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IJN Suzuya

A ship that fairly easy to learn and is similarly easy to be destroyed
Captn_Thatch

Suzuya

  • Witherer
  • Kiter
  • Stealthy

Scope:

This review encompasses Suzuya, one of the more recent campaign ships which represents one of the earlier versions of the Mogami-Class with her coveted 15x155mm battery. Currently v 0.3.9.0.4, the review comes on the heels of other cruiser reviews, culminating in a review of Mainz (she's up next!) upon completion of her Origin of Wisdom Campaign. Suzuya is a GREAT ship, with a MODERATE skill floor and an EXTREME skill ceiling.

The ship is currently unavailable.

Rating Matrix:

  • [BAD, WEAK, AVERAGE, GOOD, GREAT]
  • {LOW, MODERATE, HIGH, EXTREME}

History:

Suzuya was launched in November 1934, at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. The ship was named after the Suzuya River and was planned as the third of four Mogami Class Cruisers. The Mogami Class was significant departure from the norms of Japanese ship building of the era, in the terms that the design had several notable changes as she was built to the absolute limit of the Washington Naval Treaty. Key departures from the norm saw changes to the relative armor design, incorporation of twin rudders, and 4 propeller shafts to improve her speed and handling capabilities: and using a singular smokestack, aluminum superstructure and electric welding in an effort to save weight on an already top-heavy design.

Originally kit with dual purpose 15.5cm main battery focused in 5-triple turrets, the design was intentionally built around quickly upgrading the ship from 15.5cm/60 3^(rd) Year Type Naval Guns to 20cm/50 3^(rd) Year Type Naval Guns at the outbreak of war, which were mounted in twin turrets and were noted to be the heaviest gun of any cruiser at the time. The design included 8x12.7cm/40 Type 89 Naval Guns mounted in 4 dual turrets, and 4-triple torpedo turrets, with a pair per side amidships which was capable of firing the notorious 610mm Type 93 Oxygen Torpedo.

Immediately on completion in 1936, Suzuya was placed in reserve to correct the issues found during Mogami's sea trials. An expensive but complete refit saw her welding issues corrected, her hull weight reduced and the addition of torpedo bulges in an effort to reduce weight and improve stability. All four Mogami Sisters underwent these refits, as upon release the design was plagued with mechanical issues of new and untested equipment. Upon completion, the design with its very high speed was considered one of the strongest during World War 2. During the war, she was periodically upgraded by adding more small caliber AA guns.

Suzuya and her sisters saw plenty of action during the war and was directly involved in a number of battles including Philippine Sea, Midway, and numerous operations in the Solomon Islands. Suzuya met her fate in the Battle of Samar, October 25, 1944, when a near-miss from an American Strike Aircraft caused her Number 1 Torpedo Tubes to detonate, causing uncontrollable fires, damaging her engine rooms and her boilers. The ship was abandoned about an hour after, sinking some 2 hours later. Her wreck has never been found and is believed to be among the deepest of ships wrecks, resting somewhere under 8Km (27,000ft) of water.

Strengths:

  • Excellent Torpedoes
  • Excellent Gunnery
  • Great Concealment
  • Agile
  • Witherer

Weaknesses:

  • Weak Armor
  • Boxy Armor
  • Low EHP
  • Abysmal AA
  • Polarized

The Basics:

Suzuya is exceptionally good at one thing, withering. Her defense is rather questionable, while being excellent at performing defensive tactics. Suzuya is delightfully polarized behind her unorthodox ratings, but don't let this hold you back. Suzuya may be frail and susceptible to damage and is generally poor at mitigating this, however, she has among the highest damage potential in her tier. Suzuya is polarized in the sense that her best defense is a stunning offense.

Safer at range, Suzuya embodies the 'Witherer' playstyle, and as a pleasant separation from Mogami, better concealment allowing for Suzuya to dab her toes into the 'Strike, Kill, Vanish' tactic. However, as a departure from the refined armor of Atago, Suzuya is 'boxier', weaker armored, and more liable to be punished for errors in judgement than her competition. Aircraft represent another massive and existential threat to your existence. Suzuya lives dangerously on the cusp of 'kill or be killed' all while burning the world to ash.

Offense:

  • Excellent

Right off the bat, I'm going to stray slightly from the norm in the sense that Suzuya receives the unique rating of Excellent. After a brief explanation, this will become apparent why, and will likely be driven into the ground with more ferocity than an oil drill. This weapons system excels so heavily, it nearly dwarfs the others potential found in the tier.

Best?

-Eh, no, but the argument is there.

That's a very heavy title to earn under this metric. There is no such thing as a perfect rating under this metric, its design is to expose differences and weaknesses to expound upon them in comparison. Nothing is perfect. Suzuya might be as close as it gets, and for now, I'm going to save it. Suzuya has some offensive drawbacks, but they are very few and far between. Comparing weapons systems, Suzuya brought a fully loaded cutlery block to a random street knife fight.

Let's tee up the gunnery, then the torpedoes, and a brief recap.

Stock Main Battery Range

  • Sigfried: 17.1
  • *Riga: 16.1
  • Bagration: 16
  • Chapayev: 16
  • Kutuzov: 16
  • Hipper: 15.8
  • Martel: 15.8
  • Azuma: 15.8
  • P. Eugen: 15.8
  • Mainz: 15.8
  • Ochakov: 15.5
  • Baltimore: 15.5
  • AL Balti: 15.5
  • Wichita: 15.5
  • Albemarle: 15.5
  • Amalfi: 15.4
  • Mogami: 15.3
  • Suzuya: 15.3
  • Edinburgh: 15.3
  • Cleveland: 15.3
  • Atago: 14.7

At first blush, this looks worse than it is. As previously said, this cruiser meta and range is just so slightly bell-curved where the difference between good and bad is less than a full km. Technically, Suzuya is below average by a mere 200m, take that as you will.

HE Alpha Strike

  • Azuma: 4500
  • Sigfried: 4400
  • Albemarle: 3300
  • Atago: 3300
  • Mogami: 3300
  • Amalfi: 3100
  • *Riga: 3050
  • Baltimore: 3000
  • Martel: 2800
  • AL Balti: 2800
  • Wichita: 2800
  • Hipper: 2700
  • Suzuya: 2700
  • Bagration: 2500
  • P. Eugen: 2500
  • Chapayev: 2300
  • Cleveland: 2300
  • Kutuzov: 2200
  • Ochakov: 2200
  • Mainz: 1700
  • Edinburgh: 0

This is another taste of the at first blush...this number looks worse than it is, the average is 2750 for CL/CAs (150mm-203mm), not including the BC's. (283mm+) 2700 is strong, considering Suzuya fires 155mm.

HE Broadside Weight

  • Azuma: 40,500
  • Suzuya: 40,500
  • Mogami: 33,000
  • Atago: 33,000
  • Albemarle: 27,900
  • Amalfi: 27,900
  • Chapayev: 27,600
  • Cleveland: 27,600
  • Riga: 27,450
  • Baltimore: 27,000
  • Sigfried: 26,400
  • Kutuzov: 26,400
  • Martel: 25,200
  • AL Balti: 25,200
  • Wichita: 25,200
  • Bagration: 22,500
  • Hipper: 21,600
  • P. Eugen: 20,000
  • Mainz: 20,400
  • Ochakov: 17,600
  • Edinburgh: 0

...and this is why. Suzuya is allowed to take mediocre stats in some categories simply because she carries a full 3-5 guns more than most of her competitors. 40.5k HE Alpha strike tops the card with Azuma, the difference, Suzuya follows that salvo up after just 10s, over tripling Azuma's shell count per minute.

Kit Shells per Minute

  • Cleveland: 126
  • Mainz: 120
  • Edinburgh: 109
  • Kutuzov: 102
  • Suzuya: 90
  • Chapayev: 90
  • Ochakov: 82
  • AL Balti: 55.6
  • Martel: 54
  • Wichita: 54
  • Baltimore: 50.9
  • Bagration: 49
  • Hipper: 47.5
  • Albemarle: 43.2
  • Atago: 42
  • Mogami: 40
  • Amalfi: 38.2
  • P. Eugen: 36.9
  • *Riga: 34.8
  • Azuma: 23.5
  • Sigfried: 14

90/min with no effort built into her DPM whatsoever. 10s for firing 15 guns is not bad at all, especially considering this turns out to be one of the hardest HE punches in her class/tier.

  1. Ships equipped for DPM: Edinburgh, Azuma, Hipper, Atago, Cleveland, AL Baltimore, Kutuzov.
  2. Ships equipped for Range: Baltimore, Mogami, Suzuya, Albemarle, Mainz, Eugen, Martel, Chapayev, Riga, Amalfi, Bagration.
  3. Equipment only, no commander skills.

Fire Chance %

  • Sigfried: 34
  • Azuma: 27
  • Albemarle: 17
  • Atago: 17
  • Mogami: 17
  • Amalfi: 15
  • Martel: 15
  • *Riga: 14
  • Baltimore: 14
  • AL Balti: 14
  • Wichita: 14
  • Cleveland: 13
  • P. Eugen: 13
  • Hipper: 13
  • Bagration: 13
  • Chapayev: 12
  • Kutuzov: 12
  • Ochakov: 12
  • Suzuya: 11
  • Mainz: 8
  • Edinburgh: 0

11% is another at first blush, and though it may be third from the bottom, Suzuya actually has one of the better fire/salvo chances, again this is coupled with 15 shells, and on its own would almost certainly be a weakness. Simply put, this number is almost a falsity, as commander skills and high shells/min count pushes Suzuya into the upper echelons of fire-starting potential.

Ballistics:

  • ~925m/s Muzzle Velocity
  • Standard CA/CL Dispersion
  • 1.85 Sigma
  • Average Shell Drag
  • Above Average Shell Weight
  • 25mm Effective HE Penetration

Suzuya has some pretty good ballistics, good enough we can take second to dissect them. This is a ship that likes to live at long ranges, and as such having an above average muzzle velocity and drag values that aren't noticeable until 10km, shells that have enough weight to carry their trajectory well without slowing them down and has the standard cruiser dispersion.

This is a long-winded and technical way of saying that Suzuya has guns that comfortably facilitate successful long-range engagements.

Torpedo Alpha Strike

  • Chapayev: 17,933
  • Mogami: 17,233
  • Suzuya: 17,233
  • Martel: 15,833
  • Edinburgh: 15,533
  • Albemarle: 15,533
  • Atago: 15,300
  • Ochakov: 15,100
  • Kutuzov: 14,400
  • Bagration: 14,400
  • Sigfried: 13,700
  • P. Eugen: 13,700
  • Mainz: 13,700
  • Hipper: 13,700
  • Amalfi: 12,667
  • Azuma: 0
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • *Riga: 0

In terms of alpha strike, not too bad. Kutuzov carries 10 torpedoes, 5 per side.

Stock Torpedo Range

  • Amalfi: 12
  • Mogami: 11
  • Suzuya: 11
  • Edinburgh: 10
  • Albemarle: 10
  • Martel: 10
  • Atago: 8
  • Kutuzov: 8
  • Ochakov: 8
  • Bagration: 8
  • P. Eugen: 8
  • Mainz: 6
  • Hipper: 6
  • Sigfried: 6
  • Chapayev: 4
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • Azuma: 0
  • *Riga: 0

This is one unsung area here. This 11km range is well passed her detection ring, which allows Suzuya to effectively stealth torp from range.

Torpedo Broadside Weight

  • Mogami: 137,864
  • Suzuya: 137,864
  • Atago: 122,400
  • Mainz: 109,600
  • P. Eugen: 82,200
  • Hipper: 82,200
  • Ochakov: 75,500
  • Kutuzov: 72,000
  • Bagration: 72,000
  • Edinburgh: 62,132
  • Albemarle: 62,132
  • Sigfried: 54,800
  • Chapayev: 53,799
  • Amalfi: 50,668
  • Martel: 47,499
  • Azuma: 0
  • Baltimore: 0
  • Cleveland: 0
  • AL Balti: 0
  • Wichita: 0
  • *Riga: 0

Summarily, Suzuya is extremely capable. This is a ship that is capable of outright handling ships her size, slightly larger, and smaller. Anything larger, Suzuya is quite capable of both drowning in torpedoes and smothering in fires. A well placed HE salvo has been known to Dev Strike Destroyers, just as well as a well-placed torpedo salvo. Suzuya is inarguably complimented by one of the strongest offensive weapons systems in her tier. Very few ships possess this capability to deal with such a wide array of surface threats.

Defense:

  • WEAK

Unlike the previous category, this one rank hits rather dreadfully. Simply put, Suzuya is weak defensively, employing her vast offensive resources into cunning defensive strategies, while herself being quite atrocious at mitigating incoming damage. Lacking any sort of radar consumable, Suzuya is grossly unable to contest key areas until late in the match.

Base Health Pool

  • Sigfried: 55,500
  • Azuma: 52,500
  • P. Eugen: 45,000
  • Hipper: 43,800
  • Amalfi: 42,800
  • **Mainz: 42,500
  • Baltimore: 42,400
  • AL Balti: 42,400
  • Bagration: 42,000
  • *Riga: 42,000
  • Kutuzov: 40,700
  • Atago: 40,100
  • Albemarle: 39,400
  • Mogami: 39,100
  • Suzuya: 38,000
  • Martel: 38,000
  • Wichita: 37,900
  • Chapayev: 37,000
  • Cleveland: 36,900
  • Edinburgh: 36,400
  • Ochakov: 34,730

38k is not atrocious, in terms of a CL, however, this is not great by any margins either. This number reels in a below average mark.

Effective Health Pool

  • Azuma: 86,184
  • Sigfried: 73,980
  • Albemarle: 70,880
  • Baltimore: 65,624
  • AL Balti: 65,624
  • Edinburgh: 65,480
  • Amalfi: 60,692
  • P. Eugen: 60,120
  • Hipper: 58,472
  • **Mainz: 56,780
  • Bagration: 56,112
  • *Riga: 56,112
  • Atago: 54,440
  • Kutuzov: 54,364
  • Mogami: 52,204
  • Chapayev: 51,504
  • Suzuya: 50,768
  • Wichita: 50,612
  • Martel: 48,584
  • Cleveland: 47,204
  • Ochakov: 46,378

The above list sheds some more light into just how pale Suzuya ranks in terms of mitigating damage. 50.7k EHP is quite pale overall and just clings to a below average rating whilst narrowly dodging a weak rank.

Armor Layout:

  • 25mm plating, bow, stern, amidships, freeboard.
  • 30mm auxiliary room plating
  • 140mm armor at the belt, abutting the citadel, 65mm along the cheek.
  • 40mm Citadel Deck, 60mm Deck Slopes,
  • Ginormous, Above-Water Citadel.

This armor generally rules out Suzuya on the approach. Suzuya features the same 30mm Auxiliary plating found on Mogami, which is generally the perfect place for a large shell to normalize right down into this huge vulnerable citadel. What's even worse, Suzuya has sloped citadel deck armor which allows for near optimal penetration angles for normalized shells coming through the auxiliary rooms. Thus, Suzuya is generally relegated to the outside portions of the battle looking in. Open water gun-boating is Suzuya's forte, in the sense that she is excellent at dancing around incoming fire.

Statistically speaking, this relies heavily on the individual captain's skills rather than numerical qualifications. Overall, while Suzuya is nimble, she is quite poorly armored, and lacks any hint of anti-air. This paints a very vivid picture of Suzuya in such a way that leaves her wanting in terms of damage mitigation. Her sole form of disengaging rests on either killing her opponent or running away. Suzuya's defense is best described as a no-fail offense.

Anti-Air Suite:

  • WEAK

This category is another nail in the coffin that seals Suzuya's fate.

Anti-Air Suite Average Damage per Second

  • Baltimore: 365
  • AL Balti: 365
  • Cleveland: 363
  • **Mainz: 357
  • Sigfried: 354
  • Azuma: 342
  • Hipper: 288
  • Bagration: 280
  • P. Eugen: 279
  • Kutuzov: 264
  • Edinburgh: 263
  • *Riga: 262
  • Amalfi: 240
  • Wichita: 217
  • Albemarle: 211
  • Chapayev: 207
  • Martel: 204
  • Ochakov: 196
  • Mogami: 127
  • Atago: 90
  • Suzuya: 67

Worst in class. Suzuya will fall prey to Aircraft as she is out-performed here by even some destroyers.

Maneuverability:

  • GREAT

Suzuya has some pretty excellent handling characteristics that are worth pointing out from the usual trifecta found in this column.

Max Base Speed

  • Amalfi: 38.1
  • Ochakov: 36
  • Chapayev: 35.5
  • Atago: 35.5
  • Bagration: 35.5
  • Azuma: 35*
  • Riga: 34.5
  • Mogami: 34.5
  • Suzuya: 34.5
  • Martel: 33.5
  • Sigfried: 33.5
  • Wichita: 33.5
  • Mainz: 33
  • Albemarle: 33
  • Cleveland: 33
  • Kutuzov: 33
  • Edinburgh: 32.5
  • Baltimore: 32.5
  • AL Balti: 32.5
  • P. Eugen: 32
  • Hipper: 32

34.5 isn't so fast that you're pulling away from a very tightly contested pack, but it is worth pointing out that it is somewhat faster than the rest.

Turn Radius (m)

  • Azuma: 920
  • *Riga: 920
  • Bagration: 890
  • Chapayev: 890
  • Sigfried: 880
  • Atago: 790
  • P. Eugen: 770
  • Kutuzov: 760
  • Mogami: 750
  • Suzuya: 750
  • Ochakov: 750
  • Hipper: 740
  • Baltimore: 730
  • AL Balti: 730
  • *Mainz: 720
  • Albemarle: 720
  • Martel: 690
  • Edinburgh: 680
  • Amalfi: 680
  • Wichita: 680
  • Cleveland: 660

750m is on the worse side of average. This number is workable and is not super egregious.

Stock Rudder Shift (s)

  • Sigfried: 14
  • Azuma: 12.3
  • *Riga: 11.5
  • Amalfi: 11
  • Albemarle: 10.7
  • Bagration: 10.5
  • Mainz: 10.5
  • P. Eugen: 9.8
  • Hipper: 9.7
  • Martel: 8.9
  • Chapayev: 8.7
  • Edinburgh: 8.6
  • Atago: 8.1
  • Ochakov: 7.4
  • Cleveland: 7.2
  • Baltimore: 7
  • AL Balti: 7
  • Kutuzov: 6.5
  • Mogami: 6.4
  • Wichita: 6
  • Suzuya: 5.6

Some destroyers have worse rudder shifts. No, seriously. This number makes Suzuya wonderfully nimble on its face value, without any skills or equipment used to better it in any way. This short turn time hurls Suzuya into the upper echelons of maneuverability simply because this allows her to be phenomenally effective at evasive maneuvers. Above average speed, below average turn radius, and an exceptional rudder shift hurl Suzuya up into the great range. Simply put, these numbers are effective enough on their own that this allows Suzuya to spend her improving energy elsewhere.

Concealment:

  • GREAT

Flat out, Suzuya ranks very well here.

Surface Concealment

  • *Riga: 13.1
  • Chapayev: 12.9
  • Kutuzov: 12
  • Sigfried: 11.8
  • P. Eugen: 11.7
  • **Mainz: 11.8
  • Hipper: 11.6
  • Martel: 11.6
  • Ochakov: 11.4
  • Cleveland: 11.3
  • Mogami: 11.1
  • Azuma: 10.9
  • Albemarle: 10.9
  • Bagration: 10.8
  • Edinburgh: 10.8
  • Atago: 10.6
  • Baltimore: 10.5
  • AL Balti: 10.5
  • Wichita: 10.4
  • Suzuya: 10.2
  • Amalfi: 9.2

This is one of the areas where Suzuya represents a more dramatic shift from sister Mogami. 10.2km conceal before commander skills leaves Suzuya with a healthy margin to work with leaving her capable of utilizing other inspirations.

Air Concealment

  • *Riga: 8.2
  • Sigfried: 8
  • Kutuzov: 7.8
  • Chapayev: 7.7
  • Ochakov: 7.5
  • Bagration: 7.5
  • P. Eugen: 7.4
  • **Mainz: 7.4
  • Hipper: 7.3
  • Martel: 7.3
  • Azuma: 6.9
  • Baltimore: 6.8
  • Cleveland: 6.8
  • AL Balti: 6.8
  • Atago: 6.6
  • Mogami: 6.6
  • Suzuya: 6.6
  • Edinburgh: 6.5
  • Albemarle: 6.5
  • Wichita: 6.5
  • Amalfi: 5.8

6.6km air spotting helps dent the otherwise useless statistic that represents Suzuya's Anti-Aircraft Suite. Suzuya's surface concealment is a blessing to the likes of which allows her to take a comfortable berth of inspirations.

Consumables:

  • AVERAGE

Suzuya is loaded with a fairly average consumable load out consisting of the typical Repair Party, Patrol Fighters and the cookie cutter sonar. Suzuya has access to all the basic tools of her class/tier. Let's tee off the heal first, then work through the rest.

Repair Party Values

  • Albemarle: (35,000)
  • Azuma: (33,684)
  • Edinburgh: (29,080)
  • Sigfried: (18,480)
  • P. Eugen: (15,120)
  • Hipper: (14,672)
  • Chapayev: (14,504)
  • Mainz: (14,280)
  • Baltimore: (14,224)
  • AL Balti: (14,224)
  • *Riga: (14,112)
  • Bagration: (14,112)
  • Kutuzov: (13,664)
  • Atago: 240/s 28s. 60sr x2~~ (13,440)
  • Mogami: 234/s 28s. 60sr x2~~ (13,104)
  • Suzuya: 228/s 28s. 60sr x2~~ (12,768)
  • Wichita: (12,712)
  • Amalfi: (11,928)
  • Ochakov: (11,648)
  • Cleveland: (10,304)
  • Martel: (10,080)

This heal is subpar, no other way around it. Suzuya has near stellar offensive marks, but then abysmal defensive ratings. Subpar heal ties into her subpar defensive ratings.

Akin to the other Imperial Japanese Cruisers, Suzuya comes with an extra charge of the patrol fighters consumable. Features the same 100s duration, with 80s reload. The perk here is this comes with 3 base charges.

Suzuya is equipped with the standard 3.3/4.4km hydroacoustic search that is found on every cruiser in this tier except Amalfi. Comes standard with a 96s duration and 180s reload and a pair of charges.

Commanders:

AL Atago: AL Atago in Suzuya creates the ideal Witherer build. Pair with Kuznetsov's Follow the Sun (+6% Gun Range) and Mikawa's Clandestine (-6% Concealment). This creates a well-rounded Witherer Playstyle catering to 18.7km reach, 9s reload, 19% Fire Chance. Coupled with a 9.9km concealment ring and a top speed of 35.5, and rudder shift of 4.5s this is one nasty build. Don't get shot.

  • Death from Below: -200m Torpedo Concealment
  • Beyond Range: +10% Gun Range
  • Arsonist: +8% Fire Chance, +10% HE Alpha, +10% Incoming Damage
  • Sponge: -5% Incoming Damage, +15% Armaments HP, -15% Armaments Repair
  • Fixated: +5% Sigma, -5% Dispersion
  • Refill Station: -10% Gun Reload

ARP Takao: Save for Azuma, but similar skills to AL Atago.

Mikawa Gunichi: Mikawa brings a different spin on this build. Suzuya is not quite so adept at the Strike, Kill and Vanish routine, but is still somewhat able to dabble. This build is going to emphasize handling and concealment, which makes Suzuya even more of a pain in the ass to hit. Limited by 17km reach and her base 10s reload and 11% fire chance, this on its face gives up a lot over the AL Atago build. However, Suzuya becomes one of the most agile ships in the game, with a 39.1 top speed, 3.6s rudder shift and a 9.5km concealment ring. 40 knot Suzuya is scary.

  • Clandestine: -6% to detection
  • Ingenious: +1.6^(o)/s Turret Traverse, -7% Splash Damage
  • Full Speed Ahead: +5% Speed, -10% Rudder Shift
  • Velocious: +5% Speed
  • Steer Clear: -7% Rudder Shift/Repair time
  • Fully Packed: +1 Consumables, -5% Consumable Reload

Yamamoto Isoroku: Save for Atago or Mogami.

Heihachiro Togo: Togo sits kind of in the midway point between the other two above. Mikawa is the harder of the two to use, Atago, the simpler. It's honestly a toss-up to which one walks out with a better skill ceiling, a Suzuya with excellent map control or a Suzuya that literally skirts a 200% Fire/Salvo Chance. Splitting the difference is not ideal, pick a lane, which is not this one.

Upgrades:

  • Suzuya is a premium ship without any researchable upgrades

Modifications:

  • Slot 1: Aiming Systems Mod 1
  1. The key takeaway here is -7% to main battery dispersion
  • Slot 2: Propulsion Mod 2
  1. Technically, there's a little wiggle room here. The only wrong answer is Damage Control Systems Mod. Propulsion is technically the winner, but rudder mod Suzuya is equally capable. Propulsion shaves off a lot more time than Steering gears, hence the choice.
  • Slot 3: Concealment Mod 1
  1. Suzuya will be woefully outspotted by things much smaller than her, and she lacks the means of spotting them on her own. The smaller the detection ring, the better and easier it becomes for Suzuya to contest critical locations when she has no choice.
  • Slot 4: Main Battery Mod 3
  1. 10s stock reload is not so brutal that it needs to be buffed through the roof, and that being said Suzuya is still capable of putting up a lofty 90/min. However, Suzuya's below average reach is wonderfully compensated by the +5% bonus found on Main Battery Mod 3.

Research:

  • Suzuya is not featured in any Research Bureau Projects

Summary:

  • GREAT

Suzuya sports a weapons system that is inarguable, and in the same sense, Suzuya imparts wonderful damage output potentials, which allow her to influence the battle in ways that most other ships can only envy. Shy of aircraft, Suzuya is quite capable of punching well into larger and smaller classes with both her 610mm Torpedoes and 15x155mm Main Battery. This is a ship that is riddled with silly numbers and potentials, and equally balanced by silly armor. Suzuya has some base hard stats that are interesting and comfortable in the sense that there is more than one way to build into the ship successfully. As always, is the courteous mention that there are also certainly wrong ways to build Suzuya.

This is a ship that fairly easy to learn and is similarly easy to be destroyed. Her flexibility and situational control almost directly correlate to the damage she physically places upon the battle rather than her ability to control specific areas. Hefty torpedoes make for wonderful area denial, but the reload inhibits a more constant threat. Suzuya's gunnery is wonderfully adept of burning her opponents with some crazy fire chance potentials, and fire per salvo chances; coupled with a high shell count, Suzuya is one of the scarier ships in terms of her damage output potentials.

Suzuya could tack on a hopeless armor scheme (she's not terribly far off) and still place well due to an outsized effect brought on by excellent damage potential values. Suzuya's armor may be wanting, but her handling is not and furthermore, Suzuya responds well to skills and equipment bonuses. While the headline of Suzuya is an excellent offensive package, it is just as important to underscore her survivability as a key vulnerability.

In terms of competitive prowess, Suzuya is certainly somewhat threatening in the absence of carriers due to her damage potential and concealability. In the face of airborne threats, this is a ship that is best left in port. Suzuya is an excellent ship to take into randoms where she will have a number of targets to bait into a chase. Suzuya undoubtedly represents one of the stronger designs found in her class and tier.