Sandbox/2018WinterReview

E-4

Note: All info is currently based upon initial reports, so take the advice with caution before using your fleet regarding what may come in later missions.

Event Planning

• This map utilizes the same locks as E-2. However, Fast speed is no longer a hard requirement, although some restrictions apply (up to 3 slow ships, no overriding wiht boilers)

• CAVs like Suzuya, Kumano, Tone, and Chikuma can be used for E-4 as part of the historical fleet there, but at least one CAV should be saved for E5 and E6.

Tag Notes

• This map requires you to organize the Kurita Fleet and Nishimura Fleet.
  • For more details on Historical Kurita/Suzuki and Nishimura Fleet members, please view the Historical Background for more details.
• Ships formed in the Combined Fleet with no tag will use the Kurita Fleet Tag.
  • When forming the Kurita Fleet, both Kurita and Suzuki Fleet members may be used.
• Ships formed in the Striking Force Fleet with no tag will be marked as the Nishimura Fleet Tag.

Unlocking the Boss Node

• Casual: Reach Node M
• Easy: Reach Node N
• Med: Score B+ Rank at Node N
• Hard: Score A+ Rank at Node N

Nishimura Fleet Phase

Recommended Fleet
2 BBV, 1 CAV, 4DD (Nishimura Fleet members required Easy - 3 , Normal - 5, Hard - 6)

Overall, the Nishimura phase is nearly identical to its E-2 counterpart and is extremely straightforward.

The Vanguard Formation can be used to protect the fleet until the target node is reached. As with E2, PT Imps will appear on nodes H and M, ships equipped with an Anti-Air Gun and/or Skilled Lookouts should easily counter them. (See PT Imp Group page for more details)

Node N contains an enemy fleet consisting of mostly BBs in a battle beginning at night, as only an A rank is required even on hard, this should be a fairly straightforward battle

Once the required condition (above) has been completed, the path to the boss will appear, commencing the Kurita fleet phase.

Recommended LBAS for Nishimura Fleet

• 3 Bombers 1 ASW Bomber to Node F (node with mixed enemy fleet including 1 submarine)
• 4 Fighters / Interceptors to Node C (air battle node)

Use of the in-route/node support expedition is recommended should difficulties arise. Please note that Node N is not a boss node.

Kurita Fleet Phase

Recommended Fleets
2-4 (F)BB 2CVL + CL2DD 2CA CLT/CA 2-4 (F)BB CV CAV + CL2DD 2CA CLT/CA

Note: The route requires no more than 3 slow ships based on ORIGINAL speed, turbines and boilers may NOT be used to override the requirements.

This route involves 2 airstrikes followed by 3 surface battles prior to the boss.

• This phase requires a very high amount of fighter power, with CVLs as full fighter carriers not being uncommon
  • If additional air power is required, Nagato, Yamato, and Musashi can all fit seaplane fighters if needed, which will usually require the tradeoff of an AP shell (except on Musashi)
  • Suzuya and Kumano can be used as CVLs on this map, however, if they are unavailable, then a CV+CAV combo may be used instead
• On the boss node, ships in the escort fleet can also participate in the air battle (combined fleet vs combined fleet), should Suzuya and Kumano be used in the escort fleet, they can still contribute to the air fight here.
• Maya Kai Ni (also a Kurita Fleet member) is highly recommended for this map, both for her AACI, and also as a very strong attacker in the escort fleet, she is capable of running a TCI if luckmodded.

• The primary challenges are the surface nodes and the penultimate node, with up to 4 Nu-kais or 6 Rus.
• A 12cm 30 Tube Rocket Launcher Kai 2 has a chance to neutralize the damage done by an airstrike if equipped on a BBV, CV(B/L), AV, or CAV. In this case, it would be invaluable for protecting your vulnerable CVLs

The FCF is usually for retreating damaged ships, however, this map possesses some differences

• 5/7/10 (Easy, Med, and Hard respectively) Kurita Fleet ships are are required for the shortest route to the boss at node Q.
• The only node where the FCF is completely safe to use is therefore Node R (the pre-boss node), after the Kurita member check at node Q.

Despite this issue, bringing an FCF is still a valid option especially when chipping, given the difficulty of node R. Additionally, there is no LoS check between the pre-boss and boss nodes.

Battling the Escort Water Princess

The Escort Water Princess will be in a combined fleet, notably, her main fleet includes transport ships which themselves pose little threat to your fleet other than drawing fire.

The boss will only attack your fleet at night if you have a searchlight equipped; consider the risk of an attack against the rewards of bringing one to increase your night battling capability.

The boss, especially on hard mode, has extremely high armor (278 on hard), torpedo CIs here are highly recommended. Yukikaze and Myoukou are amongst the best choices for this map to take advantage of the Kurita fleet bonuses, especially in the absence of a luckmodded Maya/Choukai .

With regard to LBAS options, at least 3 bombers should be used, with the final slot being either a bomber or fighter. There is no point in using a fighter if doing so would not change the air state from AI to AD (see aerial combat).

AO as an option

With regard to final form (on hard mode), an AO with one Maritime Resupply may be considered to offset the fuel and ammo penalties.

Nonetheless, there are two key tradeoffs that need to be made:

• Firstly, there is a restriction of 3 ships with an base speed of "Slow", Hayasui being one of them would almost certainly require an extra raid node (or a slow BB to be removed in favor of a Kongou).
• Secondly, Hayasui would fit in the escort fleet alongside CL2DD, necessitating the removal of a CA or CLT from the composition, in itself significant.
  • Hard mode only allows up to 2 non-Kurita ships, of which Hayasui and a CLT would be, therefore requiring all 10 others to be historical ships (therefore shutting Abukuma usage out)

The Friend Fleet

It is possible to influence what friend fleets will arrive:

• With the exception of DesDiv 19, Friend fleets will not appear if a member of your fleet matches one of theirs.
  • The best possible friend fleet that can arrive is the Nishimura fleet with its 7 members
• Maya and Yukikaze would be excellent choices for E4 even if this mechanic had not existed, and as such automatically exclude the possibility of CruDiv4 and the Guadacanal fleet

At this point, the three fleets which could appear are DesDiv19 (default), the European fleet (weakish), and Nishimura (ideal)

To exclude the European fleet would require one of Warspite, Ark Royal, Richelieu, or Jervis to be run. The only non-impractical way to exclude this fleet would be to use Richelieu in place of a Kongou (or Warspite in place of a Nagato/Yamato). Using Richelieu, of course, comes with its tradeoffs in terms of fleet composition, and may be more practical for medium or easy difficulties.

LBAS Recommendations

• 4 Land-Based Bombers - For Node R

This node requires a combat radius of 5. There being no enemy carriers here allows 4 bombers to be run.

• 3 Bombers +(Fighter or Bomber) - For Boss node

This node requires a combat radius of 4.

At least three bombers should be sent to the boss, the fourth group, however, depend upon the difficulty. Achieving AD (on hard) requires approximately 96+ fighter power, if this threshold cannot be reached with the addition of a single fighter (remember that bombers contribute AA as well), it would simply be better to use four bombers. (link provided below)

On Last Dance, you may wish to consider committing both LBAS to the boss node to maximize your chances of victory. As with other last dance runs, both support expeditions are recommended; sparkling your fleet is also an additional option should issues arise.

Additional Reading: LBAS Fighter Chart

E-5

Event Planning

For this map, you will be using members of the Shima Fleet.

Historic Members of Battle of Ormoc Bay

CA: Ashigara,Nachi
CL: Kinu
DD: Akebono, Asashimo, Hatsuharu, Hatsushimo, Kasumi. Naganami, Okinami, Ushio, Uranami, Wakaba
DE: Shimushu

Despite historically being involved with the Shima fleet, members such as Abukuma, Shiranui, and Aoba do not count for this segment of the event, and may be used on other maps, Abukuma in particular may be deployed where issues arise.

Tagging Rules

• Untagged Ships that partake in E-5 will be given the 'Shima Fleet Tag

E5 Objectives

E5 is a map with two phases, with additional requirements to unlock the second phase.

• The first phase is a transport phase involving a strike force; in order to unlock the second phase, you'll need to:
  • Complete the Transport Operation
  • Score Air Parity / Superiority on Node D (AP for Medium / AS for Hard)
  • Get Air Superiority on an Land Base Air Raid (Medium +)

• The Second Phase requires a Striking force against a Heavy Cruiser Princess

Phase 1 - Transport Phase

The Transport Operation is relatively straightforward with the appropriate number of historical ships (2 on Easy / 3 on Normal / 5 on Hard). Even on hard, most of this phase presents few issues, largely due to the presence of an additional LBAS squadron.

Clearing the TP bar

Example fleet: 2CA CL 3DD DD/Akitsumaru

With the appropriate number of historical ships, the route taken is C-D-E-G-F-H-I-J-L, with two airstrike nodes and 2 surface nodes prior to the boss

As with other transport operations, your main objective should be to bring as many drums and/or landing craft as possible while scoring at least an A-rank at the boss. Unusually, the Type 2 Ka-Mi Tank grants 22 TP points on an S-rank at the boss, far more than it has provided in previous TP maps.

Key points:

• The primary threat posed prior to the boss on this map are the two air raid nodes and node J, the penultimate node.
• Both nodes H and J can be cleared consistently through the use of the vanguard formation
• Ships that turn back after node I (i.e. those ships retreating at node J) will still count as having successfully offloaded their cargo, and will contribute towards the TP bar.

The TP phase boss consists of the Light Cruiser Princess with a CVL (2 on hard), and most other ships being CAs, CLs, and DDs. The upshot being that as only an A-rank is required to -deplete the TP bar, the enemy flagship does not necessarily have to be sunk, even on the final form. As such, killing enough of the escort fleet to allow the night battle to be against the the main enemy force is usually enough to secure the 4 kills needed to deplete the bar.

AP/AS at node D

LBAS sorties with 4 fighters apiece can be used to decrease the air power requirement at node D prior to the air battle. Akitsumaru makes achieving AP/AS here a trivial issue following fighter sweeps; however, in the absence of Akitsumaru, Seaplane fighters will be required. Medium difficulty requires 326 for AP, which should be reduced by the aforementioned fighter sorties.

Air Superiority on a Raid

The simplest way to achieve this is to utilize 3 interceptors and a saiun at both available bases, set to defense. A single submarine may be sortied to trigger the raid.

Note that only Air Superiority is required, not a perfect defense.

HP Bar Phase - CA Princess

This phase does not allow the use of AVs or Akitsumaru (which will start the fleet at the first phase start point) on any difficulty, as such, your primary source of air support will come in the form of LBAS, and if you choose to employ them, CAVs.

Given the post-cap firepower buffs received by historical members, however, this map is very doable even without any fighter power in the fleet itself. If you are not utilizing any fighter power, then utility equips may replace the recon planes as LoS requirements permit.

This guide has been written in the context of hard mode, differences will be mentioned where possible.

The best routing in this map is achieved through the use of 2CA(V) CL 4DD, with most other compositions offrouting, starting at the wrong start point, not being allowed to enter the map, or simply being inferior (e.g. bringing a DE)

• 4DDs should first be selected to prevent an offroute to R node, this applies to all difficulties.
  • Ideally, Kasumi, Hatsuharu, Hatsushimo, and Ushio can all be used here.
  • One of these four DDs may be replaced by an Akizuki-class for AACI.
• Nachi and Ashigara should be the two cruisers chosen for this map on account of their post-cap bonuses.
  • Either one of them may be substituted for a CAV if desired.
• Abukuma would be the ideal CL for this map if available, Yura is also strong here.

This phase comprises a single airstrike node and two surface nodes prior to the boss node. As with the first phase of this map, vanguard formation may be utilized to make it through the surface nodes, with the FCF utilized where taihas occur.

Importantly, the pre-boss node possesses a submarine on some forms, which will draw fire from at least five of your ships. Sonars may be used as needed, or LBAS may include a single ASW bomber, with Double Line being another possible option (when support shelling is used), in most cases, however, vanguard formation should suffice.

The boss of this map is Heavy Cruiser Princess. Obtaining AS here is not likely, nonetheless, this boss is fairly easy to kill due to the combination of LBAS and the post-cap bonuses of most ships. TCIs for this boss are not required due to the previously-covered post-cap firepower bonuses.

As with other maps, pre-boss support, boss support, and sparkling should be used as required. Do remember that the use of vanguard formation will affect the efficacy of your support shelling.

Recommended LBAS

4 Fighters f or node N or.. 3 Bombers 1 ASW Bomber for node P

Combat radii of 4 and 5 are required for nodes N and P respectively.

Node N is an airstrike risk, while node P can be somewhat annoying with its submarine. This LBAS base is mostly flexible and can be used as seen fit.

1 Fighter 3 Bombers - For Boss Node

A combat radius of 6 is required for the boss node. A fighter should be added only if doing so would improve your air state.

E-6

Tips

Tagging Rules

• Untagged Ships that partake in E-6 will be given the Shima Fleet Tag
• Shima Fleet Tagged Members will begin from Starting Point 1.
• Mixed tags on Easy and Very Easy difficulty will begin from Starting Point 1.
• Kurita Fleet Tagged Members will begin from Starting Point 2.
• If you need to add in additional Kurita Fleet Tagged Ships to use for the Phase 2 of the operation, you will need to sortie them to E-2 or E-4 first so they can tagged with the Kurita Fleet Tag.

E6 Objectives

E6 contains mutiple objectives that need to be comlpleted depending of the difficulty level. Objectives will be listed in order of difficulties.

Phase 1 Objectives - Shima Striking Force

• Defeat boss gauge at Node U, Seaplane Tender Princess (all difficulties)
  • …and Reach Node I (Easy)
  • …and S-rank I and reach node K (Med)
    • …and A-Rank K (Hard)

Phase 2 Objectives - Kurita Striking Force

• Defeat boss gauge at node V, Battleship Princess Kai (all)
  • …And obtain AS against an LBAS raid (1 on Med, 3 on Hard)

Phase 3 Objectives - Shima Striking Force

• Sink Aircraft Carrier Water Demon

Required Ships

Phase 1: 2DDs mandatory, fast fleet mandatory

Phase 2: 2DDs mandatory

Phase 3: 2DDs mandatory, fast fleet mandatory

Phase 1 - Seaplane Tender Princess

2DD Mandatory, Fast mandatory.

Seaplane Tender Princess will require the use of the Shima Fleet. This phase is relatively straightforward.

Attaining AS here is completely impractical (504 FP) if not impossible, as it would require the sacrifice of Nachi and Ashigara, removing bombers from LBAS for fighters and more.

Key Pointers:

• Nachi and Ashigara are highly recommended for their post-cap firepower bonuses, as are most historical ships.
• The Littorio-Class Battleships are also excellent here for their ability to attain AS (they are capable of carrying Seaplane Fighters) when unopposed

• A submarine may be utilized to divert fire, however, as a fast fleet is a requirement, a boiler+turbine combination is mandatory
  • The SS may retreat without consequence. As sparkling a submarine is extremely cheap and submarines benefit greatly proportionately from the extra evasion when sparkled, it is highly recommended that you sparkle the SSV.
  • This can be done extremely cheaply at E5

The final composition of the fleet would, therefore, look along the lines of: SSV 2FBB 2CA 3DD

• ASW bombers may be sent to node H to increase the consistency of reaching the boss node
• Node O checks for 2DD, an FCF may, therefore, be used prior to or at node O if you would still have at least 2DDs remaining

The boss node of E6 Phase 1 contains Seaplane Tender Princess, due to the historical bonuses and the presence of the friend fleet, finishing this phase should be relatively simple.

Suggested LBAS

• Node H
• 1 LBAS
• 4 ASW Bomber Planes - Distance 3 needed

Node H can present some challenges on Normal and Hard difficulty with the Submarine So-Class that appear on this node. Only consider using this up until the last kill if So-class are a problem. Otherwise, you can use Vanguard Formation to try to bypass this node.

Node O

• 1 LBAS
• 2 Fighter, 2 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers - Distance 4 needed

Node O often present the greatest challenge on this map due to the strong air power the Light Carrier Nu-Class/Kai carry. If needed, you can use an LBAS to help neutralize and make the fight there simpler, otherwise, use an SS to help bypass most of the trouble this node to save your LBAS for more important uses.

Node U

• 2-3 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 2 Fighter, 2 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers - Distance 6 needed
• LBAS 2-3: 1 Fighter, 3 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers - Distance 6 needed

Since the boss node is simple, bringing this set up with 3 LBAS should be more than enough to take out most of the enemy units leaving only the Seaplane Tender Princess, and possibly a few basic enemy units left making for an easy victory on this node.

Unlocking the Path to the Battleship Princess Kai

Preffered Composition'

• Kurita Tagged Fleet - 2FBB 3CA,1CAV,1DD

Once you have sunk the Seaplane Tender Princess you will need to complete the following conditions to unlock the next path:

• Reach Node I (Easy)
• A-rank Node I and reach Node K (Med)
• A-Rank Nodes I and K (Hard)

In order to reach these nodes you will need to bring less than 2 DD to fail the pathing requirements to reach these nodes.

• Node I consist of mainly Destroyers, Light Cruisers and Transports, completing this node should be simple
• Node K, will consist of a Aircraft Carrier Princess, some Battleships, Light Cruisers and Destroyers
• Use the Same LBAS you used on phase 1 to help make short work of the enemy fleets to meet the requirements.

Once conditions are met, the path to the boss will be unlocked.

Phase 2 - Battleship Princess Kai

As like the previous segment, 2DD are mandatory to reach the boss node

Preffered Composition'

• Kurita Tagged Fleet - 2-3 FBB,1 CLT,1-2CA,1CAV,2DD

Battleship Princess Kai requires the use of the Kurita Fleet, this phase is arguably the hardest of the three due to the extreme durability of the boss. One CAV should be used to provide AP/AS (3-4 Seaplane fighters) at the boss.

Key Notes:

• If you need to bring additional members into the Kurita Fleet to help with this map, send them to E-2 or E-4 first so they can be tagged for the Kurita Fleet path.
• All nodes you'll face along the path will consist of Destroyers, Light Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers
• Node L and Q features fleets that will choose between Line Ahead, Double Line, or Vanguard Formation. The preferred method to passing through these nodes is to use Vangaurd Formation since it'll minimize damage taken.

Node V - Battleship Princess Kai

Battleship Princess Kai represents most of the challenge in clearing E6; this is largely due to two factors, her extreme durability, and the lack of a Friend Fleet.

• This is a prime area for using TCIs
  • Do not neglect the flagship cut-in rate bonus. On ships without luck modifications (e.g. Naganami K2), the use of Skilled lookouts is worth consideration.
  • Ideally, the CA used should be TCI capable, Myoukou in particular comes with a high base luck good night battle power. Luckmodded Choukai or Maya would be ideal for this map.
  • TCIs on a CLT, however, is still not recommended, they may, however, be moved further up the shelling order, ahead of a capped TCI ship

Suggested LBAS

Node V

• 3 LBAS
• LBAS 1-3: 4 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers

• • Due to the lack of Air Power the Battleship Princess Kai has, bringing a full set of LBAS bombers is recommended as it should clear up the majority of the Boss fleet so your fleet can focus more on the Battleship Princess Kai

Opening the Path to the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon (Medium and Hard Only)

Opening a path to the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon requires you to complete the following conditions while defending your Air Base

• Obtain AS against an LBAS raid (1 on Med, 3 on Hard)

Preffered Composition'

• Shima Tagged Fleet - 1SS

Suggested LBAS

• 2- 3 LBAS (Air Defense)
• LBAS 2-3: 4 Interceptor / Fighters

• Submarine should go through 1-2 nodes before the Air Raid triggers, both fights should be not pose a threat to the sub.
• Once AS has been successfully obtained, rinse and repeat if nessary until the path is open.

Phase 3 - CV Water Demon

Just like Phase 1's segment, 2DD and a Fast Fleet are mandatory.

Key Notes

• As with Phase 1, the FCF should only be used at (or prior to) node O if your fleet would have at least 2DDs after withdrawing one