Board Thread:Special Events/@comment-25730832-20151117074608/@comment-3131745-20151122221819

Emikou wrote: Hi there, What are possible replacements for Aikitsumaru and Abukuma Kai Ni ( My ABKM is leveled but need blueprints), I've noticed that almost everyone's fleet contained the two, I am planning on doing normal dfficulty too.

Akitsumaru's role is just to provide an easy way to achieve air superiority and avoid Tsu from munching your bombers. If you don't have her, your only way to achieve at least air parity is to use AV and/or CAV with seaplane bombers. And you will want at least air parity at boss. You can use BBV too, but that will detour your fleet to a nasty route. This allows your fleet to perform opening airstrike with limited effects (they're not carrier-based bombers). However, Tsu will promptly feed on them, due to small plane counts on these ships, and you'll lose lots of air power and consequent plane ranks.

From experience, I equipped Tone K2 with 2 slots of Zuiun M12. The first node on Hard has a normal Tsu. She wiped one of Tone's slots clean, the 9 plane slot at that. And thus one of my Zuiun M12 had its rank reset from double chevron down to base.

ABKM K2 acts as the mandatory CL with opening torpedo salvo in one neat package. Since CLTs are pretty much banned from E3, and if you use Akitsumaru, this is the only opening you'll have. If you don't have her up to K2, then any CL will do. You just forfeit the opening torpedo salvo.

tl;dr

No Akitsumaru = have to use AV and/or CAV with seaplane bomber = Tsu sez "itadakimasu" = bombers lose ranks

No ABKM K2 = no opening torpedo salvo, cuz Tanaka sez "no CLT lel :v"