Talk:Tutorial: FAQ/@comment-71.14.76.177-20131203071552/@comment-1482018-20131203082415

Well, if you want to use Shoukaku because of her art, feel free. There's no need to maximize your stats of your fleet to be the very best or something. The game IS called Kantai Collections (It's a collecting game).

As for your question, yes, generally, that's the best bet. You want to maximize the opening air strike damage so that your ships take less damage for repairs after sortie (since there will be less of enemy ships when shelling phase begins).