Dark's guide (Hijacked by Totaku)

Introduction

E1 is a single fleet map consisting of multiple lengthy unlock phases followed by a single HP phase. Due to the weaker nature of the enemy fleets not using any historical ships can be considered.

Meeting Key location in the Nansei Islands Part 1

This Phase contains up to 4 requirements, depending on difficulty:

A N M L
Hard Reach A+ A+ Reach
Medium Reach A+ A+
Easy A+ A+
Casual Reach

  • 1CL, 5DD
  • Route: B F E D A
    • AA/ASW Gear is recommended
    • Using a generic AACI on a generic ship can be helpful on E.

  • 1CL, 5DD
  • Route: B F J N
    • Fleet should be equipped for surface combat.
    • Using a generic AACI on a generic ship can be helpful on J.

  • 1FBB, 1CV, 1CL, 3DD
  • Route: B C G K M
    • A fleet with a standard carrier forces the fleet to go to M.
    • Using 1-2 ASW ships to help with M is recommended.

  • 1FBB, 1CV, 1CL, 3DD
  • Route: B C G I L
    • I features a heavy cruiser surface fleet

Once conditions are met additional nodes will unlock.

Meeting Key location in the Nansei Islands Part 2

This Phase contains up to 4 requirements, depending on difficulty:

H2 O1 O3 O4
Hard S Reach AS S
Medium S Reach AS S
Easy Reach AS S
Casual Reach

  • 1FBB, 1CVL, 2CA, 1 CL, 1DD (FAST)
  • Route: B F E H H1 H2
    • H2 is a surface fight with a CVL present in the fleet.

  • 1CL, 5DD
  • Route: B F J N O O2 O5
    • O2 will be a heavy enemy surface fleet. Using Vanguard to minimize damage is recommended.

  • 0-1FBB, 1CV, 0-1 CVL, 1CL, 3-4DD
  • Route: B C G K M O3
    • AACI is highly recommended for this step.
    • It is recommended to Fighter sweep the Node (5 Range) if the fleet is unable to reach the requirement by itself.

  • 1CL, 5DD
  • Route: B F J N O O4
    • Using 1-2 ASW ships is recommended

Once conditions are met additional nodes will unlock.

Meeting Key location in the Nansei Islands Part 3 to Unlock V3

The goal of this phase is to make contact with 3 key locations that will require reaching the farthest parts of the Nansei Islands towards Taiwan. All key areas don't contain enemies to fight. Below are the requirements for each difficulty:

Q3 T U
Hard Reach Reach Reach
Medium Reach Reach
Easy Reach Reach
Casual Reach

  • 1CL, 5DD
  • Route: B F J N O O4 Q Q3
    • Path is identical to going through O4, focus primarly on AA, ASW and and combat and vanguard to pass the surface node

  • 1FBB, 1CVL, 1CL, 3DD
  • Route: B F J N O O4 P R S T
    • Focus on AA to survive the air attack on R otherwise, all nodes past it contain no enemies, just direct your fleet to T.

  • 1FBB, 1CVL, 1CL, 3DD
  • Route: B F J N O O4 P R S U
    • Focus on AA to survive the air attack on R otherwise, all nodes past it contain no enemies, just direct your fleet to U.

Once all conditions are met, the final sequence where you'll face off against the carrier combined fleet will be unlocked.

Boss Phase: Eliminate the Combined Carrier fleet at V3

In this final phase, the fleet will now face off and eliminate a carrier combined fleet which is led by a Wo-class Carrier Kai at Node V3.

There are two main strategies to fight the boss, in both cases :

  • High AA and AACI are recommended to help survive the nodes along the trip.
  • Boss airpower is 191 AP / 422 AS / 828 AS+.
  • 1 LBAS should use fighters and bombers (range 8 Required).
  • Boss support is optional.

  • 1CV, 1CVL, 1CA(V), 1CL, 2DD
  • Route = B C K O3 S T V1 V3
    • Fleet will be armed to focus more heavily on air power to fight through the carrier fleets and air nodes along the way.
    • Strong carrier fleets are present making passing rates harder compared to the north route
    • Will make scoring AS more possible at the boss node
    • Will allow for a strong opening strike
    • Do note, however, you will not get a 2nd shelling attack

  • 0-1FBB, 1-2CVL, 1CL, 3DD
  • Route = B F J N O O4 P R S T V3
    • Fleet will be more combat-focused
    • Bringing an FBB will allow 2nd Shelling which will be useful for the boss
    • Using 2 CVLs will allow for better protection from air nodes leading up to the boss fight, but will lack 2nd shelling.
    • Aim for at least AP to survive
    • Splitting the land base between R and V3 may improve survival chances

Once the HP bar is depleted and finish off the Wo-class Kai the map is considered complete.

Suzu's guide

Gimmick 1

Gimmick 2

Gimmick 3: Unlock V3

Phase 1: Boss Node V3