Ishizuchi Any Good?

[Misato]

So I'm wondering what people think of the Ishizuchi?  At the moment I use my Murmansk to make money, but I'm normally more of a battleship driver than a cruiser driver.  So I'm wondering what people think of this boat, any good?  Good credit earner?  At all fun to drive?

 

[TabbyHopkins]

I enjoy mine. You just have to remember it's a battlecruiser, not a battleship. If you engage a same tier battleship, you're in for a world of hurt.

[KTcraft]

The ten gun broadside and quick speed are really nice.  The major downsides to the ship are it's practically nonexistent AA and the anemic penetration of the guns, but otherwise I haven't found its other downside-gun range to be that limiting a factor.  Honestly I'd recommend this ship more to heavy cruiser captains then BB captains.  I don't mind it at all.

[Francois424]

I do fine in it. It's an odd ship that has extremely good DPS with HE guns as well.

I actually found out it's a real charm to play when the RNG is normally decent.

The range is a bit on the poor side tho, so Islands are your friends (especially with the 27kt speed).

[Misato]

Sounding like it's closer to my Murmansk than the Wyoming or Miyogi (the battleships of its tier.)  Make its money mainly off sinking cruisers, just harass battleships with some HE and in general run around fast like a cruiser?

[Hans_Von_Lohman]

I have the Ishizuchi.  This is my short review on it.

 

I love the ship.  It has flaws, but I enjoy it quite a bit.

 

However, I am going to start with the flaws, three of them in particular, and then I will get to the good points.

 

1.  It has lackluster 12-inch guns.  They do not work well against heavily armored T4 American battleships, the Wyoming/Arkansas.  You often only get the minimum damage out of the of just 1000 hit points because you cannot penetrate their armor.  They also only have a range of 12.9 kilometers, the lowest range of any T4 battleship (well, technically the Arkansas Beta is only 12.1, but it has an upgrade to get it up to 14km).

 

2.  There isn't any real AA firepower like you see on the fully upgraded Wyoming (which isn't great), or the new, 3rd hull fully upgraded Myogi (which is actually decent AAA guns).

 

3.  It isn't really a true battleship.  It is a battlecruiser.  It is a ship with battleship guns and size, but cruiser armor and speed.  It get ripped up by citadel hits when shot by enemy battleships quite often, and at T4 you often are up against T5 and T6 battleships with 14-inch guns   Battlecruisers were built to hunt cruisers, and run away from battleships.  You have to play it that way.

 

Now, onto the good.

 

1.  It has five turrets, and for a battleship they turn pretty fast.  You can turn around, and you do lose some time waiting for the turrets to catch up, but not a lot.  It is possible to fire a broadside, and then reverse your course.  Your guns will catch up pretty quick.

 

The other reason that is good news is that the more gun barrels you have, the better this is for shooting destroyers when compared to the other T4 IJN battleship, the Myogi with only 6 guns.

 

2.  Speed.  It can hang with the cruisers, and if necessary return to crisis points like a cruiser can.  It can also make a run away from an enemy destroyer following you.  It is a suicidal task for the destroyer who cannot get  in range to torpedo you.  I've killed destroyers by keeping them behind me and using the fact that I have 3 of the turrets facing backwards to get a kill.  I have also come to the rescue of carriers I have noticed were unprotected and was able to fend off or sink destroyers or cruisers making a run at them.

 

Overall, it has enough flaws and features that it is a tough call whether or not the Ishizuchi is a good battleship or not, or in this case battlecruiser. 

 

You really do have to play it as a battlecruiser.  Your targets are the enemy cruisers, which does actually work.  Against enemy battleships you need to angle your armor and run to friendlies to group up and take them out together.

[OhnoesFroz]

Very strong HE in Ishizuchi. I use HE almost exclusively, switching to AP only against high health cruisers to attempt a one-shot. You can citadel cruisers with your HE anyway, and the shots that are a litlte off will still bust modules and deal more damage than AP overpens. You'll deal consistently high damage to battleships too. Remember, you're not aiming for the belt at waterline unlike AP. Rake the deck to get the most out of your HE volleys. Your guns should be one of the biggest threats on the map to the enemy team.

 

You're pretty vulnerable to battleship guns, so be a little careful about when you make your turns. You're extremely vulnerable to bomber strikes, so begin making your turns as soon as bombers are spotted. Omaha and Furutaka you shouldn't see tremendously often, but both are dangerous to you, and both are getting buffs to the things that make them dangerous to you. Omaha can kite you from outside of your range, and the 'taco guns will punch through your armor and citadel you.

 

I think it's a really fun ship, and it's a bit different because of the HE reliance. Probably not amazing as a moneymaker, but definitely enjoyable to play.

[Misato]

So Atlanta, Atago, Murmansk, Aurora all cruisers, plus this boat that plays a lot like one?  Sort of a lack of variety in the premium shop, isn't there?  

[Whiteout]

Not one of my favorite ships at all but she performs very well in her tier for sure. Like others have mentioned the guns seem lackluster but if you stay in the fight you will find they get it done even if you are usign AP. Just dont expect citadels from her with any reliability.

 

[Gasboy]

So Atlanta, Atago, Murmansk, Aurora all cruisers, plus this boat that plays a lot like one?  Sort of a lack of variety in the premium shop, isn't there?  

 

You go ahead and try to play them all the same way.  You're in for a bad time.

[Menemy]

I enjoy mine. You just have to remember it's a battlecruiser, not a battleship. If you engage a same tier battleship, you're in for a world of hurt.

 

But Myogi is a battlecruiser...

[scruffycavetroll]

it can be fun.

[Guest]

She isn't a bad ship at all, ignoring the poor AA, her guns can pack a good punch and she is a good enough ship to play. 

[Francois424]

She isn't a bad ship at all, ignoring the poor AA, her guns can pack a good punch and she is a good enough ship to play.

 

IMHO, she is the best Tier 4 BB there is (There aren't many to chose from at the moment either).

More agile than the USN, 60% more turrets than the Myogi

Almost equal speed to the Miogy

Dispersion is not too bad either (feels better than both Tier 4's to be honest).

As pointed out, excellent HE shells w/34% chance of fire (I only use AP vs USN T4 and T5 BBs)

 

 

But she is still a BB with the current low tier BB problems still to be fixed.  But she's definitely a good premium for a BB.

Would re-purchase right away after a wipe if there would be one.

[Hellgrunt]

It's great at attacking enemy CA's, but not BB's.

It has good speed and maneuverability, but crap AA.

 

Used correctly, it's a fun and rewarding ship.  

[IronWolfV]

I find her a great fun ship. Fast enough to get into the fight, guns that can put a hurting on if you can aim well.  Just watch that low armor.

 

She's a great cruiser killer.

[TriNova]

One of my favorites. She is very maneuverable for a battleship, which goes a long way towards compensating for her poor AA armament. Usually, you can either minimize the the damage you take from a torpedo bomber squadron, or outright dodge them all In terms of playstyle, I'd say she's more akin to a very heavy cruiser than a battleship. You can still give a good account of yourself against an enemy battleship though, if you use HE against USN battleships and AP against IJN battleships.

[vbluguitar]

I am not very good at WOWs so take what I say with a grain of salt -

 

My 10 or so battles in this ship have been lackluster at best - When I can actually get in range I feel like I get set on fire right away - so most of my battles go like this - 

 

I hang back and try to stay with the group - when the enemy appears I can't hit any of them because of my gun range, so I have to put myself closer than is good.  Around now the torp planes appear and start spotting me, no torps yet, that is coming.  

 

I begin to take fire from their Omaha or Murmansk before I can even fire because they have better range than I do - I get set on fire - I put it out only to be set on fire again immediately.  

 

I fire my salvo of AP and hit the Omaha with 5 AP shells doing around 800 damage - say a swear word and then load HE -  I fire my second salvo 30 seconds later and do about 2000 damage with my HE.  At this point I am about halfway dead.

 

Now I begin to swing away from the attacking BB or CV only to be bombarded with torps from the aircraft - As it happens I was turning left when they let loose, so I have to slam my ship to the right, but since this ship as a 16.9 second rudder shift I will get hit by at least 1 or 2 torps before I get positioned properly to avoid the rest.

 

At this point I check my map again and notice that over half my team is dead ( this happens all the time for me and this ship)  Now that I am alone because my teammates are mostly dead the DDs and Torp planes start making an earnest effort to cleanse my burning ship from the sea.  This can take 2-7 minutes of chasing before they finally corner me and kill me with torps.

 

The battle is over - I get my normal 70k for the premium damage I did and the XP for my Myogi Captain.

 

Now in all seriousness - This ship is about as fun as the Myogi if that helps, but when the Myogi gets its top guns it has the ability to do a little better.  The Ishuzuchi is not a horrible ship, but the gun range and lackluster damage make it a difficult ship to play.  If you are a good battleship captain you may like this one, but for me this ship is basically a Kawachi with better maneuverability and less resistance to damage.

 

 

[_Rudedog]

The Itchy is great until the carriers find out your there, then they pummel you with bombs and torps, because you have no AA threat.

[byronicasian]

I just played a few games in it yesterday. Pretty fun, you'd have to play it like a low tier USN BB given its range, but at the very least you're a quite a bit faster than them. Angling is very important given your BC rated armor. 

[Skeem689]

How does the Ishizuchi compare to the Myogi?

[IronWolfV]

How does the Ishizuchi compare to the Myogi?

 

Just my humble opinion, but it's WAY better.

[BattlecruiserOperational]

So I'm wondering what people think of the Ishizuchi?  At the moment I use my Murmansk to make money, but I'm normally more of a battleship driver than a cruiser driver.  So I'm wondering what people think of this boat, any good?  Good credit earner?  At all fun to drive?

 

it's not worth the $$$, plain & simple. No ship below T5 is as a premium.

[Nuk_]

So is it worth the buy?

[Francois424]

Depends on if you like playing Battleships.

If you do, then yes.  If you don't/unsure, then no.