Tips
There are three routes to the boss node, from northmost to southmost, they are
- North route A-D-(H)-L
- South route 1: B-E-(H)-L
- South route 2: B-E-I-L
n.b. H node does not have a battle
General Considerations
- The main factor to consider when choosing between the north route and a south route will be the night battle node D (which varies with HQ level) against the Ru-Flag at E (on all HQ levels)
South route B-E-(H)-L and B-E-I-L Example Fleets: B-E-(H)-L: 2CAV 2CVL 2DD, 2CA 2CVL 2 DD, 2CA CLT CVL 2DD
B-E-I-L: 4CA 2CVB (BM1, B34), Any (F)BB(V) or CV(B)
Non-Guaranteed: 4CA 2CVL, 3CA 3CVL
- The difference between the two south routes is having to route through the battle node I, which includes a Wo-Kai (or Flag-wo below HQ 100)
- Any BB or CV precludes the possibility of going to I node
- While the Wo-Kai at node I is a strong enemy, it is the much weaker base Wo-Kai, and not the Wo-Kai Type IV often seen in events. (12 less accuracy, less FP, weaker airstrike, etc.)
- If doing the Myoukou fleet monthly (BM1) or a similar quest where guaranteed routing to H is impossible, it might be worth it to accept being routed to I and simply bring heavy ships such as CVs.
North route A-D-(H)-L
Example Fleets: 4DD CA CL (BM7), 3CA 2CAV CLT or 3CA 2CAV FBB (BM1), CL CA 2CLT 2DD (B85)
The north route necessitates either a drum-carrying fleet or a light fleet, although as shown above, it is possible (though not necessarily recommended) to bring battleships this way. More importantly, this route is the one used for monthly quest BM7, which requires 4 DDs (with one as flag), a CA, and a CL. More specific BM7 advice will be given later.
- There are three primary issues this fleet faces, one at each node.
- Node A has a formation with Chi-flag CLTs at HQ 100+, which are a threat to lighter ships especially in the absence of a second shelling phase.
- Sub HQ 100, this node can still be dangerous to lower-levelled ships.
- The night battle Node D has the possibility of a Ri-Kai at HQ 90+
- At lower HQ levels, Node D is somewhat easier. Nonetheless, although only the Ri-classes are capable of performing special night attacks, a single attack from a He-flag (48+80) is a significant threat to a DD.
- Lastly comes the boss node L, with at least 3 BBs. If you have opted for a DD-heavy fleet, a night battle is almost certainly required
Recommended fleet compositions: 2CA/CAV 2DD 2CVL; 2CA/CAV 2DD 1CLT 1CVL; 1CL 2DD 3CVL
- No BB(V) or CV allowed
- 2 CA/CAV and 2DD give guaranteed branching for this route, however, alternatives such as 4CA2CVL or 3CA3CVL exist (but those fleets can offroute to F)
- 2 CAs or 2 CAVs are required, one of each can cause offrouting to I
- Pros:
- Fairly cheap
- Low AS requirement allows for a large opening airstrike
- Guaranteed boss routing
- Cons:
- 2 DDs needed for guaranteed branching
- Three battles before the boss node
- Recommended fleet compositions: 4FBB 2CV; 1(F)BB(V) 3CA(V) 2CV
- Heavy fleets can offroute to the dead-end node F
- Pros:
- Strong chance of successfully killing the boss
- Low chance of being forced to retreat
- Cons:
- Chance of getting sent off course
- Extremely expensive
- Only two battles before the boss node. The second node is a night battle node
- Recommended fleet composition: 2CAV 3CA(V) 1CLT; 4DD, 1CL, 1CA with a destroyer as flagship for Monthly Bm7.
- No BB(V)s or CV(L)s are allowed.
- If not using 4DD or 3DD+1CL, two ships need to be each equipped with a Drum Canister each in order to guarantee going to node A
- CLTs are allowed, using Abukuma Kai Ni also allows you to add on an additional opening torpedo with no penalty
- North route (including boss node) doesn't have any enemy carriers, so it's possible to get AS+ with just seaplane bombers, enabling Artillery Spotting
- Double attack setups (both day and night) are recommended for consistency
- Consider bringing Star Shell, Searchlight and/or Type 98 Recon Seaplane (Night Scout) to make the night battle and boss node easier.
- Pros:
- Relatively cheap, especially if using destroyers
- Relatively easier at lower levels
- Cons:
- High leveled ships are required
- Night battle node can force retreats easily, especially at high levels.
- Monthly Quest: "Surface Counterattack Fleet" Charge!" (Bm7) Advice:
- The main consideration for this quest is achieving the required LoS of about 60 with 4DDs in the fleet (or 33 LOS using the LOS33 formula).
- Your DDs will probably need radars to add LoS and therefore are unlikely to equip any night battle equipment. Try balancing between ships that can provide high firepower (Yuudachi Kai Ni, Ayanami Kai Ni)and ships that has good base LoS (Akatsuki Kai Ni).
- For your CL, good options can be either Abukuma Kai Ni, Jintsuu Kai Ni, or Ooyodo/Yuubari. It is recommended to equip a seaplane or two on your CL, as seaplanes contribute much more LoS than radars do, contributing twice their nominal value while radars only contribute their nominal value.
- Abukuma comes with a strong opening torpedo, which gives her the highest total damage output of any CL in the game
- Jintsuu has the highest shelling potential of all CLs, and gets much stronger if Zara is used
- Ooyodo has the highest base LoS among all CLs, and comes with a fourth slot to carry an extra seaplane
- Yuubari is an option in the absence of Ooyodo, as she can carry seaplanes in her fourth slot to add LoS (see above), despite having 0 plane slots.
- Options for CAs can be a Myoukou-class Kai Ni, Choukai Kai Ni, Zara-class, or pre-K2 Tone-class.
- Zara or Pola are arguably the most recommended CAs for this quest as they can carry seaplane bombers to gain Air Superiority at the two daytime nodes.
- Although the only beneficiaries of artillery spotting are the Zara-class themselves (Abukuma does not benefit from arty spotting), their artillery spotting (about 50% of the time) alone allows their damage output to exceed even Choukai.
- Do note that their innate LoS is lower, and that seaplane bombers confer less LoS than recon seaplanes. Ensure that you can obtain the required LoS before placing them in.
- Myoukou-class Kai Nis and Choukai Kai Ni are all-round excellent CAs, with great innate LoS along with excellent offensive and defensive stats.
- If you don't have either of those groups and are struggling to meet LoS requirements, the unremodelled Tone-Class have the highest LoS stats of all standard CAs.
- Zara or Pola are arguably the most recommended CAs for this quest as they can carry seaplane bombers to gain Air Superiority at the two daytime nodes.