User blog:SlashZero/Spring 2015 E-6 Hard Boss Pre-final & Farming Composition

E-6 this event is rather easy compared to some of the final stages we've had in the past. Thus, getting the right balance between cost and performance is vital to a successful event experience. I believe this composition is the most efficient for reaching and S-ranking the boss node while also have a decent chance of S-ranks on the way to the boss to maximize drop potential, as it seems only S ranks drop anything good this event.

Why E-6 Boss?
Notable drops are Sakawa, U-511, Roma and Maruyu.

In particular, U-511 and Sakawa cannot be dropped anywhere else in the event maps, although Sakawa does drop at the 6-2 boss.

While they can be farmed at other locations, Roma and Maruyu have particularly high drop rates (about 4% and 5%, respectively per S rank) and are nice bonuses if you are aiming for other things as well.

Route
There are three routes through the map:

North (FGI)
First battle is against a fairly easy fleet whose most menacing features are a Tsu-elite light cruiser capable of AACI which will reduce your bomber count a bit, and two Ri-class Flagships heavy cruiser which can on occation do annoying levels of damage.

Second battle is an easy night battle against Battleship Princess, a Ho-class Flagship light cruiser, and 4 Ro-class destroyers. Only the Battleship Princess is capable of special night battle attacks, and even then she can at most deal one hit.

Middle (DEHK/FHK)
The first battle here is against the boss of the previous map, Harbor Water Demon. She's joined by several I-class destroyers and Wa-class transports. The enemy fleet always takes the double line formation, so sub tanking strategies are not very effective, and without them Harbor Water Demon can pack quite a punch, and generally makes this route a worse choice than the above route.

In addition, the second battle has Ru-class flagships which can be a threat, or at least more than the Ri-class in the north route

South (DEJN)
This route has a night battle against Chi-class Flagships in double line and therefore you should never consider taking this route.

On top of that you meet Battleship Princess in the second battle which gives her two chances to taiha your girls.

Pre-boss and Boss (MO)
Preboss contains an Aircraft Carrier Princess who packs quite a punch, and she's escorted by two Wo-class Flagships (the normal kind), which makes securing air superiority against her a little difficult. While her offensive power is strong, her defensive stats are not incredibly high so it is possible to disable her by bringing her HP to <= 50% before her third, or even second attack if you have sufficient firepower (and a bit of real life luck).

The boss is composed of Battleship Water Demon, escorted by a Ru-class Flagship Kai battleship, two Ne-class Elite heavy cruisers, and two Ni-class destroyers. The Ne-class and Ru-class have fairly high armor, so ideally we want capped damage AP-shell cutins to clear them out ASAP. Opening torpedo strikes can be effective against the Ni-class destroyers as well as the Ne-class heavy cruisers, but battleships are absolutely a necessity to deal with the Ru-class and remaining Ne-class. After her escorts are all sunk, it's just a matter of chipping the boss down into the range where she can be easily finished off in Night Battle.

Fleet Composition
Since North is the most favorable for reaching the boss, we're bound by the routing conditions for this route, which are as follows: There are also some additional considerations: With these things in mind, the following fleet compositions are what I recommend:
 * 1) Surface Task Force
 * 2) *Ideal anyways, since it defends the escort fleet in the first battle to enable them to have full health going into the night battle node.
 * 3) At least one slow ship
 * 4) *Easily fulfillable since we'll want to bring hard-hitting battleships.
 * 5) At most 2 CLT
 * 6) *Three torpedo cruisers would be more ideal, but for guaranteed boss routing we're stuck with two, leaving one wildcard slot for the escort fleet.
 * 7) No SS/SSV
 * 8) *We don't really want them anyways, since they're low-power and there are plenty of strong ASW enemies on the way.
 * Battleships are very helpful against the preboss Carrier Princess and the boss's escort ships, so we want to bring a lot of them.  At least 4 in the main fleet, possibly a fifth in the escort fleet for the wildcard.
 * To drastically raise the chance of damaging Carrier Princess down to chuuha before her second or third attack, we must secure air superiority.  In order to do this we need 2 CVL.
 * Red T at the boss is highly disadvantageous for us, so in order to free up some slots for Saiun (and other things discussed below), BBV are nice to bring.

Main Fleet

 * 1) Chitose Kai Ni/Chiyoda Kai Ni/Hiyou Kai
 * 2) *High capacity
 * 3) *The squishier of the two CVLs, so we make them flagship.  This also ensure auto-sparkle due to the two night battles (one en route, one at the boss) defaulting MVP to her, lowering chances of a CVL dragging the rest of the fleet down with their general lower evasion and defense.
 * 4) *Better option as flagship than a battleship due because it will help spread damage among the high-armor ships, and battleships cannot use AP ammo setup while carrying a Fleet Command Facility.
 * 5) Nagato-class Battleship
 * 6) *Due to some equipment tricks the first battleship will attack first in the second shelling phase, so the powerful Nagato-class battleships are good for this slot as they can maintain fairly high accuracy while equipping heavy guns, which also allows them to get gauranteed first attack in the first shelling phase so they can double up on this role.
 * 7) *Because we'll make the second slot always attack first the Nagato-class battleships are a nice choice for their high health, armor, and relatively good evasion, lowering chances of losing firepower for those vital first attacks.
 * 8) Fusou-class Kai Ni
 * 9) *Adds up to 14 AFP while still getting AP ammo setup.
 * 10) *Strong firepower, but rather weak defensively, so 3rd and 4th slots go to them to give 5th the final attack in the second shelling phase.
 * 11) Fusou-class Kai Ni
 * 12) *See above.
 * 13) Battleship
 * 14) *Nagato-class or Kirishima Kai Ni recommended.  Other Kongou-class Kai Nis are also okay.
 * 15) Junyou Kai Ni
 * 16) *Highest evasion CVL by a wide margin, with very good capacity as well.

Escort Fleet

 * 1) Cut-in Setup DD/CL/CA
 * 2) *We will have this position equipped with a searchlight for reducing danger in the I node night battle, so you might as well go double torpedo cut-in setup to make use of the flagship bonus.
 * 3) *Using a destroyer here means a higher chance of not being able to escort ships back via Fleet Command Facility, but generally this shouldn't be an issue due to how well-protected the second fleet will be.
 * 4) *Recommended DD: luck-upgraded Ayanami Kai Ni, Yukikaze Kai
 * 5) *Recommended CL: luck-upgraded Jintsuu Kai Ni
 * 6) *Recommended CA: luck-upgraded Myoukou Kai Ni, luck-upgraded Prinz Eugen
 * 7) Double attack CL/DD
 * 8) *Recommended CL: Jintsuu Kai Ni
 * 9) *Recommended DD: Yuudachi Kai Ni, Shimakaze Kai,  Ayanami Kai Ni, Yukikaze Kai, Fubuki Kai Ni
 * 10) Double attack DD
 * 11) *See above
 * 12) Double attack CA/BB/DD/CL
 * 13) *Generally the last double attack should be one of the strongest, since the above hits may go after remaining escorts in the final night battle.
 * 14) *A battleship is not a bad idea here since you get another AP cutin chance to clear out escorts which is guaranteed first attack.  A CA may be able to output enough damage but they will compete with Kitakami, Ooi and the CL for attack order.  Bismarck Drei is especially good because the closing torpedo chip damage is not sacrificed with her.
 * 15) *Recommended CA: Myoukou-class Kai Ni, Choukai Kai Ni
 * 16) *Recommended BB: Bismarck Drei, Roma Kai, Kirishima Kai Ni, Italia
 * 17) *See above for DD/CL
 * Ooi
 * 1) *Double attack setup
 * 2) Kitakami
 * 3) *If you have her luck at 50+, go torpedo cut-in setup to give some chance at S-ranking I node, and it will also enable the really bad boss battles to be saved sometimes.
 * 4) *Otherwise, double attack is safer.

Equipment

 * Batttleships
 * Accuracy is paramount!  You will NEVER hit the accuracy cap in day battle using a surface task force, so every bit counts.  As battleships will compose almost all of the daytime attack power their performance will dictate your success.
 * Two fit guns (35.6cms for Kongou-class, 41cms for Nagato-class, Fusou-class, 38cms for Bismarck, and ??? for Vittorio Veneto-class).  Either upgraded or the special +accuracy versions.
 * Upgraded AP shells.  The upgrades are important because they (probably) add extra accuracy on top of damage.  Try to have at least +4 on all of them.
 * Type 0 Observation Seaplane if available.  If not, Ar196 Kai.  Use Zuiun Model 14s for the Fusou sisters.
 * Flaghip Light Carrier
 * 3 fighters + Fleet Command Facility
 * No bombers means in the second shelling phase first attack defaults to second slot.
 * Junyou Kai Ni
 * 2 fighters
 * Your best bomber
 * Saiun -- You really don't want to get red T at the boss ever.
 * Escort Fleet Flagship
 * Searchlight
 * 2 torpedoes
 * One main gun on CA.
 * Double attack DDs
 * Two upgraded 10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Anti-Aircraft Fire Director for maximum accuracy.
 * Type 13 Air RADAR Kai to enable AACI
 * Anti-air cutin will reduce damage taken in the preboss.
 * Torpedo Cruisers
 * As above.
 * Highest aircraft capacity ship in the escort fleet
 * Equip a night scout for bonus accuracy.

Formations

 * 4th formation for all battles
 * Maximizes opening torpedo accuracy, and shelling damage, giving the highest chance of killing enemies before they can damage your fleet.
 * Line Ahead for the night battle
 * Highest accuracy