect you from the God tier Hakryu with triple T10 squadrons, someone can prove me wrong I hope but I don't think anything other than stacked Defensive Fire can stop that.

 

Low concealment in a huge BB gives you a lot of options. Wait for the next PT and experiment then.

 

Even maxed out AA, including Manual AA won't help you if tier 9 or 10 CV goes all out on you. You should be able to knock TB squadron from Essex/Midway, but then you have 21 dive bombers to worry about. And those HURT. Not mentioning these bombs butcher small/mid range caliber AA, so next time TB will get through, with another batch of DB following.

[Fractalised]

 

Even maxed out AA, including Manual AA won't help you if tier 9 or 10 CV goes all out on you. You should be able to knock TB squadron from Essex/Midway, but then you have 21 dive bombers to worry about. And those HURT. Not mentioning these bombs butcher small/mid range caliber AA, so next time TB will get through, with another batch of DB following.

 

Thanks thats what I needed to know. 

 

Now I need to just find a good balance I think 

 

 

[SirAmra]

I have the AA setup. But I`m wondering going for secondaieis built on slot 2 instead of AA.

There are so many DDs compared to CVs.

Any thought on that choice?

[deadly_if_swallowed]

Tried the slot 2 secondary range mod on Montana. But even with her enhanced DP guns the only thing that might happen eventually is some random fire on a BB.

If you want to troll DDs with USN secondaries, you will have to set up a full secondary build. Range alone will do no good. But USN secondaries are so weak, I would not consider it a viable build. Better focus on maximizing your strengths rather than trying to cover a weakness.

[SirAmra]

Oki. Tnx

[ThinderChief]

Back from Co-Op where i saw my first Iowa, unfortunate enough to hit an island, i depleted her HP by 95% or so in 3 front salvos with an N.C, now i realise what those nerfed ships problem really is like, from the side, they are really easy to kill, i'm not sure if i want a Missouri after all, i'm happy with my N.C...

[RUSSIANBlAS]

Back from Co-Op where i saw my first Iowa, unfortunate enough to hit an island, i depleted her HP by 95% or so in 3 front salvos with an N.C, now i realise what those nerfed ships problem really is like, from the side, they are really easy to kill, i'm not sure if i want a Missouri after all, i'm happy with my N.C...

 

I've debated Iowa Vs NC for along time now and I've settled on the NC. Put my 15 point Stealth Captain in her.

 

NC guns have definitely been buffed fairly recently (I think the Sigma value got improved), they are brutal under 15km and will land regular citadels on just about anything. 

 

Iowa guns "are" better as in they have a shorter flight time and appear to be even more accurate&hit even harder but that's a fairly high price to pay for a T9 ship with nastier MM and a citadel that any other BB can easily punch through when you're broadside. 

 

I may get Missouri one day but really no rush, Iowa sits in port now for the odd outing...

[BruceForce]

I have the secondary mod rather than the AA mod. Mainly because AA on Iowa is already very good and, as you say, DDs are much more common. Here is an example where a DD is punished by it (note I do not have manual secondaries, so the accuracy isnt stellar).

 

[ThinderChief]

I have the secondary mod rather than the AA mod. Mainly because AA on Iowa is already very good and, as you say, DDs are much more common. Here is an example where a DD is punished by it (note I do not have manual secondaries, so the accuracy isnt stellar).

 

 

​Yeah, if you optimize your ship for Manual AAA and Secondary it works real well together too, it's worth trading for a higher dispersion, because the difference isn't that high in terms of hit ratio for tha main guns, personally i rely a lot on secondaries for multiple targets engagements like one can face often style; one DD and two Cruisers after you...

[El2aZeR]

Personally I tend to think that I've already done something wrong when I let ships get into secondary range on my Iowa. She's a horrible brawler thanks to her hilarious citadel placement and relies primarily on stealth and intelligent positioning to survive. In addition to that, her secondaries are nothing to write home about with range, rof and fire chance all on the lower end of the spectrum. Meanwhile her AA is excellent, extending the range can mean a lot more planes shot down and much less damage taken by a CV that's insane enough to attack you. I'd much rather enhance her strengths than trying to mend a glaring weakness.

 

If WG ever decides to lower her citadel and give those 5/38's their historical rof (theoretical ceiling of 22 rpm, Gearing ingame has 20 rpm stock with the same guns), my opinion may change, but until then I believe her secondaries aren't worth wasting upgrades & skills on.

[ThinderChief]

Personally I tend to think that I've already done something wrong when I let ships get into secondary range on my Iowa. She's a horrible brawler thanks to her hilarious citadel placement and relies primarily on stealth and intelligent positioning to survive. In addition to that, her secondaries are nothing to write home about with range, rof and fire chance all on the lower end of the spectrum. Meanwhile her AA is excellent, extending the range can mean a lot more planes shot down and much less damage taken by a CV that's insane enough to attack you. I'd much rather enhance her strengths than trying to mend a glaring weakness.

 

If WG ever decides to lower her citadel and give those 5/38's their historical rof (theoretical ceiling of 22 rpm, Gearing ingame has 20 rpm stock with the same guns), my opinion may change, but until then I believe her secondaries aren't worth wasting upgrades & skills on.

 

Good points, true that all ships doesn't play the same way, i tend to forget that...

[RUSSIANBlAS]

Personally I tend to think that I've already done something wrong when I let ships get into secondary range on my Iowa. She's a horrible brawler thanks to her hilarious citadel placement and relies primarily on stealth and intelligent positioning to survive. In addition to that, her secondaries are nothing to write home about with range, rof and fire chance all on the lower end of the spectrum. Meanwhile her AA is excellent, extending the range can mean a lot more planes shot down and much less damage taken by a CV that's insane enough to attack you. I'd much rather enhance her strengths than trying to mend a glaring weakness.

 

If WG ever decides to lower her citadel and give those 5/38's their historical rof (theoretical ceiling of 22 rpm, Gearing ingame has 20 rpm stock with the same guns), my opinion may change, but until then I believe her secondaries aren't worth wasting upgrades & skills on.

 

Yes... Iowa is so big and long and with that paper high citadel she takes massive damage from almost any AP at close range. I've seen 30/40k citadels on her fairly regularly.

 

She is probably best a few KM further back than what you'd play an NC.

[ThinderChief]

 

Yes... Iowa is so big and long and with that paper high citadel she takes massive damage from almost any AP at close range. I've seen 30/40k citadels on her fairly regularly.

 

She is probably best a few KM further back than what you'd play an NC.

 

​So that does encourage people to HE-spam and camp even more, from what i understood, when they nerfed the HP rounds it was in the hope that people would play a more dynamic game, but this is working in the other direction, i understand why some guys went through the trouble to demonstrate the issue publicly, for once W.G should listen a little and lower this citadel below sea line.

 

Iowa/Missouri citadels are totally un-necessary achile heels.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

 

​So that does encourage people to HE-spam and camp even more, from what i understood, when they nerfed the HP rounds it was in the hope that people would play a more dynamic game, but this is working in the other direction, i understand why some guys went through the trouble to demonstrate the issue publicly, for once W.G should listen a little and lower this citadel below sea line.

 

Iowa/Missouri citadels are totally un-necessary achile heels.

 

NC/Iowa/Izumo & Yam all bow tank however so it isn't unique to the T9 USN twins.

 

Amusingly I feel at this stage WG can't change Iowa's citadel unless they buff Missouri's too and the Iowa has already received recent buffs, besides they have to keep US players a bit salty by making their finest RL BB class a bit vulnerable. Just wait until the fantasy Russian T9 BB farms it for fun 

[deadly_if_swallowed]

Honestly, I never felt Iowa's citadel to be as vulnerable as people make it out to be. Yes, it sits above the waterline, and yes, you can get punished really hard for showing your flat broadside (current record with my Yamato: quintuple citadel, devastating strike). Showing broadside will get you punished with almost all ships, Montana and Yamato alike. The real flaws in Iowa's (and Montana's) armor are their "cheeks" between the foreship and midship section. That is where frontal citadels occur, they rarely penetrate the bow itself I think.

 

Hence, since you can get punished either way regardless of ship, taking Iowa into close combat is not as bad either. Survival is overrated anyway  The guns hit hard and even with the reload mod they turn fast enough to keep track on most targets. Just make sure you don't have 18" barrels smiling at you from the side while you charge in.

[RUSSIANBlAS]

I've had quite a few Iowa battles where an enemy Iowa has kicked my citadel in for 30k damage and I've given it straight back a few seconds later. Definitely more vulnerable that other T9/T10 BB I've played but that's only Izumo and Yam.

 

Iowa can citadel top tier Germans so she's still cool...

[ThinderChief]

My question is; is this ship worth spending the XP and credit on her, coming for North Carolina?

[RUSSIANBlAS]

My question is; is this ship worth spending the XP and credit on her, coming for North Carolina?

 

I recommend you play on the PT and try for yourself.

 

Personally if you're short on time and effort then no. There's little an Iowa can do that an NC can't do, yes the guns are more accurate and have a more comfortable flight time but you'll be screwed by MM as it's a T9 ship. If you play PvP that is, PvE it'll just cost you a fortune every single game. Unless of course you spend big money on a Missouri!!

 

Iowa is stupidly long too, it needs to have good AA as it's pretty easy to torp bomb due to the length.

[ThinderChief]

 

I recommend you play on the PT and try for yourself.

 

Personally if you're short on time and effort then no. There's little an Iowa can do that an NC can't do, yes the guns are more accurate and have a more comfortable flight time but you'll be screwed by MM as it's a T9 ship. If you play PvP that is, PvE it'll just cost you a fortune every single game. Unless of course you spend big money on a Missouri!!

 

Iowa is stupidly long too, it needs to have good AA as it's pretty easy to torp bomb due to the length.

 

Thanks! So i guess i better spend whatever in the Missouri if i want a tIX then...