World of Warships- Iwami First Impressions: God Japanese Brawler, Or Massive Let Down?

Hey guys, today we take a look at the new Tier IX Premium Japanese Battleship Iwami, enjoy!
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Chapters:
0:00 Channel Intro
0:11 Ship Intro
2:37 Ship Armor & Stats
12:24 Consumables
14:03 Commander & Module Build
19:02 Gameplay Review

[@jayrodmurderface]

I swear that Wargaming is using Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts to design shit now. 🤣

[@morsanabargor3860]

OK, I have the Iwami and played about 20 battles with her. She is a quite fun ship and very strong IF you use her as intended. She is NOT a long range BB and she is NOT a brawler. She is an excellent secondary-focused kiter/pusher depending on the circumstances. She is a very versatile ship with more than one viable builds. I use her with Yamamoto, taking all secondary skills (7 points for the captain) and modules (1st, 3rd, 6th slots). I do not take Fire Prevention and Concealment Expert and I use these points for skills like Vigilance, AA specialist and IFHE. I have a 10.5 secondary range with the signal flag and these secondaries are awesome: fire rate 2.1 seconds and penning every BB plating. I can melt destroyers and light cruisers in no time. Torps are self-defense utilities or area denial tools while kiting (they have good rear angles). This ship is about situational awareness like the Massa and the secondary-focused Kii. You can chill in the background and snipe or kite away while defending a cap. If you find a hole in the enemy line, you can push hard - but not against enemy brawler BBs. This ship is designed to win uneven fights in close combat while she is still able to make a 20+ kilometres crossfire broadside shot against a cruiser. The key word is patience when you play this ship. I have very good results with her so far - like 10/10 wins and average 80+k in my first 10 random battles on the EU server. I will make my opinion on a ship after 100 random/ranked battles, so this can be pure luck but she does her things well enough.

[@RodneyJonesMedowie]

I agree. I have had some good 100k plus games in ranked. The gun are strong on AP if you know hiw ro aim, which is what i use most of the time unless a battleship is bow in.

[@LaunchpadGamingGuy]

This is what I feel as well. If you don’t build in the secondaries then why get this ship, but you can’t just yolo into a cab like a hero and feel good about it, it’s Stern armor is very strong.

[@Frankon81]

Totally agree. This ship is not a brain dead brawler like shliffen and german BC. You have to pick you fights right. Tested three diffrent builds. Regular tank build, mix of secondaries, IFHE secondaries. At the end i stick with the ifhe build. So far im rocking a steadly increasing 110k+ average damage on EU server.

[@morsanabargor3860]

@@Frankon81 Me too. This ship is very consistent unlike the other IJN BBs like Izumo. We have every tool in our box to inflict serious damage... somehow during the battle. She is like a chubby Kii at T9.

[@miklosgatos1994]

Would you recommend it for coal? I don't have the Hizen ( which resembles to this) nor the Pommern. I could also go for Immelmann...

[@freedan48blackstar35]

Looking at it from the stats... Looks like a Japanese style FDG, with a better main battery, and crappier secondary. Main battery has about the same reload as FDG. Now if one thinks of it in those terms, it gave up its hydro for torpedoes.

[@dutch0770]

As soon as you said it's like the Hizen. I'm was like; F that! Haha

[@landochabod7]

Only the hull is the same, except not really because this one gets much better deck plating. Secondaries, reload, accuracy, concealment, turret traverse, etc....are all better on the Iwami.

[@dutch0770]

@@landochabod7 I get that. Hizen is Terrible for me. I grinded that dockyard for the biggest POS they put in there. Imo. So anything that is like it? Nope

[@soondead007]

I feel you, Hizen is just so bad...

[@phud78]

I've been having a blast with my full secondary build Iwami!! I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't even give it a try SLM, but you do you. While I agree that the range is short, with IFHE these secondaries do quite a bit of damage. I feel that if you get this ship and spec it for guns then you might as well play Hizen or Izumo; these guns were not meant for prolonged exchanges at range. Btw, I've found that these guns are actually pretty good with the 2.1 sigma and definitely not the shotguns you get with the non-battlecruiser German line. The secondaries are of course not your primary damage source, but they do great in close engages, with the torps for a finisher. I do think that at least a fighter would have been good for this ship, but it's a great change of pace from the other IJN BBs.

[@migueldiazcastelo2563]

Same here. In ranked games I make around 40k to 60k average secondary damage (IFHE full secondary build) so I think she performs good with the secondary build.

[@waverleyjournalise5757]

As usual, the WoWs PR shitstorm is grinding away... "if it isn't OP, it has to be trash." News flash players, you're meant to use your skills to win, not your gimmicks.

[@MiraSC]

10 and change is short for a secondary BB these days, but I still run the secondary build on my Giuseppe Verdi. It is fun watching those streaks of red shells fly at people in rapid succession. And they smack too, in spite of their short range.

[@Micharus]

Got this last night, in the right hands it'd be deadly. I had fun with it, I scored a 10 AL Azuma cmdr, which I put right on it right away. It's not bad, I didn't die ;)

[@thedon9670]

It's a premium you can put any commander on it.

[@Micharus]

@@thedon9670 Yes, I know this. I don't have that many 10 point cmdrs and many of those are already on ships.

[@aphexbanger]

@@Micharus You can put them on Premiums then recall them for non-premiums for free ;)

[@catguy9229]

An interesting fact is Roon (t9 German cl) has longer base secondary range then this ship.

[@woutervanheusden]

Still hoping for cruiser secondary captainskills to return

[@TheGlassSword]

I had a lot of fun with iwami, at first I went full secondary… but I kinda changed it up and did a bit of hybrid build and works great

[@arch_2076]

I’ll probably join you on the hybrid builds when I get the Iwami

[@i_nameless_i-jgsdf]

Amazing ship, first battle and i got 160k damage, the secondary is great and torpedo is a big plus.

[@ThorstenSimons]

Any chance getting your build viewed?

[@davidcarlson5030]

Thanks for the solid review, I crossed it off of my list. If I got it I would never play it because I already have 2 other T9 BBs that do what Iwami does but better.

[@Lunar137]

The Iwami (for me) is a tier 9 KII. And yes, she *is* secondary speced (Considering how well the Kii has been for me in rank, the Iwami is a literal upgrade, minus the AA).

[@bartleby3359]

I was actually thinking about getting this ship because I have and enjoy using the Kii

[@RodneyJonesMedowie]

I think its as good and in some ways better with its longer base range and better accuracy. Guns reloading in 24 seconds with the reload mod helps. Ignore secondaries and go for standard tank build with aiming systems to enhance the accuracy. As long as you avoid showing broad, dont sail in a straight line for long periods, and keep moving youll kmprove your chances.

[@i_nameless_i-jgsdf]

Got this ship today for coal and steel used coupon and i gotta say i really like it. It is a good sniping ship with fast turret traverse, accurate gun and extremely impressive firing angle ! Also just because WG said it is a brawling doesn't mean you should take their suggestion seriously, because it is obviously work best at range and if needed it can fight as close range aswell with those deadly torp and somewhat usable secondary. I give it a solid 8/10. If it has 10 or 12 guns i do give it 9 or 10.

[@ArterialCanine]

Tks for the honest review, will stick with my KII

[@dany1441]

This ship is supposed to be a LOT more accurate than Hizen (which has shit accuracy). 2.1 sigma should really do the job.

[@ir0k512]

I want to play the same tier 8 premium ship all the time. My question is which one is the best ship if I only choose one to grind credits and experience with from now on ???

[@jaywerner8415]

Why does it have 20kms 20,000 damage torpedos that are spotted from the moon mounted on its backside? Because Japanese thats why. Edit: given it has 28 second reload, maybe try the skill that gives 10% reload on main guns when in secondary range instead of secondary Accuracy. (punches calculator) 25.8 second reload when in secondary range. Plus the reload module OH BOI those are some fast firing 16inch cannons! Why does everyone overlook Close Quarters Combat skill (4 points)? ITs not a bad skill its just you have to get close (or at least within secondary range) to activate it. Also 12.9km Consealment, use BRISK (2 points) skill to get her up to 30 ish knots.

[@landochabod7]

"Why does everyone overlook Close Quarters Combat skill (4 points)?" Because Fire Prevention, Concealment Expert or Emergency Repair Expert are all more useful.

[@jaywerner8415]

@@landochabod7 Well YEAH, but you never really take all of them at the same time. ID say Fire prevention is MUST, Emergency Reapair is also grate (more DC time and HEALING). But depending on your concealment, CE is nice but not always required. Never hurts to experiment.

[@LaunchpadGamingGuy]

I would’ve liked to have seen you at least try to build into the secondaries. I know why you did not, but I think you’re missing something special with this ship.

[@Lunar137]

I have, and when they get going... They fking shred!

[@TheShopvac]

He definitely missed the point / fun of this ship. Got mine 2 days ago and have been using a full IFHE build and it's been fun. If only it had hydro. It's like having two kitakaze's duct taped to your BB.

[@phoenixtalon100]

Pretty sure much of the comments agree with this, reading through, but you kinda dropped the ball speccing a secondary brawler for something other than it's secondaries. You'd probably have found it more fun if you'd played it for what it's meant to do

[@anthonyware4033]

I'm first impression is that the new tier 9 IJN BB Iwami sinks pretty fast when I'm in my Shima.

[@MechFrankaTLieu]

its not about its having 8 guns vs the Iowa's 9 , its about how many gun they can trained onto the enemy at any given angle other than full broadside , IOWA typically can train its foremost 2 turret and 6 guns when this BB can only had 4 guns trained , if WG aim to made it brawler they need to give her brawling property , and that she simply do not had

[@jamesmccoy7773]

Looks like if you'd like it for your port, the best thing to do is to wait until they buff it a bit. If I want a ship with 2 consumables, I'll go play at T3-4. This is a brawling BB the way that France's Emile Bertain is a brawling CL. Stick to M-L ranges, while kiting around at speed. This is a boxer, not a puncher. You are only at the advantage when you keep your foes at arms length, and the lack of speed won't help with that. I mean, look at the 100mm secondaries, this ship is at best a Woodpecker. Take note that around 23:50 you took a shell hit to the back side of your smoke stack, and lost a secondary gun turret.......

[@mikedignum1868]

Ive got the Hizen, so ill stick with her.

[@Brendan200]

im buying a tier 9 on the 3rd should i get pommern or iwami

[@wolfhunter98]

5:25 what is sigma? Know it's something with shells coming at you scattering. But is low better? Or higher? And where do you find that?

[@yk3662]

what do I get for coal next.... have to pommern and duke both great ships.

[@TheBranchez]

How is she now? Worth getting? I need a IJN prem BB to help out.

[@timofthomas]

Just watched one in a ranked match - his torps did naff all on hit.

[@gstormcz]

I am fan of BBs, although I play other ships too, as I saw Iwami at armor, I was excited, but checking it's stats, I saw it's neither Yamato by guns, nor Pommern with hydro and not enough range of secondaries, it has Izumo/Yamato secondaries if not wrong. With lack of top speed its not good for banzai surprise ambushes, wo hydro and Yamato great torp protection its rather kamikaze brawl, thought of its main gun good accuracy, but as you informed of bad vertical dispersion, it doesnt make up for brawl kills probably, really on extra torp damage, which have that big spot. Iwami looks more like 15-20km brawler, sending those torps as available and rely rather on what those gun make at range. Kearsarge seems much more funny and unusual by its abilities, so better option fro whats available there for coal. Having just Pommern at T9 prem coal ships, knowing what is price payed for full secondaries build BB to go brawl. Reward bit rare, very dependant on good moment. Iwami is rather hybrid brawl/range ship. Probably not great in any of both 2 styles.

[@gustavocabrerea1341]

Me: Can I have a brawling Japanese Battleship, like old Shikashima? Mom: We have a brawling Japanese battleship at home. *The Brawling Japanese Battleship at Home:*

[@kevinthechuker1721]

Imagine if Shikishima actually had Iwami's secondary accuracy, one can only dream though

[@aristosachaion_]

Man, I was intrigued by this ship too. Saved some money then

[@gamingrootz4411]

Thankyou for the review, and as result, I think I'll stick with me hizen

[@dbvetter7485]

It would be nice if they offered their models for sale. I use the same software they do to make their ships. It would be a good money maker for WarGammming also.

[@warfreedom217]

Honestly this ship isn't bad its great I mean as a player that loves brawling this boat is great for it and it's great at sending dds and cruisers back to port the guns are accurate enough and I mean the tops well im used to kiting with a yoshino with 20 km torps and getting a lucky hit I mean I did hit a dd from 15km away with them and the armor isn't bad I've bounced lots of shells just angling away properly its just a ship that requires patience and skill I love it my first 3 battles we wins averaging over 110k

[@malguskerensky]

Thank you for the review, I was looking at this ship but sounds like it was mislabeled or incomplete from WG.

[@sargisshirinyan207]

Iwami seemed underwhelming, the guns either slap broadsides with 3 citadels or just go everywhere except the broadside target at 10km... One thing that annoys me is the Japanese 410mm AP. Sometimes it doesn't pen a flat broadside.. you do everything for success, you position, angle, fire accurately and then half the shells fall short or long and the ones that hit - sometimes don't even pen.

[@bryanorendorff3357]

Iwami has Nagato guns (good at T7), a Hizen hull (Hizen often having been called a Tier 8.5 ship), and something akin to Yamato secondaries (if comparing only in the IJN BB line - few sing the praises of Yamato secondaries). That all the comparisons seem to be to the Hizen (a ship that is often forgotten and often lampooned) and not Izumo (the tech tree T9 BB that is generally better thought of), I think that's telling. So, comparisons there are to an artificially low bar. This seems to be a step up from Hizen, which is good, but there are better T9 coal ships out there for sure it looks like. Step up from T8.5 really means a fair T9 ships. So, from a balance perspective, that's probably not unreasonable. But it does remain uninspiring and of course there is no way this thing is a brawler. Even for IJN ships that can be considered brawlers like Mutsu, you're still better off in a Bayern (and maybe even a Fuso). Similarly, if you want to brawl with this thing, you're better off with a Pommern. I'd be very interested to know more about the secondary firing angles. IJN ships tend to have good secondaries on paper, but the firing angles tend to be terrible (especially the 100mm secondaries for anyone who knows them on Yoshino or Azuma - Zao has them too, but if you are a Zao player familiar with Zao secondaries you are probably one of a kind). Wondering if this one is the same or if they are improved any. Because showing too much side to get secondaries to fire in most ships is a good way to sail back to port. On paper, looks like a good kiter, though. Something that tanks a bit stern in at around 15km (maybe 12km? *cringe*) and can push any encroaching DDs (and maybe cruisers) with the secondaries. Forward torpedo angles don't seem great, but the rear ones look quite good which would really suit kiting. An investment in a little additional secondary range may not be too expensive to create a bit of a hybrid that would be better and meeting that role. And the turret angles are good for stern in along with that stern armour belt. The only problem there is the ability to adjust tactically to the game around you in a kiting BB. Kiting cruisers, like IJN cruisers, turn quick and are relatively fast. This thing is neither. So, once you are done your kiting you'll be out of position and it will take a long time to get back into a winning position. A spotter plane would help make up for that, but this thing doesn't have anything special like that. It just seems it would not lend itself to a versatile play style, which is often a problem unless your ship is really good at what it does.

[@joecarlson6428]

Good review. I suspected the Iwami wouldn't be a good brawler because of how WOWS wrote the description. Thanks.

[@rizkisoekartono454]

I swear, I just got teammate with Iwami on ranked battle 3 times and they are dying so quickly in brawling, I was on Bismarck of course.

[@waverleyjournalise5757]

New premium attracts whale, give it a few days and the experienced players will keep playing it whilst the shit ones will give up

[@shmiga02]

lokks like Kii at T9 basically

[@matthewyang7893]

Give this ship an icebreaker, range out to 8 km base, secondaries pen 34mm, and 155 secondaries reload in 5 seconds fixed the ship :)

[@ImRandomDude]

You sound like employee of wg balans dept

[@matthewyang7893]

@@ImRandomDude I actually think about the state of the player base tho

[@Mortifix]

Would have loved to see some brawling game play.

[@albedo1237]

Did you try it in ranked? Maybe you can push up with her?

[@milansoede2072]

If you go to ship tools this ship by far has the best secondary hitting dpm of any t9 so still might be viable. And even on t10 it only gets beat out by schlieffen en beats third place (Ohio) by 10k with a dpm of 88k

[@andrewk911]

I agree it's not a brawler. But put you butt towards the enemy to use that armor and dump those torps. Seems to kite well.

[@Tundraviper41]

I'm upset that all this time hizen did not receive buff, they made a ship that is better then the hizen in most aspects. Hizens 1.7 sigma combined with poor Japanese vertical dispersion makes hizens shells have the consistency of german dispersion before the buff on a Japanese BB, with the 38 second base reload on the 410 makes it hard to do some kind of damage at long and even close range. I fired at a flat broadside Montana at 6km, I shot 12 shells and only ONE shell hit him. The 32mm deck armor on hizen makes most shells fired at you going the Penatrate the deck. And she has one less repair party and she has the standard repair party. IMO hizen is the worst Japanese premium and the worst tier 9 in the game.

[@ReDiR20]

Hizen is better than Iwami. Loved it in even in T9-10 ranked

[@joecarlson6428]

There are several forum posts that say Iwami is good ship but not for brawl but no explanation how to play the ship. Perhaps you could play during an up coming stream and show what mode it works in, if any. To me it seems more of Christmas container ship.

[@bodenchapman4165]

Can someone explain these acronyms; bb, dd, and cv please

[@cyberwaste]

I don't have this ship, but I've run into a lot of them. They take a lot of damage quickly and never get close to you. The torpedoes travel for days and can come out of nowhere though. I wouldn't spend real money on it.

[@brycegladwin8087]

The Zulu tribes in Africa were a bit of inspiration for the aielmen. As well as the Freman of course.

[@maygayming5275]

You're building her like a Yamato though and she just doesn't play like that. Tho she reminds me of a tier 9 Negato. She's pretty maneuverable and you can mitigate a lot of damage. I use a secondary build and with steering gears instead of damage control and she handles real nice. With incoming fire alert I can dodge a lot of incoming fire and bounce shots that would otherwise pen or worse. And with her armour in general I've come out of fights unsure of how I wasn't sunk. Like 200+ hits. I'm an IJN cruiser main though so I tend to prefer a less static playstyle in BBs. With her maneuverability I'm better in her than other tier 9 and 10 IJN BBs. Actually, I play her the same as I play Mutsu and I have a 65.2% wr in 161 games in her. But I'm really bad in German BBs and don't enjoy them so maybe it's a familiarity and comfort thing? I've heard people saying the Mutsu is meh but I think she's a great ship and my stats in her generally agree. May_Griffin on the NA server. Also I once sunk a Mutsuki with her torpedoes lol one of my two favourite ships moments the other is ramming a Minekaze pre nerf in a Zuiho lol And the secondaries will wreck everything, it's like having a pair of Akizukis duck taped to the hull torpedoes and all. I've managed to do substantial damage with them. And the main battery being better than German BBs if I can't get in secondary range I can play her at midrange way better than German BBs. And because I keep Yamamoto on my Zao I have him setup as my secondary BB captain which can be fun. Im moderately decent at sniping the turrets of bow tanking BBs and in close these guns will pen turret faces.. Actually I'm also getting an oddly high number of torpedo hits in her even at longer ranges. Probably fluke, I rarely hit anything with them on the Shima or Yoshino. Also about the guns. They're the same guns as the Izumo has and I'm pretty sure they still have the highest penetration and muzzle velocity in the game which is something that's pretty undervalued imo. Also the firing angles are decent and the turret traverse is mediocre but not lethargic like on other IJN BBs. Unlike Izumo she can make a fighting withdrawal if on a side that i get overwhelmed. Turrets turn about as fast as as IJN cruisers, actually so I'm used to it. I dunno overall I like the ship a lot and I haven't played many games in her but I'm 100% and had some of my best games in months in her. That said she def needs a 3rd consumable and her secondaries could use a bit more range too. It would be really cool if they give her an MRB, Hyuga has it so why not. That might be a bit much though.

[@kaollachan]

the citadel slop seem wrong for brawling anyway, to steep angle it gonna catch everything

[@joshoriordan3325]

It doesn't have any form of catapult plane as they were removed for the torpedoes. (The 20km Shima torps)

[@kevinthechuker1721]

The secondaries are pretty good since they can pen 32 with IFHE and have the highest hitting DPM at T9, problem is the range, I think they should have given this ship at least Georgia's 11.3km range on her secondaries to make them more viable, they might still work very well in ranked though since of there are fewer ships

[@artiesarenoobs1372]

As long as DDs routinely have sub-12km range, BBs shouldn't get that kind of secondary range. No one should get free damage for doing absolutely nothing and especially not on DDs, the KM BB line is already a problem to handle with EU DDs.

[@taserrr]

@@artiesarenoobs1372 Literally the opposite of "doing absolutely nothing" All game you put your ship in danger to push in a BB, especially in this meta. It's more often than not practically suicide to push in range to get in secondary battery brawling range. HE spam, CV spam, Subs, ... There's no problem with secondaries, nobody has ever said a secondary BB build was OP.

[@artiesarenoobs1372]

@@taserrr You do understand the concept that if a DD is firing you he is close to you, right? And since BBs are incredibly rarely doing anything else than being 5-8km behind their DDs and CA/CLs, no, the only one that's risking anything is the enemy DD. And he gets nothing for it because a BB will deal damage to him without even having to notice him. Even the old manual secondaries were better because if the BB was in true BB fashion glued to sniping view he couldn't fire at you. This apparently was too complex gameplay and had to go. No one saying it's OP, I said it's a problem. CVs aren't OP and subs aren't OP as well, but it's just utter total garbage playing against them.

[@taserrr]

@@artiesarenoobs1372 BBs aren't the problem in this game. If a brawling bb pushes you and you as a DD are starting to shoot at him in secondary range that's on you. You can just torp him when they're pushing. If you're playing a gun boat without torps your job is most likely to hunt enemy DDs, if it takes you that long to do and the enemy BB brawler manages to come in secondary range I don't know what you've been doing the first 5 mins of the game. Also secondaries are one of the only things a BB has against a DD, it's perfectly fine. Even when you manage to load he it's very rare you'll do more than 1/3rd of the DD hp anyways with the amount of inaccuracy and mobility of a DD. Sounds like a lot but when you have a 30 sec reload, 45 sec turret traverse and other ships shooting at you main guns aren't really an option vs DDs most of the time.

[@artiesarenoobs1372]

@@taserrr Based on you think that a brawling BB 'pushes in' and a gunboat DD's 'job' is to hunt other DDs and that's all there is in a match I don't think you are on a skill level to even understand the problem.

[@PsydenIII]

You say that she lacks secondaries, but you are neglecting the triple 155mm turrets. She does not have 8 turrets per broadside, she has 10, same as FDR and Pommern. Same class of guns, too. However, Japanese 100mm guns have 30mm of pen vs the 26mm of German 105mm guns. Granted, German 150mm guns get 38mm pen, because of German 1/4 pen, while Japanese 155mm only has 26mm pen, but that can be raised to 32mm with IFHE. Accuracy wise, FdG has a 291m Horizontal Dispersion vs Iwami's 228m vs 372m standard Japanese Battleships. The Iwami's 100mm guns fire faster than the German equivalent (3.0 base reload vs 3.2) and hit harder (1,700 vs 1,200), and have a 1% better fire chance. On the 6" guns, Iwami's 155mm guns hit for 900 points more damage (2,600 vs 1,700) and have a higher chance of fire (10% vs 8%), but fire slower (12.0s base reload vs 7.5s). Overall, I would say that she compares very well with the likes of FdG and Pommern, especially since she has better internal plating, which should help with FdR's penchant for eating weird cits.

[@TheRaithadean]

It's funny to me that WG would introduce a proclaimed brawler even as they seem to be trying to take brawling out of the game.

[@Ett.Gammalt.Bergtroll]

They don't play the game. They're too dumb to realize that they're killing brawling.

[@artic6015]

Thanks for the review. I will keep my coal for now.

[@saiyajinog7424]

I'm still playing Iwami as a secondary ship, I have Musashi, why should I play Iwami over it if not for the special gimmicks. I got it for coal, been a while since I could purchase a coal ship, because I got them all already, so I didn't loose out on anything either. I think it's a fun ship, sometimes you can push in sometimes you can't, but that's the case with all secondary BBs. But it's still more fun than playing it like an AP Yoshino with bigger guns.

[@Black-Rat]

I got her recently, too soon to be sure if I get along with her but it's already an ok ship, just don't take her to randoms because you'd get a beating for sure, in my case I already got almost all of the tier 9 currently in the Armory and don't want to spend a dime to WG's bank account and so I'm stuck with only taking ships from the Armory, the choices in the Armory with coal is pretty limited for ships... I'm not attracted for the Kearsarge and all that's left is the Carnot, and not sure if the Carnot would be my type.... Otherwise, there's just the USS Flint and the USS Hill.... And obviously, no tier 10 for me ever since the HMS Thunderer crisis, the Thunderer is my only tier 10 right now... So it's as it is, beggars can't be choosers as they say... Yeah I'm poor, so no, no money for WG out of me, not after everything ( just scandals related to WG ) that went by over the years At least I already had a few Japanese captains at 19 skill points avaible... Besides, I'm not really into competition type or stuff like that...

[@TheShopvac]

just got one for coal, had 700k sitting around doing nothing. Going full IFHE secondaries build, otherwise what's the point

[@TheShopvac]

Update: been playing it for the last 2 days full IFHE secondaries build and it's been actually good. The main guns are fairly accurate, the secs with IFHE pen pretty much everything and put out a good rate of fire. Torps aren't fantastic but they do hit hard. In ranked and convoy getting plenty of matches up around 170-180k, 3-5 kills, that kind of thing. Suffers from lack of hydro. You have to be good at anticipating torps. Without a full secondary build it would be the forgettable boat as reviewed in this video. With, it isn't OP, but it is usable and fun.

[@rebelsoldier8013]

Man I was rather hyped for this ship. Why does wargaming hate Japanese ships?

[@jacobstallcup8648]

You get hizen guns and shells they are slower and have lower Krupp than izumo they are the type 01 shells they lose pen at range like no other becuase they are a type 88 shell with a harder cap

[@stalkingtiger777]

She definitely sounds more like a tier viii than a tier ix. Especially with that secondary range. Just buy a Kobayashi Kii instead.

[@TheRaithadean]

And of course you need to take into account how it's going to fare against tier 10 and 11 since, at least from my experience lately, you are going to be uptiered alot.

[@dodgedaytona7435]

Screw that just get Mutsu at t6 lol. 16 inch guns yes, can build secondaries yes for her tier, torps yes fast reload ones at that, and can be used for operations

[@Frankon81]

@@TheRaithadean fun fact i 1v1 a Shliffen with Iwami without using torps. I just engaged him on my terms (under 10km) lost like 8-10k HP while i oblitarated him with guns and secondaries

[@phud78]

@@Frankon81 Plus you can destroy Schliffen through the bow...I've actually won some 1v1 with them too without my torps...

[@Frankon81]

@@phud78 yup. Thats why i said its not the brain dead brawler you need to pick your fights. Also got a 4 secondary kill today and i was just fooling around with it.

[@hughejass9461]

Great video as usual. This ship is an easy pass for me as it will get eaten alive by T10s, subs, cvs, and super ships in randoms.

[@khapho]

Iwami can be a good brawler (specially kiting brawler) it depends of situation So I like it, BTW im playing mostly japanese ship Im not a fan of yolo brawling

[@rayvaul3539]

Well that’s good to know. SLM can overlook things it seems. Edit: You want to play sometime?

[@papaversomniferum2365]

TBH it is a great ship - I never liked IJN BB line (hell, im playing WoWs since beta and i still have only tier VIII IJN BB) but i got Iwami from medium santa container and its giving me a lot of fun - "fire and forget" long range torps, amazing main guns with good angles and quite good secondaries and AA. Iwami ist just made to farm DMG and credits. Even that i liked Georgia she is no longer playable due to powercreep, Iwami is quite new so its nice in this meta. I havent seen Hizen for months in random battles, I've seen more Iwamis. And Kearsage sucks i completely disagree with you in that case. Kaersage is useless as CV and BB. Iwami is 7,5/10 on the other hand Kaersage is...4-5/10 max.

[@jabaited]

I'm ok with her, after 10 matches both Random and Rank, can't say she's super good but she seem easy enough to play

[@skultvlad]

Great ship!

[@SofaKingA]

Lol

[@halodesolate]

Thanks you for this review!!! I will continue to save my coal for Black. I was so excited for this ship but typical WG get everyone’s hopes up, makes something that could be great and turns it into a dumpster fire!!!!! Appreciate the hard work you put into this Sea lord!

[@Frankon81]

to be honest if you compare black to other t9 DD than he is even worst than Iwami ^^

[@i_nameless_i-jgsdf]

Idk man, i got it today and my first battle went better than expected. The fast turret traverse and accurate gun is nice.

[@Largeportion1000]

Its been buffed its now a good T9 BB

[@kaollachan]

well i guess it is a good thing i spend my coal on salem because i forgot this oen was going out XD

[@fredrikeriksson5199]

Looks like yoshima ;)

[@dezeekat]

I wouldn't even call Mutsu a good brawler. Dangerous one for sure cuz of torps but no real armor.. sad.. i still love it tho

[@barwasright]

it sucks...it needs one or more, better concealment OR better 2nd range OR better speed they gave it great 2nd and no way to get to use them well or often or without getting lit up

[@joshd6540]

Iwami feels like WG intended to make a brawler on a Hizen hull, but ended up at the conclusion that the hull (and speed) just wouldn't cut it, so halfway they slapped a few buffs to the main guns and switched the torps to long range ones. The result? A meh battleship with meme torps.

[@therecklesswarlock6439]

for once a ship that wargambling releases that needs buffs straight away

[@TwistedL9Productions]

AKA Wargaming pushing the narrative that they like brawling but then release a ship that's a pseudo brawler but you need to use it at range like all other BBs..

[@Krunari]

Thanks for saving me money

[@BubiBubison]

Not enough secondaries Third highest Secondary DPM, more than Rupprecht, behind Agincourt and Schlieffen. 30mm base pen on the small guns and the bigger ones get the boosted damage value of the ijn DDs. Georgia Dispersion. Not enough secondaries.

[@taserrr]

Low range for secondary ship tho, bit hard to use them when you've got shit armor and hp. The moment you get into 10km range this ship will take some heavy hits. Many ships can just pen her bow so bow tanking is not an option.

[@landochabod7]

@@taserrr The hp is on the high side for Tier 9 BBs. As for the armor, she's got standard 32 mm extremities and a 50 mm deck. The only ships that can pen her bow are Musashi/Yamato/Shikishima, Incomparable and the super-BBs. That's not "a lot", especially in Tier 9 matchmaking.

[@taserrr]

@@landochabod7 What? I thought like half the BBs at T9 and T10 could pen her bow?

[@landochabod7]

@@taserrr If you're talking about the Iwami, then no. You need 460mm guns to overmatch 32 mm of armor.

[@taserrr]

@@landochabod7 I see thanks

[@MartyInLa]

A slow, low armored Japanese battleship with not enough secondaries without enough range or armor, torpedoes with lousy firing arcs spotted from Mars and lousy protection, that's what you get when you sneak attack Port Arthur and sink the Russian fleet at Tsushima.

[@yourmamom]

It's just a copy/pasta Hizen that's better in most ways... Can they at least fix Hizen's potato 1.7sigma if it's only actual strength over Iwami is having more guns?

[@sardaukerlegion]

I'll keep my Georgia. 🤔

[@Vermilionleader]

YFW it has less AAA rating compared to the Kii. Still, the Kii is the king of Japanese premiums. I was kinda hyped about this Iwami, and it turned out to be a massive massive letdown. A true Japanese brawler would have sold very well just for the sake of cycling new premiums.

[@josephhuggins5394]

this ship has nothing going for it, why would any1 drop 70$ for this.

[@dachickenman281]

10.5

[@DVDFGlenCo]

Such a shame. I was hoping for a super Kii

[@distracting_games]

It looks like it is meant to kite away

[@kaiserchillhelm]

That's a safe skip

[@mikeconnor7394]

Ty for the content - I will pass on this ship I’m not very good in the Kii this looks like another kii - it seems like another “teaser” ship for a whale - hard pass great video!! Ty!

[@draken3793]

take a better look at the AA, it has kansas AA

[@arch_2076]

Personally this seems like a defensive brawler where people push into you and not an offensive brawler where you would push into them It has all the utility and stats to contribute to that too: Slow ish speed Only heal and damage con Long range torps Decent secondary range In other words it’s a passive brawler

[@Boonedale]

Your statement is interesting when you look at how the rear secendarys are positioned.

[@arch_2076]

@@Boonedale yeah I know the rear ones are questionably placed at best, I still primly believe that this ship is a passive brawler

[@Boonedale]

@@arch_2076 The layout suports that line of thinking. A rear guard.

[@johnnycage3668]

1st battleship for brawling???...................... sad Mutsu, Kii and Shikishima noises in the background.

[@issacfoster1113]

Ooof. What a disappointment.

[@historickeeper]

Waste of money fed up with WG dropping BS like this calling this a brawler is like calling a Midway a sub

[@ariliquin]

Lol, why waste the investment in staff and time to make something players wont invest in?

[@vibhanshumeshram658]

nice.. i think WG should bring smolensk back...

[@jaywerner8415]

I mean everyone would buy it. Much to everyones PAIN AND SUFFERING!

[@WestCoastInfluence]

i want my money back from this ship. or a huge buff

[@HughMorris69]

Come on folks, its WG here. Its going to be Supre hyped up and end up a total let down like everything else about thier game, just a polished spit shined turd at 50usd

[@landochabod7]

24:48 Lots of whining about the Hizen comparisons. Fewer guns, sure, we get it. But what about the much better reload, much better sigma, much better traverse, much better deck armor? Barely a mention until the end of the video. This ship is way better than the Hizen. Come on, man. "Get the Kii with the Kobayashi camo", which costs what? 60 dollars? This is a freemium, you can get her for coal. And the secondaries are fine: the range could be longer, but if you actually brawl you're likely to get closer than 10.5 km anyway.

[@sealordmountbatten]

Ok sure, we can drop the Hizen comparison. Even the Kii comparison. Just talking about coal ships. There are quite a few I would recommend before the Iwami. Pommern-One of the hands down best brawlers in game atm Kearsarge- Waaaayyyyy better at being a mid range battleship Sure the 50mm deck is nice and I did note it at the beginning of the video when going over her armor. But then she has a huge 32mm bow and upper side armor that can easily be farmed.