12-3 hard mode gear

[verbal crag]

test

also, I can create a version for this fleet on that fleet building website afterwards for reference when you need to be and when I get to my computer.

[balmy dawn]

Tbf at least gold catapults can be scarce early on

If you have purple catapults, they are fine substitutes in lieu of golds

[verbal crag]

I would have to craft some. I don’t have any I checked yesterday.

let me take some pictures of most of my elite and higher gear. Give me one moment.

[balmy dawn]

Cool
Show screens of how your other CVs are equipped too, btw

[verbal crag]

I’m going to post this for now. I have to make a phone call and afterwards I’ll show my current two fleets for the normal campaign grinding and their gear after I make that phone call.

[balmy dawn]

All good, take your time

I take like... five years to read through these anyway lol

[verbal crag]

Hood is not in my two fleets, but she still has gear on her.

sorry, had to edit voice to text likes to duplicate some of my words every so often. it can be a real nuisance.

[balmy dawn]

No worries, mate

Just give me a little bit

[verbal crag]

ok and no worries I’m still eating breakfast

[balmy dawn]

Yep, you definitely have more than enough stuff
Question, though, why are you using Ticonderoga for this 12-3 Hard Mode, when you have other carriers of higher levels and equipped?
Same with Shinano actually

I mean, Shina is good ofc but levels do matter and probably one of your higher level CVs do better than Shinano at Level 105

[limpid ingot]

I'd add that you've got a bunch of random gear here taken to 11. This isn't a great idea, because the difference between 10-11 is something like half the difference between 12-13 (the max is 13 for gold and UR gear). So it's wisest to pick a few high-priority bits of gear and get them to +13, rather than +11 everything.

Also, some of the choices to +11 aren't optimal - the 533 quint torps, 127mm DD gun, and twin 203mm CA/CB gun for example, you will get better gear than these fairly soon. As it happens, I think you can turn all of those into better gear, doing so will get 100% of your plates back, but for items that can't be upgraded you only get a fraction of your plates back if you scrap them. Gold plates are a long-term rarity so spend them very carefully to begin with.

[verbal crag]

I haven’t switched it off of 12–4 that’s why. If I need to change stuff up, I’m fine with doing that.

[verbal crag]

also, I haven’t even started 12–3 yet, I’ve only done 12–4 on hard.

[verbal crag]

yeah, that was a long time ago that I got it to that level I haven’t done any of that since.

[balmy dawn]

Good stuff

[verbal crag]

that being said if you guys have any advice, let me know and I’ll start making changes as soon as I get to my computer.

[limpid ingot]

I did the same, I think most people do

[verbal crag]

Yeah, I need to even do some of that for operation and siren too because I am just not good with fleet building and need some advice. Then I might have to mess with her formations and save it to the fleet building site as well.

[balmy dawn]

I'm just trying to think uh

Let me quickly post this here

So I don't have to switch back and forth between the thread and the main chat to see the fleets

Simply put, uh
If you put Sara in Tico's place
Intrepid or Essex (or if you want, fully geared Tico)
It would solve your ACV

Honestly, my only concern about Shinano is that she's almost twenty levels under, and that could tank her output

Apart from that, most of your equipment is pretty solid, really only can optimise the tiny details from the stuff you showed equipped
Like bringing Owari's main gun to +10, for example

[verbal crag]

Hold on switch to my computer so I can read this easier

[verbal crag]

any suggestions for gear though or just swap Tico with Saratoga?

[verbal crag]

only if I have the resources for it.

[balmy dawn]

Ye I figured that's the main holdup based on the less than +10s scattered around

[verbal crag]

Also what about Z46?

[balmy dawn]

Sara's gear is fine, just swap her fighter to a gold Hellcat if you use her instead
If you want to use Tico, she can run Hellcat/Helldiver/Barracuda plus pair of catapults (need to take them from one of the others who is NOT in the fleet)

[verbal crag]

I did what I could with gear. I do have enough resources to level up any further.

[balmy dawn]

As for Z46 uh...

[verbal crag]

What about purple catapult until I can get more gold ones?

I would have to craft one though

Z23 is higher level than Z46 btw

She just does not have any gear currently equipped on her. She is level 125 though.

[balmy dawn]

Iirc you're meant to run the gold KMS gun on her bc of her skill, but since you don't have it
Take Helena's secondary gun and put it on Z46 instead (replace Helena's secondary with the gold Twin 100mm gun)
Then everything else of hers is "normal": you can use the gold quintuple NON-magnetic torps (the one next to the Harmony ticket)/normal AA gun like Quad Bofors (incidentally, give Helena the Twin 90mm, and give San Diego the Roomba, give Anchorage the Quad Bofors - it's like small swapping, but this is a slightly more beneficial setup)/purple toolkit/some other HP aux... heck, you can give her the RPG Adventure thing if you want

[verbal crag]

Also, just FYI, these are the two fleet formations I have for my main fleet grinding and nothing else

[balmy dawn]

You can, but in that case, might as well just swap Ticonderoga for one of your fully geared other CVs

It's kinda like
Either they are fully geared and in use
Or their gear can be taken from them and given to someone who is being used
It's a bit tedious, but regearing is a normal part of this game

[verbal crag]

I see. Can you show me an image of what you are suggesting or something? My brain is still waking up and trying to process all of that text is a bit much.

[balmy dawn]

Ye I don't blame you lol

I'll use Ren's tool and put it all in picture form

[verbal crag]

ok then I can enter it into the tool and save a screenshot on my end so I have it back up two ways

It is almost 11 AM here, but I did not sleep well last night. So....

[balmy dawn]

Actually, just out of interest

Would it be OK to use Guam in fleet 1 instead, with Laffey and Sandy
I just noticed Z46 is also a bit underlevelled in there

[verbal crag]

for normal or for hard? I only asked that because I put my two normal fleets in these images as well.

Yeah, she is a bit under leveled

[balmy dawn]

This is for Hard

If you're doing normal and just farming, you are free to use whatever
Chapter 12 farming is pretty chill

[verbal crag]

ok. I will take any advice you can give me. Also, wanting to know if I can ask about Op Si fleet suggestions afterward so I can make builds up for those and save them. I still struggle with it right now. I got all of the map unlocked, except for that final node in the middle. I got to it but am too weak to finish it.

[balmy dawn]

Sure, I can help with that

[verbal crag]

Well like I said I am trying to finish up chapter 7 hard -12-3 hard. I am almost done unlocking Kearsarge, but need two more carrier gold retrofit materials and one gold battleship material to unlock her. Hence why I asked about 12-3 hard in the first place. Of w12 hard. I have only completed 12-4 hard.

[balmy dawn]

Oh lol, I just uh... comprehended
You have one more destroyer than I technically accounted for because you have both original and Type II Laffey
OK, dropping Z46 might be necessary because otherwise I'm out of DD guns to equip

Can I just check real quick

Laffey II's second aux

Is that the Operation AF report

I'm bloody awful at telling the report gears apart

Alright.... phew
Trying to craft fleets while checking back for equipment every time is slow lol
I'm used to being able to put everything into the tool from memory of my own gear in like a minute

https://renhex.github.io/AzurLaneFleet/?AFLD=No4RgBgJggOBOANPArPAbBRKoBYtTor6J4ljzkQDMEYMiARAOwAmAhp%2B8%2B44rgF1E4OmGZIoYXJn4opWMOlwkyClNFgKI2rCw5dOfQcLBhNDWChxZqkFUXLMZqxHboM9Bw-wFCQkZhokMWpyeHlXcPJlBRjkcMhNJjYvXh9hGHxaRFCI0zwCdEwFQi0ZSGtk-QMjPxhMamDmXAYoWAjCdAYpVryIQPpdFK9aoTA-fzo5LFQMLBx7YgI4yi1IQarU2uFaW3gsXFoSXDlyJUdnLq18Dc8R9PB4fezDiBJiM7j1LFgqG49hjUfBMAhB9q5mKEFFECO1ovCtAMAdUuNtgLQ5NlwjoclACqQitpXKVEMVXBBMLdAaiHqCZLhmIpoR04bEEeTAnihijvIIxr4AIQQAB0-QF7AAxgAjdgoIhAA

[limpid ingot]

maybe give hood the 6CRAPS shell or whatever it's called, the UK-exclusive one

[balmy dawn]

How in the blazes do you have one of those, but only one white shell lol

But good spot, thanks

[limpid ingot]

(I did the same early on, might even have been my first shop shell)

first and last for me (so far at least), the Brits aren't exactly overloaded with candidates for yellow shells

[balmy dawn]

As for Operation Siren... to put it briefly, it is a very different beast
Creating a fleet for clearing everything but the bosses is easy
But with what you currently are showing me in #1239586007305814157 message, beating an Arbiter (and possibly even an Abyssal) is... going to be quite tough
The fact that your battleship fleet is going to read something like... Owari/Hood/FDG (after she gets to Dev 30) is already a pretty frightening start imo
Your CVs are in much better shape, but to get much out of them you need AvP or Ark Royal or something to give them slow support, and getting them to work on auto is gonna be tough with what is currently available

[balmy dawn]

Haha fair enough
I guess if you use Hood or Nelson, it isn't necessarily a bad buy
But my newbie days were in a different era, where Nelson was a meme and Hood was... fine but nothing special
And also the 6CRH shell didn't exist

[limpid ingot]

I was quite taken with Warspite, which wasn't a wise investment either in retrospect.

Nelson is good to mention though as a cheap stopgap BB until more and better URs come along, if needing to pad your numbers out for a full opsi fleet she's easily available and would be a solid choice (talking for druid here, obviously pilica you really know your stuff).

[verbal crag]

I already have this tool bookmarked. Just need some sort of visual representation for 12-3 hard. Sorry I was on the phone. I can post current Op Si in a few.

[verbal crag]

huh?

[limpid ingot]

the yellow shell

[balmy dawn]

The link is to the specific fleet I put together
Do you want a screenshot of it as well?

[verbal crag]

Let me post the remainder of my dock before I show you the current Op Si loadout I currently have.

[verbal crag]

I will let you know I am still catching up with chat here and got a few more things to take care of before I post the remainder of my dock and current Op Si fleet status.

[balmy dawn]

Sure

[verbal crag]

what is the Discord link for?

[balmy dawn]

Oh, that was to the message you posted

Of some of your dock

[verbal crag]

Which one is mob and which is boss fleet? Also how did you get more than one fleet on the same page? I have not figured out how to do that yet.

oh ok

what about the message I posted for some of my dock?

getting the remaining dock pics right now

[balmy dawn]

I was just using it to refer to
For giving my evaluation of the options you showed me for OpSi

To add a second fleet to the tool, hit the "+Normal" button top left

+Sub on the right lets you add a sub fleet

First (top) fleet is mob
Second fleet is boss btw

Actually, just in case it gets flipped, let me be specific

Fleet with Hood flag is mob
Fleet with Owari flag is boss

[verbal crag]

so while I’m still waiting for advice on 12–3 hard, here’s the rest of my dock that you didn’t see yet.

[balmy dawn]

The fleet I posted the fleet tool link for is for 12-3 Hard though
Like, those are the two fleets I recommend for it
Unless you want some other advice for 12-3 Hard

[verbal crag]

Did you say then that link is just Op Si or possible options for 12-3 hard. That is what I am confused on.

[verbal crag]

Well let me know if you have any changes after what I just sent to it or what you might recommend more.

going to take images of my current setup for Op Si in just a moment

[balmy dawn]

No no, the fleet link is for 12-3 Hard

OpSi is a different matter and uh... is gonna be harder to do tbh

[verbal crag]

ok well of the two or four sets of fleets in that link. Is there one you prefer given my situation over another?

here is the current Op Si setup. if it needs to be changed or not, let me know.

my subs need serious work. So not sure if I really need to worry about them at this time. Also going to post something else regarding Op Si and Gear lab in just a moment so give me a few

[balmy dawn]

There are only two fleets in that link, one is your mob fleet for 12-3 Hard, the second is the boss fleet
Or did the link give you more fleets than 2?

[verbal crag]

https://tenor.com/view/ohh-okay-saturday-night-live-oh-so-thats-it-i-finally-get-it-i-understand-now-gif-21568117

https://tenor.com/view/facepalm-the-huxtables-raven-simone-the-cosby-show-gif-12497069585557012671

[balmy dawn]

It's cool

[verbal crag]

you are good only two fleets.

I will save that right now.

btw that link you said top is mob and bottom is boss correct?

[balmy dawn]

Yep
The fleet with Hood flagship is mob; Owari flagship is boss

[verbal crag]

If I crafted anything from the research lab at this time, it would probably be a waste of resources, but I did want to include this as well

that is my op si resource situation and areas in research lab it claims I can craft certain gold gear. My guess is it would be a waste at this time, but I wanted to make sure and show what I currently have first.

[balmy dawn]

Short answer, you're not really seriously lacking in gears
Any further gear lab builds on your part are just going to be optimisations for the really hard content

So I wouldn't worry about it right now

How fast do you think you can get uh
FDG to Dev 30
And AvP to FS5?

[verbal crag]

Well I would need to build up my credits a bit more. Give me a few moments to show you where they both are currently at.

whatever the coin currency is called in this game. I play so many different games with different names for in game currency.

I cannot keep track of them all.

[balmy dawn]

All good

[verbal crag]

I think I only have around 20k gold/credits now. So I really need to build that back up to like maybe 100k or more probably.

[balmy dawn]

Hmmmm, ye that's still a little ways away

Which is rough

[verbal crag]

closer than some of my other ships are though.

I mean Agir and Hakuryuu are even further away and so is Seattle.

Just to show you what I mean.

[balmy dawn]

Well, let's see anyway
Your OpSi fleet 1 is fine (maybe move San Fran to tank, but either way, you should not have any serious issues apart from stronghold mobs)
But the boss fleets are definitely going to face problems

[limpid ingot]

20k is a high floor to aim for, when I was new I was spending every penny. 100k is overkill unless you're literally days away from a UR event. In that case I'd be more worried about your cube stock, it's a bit low - always try to go into important events with >350 (400 are needed for guaranteed UR pity, and you'll get >50 over the course of the event). Take any and all commissions for cubes until you hit it, and never pull on anything other than single unless it's for an event.

Seconding pilica's advice about PR/DR ships to level (Aegir and AvP as priorities, Aegir is still tankiest tank and you are desperate for ships that can grant slow). Also remember to spend a little on both PR/DR every single day if you can, each has their own separate reductions in cost (and each has free every day too)

[verbal crag]

tank is which one middle?

[balmy dawn]

Tank is front

Jeez, I kinda feel we should never have invented these terms sometimes lol

Front middle back for vanguard
Left, centre, right for backline
Would be easier

[verbal crag]

My cubes are like at 150 or 160 something right now. It is a work in progress.

[verbal crag]

I have been

[verbal crag]

well I have been low on oil lately so have not been upgrading PR/DR ships a lot. I have been mainly focusing on though FDG and AVP right now.

[balmy dawn]

OK, as for the boss fleet... ye, as Bisko reiterated, missing Agir and August is rough, but there's only so much you can do to speed it up, unfortunately...

[verbal crag]

Is that the middle position though in the row?

[balmy dawn]

Oh, in the row, yep, it's fourth from the left

[verbal crag]

There are only three slots in vanguard and main fleet each row

[balmy dawn]

Lol, told you it's confusing

Leftmost vanguard slot then

Basically where Montpelier currently is

[limpid ingot]

You've got Montpelier as a tank and San Fran in off-tank position in one of those opsi fleets, switch those. Anchorage should maybe take Unzen's place as Unz isn't very tanky. I gotta go, but good luck! You're on the right track.

[balmy dawn]

As it stands, the backlines are probably the best you can put together, but there are a couple of things you can do with the frontlines...
I'd probably do something like um
Guam + Helena + Portland for Fleet 2
Laffey II + Kazagumo + Unzen for Fleet 3 (partly because you want three IJN ships in the fleet to meet Shinano's requirements)
Then Anchorage + Laffey + Saint Louis in Fleet 4
But, regardless, it will be a struggle against most Abyssals and probably on the verge of impossible to handle the Arbiter, at least right now
Especially since almost everyone needs some levels to get to at least Level 120

[verbal crag]

I will look when I get back in game

[balmy dawn]

Gonna have to dip for a little while, but I'll check back later

If you have anything to ask, just ask, I'll answer when I get back

[verbal crag]

well then I can fix that up and just might have to farm the other nodes and not arbiter just yet.

[verbal crag]

any advice on research selection. I am just using Saint Louis to build my protocore back up.

[verbal crag]

Definitely will want to know gear suggestions as I do not have gear on all of those characters rn, since I am not actively using all of them.

do I have these in the proper order for 12–3 hard? I got to work on the gear still.

right now, I’m gonna mess with the ships and operation siren but not their gear. I’ll post a picture when I’m done with just putting the ships where they need to be in terms of the order I’ll have more questions on that later whenever you’re free.

[verbal crag]

I already did the free for today. I will wait till later to see how much currency I have for today for extra levels to buy

again, I have not messed with a gear yet, but this is what I did for operation siren.

Also, noticing on hard mode. There seems to be no easy way to flip ships around so that may take some time to get that figured out if I need to flip flop them around.

[balmy dawn]

Definitely focus PR4 and try to get Agir, Hakuryuu, and AvP up as you go along
Agir is wanted for the BB fleet, Hakuryuu to pair with Shinano, and AVP completes the triple CV fleet

[balmy dawn]

Yes, correct... note that you can use the "Adjust" button to shuffle their order

[verbal crag]

Wouldn't you recommend finishing up FDG though as well?

[verbal crag]

I did not see that button on hard mode

[verbal crag]

Now I see it. I did not before

[balmy dawn]

You can finish FDG without focusing PR2, since she can be coined

[verbal crag]

So how do you want me to adjust 12-3 hard?

[verbal crag]

yeah well I was coining just her and AvP mostly.

What do you recommend for this? I was using Saint Louis per advice somone else gave to me to build my protocore resource back up.

[balmy dawn]

Only need to shuffle the order of Fleet 1, move Hood to flagship, Guam to front, and Sandy to back (Laffey stays in centre)

Is Saint Louis already FS5?

[verbal crag]

The three ships I already have maxed out are Monarch, Saint Louis, and Anchorage. That is it.

[verbal crag]

What about for boss fleet?

Any reorganization there?

[balmy dawn]

Boss fleet is fine

[verbal crag]

btw without fixing the rest of my gear with that recommended loadout for 12-3 hard it is apparently saying my torpedo is too low.

[balmy dawn]

Ye I just realised that too...

[verbal crag]

Upon closer inspection that is

[balmy dawn]

That is a ridiculously large TRP requirement

Especially because most of your ships don't have very high TRP stats
What fleet did you use to clear 12-4 Hard?

[verbal crag]

Also all of those characters have gear equipped already on them

Not sure if it saved. Let me look

[verbal crag]

I think whatever I posted here. Which it looks like the torpedo stat was fine with what I had earlier I think.

It overwrote it when I changed what you suggested for 12-3 and now it says the same for 12-3 and 4

[balmy dawn]

Ah right
I forget that Z46 has a high TRP stat...

Basically, the issue stems from the fact that Guam has a 0 TRP stat, really...

[verbal crag]

I see

ok

well let me know. I am working on something else in the interim

I switched your recommendation back to Z46 on the website but it clears out the gear

[balmy dawn]

... I really didn't remember the TRP req being so high ngl

But checking back on my fleets, looks like it worked because I went full torp memes...

[limpid ingot]

Kazagumo is 550 or so torp stat on her own. Replace Guam with Laffey 2, and put Kazagumo in between Anchorage and Unzen

ordinarily putting a DD in tank position is a bad idea, but Laff2 is cracked

I'm assuming MLB on all these ships

[balmy dawn]

Yep that works
But you're gonna need to get some levels on Kaza first

[limpid ingot]

I struggled to meet the torp requirement on this one too, ended up sprinkling gold aux torps to meet it I think

[balmy dawn]

Level 80 is going to be massacred in 12-3 Hard, centre or not

[limpid ingot]

true, true.

[verbal crag]

Not Kaza yet.

[verbal crag]

I currently cannot level her any further until I mlb her fully.

[balmy dawn]

Hmmmmm, that's rough

[verbal crag]

I do not have any bulin for her rn either

[balmy dawn]

OK, well, I suppose alternative plan is

[verbal crag]

I need to grind up some medals for her to get more gold bulin

[balmy dawn]

Swap Guam back out, move Laffey II to the mob fleet as tank, put Z46 in centre of mob fleet
Then move normal Laffey into centre of boss fleet

But you do want to get more levels on Z46 tbh, bc Level 103 is still dicey

[verbal crag]

hold on a moment

[verbal crag]

Z46 was level 108 actually. I just got her to level 110 at the cost of some xp books and gold.

[balmy dawn]

Smh, going blind lol

Looked like a 3 to me

[verbal crag]

I do now need to really get my credits/gold back up though

[balmy dawn]

I mean... you can certainly try her at Level 110, at least
Laffey II is a ridiculously good tank and your backline still does very good damage... and this IS 12-3, not something nuts like 13 Hard...
Definitely don't carry double oxygen torpedo on Z46 though... way too dangerous
If you gear Z46 like one of the other destroyers, with double HP aux, is the TRP still enough or no?

[verbal crag]

well I still have the fleet you made up but it looks like this rn. Any advice on proper changes or picture of changes to make for 12-3 hard? I am multitasking so I might not respond right away. I am working on learning coding right now.

[balmy dawn]

https://renhex.github.io/AzurLaneFleet/?AFLD=No4RgBgJggOBOANPArPAbBRKoBYtTor6J4ljzkQDMEYMiARAOwAmAhp%2B8%2B44rgF1EwfGFyZSYiThKowEsgVxVI9LCw5dOfQcNUpIyNBNwGShYkvIposLKroMNW7fwFCQkZjSRhm1cngxeyDyZXtw5CDIOyY2F143YRh8WkQA4MQwenN0THtCewgJSBx1eJcdDxhMal9mXAYoWEzCdAYxJsyvR3LNLSqhMA8QWmoKLFxaElNu9Ei-BXai0ScKgaTwOj9fHKwZAiJzSMoi1TX%2Briq9eHgaSen9hfmSGyxYKlW%2BhMHhLe87ll-IFWi0wuCit41HFLq5dMBaAY0kEIKj0lA8Id8llCohsZBMNDnJVNj0SsCQqDugsFhBvBjviTBEN3ABCCAAOjprIARuN2AAzeDsIA
Try these modifications out
Gonna sleep soon, please make sure to ping if you reply and I'll get back to you when I'm next available

[verbal crag]

ok thank you and will do

[limpid ingot]

pilica is right about Z46, she is pretty squishy. If you have to add more aux torps, Laffey 2 could lose her black book aux without you noticing too much. Could probably shuffle the Eagle Union Manjuu aux from Anchorage to take the place of San Diego's Naval Camo, and that'd make space for an aux torp on Ancho.

[verbal crag]

btw I have regular Laffey's special augument. Should I use that on regular Laffey in boss fleet instead of what ilica put as the dual swords?

[verbal crag]

wdym exactly?

which pieces of gear are you referring to?

I changed it at the moment to what the last link they sent says

[limpid ingot]

yes. I think there's only a couple of augments that are actually less good than the alternative, and Laffey's isn't one of them

[verbal crag]

wdym?

[limpid ingot]

one sec, phone call

[verbal crag]

keep what they posted in the link or use her special gold one? Ok No worries.

[limpid ingot]

which gear description don't you recognise?

[limpid ingot]

"Should I use that on regular Laffey" you asked, the answer is yes - if you have it then it's the best choice available.

[verbal crag]

Everything you said except for the one auxiliary piece that’s on Anchorage

I have to get going soon, so I’ll have to look back at this later

[limpid ingot]

aux torp = torpedo that you can put in an auxiliary slot, you should have a few gold ones knocking around by this point, pump some plates into them to get them to +10. You can use these to boost your torp stat that the level requires. If you've got one of those rainbow oxy torps from the shop then that's even better.

Laffey 2 has an auxiliary on her second aux slot in that fleet that looks like a book with a black cover. You can swap this out for one of the aux torps.

[verbal crag]

I’ll address this when I can. I have some stuff. I’m working on taking care of right now. It might be a while before you hear back.

[verbal crag]

I will probably have some more questions in about 20 to 30 minutes-ish. I got some things to take care of first.

[verbal crag]

I am back and finally have some free time

[verbal crag]

I only have one piece of rainbow gear on my entire account and it is a gun. I do not have any other pieces of rainbow gear.

I have torps on some subs and Z46 right now. I can take them off the subs, no issues, it was just a temporary thing to try and help me get through 13-1.

@limpid ingot @balmy dawn

[verbal crag]

I am going to try 12–3 just with what I have set up now just to see how it goes. I can mess with it more tomorrow.

[balmy dawn]

Oh right, I did forget to put Laffey's unique augment on her, my bad
Yes, as a general rule, always use the unique augment

As for the other questions, what Bisko said is a good idea
Basically, the "usual" way to get over bad TRP requirements is to put on some oxytorps to boost TRP
But put them on the sturdier ships, if possible, because giving up a defensive aux can be dangerous for the squisher ships (like Z46)

[verbal crag]

Well, let me post what torpedoes I have and see what advice you have

[balmy dawn]

Sure, whenever you're ready

[verbal crag]

like I said some of them, I do have on submarines right now, but I can easily take them off. How do you sort for torpedoes in the gear list? What are they listed under?

By the way, did they make some sort of update to the game? I got some message about repairing assets when I tried to log into the game.

I see the auxiliary versions and the other types, but I’m not sure which one you’re referring to. So I don’t know what to take a picture of.

I’m just taking a guess here that this is what you’re referring to?

@balmy dawn

[balmy dawn]

Oh uh

Auxiliary torpedoes are uh "Auxiliary" type in the filter

They would be like the ones Z46 is carrying
Also the one U-557 has in her second slot

[verbal crag]

This is it there’s nothing else

[balmy dawn]

OK, only one worth considering is the gold oxytorp carried by Z46
Purple one is too low to consider even trying it

Gimme a sec to check your ships in the posts above so I can figure out what TRP stat you can achieve...

[verbal crag]

ok then once we get 12-3 hard finished up. Mind if we work on gear for Op Si?

[verbal crag]

That and order the ships are in.

[balmy dawn]

Sure

Oh neat

I think you should have enough even if Z46 doesn't carry any oxytorps...

OK, let me cook the fleet again...

Oh wait uh #1239586007305814157 message
The (updated) fleet in the link here should already meet the TRP requirements if I haven't miscalculated something silly
Can you put it together with exactly the given equipment and check if it meets the 12-3 Hard TRP requirements?

[verbal crag]

give me a few to look at that link again. I was on a call, but also teaching myself coding as well.

before I take a closer, look to any of those positions need to be adjusted? I’m not sure if some of them can because some of them it would only let me put the character in a certain spot when I initially created the fleet.

Looks like the torpedo is fine though, but that one status is still red

[balmy dawn]

Click the red and show me the number please

[verbal crag]

one moment got to get back in game

kind of multitasking here

[balmy dawn]

Take your time

[verbal crag]

also do I nee do adjust any of those ships positions in their fleets?

[balmy dawn]

Eh, 3501 should still get you air superiority, I think you should be fine
Your boss fleet is fine, but shuffle your mob fleet so that Hood is flagship, then make your vanguard order Sandy, Z46, Laffey

[verbal crag]

which one is flagship again? That is hard to remember all this stuff

[balmy dawn]

Flagship is the very front

[verbal crag]

so center?

[balmy dawn]

... See, this is the problem with this game lol

The position of the flagship changes

Depending on which screen it is

OK, so in this screen
Yellow is flagship
Red is the ship to the left of the flagship (or "above" the flagship, if you prefer)
Blue is right of the flagship (or "below")

Then we have the normal fleet setup screen where it's a different order again

[verbal crag]

So like this?

[balmy dawn]

Yep, looks good
Alright, put them in and give it a shot
Only thing I'm kinda worried about is Z46's level, but other than that... it should be OK...

[verbal crag]

so far after one battle Sandy has taken more damage it appears than Z46.

still not a super large amount, but that is how it is going so far.

Sandy looks like is still loosing a lot more health. I will try to get through one full run and see what the final result is. This is the first time I am doing this node on hard. So it is still going to be at lethal rn.

Both Sandy and Laffey died after only two battles.

[balmy dawn]

Seriously? They died after only two battles?

Damn

[verbal crag]

yep

The picture of the fleet itself was before the second picture was after the battle

[balmy dawn]

Were they just endlessly running into torpedoes or something

[verbal crag]

I was not paying attention

[balmy dawn]

Sometimes that is inevitably gonna screw you up on auto tbf
You can always try resetting the runs

Unfortunately, when you're clearing you generally cannot AFK

Since all kinds of RNG can screw you

[verbal crag]

I do not know how to manual and do not always have the time

maybe I will just do another chapter for now that I already have the battleship unlocked on hard instead

The furthest I have gotten in hard is up to all of w6 and then just 7-4 hard and 12-4 hard.

[balmy dawn]

It's up to you
But honestly, if you could do 12-4 Hard, there really isn't any reason you shouldn't be able to do 12-3 Hard
Just gotta reset bad battles and choose your nodes carefully

[verbal crag]

12-4 hard is already at safe, but that gives me carrier, which I still need two of vs 12-3 which I only need one more battleship

[balmy dawn]

Auto RNG is just like that

[verbal crag]

not sure what you mean and not sure what else to do.

[balmy dawn]

Basically

Watch the screen

If you see your ships taking a lot of damage for some silly reason like running themselves full-tilt into a lot of torps

Hit the pause button, leave the battle, then try again

[verbal crag]

ok

Yeah same result. I think it may possible be torpedo damage but was going so fast I could not tell. I think maybe your setup suggestion maybe not fit my current ships and gear. Idk.

I wish I had higher level and better gear, but I do not right now

[balmy dawn]

I guess it's the outcome of going without a tank in fleet 1

Actually, out of curiosity

[verbal crag]

well any other suggestions on changing it up

[balmy dawn]

Why didn't you bring the fleet you used
To clear 12-4 Hard

Like, if you cleared 12-4 Hard, that fleet should have been fine for 12-3 Hard too, I'd have thought

[verbal crag]

I used two out of three daily hard to work on quest for that ship that is the steward of the in game shop. Whatever her name is. So only one left for today.

[verbal crag]

I do not remember what it was. It overwrite it when i asked for advice on 12-3 hard.

[balmy dawn]

I see

[verbal crag]

That being said any advice? Otherwise going to work on something else in game. Like perhaps leveling up some ships or advice on Op Si fleets and gear.

I feel like maybe I should just level up ships and farm for tech boxes in 12-4 normal then

[balmy dawn]

Hmmmmmm

Let me quickly check something

Actually, maybe it's easier this way...
If you replace Z46 in that fleet with Guam, can you show me how much under your TRP requirement falls

[verbal crag]

I can but out of hard mode runs today

I have a better idea though in the interim to get the pieces I need.

[balmy dawn]

Alright, that's good at least

[verbal crag]

I still have several chapters before 12 to do hard mode on. I think if I clear those with three stars I will get free retrofit materials for the ship parts I am searching for

yeah if I get 3 stars for the hard mode stages I have not done between world 7 and 12. I do get free retrofit materials. So not going to worry about that now and just going to start that starting tomorrow to get the materials. I think I am going to for now work on leveling up some characters in 12-4 and go over what I need for Operation Siren in a bit. I just want to change my fleet out to characters I need to level up that can be leveled up for now.

[balmy dawn]

Got it

[verbal crag]

Btw for PR/DR ships who still need 1 more start to max limit break. What is their max ship level cap out at until they get the final star?

[balmy dawn]

Uhhhh... if memory serves they don't cap? I brought e.g. my Kearsarge to Level 125 long before she hit Dev 30

[verbal crag]

I see. This is the reason I ask. I was thinking about getting these ships leveled up for now so they’re ready once they hit development level 30 and fate simulation..

let me create though a fleet formation or formations of ship to level up and let me know what you think.

it may take a few

[balmy dawn]

Good idea

Agir wants a few more levels first (in dorm or whatever), but FDG and August can pretty reasonably be levelled in a safe farming world like 12-4
As for ships to level alongside, might as well put Z46 in for one
I'll scroll up to find others

Kazagumo once you MLB her is important too

[verbal crag]

yeah well I need more gold bulin to progress her any farther

How much something like these two fleets with of course, the one just being the boss fleet

I would need to mess around with the gear though

[balmy dawn]

Yep that looks good

[verbal crag]

ok give me a few to mess with gear

unless you have suggestions

[balmy dawn]

Move Agir to centre though bc she really shouldn't be taking hits at that level or dev level

[verbal crag]

ok

do you have any gear recommendations before I attempt something

[balmy dawn]

And uh... oof... is Level 73 safe I wonder
Agir IS a very solid ship, but I wonder how much is too much, especially without a backline healer

No particular gear recommendations, no
Just gear them "normally", really
With generally good equipment, like the ones that I put in the previous fleet builds

For farming, you don't have to be too optimised

[verbal crag]

Should be fine. When I was working with NJ for XP for Kearsarge she was pretty low level. I have her at level 85 now. I was just farming 12-4 with her and some gear on.

[verbal crag]

I can always swap a ship out if you need me to and then just swap her out once she gets high enough.

I can also farm 12-1

[balmy dawn]

Reason why I worry is Kear is in backline and isn't gonna be taking much damage
In frontline it's a bit harder to be sure

But try it out lol

I'm liable to worry a lot, probably too much

I had palpitations watching my fleet auto 15-4 boss yesterday, and someone told me that I just worry too much

[verbal crag]

I do not have Kearsarge yet. I am working on unlocking her.

[balmy dawn]

Oh smh, I am going blind

NJ for Kear XP

[verbal crag]

Then probably going to work on PR 3

[balmy dawn]

But the point still stands

Backline is generally safer than the frontline

[verbal crag]

The reason I mentioned her is because I was originally trying to do 12-3 hard to get battleship retrofit parts for her. Give me a moment

@balmy dawn if 13-1 is better to farm I have it at low difficulty rn. I do know though that the oil cost is higher.

[balmy dawn]

Short and sweet, no

[verbal crag]

ok

[balmy dawn]

W13 is a gigantic step up from W12

[verbal crag]

ok

[balmy dawn]

So you can't just drag trash through W13 safely

[verbal crag]

well then I will just farm 12-4

[balmy dawn]

Granted, the ships you are training aren't bad but between dev levels and lower levels and no healer, I definitely wouldn't try

[verbal crag]

tomorrow then I am just going to start also working on hard chapters starting with w7 and slowly work it up towards chapter 12. That way I can eventually not only get free resources. The ships I have now should be able to take care of those nodes for a while with no issue due to their higher level.

[balmy dawn]

Yep, that's fair
Still not really happy about 12-3 Hard ngl, but nothing is really coming to mind rn
If I have any brainwave on fixing it, I'll let you know

[verbal crag]

ok

I just wanted to try that because I heard higher hard chapters have a better chance of dropping the gold retrofit materials. I could be wrong though. I just thought that was what I heard.

[balmy dawn]

We have no hard proof

And honestly, my experience would say no, anecdotally lol

My gold retrofit print income rate still feels the same as it basically always has been, on the whole

[verbal crag]

I see

[verbal crag]

funny thing though. I completed some mission in the missions tab and got the final piece of battleship retrofit material I needed. Now I just need 2 carrier retrofit pieces. 😂

[balmy dawn]

Lol

That's good

[verbal crag]

Yep so just carrier and I can at least unlock her and then move on to unlocking all PR3 ships

[balmy dawn]

Good stuff

[verbal crag]

@balmy dawn check your DMs