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s u p e r g r a m p s has World of Warships

Apr 10, 2019 @ 1:41pm

On the Fence About Azuma

Azuma is the 4th large cruiser in the game and I'm on the fence about getting this ship. I want to get her due to upcoming Azur Lane collab as well as how her guns look pretty nice. The problem is that her armor is about as good as a light cruiser (or heavy cruiser in IJN terms).

Azuma has 25mm of plating everywhere meaning there is no way to angle any battleship with 380mm guns or larger combined with it's large above-waterline citadel. Combine that with the 25mm armor, even a regular destroyer with IFHE can do full damage to you, not to mention all the high DPM light cruisers and heavy cruisers.

Compare this to the Kronshtadt that is similar in having 25mm plating on the bow and stern but has a long belt of 230mm of armor protecting it's waterline citadel, which still allows her to angle to battleships at the very least.

Alaska is very well protected with 27mm-36mm plating and has a 229mm belt of armor also protecting it's waterline citadel, meaning she is protected from 380mm guns and smaller and also makes her citadel very hard to hit outside plunging fire and is decently protected from HE spam.

So I guess the argument i'm trying to make is that Azuma is just a HUGE IJN heavy cruiser. I understand that sounds fine is some cases, but keep in mind that Azuma is about twice the size of Ibuki and Zao, meaning there is a lot more citadel to hit. Combine that with a higher detection and a long 13.9s rudder shift (compared to Ibuki's 7.3s and Zao's 7.7s... even Alaska is better at 13s), it is not easy to just do usual IJN cruiser kiting strats since the ship is much larger and much less maneuverable. On top of being forced to kite to 15km-22km, you also have no utility to offer whatsover with no radar, nor is her AA anything to write home about.

So wrapping this all up, all she offers is her great guns, but is forced to play WAY far away from objectives due to her awful armor combined with the large-cruiser maneuverability (not to mention that it's turning raidus is 920m compared to 850m and 840m of Alaska and Kronshtadt) and concealment. Compare this to Alaksa's great armor, AA, guns, and Utility, and Kornshtadt's utility, fantastic AP, and battleship-battlecruiser survivability.

Last edited by s u p e r g r a m p s; Apr 10, 2019 @ 1:59pm

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Showing 1-9 of 9 comments

Donegali

Apr 10, 2019 @ 2:31pm

I think she's quite a good addition to the IJN line, and plays very similarly due to the citadel as all the other cruisers. You haven't mentioned the guns at all in your assessment, 9 x 380mm guns that pack a punch and have a very good fire chance. Definitely a typical IJN glass cannon.

However, with all that said, I also agree with you, she was great at tier 10 but I'm not interested since she was changed. I'll wait for the tier 10 version.

Last edited by Donegali; Apr 10, 2019 @ 2:32pm

s u p e r g r a m p s has World of Warships

Apr 10, 2019 @ 2:46pm

Originally posted by Donegali:
Definitely a typical IJN glass cannon.

I guess what I'm getting at is that she feels like a huge IJN heavy cruiser: her armor doesn't make feel like she fits the "large cruiser" title. Like why play this ship if I could just play the Zao that has a hard to hit citadel with a much smaller size and has torpedoes with a comparable level of DPM.

If I want to buy a large cruiser, I want it to feel a bit beefier than a standard IJN heavy cruiser. Because the big difference between the Azuma and the Ibuki/Zao is the size/maneuverability: a Zao/Ibuki can actually use it's maneuverability to dodge all the battleship shells being flung at them, whereas the Azuma is too sluggish to attempt to dodge shells without investing in steering gear modifications, and the size of citadel is just so large that it's much easier to hit compared to the Ibuki/Zao whose citadels are like half the size of the Azuma's.

Last edited by s u p e r g r a m p s; Apr 10, 2019 @ 2:47pm

Harrow

Apr 12, 2019 @ 4:24pm

You might be better off using the captain for a Japanese ship instead of azuma. I've watched the mighty jingles video about it and all that extra health it gets is kind of like an xp pinata. Though i'd personally love for someone to change my opinion on the ship.

Donegali

Apr 13, 2019 @ 4:09am

Originally posted by s u p e r g r a m p s:
If I want to buy a large cruiser, I want it to feel a bit beefier than a standard IJN heavy cruiser. Because the big difference between the Azuma and the Ibuki/Zao is the size/maneuverability: a Zao/Ibuki can actually use it's maneuverability to dodge all the battleship shells being flung at them, whereas the Azuma is too sluggish to attempt to dodge shells without investing in steering gear modifications, and the size of citadel is just so large that it's much easier to hit compared to the Ibuki/Zao whose citadels are like half the size of the Azuma's.

Totally agree, although only in reference to the Zao, I would take that any day over the Azuma. I can't make the Ibuki work and can't crack the 100k with her, stuck around 70-90k.