User blog:SlashZero/Spring 2015 E-5 Hard Boss Pre-final & Farming Composition

Why E-5?

Notable drops are Isokaze and Maruyu. Yamagumo, Asagumo, and Yahagi also drop here. The Maruyu drop rate is around 5%, making this an excellent map for Maruyu farming since it does not require combined fleet.

This map also has up to five transports per run, making it a good map for daily and weekly missions.

Performance
My fleet's average level is a little high, but so far I am at 8 S ranks at the boss out of 10 sorties. These numbers include retreats. I'm still running this composition so expect my sample size to increase later on.

For the exact fleet I used see this video.

Route
There are two branching path points in this map:

First Half
If you bring Mogami + Mikuma, Suzuya + Kumano, Choukai + Ryuujou, or Fubuki + Sendai, the compass will take you to node I via a rather generous fuel node G, only requiring one battle against a fleet of five ships to reach the second branch point.

Otherwise, the compass will take you through an initial battle followed by an air battle node which often contains Wo Flagship Kai.

There is a fuel maelstrom which can't really be avoided consistently. On top of that, equipment slots are very tight on this map due to having to take Type 3 Shells for the boss, so there's not really any room for RADAR to reduce fuel loss. Therefore, avoiding the extra air battle is vital for preserving fuel for evasion in the second half.

Second Half
When coming from the fuel node, and sometimes after the air battle node, the map gives you the option of going north or south towards the boss.

The north route has yet another fuel maelstrom, followed by a day battle against an enemy fleet led by a battleship. As fuel will be rather depleted due to the maelstroms by this point, we can expect to take damage at this node. Thus, the other branch is preferable.

The south branch has a night battle against two light cruisers, two destroyers, and two Wa-class Elite transports. They come either in line ahead or double line formation. While normally these enemies can pose a bit of threat to your fleet, it's possible to have a submarine tank the first four ships. Against the line ahead formation with a properly leveled I-401 or Ro-500, you can expect the sub to make it out relatively unharmed. However, critical hits, unfavorable engagement forms, and the enemy double line formation will have high rates of sending submarines to taiha in 1-2 hits.

To bolster the submarine tanking strategy further, the boss Harbor Water Demon is forced to attack submarines in daytime as well, as well as her two escort fortresses. She is also accompanied by a Ru-class Flagship Kai, and two Wa-class Elite transports.

Fleet Composition
Since we want to take advantage of the special routing, we need to pick between the four pairs stated above. Fubuki + Sendai is automatically out due to the low offensive stats of light cruisers and destroyers, so I'll examine the remaining three options (although really two, since the Mogami-class girls all have similar stats).

While at first Choukai + Ryuujou may seem appealing because Choukai Kai Ni has good stats and Ryuujou can be used to secure air superiority at the boss, I find this option unappealing because Ryuujou Kai Ni's limited slots and CVL stats leave her with very low offense power after loading enough fighters for air superiority. Thus, while compared to the Mogami-class pairs it's possible to bring an extra battleship, the benefit is counteracted by the loss of one strong combatant in Ryuujou.

In addition, thanks to Type 3 Shell mechanics it's possible for Mogami-class cruisers to hit the night battle damage cap, and they can be used to carry seaplane bombers to bolster air power. There's also diminishing benefits after two battleships due to the third not having a chance to pre-emptively strike the Ru-class Flagship Kai before she fires. We can also bring a standard carrier which has much more capacity and versatility than Ryuujou Kai Ni. Therefore I recommend using either Mogami Kai + Mikuma Kai or Suzuya Kai + Kumano Kai.

Fleet order is probably the most overlooked and/or misunderstood aspect of this map, as I see a lot of people using Yamato-class and such as flagship which is a definite mistake. I'll explain my fleet order reasoning below.

Fleet Lineup Yamato-class battleships are absolute overkill for this map due to all battleships being about the same at night with type 3 shells equipped, but if you absolutely want to use one (I don't recommend it) you can use one in slot 6.
 * 1) Mogami/Mikuma or Kumano/Suzuya
 * 2) *We can protect one of the relatively fragile heavy cruisers by making her flagship.  Put the lower level of the two here.
 * 3) *It's actually not that disadvantageous to not have a battleship in the flagship spot due to the following considerations:
 * 4) **The first battle is guaranteed five enemy ships only, meaning often the battle will be decided before the second shelling phase, or at least the Ru-class Flagship will be damaged.
 * 5) **During the second shelling phase day battle at the boss, the first enemy attack will be forced onto the submarine, so we get an extra chance to sink some fodder by making a CAV flagship.
 * 6) **During night battle at the boss, CAVs are capable of outputting just as much damage as battleships to the boss (although not the Ru Kai), so there's not a huge loss in preemptive strength there.
 * 7) Battleship #1
 * 8) *In the second shelling phase at the boss, it's possible to have sunk both Escort Fortresses already, meaning Ru Flagship Kai will be the second to attack.  Thus, we want one of our battleships in the second slot to have a chance at pre-emptively stopping that.
 * 9) *Recommended: Kirishima Kai Ni, Nagato Kai, Mutsu Kai, Bismarck Drei, other Kongou-class Kai Nis
 * 10) Mogami/Mikuma or Kumano/Suzuya
 * 11) *The other of the two.  Basically, this is the only slot left for them after considering the other ship's positions.
 * 12) Submarine
 * 13) *High-level I-401 Kai or Ro-500 preferred, but you can get away with one of the other SSV.
 * 14) *Not last since we don't want our standard carrier attacking last in daytime shelling at the boss, and we want the submarine attacking before the last destroyer in the night battle.
 * 15) Hiryuu Kai Ni or Kaga Kai
 * 16) *Slot capacity-wise, these are the only two real options.
 * 17) *If you don't have a Reppu Kai, Tenzan Model 12 (Tomonaga Squadron) and a +1 AA dive bomber, then Kaga Kai becomes the only safe option, but Hiryuu Kai Ni is superior if you do have these planes.
 * 18) *Put in the 5th position to give battleship #2 the last attack, as we will render this carrier unable to attack the boss.
 * 19) Battleship #2
 * 20) *Gets the last hit in during day battle at the boss.  Should be the tankier and stronger of the two battleships.
 * 21) *Through range manipulation we'll give this battleship the first shelling attack as well.
 * 22) *Recommended:  Nagato Kai, Mutsu Kai, Roma Kai, Italia

Equipment

 * Mogami-class CAVs
 * Two good 20.3 cm main guns (Preferably upgraded 20.3cm(no.3) Twin Gun Mount or Prinz guns)
 * Zuiun Model 12 (remember to put it in the second slot)
 * If you only have +2 AA Zuiun, consider using Kaga Kai over Hiryuu Kai Ni as there is very little leeway with the Hiryuu Kai Ni setup.
 * Type 3 Shell
 * Hiryuu Kai Ni
 * Suisei (Egusa Squadron)
 * Having two +1 AA bombers is required for consistently securing air superiority at the boss.  I failed to do so sometimes if I had a Ryuusei (601st) in this slot instead.
 * Using a dive bomber prevents carriers from attacking the boss in the shelling phases, which is good because we want our high-attack carrier to sink the escorts instead of dealing damage to the boss that is neglegable next to Type 3 Shell damage in night battle.
 * Reppu Kai
 * Tenzan Model 12 (Tomonaga Squadron)
 * Saiun
 * Kaga Kai
 * Suisei (Egusa Squadron)
 * Tenzan Model 12 (Tomonaga Squadron)
 * Reppu Kai
 * Saiun
 * Since Kaga has larger slots, you can substitute some lower AA planes in such as Reppu (601st Air) or Suisei (601st) but make sure your total fighter power is at least 94, including the CAVs.
 * Battleship #1
 * Two fit guns (35.6cms for Kongou-class, 41cms for Nagato-class, 38cms for Bismarck).  Upgraded and/or +accuracy versions are highly preferred.
 * Type 3 Shell
 * Night Scout (increases accuracy in night battle).
 * Battleship #2
 * For Nagato-class:
 * One 41cm.  Upgraded or +accuracy versions are highly preferred.
 * A 51cm Prototype Twin Cannon for very long range and extra attack power.
 * For Vittorio Veneto-class:
 * Not much is known about fit mechanics for this class, but two 381mm/50 Triple Gun Mount Kai are probably safe bets.  Upgraded is better, of course.
 * Type 3 Shell
 * Type 0 Observation Seaplane
 * Submarine
 * Repair Team to make advancing from the night battle node in Taiha safe.  The boss rarely does even scratch damage, but catastrophes can happen (maybe).
 * Preferrably a Prototype FaT Type 95 Oxygen Torpedo Kai.  Otherwise, either a Triple Oxygen Torpedo or your best offensive torpedo.

Formations

 * Line Ahead every node.  Especially the night battle and boss node for maximum accuracy and damage, respectively.