Talk:Combat/@comment-119.74.69.20-20150208145004/@comment-25534439-20150214150248

I don't know if you're still having trouble, Infusion123, but I'll see if I can help. Learning 2-4 is the major hurdle to the rest of the game, so don't worry too much that you're having trouble with it.

You're right, the green guns are generally Anti-air oriented or dual purpose. Unfortunately, they're hideously ineffective. Those 12.7 Twin DP guns on all three battleships add the ability to shoot down 1-3 more planes out of the enemy's +100. The slots they're in can be put to better use.

The recon planes are used to find the enemy and guide cannon fire. The UP and DOWN at the start are related to whether the recon planes spot the enemy in the Detection phase of combat. In all but the lightest of fleets (say, 6 DDs), I suggest bringing a recon plane. The recon planes serve a second purpose in guiding the cannon fire of the ship they're attached to. By reporting back whether the ships are firing short, long, left, or right of the target, they assist in hitting the enemy. This is simulated in the game with the mechanic of Artillery Spotting. Having a recon plane on each of your battleships will greatly increase their effectiveness by enabling special Double attacks and Cut-In attacks.

As for 2-4, the primary challenge is just getting lucky with the random routing (A-F-G-I-J, ideally). Your focus on Air Superiority is admirable, but it's important to note: The boss node has no air power; you can get Air Supremacy with a single wing of fighters. As such, you don't necessarily need to crush all of the nodes before the boss, you only need to survive the nodes before the boss. Air parity will be sufficient. As such, you only really need about 56-60 Fighter power.

Well, that and luck.