AKA why I'm thinking of giving up on cutinkami.
This will look at comparing DA and torpedo cut-in setups for CLTs.
From the combat thread for reference:
| Damage = | Basic Attack Power | x | Post-Cap Modifiers | - | Enemy Armor | x | Random Number (between 2/3 ~ 4/3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x | |||||||
| Remaining Ammo Modifier | |||||||
Night Battle Basic Attack Power = Firepower + Torpedo
Attack Power After Caps = x + sqrt(pre caps attack power - x), Where x represents the attack power cap.
Attack Power Soft Cap = 300 for Night Battle
Pre-Cap Modifiers in play: Night Battle Special Attacks
For night battles, specifically CLT, you have primarily two ways to equip your ship.
Double Attack: 2 guns + ko-hyoteki = 120% damage modifier x 2 hits
Cut-in: 2 torpedos + ko-hyoteki = 150% damage modifier x 2 hits
The advantage of double attack is that it procs very reliably. The advantage of torpedo cut-in is that it has a higher damage modifier. Both layouts are pretty popular for CLT depending on a variety of factors like admiral playing style, ship luck, ship fleet position, and enemy strength. Let's take a closer look at what goes on when the damage calculations are made.
Base FP on Kitakami/Ooi Kai Ni: 63
Base Torpedo on Kitakami/Ooi Kai Ni: 139
Double Attack
Your standard double attack setup for a CLT is 2 x 15.5 yellows + ko-hyoteki
FP(77) + Torpedo(151) = 228 yasen power x 120% double attack damage modifer = 273.6 damage pre armor/ammo
Torpedo Cut-in
Your standard torpedo cut-in setup for a CLT is 2 x quints + ko-hyoteki
FP(63) + Torpedo(175) = 238 yasen power x 150% cut-in damage modifier = 357 damage pre softcap/armor/ammo
As 357 is over the 300 softcap for night battle, we take the square root of the excess and add it to 300 to get 307.55 damage pre armor/ammo
As you can see, a CLT loses a lot of potential night battle power by going over the softcap. A DD doesn't have this problem as their base stats are a lot lower than a CLT. Right now we are looking at a 34 attack point difference which is pretty significant, but is it worth the chance of a failed cut-in? A successful cut-in will be worth 34 x 2 damage over the double attack (pre ammo). A failed cut-in will be worth... something horrible more often than not.
If you didn't notice, I'm using basic equipment for this example. While you can +4 or +6 your quints for extra attack damage for your opening/closing torpedo strikes, it will have barely any effect at all on your night battle power due to the softcaps. A double attack setup doesn't have this problem, and upgraded guns can allow you to get close the gap somewhat.
Double Attack with Prinz guns + ko-hyoteki
FP(83) + Torpedo(151) = 234 yasen power x 120% double attack damage modifier = 280.8 damage pre armor/ammo
Double Attack with +4 20.3(3)s + ko-hyoteki
FP(87) + Torpedo(151) = 238 yasen power x 120% double attack damage modifier = 285.6 damage pre armor/ammo
And who knows what the future might hold. Upgradable prinz guns? Upgradable ko-hyotekis? Unless they uncap that 300 the CLT torpedo cut-in has nowhere to go.