Is the Akizuki a DD?

[Sabot_100]

Kind of a click-bait title. Not the same question as to whether the Khab is a DD (it is better armored than many (lower tier) cruisers, its a cruiser). The question here is, can the Akizuki be expected to do "DD" things like capping and spotting. When you see the team line up with 2 DDs per side and your team has an Akizuki, do you change your expectations and plan? If you are driving the Akizuki,  do people scream at you to go do DD stuff? No argument that the Akizuki is a good ship and help to the team, just no way it is rushing off to take a CAP early (not rushing anywhere really) and it needs somebody to spot for it most of the time (it is VERY squishy).

[MrDeaf]

5.9km max concealment, unrivaled firepower and 20k HP makes it formidable on caps, were it not for islands hindering its very poor agility and low top speed hampering escape against superior firepower.

IMO, Akizuki is really good in wide open cap circles, but really sucks in confined ones.

 

It's really good in some cap circles, but blows in others.

[pmgaudio]

17 minutes ago, MrDeaf said:

5.9km max concealment, unrivaled firepower and 20k HP makes it formidable on caps, were it not for islands hindering its very poor agility and low top speed hampering escape against superior firepower.

IMO, Akizuki is really good in wide open cap circles, but really sucks in confined ones.

 

It's really good in some cap circles, but blows in others.

pretty much this...
The ship is amazing when played to its strengths.. IFHE and the ROF makes it not only a DD killer, but at its tier it rivals cruisers for AP pen and AAA finesse (when spec'd for AAA it will melt a lot of planes)
Going up against other DDs in a knife fight, accuracy and ROF makes it scary, but its turning and speed..... you had better hit all your shots...
I used it in Ranked and had a great time...if you get cruisers broadside (mostly atago in ranked) Citadels are not uncommon...
It is no Khab, but it is a BEAST of a DD at most DD stuff...

[Counter_Gambit]

Khabarovsk, is a Destroyer. More specifically: Destroyer Leader. Although, Destroyer Leaders treaded the line between Cruisers and Destroyers quite often.

destroyer leaders bridged the tonnage gap between the two ship classifications.

That is also what the Akizuki is, though never officially classified as such. Her armor, and tonnage most certainly reaches the levels of DLs, however, it is her 100mm cannons that made her a DD rather than DL.

And yes, if you have that green triangle over your ship, you're expected to perform as a standard DD, and get prepared to get an earful when you dare not act like a DD.

Her slow speed, yes she will likely never be the first to reach a cap, and therefore would be contesting the cap. She is quite capable of cap contest, provided the enemy either has 0 support from their team, or you have support from your team. But be warned: other players hold a dangerous mindset for the Akizuki player; "It's an Akizuki, she'll be fine." So if you ever play the ship, be prepared to watch your team act like they are going to support you, and then ignore you by heading a completely different direction, AFTER, it is already too late for you to turn and run. The number of battles where my team upped and abandoned me just after I cross the-point-of-no-return, is astounding. You're better off, just going 3/4 your speed, and thereby forcing your allies to stick with you longer. But again, be prepared for that earful of "why aren't you in cap already?"

However, do not sell her out just yet. As I said, she is quite capable of cap-contest. If built correctly, an Akizuki is quite capable of going up against two DDs and surviving (though will be limping home). That or one USSR DD, or one Cruiser, and limping home if she survives. The odds of you only going up against 2 non-USSR DDs, or a single Cruiser or USSR DD, is very slim. So, like other DDs, prepare to get slaughtered.


Oh, and don't listen to those who say "get IFHE for Akizuki," HE shells should be used for starting fires, NOT to be used as your primary damage dealer. Having ran some tests; even with IFHE, I still had higher DPS from AP rounds, than HE rounds against a Battleship, Cruiser, and Destroyer. Demolition Expert, Survivability Expert, Basic Firing Training, Advanced Firing Training (if you want better AA), Concealment Expert, Last Stand, Expert Marksman, and Preventative Maintenance, are best suited for her. Note: I ran the DPS tests without the Basic Firing Training, because of the required Demolition Expert, to reduce the IFHE penalty to fire chance. Yes, even with the fires, burning for maximum time, Armor Piercing Rounds still had better DPS than HE rounds.

[pmgaudio]

7 minutes ago, Counter_Gambit said:

Khabarovsk, is a Destroyer. More specifically: Destroyer Leader. Although, Destroyer Leaders treaded the line between Cruisers and Destroyers quite often.

destroyer leaders bridged the tonnage gap between the two ship classifications.

That is also what the Akizuki is, though never officially classified as such. Her armor, and tonnage most certainly reaches the levels of DLs, however, it is her 100mm cannons that made her a DD rather than DL.

And yes, if you have that green triangle over your ship, you're expected to perform as a standard DD, and get prepared to get an earful when you dare not act like a DD.

Her slow speed, yes she will likely never be the first to each a cap, and therefore would be contesting the cap. She is quite capable of cap contest, provided the enemy either has 0 support from their team, or you have support from your team. But be warned: other players hold a dangerous mindset for the Akizuki player; "It's an Akizuki, she'll be fine." So if you ever play the ship, be prepared to watch your team act like they are going to support you, and then ignore you by heading a completely different direction, AFTER, it is already too late for you to turn and run. The number of battles where my team upped and abandoned me just after I cross the-point-of-no-return, is astounding. You're better off, just going 3/4 your speed, and thereby forcing your allies to stick with you longer. But again, be prepared for that earful of "why aren't you in cap already?"

However, do not sell her out just yet. As I said, she is quite capable of cap-contest. If built correctly, an Akizuki is quite capable of going up against two DDs and surviving (though will be limping home). That or one USSR DD, or one Cruiser, and limping home if she survives. The odds of you only going up against 2 non-USSR DDs, or a single Cruiser or USSR DD, is very slim. So, like other DDs, prepare to get slaughtered.


Oh, and don't listen to those who say "get IFHE for Akizuki," HE shells should be used for starting fires, NOT to be used as your primary damage dealer. Having ran some tests; even with IFHE, I still had higher DPS from AP rounds, than HE rounds against a Battleship, Cruiser, and Destroyer. Demolition Expert, Survivability Expert, Basic Firing Training, Advanced Firing Training (if you want better AA), Concealment Expert, Last Stand, Expert Marksman, and Preventative Maintenance, are best suited for her. Note: I ran the DPS tests without the Basic Firing Training, because of the required Demolition Expert, to reduce the IFHE penalty to fire chance. Yes, even with the fires, burning for maximum time, Armor Piercing Rounds still had better DPS than HE rounds.

you running a new account??? seems a little new to negate this  but everyone has their thing with the Akizuki....
And I know not everyone LIKES flamu... but

 

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

1 hour ago, pmgaudio said:

I used it in Ranked and had a great time..

Same here.

 

Just needed ten games to go from 19 to 15 for the season flag; but all were in Akizuki and I had a 70% WR.

[Warlord_Deadeye_Pete]

she's a "Large" destroyer.   She is how ever not nimble or fast.  her shells go where you tell them, even if your running AFT, but YOU still need to be a good shot.

IFHE, you can take or not take.  your gunnery tactics and target selection will change depending on your build, and considering how much of a pain it is to change up ones build,  get comfortable with your chosen build, and learn the details of how to fight with that build.  They all work in the hands of a player that takes the time to learn them.  They're all situational in some way.

I go with a long range build on mine where I can pop smoke and sit out at 12 to 15 Km and just make life utterly miserable for Cruisers and Battleships.  I fire HE until I get a fore set.. (If they're close, or unmoving -happens a lot- I can walk the fire from bow to stern and back and maybe get multiple fires set.  Usually though I just switch target and get another fire set on another ship.  I have seen my Aki turn an entire flanks worth of ships because of them coming under accurate never ending fire from her 8 rounds every 3 seconds which rival easily the out put an Atlanta of Flint.  And your guns are more accurate then the Atlanta's or Flints too!   The damage isn't large but the volume of it is amazing and you know,, throw nuff at the wall....

The main thing with her AP is at 5 km your guns will pen 9cm pf armor at her normal max range however her AP is only good for around 4 cm..at max possible range you can get penetrating deck hits on most ships but that 100mm AP shatters easily.   Thats where the IFHE trade off comes in.   your HE rounds are more forgiving with IFHE when if comes to distance shooting.  You cause significantly less damage per shell, but more of them with stay intact to cause damage.  My personal opinion is on any given day which performs better depends of the target and good old RNG.  

The best build is always going to be the build YOU perform best with, and there's only one way to find that out and that's to find out which one are NOT the best build for the way you play.  (i've entirely respecced my Akizuki at least 5 times that I remember since I got it. I know I did it more then that but those were more in the line of tweaks then a full spec make overs)

When you read on the forums here on builds or watch these video's on the same, always remember your not Flamu, or Little White Mouse,  or even me.. Your YOU.   There is no single "best" build, because every fight is a little different.  And we all play a little differently.

If it were simple and easy we wouldn't be digging on the forums for advice now would we?

Good hunting, see you out there!

 

 

 

 

[NoCoGaming3645]

The choice between no IFHE and IFHE determines what you plan to do with the Akizuki.

With IFHE you:

1. Can contest *most* caps, though, like @MrDeaf said, the lack of maneuverability really hurts you in cramped spaces, as does the lack of torpedo tubes.
2. Pen all DDs, everywhere (allowing you to do #1), plus the superstructure of all CAs and BBs, plus a fair amount of deck/bow/stern plating on lower-tier BBs/CAs.
3. Cause a modest amount of fire damage, but a fairly large amount of HE damage.
4. Don't use AP most of the time, except for close-in broadsides of CA/CLs and long-range BB superstructure.
5. Share a lot of playstyle with US DDs - Sims in particular.

Without IFHE, you can:

1. Take AFT, and get almost a 3km range bump, which lets you harrass stuff really far away.
2. Set some more fires (5% vs 4% with IFHE), so expect to get a larger percentage of your damage from fire
3. Use AP a lot out at range, where the plunging fire tends to favor hitting BB/CA superstructures.
4. Can't really hurt DDs at all, so you can't cap well. Your AP will regularly bounce on DDs, and the HE shatters most of the time, so your DPM vs DDs is atrocious.
5. Similarly, struggle a lot against even modestly angled CAs or BBs at mid-range and closer. Realistically, your only real threat there is fire chance, which means DE is really necessary.
6. Play much more like a Russian DD like the Kiev, if slower.

Personally, I find IFHE+SI the superior combination to AFT+DE.  With that, I can do lots of "DD things", though spotting is generally NOT one that I do well if there are any other non-Russian DDs around.

All said, I find that the Akizuki excels at surviving much longer than typical DDs, which means it gets to do all those DD Things in the late game where the opponents DDs are now all long-dead (or hurt so bad that they don't want to tangle with me at all).

[CouchlockSupreme]

A guy in a Fubuki tried to TK me while saying "noob DD" because I didnt rush into a cap with a Kagero in it when I dont have CE. You turn like a US cruiser, have half the hp, and no armor. Youre basically a high tier Kuma, but with comparatively better guns and less HP. Its a T8 Khaba without the armor or speed, but with better concealment. Basically, youre not really a DD, but you can contest caps if you have support.

[CouchlockSupreme]

On 2/10/2018 at 5:38 PM, Counter_Gambit said:

Khabarovsk, is a Destroyer. More specifically: Destroyer Leader. Although, Destroyer Leaders treaded the line between Cruisers and Destroyers quite often.

destroyer leaders bridged the tonnage gap between the two ship classifications.

That is also what the Akizuki is, though never officially classified as such. Her armor, and tonnage most certainly reaches the levels of DLs, however, it is her 100mm cannons that made her a DD rather than DL.

And yes, if you have that green triangle over your ship, you're expected to perform as a standard DD, and get prepared to get an earful when you dare not act like a DD.

Her slow speed, yes she will likely never be the first to reach a cap, and therefore would be contesting the cap. She is quite capable of cap contest, provided the enemy either has 0 support from their team, or you have support from your team. But be warned: other players hold a dangerous mindset for the Akizuki player; "It's an Akizuki, she'll be fine." So if you ever play the ship, be prepared to watch your team act like they are going to support you, and then ignore you by heading a completely different direction, AFTER, it is already too late for you to turn and run. The number of battles where my team upped and abandoned me just after I cross the-point-of-no-return, is astounding. You're better off, just going 3/4 your speed, and thereby forcing your allies to stick with you longer. But again, be prepared for that earful of "why aren't you in cap already?"

However, do not sell her out just yet. As I said, she is quite capable of cap-contest. If built correctly, an Akizuki is quite capable of going up against two DDs and surviving (though will be limping home). That or one USSR DD, or one Cruiser, and limping home if she survives. The odds of you only going up against 2 non-USSR DDs, or a single Cruiser or USSR DD, is very slim. So, like other DDs, prepare to get slaughtered.


Oh, and don't listen to those who say "get IFHE for Akizuki," HE shells should be used for starting fires, NOT to be used as your primary damage dealer. Having ran some tests; even with IFHE, I still had higher DPS from AP rounds, than HE rounds against a Battleship, Cruiser, and Destroyer. Demolition Expert, Survivability Expert, Basic Firing Training, Advanced Firing Training (if you want better AA), Concealment Expert, Last Stand, Expert Marksman, and Preventative Maintenance, are best suited for her. Note: I ran the DPS tests without the Basic Firing Training, because of the required Demolition Expert, to reduce the IFHE penalty to fire chance. Yes, even with the fires, burning for maximum time, Armor Piercing Rounds still had better DPS than HE rounds.

You dont ONLY spam HE. You set fires with HE and then switch to AP when the opportunity is best. And its REALLLLLL nice to actually be doing damage when youre setting fires, considering it takes a while.