Here's what I typed up about the two lines today, I'm going to be putting it on my
Soviet ship guide, so I want a few opinions before I "publish" it.


When you reach level 67, you are faced with this choice, the Gangut line or the Izmail
line. The Gangut is at level 67, while the Izmail is at level 68. The choice between
these two lines is much more important than the 1 level difference between them.
The Soviet advantages and disadvantages splits at this point, to converge on the
Sovietsky Soyuz. The Gangut line takes the high firepower, average durability, and
low maneuverability traits, while the Izmail line takes a more radical battlecruiser
style, having long range, fast speed, but long hangtime and below average
durability. The two lines converge on the Stalingrad, but due to the 2 very different
guns sets the Stalingrad offers, they really continue be separate lines until the
Sovietsky Soyuz. To newer players and at a glance, superficially the Izmail line has a
better BB2 and a worse BB3, while the Gangut line has a worse BB2 and a better
BB3. This is False, they are simply different ships with different advantages and
perform better in different situations.

The Gangut line starts with the Gangut and progresses to the Imperatritsa Mariya
(IM). Both using their different set of trip 12" guns. These pre WWI ships are the
higher damage, above average durability, average range and low maneuverability
cousins of the Battlecruiser line. This line is more forgiving due to the higher
durability. Because of their high firepower, and the modern GB style games, these
ships are very competitive in rushing in when the enemy is blind and doing damage.
These ships will suffer more in BB rooms due to lower range, but will still remain
competitive due to the high firepower. The line has worse AA than the Izmail line due
to bad turret placements, but will work well for HH. When you reach the Stalingrad
and like the playstyle of these ships, I suggest using the trip 16" guns, as it is more
similar to this line than the Izmail line. The Stalingrad with 16" guns would be the
final ship of this line before merging on the Sovietsky Soyuz. I recommend this line to
newer players, players who like to take opportunities to their advantage and
players who enjoy a powerful boardside salvo.

The Izmail line starts with the Izmail and progresses to the Kronstadt. This line is a
more interesting and radical line than the Gangut line in my opinion, and I say that
because you are going from a ship that has more firepower to a ship with lower
firepower (the same way the Fuso/Ise progresses to the Nagato). Although the
Izmail is better in everything but durability than the Gangut, it is still inferior in
firepower and range than the IM. The Kronstadt is a B65 that blockshots with O pro
II (Trip 15?L) range. The Kronstadt is a very fast ship, though its guns are hard to
aim and does a low damage per shell (luckly, a decent salvo damage if you can land
all shells). It is also quite fragile and have strange firing arcs for its T slots. The
Kronstadt is a very hard ship to play, and an even harder ship to master; if one could
master such ship, it is one of the best BB3 there is. For players who like this ship
line's playstyle, I recommend the trip 12" on the Stalingrad over the trip 16", as it
similar to an upgrade from the Kronstadt. I recommend this line to more experienced
players, players looking for a unique style of play (battlecruiser, hit and run), players
who want to create opportunities to use with AA, and players who prefer a faster
reloading gun over a more powerful per shell gun.

For both lines, numbers of sets of gunners do not matter, as the Gangut style ships
can use HH to their advantage, while the Kronstadt can use any set of AA guns it can
mount. Crew also does not matter way too much, as the Kronstadt has a better
accuracy revision on its gunset; engies are equally important in both lines.



I wrote this with some changes in mind that have not yet been implanted, but will be
in the next patch or so if there is public support.