Kitakami - first or lasting impressions by general players

[Northern Nightowl]

Hello,

there are postings and threads out about CC, streamer or similar people commenting about the Kitakami. That shows for a lack of one point of view, this being the one from general players. That's why I wanted to share my impressions about this ship.

As I managed to get my hand one a specimen today (splurging through my resource stock), I tried her out in an asymmetric and a ranked battle so far. I think that I am a BB and DD player by trade, with my liking focused on stealth and torpedo-centric warfare on DD. Hence, I felt somewhat of an appeal for her.

There's a general point to note.

• You must be aware that the torpedo loading mechanic looks and feels similar to the loading mechanic of the Dutch airstrike, one launcher per loading stage / time period.

Then, my personal impressions so far:

• It's likely a necessity to have a dedicated commander to unleash the best of her potential. I tried out a 21pt guy that has a generic IJN cruiser skilling, but that didn't feel good. You won't be able to train cruiser commanders on her. Well, that's to be expected, given her technical outfitting.

This is my generic IJN cruiser skilling:

Spoiler

This is the current commander of my Kitakami. RPF is my personal quirk; I'll take Superintendent when it's available.

Spoiler

• I felt reminded of the driving behaviour of a Z-52 from the point of "sluggishness". While my Z-52 is not nimble at all for a DD, the Kitakami feels like being really eager to dance and actually comparable to the Z-52. The first cruiser that came into my mind as comparable on grounds of manoeuvrability is the De Grasse.
• The switching of torpedo types looks like a "good" design. You'll incur a penalty of 4 seconds on the loaded launchers but none on the launcher currently being reloaded.
• The stealth, when fitted out (that should be mandatory) is with 7,9km IIRC on-par with Kléber, Delny or Khabarovsk; a Marceau does have a 900m concealment advantage.

I can conclude that you'll have to use DD-fitting skills to play her; torpedo enthusiasts may/will get their fill. You may shine in games where there are no DD but you (my Ranked battle where I tried the Kitakami out was one of these DD-less games).

Regards, Nightowl