Combat/Equipment Guide

Template:Under Construction

General tip: An easy way to get equipment in the early game is to take off the standard equipment from ships you are about to use for modernization. The lack of the equipment doesn't have any effect on the stats gained from modernization, but when you modernize and the ship used for modernization is still equipped with it's equipment, the equipment will be lost!

*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.

Equipment Type

Main/Secondary Gun

Main Gun

• Main equipment used to increase shelling Firepower . Also increases Anti-air stat .
• Main Guns with green icon give a better anti-air bonus but generally sacrifice firepower.
• 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 Tender, Amphibious Assault Ship, Repair Ship, Submarine Tender
  • Medium Caliber Gun - Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Aviation Cruiser, Battleship, Aviation Battleship
  • Large Caliber Gun - Battleship, Aviation Battleship, Fast 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 must 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 green icon have higher anti-air bonus but sacrifice firepower.

Torpedo

• Equipment that increases Torpedo stat for torpedo phases of battle.
• Can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Torpedo Cruiser, Heavy Cruiser, Aviation Cruiser, Submarine, and Aircraft-Carrying Submarine. Bismarck drei can also equip torpedoes.
• Influences night cut-in attacks. Destroyers and other small ships have a chance to deal huge damage to enemy ships.
• Ships cannot participate in day torpedo phases at moderate damage, though can still attack at night. 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 Aircraft

Carrier-Based Fighter Plane (Fighter)

• Air Superiority fighter for Aircraft Carriers, Light Aircraft Carriers, and Amphibious Assault Ships. These shoot down other planes in Fighter Combat stage to establish Air Superiority/Supremacy.
• Each planes contribute to fleet defense, plane count decreases after a battle if shot down, decreasing fleet AA stat accordingly.
• If you get Air Superiority/Supremacy, 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 (CV, CVL). 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.
• Unlike torpedo bombers, damage dealt during Aerial Combat is consistent.
• Adds more damage during shelling phase, when compared with Torpedo Bombers.
• 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.
• Become useless if the carrier become moderate damage (except for Taihou)

Carrier-Based Torpedo Bomber (Torpedo Bomber)

• Aircraft for Aircraft Carriers (CV,CVL). 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 inconsistent: sometimes weak, sometimes strong.
• Added damage during shelling phase is lower, when compared with Dive Bombers.
• 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 which increases the damage of your Dive Bombers and Torpedo Bombers, but very low trigger 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.
• Become useless if the carrier become moderate damage (except for Taihou)

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.

Saiun · Type 2 Recon Aircraft

Seaplane

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, Aviation Cruiser, Light Cruiser, Seaplane Tender, 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 without seaplane bombers.
• 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 though 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, Aviation Cruiser, Seaplane Tender, 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, Aviation Cruiser, or Seaplane Tender, can attack submarines , but only during day battle.
• Can trigger Artillery Spotting like Recon Seaplane.

Night Reconnaissance Seaplane (Night Scout)

• Similar to 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 during the day, or if the battle begins at night.
• Can trigger Artillery spotting during day battle but lower effect than normal recon planes.

Type 98 Recon Seaplane (Night Scout)

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. Reduction is dependent on the number of ships carrying a Radar and maxes out with 3 Radar-carrying ships.
• There are Air Radar and Surface Radar. Air Radar have Anti-air stat , Surface Radar have higher Detection and Accuracy bonuses. Air Radar increases the rate of Anti-Air Cut-In attacks, while Surface Radar increases the rate of Cut-In bombardment attacks from the main guns.
• 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 limited equipment slots. Please think carefully when using.

Shell

• Ammunition with special qualities shot from ship's guns.
• AP Shells (Type 91 Armor-Piercing (AP) Shell, Type 1 Armor-Piercing (AP) Shell)
  • Can be equipped by Battleship and Aviation Battleship. Increases Firepower and Accuracy .
  • Affects artillery spotting cut-in, Does not affect night double attack/cut-in.
  • Originally could 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 only 2 can be obtained from quest. As of the January 23rd update, more Type 1 shell can be obtained by upgrading through Akashi's Improvement Arsenal.
• AA Shells (Type 3 Shell)
  • Can be equipped by Heavy Cruiser, Aviation Cruiser, Battleship and Aviation Battleship.
  • Increases Anti-air stat .
  • Has a large fleet defense bonus, currently the strongest craftable anti-air equipment.
  • 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 negligible amount.
• Currently, there are few reasons to equip them due to limited equipment slots.
• 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.
• Machine Guns add +1 evade stat, which can be useful for low-level Admirals prior to obtaining sufficient numbers of turbines and boilers for the fleet. For instance, on map 1-6, equipping these in bulk on the non-flagship destroyers/light cruisers reduces the chance the other ships get hit by the elite submarines' opening strikes, while ASW gear on the flagship guarantees it the MVP morale/xp bonus.

Midget Submarine

• Small special-purpose submarine that comes close to enemy ships and fires torpedoes.
• Can be equipped by Torpedo Cruiser, Seaplane Tender and Submarine.
• Currently, only the Type A Ko-hyoteki is in this category.
• Allows Torpedo Cruiser, Seaplane Tender 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.
• 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 Tender
  • Seaplane Tender must also be equipped with Seaplane Bomber to attack submarines.

Type 94 Depth Charge · Type 3 Depth Charge

• 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, but they increase accuracy for torpedo attack.

Type 93 SONAR · Type 3 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.

Repair Team · Repair Goddess

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, Aviation 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 Tender.
  • 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, Aviation 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 the searchlight is more likely to be targeted and hit by enemy ships.
  • 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, Aviation Cruiser, Seaplane Tender, Battleship and Aviation Battleship.
  • Star Shell can be equipped by those and Torpedo Cruiser, Repair Ship and Submarine Tender.
• Drum Canister
  • Drums used for transport operations (Tokyo Express type expeditions) and affecting branching on certain maps, and resource amount from certain resource nodes.
  • Can be equipped by Destroyer, Light Cruiser, Aviation Cruiser, Seaplane Tender 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, Aviation 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 when equipped with certain equipment.
• WG42 (Wurfgerät 42)
  • Anti-Ground Artillery.
  • Increase damage when fired at installation boss.
  • Can equip on many ship class but the effectiveness and (or) ability is lower than Type 3 Shell when facing with installation-type boss.
  • Proving the most effective when equipping on ship that cannot equip Type 3 Shell.
• Skilled Lookouts
  • Surface Ship Personnel
  • Increases cut-in chance and critical hit chance of the particular ship it's equipped with during night battle.

Recommended Equipment per Ship Class

There is no "Equipment Setup You Should Always Have". 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.

Recommended equipment setups:

• Double Attack type (orMain 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 formation, normal enemy submarines can easily be defeated.
  • if more anti-air is desired then equipping a machine gun can be considered. (choose one with at least +6 AA)
  • (subtype) Anti-air cut-in type (10cm Twin High-angle Mount x2 + AA Director) OR (10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Anti-Aircraft Fire Director + 10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Air Radar)
    • Setup to trigger a directed Anti-Air cut-in barrage during Aerial Combat phase. Very effective at reducing enemy bomber damage.
    • Slim chance to shoot down all enemy bombers, preventing enemy CV(L) attacks during shelling phases
    • Equipping an Air Radar increases the chance for AA cut-in.
• Night Battle Cut-in type (Torpedo x2 + any, Torpedo x3, x3 HA)
  • Setup for strong torpedo cut-in attack at night (150%*2)
  • For high luck destroyers such as Yukikaze, Shigure Kai-2, Hatsushimo Kai-2, Ayanami Kai-2 and those with luck increased via modernization.
  • 10cm HA x3 setup for additional daytime anti-air and a night shelling cut-in also exists.
  • Including a Torpedo in the Anti-air cut-in type above can be used for both Anti-air cut-in and Night battle cut-in but does less damage than above (130%*2)
• 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
  • (subtype) (Sonar + Depth Charge + Searchlight OR Star Shell)
    • Some maps/nodes have only one enemy submarine. after sinking that, destroyer will have no more job
    • Searchlight/Star Shell is equipped for them to do something during night battle
• Night Battle Decoy type (Searchlight + Boiler + Boiler (or Star Shell or Damecon)
  • For maps like 5-3 with consecutive night battle nodes
  • Destroyers' base evasion is high to offset penalty from searchlight

Light Cruiser (CL)

Points for equipment selection

• In addition to what destroyers can equip, light cruisers can also equip medium caliber guns, large radar, and recon seaplane.
• Base Range is Short, can be increased by equipping Main Gun or Secondary Gun with Range Medium.
• Fundamentally a strengthened destroyer, please refer to destroyer section as well.
• Tenryuu-class, Yuubari, Ooyodo, and Isuzu Kai-2 have special properties.

Recommended equipment setup for most light cruisers

• Artillery Spotting Double Attack type (Main Gun x2 + Recon Seaplane)
  • Standard setup for light cruisers
  • Allows for double attacks during day and night, great damage can be expected at night
  • Requires getting air superiority
  • Main gun candidates are firepower: 20.3cm(no.3) Twin Gun Mount, balanced: 20.3cm(no.2) Twin Gun Mount, anti-air:10cm Twin High-angle Mount and anti-sub: 12.7cm Twin High-Angle Mount (Late Model)
• Night Double Attack types
  • Main type used when artillery spotting is not possible
  • Firepower type (15.5cm Triple Gun Mount (Secondary) x2 + 20.3cm Twin Gun Mount)
    • Maximizes firepower while maintaining double attack
    • Even without artillery spotting, day battle shelling will deal high damage
  • Torpedo type (15.5cm Triple Gun Mount (Secondary) x2 + Torpedo)
    • Torpedo can give higher damage bonus for night battle than main gun
    • Day torpedo phase will also be improved
  • Multi-role type ((Main Gun x2 OR Secondary Gun x2) + ( Radar OR Sonar))
    • Double attack at night
    • Defends against maelstroms or sumbarines
    • Can also use other support equipment such as damecon, searchlight, or star shell

Special Light Cruisers:

• Tenryuu-class
  • Has zero plane count so artillery spotting is not possible.
• Isuzu Kai-2
  • Similar to Tenryuu-class and Yuubari, has zero plane count.
  • Anti-air type (10cm Twin High-angle Mount x2 + Air Radar)
    • can double attack at night
  • Hybrid anti-air anti-submarine type(10cm Twin High-angle Mount OR Large Air Radar + Sonar + Depth Charge)
• Yuubari and Ooyodo
  • Have four slots, very versatile because of this
  • Drum carrier type (Drum Canister x4), good for 5-4 branching.
  • Yuubari
    • Has low HP, low armor, low evasion and cannot equip seaplanes.
    • Night Battle and Submarine Hunting type ( Main Gun x2 ORSecondary Gun x2 + Sonar +Depth Charge)
      • Double attack at night
      • Strong anti-submarine attack
  • Ooyodo
    • can equip seaplanes
    • Anti-air cut-in type (10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Anti-Aircraft Fire Director+ Main Gun +Recon Seaplane +Large Air Radar)
      • Can do anti-air cut-in
      • Can do artillery spotting
    • Artillery Spotting type (Main Gun x2 +Recon Seaplane + any)

Torpedo Cruiser (CLT)

Points for equipment selection:

• Can equip midget subs to do very useful opening torpedo attack. Recommend always equipping one.

Recommended equipment for Torpedo Cruiser:

• Balanced type (Main Gun x2 ORSecondary Gun x2 +Type A Ko-hyoteki)
  • Decent single attack during day battle and double attack during night battle
  • Night double attack is very strong and reliable. Good against high-hp high-armor boss enemies.
• Torpedo type (Torpedo x2 +Type A Ko-hyoteki)
  • Maximizes torpedo damage
  • Torpedo attack may hit the damage cap << link to combat page damage section >>
  • Allows for the very strong torpedo cut-in. Recommended only for high luck Kitakami.
  • Torpedo cut-in is stronger but activates less often than double attack and is unreliable
• Anti-sub type (Sonar +Depth Charge +Type A Ko-hyoteki)
  • Torpedo cruiser that can do opening torpedo and has strong anti-submarine attack
  • Opening torpedo cannot hit submarine, mixed-used setup

Heavy Cruiser (CA)

Points for equipment selection:

• Can equip medium caliber guns. Night double attack is strong so torpedo is less useful
• Receives a huge accuracy bonus at night when equipped with 20.3cm << ??? >>
• Can use artillery spotting

Recommended equipment for Heavy Cruiser:

• Artillery Spotting (Double Attack) type (Main Gun x2 + (Radar OR Type 3 Shell) +Recon Seaplane)
  • Standard setup for heavy cruisers.
  • Has both strong day attack due to artillery spotting and strong night double attack

• Artillery Spotting (Cut-in) type (Main Gun +Secondary Gun +Radar +Recon Seaplane)
  • High activation rate for artillery spotting and accuracy bonus from cut-in
• Night Battle type (Main Gun +Secondary Gun + any 2)
  • can equip star shell, searchlight, type 3 shell or other support equipment
• Shelling, Night Battle type(Main Gun +Secondary Gun x3)
  • Maximum night firepower in case of no Air Superiority
• Night Battle type 2 (Secondary Gun x2 +Torpedo + any)
  • Can double attack at night even with 1 torpedo equipped

Aviation Cruiser (CAV)

Points for equipment selection:

• Basically Heavy Cruiser with additional equipment possible
• Can equip Seaplane Bombers for Aerial Combat, Autogyro for anti-submarine attack
• When equipped with seaplane bombers, can attack submarines during day battle (cannot at night battle)
• Can equip drum canister

Recommended equipment for Aviation Cruiser:

• Artillery Spotting type (Main Gun x2 +Seaplane Bomber + any)
  • has both strong day attack due to artillery spotting and strong night double attack
  • can get air superiority even without carrier in your fleet if opponent has no carriers
  • if equipped with seaplane bomber, will prioritize attacking enemy submarines. If this is not desired, switch to recon seaplane
• Seaplane Bomber type (Main Gun x2 +Seaplane Bomber x2 OR Seaplane Bomber x4)
  • Equipping bombers is good for 3-2-1 leveling and anti-submarine attacks
• Tokyo Express type (Main Gun x2 +Drum Canister x2) OR (Drum Canister x4)
  • Used for 5-4 branching. 5-4 needs 4 drums so either one with drum x4 or two with drum x2.
• Night Double Attack (SCAMP) type (Main Gun x2 +Seaplane Bomber + SCAMP)
  • Uses Skilled Carrier-based Aircraft Maintenance Personnel (SCAMP) to increase firepower (+10) while having night double attack
  • Range is Long, the same as most battleships.
  • Can potentially have higher firepower than a Heavy Cruiser equipped for night double attack

Battleship (BB)

Points for equipment selection:

• BB have high firepower and use main guns to attack enemy ships
• Day battle attack power cap can be reached with
  • Firepower 146 (No Penalties: Line ahead formation + Parallel engagement)
  • Firepower 184 (20% Penalty: Line ahead formation + Head-on engagement OR Double line formation + parallel engagement)
• Can use artillery spotting to further increase attack
• Weapon fit and overweight:
  • Fit: when gun corresponding to ship class is equipped there is an accuracy bonus
  • Overweight: when guns too heavy for ship class is equipped there is an accuracy penalty
  • While exact details are currently unclear, many 46cm on fast BBs is not advised

Recommended equipment for Battleship:

• Artillery Spotting types
  • AP Cut-in type (Main Gun x2 +Recon Seaplane + AP Shell)
    • Most useful setup for battleships.
    • Can do both day cut-in and double attack.
    • With two special attack types, artillery spotting will have high activation rate.
    • Cut-in (150% modifier) is useful against high armor enemies
    • Base firepower is high and has decent night double attack.
  • Day Double Attack type (Main Gun x2 +Recon Seaplane +Radar ORType 3 Shell)
    • Can do both day and night double attack
    • Radar is to increase accuracy and to defend against maelstrom. Recommend Surface type Radar.
    • Type 3 shell is to increase damage against installation-type enemies
  • Radar Cut-in type(Main Gun +Secondary Gun +Radar +Recon Seaplane)
    • High activation rate for artillery spotting and accuracy bonus from cut-in
    • Damage is lower compared to above setups
  • Day Double Attack, Night Cut-in type (Main Gun x3 +Recon Seaplane)
    • Best for high-luck battleships (Haruna, Nagato)
    • Can reach the attack power cap even without using 46cm
    • Because of overweight system, there may be a big accuracy penalty
• Firepower Specialist type (Main Gun x4 OR Main Gun x3 +Radar)
  • For those who want maximum firepower. Useful for support expeditions, where firepower is king.
  • Any firepower above day attack power cap has greatly reduced effect, very high firepower does not mean very high damage
  • Because of overweight system, there may be a big accuracy penalty
• Night Battle type (Main Gun x2 + any 2)
  • Can equip star shell, searchlight, type 3 shell, radar or other support equipment
• Torpedo Cut-in type (Main Gun x2 +Recon Seaplane +Torpedo) OR (Main Gun x2 +Torpedo x2)
  • Exclusive to Bismarck drei
  • Can match Kitakami's torpedo cut-in damage
  • Much better after increasing luck via Modernization
• Anti-air cut-in type (Main Gun x2 + Type 3 Shell + AA Director)
  • Can do anti-air cut-in. The usual high angle gun is not required if equipped with large caliber gun and type 3 shell.
  • Can do night double attack.
  • Can deal high damage against installation-type

Aviation Battleship (BBV)

Points for equipment selection:

• Basically Battleship with additional equipment possible
• Can equip Seaplane Bombers for Aerial Combat, Autogyro for anti-submarine attack
• When equipped with seaplane bombers, can attack submarines during day battle (cannot at night battle)

Recommended equipment for Aviation Battleship:

• Seaplane Bomber type(Main Gun x2 +Seaplane Bomber x2 ORSeaplane Bomber x4)
  • Equipping bombers is good for 3-2-1 leveling and anti-submarine attacks
  • Can get air superiority if enemy carriers have few fighters
• Artillery Spotting type(Main Gun x2 +Seaplane Bomber + AP Shell) OR (Main Gun x3 +Seaplane Bomber)
  • Has both strong day attack due to artillery spotting and strong night double attack
  • Can get air superiority even without carrier in your fleet if opponent has no carriers
  • If equipped with seaplane bomber, will prioritize attacking enemy submarines. If this is not desired, switch to recon seaplane
  • First setup is for double attack at night, second is for cut-in for medium firepower 30 luck Ise-class
• Anti-submarine type ( Autogyro x4)
  • For attacking submarines such as in 1-5. allows for second shelling round for more chances to sink enemy submarine
  • Because Autogyro is relatively rare, Zuiun can be used until more are acquired

Aircraft Carrier (CV) Light Aircraft Carrier (CVL)

Points for equipment selection:

• Artillery spotting by other ships requires Air Superiority or Air Supremacy from Fighters
• Dive Bomber and Torpedo Bomber can be shot down by Anti-aircraft fire
  • Fighters and Recon cannot be shot down by Anti-aircraft fire.
  • Tsu-class and AA cut-in in PvP are the natural enemies of carriers and your bauxite stockpile.
• Dive Bomber or Torpedo Bomber equipped in a large slot can deal high damage during Aerial Bombing step
  • This damage may not be enough to sink BB- or flagship-class enemies.
  • Air Superiority is priority over Aerial Bombing.
• Dive Bomber and Torpedo Bomber can participate in shelling phase
  • Damage calculation is based on carrier firepower and equipped planes.
  • Damage is unrelated to plane count, as long as there is at least one plane.
  • Cannot attack at night or when moderately damaged (heavily damaged for Taihou)
  • Default range is Short but may be increased by equipping Secondary gun with range Medium or SCAMP with range Long
• Light Aircraft Carrier can attack submarines
  • Must be equipped with either dive bomber or torpedo bomber to do so
  • Can equip Type 3 Spotter/Liaison (ASW) and/or Ka-type Observation Autogyro in addition for higher anti-submarine stat
• In general, the steps in choosing equipment for carriers:
  1. Equip enough fighters for air superiority
  2. Equip torpedo bombers and dive bombers for aerial bombing and shelling
  3. Equip recon plane to prevent T-cross disadvantage and add more LOS
  4. Equip miscellaneous such as secondary gun, SCAMP, turbines, bulges, damecon etc.

Recommended equipment for Aircraft Carrier:

• Ocean Cruising type (Fighter +Torpedo Bomber + Recon)
  • For farming drops, grinding levels and admiral experience
  • Trades Fighter Power for more higher damage. put fighters in smaller slots and bombers in bigger slots
  • Sink weaker enemies during aerial phase to allow high firepower ships to do their work
  • Make sure you have a little more than the required Fighter Power to account for reduced aircraft count in latter nodes
  • Bauxite consumption increase in exchange for less repairs.
• Air Superiority Oriented type (Fighter x3 + (Torpedo Bomber OR Dive Bomber))
  • For maps that require high Fighter power to get Air Superiority/Supremacy
  • Equip a bomber so carrier can participate in shelling.
  • Equip fighters in three largest slots and bomber in smallest slot.
  • Be careful in maps with enemies with high AA and multiple nodes, if bomber slot is reduced to zero, carrier will not participate in shelling.
• Air Superiority Exclusive type (Fighter x3 + (Fighter OR Recon OR Damecon)
  • Sacrifices shelling for more fighters or other equipment
  • For pvp/maps with strong enemy AA that can shoot down all bombers, or high defense enemies that can tank carrier shelling.
• Filled with Torpedo Bombers type (Torpedo Bomber x3 + (Torpedo Bomber OR Recon)
  • For strong Aerial Bombing "get them before they get you" setup
  • Also strong during shelling phase
  • For maps that don't require high Fighter Power or those that don't have enemy carriers
  • When doing 3-2-A leveling with this setup, be careful not to mistakenly advance to next node.
• Anti-submarine Patrolling type (Ju 87C Kai + (Autogyro OR Type 3 (ASW)) x2 + Saiun)
  • For light aircraft carriers (CVL) only
  • To attack enemy submarines such as 1-5 or pvp or other maps with enemy submarines
  • Ju87C has +5. If not available, Ryuusei +4 can be used. Other planes may have higher ASW, please check individual plane stats.
  • Autogyro and Type3 (ASW) are from Akitsumaru. They cannot be shot down so less bauxite will be consumed. Note that when equipped on carrier, they cannot attack submarines on their own and need torpedo/dive bomber.
• Bauxite Economizing type ((Secondary gun x2 OR +Radar x2 OR Bulge x2) +Saiun + Dive Bomber)
  • Equip the bomber on the smallest slot. this minimizes the number of planes that may be lost.
  • For pvp opponents with no carriers, or easy map that requires carrier for branching like 2-2.

Other notes:

• Advantages of equipping Saiun
  • Avoids T-cross disadvantage in boss nodes to avoid insufficient firepower to get S Rank.
    • Especially important when boss node has single submarine.
  • Allows for Contact and greater damage during aerial phase.
  • Increases LoS which is useful for maps with LoS branching.
  • Some bosses can reach the firepower cap even with T-cross disavdantage.
• Disadvantages of equipping Saiun
  • Uses up one equipment slot. Some carriers like Kaga have considerable slot size for the smallest slot, equipping Saiun might not be benefit as equipping Dive Bomber.
  • Getting T-cross disadvantage may be beneficial for pre-boss nodes.

Seaplane Tender (AV)

Characteristics:

• Can participate in Aerial Phase when equipped with Seaplane Bombers
• Can participate in Opening Torpedo when equipped with midget subs
• Can participate in shelling
  • can attack submarines
    • requires seaplane bombers, will always attack enemy submarines if there are any
    • when equipped with depth charge or recon seaplane, will not attack submarines
  • can do artillery spotting when Air Superiority or better
• Can participate in torpedo phase
• Can participate in night battle
  • cannot attack submarines
• Can equip Daihatsu to increase resource gained from expedition

Currently, Akitsushima, Chitose and Chiyoda are the only members of this versatile, but fragile class. Chitose and Chiyoda remain as seaplane tender on first and second remodels and change class to light aircraft carrier on third.

Note that there are some equipment Chitose and Chiyoda can carry but not by Akitsushima, and the other way round is also true.

For Chitose and Chiyoda, They are very suited to equip Zuiun and Ko-hyoteki. Firepower is low but torpedo stat is relatively high.

Recommended Equipment for Seaplane Tender

Common

• Unremodeled (Seaplane Bomber + 15.5cm Triple Gun Mount (Secondary))
  • For expedition purposes, seaplane tender is kept unremodeled for lowest consumption
  • Two attacks when for sinking destroyers when sparkling in 1-1
• Anti-submarine type (Seaplane Bomber +Depth Charge +Type A Ko-hyoteki)
  • Can additionally attack submarines. anti-submarine attack is not very strong and may have trouble sinking elite and flagship submarines

Chitose and Chiyoda

• Preemptive attack type (Seaplane Bomber + Type A Ko-hyoteki x2)
  • Aerial Bombing and Torpedo attack can sink up to light cruiser enemies
  • For 3-2-A leveling
• Night battle type ((10cm Twin High-angle Mount OR 15.5cm Triple Gun Mount (Secondary)) x2 +Type A Ko-hyoteki)
  • Limits bauxite consumption on maps that require a seaplane tender for branching
  • 15.5cm gun increases range to medium, may interfere with attacks of other ships
• Expedition Support type (Daihatsu-class Landing Craft x1~3)
  • Daihatsu increases resource gain from expeditions
  • Suitable for very long expeditions. Some expeditions that require Aircraft Carrier-type ships where it will be "killing two birds with one stone"
  • Seaplane Tender has higher consumption than Destroyer of Light Cruiser, please evaluate gains and losses before using.

Akitsushima

• LoS type (Type 2 Large-sized Flying Boat x1~3)

Amphibious Assault Ship

Not strong by itself but 2014 Summer and 2014 Fall events have maps where it provide a beneficial branching route.

Characteristics:

• Can participate in Aerial Phase
  • Can equip Fighters, though unremodeled Akitsumaru has 0 plane slots, so this is only effective after remodelling
• Can participate in shelling
• Can attack submarines when equipped with Ka-type Observation Autogyro or Type 3 Spotter/Liaison (ASW)
• Can participate in night battle, but cannot attack submarines at night
• Can equip Daihatsu to increase resource gained from expedition

Currently, Akitsu Maru is the only member of this class.

Firepower and Armor are lower than a Destroyer, plane count is lower than a Light Aircraft Carrier, she in not suited to fight against other ships. But, she can equip fighters and not counted as an Aircraft Carrier for branching and may be useful for those maps. Some event maps have beneficial branching routes when she is in the fleet.

Recommended equipment for Amphibious Assault Ship:

• Aerial Support type (Fighter x3)
  • To get higher Fighter Power for Air Superiority
  • May free up your carriers to carry more bombers
  • Can also be used to allow for Artillery Spotting when no carriers or aviation ships are in the fleet
• Anti-submarine type (Fighter + (Autogyro OR Type 3 (ASW)) x2)
  • Can attack submarines while also contributing fighters

• Expedition Support type(Daihatsu-class Landing Craft x1~3)
  • Daihatsu increases resource gain from expeditions. Suitable for very long expeditions.
  • Akitsumaru has higher consumption than Destroyer of Light Cruiser, please evaluate gains and losses before using. Compared to Seaplane Tender, Akitsumaru has higher fuel cost and lower ammo cost.

Submarine (SS) Aircraft-Carrying Submarine (SSV)

Before level 10, can participate in opening torpedo only when equipped with midget subs. At Level 10 and higher, will always participate in opening torpedo.

Recommended Equipment for Submarines:

• Torpedo type (Torpedo x2)
  • Only setup for submarines that allows for night cut-in.
  • For maps where night battle is important or to increase preemptive torpedo damage
• Aerial Bombing type (Seaplane Bomber x2)
  • Aerial bombing can sink enemy DD/CL. May be used for 3-2
  • Enemy aircraft will surely shoot down these planes but submarine aircraft slots are small so bauxite cost will be low
  • Not effective in later maps with flagship DD/CL
• Heavy Damage Advancing type ((Torpedo + Damecon) ORDamecon x2)
  • Enemy ships that can attack submarines will always attack submarines.
  • This makes submarines very effective decoys