User blog:Eririri/PVP: Further Tips & Strategies

Like sorties, PvP sometimes is a bit tricky to win against enemy fleets presented by other TTKs. Here are useful strategies and tips when encountering different enemy compositions.

Part One: Influence of Carriers

Carriers (CV/CVL) prefer to use planes to attack enemy ships rather than guns, thus full of plane sets on all slots are more recommended. However, they consumes bauxite for every planes lost on battle, just watch out for your bauxite amount when resupplying them.

In some cases, bringing carrier(s) made the battle more easier since some enemy ships can be taken out before shelling when reaching air supremacy/superiority over the enemy, but when you fight against Akizuki, Maya, Haruna or other ships with high default anti-air stat (yup, sometimes they use a type 3 shell or fire director AA guns with cut-in anti-air setup to enhance more anti-air capability) together with 1-5 enemy carriers, those ships will significantly reduce your carrier ability to deal damage strike on your opponent. Therefore, if you tend to fight against them, consider equipping fighters, dive bombers and AA guns to minimise bauxite cost when still maintaining air superiority, use high AA ships to reduce damage from enemy bombers and switch your fleet attack ability to other types like BBs, CLTs and SS(V)s to keep your battle rank on S or A.

If the enemy use light carriers (CVLs) as huge portion of his/her fleet, consider using a sub to divert enemy bombers to take your sub out first before inflicting damage to your surface ships.

Part Two: Powerful Battleships

Battleships (BBs or BBVs) known as the most powerful ships in game since they have great amount of firepower and armour, some of them have high anti-air stat to eliminate some bomber planes from carriers. However, they are weaker on night battles than destroyers or cruisers, thus keep in mind if you have low level BBs to fight high-leveled enemy fleet and decide to finish enemy in night battle.

Battleships presence always guarantee you second shelling phase with great advantage to finish off all enemy ships, especially when fighting against submarines and mixed type of ships in enemy fleet. Use two red main guns, seaplanes and an armour-piercing (AP) shell if you go against tougher BBs especially if the enemy have either Yamato or Musashi (or both of them), substitute AP shell with a small/large radar if you face weaker fleet to maintain shelling accuracy.

When you fight against BBVs, keep in mind they can launch floatplane bombers thus any carrier assistance with fighter plane equipped is important to trigger artillery spotting and contact system against enemies.

Part Three: Jack-of-Trade Cruisers

Cruisers, both heavy cruisers, torpedo cruisers and light cruisers are have torpedo stats at all, you should be aware of their torpedo power when entering torpedo salvo phase (opening or closing). The ways to handle them are different, depending on the enemy fleet configuration.

Torpedo cruisers (CLTs) existence on your enemy fleet are major threat for yours, their opening salvo can rekt even a Yamato-class or Bismarck BB easily if they have high torpedo stats and all slots equipped with torpedo (like Kitakami Kai 2 or Ooi Kai 2). If you afraid that your ships in the fleet got rekt early, use a submarine or bring torpedo cruisers double/three times as enemy have to help keep enemy powerful ships (BBs, CVs) out of shelling phase.

Heavy cruisers (CAs and CAVs) are like battleships in terms of shelling, double attacks when getting air superiority/supremacy state may rekt even a BB to medium damage for certain ships (special notice for Myoukou, Haguro, Tone & Chikuma Kai 2 with high firepowers). Lower fuel and ammo consumption than BBs made they're good solution to save resources when maintaining good exp amount for your HQ, especially if your enemy has small amount of surface ships (1-3) in their fleet.

Light cruisers (CLs) are pretty much weaker than two types above, they intend to have capability of ASW shelling and defeating enemy fleet in night battle with huge amount of damage. Best usage condition of them are when fight against submarines or a fleet containing full destroyers and light cruisers only.

Some of the light cruisers can't perform double attacks on day battle (e.g. Yuubari, Isuzu Kai 2), so consider them as ASW or anti-air helper rather than fighting surface ships.

Part Four: Menacing Destroyers

Destroyers (DDs) is the weakest surface ship in game for their low firepower stat comparing to another type of surface ships. However, they usually have great torpedo, evasion, anti-air and ASW stats as drawbacks, making them as hidden danger after round shelling phase ends. If you face against them and didn't finish the fleet off in the day, keep in mind that they might be have high luck enough to trigger torpedo cut-ins on night battle.

Additionally, enemy destroyers usually equipped with hybrid surface-to-air high angle mounted guns, thus can shot down planes from carriers (CVs/BBVs/CAVs). It is no good to bring many planes just to finish them off in air strike, just use BB, CA or CLT to deal with them instead.

For high luck destroyers, use two torpedoes and a radar to increase accuracy when firing torpedo in closing salvo or night battle, on the other hand simply use double attack gun setup for lower luck destroyers.

Part Five: Troll Submarines

Submarines (SS and SSV) are higher ability to survive since only DDs, CLs, CAVs, BBVs and CVLs can attack them with lowest resource consumption, best choice if you want to fight against a fleet consists full of BB and CV with high level ships and equipment. But you should be aware if enemy have 1-3 of them in his/her fleet with no other ships included, 1-3 enemy submarines will use line ahead formation advantage to fire opening torpedo salvo against your ASW equipped ships and rekt them instantly. However, submarines have weaker torpedo performance when they are four or more in your enemy fleet with echelon or line abreast formation, make the submarine hunting easy and bring good exp if they're high enough leveled.

For optimal use consider equipping them with one or two plain torpedoes (53cm or 61cm variants are OK) rather than ko-hyoteki if they're above level 10. They're best as bait for enemy DDs, CLs, CAVs, BBVs and CVLs if both you and enemy fleet use line ahead formation, making your attempt to finish those ships more easier.

Part Six: Mixed Ship Types

This is the last and most important part, usually we are not only fight against one type of ship in an enemy fleet, but also mixed enemy ship types.

Possible enemy configurations with hard attempt to finish them off:


 * SS(V), CLTs, BBs and CV(L)s with CLT/BB as flagship. This setup is the hardest at all to fight, since you must balance between ASW, torpedoes, guns and plane equipments. Don't bring BBV or CAV with floatplane bombers (Zuiun/Seiran), they're prioritise to attack submarines rather than focus to heavy surface ships. Instead, use SS(V), CLT with ASW equipment and ko-hyoteki to ensure smooth opening torpedo with balance of powerful guns on BBs and huge fighter on CVs. If you feel no confidence, SS(V) only fleet is best choice since only enemy CLT can harm them, floatplane bombers from CA(V)s and BB(V)s are incapable to deal huge amount of damage together with CVL bombers.


 * BB(V)s and CV(L)s only. This fleet type is the hardest to fight with surface ships, since enemy may have powerful guns, radars/AP shells and stacking good fighter planes to force air parity/denial on your side, thus reduce your chance and ability for double attack or cut-in guns to take down your opponent ships. To compete against it, consider usage of powerful CLTs beside your BB and CV if you feel confident. But if you have weaker BB or CV equipments, use enough level submarines to finish them instead. Otherwise if the enemy has CV as flagship, you have advantage for shelling phase with lower enemy BB firepower when you bring surface ships but adjusting your fighter plane amount is a must since diamond pattern make enemy anti-air stats increase significantly.


 * CLTs, BB(V)s and CV(L)s. You have to replicate those types with good equipments to deal with this setup on your enemy side, or full submarines if you don't have any ships with three types on good level and equipment state. More interesting fight if you have more enemy ships taken out rather than yours on opening air attack and torpedo, simply the greater fleet influence wins.


 * High anti-air stat DD/CA(V)/BB(V) and CV(L)s. With huge anti-air amount, your bomber planes are inefficient for doing air strike against surface ships. It is suggested to bring more fighters to retain air superiority/supremacy with minimum amount of bombers then rely the rest of shelling attempt to your other ship types (BB(V), CA(V), CLT and SS(V)) in your fleet.


 * SS(V), DD, CL(T) and BB(V). You can gain air superiority/supremacy for this enemy setup by bringing just a CVL with 1-2 Shiden Kai 2/Reppu equipped, but SS(V) and/or CLT existence with their opening torpedo attack become serious trouble if you don't bring their counterpart, especially if you bring low level ships for leveling attempt. Using 1 or more BB for double shelling will necessary, avoid night battle to prevent more damage from enemy torpedo cut-ins.

Use double line formation for all of those 3 strategies is recommended, providing great torpedo stat enough to take enemy flagship out soon while still slaughtering submarines on shelling phase with your ASW ships.
 * SS(V) as 2th to 6th ships of enemy fleet and a flagship outside CV(L) or SS(V). This setup become most annoying compared to another ones, since the existence of a DD/CL(T)/CA/BB as flagship on your enemy fleet makes they choosing line ahead formation as default, which easily rekt your ASW equipped ships on opening torpedo phase. Different strategies can be used as these:
 * 1) If the enemy flagship is DD/CL/CA with the rest others are SS(V), 2 or more SS(V) with torpedo in your fleet with one SS(V) as flagship to ensure line abreast formation for your enemy is a must, keep a BBV full of floatplane bombers for greater chance to hit both enemy submarine and surface flagship.
 * 2) If the enemy flagship is BB with the rest others are SS(V), bring 2 or more CLT with best ASW equipment and ko-hyoteki to finish the flagship out of shelling phase. Like first strategy, you must set 1 SS(V) as your fleet flagship and 1 other SS(V) to ensure line abreast on enemy side. Finally, a BB(V) without any floatplane bombers is more recommended, since floatplane bombers will divert your BBV attention to enemy subs rather than flagship BB(V).
 * 3) If the enemy flagship is BBV with the rest others are SS(V), treat the same conditions as enemy flagship BB but keep in mind that BBV can launch planes, they can make air parity or denial situation if you just bring BB or BBV. To compete against them, use a CVL as helper to maintain air supremacy/superiority equipped with bombers and Saiun which preventing disadvantageous T-cross engagement.