Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-30736282-20170509014339/@comment-1915363-20170509152730

For No.3, buying resources from Akashi's shop wouldn't do you much good for LSC. If anything, the priority list for whaling is as follows:
 * Dock Slot Expansion (seriously, these 2 extra docks really pays themselves after major battles)
 * Ship+Equipment Slot Expansion (preferably with 20 slot leeway for modfodders)
 * Reinforcement Expansion (optional)

Also, battleships as a whole ain't really late-game stuff, though Yamato-class certainly were. They're an important part of your fleet and getting all Kongou-class is the requirement for unlocking 4th fleet, among other things. Not to mention that the "late-game" is actually sooner than you think, depending on your progression.