Sandbox/expedition

General Expeditions

# Key Resource Time          +  Total Gross Resources per Hour[1]   Sparkling Load [2]
2     0:30 200 60 200 230 1 8+ for GS
3   0:30 90 90 120 180 300 9+ for GS
5    1:30 133 133 13 13 266 318
5 GS    1:30 200 200 20 20 400 477 3 13 [3]
6   0:40 120 360
6 GS   0:40 200 600 6
21    2:20 137 116 253 253
21 GS    2:20 206 174 380 380 1.7 or 2.1 [4]
37     2:45 138 98 138 236
37 GS     2:45 207 147 207 354 1.5 or 1.8 or 2.2 [5]
38     2:55 144 69 144 213
38 GS     2:55 216 104 216 320 1.4 or 1.7 or 2.1 [6]

Discussion of Expeditions

  • Great Success (GS) rates stand at ~16 23% (i.e. 1/6) per sparkled ship, the base GS rate for expeditions with 4 and 5 sparkled ships is therefore approximately 23 (66 23%), 56 (83 13%). The rate for 6 ships should theoretically be 1, but instances of 6 sparkled ships not returning a GS have been reported, leading it to be theorized that there is a cap on the GS rate.
    • For expeditions that utilize drums (i.e. the short expeditions 21, 37, 38, and the long expeditions 24 and 40), carrying over the minimum number required will also increase the GS rate
  • Expeditions 2, 3, and 6 possess extremely high turnover rates, and as such possess an high sparkling load
    • Expedition 2 is a fairly strong ammo and steel expedition, but its main resource is in the form of buckets
    • Expedition 3's low ship count results in a low base GS rate, and its high turnover rates mean that sparkling enough ships to ensure a high GS rate will result in net losses of fuel and ammo in exchange for steel
    • Expedition 6 may be well-suited for sparkling in critical situations, due to it being the only high-efficiency bauxite expedition
  • Expedition 5 is overall the best expedition in the game, effectively dominating expedition 21 by bringing in fuel and ammunition at high rates, while also providing a small trickle of bauxite.
    • It also costs only fuel, which means that almost any DD can be used
    • Expedition 5's only real drawback is its relatively high sparkling load. As it is a 4 ship expedition, adding on a 5th sparkled ship for a higher GS rate is highly recommended
  • Expedition 21, as such
  • Expeditions 37 and 38 are relatively poor expeditions for resource gain
    • In terms of gross resources gained, a GS 38 brings in only 2 more resources per hour than base 5
  • While expedition 6 gives the "highest" gross resources per hour, this is all in bauxite, which has varying utility.
Discussion of Expeditions

Key assumptions and limitations:

  • The table assumes that expedition timings are run optimally (i.e. with continuous monitoring)
  • The table lists gross, not net, resource gain.
  • Gross Resources Weightage is derived from natural regeneration rates, in which Fuel, Ammo, and Steel are weighed equally, and Bauxite is given triple weightage.
    • In practical gameplay, Fuel (used for repairs and sorties) is much more important than Ammunition (only for sortie), while steel is the least important resource (only for repairs),
    • Bauxite usage, by contrast, varies greatly depending on the current demands of the fleet (a carrier or LBAS-dependent event will consume bauxite rapidly, while less CV-heavy events will consume far less)
  • The chart does not take into account resources spent sparkling

Common Expedition Combinations

As one of the three expeditions is usually committed towards either expedition 2 for buckets or expedition 6 for bauxite, most combinations here will cover the options for the remaining two expeditions.

Combination Overall Resource Focus          +  Total Gross Resources per Hour[7]
5 GS
21 GS
    406 374 20 20 780 860
21 GS
38 GS
    422 174 104 0 596 700
5 GS
38 GS
    416 200 124 20 616 800
37 GS
38 GS
    216 207 251 0 423 674
5 GS
21 GS
38 GS
      622 374 123 20 996 1180

Forming Expedition Compositions

The following can be seen from the above table

  • For extra sparkling chance, expedition 5 can be run with five sparkled ships instead of the minimum of 4.
  • Assuming perfect efficiency, expedition 5 effectively dominates expedition 21.
    • This means that expedition 21 should not be run unless expedition 5 is also being run
  • Stacking expeditions 5, 21, and 38 for an all-out fuel focus

Bucket Expeditions

# Key (Non-Bucket) Resource Time         Average Time Per Bucket
(lower is better)
2   0:30 200 60 1H
4   0:50 72 1H 40M
9   4:00 87 No Buckets
9 GS   4:00 130 2H 40M [8]
10    1:30 33 19 3H
13 GS    90 113 5H 20M

Sortie Resource Farming

This portion of the review will discuss maps in which resources may be farmed.

  • 2-2: Runs have a 25% chance of averaging 10 bauxite per 1.5 nodes and a 75% chance of averaging 25 bauxite for 2 nodes
    • This works out to an average of 21 bauxite per run of 1.9 nodes
  • 2-3: Orel cruising collects about 45 fuel and 12 ammo for a single sub, and is discussed further on its page
  • 3-2: Kis Island is an excellent place to farm steel with submarines, averaging 100 steel per successful run [9]
    • Farming here requires either a single high-evasion/armor submarine (to ensure that attacks are aimed a target with high evasion), or failing which, a larger fleet of submarines to eliminate enemies, preferably 4

Overnight/Long Expeditions

# Key Resources Time          +  Total Gross Resources[10]  
9 GS   4:00 525 525 525 1.5
11 GS   5:00 375 1125 1
12 GS    8:00 75 325 300 75 400 925
13 GS    4:00 360 450 810 810 1
15 GS    12:00 450 600 2250
16 GS      15:00 750 750 300 300 1500 2700
24 GS    8:20 750 225 750 1425 1
35 GS    7:00 360 420 1620
36 GS     9:00 750 300 300 750 1950 1
40 GS      6:50 450 450 150 900 1350 1


  1. Fuel + Ammo + Steel + 3(Bauxite)
  2. Ships per exped per hour (unless stated otherwise)
  3. Assuming 5 ships used for higher GS rate
  4. for 4 or 5 sparkled ships respectively
  5. for 4, 5, and 6 sparkled ships respectively
  6. for 4, 5, and 6 sparkled ships respectively
  7. Fuel + Ammo + Steel + 3(Bauxite)
  8. A GS on exped 9 either gives 1 or 2 buckets, thus averaging 1.5 buckets in 4 hours
  9. http://5-4.blog.jp/archives/1055823606.html
  10. Fuel + Ammo + Steel + 3(Bauxite)