New Iowa Captain

[Heinrike_Prinz]

Alright, so after grinding away in my North Carolina and having decent/average stats; 89 battles, 55% WR and 69k average damage, I finally got my Iowa.

Two matches in with Iowa, with no upgrades and a captain nerfed to half effectiveness, already gain reputation as a bad player. So now I'm here so I can get some form of tips, to avoid furthering my reputation....given that my words were twisted and I suddenly became a herp-derp noob. 

Though what I've noticed in Tier 9, is that there are 2-3 players that talk smack as the rest of the teams kinda hang back, snipe, and sit in place. I'm moving around, avoid showing broadsides and taking shots at whatever is easiest to hit since I don't know how Iowa's guns handle yet and end up basically full health. Apparently that's a bad thing, as that was questioned and made to be cowardice....fine. 

 

Bestow upon me the knowledge to be a fine captain of the Iowa, let it not be said I never tried to become better (although I believe I'm statistically a decent captain in my previous ships). 

What setups you use, what modules, and how you play will be helpful. I'm debating between running the -11% dispersion module, and the module that shortens reload but makes the traverse longer. It looks like running the reload module with traverse module would give the better reload while negating effects of the bad percentages, but I have no clue if that's worth doing. On the other hand, my experience seeing the dispersion on Iowa seems like running the dispersion module would make it far more playable overall. Felt like I was straddling and getting very wide spreads compared to my North Carolina. 

[Wo_9]

the key to Iowa is using your speed to get to a perfect spot to angle your armor for the entire game.  

 

once u find the perfect spot stay there until forced to move.  

 

go what you want for captain skills and modules :> 

[Heinrike_Prinz]

the key to Iowa is using your speed to get to a perfect spot to angle your armor for the entire game.  

 

once u find the perfect spot stay there until forced to move.  

 

go what you want for captain skills and modules :> 

 

So if I'm reading this right....it's like using a fast tank in War Thunder, go to a primary perch with speed and set your armor angled, and simply snipe; moving only as needed for captures and chases?

I'm pretty much reusing my Captain from the North Carolina, but with the nerf to 50% of the actual skills until I finish retraining....urgh. 

There are so many module choices I'm a bit overwhelmed however, which is making it hard to choose.

2 to 3 million credits a pop also means I want to make the choice count rather than blow credits bouncing between options until figuring out what I like xD. 

I played another match, pushed too much, accidentally I ate three torps from the rear I know I could've dodged if I was in my NC, and died halfway through. Also still figuring out how to range the guns right. I'm getting closer, but end up going a little too far ahead, too far behind, or even above. I guess I'll just endure the insults to my crappy learning curve until I figure it out.

Thanks for the advice Wo c:

[Wo_9]

 

So if I'm reading this right....it's like using a fast tank in War Thunder, go to a primary perch with speed and set your armor angled, and simply snipe; moving only as needed for captures and chases?

I'm pretty much reusing my Captain from the North Carolina, but with the nerf to 50% of the actual skills until I finish retraining....urgh. 

There are so many module choices I'm a bit overwhelmed however, which is making it hard to choose.

2 to 3 million credits a pop also means I want to make the choice count rather than blow credits bouncing between options until figuring out what I like xD. 

I played another match, pushed too much, accidentally I ate three torps from the rear I know I could've dodged if I was in my NC, and died halfway through. Also still figuring out how to range the guns right. I'm getting closer, but end up going a little too far ahead, too far behind, or even above. I guess I'll just endure the insults to my crappy learning curve until I figure it out.

Thanks for the advice Wo c:

 

well once ur in your spot you move up slowly or go full reverse depending on how far or close the enemy ships are to you.  

 

and your welcome hope it helps :3 

[Combined_Fleet_HQ]

Um so this will be a little tough to work...

 

for starters go with Aiming Systems mod which reduces dispersion. Trust me, it will help in the long run. Steering gears will also help, the Iowa is a long and narrow ship, she's slow turning w/o it - use your narrow profile to your advantage.  This may sound odd but go with a concealment module. Iowa is good in that she can lower her concealment to CAs levels at ~12km; this will allow you to ghost and reposition, retreat, or take pressure off of you if being targeted by a Yamato. AA guns mod 3 is standard and while Main Armament Mod 1 can be useful, as your turrets are susceptible to being permanently knocked out, stick with Auxiliary Mod 1 for if you follow a stealth build you already lower the chances of you turrets being sniped.

 

As for skills:

1pt: Basics of Survivability  

Iowa AA is already powerful dps wise, BoS will help with reducing fire and flood times which are a blessing when considering high tier meta.

 

2pt: Expert Marksman

It always helps to turn those guns faster, besides everything else is meh

 

3pt: Superintendent 

nothing needs to be said

 

4pt: AFT

buffing your AA range covers up for passing on BFT, this also makes your secondaries a little more reliable.

 

5pt: Concealment Expert

You could swap for jack of all trades but if you dedicate to a stealth spec, its not as necessary. With this, you have cruiser concealment which is a blessing for such a large ship with 50/50 armor.

 

One thing to note, despite the tier difference only being 1, The Iowa has different ways of adapting. The Iowa is a large ship, with an equally large citadel. Ships like the Hindy and the Yammy are your enemies, if they catch you at broadside, you're gonna suffer. Angling doesn't even help in certain instances so always try to bow in rather than angle cause a Yamato lolpens and it hurts. If you're top tier though, try acting like a Yamato; 1/2 speed and bow in, you can get some surprising results. She's a good ship, if you can learn her strengths and weaknesses, she will be very rewarding. Oh and feel free to completely ignore my advice, this is your ship after all

 

Hope this helps

 

~HQ

[Umikami]

Why would you automatically think someone else's opinion is better than yours?

 

Play your game, accept the feedback that is pertinent, ignore that which isn't.

 

Grow with, and have a great time playing, the game. Hope to see you in a match.

[python_vs_ruby]

Why would you automatically think someone else's opinion is better than yours?

 

Play your game, accept the feedback that is pertinent, ignore that which isn't.

 

Grow with, and have a great time playing, the game. Hope to see you in a match.

 

Do you know who Wo_9 is? Only the most legendary Iowa player on the NA server! Not exactly a great sight to see in an Essex, either...

[Heinrike_Prinz]

 

Do you know who Wo_9 is? Only the most legendary Iowa player on the NA server! Not exactly a great sight to see in an Essex, either...

 

I was very elated to see him pop up first, the simple advice is usually best too .

HQ was helpful as far as modules go.