Talk:Tutorial: Leveling/@comment-103.41.63.12-20150110111052/@comment-24978536-20150112123141

5-4 Grinding will end costing quite many buckets, yeah.

Regarding 5-4-A grinding, the flagship Ri-class in one of the formations (the CA) can hurt your ships heavily, but in the end, 5-4-A grinding usually only costs me 1 bucket per, let's say around 15 sorties, maybe a bit more buckets if unlucky. I don't think it is a bad deal for around 11k exp for the flagship DD in those 15 sorties, and also for the high experience that the other ships also gain. Scratch damage will also accumulate, but much slower than in normal 5-4 grinding, since there are only 2 possible ships who can harm your fleet. Akashi, if you have one, can repair that scratch damage when you stop grinding.

5-4-A  in my experience can't be done infinitely like 3-2-A can, especially if using a DD as the flagship (with something heavier instead of a DD, 1 CVL can be kept fatigued, I suppose). The CV(L) are needed for the shelling phase to get S-Ranks reliably and to not get hit by enemy torpedoes. I'd recommend keeping at least 2 pairs of a CV+CVL for 5-4-A grinding for switching when their morale gets low. 3 Pairs may be needed if you are grinding on a very fast pace. Also, switch the BB and CA(V) if they get fatigued too. Due to the fact 5-4-A has considerably more difficult enemies than 3-2-A, it is important to keep your ships in high morale. Once you get the hang of it however, and have all the ships who are participicating in the grinding readily equipped, it will be quite easy.

Also, I don't feel that Double Line is needed in 5-4-A. I always go with Line Ahead and get S-Ranks reliably. However, Double Line may definitely be a good choice too.