Talk:Winter 2015 Event/@comment-98.109.16.48-20150210194412/@comment-24978536-20150210201259

The E-4 boss is extremely tanky, having much higher survivability compared to any boss you've faced so far in the event (except BB-Hime, but she is not the boss in E-3) - I see that your fleet has rather low firepower and night battle potential (and you only listed 5 ships by the way). This is kind of worrying, as you really need the high offensive power to take her down. If you have Nagato- or Yamato-class around, replace the Fusou-class with them, pre-Kai Ni Fusou-class firepower just isn't enough. If you can't do that, then replace Akizuki as she really doesn't have the necessary night battle potential either - Yuudachi Kai Ni or a high luck DD would be ideal.

I personally have no experience in E-4 with fleets other than 2DD / 2BB / 2 CV (I'm assuming you are using a 2nd CV) too, but if that composition does not work for you, you may try the southern route - the good point about that route is that you can make use of more night battle-capable ships who may allow you to sink the boss more easily.

Other tips would be that have your other DD in the flagship position for extra protection - they are frail, so it is good to have them protected. Sparkling is a good idea, although it will require patience. Don't sortie with your ships having taken scratch damage, even 1 HP can make the difference between your ship getting Taiha or not in pre-boss node (the pre-boss nodes are fairly weak though, thankfully). Use the boss support expedition on final kill, maybe pre-final kill too if you are having trouble (and sparkle at least your 2 DD if you are doing this).