Combat/Equipment Guide

*WORK IN PROGRESS*
This is meant to be a guide for people to know the details of various equipment types and recommendations for equipment for ships. Initially will be a direct translation of http://wikiwiki.jp/kancolle/?%C1%F5%C8%F7%B9%CD%BB%A1. Formatting, correcting errors, checking grammar will be done after all information has been translated. Please comment if terms used are different from standard terms found in all other pages of the wiki, and other suggestions.

For how to get these equipment, please go to Development.

Main Gun

 * Main equipment used to increase shelling Firepower . Also increases Anti-air stat.
 * Main Guns with red icon give anti-air bonus but is lower compared to those with green icons.
 * But, the 46cm Triple Gun Mount, even with a red icon, has exceptional AA.
 * Types of guns based on caliber and which ships can equip them:
 * Small Caliber Gun - Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier, Amphibious Assault Ship, Repair Ship, Submarine Tender
 * Medium Caliber Gun - Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser, Nagato-class Battleship, Yamato-class Battleship, Aviation Battleship
 * Large Caliber Gun - Battleship, Aviation Battleship


 * For Large Caliber Guns, 2014/7/28 update 1 2 introduced weapon "fit" and "overweight" mechanisms. When equipping a gun "fit" to battleship class, there will be an increase in accuracy. Inversely, when equipping multiple guns that are "overweight" for battleship class, there will be a decrease in accuracy. Which guns are fit for which battleship classes and the amount of accuracy change are unknown and being investigated. Official tweet has mentioned accuracy bonus/penalty is not very big and you can continue to use your current equipment setup except in the case of excessively overweight guns in large numbers.
 * Influences double attack/cut-in attack for artillery spotting and night battle.

Secondary Gun

 * Support equipment used to increase shelling Firepower . Gives Accuracy bonus.
 * Can be equipped by carriers, light cruisers and other large ships.
 * Influences double attack/cut-in attack for artillery spotting and night battle, but in a different way from main guns. Cannot trigger cut-ins when used alone, main guns also be equipped. If day battle firepower is less important that night battle firepower or if artillery spotting cannot be done, then secondary guns can be used.
 * Similar to Main Guns, Secondary Guns with yellow icon have lower anti-air bonus compared to those with green icon.

Torpedo

 * Equipment that increases Torpedo stat for torpedo phase of battle.
 * Can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser, Submarine, and Aircraft-Carrying Submarine. Bismarck drei can also equip torpedoes.
 * Influences night cut-in. Destroyers and and other small ships have a chance to deal huge damage to enemy.
 * But, as ships cannot participate in torpedo phase at moderate damage, torpedo becomes useless. At moderate damage, night battle is still possible. At heavy damage, can participate in neither and torpedo is useless.
 * There is a Submarine Torpedo 53cm Submarine Bow Torpedo Mount (8 tubes) that's exclusively for Submarine and Aircraft-Carrying Submarine only.

Carrier-Based Fighter Plane (Fighter)

 * Aircraft for Aircraft Carriers. Shoots down other planes.
 * Participates in Fighter Combat stage of Aerial Combat Phase to get Air Superiority/Supremacy. (see Combat)
 * Fighters can be equipped on Aircraft Carriers, Light Aircraft Carriers. Can also be equipped on Amphibious Assault Ship. (but unremodeled Akitsumaru has 0 plane count)
 * If you get Air Superiority/Superiority, your ships will take less damage from enemy planes and your planes can attack enemy ships better. Also, the number of your own planes shot down will decrease so less bauxite will be consumed when resupplying. Air superiority also enables Artillery Spotting (see Combat) which increases the damage done by your Cruisers and Battleships.

Carrier-Based Dive Bomber (Dive Bomber)

 * Aircraft for Aircraft Carriers. Attacks enemy ships by dive bombing.
 * Aircraft Carrier, Light Aircraft Carrier needs to be equipped with at least one dive bomber or torpedo bomber to participate in shelling phase.
 * Damage dealt during Aerial Combat is stable.
 * Firepower added during shelling phase, when compared with Torpedo Bomber of same stat value is higher.
 * Has anti-submarine stat . When equipped on Light Aircraft Carrier, attacks on Submarines is possible.
 * Some planes have Line of Sight stat.
 * If you lose air superiority, these will be shot down. Amount lost doesn't seem different from Torpedo Bomber.
 * If plane has anti-air stat, it will participate in fighter combat (fighter-bomber)
 * Cannot attack Installation type bosses.

Carrier-Based Torpedo Bomber (Torpedo Bomber)

 * Aircraft for Aircraft Carriers. Attacks enemy ships with torpedoes.
 * Aircraft Carrier, Light Aircraft Carrier needs to be equipped with at least one dive bomber or torpedo bomber to participate in shelling phase.
 * Damage dealt during Aerial Combat is either 80% or 150%. Because of this, torpedo bomber damage is unstable, sometimes weak, sometimes strong.
 * Firepower added during shelling phase, when compared with Dive Bomber of same stat value is lower.
 * But, when comparing the top craftable Ryuusei Kai and Suisei M12A, they are almost the same. (Ryuusei Kai: 19.5 | Suisei M12A: 20)
 * Has anti-submarine stat. When equipped on Light Aircraft Carrier, attacks on Submarines is possible. Some models have slightly higher stat than Dive Bombers.
 * Has Line of Sight stat . Can contribute to enemy detection.
 * Can trigger Contact but very low chance.
 * If you lose air superiority, these will be shot down. Amount lost doesn't seem different from Dive Bomber.
 * If plane has anti-air stat, it will participate in fighter combat.
 * Japanese name 艦上攻撃機 literally means Carrier-Based Attack Plane so some people call them that.

Carrier-Based Reconnaissance Plane (Recon Plane)

 * Aircraft for Aircraft Carriers. Detects enemy ships.
 * Saiun prevents T-cross disadvantage.
 * Can trigger Contact which increases the damage of your Dive Bombers and Torpedo Bombers.
 * Bonus damage from Contact depends on Accuracy stat of plane.
 * Saiun gives 17% and Type 2 Recon gives 20% bonus.

Reconnaissance Seaplane (Recon Seaplane)

 * Aircraft that can land on water, can be used by ships other than aircraft carriers.
 * Can be equipped by Battleship, Aviation Battleship, Heavy Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser, Light Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier, Aircraft-Carrying Submarine, Submarine Tender.
 * Helps in detecting the enemy . Can trigger Contact during Aerial Phase.
 * Some Light Cruisers (Tenryuu-class, Ooi, Kitakami, Yuubari, Isuzu Kai-2) have zero plane count and equipping seaplane will have no effect.
 * Recon Seaplane have anti-submarine stat but cannot attack submarines on its own.
 * If this is equipped and you have Air Superiority then Day Battle Double Attack/Cut-in (Artillery Spotting) can trigger. (requires at least one seaplane left)


 * Even this is only for recon, when your detection stat is low or when enemy has strong Fighter Power, planes may not return and be lost. (same applies to carrier based aircraft and seaplane bombers)

Seaplane Bomber

 * Aircraft that can land on water, can be used by ships other than aircraft carriers.
 * Can be equipped by Aviation Battleship, Aircraft Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier, Aircraft-Carrying Submarine.
 * At the start of battle helps in detection.
 * Similar to Dive Bombers, attacks enemy ships with bombs during Aerial Phase.
 * Zuiun has Anti-Air stat and, similar to Fighters, can participate in Fighter Combat Stage.
 * Cannot trigger Contact unlike Recon Seaplane.
 * When equipped by Aviation Battleship, Aircraft Cruiser, or Seaplane Carrier, can attack submarines, but only during day battle.
 * Can trigger Artillery Spotting like Recon Seaplane.

Night Reconnaissance Seaplane (Night Scout)

 * Mostly the same as Recon Seaplane but has additional effects during night battle.
 * Can trigger Night Contact which boosts your ships' attacks and critical rate.
 * Similar to Contact, Night Contact will trigger only with Air Superiority.
 * Can trigger Artillery spotting.

Radar

 * RAdio Detection And Ranging acronym. Uses radio waves to detect and locate enemies from afar.
 * Small Radar can be equipped by all surface ships but Large Radar cannot be equipped by Destroyer, Amphibious Assault Ship, Repair Ship, Submarine Tender. Cannot be equipped by Submarines or Aircraft-Carrying Submarines
 * Reduces the effect of Maelstrom. Details on Maelstrom found at < >
 * There are Air Radar and Surface Radar. Air Radar has Anti-air stat.
 * Surface Radar do not have anti-air stat but instead have higher Detection and Accuracy  bonuses.
 * Differences between Small and Large Radars, other than being equippable by different ships, are unknown.

Machinery

 * Increases ship's evasion.
 * Can be equipped by all ships
 * Evasion rate is increased by a small amount in exchange for firepower. Please think carefully when using.

Shell

 * Shot from ship's guns. Ammunition with special qualities.
 * Type 91 Armor-Piercing (AP) Shell, Type 1 Armor-Piercing (AP) Shell
 * Can be equipped by Battleship and Aviation Battleship. Increases firepower.
 * Does not affect night double attack/cut-in and may be equipped
 * Affects artillery spotting cut-in.
 * Originally can only be equipped by Nagato-class, Yamato-class and Aviation Battleships but after the 2014/7/28 update, can also be equipped by Kongou-class and Bismarck.
 * After the 2014/10/10 update, when Armor Piercing Shell and Large Caliber Guns are equipped together, daytime shelling damage and accuracy are increased against enemies with thick armor and installation type bosses.
 * Type 1 AP Shell has higher stats than Type 91 shell, but as of 2014/10, only two can be obtained.
 * Type 3 Shell
 * Can be equipped by Heavy Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser, Battleship and Aviation Battleship.
 * Increases Anti-air stat.
 * Has a large fleet defense bonus, currently the strongest anti-air equipment. (Akizuki's gun: ...)
 * Very effective against Installation type bosses. Damage formula becomes Firepower×2.5.

Machine Gun and Rocket Launcher

 * Used against enemy attacks from the air. Launches a barrage to deter enemy planes.
 * Can be equipped by all surface ships.
 * Increases fleet air defense but only by a small amount.
 * Currently, there are few reasons to equip them.
 * If you don't want to affect you double attack/cut-in combination and have empty slots left, this is one of the equipment that may be considered.

Midget Submarine

 * Small special-purpose submarine that comes close to enemy ships and fires torpedoes.
 * Can be equipped by Torpedo Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier and Submarine.
 * Currently, only the Type A Ko-hyoteki is in this category.
 * Allows Torpedo Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier and Submarine with level less than 10 to participate in Opening Torpedo Salvo.
 * Does not count as a torpedo so it does not affect night cut-in.

Depth Charge and Sonar

 * Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) equipment used to deal with submarines.
 * Large ships are useless against submarines, escort ships equipped with ASW is important.
 * When both Depth Charge and Sonar are equipped together, ship receives accuracy and damage bonus against submarines.
 * Depth Charge
 * Bomb that is dropped into water and set to detonate at a certain depth to damage submarines.
 * Can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser and Seaplane Carrier
 * Seaplane Carrier must also be equipped with Seaplane Bomber to attack submarines.
 * Sonar
 * Underwater listening device. Uses sound to detect and locate submarines.
 * Can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser, Submarine and Aircraft-Carrying Submarine.
 * Submarine-type ships cannot attack other submarines even when equipped with Sonar.

Emergency Repair

 * Manages repairs in a ship that has taken enough damage to cause sinking.
 * Popular name DameCon from Damage Control.
 * Can be equipped by all ships.
 * When equipped ship has been prevented from being sunk, equipment is consumed.
 * Can be obtained as Quest and Event Reward.

Others

 * Ka-type Observation Autogyro Type 3 Spotter/Liaison (ASW)
 * Aircraft mainly tasked with anti-submarine patrolling
 * Has a high Anti-submarine stat compared to other aircraft.
 * Type 3 Spotter/Liaison (ASW) can be equipped by Light Aircraft Carrier and Amphibious Assault Ship.
 * Ka-type Observation Autogyro can be equipped by those and Aviation Battleship, Aircraft Cruiser, Repair Ship and Submarine Tender
 * But, even when equipped, Repair Ship and Submarine Tender cannot attack submarines.
 * Standard Aircraft Carrier cannot attack submarines and also cannot equip.
 * Light Aircraft Carrier can attack submarines if also equipped with Dive Bomber or Torpedo Bomber.
 * Daihatsu-class Landing Craft
 * Boat used to transport personnel and equipment to shore.
 * In-game, increases resources gained from expeditions. (5% per Daihatsu, maximum of 20%)
 * Can be equipped by Amphibious Assault Ship and Seaplane Carrier.
 * Does not do anything during battle.
 * Anti-torpedo Bulge (Medium) Anti-torpedo Bulge (Large)
 * Increases defensive capabilities by adding more armor.
 * In exchange for more armor, evasion decreases
 * Medium can be equipped by Heavy Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser and Light Aircraft Carrier.
 * Large Can be equipped by Battleship, Aviation Battleship and Aircraft Carrier.
 * Searchlight Star Shell
 * During nighttime, used to support fleet's shelling.
 * Fleet's accuracy rate and cut-in rate increases while enemy fleet's cut-in rate decreases.
 * But, ship equipped with searchlight will be targeted by enemy ships, and their accuracy rate increased.
 * Star Shell does not have demerits when triggered but has a chance of not triggering.
 * Searchlight can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier, Fast Battleship and Aviation Battleship.
 * Star Shell can be equipped by those and Torpedo Cruiser, Battleship, Repair Ship and Submarine Tender.
 * Drum Canister
 * Drums used for transport operation Tokyo Express
 * In-game, required by Rat Transport/Tokyo Express expeditions. see Expedition
 * During sorties, can affect compass branching and resources from resource nodes.
 * Can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Aircraft Cruiser, Seaplane Carrier and Amphibious Assault Ship.
 * Does not do anything during battle.
 * Ship Repair Facility
 * Repair Facility equipped on Repair Ship.
 * Increases the number of ships that can be repaired via Anchorage Repair.
 * Does not do anything during battle.
 * Skilled Carrier-based Aircraft Maintenance Personnel (SCAMP)
 * Can be equipped by Aircraft Carrier, Light Aircraft Carrier, Aircraft Cruiser and Aviation Battleship.
 * Increases Firepower +10 and changes Range to Long if range is shorter than Long.
 * For Aircraft Carriers, increases shelling firepower by +15 (same as Ryuusei)
 * Does not affect Artillery Spotting and night double attack or cut-in.
 * Fleet Command Facility
 * Introduced during Summer 2014 Event for use with the Combined Fleet system.
 * For details see equipment page.
 * Type 91 Anti-Aircraft Fire Director Type 94 Anti-Aircraft Fire Director (AA Director)
 * Anti-aircraft fire control system.
 * Allows usage of Anti-air Cut-in

Night Battle Equipment Guide
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Recommended Equipment per Ship Class
"Equipment Setup You Should Always Have" does not exist in the game, admirals have the freedom to choose among different setups, depending on preference and situation.

Destroyer (DD)
Points for equipment selection:
 * Guns that can be equipped have very low firepower, consider using torpedoes.
 * Large Radar cannot be equipped
 * In later maps, destroyer's low firepower is ineffective but anti-submarine becomes important.
 * Some maps require destroyers for branching, continue to give them levels.

Destroyers with Two Slots:

 * unremodeled >>

Destroyers with Three Slots:

 * Double Attack type (Main Gun x2 + Radar OR Sonar)
 * standard setup for destroyers participating in night battle
 * for low luck destroyers and those with high firepower like Yuudachi and Ayanami
 * if there are enemy submarines in the map then use sonar instead of radar
 * with type 3 sonar and line abreast, normal enemy submarines can easily be defeated.
 * if more anti-air is desired the equipping a machine gun can be considered. (choose one with at least +6 AA)
 * (modification) Anti-air cut-in type (10cm Twin High-angle Mount + AA Director) OR (10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Anti-Aircraft Fire Director + 10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Anti-air Radar)
 * Night Battle Cut-in type (Torpedo x2 + any) OR (Torpedo x3)
 * setup for strong torpedo attack at night (150%*2)
 * for high luck destroyers such as Yukikaze, Shigure Kai-2, Ayanami Kai-2 and those with luck increased via modernization.
 * 10cm HA x3 setup for additional anti-air also exists
 * Anti-Submarine type (Sonar x2 + Depth Charge)
 * setup for destroyers hunting submarines.
 * there is synergy effect when equipping both sonar and depth charge so this is better than sonar x3
 * useful for maps in World 4 and World 5
 * (modification) (Sonar + Depth Charge + Searchlight)
 * some maps/nodes have only one enemy submarine. after sinking that, destroyer will have no more job
 * searchlight is equipped for them to do something during night battle
 * star shell can also be equipped
 * Night Battle Decoy type (Searchlight + Boiler + Boiler (or Star Shell or Damecon)
 * for maps like 5-3 with consecutive night battle nodes

Submarine (SS) Aircraft-Carrying Submarine (SSV)
TO DO: add pictures for every equipment setup