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 in 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

Simlar to 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 Land Based Bombers (Or torpedo Bombers if unavaliable) - Distance of 6 Required

• • 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 not pose a threat to the sub.
• Once AS has been successfully obtained, rinse and repeat if necessary until the path is open.

Phase 3 - Aircraft Carrier Water Demon

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

Preffered Composition'

Shima Tagged Fleet - 1SSV 1CAV 2FBB 2CA 3DD

Key Notes

• Since you will be using the Shima Fleet for this segment, most battles will be the same with the exception of the pre-boss node and the Boss Node
• As with Phase 1, the Striking Force Fleet Command Facility should only be used at (or prior to) node O if your fleet would have at least 2DDs after withdrawing one.
• During the Final Kill, all nodes will increase in difficulty making the air power far more stronger, use Anti-Air Cut In, Fleet's Anti-Air, and Seaplane Fighters where possible without sacrificing too much of your combat strength.

Node W - Aircraft Carrier Water Demon

Depending on the difficulty, Aircraft Carrier Water Demon can range from either being easy to difficult, but with using members of the Shima Fleet you can get a historical bonuses allowing ships like Ashigara and Nachi, ect. to be able to deal greater damage compared to normal.

• Using the LBAS suggestion for Phase 1 along with a Boss Support Fleet is recommended.
• While it is easy for get Air Superiority on Casual if you have LBAS Air Power and Seaplane Fighters, due to the high air power on Easy and above, it may be recommend to bring enough air power through your LBAS to reduce the boss's air power in order to prevent giving the enemy fleet the ability to preform artillery spotting and preventing Aircraft Carrier Water Demon from preforming Carrier Cut-ins.
• Since Easy and above will feature Battleship Princess in the composition, you want your LBAS to hopfully remove them from the fleet to make the battle easier.
• Just like Phase 1, you will get a Friend Fleet for the Night Battle Segment.

E-7

Tips

Tagging Rules

• This Maps has no tagging rules and any members can be used for this map
• On Normal and Hard Difficulty only the Vangaurd Force will be restricted from being used on this map.

Historical Fleet Bonus Notes

• On E-7, ships that are tied to the Kurita, Suzuki, Nishimura, Shima and Ozawa Fleet will all recive historical bonuses which will allow them to do more damage against the boss fleets. (Please Read Historical Background for more details)
• Due to this, it's highly recommended to bring your strongest members that are tied to the historical fleets to get the performance out of them.

E7 is divided into distinct phases that must be completed in order.

1. Unlock 1st Boss Node.
2. Defeat Battleship Water Demon Kai using a STF.
3. Unlock the shortcut routes.
4. Obtain the historical bonus. Note: Can only be done on Normal and Hard mode.
5. Defeat Abyssal Crane Princess.

Unlocking the path to the Battleship Water Demon Kai

Preferred Composition:

Main Fleet: 4 CV(B) / 2 (F)BB
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 0-1 CLT / 1-2 CA / 0-1 CVL

Key Note:
In order unlock the path to the Battleship Water Demon Kai the following conditions must be met

• A rank node Q using a Fast CTF (All Difficulties)
• Obtain AS on Land Base air raids 0/1/2/2 times.

While making your path to Node Q you will be facing off against 2 Air Battles, 2 Surface Battles before reaching Node Q.

• It's advised to bring a CL or DD with preemptive ASW to mode D to deal with the Submarine that will appear in the mixed fleet.
• Node C and I are Air Attack nodes, strong Air defense is recommended
• Node M featuring Light Carrier Nu-Class Elite variants or Aircraft Carrier Princesses depending on the difficulty.
• Node Q is a combined fleet node that has Light Carrier Nu-Class Elite variants or Aircraft Carrier Princesses depending on the difficulty.

Preferred LBAS

Node Q

• 3 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 2 Fighter, 1 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers, 1 Flying Boat - Distance 9 needed
• LBAS 2-3: 1 Fighter, 2 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers, 1 Flying Boat - Distance 9 needed

If you wish to bring an LBAS here with fighters, you'll need to have a Type 2 Flying Boat to reach the required distance. With the air strength and bombers, it should make possible to score an A rank on Node Q without issue.

Defending the Base

• 2-3 LBAS
• LBAS 1-3: 3 Fighter/Interceptor, 1 Saiun (Air Defense)

One Easy and higher difficulties, you'll need to protect your land base from Air raids against your base. Bring enough interceptors and fighters to gain AS 1-2 times.

Once the conditions are met the path to the Battleship Water Demon Kai will be unlocked.

Sinking Battleship Water Demon Kai

Preferred Composition:
Fast STF composition
Main Fleet: 4 (F)BB / 1 CV(B) / 1 CAV
Alt. Main Fleet: 4 (F)BB / 2 CVL[1]
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 1-2 CA / 0-1 CLT / 0-1 CVL / 0-1 AO[2]

[1]An alternative main fleet composition that does not utilize a Seaplane Fighter (SPF) CAV mule. This composition is not recommended in harder difficulties due to lacking surviability in the pre-boss nodes. [2]AO should only be considered for Last Dance on Medium / Hard Difficulty, all other difficulties can be usually done without using an AO.

In this segment, your fleet will need to go through a series of battles against carriers, subs and other various ships while dealing with not having AS over the majority of the battles.

• It's highly recommended to bring strong historical ships for this segments as the fight against the boss in this phase is very high in armor.
• For your CV(B), use Zuikaku and arm her with the best possible fighters along with 1 Torpedo Bomber
• Your CAV should be equipped with SPF to improve your air power.
• Node N will feature a New Submarine Princess along with Submarine So-Class in the mix. It's strongly advised to bring an ASW LBAS to this node, especially on Medium and Hard difficulty.
• Node T will have 1-2 Aircraft Carrier Princess along with Nu-class Carriers, bring enough air power for air parity (AP) to prevent the enemy from being able to use Artillery spotting and CV Cut-Ins.

Node V - Battleship Water Demon Kai

In this boss battle, the Battleship Water Demon Kai will be a strong and powerful opponent as she has high armor making her difficult to beat. If you are playing on Medium and Hard difficulty, bringing LBAS to the boss is HIGHLY REQUIRED to have a chance at defeating the boss. However, due to the range requirements this map needs to reach the boss please consider following:

• Akitsushima can be farmed in E-2 Node Y from S ranks.
• If you lack in any Type 2 Flying Boat for this segment, consider challenging this part on Casual or Easy Difficulty
• If you have 1-3 Type 2 Flying Boat for this segment, consider challenging the part on Medium and Hard Difficulty

The Distance needed to reach the boss node is 11 meaning only Land Base Bombers and a Type 2 Flying Boat are capable of reaching the boss node.

Using the combination of Historical Ships, along with a Boss Support Fleet, LBAS, and Friend Fleet you will need to deliver a strong of a blow as you can against the Hime during the entire course of the battle. Consider leaving the Friend Fleet 10th Battle Divsion comprising of Yahagi, Isokaze, Hamakaze, Urakaze and Yukikaze open to appear. They have a high rate of being chosen over the Destroyer Division 19 Friend Fleet.

• All historical ships are given a 1.15x historical bonus during this battle.
• Ships such as Musashi, Yamato, Kongou, Haruna, and Zuikaku make good units to use for the Day Battle Segment
• Ships such as Myoukou, Yukikaze, Kasumi, Abukuma, and Shigure have high base luck or are highly effective with a torpedo cut-in setup.
• Carrier Night Battle equipment such as the Night Deck Personel and Night planes like the F6F-3N, F6F-5N and TBM-3D can make Zuihou Kai Ni or Zuihou Kai Ni B a valuable asset to use in the escort fleet as she can hit night battle cap easily and has a historical bonus.

When you reach the final kill, the Battleship Water Demon Kai will get a larger boost in her armor (up to 305 on Hard) along with a stronger fleet composition(can have up to 2 Battleship Princess on Hard) resulting in your fleet having to depend on crits and low armor rolls to deal suitable damage to her.

• Modifying Equipment is vital to help improve your chances of succeeding against the boss.
• As a last resort option, bringing in an AO such as Hayasui or Kamoi for the final kill can help turn the tied of the battle.
  • Since your fleet will arrive at the boss node with 30% fuel and 40% ammo using Maritime Resupply can help reduce the ammo and fuel penalty your fleet would otherwise receive without it.
  • Using 1 Maritime Resupply can completely remove the ammo penalty altogether.

Once you have successfully defeated the Battleship Water Demon Kai the path to the Abyssal Crane Princess will open.

Suggested LBAS

Node N

• 1 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 3 Toukai - Distance 8 needed
• LBAS 1: 3 ASW Planes, 1 Type 2 Flying Boat - (For those who don't have Toukai) Distance 8 needed

Since Node N has a powerful set of submarines, using an ASW LBAS is Highly Recommended to take out as many of the submarines as possible leaving only the New Submarine Princess left to deal with.

Node V

• 2 LBAS
• LBAS 2: 3 Land Base Bombers , 1 Type 2 Flying Boat - Distance 11 needed

The air power requirement for air denial (AD) on this node is low enough that a base with 3 LBAA can achieve this. It is highly recommended that you aim to achieve this if possible. Ensure that your base(s) are configured optimally and in the correct order to take advantage of phase 1 shot downs of previous LBAS waves.

Unlocking the shortcuts
Unlocking the shortcut path needed to make a path from B to D and K to H will require you to completion one of the following conditions depending on the difficulty:

• Very Easy - Reach/Defeat node D.
• Easy - Reach/Defeat node D. A rank node H.
• Medium - Reach/Defeat node D. A rank node H.
• Hard - S rank nodes G and H. Obtain AS at node I.

Node D Preferred Composition:

Main Fleet: 4 CV(B) / 2 (F)BB
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 0-1 CLT / 1-2 CA / 0-1 CVL

• For Casual to Medium Mode completing Node D's requirement should be easy to do as all you need is a set of strong carriers and a ship or 2 with ASW capabilities to take care of the submarine that will in the fleet.

Node H

Preferred Composition:
Fast STF composition
Main Fleet: 4 (F)BB / 1 CV(B) / 1 CAV
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2-4 DD / 1 CA / 0-1 CLT / 0-1 CVL (ASW focused)

• For Easy to Hard you will need to have a escrot fleet of ASW capable ships travel through several waves of carrier battles till they reach node H which will be a submarine node with a New Submarine Princess and some Submarine So-Class.
• Bringing an LBAS of ASW bombing planes is recommended especially on higher difficulties to successfully complete the node's requirements.
• If you are unable to successfully defeat all the subs needed for the requirement you can still kill the submarines in night battle due to the combine fleet's mechanics.

Suggested LBAS

Node H

• 1 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 3 Toukai, 1 ASW Bomber Plane - Distance 4 needed
• LBAS 1: 4 ASW Planes - Distance of 4 needed

Node G

Preffered Composition:
Slow CTF composition
Main Fleet: 4 CV(B) / 2 (F)BB
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 0-1 CLT / 1-2 CA / 0-1 CVL

• For Hard Mode, Node G contains a surface fleet of cruisers and destroyers. The fight should be winnable without needing LBAS.

Node I

Preffered Composition:
Fast CTF composition
Main Fleet: 4 CV(B) / 2 (F)BB
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 0-1 CLT / 1-2 CA / 0-1 CVL

• For Hard Mode, Node I is an air attack node where you'll face a strong Air powered fleet.
• Bring an LBAS or 2 full of fighters if you need additional air power support to secure AS on this node
• If you survived node G without anyone taking any heavy damage from that node you can try using your fleet from there to complete this requirement at the same time.

Once the conditions are complete, the shortcut paths will become available.

Obtain the historical bonus (Medium and Hard Mode Only)

Note:If you are playing Casual and Easy, disregard this section all together and proceed to "Sinking the Abyssal Crane Princess".

In Medium and Hard Difficulty it is possible to boost your fleet's historical damaged beyond the 1.2x by completing the following requirements:

• S rank nodes M and W using STF.
• A rank node Q.

Node Q

Preffered Composition:
Slow STF composition
Main Fleet: 4 (F)BB / 1 CV(B) / 1 CAV
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 1 FBB / 0-1 CA / 0-1 CLT / 0-1 CVL

• A slow STF containing 5 (F)BB(V) will routes to node Q.
• Use an ASW focused LBAS on Node A to help reduce the number of Submarine So-Class.
• Using your LBAS at Node Q can help you with securing an A rank that is needed for the requirements.

Suggested LBAS Node A

• 1 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 3 Toukai / ASW TB, 1 Type 2 Flying Boat /Carrier Recon - Distance 2 needed

Node Q

• 2 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 2 Fighter, 1 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers, 1 Flying Boat - Distance 9 needed
• LBAS 2-3: 1 Fighter, 2 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers, 1 Flying Boat - Distance 9 needed

Though you may not reach AS on this node, being able to prevent air denial (AD) can help make it more possible to secure an A rank here.

Node M and Node W

Preffered Composition:
Fast STF composition
Main Fleet: 4 (F)BB / 1 CV(B) / 1 CAV
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 1 FBB / 1 CA / 0-1 CLT / 0-1 CVL

• Node M and W are along the path required for this fleet will travel
• Trying to score an S rank on Node M will require some effort, send at least 2 LBAS to Node M while sending an ASW LBAS to Node H.
• Node W simple requires you to reach the node with a Surface Fleet.
• By the time you reach Node W you will have no fuel or ammo left. So fighting there will result in most if not all of your ship getting heavily damaged.

Suggested LBAS

Node M

• 2 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 2 Fighter, 2 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers - Distance 5 needed
• LBAS 2: 1 Fighter, 3 Torpedo / Land Based Bombers - Distance 5 needed

Node H

• 1 LBAS
• LBAS 1: 3 Toukai / ASW TB, Type 2 Flying Boat/Carrier Recon - Distance 4 needed
• LBAS 1: 4 ASW Planes - Distance of 4 needed

• Once the condition are met, a quest complete sound will be heard upon returning to base.

Upon completing the Conditions, the following changes will happen:

• All Kurita, Shima, Nishimura and Ozawa Fleet Members will get a 1.6x historical bonus
• Musashi, Zuikaku and Zuihou will get a 1.8x historical bonus
• Shoukaku will get a 2.4x historical bonus

Sinking the Abyssal Crane Princess

Recommended Composition:

Abyssal Crane Princess Fast CTF composition
Main Fleet: 4 CV(B) / 2 (F)BB
Escort Fleet: 1 CL / 2 DD / 0-1 CLT / 1-2 CA / 0-1 CVL

Depending on the difficulty, the final phase of the event will either require extensive effort or can be simple. The way you'll need to tackle the boss will be similar but can consist of some differences.

• During this Phase your escort fleet will generally be in the most dangerous especially in Node W.
• As like in the other phases an ASW capable ship can still helpful especially one that can pre-emptive ASW like in higher difficulties to take out the Submarine So-Class
• In route Support is recommended in higher difficulties to make tougher nodes like Nodes D and W passable.

Once you made it to the boss node, depending on the difficulty, the following things should be considered:

Abyssal Crane Princess on Medium and Hard Mode

With the debuff method complete on Medium and Hard mode, the Abyssal Crane Princess will become significantly weaker against historical ships. However, in order to make the win far more successful, you will need to not only bring the proper kanmusu for the job but also efficiently rig the Friend Fleets to get some of the best possible benefits.

Below here are a few important points regarding ships to consider for Medium and Hard Mode Difficulty:

• Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Zuihou, and Musashi are very vital when the debuff is triggered as they can do far more damage compared to anyone else in the entire fleet.
• Kaga while not a historical ship still has an important role due to her large plane capacity which allows her to carry a large fighter power. She will be doing a fighter mule role in this event segment to help your fleet get closer to gaining air superiority.
• Due to their historical buff Shoukaku and Zuikaku should be armed to perform CV cut-ins.
• Taihou can be a small time damage dealer on this map as she's the only CVB that doesn't interfere with certain Friend Fleet arrangements.
• Torpedo Cut in ships such as Yukikaze and Shigure are good here not just for their historical damage, but to also prevent certain unnecessary Friend Fleets from appearing.
• If you have a luck modded Choukai or Maya you can use them to help torpedo cut-in along with the other ships in a night battle.
• Zuihou's Kai 2 B will have a vital role in helping deliver the kill against the boss if you have the night battle planes and gear to set her up to launch an attack against the boss at night.
  • If you are lacking in night planes, you will likely be depending more on Torpedo Cut-Ins to help win the battle.
• Avoid bringing in Yamato, Nagato, Myoukou, Haguro, Naganami and Hatsushimo in your fleet as they are needed to trigger the Kurita main Friend Fleet which is vital to scoring a victory in the fight during the night battle.
• Yamato's Kurita Friend Fleet will also be given the historical bonus allows them to also efficiently damage or even kill tougher targets such as Hime types.
  • This becomes more apparent in Hard mode as the final kill will pit you against the main fleet consisting of nothing but Aircraft Carrier Princess and Battleship Princess.
• The International Friend Fleet can also be used but is less effective overall against the Abyssal Crane Princess's Fleet due to the random nature of coming with 3-7 ships and having not as effective equipment setups.
  • It is possible to lock them out by using ships like Iowa and Saratoga in your fleet, but in return, you will also be crippling your main fleet's power by bringing in additional non-historical ships.
• Fleet Oilers like Hayasui and Kamoi will be helpful on the final kill on Hard mode by bringing Maritime Resupply to help your fleet reach it's best to combat potential.
  • When your fleet reaches the boss node, they will have only 35% fuel and ammo
  • Using 1 Maritime Resupply should remove the ammo penalties from your fleet altogether and 2 will reduce the fuel penalty further to dodge more efficiently.
• If you have a strong enough LBAS set up to help easily secure air superiority along with your fleet's air power. It may become possible to bring in a Saiun to prevent T-Disadvantage to make killing the boss fleet more possible.
• Boss Support Fleet is Highly recommended

Abyssal Crane Princess on Casual and Easy Mode

On this difficulty, you will be lacking the full-scale debuff effect as there is no way to trigger this feature on casual and easy mode. Expect to be putting more effort into your fleet's own strength however even without the debuff, historical ships are still important.

• Most of the Key points from Medium and Hard mode apply to here as well. Even though Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Zuihou, and Musashi will not have the big historical bonus, they will still be your big hitters in this battle.
• Kitakami and Ooi have a more important role in this difficulty as the boss should be weaker and having them equipped with double attacks to do consistant cap damage can help weaken the boss for your torpedo cut-in members to score an easier kill.
• Easy mode may be somewhat difficulty to complete even with a proper set up so if possible avoid going down to this difficulty and if you are playing on this difficulty and are still having trouble, consider dropping to Casual.

Preffered LBAS

Node X
3 LBAS

• LBAS 1: 3 Fighters (Range 6), 1 Type 2 Flying Boat
• LBAS 2 (Pre-Last Kill): 2 Fighters (Range 6), 1 Land Base Bomber, 1 Type 2 Flying Boat
• LBAS 2-3 (Pre/Last Kill): 1 Fighters (Range 6), 2 Land Base Bomber, 1 Type 2 Flying Boat

To bring any fighters to help lower the air power at the boss node, you're going to need a fighter plane with a range of 6 or greater. Hayabusa and Type 52 Fighters should be able to reach this with the assistance of a Type 2 Flying Boat.

Since the boss contains a lot of air power, you want your first set of LBAS planes to clean out as many of the planes as you can while having the remaining bases bring fighters and bombers to wipe out what ships they can.

During the Final Kill, the air power requirement is lower so it is possible to use fewer fighters and more bombers to the boss node.

Once the boss is successfully defeated, the event is considered complete.

What to do if you don't have a Type 2 Flying Boat?

Without a Type 2 Flying Boat you fleet will have a very difficult time securing the win at the boss node. Since the boss has a huge amount of air power. If you are challening a harder difficulty you will find score the win quite difficult. If possible seek out Akitsushima from E-2 if you can and train her to get her Flying Boat. Otherwise the main options are to either lower the difficulty or try to use your LBAS in different methods:

Node M
1 LBAS

• LBAS : 4 Fighters / Land Base Fighters (Range 6 Needed)

A fighter sweep over this node can help reduce the total number of abyssal bombers that will target your fleet in the opening phase. You may potentially disable the carriers in this node by deplaning them with Fleet AA and AACI.

Node W
1 LBAS

• LBAS : 4 Land Based Bombers (Range 7 Needed)

This node features a surface fleet that can often present trouble to the escort fleet since they can occasionally appear in Line ahead or Vanguard Formation. Using and LBAS to clear some if not most of the enemy ships out can help here.

Node X
1 LBAS

• LBAS : 4 Land Based Bombers (Range 9 Needed)

Unlike the other LBAS method used on the boss, this method is more of a Last Resort measure to try wiping out some of the enemies in the boss node. Since if you're lacking in a flying boat, this will be the only way you can bring anything to the boss and killing some ship may be possible, but it will also likely result in your losing a large amount of planes and possibly lose your Land Base Bomber's rank in the process. Only consider this option if you have no other means of bringing fighters to the boss node.