Sandbox/Spring 2019 E-4

Sandbox Rules

This sandbox is to be used to construct an event guide for the above mentioned event map. These guides are to all of the following requirements:

• List of branching unlocking requirements (If there are multiple requirements, compositions for each path along with the below requirements will be needed to discuss the unlocking requirements in question)

• A list of working compositions that work: (These must have possible alternatives for players who may or may not have all ships needed for a specific path)

• The Path said composition will take (To explain what path the composition will take)

• A summary or description of what kind of obstacles a composition will face.

• A description of the boss node, what it consist and a descriptive guide on what the player should consider for a course of action to successfully win the battle.

• (Optional) Tips to farm to take path to collect certain ships (This will also require a composition, path, and possible description.

Editors are to construct thier own version of thier guide and complete them in a timely fashion.

No other editors are to allowed to edit over other editor's work without the full consent of the editor and his approval to do so.

Several version will be constructed through this page and will be reviewed and approved by the staff/ collaboration committee before being moved for the Event Page Sandbox which it'll be reviewed and updated once more before it can be released.

Overall there will be 3 version of the guide that will be constructed which will include:

• Preliminary Guide
• Polished Guide
• Finalized Guide

With each approval of each version the guide, the said guide will be updated to the main page and construction of the next version will begin.

All guides outside of the approved version will be removed and work will begin from the approved version to make it better for the next version until the finalized version is made.

Totaku's Proposal

Regarding Pearl Harbor Forces

Within this operation you fleets associated to the Pearl Harbor Forces are will provide you the best benifits on this map. But be careful when planning in this operation as you will need to carefully divide your fleet between two seperate fleets. The Kidou Butai which will consist of a Carrier Task Force and the Occupation Landing Force which will use a Surface Task Force.

If you plan to challenge yourself on Normal or Higher you will need to prepare approximately 26-30+ ships that you'll need to assign between both tags.

In addition to this, the following ships that make up the Pearl Harbor Team will be considered valuable for this operation:

CV: Akagi, Kaga, Souryuu, Hiryuu, Shoukaku, Zuikaku
BB: Kirishima, Hiei
CA(V): Tone, Chikuma
CL: Abukuma
DD: Kagerou, Shiranui, Kasumi, Arare, Hamakaze, Urakaze, Isokaze, Tanikaze

Keep in mind that for the operation you will be mainly using ther Kidou Butai to complete various tasks and for chipping away at the boss. So keep some historical carriers for this section. When you reach the anti installations segment for the Kidou Butai, it's recommended to use Yuubari for this segment if you have her.

The Landing Occupation Force will be mainly contributing to unlocking and delivering the final blow to the boss once all conditions are unlocked. Be sure to bring your historical battleships, Heavy (Aviation) Cruisers, and various Destroyers for this section. When you reach the anti installations segment for the Occupation Landing Force, it's recommended to use Ooyodo for this segment if you have her.

Steps to getting the Landing Forces into position for the final strike

E-4 will have you fleet go through a various number of steps you will need to complete which depending on the difficulty you will do will require additional steps as you climb up the difficulty ladder. There will include the following:

• Defeat the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon's Fleet (S Rank) at node J
• Defeat the Seaplane Tender Water Princess's Fleet (S Rank) at node S
• Defeat the enemy Transport Combined Fleet (S rank) in Node T (Easy +)
• Get AS at node L (Normal +)
• Get AS at node K (Normal +)
• Get AS at Land Base Air Raid (Normal +)
• Get Central Princess's HP down to 33% (40% on Casual)

Completing all these requirements will open up a new starting point for your Surface Task Force (Landing Operation Forces) to commence with the final strike. Below will be a step by step regarding the procedures you'll need to complete.

Defeat the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon's Fleet (S Rank) at node J (Score a B+ Victor on Casual)

Recommended Fleet

CTF - 3 CV, 2 CA, 1 FBB + 1 CL, 2 CA, 0-1 CLT, 2-3 DD

Recommended LBAS

Node J
LBAS 1-2
2 Fighters, 2 Land Base Bombers (Distance of 4 Needed)

Path: A-D-G-J

Relatively simple fight against a carrier fleet. The Aircraft Carrier Water Demon herself can be a simple enemy to take out, but if pair with carriers in higher difficulties, she can be much harder to fight against. Bring a strong carrier fleet along with a good LBAS can help make clearing this requirement easy.

Defeat the enemy Transport Combined Fleet (S rank) in Node T (Easy +)

Recommended Fleet

3 CV, 1 AV, 1 CA, 1 (F)BB + 1 CL, 2 CA, 0-1 CLT, 2-3 DD (Main Fleet must be slow and have an AV)

Recommended LBAS

Defenses again Node J
LBAS 1-2
2 Fighters, 2 Land Base Bombers (Distance of 4 Needed)

Defending Against Subs (C and I)
LBAS 1-2
4 ASW Bombers/ Toukai (Distance of 3 and 4 Required)

Bombing Node T
LBAS 1-2
3-4 Land Base bomber, 0-1 Range extender plane (Distance of 8 Required)

Path: A-C/D-G-I-J-L-Q-T

Unlike the prior task, this one will take your fleet along a long and winding path with many encounters between surface fleets, air attacks, submarines and the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon before you are able to make your way to Node T.

Expect to be using your 2 Land Bases you will be using to attack to help provide some defenses and attack measures against the nodes you'll need to go through. If subs prove to be a problem, bring your Toukai, if the Aircraft Carrier Water Demon is a problem consider using the previous method to make the task of passing that node easier. If you feel you fleet can safely get to node T, then organize a fleet for that area to help clear out most of the enemies to help secure an S rank more easily. Keep in mind that because this path will have you face many difficult challenges you may want to bring in-route support to help you along the way and if needed, please consider bringing a Fleet Command Facility to improve your chances that some of your combined fleet members will make it to Node T.

If you bring sizeable LoS in your fleet and can reach node T, most of the enemies there are CLs, DDs, Transports and a Light Carrier. All which can be beaten down if you have a strong enough fleet for the job.

Defeat the Seaplane Tender Water Princess's Fleet (S Rank) at node S

Recommended Fleet

STF - 2 FBB, 3 CA(V), 1 CV + 1 CL, 2 CA, 0-1 CLT, 2-3 DD

Recommended LBAS

Node K
LBAS 1
4 Fighters (Distance of 4 Required)

Node S
LBAS 2
2 Fighters, 2 Land Base Bombers (Distance of 7 Needed)

Path: B-F-H-K-N-S

Most of this will have your fleet pitted against some surface fleet and defending against air nodes. In addition, most surface fleets will have submarines. So a few important things need to be considered while taking this route:

• Be sure your CV is a fighter mule as you will need to air cover to protect yourself.
• Bring an ASW capable DD (Pre-ASW capable DDs preffered) or 2 to fight the subs in some of the nodes.
• Bring AACI to help with additional air defenses.

If you are able to manage this, you will be to likely survive the majority of the enemy fleets in the area. And if you send an Land base with Air defense for node K you'll be able to also clear the requirements for air defense on higher difficulties.

Outside of these nodes, the node containing the Seaplane Tender Water Princess will have a considerable amount of air power especially on higher difficulties where she will have additional carriers to provide more air power. But with the assistance of a LBAS at node S and possibly a In-route Support fleet, along with a ship that hit hard enough to send her HP to 0 (usually with a CLT or TCI DD) it should be easy enough to defeat the boss.

Players who play on Causal will only need to encounter this fleet to complete the requirements.

Get AS at node L and Node K (Normal +)

Recommended Fleet

(Node D)CTF - 3 CV, 2 CA, 1 FBB + 1 CL, 2 CA, 0-1 CLT, 2-3 DD
(Node K)STF - 2 FBB, 3 CA(V), 1 CV + 1 CL, 2 CA, 0-1 CLT, 2-3 DD

Recommended LBAS

Node L
LBAS 1
4 Fighters/ Land Base Fighters (Distance of 5 Needed)

Node K
LBAS 1
4 Fighters/ Land Base Fighters (Distance of 4 Required)

Node L can be easy enough to achieve AS on it's own with just your carriers, but if additional assurance is needed, bring a fighter sweep to meet the requirement.

Node K you will need to make sure you have a CV an a CAV that can fighter mule along with a fighter sweep that will be strong enough clear out most of the planes to help achieve AS.

This can all be done while completing all the other requirements in the way.

Get AS at Land Base Air Raid (Normal +)

Recommended LBAS

LBAS 3 (LBAS)1-2 also if you lack in enough interceptors)
4 Interceptors/Fighters

As one Land base will be on Air Defense at all times. This requirement should need little to no effort to complete if your are a proud owner of Raidens and the new Land Based Reppuu Kais in which will provide more enough air power to easily gain AS with almost no effort.

However if you lack in strong interceptors, you will probably need additional interceptors and fighters from LBAS 1-2 to provide enough air power to gain AS. Otherwise this can be completed while doing all the requirements along the ways.

Get Central Princess's HP down to 33% (40% on Casual)

Recommended Fleet

CTF - 3 CV, 2 CA, 1 FBB + 1 CL, 2 CA, 0-1 CLT, 2-3 DD (Fast Fleet required) (0/0/3/4 Surface Radars Required)

Recommended LBAS

Node V
LBAS 1-2
1 Fighters, 3 Land Base Bombers (Distance of 7 Needed)

Path: A-D-G-J-O-V

This segment of the battle will likely be the longest and most drawn out segment of the entire section that you'll need to unlock the new starting point for your Occupation Landing Force fleet to deliver the final killing blow against the Central Princess. You will need go through both the Standard Carrier Water Demon along with with Node O which will contain 3 Ru-class Battleships befroe you are able to make your way to the boss itself.

Because of this, it's recommended to bring both an In-route support fleet along with a Boss Support Fleet to help you chances in surviving. If also necessary, bring a Fleet Command Facility on your Flagship to pull out any damaged ships along the route to improve the likelihood you will reach the boss node. A strong LoS along with Surface Radars (3 on Normal, 4 on Hard) will help you go from O to V easily.

The boss node itself will mainly consist of a large array of installations which include Central Princess, Supply Depot Princess, Airfield Princess, Artillery Imps and for Easy+ a Battleship Water Demon Kai among the main unit while in the escort fleet, you will mainly face off against some CLs, DDs and a PT Imp Group.

You fleet will need to be armed to tackle all the multiple typed of enemies present at the boss node. However your main objective for the Kidou Butai will be to damage wither down the Central Princess's HP as much as possible per round as your fleet is not likely to finish her off efficiently. Because of this, you consider the following while preparing for the fights on this node:

• Central Princess is vulnerable to Type 91 AP Shell, Type 1 AP Shell, Type 3 Shell, and WG42s
• Airfield Princess is vulnerable to Type 91 AP Shell, Type 1 AP Shell, Type 3 Shell, and WG42s
• Supply Depot Princess is vulnerable to Type 91 AP Shell, Type 1 AP Shell, Type 3 Shell, and WG42s and Daihatsu based equipment like Type 2 Ka-Mi Tank and Daihatsu-class Landing Craft (Type 89 Medium Tanks & Marines)
• Artillery Imps are weak to Type 91 AP Shell, Type 1 AP Shell, and WG42s and Daihatsu based equipment like Type 2 Ka-Mi Tank and Daihatsu-class Landing Craft (Type 89 Medium Tanks & Marines)
• PT Imp Groups are weak to Anti-air guns and Skilled Lookouts and are more effectively killed off by DDs over most other ship classes

Along with using your LBAS, your boss Support fleet, and having a fleet of some anti-installation ships, there is a chance your fleet will do considerable amount of damages to the boss. Keep in mind however it'll be difficulty to pull off and if necessary you can use a Friend Fleet to speed up the process. Since you'll be lacking in most historical tied to the Friend Fleets that can provide good anti-installation support.

Repeat the process until you have successfully withered down the boss's total HP to 33% (40% on Casual) to complete the requirements.

Once all conditions are met, the 3rd starting point will be unlocked which is where you Surface Task Force will commence the final assault against the Central Princess.

Bonus for the Final Kill

Upon unlocking the 3rd starting point, fleets associated with Pearl Harbor will be given a boost in thier combat capabilities allowing them to do higher than normal amount of damage. The following modifier bonuses are applied to the following ships:

• Akagi x1.3
• Shoukaku, Zuikaku x1.25
• Kaga x1.2
• Kirishima, Hiei, Souryuu, Hiryuu, Abukuma,Kagerou, Shiranui, Arare, Kasumi, Hamakaze, Urakaze, Isokaze, Tanikaze x1.15
• Every ship included the fleet will also get an additional 1.15x modifier on top of whatever benefits they get if they are historical and will stack.

Delivering the Final Blow to the Central Princess

Recommended Fleet

STF - 2 FBB, 1 AV/CL/DD, 2 CA(V), 1 CV + 1 CL, 2 CA, 3 DD (Fast Fleet required) (0/0/3/4 Surface Radars Required)

Recommended LBAS

Node V
LBAS 1-2
1 Fighters, 3 Land Base Bombers (Distance of 7 Needed)

Path: X-Y-O-V

For this segment, you will be using most of your historical to make it possible to deliver the final killing blow against the Central Princess. Since you will likely be using your strongest anti-installation units here, be sure to bring Kirishima, Hiei, Tone, Chikuma, Arare, along with other strong anti-installation ships such as Arashio, and you can consider bringing an fast AV like Nisshin to help with process (If you choose to do this, have a way speed modify your slow AV or AO for E-5's segments). Also for air power purposes, it's recommended to bring Kaga along with 1 CAV that will be mainly carrying Seaplane Fighters to help secure air power.

You will also need to bring a ASW capable DD (Preferably Tanikaze D Kai or Urakaze D Kai ) as you will be facing a sub in a mixed fleet along the way that will be in line ahead, double line or Diamond formation making more prone to damaging a ship along the path. Using an pre-ASW DD can help wipe it out quickly.

Outside of this, you'll have to go through an air raid and a battle with Ru-classes before facing the boss node.

Boss node should about the same as before, but with you being able to bring a much stronger anti-installation team, you are more likely to take down the boss and (almost) her entire fleet.

With above mentioned weaknesses one of the better ways to tackle this operation is to consider the idea possibly considering the following options when arming yourself for anti-installation combat:

• Hiei, Kirishima should be armed with AP Shells
• Any AV you decide to bring should consider using a combination of Type 2 Ka-Mi Tank, Daihatsu-class Landing Craft (Type 89 Medium Tanks & Marines), WG42 and a Seaplane Fighter to maximize the damage potential you can do against some of the installations.
• Ooyodo should use the 2 gun and 2 WG42.
• Tone and Chikuma should be armed with a 2 guns, 1 WG42 and 1 Type 3 Shell to maximize thier damage potential if possible (but you may also want to bring a night scout in place of the WG42 in place of them to help give you an edge in night battle.
• Any other anti-installation DD should consider either a 2 gun + WG42 or Type 2 Ka-Mi Tank, Daihatsu-class Landing Craft (Type 89 Medium Tanks & Marines) and WG42 setup.
• In addition to this, do not forget to have a DD that can pick off the PT-Imp Group if it somehow survives attacks from your LBAS with an AA gun or Skilled look out.

For lower difficulties, taking out the Central Princess shouldn't be problematic, but on higher difficulties the major concern will be your plane loosing rank due to the Artillery Imps AACI, and the Battleship Water Demon Kai's tanky Armor which will make it hard to penetrate and will make her a distraction to your fleet. Feel free to use your Friend Fleet to help give you additional edge in battle and with enough effort, the Central Princess should eventually fall.

Grunilgs Proposal

note this is just an incomplete draft for some of the unlocking phase intended for a hard-only clear

Phase 1: Unlocking the third starting point

Well well, this is by far the most tedious part of the whole map. Not because it is hard, but because it takes incredibly long and is expensive. But I am getting ahead of myself. let's start with the easy ones first

BEFORE YOU PROCEED ON MEDIUM OR ABOVE:

This map has two shiplocks. One for the Carrier Task Force used for chipping and one for the Surface Task Force moving in for the Kill. Please plan accordingly

1.1: -S-Rank Node J: This requires you to send a Carrier Task Force to J. This is pretty straightforward, send your two LBAS Bases with 4 Range to the node. You can send either 2 Fighters and 2 Bombers each or go full fighters to deplane the Node. A possible fleet Setup is 3 CV(B) 3 CA(V) + 1 CL 2 DD 1 FBB 2 XX in a fast fleet. Abyssal Shoukaku can pack a punch and can take one aswell, so use Yasen Equipment if you find yourself struggling. It goes without saying that AACI is mandatory here. You can take one of two routes here: ACGJ is taking a subnode and a light surface node before J ADGJ is taking an airraid instead of the subnode

Also dont be too clingy on your chevrons on this map. You are going to suffer heavy plane losses no matter what.

1.2: -Achieve AS at L and -get S-Rank at T This one is quite a bit harder and packing Node Support might not be too bad of an idea (not mandatory though). The fleet setup pretty much stays the same, except for more Airpower Muling and an AV instead of CA(V) in the main fleet. Your fleet also needs to be slow to get routing, so slow AV like Commandante Teste, Mizuho or Akitsushima are a good fit. As the AS Requirement on L is 480 in the worst case, you dont' neccesarily need to send LBAS Fighters there to support you and can use them on J Node again. S-Ranking T should be easy with regular setups since it is a weak transport combined fleet you should have no issue disposing of. The route you will be taking is A-D-G-I-J-L-Q-T or A-C-G-I-J-L-Q-T

Darkheron's Proposal

Casual Farming Strategy

It's recommended to those who are looking for a specific boat drop in E4 to be farming the map in casual/easy mode and then clear the map in Med/Hard mode later on when they are done.