Kantai Collection

[LtC]

Your posts have been a big help. Been making some great progress today. Built a battleship on one desperate attempt and right after I tried crafting for the first time and rolled Saiun. I've leveled a lot of the stuff you mentioned, but to be honest I'm at loss what I should do with most of them. Destoyers and Light Cruisers feel less and less useful now that I have heavier stuff and bunch of aircraft. Here's what I have leveled now:

Spoiler

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DD:
Hibiki Kai (25)
Yuudachi (18)
Kitakami Kai (18) (CLT)
Ibuki (15)
Shigure (8)

SS:
I-168 (25)
I-58 (21)

CL:
Yuubari Kai (26)
Kiso Kai (25)
Sendai Kai (24)
Isuzu Kai (21)
Naka Kai (21)
Jintsuu (10)

CA:
Nachi Kai (26)
Tone (15)
Mogami (14) (CAV)
Takao (13)
Maya (4)

CV/L:
Chiyoda船 (24)
Akagi (21)
Chitose (12)
Junyou (3)

BB:
Kongou (16)

Here's what I feel is my strongest team currently:

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Fleet:
1. Kongou - 35.6cm, 15.2cm, Zero Scout
2. Nachi Kai - 20.3cm, 20.3cm, Zero Scout, Air Radar 
3. Mogami - 20.3cm, 20.3cm, Zuiun, Zuiun
4. I-58 - Kouhyouteki
5. Akagi - Ryuusei, Type99 Dive Bomber, Type 99 Dive Bomber, Saiun
6. Chiyoda - Type97 Torpedo, Type97 Torpedo, Type 99 Dive Bomber

I feel like a submarine is more useful than a torpedo cruiser. Might swap Nachi with Maya, or maybe Tone. From how I see Junyou might be more useful than Chiyoda. I have no idea what to do with my DD and CL, maybe I will need them when facing submarines and enemy air superiority. Right now I'm trying to farm and level at 2-4 to get into a state where I can clear world 2. How's my fleet looking like?

[Icarus]

I've leveled a lot of the stuff you mentioned, but to be honest I'm at loss what I should do with most of them. Destoyers and Light Cruisers feel less and less useful now that I have heavier stuff and bunch of aircraft.

Believe me, don't neglect any of your DD, CL, CLT etc. Later maps, events, Extra Operations all require them either through composition or routing, and if you hope to make any progress in later maps, you're going to need all you can get. Probably the biggest mistake a new player can make is focusing on BB/CV/CVL too early and neglecting the development of lighter ships like CA, DD, CL, CLT. It comes back to bite you on the ass later on.

The other thing is, the lighter ships all have really neat equipment when Kai2 - DDs have Anti-Air Fire Directors which are invaluable on harder maps along with an array of anti-sub and radar equipment; CLs often have night-battle equipment and rare guns; and CAs have a range of great, versatile equipment. That and the lighter Kai2 ships often work even better than BB and CV, especially at night.

Right now I'm trying to farm and level at 2-4 to get into a state where I can clear world 2. How's my fleet looking like?

In 2-4 you need strength as well as air power, so using a composition of primarily BB, CV and CVL will do it. They need to be fully modernised and have good equipment though. Personally, I'd recommend levelling and farming 2-2 and 2-3.
World 3 will be the big sticking point, particularly 3-2.

[LtC]

Been making some steady progress. Reached 2 goals today:

1) Finished getting all CLT to Kai ni! Bringing my Kai ni amount to 5 (CLTs, Chiyoda, Sendai).


2) Cleared Bw7 for the first time (5x 3-3)


I really feel 3-3 was the point where the game went from easy to intermediate difficulty. I had to start really put emphasis on fighters to counter enemy planes. While working on the quest I managed to craft 2 Reppuu which I feel made a big difference. I also started taking notes so I'll have better self restraint with spamming buckets and resources like I did when originally clearing 2-5. I feel I was quite lucky overall with the runs, but at the same time my last run of 3-3 was a nightmare and it was a complete miracle I ended up winning:

Spoiler

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Fleet composition: 1BB, 1CA, 2CLT, 1CV, 1CVL

16.7.2015
Session 1:
Attempt1:AHIK->Large Furniture Box
Attempt2:AEI(Kitakami Taiha)-> retreat

17.7.2015
Session 2: 
Attempt3:AHIJ->Medium Furniture Box -60Bauxite (~0HP loss)
Attempt4:AE(Souryuu Shouha)FG(Kitakami Chuuha) ->S Rank, (Haruna Drop) -150Bauxite
->Use 1 Bucket
Attempt5:AEI(Ooi Chuuha)G(Kitakami Taiha, Maya Shouha, Akagi Shouha) ->S Rank, night battle (Akagi drop) -230 Bauxite

->craft 2x reppuu
Session 3: 
Attempt6: AEFG -> Yasen, 3 shouha (yamashiro drop) -65 Bauxite

18.7.2015
Session 4: 
Attempt7:AHIG -> S rank (2 chuuha, 2 shouha) (maikaze drop) -50 Bauxite

Session 5:
Attempt8:AEI(junyou chuuha, akagi shouha)J -> furniture box -150 Bauxite
->use 1 bucket
Attempt9:AHI (kitakami taiha) ->retreat -90 bauxite
->use 1 bucket
Attempt10:AE(kitakami chuuha, akagi shouha)I(kitakami taiha)-> retreat -140 Bauxite
->use 3 bucket
Attempt11:AHI(maya chuuha, kitakami chuuha, akagi shouha)G  ->A Rank (Everything either Taiha or Chuuha) (Yamashiro drop) -80 Bauxite
 

Next I'm planning to farm 2-5 to at least until I'm HQ70 (when the boss difficulty goes up). Really hoping to get Akashi, Uzuki, Abukuma and some subs. I could use some advice on what to do after that though. I think I could complete 3-5 this month bringing my medals up to 3. I'd really want to clear 4-5 as well but that looks extremely difficult so it might be a smart idea to start preparing for the event. My max resources are only 17k at this point so there's no meaning in hoarding resources yet. I suppose I should aim as high as possible in the rankings to up my resource limit and get some ranking bonus equipment while at it. I think top 500 is a given, but top 100 will be difficult.

Since my crafting materials are quite low I could use some advice on what I should focus on crafting. What I have now:

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-2x Reppuu
-2x Shiden Kai ni
-2x Ryuusei Kai
-2x Saiun
-2x Type 91 AP
-2x Type 3 Shell
-0x engines (any)
-0x 46cm cannon
-6x 15.5cm triple gun (enough to fit 3CLTs)
-1x Type 3 SONAR (+ a few Type 93 SONAR)
-1x Type 3 Depth Charge (+ few Type 94 Depth Charge)

Should I focus on getting one or two more Reppuu? Do I need more Type 91 AP, any engines, 46cm cannons? Is there a huge difference between top tier and common ASW equipment?

Looking at blueprint ships I think I should first work on Tone, then Maya or Yamashiro. I just wish I could do both 3-5 and 4-5 this month.

[Icarus]

Good job! Looks like your progress is speeding along nicely.

Bw7 is probably the quicker of the two weekly Improvement Medal quest chains to do, though I'm dubious of whether it's actually easier compared to Bw6-8-9. I currently flit between 3-3 (using CA 2CLT 2CV SS) and the much harder 3-5 (using CA 2CLT BBV 2CV) to try and clear it.

The event starts in a few weeks, so if you're planning on taking part, I'd say concentrate on levelling your current fleet, and stockpiling resources. An event is resource-intensive, and this one is expected to be difficult as the devs have said its a large-scale event similar to last year's Summer Event, AL/MI. You'll want at the very least 60k in all resources, and about 400+ buckets. More than that is a bonus. Use the softcap and Expedition sets 5-13-21 (active) and 15-35-36 (rest) to quickly build up resources, and 2-4-10 for buckets.

Don't worry about crafting too much. If you must, focus on aircraft and artillery shells, as your ships can survive on common guns like the 20.3cm and 35.6cm, and engines are a nice utility to have but not required in most cases. 46cms are only good for the Yamato class, by the way, due to the weight penalty imposed on ships. Crafting any aircraft is fine, though more Reppuu (which are very rare, so you won't get that many unless you're really spamming) and Shiden Kai2 will be helpful, and a couple more Type 91 AP and Type 3 AA are nice too. Anti-sub stuff generally isn't used that much in events.

As for blueprint ships, you have a choice between upgrading CAV or BBV in my opinion, as the Tone-class and Fusou-class are the best in their respective classes, and required for a lot of things. More so Tone/Chikuma, as CAV are used for routing in a lot of cases.

[Icarus]

Summer Event 2015 [Counterattack! The 2nd Solomon Operation] starts in the next few weeks.
Teruzuki (Akizuki's sister ship - another AACI DD!) and another five new ships are confirmed.
Also, carrier-centric maps, so high-level CV, CVL and escorts are required. Hope you've stocked enough Reppuu and bauxite. :V
http://kancolle.wikia.com/wiki/Summer_2015_Event

[LtC]

Managed to complete 5-2 questline for this week! But this is as far as I go. I was originally thinking about clearing 4-5 this month but it looks way too resource heavy. I'm going to stop grinding levels for my ships too and focus on gaining resources past the softcap from now on.

Spoiler

Here's where I stand now

At day I'll aim to be run Ex2 and Ex5 non-stop. After getting bauxite up to 18k I'll be moving on running Ex21. I'm hoping to end up with at least around 50k/50k/30k/25k resources and 350~400 buckets 10 days from now on.

This is how my competent ships are looking

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-7 Destroyers (3 Kai2)
-5 Light Cruisers (2 Kai2)
-3 Torpedo Cruisers (3 Kai2)
-6 Heavy Cruisers (2 Kai2)
-1 Aviation Cruiser
-4 Light Carriers (1 Kai2)
-4 Fast Battleships (1 Kai2)
-Battleships:(-2x Lv1 Ise, 1x Lv1 Hyuuga)
-2 Aviation Battleships
-3 Aircraft Carriers
-2 Submarines
-2 Seaplane Tenders

I really wish I had more Aicraft carriers, Akashi and a regular Battleship or two. I've hoarded a bunch of battleships I've gotten as drops so I can modernize and roll out Ise and Hyuuga if I have to.

To be honest I have no idea how well prepared my fleet is. I also wonder what difficulty I should be aiming to clear. I guess I'll wait and see when the event starts before going all out with my resources.

Also, carrier-centric maps, so high-level CV, CVL and escorts are required. Hope you've stocked enough Reppuu and bauxite. :V

It hurts reading this. I've wasted all my resources twice so far crafting 25 carriers but I all I was able to get was Zuikaku. Kaga and Hiryuu seem to be completely avoiding me. I'm at 4 Reppuu (few more lvls for Junyou and I'll be at 5) and 3 Shiden kai2 so hopefully those will be enough to secure AS on all maps.

[Icarus]

I was originally thinking about clearing 4-5 this month but it looks way too resource heavy. I'm going to stop grinding levels for my ships too and focus on gaining resources past the softcap from now on.

I wouldn't even think about attempting 4-5 until you have a seriously good fleet. Even at my level and with the equipment I have, it took 15 attempts and a ton of buckets with 5BB CV to get the last kill, and that was only after I cracked and fully-sparkled all six of them. 1-5, 2-5 and 3-5 are way easier and more consistent.

At day I'll aim to be run Ex2 and Ex5 non-stop. After getting bauxite up to 18k I'll be moving on running Ex21. I'm hoping to end up with at least around 50k/50k/30k/25k resources and 350~400 buckets 10 days from now on.

To be honest I have no idea how well prepared my fleet is. I also wonder what difficulty I should be aiming to clear. I guess I'll wait and see when the event starts before going all out with my resources.

Level 80+ is the main stepping point where everything becomes MUCH harder. If at that point your fleet girls aren't at lv50+, I'd suggest not even contemplating Hard.
Most of the rewards on Medium are acceptable anyway.

A word of caution: from experience, the first two maps are usually light-fleet-centric, so DD, CL/T, CVL and occasionally CA/V. Last year's Summer E-2 was particularly brutal on 5DD CL compositions - if you want to know how brutal, try that composition in 3-5.

It hurts reading this. I've wasted all my resources twice so far crafting 25 carriers but I all I was able to get was Zuikaku. Kaga and Hiryuu seem to be completely avoiding me. I'm at 4 Reppuu (few more lvls for Junyou and I'll be at 5) and 3 Shiden kai2 so hopefully those will be enough to secure AS on all maps.

2-2 and 2-3 have a lot of CVL; Hiryuu, Souryuu, Kaga and Akagi drop occasionally from 3-3, 4-1 and 4-2.
CV are pretty rare though, but you can usually make do with Hiryuu, Souryuu, Shoukaku-class and Akagi. What's more critical to success is your equipment for them.

[LtC]

A word of caution: from experience, the first two maps are usually light-fleet-centric, so DD, CL/T, CVL and occasionally CA/V. Last year's Summer E-2 was particularly brutal on 5DD CL compositions - if you want to know how brutal, try that composition in 3-5.

I actually cleared 3-5 with 1CL5DD composition without any trouble. However what's weird is that looking at the wiki it says the final boss for the fourth kill is different. But when I finished the map I only ever faced the transport ship boss composition. I wonder if my game glitched out or something.

As for progress after finding out the event isn't starting as soon as I thought I went back to grinding 2-5. I've done 28 S rank 2-5 boss kills now and even though I still haven't gotten Akashi I managed to get Hiryuu, Suzuya, Taigei and Zuihou (and 4 Abukuma). I also scored Mutsu from 4-2. Right now I'm working on grinding Hiryuu at 3-2 so I can get the special Tenzan and Suisei models for the event.

[Icarus]

I actually cleared 3-5 with 1CL5DD composition without any trouble.

I'm assuming you're sub HQ lv80? The Extra Operations change drastically in difficulty at 80+, to the point where I'm actually more consistent clearing 2-5 with 2CLT CA[Maya] BBV 2CV, going north.
Also, it's not the boss that changes on the last kill, it's Hoppou on the north route.

(and 4 Abukuma)

I hope you kept all four of them - level them after the event, get 4x Daihatsu Landing Craft, drown in expedition resources.

[LtC]

I'm assuming you're sub HQ lv80? The Extra Operations change drastically in difficulty at 80+, to the point where I'm actually more consistent clearing 2-5 with 2CLT CA[Maya] BBV 2CV, going north.
Also, it's not the boss that changes on the last kill, it's Hoppou on the north route.

I believe I was somewhere between HQ80 and 84 when I cleared it. The only thing with 2-5 I've noticed is that the LOS requirements have skyrocketed and I had to swap one CLT to CA when doing the map. Right now I'm using 1(F)BB, 1CA, 2CLT and 2CV composition. It's quite consistent but the second zone can be a major pain in the ass whenever the enemy battleship decides to one-shot taiha one of my CVs.

Speaking of Maya I have her Kai2 now but quite frankly I don't see too much use in the AA cut-in, at least when I'm using CVs along with her. I'd much rather use another CA with double attack. Maya with one gun doesn't really seem much stronger than a Kai2 DD.

As for the Zone F I think I was just confused with how it is named F like some other zones where the boss changes for the last kill. By the way I've been trying to do world 3's 5 boss kills quest again this week and it's really expensive going into furniture nodes 6 times in a row. From how I see it's going to be much more resource efficent attempting it on 3-5 south route with 1CL5DD while taking your time as you can repair DDs in few hours max compared to 15+hrs of CVs.

I hope you kept all four of them - level them after the event, get 4x Daihatsu Landing Craft, drown in expedition resources.

I stored them for a while but then when I thought about it I probably wouldn't be able to have extra blueprints until much, much later so I just scrapped them. I'm going to start doing LSC after the event so by the time I've remodeled all the blueprint requiring ships that I want I probably have gotten an Akitsumaru or two.

[Icarus]

Speaking of Maya I have her Kai2 now but quite frankly I don't see too much use in the AA cut-in, at least when I'm using CVs along with her. I'd much rather use another CA with double attack. Maya with one gun doesn't really seem much stronger than a Kai2 DD.

Maya's AACI isn't that strong until you have the right equipment setup, once you give her it, she's actually capable of shredding more enemy bombers than Akizuki. I've lost count of the amount of times her AACI has completely disabled a particularly dangerous enemy carrier during a really tough map - and by completely disabled, I mean "rendered unable to attack even during the day". I'd take that greater protection from carrier takoyaki bombers over any potential daytime double-attack anytime.

As for the Zone F I think I was just confused with how it is named F like some other zones where the boss changes for the last kill. By the way I've been trying to do world 3's 5 boss kills quest again this week and it's really expensive going into furniture nodes 6 times in a row. From how I see it's going to be much more resource efficent attempting it on 3-5 south route with 1CL5DD while taking your time as you can repair DDs in few hours max compared to 15+hrs of CVs.

I never run 5DD CL in 3-5 any more because of the increased difficulty (at HQ 100+) - guaranteed enemy one-shot from the first two nodes if none of the ships are sparkling. I use my preferred composition for 3-5 only if I have the time spare (as I like to let my ships repair naturally in the docks to save buckets), otherwise I like the CA[Maya] 2CLT 2CV SS composition for 3-3 as it's pretty funny and also occasionally clears the map without taking any major damage.

[LtC]

I never run 5DD CL in 3-5 any more because of the increased difficulty (at HQ 100+) - guaranteed enemy one-shot from the first two nodes if none of the ships are sparkling. I use my preferred composition for 3-5 only if I have the time spare (as I like to let my ships repair naturally in the docks to save buckets), otherwise I like the CA[Maya] 2CLT 2CV SS composition for 3-3 as it's pretty funny and also occasionally clears the map without taking any major damage.

I'll reach HQ100 soon just from trying to farm Akashi from 2-5. I guess I'll have to prepare for that as well. It's nonsense they had to make such an important ship complete RNG hell to get. I'm having very similar luck trying to farm I-19 and I-8 from 1-5. By the time the event ends I'll be 100+ for sure and I probably can't use my current route anymore because of the enemy super carrier that gets added to the third node.

[Icarus]

I'll reach HQ100 soon just from trying to farm Akashi from 2-5. I guess I'll have to prepare for that as well. It's nonsense they had to make such an important ship complete RNG hell to get. I'm having very similar luck trying to farm I-19 and I-8 from 1-5. By the time the event ends I'll be 100+ for sure and I probably can't use my current route anymore because of the enemy super carrier that gets added to the third node.

She dropped for a time on 1-5 when they first unveiled Akashi's Improvement Arsenal, to allow those who didn't have her to acquire her, but I believe they may have removed that possibility recently. (Coincidentally I got mine from 1-5, but haven't seen her since on any map.) She also appears from 3-5 (Hoppou) and 6-2, at a ridiculously low drop rate.
Think of it this way, by the time you do get her, you'll probably have a ton of improvement screws to spend. :3

[LtC]

She dropped for a time on 1-5 when they first unveiled Akashi's Improvement Arsenal, to allow those who didn't have her to acquire her, but I believe they may have removed that possibility recently. (Coincidentally I got mine from 1-5, but haven't seen her since on any map.) She also appears from 3-5 (Hoppou) and 6-2, at a ridiculously low drop rate.
Think of it this way, by the time you do get her, you'll probably have a ton of improvement screws to spend. :3

But at the same time you do lose one screw per day that you could have gotten from the daily quest. I'm thinking it might not even be worth doing the weekly quests that reward screws because there's absolutely no guarantee you'll ever even get to use them. Instead put that effort into farming 2-5

[Icarus]

But at the same time you do lose one screw per day that you could have gotten from the daily quest. I'm thinking it might not even be worth doing the weekly quests that reward screws because there's absolutely no guarantee you'll ever even get to use them. Instead put that effort into farming 2-5

Haha true, but the benefits of having the improved equipment far outweigh the time spent attempting to get Akashi and farming screws.
In any case, I'd put off attempting to get Akashi until after the event, when you're better placed to know what to improve on your fleet.

EDIT: There was a live update on the 31st (today at time of writing).
http://kancolle.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:290962
Nothing really important - new voices, some ship rebalancing. What was really interesting is this:

06▼ Update of AA ability of "Isuzu Kai Ni".
Renewed light cruiser "Isuzu Kai Ni". She can now be equipped with good AA weapons, and even without Anti-Air Fire Directors, she can still be possible to perform the air defence "Anti-Air Cut In".

Isuzu K2 can now AACI without any AAFDs equipped, just like Akizuki, which is pretty fitting for the CL with the highest AA stat amongst her class.
If only her firing range was equal to the rest of the CLs. >_>

[LtC]

Finished my last day of grinding my ships for the event. I really need to work on my resources from now on. Currently standing at:


Finished Hiryuu/Souryuu quest! These things have some amazing stats. Especially the LOS should come in handy.

Spoiler

Got Iku! (actually four of them) Still no sign of Hachi

Spoiler

Last medal for Tone Kai2 from finishing 1-5 for the second time!

Spoiler

Current equipment:

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-6 Reppuu
-3 Shiden Kai2
-2 Type 0 Fighter (Skilled)
-4 Type 3 Shell (2 more obtainable from battleship remodels)
-4 Type 91 AP

Do I need more Reppuu or should I be trying to craft more AP shells? Should I be building Observation Seaplanes (currently have none)? Is there ever a situation where I would use Type 0 Fighter (Skilled) over Shiden Kai2 to sacrifice 1AA for various other stats?

Isuzu K2 can now AACI without any AAFDs equipped, just like Akizuki, which is pretty fitting for the CL with the highest AA stat amongst her class.
If only her firing range was equal to the rest of the CLs. >_>

What equipments should I be using to get the AACI? I actually used Maya's AACI for the first time in PVP today and she shot down single handedly two carriers worth of planes down.

[Icarus]

Do I need more Reppuu or should I be trying to craft more AP shells? Should I be building Observation Seaplanes (currently have none)? Is there ever a situation where I would use Type 0 Fighter (Skilled) over Shiden Kai2 to sacrifice 1AA for various other stats?

You can never have enough Reppuu. :3 (Six is a good number though.)
Type 0 Observation planes are near impossible to get, I've only got one. It's probably not worth forcing them as the stat increase is marginal.

What equipments should I be using to get the AACI? I actually used Maya's AACI for the first time in PVP today and she shot down single handedly two carriers worth of planes down.

For Isuzu, two of anything that is a high-angle mount or anti-air gun, and an air radar. Stats need to be extremely high for AA, so the 25mm Concentrated Deployment, 3.7cm FlaK M42, 12.7cm HA (Late Model), or ideally, the 12.7cm HA + AAFD - this is because the chance for AACI is increased the higher your ship's final AA stat is.
For Maya, she has a very specific setup for both optimal damage and optimal AACI. Recommended is a 20.3cm no.3, 25mm Concentrated, 12.7cm HA + AAFD and either a Type 14 Air Radar or a FuMO25 Air Radar.

I'd suggest you don't waste any more resources crafting anything or heavy grinding. I hear this event will feature seven event maps.

[BulletMagnet]

Not sure if this was already mentioned on here, but there's some manner of Vita port of this coming out in Japan in November.

[Devdan]

I hate that I'm still playing this, but I basically just do the excercises and call it a day. What game are other people playing where it's possible to go from 0 to 70 in a week? I've been playing this crap since April, and I only have 2 Kai-Ni (both level 50 req) and my highest level ship is 71, then 69, then a few in the 50s. Do you just grind one map over and over, because I'd rather kill myself honestly.

[dxk]

I'd rather kill myself honestly.

iktf
7/31
30 minutes later
0/82 for yamato xD
time to quit and go back to 2hu lmao
been playing since 09/2014 and still no yamato wow i suck at this game

[Devdan]

I got Yamato really quickly, and I don't use her because her fake boobs are stupid.

[Devdan]

Got Zuikaku off 300/30/400/300. Cool 'cause she's rare or whatever, but like, I just want yellow Akagi or Fuso for the stupid green quests, ug.

[LtC]

I really have to say just stockpiling resources in this game is extremely boring. Looks like I'm going to reach my stockpiling goals though so at least I won't have to regret not preparing enough.

Meanwhile I managed to score 2 new DDs while doing weeklies. Both should be extremely useful and I'm glad I finally got my hands on some engines.

Spoiler

7/31
30 minutes later
0/82 for yamato xD
time to quit and go back to 2hu lmao
been playing since 09/2014 and still no yamato wow i suck at this game

I still haven't even attempted LSC and hearing these horror stories about people attempting dozens of times without success is scary. I can see this happening to me as well since I have a bad habit of crafting/building over and over until I (don't) get the thing I want.

What game are other people playing where it's possible to go from 0 to 70 in a week?

Yeah, it all comes down to grinding. What I did was set up a composition for 3-2A that I could repeat over and over without worrying about fatigue. All I would have to do is rotate a battleship (with weak single attack setup) and a submarine and my flagship (the ship I was leveling) would always get MVP. It's tedious, sure, but I tend to grind while doing other stuff at the same time so I barely notice it.

Got Zuikaku off 300/30/400/300. Cool 'cause she's rare or whatever, but like, I just want yellow Akagi or Fuso for the stupid green quests, ug.

Zuikaku is the only CV I've ever managed to build. Too bad she isn't that useful but I did hear she'll be getting her Kai2 soon. Not that I have spare blueprints though

[Icarus]

I really have to say just stockpiling resources in this game is extremely boring.

Stockpiling resources is easy (and you only ever have to check every 1.5hr if that) but bucket-farming is tedious.
Luckily I'm at the point where I am unable to modernise any more as all of my shipgirls are maxed, so I just scrap every ship that I acquire for extra resources. That, and I only use submarines for my daily/weekly quests, saving even more. (My bauxite is looking a little light, though…)

I still haven't even attempted LSC and hearing these horror stories about people attempting dozens of times without success is scary. I can see this happening to me as well since I have a bad habit of crafting/building over and over until I (don't) get the thing I want.

Aside from Bismarck, I haven't got any of the other LSC ships. But I rarely attempt it, as my fleet is plenty strong and well-equipped now to deal with anything, without the need for Yamato, Musashi and Taihou.
Thankfully I-401 drops in 6-1, so there's no need for me to spam LSC for her now.

Also, a note about the event: not only will there be seven total stages, and a number of new shipgirls, but there's going to be a new carrier-based aircraft system implemented. Looks like they're really going all-in with the carrier focus for this event.
https://twitter.com/KanColle_STAFF/stat ... 9925090305
Thankfully I crafted another Reppuu the other day, taking my total (including the 601 Air variant) to 12. :3

Three days to go.

[dxk]

Yamatos are very useful in heavy maps such as 5-5 and certain final maps of events. Difference between them and rest of the BBs are night and day.
I need Yamato and I'll be free from LSC hell and move on to spending resources for maruyu and equipment upgrades.

[Icarus]

Yamatos are very useful in heavy maps such as 5-5 and certain final maps of events. Difference between them and rest of the BBs are night and day.

I don't doubt that the strength of Hotel-chan, Sushi and washboard CV are a great advantage to have, but I haven't needed them at all in any of the events I've cleared, and the EO maps.
Good ship compositions and equipment setups are just as important - and easier to work with - as high-powered high-consumption ships, after all. :3

[Devdan]

I don't even know what makes equipment good. I'm just throw whatever on, and if the ships miss a lot I tone down the gun count.

[Icarus]

Summer 2015 Event has started today. Naturally, the servers will be overloaded with people trying to get on and start it, so I wouldn't even bother trying to get on until much later today.

What is known:
• Seven event maps - 3 of them being EO - with four of them being ship-locking maps. Currently unknown as to how they'll be locked.
• 20 day duration for the event. Not really long for a seven-map run :V
• Combined Fleet mechanics are in, as expected.
• Difficulty system as the previous event - meaning you can't jump up from Easy to Hard on consecutive maps, but you can drop down from Hard to Easy. Hard unlocks at 80+.
• Expect to see land installations, so have a lot of Type 3 AA and WG42 in stock.
• New aircraft gameplay mechanics - theorised that there'll be fighter wing experience and levelling up, or some kind of Improvement Arsenal for aircraft.

• A decent number of new ships including:
- Teruzuki (Akizuki-class AA DD)
- Libecchio (Maestrale-class Italian DD)
- Hayasui (Replenishment Oiler - mid-sortie fuel/ammo replenishment mechanic in place?)
- Kawakaze (Shiratsuyu-class DD)

• A bunch of new equipments, including:
- Type 97 torpedo bomber (Murata)
- Tenzan M12 torpedo bomber (Murata)
- a few new guns (120mm Twin etc)
- Hayasui's stock equips (oil replenishment drums)
- what looks oddly like onigiri :V

I won't be running the event for the first few days while I clear my weeklies and EO maps for medals, and because I'd rather let other people do the scouting before I jump in. :3
As before, though, I'll post my clear compositions and tips as I get to them.

[LtC]

Here's the ship locking


I'll have to plan extremely carefully if I want to clear everything on medium+

[Icarus]

Just watching James Xie (http://www.twitch.tv/xiei - also well known in the fighting game community) doing event map scouting.

E-1: CL 5DD goes in random directions, unless you have Kikuzuki, in which case any comp with her goes directly to the boss. Otherwise 2CA CAV CL 2DD seems to work for people.
E-2: Surface Task Force (2FBB CA CAV 2CVL + CA CLT CL 3DD) seems to be working, until you get to the boss and get rekt by CL Demon, BB Kai and BB Elite :V (Also, lol, taking a boss expedition.)

I haven't run the maps yet, as I'm trying to quickly clear some weekly quests first.

EDIT: Also, before I forget, there's a quest chain that needs to be done to unlock E-3.
1. Clear E-1 and E-2.
2. Scrap 6 equips.
3. Sink 6 subs.