Izumo deployment dilemma

[Tea_of_Doom]

Hello people,

 

So I started playing my izumo, and I find that this ship is really really hard to correctly deploy at the start of any tier9-10 battle. 

 

Here is what I mean:

 

At the very beginning, any zone that is within 10-15 km of the imaginary front line is out of question, because it's torpedoland and you are a huge and slow target for cruisers, so if you get in that zone at the start of battle you are instantly evaporated (which is kind of true for most tier 9-10 ships except DD's)

So that limits your initial range of engagement to 18-20+kms (which is also normal for most BB's).

 

But, here is where it gets complicated for me tough. I don't understand how Izumo is supposed to be played at that range. Most players on the forums recommend turning the bow forward in order to avoid citadels and either reverse or slowly advance while wiggling slightly. While it does work to avoid citadels, you still get damaged quite severely, and consistently, even by average players and can't realistically evade anything. The problem is that Izumo is

A. too big for the wiggling to evade anything efficiently.

B. Reverses really slowly (which amplifies A).

C. Turns really slowly (which also amplifies A).

D. Has a very large wooden deck that's easily set on fire. 

E. (for reasons A-C Izumo is super easy to lead in plunging fire mode, which most BBs activate at start of battle) which leads to a lot of non-citadel, but consistent medium to heavy damage penetrating AP hits. 

F. There are no torpedo belts at the bow, so occasionally when a torpedo hits the bow of the ship it disables a turret. 

 

On top of that, when you are bow-on Izumo has:

G. Terrible dispersion at 20+km

H. Only 2 turrets you are able to use. 

 

I find that if I've made it to the mid-game and if at that point I can push because either DD's are dead or the situation allows for it, I am at 1/4 health with my repair on reload and I am very rarely able to contribute significantly.

 

If, instead of adopting a bow-towards-enemy position at the start of battle, I try to go diagonally forward or full lateral, I get citadelled, and if a DD has snuck into our lines that becomes a death sentence since izumo can't dodge anything in a lateral position.  On top of that, if you have managed to survive in diagonal mode, but need to turn in order to retreat ot relocate, this ship can't fight with stern to enemy either because of the weird turret placement and because of the large exposed wooden area at the rear. 

 

So yea...how do you guys play the izumo at long range?

 

9km secondaries are nice, but if you are shooting at anything within that range it means you will probably be dead in the next minute. 

[Show_Me_Your_Cits]

Welcome to the high tier BB meta. You're doing the only thing you can do, because torpedus and completely not broken fires. Even in my Yamato I hate long-range snipe fests, they lead to low damage, boring games. And you can't push, because when you try to push you get left all alone and then focused by the two CVs on the enemy team even though you told your team what you were doing and asked for support. Especially the friendly carrier that you asked for fighter support and brought bombers instead of fighters to finish off an Izumo you mauled down to 1000hp while you're getting torped to death by a Midway and a Lexington.

 

/rant off

 

ETA: Izumo and Yamato to some extent are vulnerable at certain angles to bow citadels because of the way their internal armor layout is shaped. Your best bet is bow on and forget about the 3rd turret.

 

 

[TenguBlade]

 

Izumo should be played like the fusion of the worst of cruisers and worst of battleships.  She has the agility and detection of a BB and the tactical usefulness of a cruiser in a gunfight.  Make sure you're always going with another BB and have said BB out in front to tank hits at the start: you can step in later if your teammate needs to retreat to repair, but do not tank first.  Save your HP for later and stay at mid-range in the midst of allies.  Izumo's guns can be devastating to even Yamatos if they show a broadside, so load up AP and fire on the biggest threats to your allies.

[Ditos]

Izumo is a good ship with very good disperision and fast turrets(so you can use the reload mod)

 

it has amazing bow armor and quit fast

 

the AA is solid

 

 

[Royeaux]

I've never sailed an Izumo, but I've always felt sorry for the ship because whenever I see one in my Amagi or Nagato, I'm always devastating it.  It's just such a slow, big target, and it has less firepower then the Amagi, that honestly, I have no idea what the Izumo is doing at tier 9.

[Tea_of_Doom]

Izumo is a good ship with very good disperision and fast turrets(so you can use the reload mod)

 

it has amazing bow armor and quit fast

 

the AA is solid

 

 

 

You haven't read a single word of what i wrote, have you?

[Crucis]

Tea, I've only recently picked up the Izumo.  I read Mesrith's tips for the Izumo.  (Mesrith is a outstanding BB player, so I think that his advice is worth listening to.)  He pointed out that the Izumo has weak deck armor and isn't particularly good as a long range sniper, as it will take a lot of damage from plunging fire.  OTOH, if you can get to between 8-15/16 km of the enemy, you're close enough that the shell trajectories will only be hitting your side armor.

 

So, I've been using that advice pretty successfully.  I try to keep my bow towards the enemy but slowly keep approaching them.  Of course, you don't really want to do this if you don't have any support.  But if you do have support, this tactic will work fairly well.  You will take damage, but that would happen regardless.  This tactic lets you use your armor as well as possible, while keeping you in a very effective gun range. 

 

 

As for how to handle initial deployments, I guess that what I'd do is try to go in the direction where you think you'd get the most support while being able to do what I describe above, i.e. getting into the mid ranges, keeping your bow generally towards the enemy, and using your armor as best as possible, while shooting anything and everything.

 

[YamatoA150]

I play Izumo as support.  I follow my team's cruisers or other battleships into combat, but not entering the heart of it, using the two forward turrets or all 3 if the opportunity rises.

 

She cannot handle leading a push, and she has to plan her retreats in advance.  I admit that.  I plan her retreats in advance; because she's practically defenseless if her aft is bared to the enemy force.  If I see any signs of the advance team falling back, I turn her around and try to support them while retreating.

 

If I am in the unfavorable situation of having to push or lead a push, I do so bow on.  Still less damage than trying to broadside.  Then I pray to the RNG gods to not let my Izumo fail me.  They answer me about 50% of the time and I eke out either a reasonable defeat or a surprise victory.