Azuma - Premium Ship Guide - Your_SAT_Score

[HogHammer]

Note: These guides are courtesy of Your_SAT_Score from the old forum and saved by request.

• The following is my review of the Tier 9 Premium Japanese "Large Cruiser". 
   
• Azuma's performance is current as of January 18, 2023 or patch 12.0. 
• Barring major changes, this guide should stay relevant throughout the future.

Summary: Azuma is the Japanese take on the large cruiser playstyle. There are no torps, but it gets powerful guns and a fast cooldown repair party.  

Note: I will use the term "Large Cruiser" to refer to ships with 283mm guns or larger classified in-game as cruisers. Examples include Azuma, Alaska, Stalingrad, etc. 
While this may not be historically accurate, this is done to avoid confusion with similar ships(i.e. Battlecruisers) that are considered battleships in-game. 

Note 2:  AL Azuma has an identical performance to her non-weeb sister ship, differing only by aesthetics. 

If you are concerned about my qualifications, as of writing this guide, my alt account holds the #1 NA leaderboard spot for AL Azuma with a 70% WR, 142k average damage, and 1.7 kills per game.  

Captain build and ship upgrades:

Recommended build: https://share.wowssb.com/t3B6

• Gun feeder - Faster switch to AP rounds to catch the occasional broadside cruiser
• Priority target - Good to know how many players want to farm you
• Adrenaline Rush - Free firepower for tanking damage. The faster reload becomes very useful in the mid-late game.
• Concealment expert - Better concealment = better ability to position. You don't want to be spotted broadside to a BB as well. 

Take the skill in the numbered order. This is the same captain build as the Japanese heavy cruiser tech tree line.  I strongly recommend at least a 10pt captain before you enter battle. I consider 10pts the bare minimum for the ship to function as advertised. 

Next skills are:

• Superintendent - +10k HP is powerful in the late game where most ships are close to dead. 
• Top Grade Gunner - -8% reload time is powerful, and not hard to activate. You don't have to actually fight at close range, an enemy behind a tall rock can also activate the skill, letting you farm his allies. 
• Grease the Gears- Helps offset Azuma's poor turret traverse. You can take this earlier if you constantly have issues getting guns on target
• Survivability expert - Buffs your HP so that it doesn't end with an awkward 50 HP. 

Spotter Plane build: https://share.wowssb.com/JyBQ

Alternative build for using spotter planes. 

For upgrades:

Slot 1: Main Battery Mod 1 -  Dead turrets means no firepower, which leads to great sadness. Spotter plane mod is a viable alternative if using the spotter plane build
Slot 2: Hydroacoustic Search Mod 1 - Extends your hydro duration, helpful for dodging torpedoes. Available in the armory for 17,000 coal. Damage control Mod 1 is a cheap alternative if you don't want to invest coal
Slot 3: Aiming System Mod 1 - Better accuracy = more hits, which leads to happier players. I don't recommend Main Battery Mod 2 for better turret traverse unless you are really struggling with turret management. 
Slot 4: Steering Gears Mod 1 - Makes her rudder somewhat more bearable. 
Slot 5: Concealment System Mod 1 - Concealment is better than steering in the long run. The ability to position closer is more important than better maneuverability
Slot 6: Main Battery Mod 3 - Azuma already has enough range, and the spotter plane is used during the few times she doesn't. 

Armor and survivability:

Spoiler

• - 58,350 HP pool
• - Citadel sits distressingly high above the water
• - 22% Torpedo belt protection
• - 60s fire duration

25mm bow/stern and 27mm deck armor is normal for a Tier 9 cruiser. 
She can bounce 381mm AP rounds off her side armor, but anything larger will punch through without issue. 
Being such a large ship with thin armor, she is a favorite target of HE spam. 
If she isn't careful, high DPM light cruisers and DDs will quickly burn her down. 
The 178mm belt armor is also thin by large cruiser standards, but at least better than a heavy cruiser. 

Apparently, the British and Japanese had an in-game arms race to design ships with the easiest-to-hit citadels. 
Fortunately, the Japanese took second place only because they remembered to armor their citadels.
This does Azuma little good as even an unlucky battleship will land a citadel if Azuma is showing broadside. 
The tapered citadel rear also works against her, catching unlucky citadels even when fully angled. 

On the bright side, her citadel roof armor will bounce practically any AP round. 
Aside from the random butt citadel (classic Japanese cruiser problem), Azuma shouldn't take citadel hits when properly angled. 
Aircraft AP bombs will ignore this, but that's a problem I will discuss in her anti-air section

Despite her citadel issues, Azuma is still a tanky cruiser. 
Her high HP pool lets her shrug off a torpedo or citadel hit that would cripple other cruisers. 
Fast reloading heal also gives her unexpectedly high survivability. 
Getting a 2nd heal off 40 seconds faster lets her both keep fighting for longer or lets her quickly return to the fight. 

Overall Azuma is very durable when played correctly.
Good players can prove an unkillable thorn on the enemy's flank, forcing several ships just to deal with her. 
However, if a battleship finds your broadside, that's a quick trip back to port. 

Don't show broadside and everything will be alright. Just spam repair party until the holes go away. 

Main Armament:

9x 305mm/50 Type 0 guns 
19.1km range
20s base reload
36s 180° turret traverse
Can fire 35° off bow, 30° off stern 

5100 HE shell damage
52mm HE pen
27% Fire chance
138k HE DPM

8650 AP shell damage
21mm overmatch
45-60° Ricochet angle        

AP pen:
0km    - 614mm
5km    - 509mm
10km    - 425mm
15km    - 361mm
20km    - 313mm

• - Dispersion is in between normal cruiser and battlecruiser dispersion
• - Fast shells, very similar to German BB shell speed

Azuma's guns are well-balanced combining battleship ballistics, Japanese accuracy and enhanced HE to create a formidable gun platform. 
The guns are very easy to aim and have good dispersion. I've been able to hit DDs reliably out to 15km, something only Moskva or Stalingrad can match. 
19.1km range is sufficient for most games, and she can use her spotter plane if additional range is needed. 
Her turret firing angles are optimized for kiting, letting her fire all her guns while being completely angled. 
However, her slow 36s turret traverse time makes it harder to switch targets or keep guns on target during hard turns. 
Forward arcs are also mediocre. Azuma risks her vulnerable citadel if she uses her back gun at closer range. 

HE is your primary ammo type, dealing consistently good damage to every target. 
52mm HE pen lets her damage all but the thickest deck armor. 
While 20s reload sounds slow, this actually works in favor of Azuma.
Since battleship DCP lasts up to 20s, Azuma's next salvo is naturally timed to hit just as it ends. 
You can rack up a lot of witherers and arsonists with just a few well-timed salvoes. 

Azuma AP is also good, though in practice it is not commonly used
She will reliably citadel broadside cruisers at all ranges and even most battleships under ~8km. 
Best of all, Azuma's AP will overmatch 16mm bow/stern armor found on some light cruisers. Azuma will easily demolish these cruisers with a good salvo or 2. 
However, the reason AP isn't used often is mostly because the long reload works against her. 
By the time you switch, the target may have already angled again, wasting a valuable salvo. 
That being said, you can preload AP if you are fighting certain light cruisers like Minotaur or if you are trying to catch a broadside cruiser by surprise. 

Overall Azuma is a powerful HE spamming cruiser, though with usable AP in specific situations. 
Anyone can find success with just HE spam, but good players will learn how to get the most out of her AP. 

Practically point and click aiming. Excellent HE overshadows her also good AP shells. 

Secondary Armament

8x Twin 100mm/65 guns
1700 HE damage
3s reload time
7km range
6% fire chance

• - Normal secondary dispersion

Your secondaries are mainly for show. 
They rarely deal any damage, assuming you even get close enough to use them. 
Just ignore they exist and be happy the one time they actually do something. 
If you want a secondary cruiser, buy a Napoli instead. 

Anti-Air Defense:

Flak:         6 inner + 2 outer
Long:        0.0km - 5.8km        207dps
Near:        0.0km - 2.5km        203dps

Azuma's flak and long-range AA is surprisingly good for a Japanese ship. 
Only Takahashi and Neptune have better long-range AA. 
A wall of 8 flak clouds can also pose (somewhat of) a challenge for less experienced players. 
When combined with AA from other ships, the wall of flak has a decent chance of stopping your average Tier 8 CV attack.
Note that I said average Tier 8 CV attack. Tier 10 and super-CVs will literally ignore your AA. 
Her close-range 25mm guns may as well not exist since they don't have any range. (just like irl)
DFAA does little to change the matchup. Unless the CV hits a flak cloud, the planes will strike you as normal. 
You will shoot down 1-2 extra planes, but this rarely makes a difference. 

Due to her large size and thin armor, she will take massive hits when the planes inevitably breakthrough your AA. 
Doesn't matter what ordinance they use; rockets, torps, and bombs will have no issues penetrating her 27mm armor. 
AP bombs are especially dangerous assuming RNG is against you. Tbh, just be glad that Malta cannot AP citadel you with her carpet bombers. 
BB maneuverability does her no favors as it makes it easy for enemies to line up their attacks. 

Overall any CV game is an Operation Ten-Go reenactment waiting to happen. 
Tier 9 MM also sucks as she can face 3 tiers of CVs. 2 of which see her as target practice
Your best chance for survival is to hug allied ships,  hope the enemy CV is busy on the other side, or pray the enemy CV is a paid actor.  

Azuma's AA is historically accurate. 😞

ASW Airstrikes 

Maximum Charges:                2
Number of DC per attack:     2
Damage:                                  4200
Reload time:                            30s
Range:                                      7km

Welcome to part 2 of hell. If unkillable planes doesn't sink you, then undodgeable torpedoes will. 
Homing torps will home onto the pinged section of the ship until they reach a certain distance from the ship.
At that point, they will continue straight, allowing the ship to dodge with some last-minute maneuvering. 
The bigger the ship class, the further out it will stop homing. Battleships have the largest "dead space" where the torpedo cannot home, destroyers have the smallest. Cruisers are firmly in the middle. 
Unfortunately, Azuma is considered a cruiser for this purpose, even though she has battleship maneuverability. 
If you are not already completely angled to torps, you will get hit even if hydro is active. 
Your DCP only lasts 5s, so the sub can immediately regain lock on so the torps will hit anyways. 
If that's not bad enough, subs can easily shotgun despite what some sources may state otherwise. 

As for hurting the sub itself. You only get 7km ASW while Tier 8 subs get 12.5km range torps. 
Even if you do hit your ASW, it does very poor damage. 
The only good thing Azuma has is her high HP pool. 
At least you can tank more hits before going down. 

In 99% of submarine engagements, your only good option is to run away. 
Not very fun nor engaging, but it's better than taking 50 sub torps up the aft. 

 Azuma is fish food for any sub that's not completely afk. 

Maneuverability:

34kt Max speed
920m Turning radius
13.9s Rudder shift

Azuma is surprisingly fast in a straight line, placing in the top quarter of Tier 9 cruisers for top speed. 
She can reposition quickly, whether pushing your strong flank or rotating to the other side.  

To balance her out, everything else about her maneuverability is awful.
920m and 14s rudder shift is battleship-level maneuverability. 
Not a fun time when you are trying to dodge islands or enemy attacks.
Instead, Azuma relies more on her bulk than dodging shells to survive fights. 

Concealment: 

Surface detection:     14.7km base    11.9km best
Aerial detection:         10.7km base    8.7km best 

In keeping with Japanese cruiser tradition, Azuma is very stealthy for her size. 
12km is just good enough to ambush most ships, whether it's a destroyer or a broadside cruiser. 
At that range, even DDs will struggle to dodge in time. 
You still need someone to spot, but a well-executed ambush can win the fight before it begins. 
If things go south, you can also use your concealment and speed to disengage. 

Her air detection isn't quite as good, so best avoid getting close in a CV match until you know where his planes are. 

Consumables:

Standard Cruiser Damage Control Party (DCP)

• 5s immunity period
• 60s reload

Standard Defensive AA (shares same slot as hydro)                          

• 4 base charges, 5 with superintendent           
• +50% continuous damage                                  
• +300% flak damage                                           
• 40s active time                                                     
• 80s reload time 

Standard Hydro (shares same slot as DFAA)

• 3 base charges, 4 with superintendent
• 5.0km surface detection
• 3.5km torpedo detection
• 100s active time
• 120s cooldown time

Spotter Plane                    

• 4 charges base                        
• +20% main gun range                    
• 100s active time                        
• 240s reload time

Fast cooldown Repair Party

• Heals 14-17% of total HP
• 4 charges, 5 with Superintendent (1 extra heal compared to other cruisers)
• 80s reload time

Azuma is one of the rare ships to use the fast cooldown repair party.
It heals the same amount as a standard repair party but has a cooldown of 40 seconds instead of the normal 80s.
This lets Azuma stay in the fight much longer than other cruisers as you can get 2 heals off instead of 1. 
With a bit of dodging, a well-played Azuma can kite almost indefinitely. Either farming enemies to death or forcing them to go somewhere else. 

Hydro is recommended over DFAA. Azuma maneuvers like a brick, so you need extra time to dodge torpedoes. 

Gameplay

Skill floor: Low

Easy to use guns on a decently protected hull. Her playstyle is simple to learn and works well with other kiting cruisers like Japanese CAs. 
The only reason it's not any lower is because of her citadel. 

Skill Ceiling: Low

95% of Azuma's gameplay is just farming. Not much else to learn except the occasional push
She also can't hard carry games due to her lack of utility. 

Randoms performance: Below Average - Average

Azuma is the Tier 9 Japanese large cruiser, available for 1 million free exp or 228k coal.
While has battleship-ish handling and firepower, she retains the core kiting cruiser playstyle of farming down enemy teams so her own team can push later. 
She plays best between 12-16km, giving her the optimal balance of firepower and survivability. 
Of course, she can play closer against weak enemies or sit further back if 3 enemy Satsumas are trying to farm dev strikes off a poor Tier 9 cruiser. 

Early Game

For her early game, position as close as possible to the enemy or cap before you start kiting, ideally about 10-12km from the enemy DD.
This way you are in position to snipe the enemy DD in the initial engagement.
A 10k salvo on a DD can win the fight before it even begins.
Enemy radar ships are also high priority, forcing them away will give your DDs much-needed breathing space so they can cap. 
Abuse your superior health and shell ballistics to outtrade the enemy. 
Don't be afraid to establish dominance early on. You have 5 heals to fall back on for mid and late game. 
Avoid aggressive maneuvers until you know where all the enemy ships are positioned. 
In the eventuality that your DD is actually a paid actor, just fall back to standard kiting tactics. 

Mid game:

Mid-game tactics is mostly a reaction to how the overall game is progressing. 
This falls under 3 general categories: Farm your side, farm the other side, or push your side. 
Ideally you would stay and continue to farm your side of the map. 
A large enemy push is the dream scenario; if it's just you and 3-4 ships, you will easily top the scoreboard with some good kiting. 
In more realistic matches, both sides will hunker down and just trade shots for the next 5-10 minutes.
Azuma is good at this role and can trade comfortably against most ships. The clear exception being superships. 

Always keep constant tabs on the enemy flank.
If the other side is collapsing, you may need to rotate back as soon as possible to kite the inevitable push. 
Your goal is to buy time so your flank can hopefully push through before getting surrounded. 
Sometimes after winning your flank, it is easier to rotate back through spawn rather than chase the enemy down. 
It depends on your position and where the enemy ships are likely to go, so the best choice varies from game to game. 

If you heavily win your side, you can actually push through the enemy spawn and out-flank them. 
Azuma can quickly get into position before farming enemy broadsides. 
This won't happen too often as this typically leads to blowout matches, ending the game before you can actually farm damage. 
Typical enemy reaction is also to run towards the nearest corner, also robbing you of your well-deserved stats 😞

Late game:

Hopefully, your win (or farm) is secured by the time the late game rolls around. 
There isn't any specific tactics for Azuma since the correct play is different for each game. 
That being said, Azuma's extra heal gives her a major HP advantage while other ships are close to death. 

The general idea is to secure the caps and pick off their weakened ships. 
Closer ships should take the caps and healthy ships to defend them. 
Running down enemy ship maybe necessary if you are behind on points. 

Ranked: Mediocre

Azuma isn't considered good in ranked mainly due to her limited utility.
A lack of radar means she cannot deal with DDs without support. 
The heavy T9 BB meta is also an issue as Azuma cannot push into them. 
Still, she performs well in the kiting role and even 1 good salvo can nuke the DD and win the game. 
Farming damage can also save your star, but remember you can't rank out by saving stars. 

Play Donskoi or Alaska and your teammates (and karma) will thank you for it.

Other Useful tips: 

Getting close in the early game:

Aggressive early-game positioning is important for supporting your DDs and keeping enemies off the cap. 
If you haven't already, turn on ship detection radius on the minimap. We will use this to check our position to avoid getting too close. 
There are a few ways to safely get close:

For domination games, you can use the cap as a reference point.
Turn out just before your detection radius covers the other side of the cap. 
If done correctly, this positions you perfectly to shoot into the cap while a small buffer acts as a warning when the enemy DD tries contesting. See the example below:

You can also use islands to get closer, turning out just as you approach the island. 
This way you start the fight in a kited position while you cover your DD taking the cap. 
Any DD will find it difficult to dodge an Azuma salvo under 10km. 

If you are supporting a DD in open water, use him as an early warning system. 
Stay approximately 6-7km behind him. This way the enemy DD will spot you and your DD at the same time, achieving maximum surprise with your first salvo. 
Ideally get into kiting position just before the shells start flying. 

Finally, the last technique is to simply use the middle of the map as the reference point. 
Even suicidal DDs won't get far enough to spot you before making the turn. 
Not as ideal as the previous methods, but it's better than getting too aggressive and getting dev struck trying to turn out. 

General kiting rules:

(Useful for all ships, especially kiting cruisers like Zao)
The goal of kiting is to bout outtrade the enemy and slow his push. 
It's like holding the high ground, making it harder for enemies to hit you while you have an easier time hitting in return. 
However, this comes at the cost of giving up space. 
Oftentimes it's a cap, but it can be a valuable chokepoint or even allow the enemy to flank your team. 
A good kiting position is one that best balances survivability and damage output while forcing enemies away from their next objective. 

Azuma kites best at roughly 12-16km from the enemy. 
Closer to 12km is fine for same-tier or lower ships, but 15+ km might be necessary against powerful high-tier ships like Des Moines or Satsuma or against an overwhelming force. 
You also may need to open the distance if a DD is spotting you unopposed. 
Either way, your goal is to draw enemies away from the rest of your team. 
This is done by threatening a crossfire. If the enemy goes for the objective, then you can shoot AP into their valuable broadsides, forcing them to send a few ships to deal with you. 
Distracting 2-3 enemies can have a decisive impact as your team deals with less enemies. 

Pushing:

While Azuma is not a strong pushing cruiser, she can still push against 1 or 2 ships (not including battleships). 
Healthy BBs will survive long enough to kill you via overmatching your bow, but Azuma usually wins against a cruiser or DD. 
Ideally have an allied BB tank for you, but don't be afraid to use your own HP. 
Using the back gun is risky at close range due to mediocre forward firing angles, slow rudder, and high citadel. 
I don't recommend using the back gun under 8km unless you absolutely need to finish off the enemy or it's a DD/CL. 
The faster you finish off the enemy, the sooner you can help your other flank. 

Optimizing damage against multiple ships

(Works better with faster-firing cruisers, but can also apply to Azuma)

The idea is to juggle fire damage between multiple ships, earning you witherer and/or arsonists in the process. 

Lighting a fire usually causes the average BB player to immediately use DCP. 
Since most battleship DCPs last 15s, your next salvo will be ready by the time his immunity period ends. 
US Battleships have 20s immunity period, so wait a few extra seconds before shooting. 
With a bit of luck, your next salvo should light a perma-fire on him. 
You can then move on to the next victim while you rack up free fire damage

Smarter players will hold their DCP, choosing to burn on 1 fire instead of risking getting lit on 2 or 3 fires. 
In this case, just let the 1 fire burn while you shoot someone else. 
With luck, you can get multiple fires running on different ships. 
When one fire burns out, you can switch focus and relight the fire. 

Keep in mind Azuma deals most of her damage through raw penetration hits, not fires. 
It is also often better to focus on 1 target so you can completely remove that threat. 

Target selection:

(Applies to all ships)
Generally speaking, DDs and cruisers are your priority targets. 
DDs rarely get spotted, so any good salvo should be taken when possible. 
Radar cruisers are high priority as DDs hate them. Their general lack of mobility and/or durability also makes them easier targets than other cruisers. 

Battleships are great for farming, but aren't an immediate threat unless they yolo in. 
More important to note their position and avoid showing your broadside to them. 

Pre-aiming the guns: 

(Also applies to battleships)

Azuma guns turn slowly, so it is important to have guns on target before the fight starts. 
When turning to kite, lock your guns to the side pointing to the enemy.
This can be done by holding the right mouse button or Shift + X. 
If an important target pops up, rudder can turn the ship and get your guns on faster. 
Just try not to show broadside to a waiting BB in the process. 

Playing in CV games:

While CV games are not fun for most ships, Azuma hates being a damage pinata for even the most potato CV player. 
Play more passively at the start until you know where the CV has spawned. 
If he is on the other side, then you can play normally for a while. CVs usually focus on their side of the map. 

If you are unlucky and you have the CV side, then turn out before you get plane spotted. 
You will probably be fighting at max gun range, so focus on farming enemy BBs and cruisers. 
Range is important here. if the CV attacks you, then you have room to maneuver. 
Immediately start running get as far away from enemy surface ships as possible. 
This way you can completely focus on dodging the CV. 
Showing broadside is less of a concern as range gives you time to dodge, or let dispersion hopefully save you. 
When done correctly, you can mitigate most of the damage while wasting the enemy CV's time. 

Abusing Adrenaline Rush (AR):

AR is extremely useful for Azuma, reducing her reload to more manageable levels. 
This is best done by letting a fire burn as fire damage is 100% repairable.
Of course, this means you will take more focus fire, but her fast heals can offset this to an extent. 
Deciding between survivability and firepower is heavily dependent on how much firepower you expect to face.

As a general rule, always save your last heal until you are under ~7k HP. And use it once you are getting shot at. 
This maximizes the benefits of AR while providing the same amount of survivability. 
Cunning captains can also use this trick to bait out "finishing" shots from low-health ships.

Not all games are winnable: 

Probably the most important tip. 

You will get unwinnable games from time to time. Even the best players with the most try-hard divisions cannot win 100% of their games. 
At the end of the day, World of Warships is a game designed for entertainment (and farming whales for profit)
If WoWs is making you miserable, it's time to take a break.
Get up, walk around, do something productive. Anything to get your mind off of WoWs. 
You can always come back later. 

Final Thoughts: 

Recommended for:

• Japanese captain training
• Consistent credit farming
• Easy to play ship
• Weebs (AL Azuma)

Not recommended for:

• For players wanting high-performance ships, many Tier 10 coal are better choices
• Interesting or unique playstyle. Many other coal ships offer better variety for gameplay. Kearsarge, Tromp to name a few examples
• Fast-paced gameplay - Destroyers are better choices (not Z-44; she is still bad)

Azuma is a good Tier 9 premium for newer players seeing to fund their high-tier tech tree grinds. 
Not only is she easy to play, but she also requires minimal resources to function. A 10pt captain and ship upgrades are all you need. Maybe a heal signal if you are trying hard. 
Because of this, she also doubles as a captain retrainer when grinding up the Japanese tech tree lines. 
For experienced players, she can be a relaxing ship to play. Perfect for days when you want high-damage games without much effort. 
Still, Azuma is an expensive investment. I strongly recommend researching other Tier 9 and 10 ships before you decide on your purchase. 

Since players will inevitably compare Azuma to Yoshino, I will give my opinion here. 
Personally, I find Azuma better tier for tier.  Her fast reloading heal will save her in many situations that would kill Yoshino. 
Yoshino does get 30mm side armor and 20km torpedoes, but the 20km torps aren't very useful. They tend to bait inexperienced players into giving out free citadels instead. 
The 30mm armor may bounce 406mm/420mm guns, but T10 sees a lot of overmatching 431mm+ AP shells being thrown around. It's not really an advantage once you factor in tier difference. 
Of course, Yoshino still beats Azuma in overall performance. But unless the matchmaking Gods punish you with superships in every match, then Azuma wins due to more favorable matches. 
However, if you have one, then there is no rush to get the other. Their playstyle is 95% the same, 5% being the torpedoes (that will miss anyways). 

Overall, Azuma is a decent, though underrated ship. 
Though I was satisfied with her gameplay, most players will find her playstyle boring and one-dimensional. 
She is very consistent, sometimes too consistent, as she does the same thing every game. 
Azuma can't make game-changing plays like a radar cruiser, nor can she land devastating strikes like a battleship or a torpedo salvo can. 
Instead, Azuma wins games through attrition, farming enemies out until they are no longer a threat. 
Successful players will apply constant pressure, setting up their team to win the late game.

Sources used

https://app.wowssb.com/

- Used for all relevant ship parameters. I highly recommend using them to test-build your ships before investing points into your captain. 

https://shiptool.st/

- Used for ship comparisons

World of Warships armor viewer

- Used to show how vulnerable Azuma's citadel is

As this is my first ship guide, feedback is welcome so future articles will be of higher quality.