Combat/Map Mechanics and Nodes

Map Mechanics

Maps are made out of nodes connected to each other through paths called edges. Nodes are only accessible by traveling through those edges. Each node is independent of each other, and the fleet state will carry over from node to node.

• Most of the mechanics are happening on the nodes themselves,
• Some mechanics take place on the map itself.

Maps

The maps the fleet evolves on are almost all based on real locations or variations of said locations. Those locations varying from regular seashores to actual WW2 battle locations.

• The nodes' and edges' positions also vary, either following the geography of the map, or replicating historical routes.
• Some specific drops and enemy locations may be some references to what happened to this exact spot on the map.
• Phase 1 maps used to be "less bound to reality" / "more fantastic", having more variety and landscape features.

When an LBAS is available, a small cross with written "AB" will be displayed on the map's land, being the center point of the nodes' combat radius.

• In rare cases, when the LBAS is far away, the cross is not displayed (being outside the map).

When reaching a combat node, it will be asked to choose a "Formation", affecting the following Combat.

• The fleet must meet certain criteria to select a formation, and the node must not be an "Ambush Node".

When selecting the formation, it is possible to:

• Hide the UI in order to view the map, by clicking anywhere else on the screen.
  • When the map is visible, it is then possible to click on the current node to get a preview of the enemy fleet. This is limited to the surface battle nodes, and will show the first 3 ships of the fleet (of both fleets for enemy combined fleets).
• If a Smoke Generator is equipped, a button will show up next to the formations, clicking on it will allow the triggering of smoke screens.
  • This can only be triggered once per sortie, even so the button is always clickable.

Routing

The route taken through a given map is defined by the:

• Fleet Type, being either a:
  • Single fleet,
  • Combined Fleet, either Carrier Task Force (CTF), Surface Task Force (STF), or Transport Escort Force (TCF/TE),
  • Striking Force Fleet.

• Fleet Composition, depending on the number of certain ship types used.
  • Some specific ships may also alter routing, being usually referred as "historical ships", as they are related to a map's thematic operation or to a specific mechanic.

• The presence of "Active Branching", where a path must be manually selected.

• Fleet Stats, mainly LoS and Speed.
  • Paths that require a given LoS requirement to be met will show an animation of a Recon plane going back and forth toward the destination node.

• Equipment types and quantity used in the fleet, like Surface Radars, Drum Canisters, and Landing Equipment.
  • The AGDP Arctic Gear & Deck Personnel (AGDP) needs to be equipped on CV(B/L), Ise-class Kai Ni, and Akitsu Maru Kai, to sortie them on "arctic" maps (event only so far).

• The curent Fleet tag on certain events maps.

• Additionally, routing might be simply random.

On certain events, an edge may be taken in either sense depending on the current routing. Some edges are marked with an arrow to make the routing clearer.

The map's state can also affect the routing by updating some branching rules.

Land Base Air Raids

In maps where a Land Base is present, an additional mechanic may be imposed where an enemy abyssal fleet will attack the allied Land Base. A text alert saying "Enemy formation approaching! Enemy aircraft are approaching our base." (敵編隊接近中！我が航空基地に敵機接近中。) will appear in the map screen and the Raid will follow shortly. Raids may trigger whenever traveling to another node.

With the Winter 2022 Event also appeared a mechanic known as "Superfortress Air-Raid Sequence", which works very similarly to Land Base Air Raids, with the difference that it also includes the only QTE within the entire game, where clicking on a button at a right time will directly affect the LBAS interception effectiveness.

Please refer to the Land-Based Air Squadron page for additional details.

Map Unlocking / Phase Progression

Nodes E & C2 are here highlighted

In some maps (mostly in Events), Completion Gimmicks might be required to further progress the map, demanding certain conditions to be accomplished on a given map to unlock several things:

• Boss debuff, where once the "Last Dance" of the final boss of a given map is reached, its debuffed form can be unlocked.
• Map phases, where some map areas need to be unlocked, like on 7-2, 7-3, and 7-5.
  • Map areas can either be a path to the next boss, an intermediate path asking for new gimmicks, or a shortcut.
• LBAS Relocation.
• Choosing a higher difficulty on an event map will reset it to its initial state.

Those "Gimmicks" can be

• Reaching certain nodes,
• Defeating specific nodes,
• Attaining air superiority (AS/AS+) on certain nodes,
• Defending against LBAS Air Raids.

As soon as all the given conditions are met, the map advances to the next phase. Lower difficulties may require fewer conditions to be met to complete the phase.

• Since Summer 2019 Event, completing a gimmick will play a "bell sound" when returning back to the main menu (according the sounds are activated),
  • Play Bell Completion Sound Effect
• Since Summer 2022 Event, some Nodes required to be visited/defeated in gimmicks are now highlighted.

• 

  Initial state of the Fall 2020 E-3 map

• 

  Final state of the Fall 2020 E-3 map

Last Dance

"Last Dance" (LD) is the last state of a given map phase.

• It is typically reached when the HP gauge of the given phase is depleted to the point of 1 boss kill being left to clear the phase.
  • Transport Operations are therefore not applicable to this state.
• Most normal maps do not have such a state, it only being a thing for most "extra operations" and almost all event maps having an HP bar.

Once LD is reached, the enemy formations will change, becoming harder, and ranging from:

• Only the boss changing form,
  • If available, the boss CG will change from its normal one to its "LD" one.
• Ships in the boss node changing form/configuration,
• Ships on the rest of the map changing form/configuration.
• As formations are changing, this can also affect the drop tables, rendering some ships only or not droppable in LD.

When applicable, boss debuff will become possible.

• Other gimmicks may also become available, such as shortcuts unlocking.

In some cases, once clear, the map will either:

• Come back to its "pre-LD" state,
• Evolve to the next map phase if available,
• Evolve to a "post-LD" state, usually similar yet different than the "pre-LD" state.
  • If applicable, boss debuff will be applied, even if not unlocked before.

Nodes

Full Battle Nodes

These nodes have as the main objective engaging the enemy fleet and destroying the enemy flagship and/or the enemy combatants as a whole.

Node	Description	Consumption		Enemy Fleet Preview
Normal Battle	Normal Battle Nodes are the main types of nodes present in a sortie, oftentimes making up for the majority of nodes on the map. A Battle Node will always begin with Day Battle and can be followed up by a Night Battle. Node Support Expedition may appear in these nodes. On some Battle Nodes, an abyssal submarine may appear above it upon reaching the node, indicating that this is a submarine node, involving ASW. Specifically for Battle Nodes, the battle cost varies depending on the node composition.	20%	20%	Yes
	Pursuing the enemy into night battle	—	+10%
	Only submarines present	8%	0%
	Only PT boat present	4%	8%
Night Battle	Night Battle nodes consist of only the Night Battle phase. The battle will automatically finish after the Night Shelling phase is ended. Node Support Expedition may appear in these nodes even though they begin the battle at night.	10%	10%	Yes
	Only PT boat present	4%	8%
Night to Day Battle	Night to Day Battle nodes invert the usual Battle node format, beginning the battle on Night Battle and then automatically transitioning to Day Battle afterward. The applicable Support Expedition will trigger when the battle starts (during the night), but Day-only phases such as LBAS and Aerial Combat will be performed as soon as the Day Battle begins. As of 04/2023, Night to Day Battles are exclusive to events, with its last appearance on Fall 2017 Event.	20%	30%	?
Airstrike Supported Battle	Airstrike Supported Combat nodes are combat nodes where the enemy fleet will consist of: "Surface enemies" (4-5 SS so far), that are fought like in "Normal Battle" nodes, Followed by "air support enemies" (1-2 CV(L)/BBV so far), bringing a support similar to "Normal Combat" nodes, and that cannot be attacked, being visually behind the rest of the enemy fleet and with no visible HP. As of 08/2024, ASS Nodes are exclusive to events, with its last appearance on Summer 2024 Event.	12%	6%	Yes
Boss Battle	Boss Nodes are the Ending point of a map's route and are where the map's boss resides, if it has one. After the Boss Node battle ends, the sortie automatically finishes and the player fleet returns to Homeport. Boss nodes can be of any kind of battle node, meaning they can be a Night to Day Node, Night Battle Node, or a Battle Node. Boss Support Expedition may appear in these nodes. The main enemy (often the boss itself) will appear above the node when the fleet reaches it. The node also may be linked to a map HP bar, where killing or just damaging the flagship will also deplete the bar.	20%	20%	Yes

In addition, some variations of the above-mentioned nodes may be encountered as:

• "Installation Node", for most nodes having one or more Installation in it, and were Barrage Balloons can be deployed.
• "Atoll Node", for some nodes being located on atolls, and were Ka-Tsu tanks
  spacial attack can be triggered.

Short Battle Nodes

These battle nodes have different objectives and win conditions from regular battles.

Node	Description	Consumption		Enemy Fleet Preview
Enemy Air Raid	Air Raid nodes are special nodes where only LBAS, as well as Stage 1 of the Aerial Combat, are performed. This node consists of a purely defensive battle against enemy Aircraft Carriers. The enemy fleet is able to further progress to Stage 3 of Aerial Combat and perform an Airstrike against the fleet. The enemy fleet cannot be damaged but by LBAS planes. AA mechanics like AACI or RLK2 can also be triggered.	6%	4%	No
		World 6: 4%	World 6: 8%	World 6: Yes
Aerial Combat	Similar to Air Raid nodes, however LBAS is performed once, followed by full Aerial Combat phases performed twice back-to-back. It is also possible to do night battle afterward, unlike regular Air nodes. Node Airstrike Support Expedition only may appear in these nodes. If the fleet has no ships that can attack during Aerial Combat, it will get a D rank (see 1st D rank condition), unless entering night combat.	20%	20%	No
Enemy Ambush	Ambush nodes are purely defensive nodes where the fleet is attacked by an enemy fleet without being able to fight back. Specifically for Ambush nodes, there is no formation selection prompt prior to the battle, and formation is set by default to Line Ahead or Cruising Formation 4. Those nodes are usually "off routes" locations, being avoidable with adequate routing, often involving Surface Radars. As of 04/2023, Ambush Nodes are exclusive to events, with its last appearance on Early Spring 2023 Event E-6.	4%	—	N/A

Non-Combat Nodes

These nodes present different mechanics that are unrelated to combat.

Node	Description	Consumption
Start Node	The Start Node dictates the point from which the fleet will start. Multiple start points may be present on the same map. In such cases, the Start Node from which the fleet will begin sortieing is defined by the fleet composition as well as the fleet type, when it enters the map.	—	—
Empty Node	An Empty Node is a tool mainly used to increase routing complexity, creating branching paths, dead-ends, as well as to display a small piece of flavor text.	—	—
Active Branching	An Active Branching Node, also known as "Choice Node", is an Empty Node with a mechanic that allows the fleet to route to any of the desired paths. Upon hitting an active branching node, a text bubble will appear above the fleet icon saying "You can select the fleet's course!" (艦隊針路選択可能！). Nodes able to be selected will glow. Clicking on the node will send the fleet in that direction.	—	—
Emergency Repairs Node	Generally only accessible with either Akashi Kai, Akitsushima Kai, or any Kai AO present in the fleet. By equipping Ship Repair Facility, it is possible to use Emergency Repair Materials to repair ships mid-sortie. Otherwise, it behaves like an Empty Node. See Emergency Anchorage Repairs for more details.	—	—
Maelstrom	Upon entering the node, drains a specific value of a specific resource of the entire current fleet. This means that penalties derived from low levels of and are applied immediately. The strength of Maelstroms can be mitigated by the number of ships independently carrying a Radar. Maelstroms drain either or , but not both. Certain Maelstroms are strong, draining 150% more resources than regular Maelstroms, and having roughly a 25% chance of draining all of a resource. See Maelstrom for more details.	0 or X%	0 or X%
Resource Node	Upon entering, adds a specific amount of a specific resource (), consumables (), or coin boxes () to the stockpile. Resource Nodes do not refill the fleet's current resource levels. Using some Landing Craft, Amphibious Vehicles, and Drum Canisters, increases the resource gain. See Resource Node for more details.	—	—
Finish Line Harbor Node	Is often considered an Ending node like Boss nodes, with Resource Node behaviors, or as Transport Loadout nodes. 1-6's Finish Line has unique behaviors with a pool of possible resources as rewards rather than a single one, and which cannot be increased using any equipment. See Finish Line for more details.	—	—
Transport Loadout	Present in any map with Trasport Loadout operation. Upon reaching this node, the fleet's , , , and , as well as ships that are not Heavily Damaged will be taken account of. The result of this node determines the quantity of Transport Points (TP) deducted of a map's Transport Gauge after a successful Boss Battle with A-Rank or higher. Simply reaching this node has no effect on the map's Transport Gauge. See Transport Operation for more details.	—	—
Aerial Reconnaissance Node	Exclusive to 6-3. Can reward some Ammo , Bauxite , or Devmats , using some aircraft. The type of aircraft as well as the ship carrying it influences the result. Unlike Resource Nodes, the resources obtainable originate from a drop pool. If the Boss Battle is a Defeat, the resources are forfeited. Otherwise, a small message saying that the resources were secured will be shown on the lower right side of the victory screen. See Air Reconnaissance for more details.	—	—

Note about Consumption

• These percent values are applied to a ship's maximum Fuel/Ammo stat. The amount subtracted is rounded down but at least 1 in most cases, except for Pursuing the enemy into night battle and Night to Day Battle where the ammo cost is rounded up.
  • Some mechanics like Special Attacks will increase ammo consumption.
• In maps introduced prior to Fall 2017 Event (including pre-Phase 2 maps), Submarine battle nodes costed 20% 0% , and Air Raid nodes costed 8% 4%