A Jew's guide to KanColle

Introduction

Not willing to spend money on a free-to-win game? Not having enough slots to go around? Follow this guide and you won't have to worry about that again.

While parts [1] and [2] are for those who don't buy slots, part [3] is for anyone who doesn't want to buy improvement materials (i.e. screws), which makes up a much larger portion of the playerbase.

WARNING: This guide assumes you are willing to play for stats. Especially part 1 of the guide. If you don't want to play for stats, that's fine, but you should still at least take note of the number of each type of ship you need, because that is even more important than what ships are the best to keep stats-wise. It is highly advised you try and finish your one-time quests for the rewards first before structuring your fleet since your limited space will make it harder for you to manage in the long run, mostly because the girls are essentially dead weight or carbon copies in stats. Take into account that it is significantly difficult (and annoying) to play with the default 100 slots after about a year or so as you will be constantly scrapping ships and equipment for space during events due to event participation rules. It is by no means impossible (I lasted 2 and a half years and few nips still have the default 100 slots and all Hard Mode Medals), but you will be making tough decisions whenever events roll around.

If you end up liking the game for whatever reason and plan to play to the game in the long term, it is wise to purchase at least 1 expansion slot. Even buying 1 leaves a lot of breathing room for those you want to keep, more equipment to hold, or for future useful/cute ships.

Contents
[1] SHIPS TO KEEP
[1a] DDs
[1b] CL(T)s
[1c] CA(V)s
[1d] BB(V)s
[1e] CV(L)s
[1f] SS(V)s
[1g] AVs
[1h] Other ships
[1i] Total
[2] EQUIPMENT TO KEEP
[2-1] Main Section
[2-1a] Main Gun (Primary armament)
[2-1b] Secondary Gun (Secondary armament)
[2-1c] Seaplanes
[2-1d] Anti-Air Gun (AA gun)
[2-1e] Torpedo
[2-1f] Aircraft (Carrier-based aircraft)
[2-1g] Radar
[2-1h] ASW equipment (Sonar/Depth charge/Autogyro/Antisubmarine patrol)
[2-1i] Miscellaneous
[2-2] Equipment For Support Expeditions
[3] EQUIPMENT TO UPGRADE


[1] SHIPS TO KEEP

DISCLAIMER: This list does not take into account possible future remodels or possible new ships. Accurate as of February 25, 2020.

[1a] DDs to keep: This part will separate the 5 types of DDs available, heavy hitters, daihatsu carriers, ASW, anti-air and filler ships, each type is needed for having an easier time in events. Some may overlap with two types.

Heavy hitting DDs (aka "Elites"):
Yuudachi
Ayanami
Yukikaze
Naganami
Shimakaze
Kasumi

Daihatsu DDs, asterisk denotes non-tank carriers:
Asashio
Arashio
Verniy
Ooshio
Michishio
Murasame
------Optional------
*Mutsuki
*Kisaragi
*Kawakaze


ASW (anti-submarine warfare):
Jervis
Libeccio
Satsuki
Fumizuki
Arare
Asashimo
------Optional------
Any DD with at least 69-72 ASW stat or more, the key to good ASW damage comes directly from equipment.

Anti Air DDs:
Akizuki
Teruzuki
Hatsuzuki
Suzutsuki
Johnston
------Optional------
Hamakaze
Isokaze
Pretty much any DD can do this with the right equipment, but Akizuki class is just more effective while trading night battle firepower. Note that Akizuki class are rare event drops, so optional alternatives are Hamakaze and Isokaze. They are still rare in their own right, but at least they are available in regular maps.

Filler ships:
Your starter
Yuugumo class (only slightly better than other common non-kai 2 DDs)
Other kai 2 DDs
They are only good for not so tough maps and Transport Combined Fleet, very valuable when shiplocking is present.

Make sure to have enough DDs to run expeditions, even when an event is going on. 14 DDs (enough to run expeditions 21, 37 and 38 simultaneously) is the absolute minimum. During event time, switch to expeditions which need fewer DDs if you need to sortie any DDs. If large scale shiplocking is present, you may want to keep extras for insurance since DDs are the backbone of events and Transport Combined Fleet, which needs 7 minimum to form.


[1b] CLs to keep:
Ooyodo
Atlanta
Gotland
Isuzu
Kinu
Yura
Yuubari
Abukuma
-------------------------
CLTs to keep:
Kitakami
Ooi

Optional:
Kiso
Jintsuu
Kuma/Nagara/Sendai

CLs have very limited uses since they are weaker than CAs but stronger than DDs, which isn't much of an improvement. Kiso is when you are allowed to use 3 CLTs, such as for Winter 2016 E3. Isuzu is for upgrading all possible ASW equipment at Akashi's Arsenal. Gotland/Ooyodo/Yuubari is for powerful 4 slot ASW. Kinu and Yura for when you have transport event maps. You can keep extra CLs for possible large scale shiplocking, but you probably wont need to.


[1c] CA(V)s to keep:
Myoukou
Nachi
Haguro
Tone
Chikuma
Mogami class (Mikuma in particular)
Maya (a must if you do not have any Akizuki class)

Optional:
Choukai
Prinz Eugen
Zara
The rest

All the Myoukous except Ashigara are required for a monthly quest and they can pull their own weight in events as well, if they are ever needed. Tone and Chikuma are for if and when you need CAVs in events. Choukai is the strongest night battle CA, Zara is the strongest daytime CA that can use seaplane fighters, Mikuma is for upgrading equipment at Akashi's Arsenal and Maya is the strongest AA-focused ship. In case of ship locking, consider those in the optional list. 6 CAs and 4 CAVs should be enough most of the time, you may need more if you want to run poverty fleets during events or if the event requires heavy use of CAs.


[1d] BB(V)s to keep:
Any 2 (recommended: 4) fast BBs (in order from best to worst in terms of overall firepower: Iowa > Roma ≈ Kongou > Bismarck > Kirishima > Italia > Richelieu > Hiei > Haruna >>> Gangut)
Ise-class
Nagato-class
Musashi
Nelson

Optional:
Yamato
Warspite
Fusou-class

BBs are good to have, but you'll only really need those who are best in their own field (fast BBs for routing, BBVs for seaplane bombers and contributing to AS, slow BBs for pure damage). That said, a total of 8 (in case of ship locking) + 6 (for support fleets), for a minimum of 14 BB(V)s total (of which 4+ should be BBVs; highly preferably one of each), is highly encouraged. 2+ fast BBs are required in case of compass rules, slow BBs when there is no unfavorable routing.

For newer players especially who may not have access to the higher tier battleships, all of Kongou class (more common on World 3 and beyond) will be enough to make up the numbers. Fusou class and Ise class should also be easy enough to acquire, at least until you get Nagato and Yamato class.


[1e] CV(L)s to keep:

CVLs from best to worst:
Jun'you Kai 2 > Zuihou Kai 2 ≈ Suzuya CVL = Kumano CVL ≈ Chitose-class Kai 2 > Hiyou ≈ Ryuujou Kai 2 > Shouhou > Ryuuhou > Taiyou-class > Gambier Bay >>> Houshou
*Taiyou and Gambier Bay are more ASW focused, thus their lower power ranking.

CVs from best to worst:
Zuikaku K2(A) ≥ Shoukaku K2(A) ≥ Saratoga Mk.II > Intrepid = Taihou > Akagi > Hiryuu > Souryuu > Ark Royal ≈ Kaga > Graf Zeppelin > Unryuu > Katsuragi > Amagi >>> Aquila

In case of ship locking, 12+ CV(L)s (4 of them for support) should be kept. At least 6 of them should be CVs and at least 4 of them should be CVLs. You may need more in case of shiplocked Carrier Task Force is necessary.


[1f] SS(V)s to keep:
At least 6 (not counting Maruyu)

Only good for tanking damage these days after Phase 2. Ro-500 is the best at tanking and Goya has high torpedo and luck stat for cut-ins.


[1g] AVs to keep:
Akitsushima
Mizuho
Commandant Teste
Nisshin
------OPTIONAL------
Chitose AV
Chiyoda AV

Expedition 36 and 6-3. (They're useful for expeditions which require CVs too, such as expedition 35. As well as for carrying Daihatsu for extra resources from every other expedition you can fit them in.) Akitsushima has been used for routing before, but only available for those who finished Spring 2015 event or got as a drop and can carry the Type 2 Flying Boat. Mizuho and Nisshin are more combat focused and better than ChiChis AV, useful for maps that require an AV but only available to those who got them as a drop from past events.


[1h] Other ships to keep:
Taigei (can be scrapped or remodeled after finishing her quest)
Akashi
Katori
Akitsu Maru
Shinshuu Maru
Hayasui
Kamoi
Kashima
-------OPTIONAL-------
Every DE

Yes, 1 of each. Event compass rules can be a bitch. DEs though are a different story as they are ASW focused yet are not as durable as the other ASW focused DDs. They can be used to increase HP and other stats like Maruyu does to luck, so if you don't want them, they can be used for that, it's up to you.

[1i] Total: 20 + 7 + 10 + 14 + 12 + 6 + 3 + 7 = 79 ships, the absolute minimum. Leaving a little over 20 slots for you to play around with (be it for keeping extra girls you like, keeping farming fodder, buffer for events, keeping specific ships for quest completion, etc).

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[2] EQUIPMENT TO KEEP

DISCLAIMER: This list does not take into account possible future upgrading paths equipment can take, or possible new equipment. It also does not take into account potential equipment locking in future event maps, or potential new usage for currently useless equipment (unless said equipment is particularly difficult to get), or any other new mechanic that may be introduced. However, this DOES take into account stock equipment from potential drops in future events. For simplicity's sake, this part will not take into account the new bonus stats from using native equipment like late model quads and gumo guns for example, the wiki is your friend here. Accurate as of January 20, 2019.

Since knowing what equipment to keep is complicated, I have split the Support Expeditions section from the main section.


[2-1] Main Section (Equipment for support expeditions are not included in this list. Scroll down to see a list of equipment for support expeditions instead.)

Non-exhaustive list of terminology:
12.7cm Twin Mount Model B Kai 2: Poi gun
12.7cm Twin Mount Model C Kai 2: Michi gun
12.7cm Twin Mount Model D Kai 2: Gumo gun
12.7cm Twin High-Angle Mount (Late Model): Urakaze gun
120mm Twin Gun Mount: Libe gun
130mm Twin Gun Mount: Tashkent gun
QF 4.7inch Gun Mk.XIII Kai: Jervis gun
10cm Twin High-angle Mount + Anti-Aircraft Fire Director: Duck gun
5inch Single Gun Mount Mk.30 (includes base/kai/GFCS): Sam gun
SKC34 20.3cm Twin Cannon: Prinz gun
Fighters: Green plane
Torpedo bomber: Blue plane
Dive bomber: Red plane

[2-1a] Main Gun (Primary armament):
-Light:
10-12 is enough for this, including Transport Combined Fleet. You aren't likely to need more than that outside of support.
Best guns to worst: Duck gun (fully upgraded) > Sam gun > Gumo gun > Michi gun > Poi gun (fully upgraded) > 12.7cm (fully upgraded) > Jervis gun ≈ Tashkent gun > Urakaze gun ≈ Libe gun ≈ normal 10 cm gun  > everything else.

For DDs, using the Duck guns should be priority since they give cheap and strong contributions to AA, especially valuable during tough events while also being decent at shelling. But since they are rare to get and expensive to acquire through upgrades, Poi and Michi guns are good alternatives in the meantime.

-Medium:
For CL/CAs, 10-16 is enough. You literally won't even use these guns in support expeditions.
Best guns to worst: 20.3cm(3) gun (fully upgraded) > 20.2cm(2) gun (fully upgraded) > 15.5cm gun (fully upgraded) > Prinz gun > 20.3cm(3) gun (not upgraded) > 20.3cm(2) gun (not upgraded) > everything else.

For CLs, it is only worth giving torpedo sluts and Ooyodo fit guns. Ooyodo in particular because her fit gun is exclusively the 15.5cm gun and it has CA gun tier damage output at max upgrades and her firepower is pretty good overall. A 3 gun 1 seaplane daytime focus loadout is a particularly great setup to take advantage of. CLTs benefit from the 15.2cm Kai because they shit out lots of damage at night, but it is not necessary to give it to them as regular secondary guns or CA guns are already enough.

-Heavy:
In a Surface Combined Fleet, the main fleet can have up to 4 BBs and the escort fleet can have up to 2. This makes for a total of 6 BBs you'll potentially be sortieing, so you will need at least 12 battleship guns for that. For single fleet, you can overload a little bit as long as the gun is upgraded and it is not the 46cm, but in combined fleet due to concerns of accuracy penalty due to overloading mechanics and lowered accuracy in general, you may want to swap in a few 35.6cm, 38cm or 41cm guns instead. Upgraded vanilla versions suck though compared to their upgraded prototype versions (for 35.6cm and 41cm guns) or Kai versions (for 38cm guns and Pasta guns), so try to get those first ASAP. Upgrading 35.6cm to convert into prototype status is cheap for the daily upgrade and 35.6cm guns are plentiful plus you get 2 more from one-time quests. Acquiring prototype 41cm guns is only available from Fusou-class blueprint remodels and significantly more expensive and time consuming to upgrade.

While 35.6cm proto guns are near equal to 38cm guns even on BBs whose fit guns are 35.6cms, 38cm guns are only available from Bismarck thus far, who is a rare result from LSC, so most of your BBs will likely end up using 35.6cm proto guns in combined fleet. I don't really recommend keeping and upgrading more than four 41cm/proto guns total; they should be used on Nagato class, or failing that, Fusou and Ise class Kai or Kai 2 and Pasta ships their 381mm guns. Yamato-class are fine with 38cm or 16inch, but then again they don't have any fit guns and 46cm is neutral on them.


[2-1b] Secondary Gun (Secondary armament):
With the advent of artillery spotting, they've been rendered mostly useless, but in situations where you won't get air superiority, they can still come in handy, even on niche set-ups. In such situations, 6 of the 15.5cm Secondary Guns should do. If you have the OTO 152mm Secondary Guns, even better.

If you are that concerned about enemy planes, you may want to consider up to 6 green secondary guns as well. Even better if you have the 90mm Secondary Gun since they also can be upgraded and can be of use for AACI Maya or 10cm Carriage Kai for an even stronger anti-installation Ooyodo. Even then, it's best to keep 15.5 secondary guns around for when enemy planes aren't a concern.


[2-1c] Seaplanes:
They are important for triggering artillery spotting. 8-9 are enough for combined fleet and more than enough for single fleet use in case of LoS problems. Type 0 Recon Seaplane is the starter plane, but average in performance. The Observation Seaplane should be crafted as soon as possible to replace the Type 0. You can also use a Night Scout or Ro.43 to replace one of them in the meantime but with lower artillery spotting frequency and LoS. Seaplane fighters currently have limited uses, but they are very useful for maps where carriers are restricted or for ships with a 1 plane slot. 3-4 is probably enough, 8 for the worst case scenario. Ro.44 is cheaper to get but Type 2 Seaplane Fighter and Kyoufuu is marginally better at a higher cost.


[2-1d] Anti-Air Gun (AA gun):
Devs have recently tried to make AA guns good but they are still a ways off from being a necessity. AA ships like Maya see particular heavy use of high tier AA guns like 25mm C.D/Bofors/Pom Poms and Ise-class with rocket launchers kai 2, but more specific uses not related to AA would be the upgrade benefits like extra firepower and torpedo power. Certainly a niche use but still much better than what they used to be, a couple of 25mm Triples and 1 25mm C.D./Bofors/Pom Pom for Maya don't hurt.


[2-1e] Torpedo:
A very interesting part. For endgame purposes, you won't need more than 12-15 torpedoes for any sortie. As for what torpedoes to keep, a rule of thumb is don't keep any torpedoes weaker than Quad Oxygen Torpedoes (which give +10 TP stat). You can however make an exception for Triple Oxygen Torpedoes (which give +8 TP) since they also give +1 evasion and +1 armor, which can be useful for subslaving (RIP Orel cruising) or a Choukai/Myoukou/Yuudachi torpedo cut-in setup, in which they can almost reach yasen firepower cap with just two, saving you time in grinding for quint torpedoes.

Regarding what torpedoes to upgrade, upgrade only Quint Oxygen Torpedoes or Prototype Sextuples when possible. Only when you have one screw left (or when you have nothing else to upgrade for the day), then you upgrade Quad or Triple Oxygen Torpedoes. Quads/Triples are also the ideal equipment to upgrade for newer players who got Akashi early, since they will carry you throughout the game, can be farmed very easily from just remodeling DDs, can be upgraded every day and only need one screw per upgrade, at least until +6 beyond which they need 2 screws for Quads.

A note: do not upgrade all quads you come across. They are only placeholders until you start farming Quint torpedoes, which should be as soon as you can sustain your resources decently. If you don't really care, go ahead.


[2-1f] Aircraft (Carrier-based aircraft):
-12+ planes with +8 AA or stronger green planes (fighters) so that you can meet the required fighter power for important nodes.
-12+ Ryuusei or stronger blue planes are recommended for the main fleet. Blue planes are highly recommended over red planes for their stupid high damage output.
-4+ Suisei 12A or stronger red planes are recommended for carrier daytime cut-ins.
-Enough Saiun to ensure you meet high LoS checks. 2 or 4 would be a safe bet.
-Enough seaplane bombers (Zuiun will do, but use stronger planes if you have them) to do the above, as well as to get air superiority. 8-10 would be a safe bet. They won't participate in the aerial phase if they're in escort fleet, so you might as well use normal recon seaplanes there instead, since under the LoS formula, LoS from normal seaplanes counts more towards effective LoS than LoS from seaplane bombers).

(Land-based aircraft)
----------UNDER CONSTRUCTION---------

ASW planes from Akitsu Maru Kai will be covered in the ASW section.


[2-1g] Radar:
You won't need more than 2 Type 13 Air Radar Kai and the Type 14 Air Radar. You need at least 16 Type 32 Surface Radar for support expeditions and sorties, 19 if you use Kasumi kai 2B's special ability to use large radar. They can also be replaced by Type 33 surface radars if you cannot craft many 32s (you can dump 1 of each of the latter two for each FuMO25 Radar or greater you have). Keep any Type 22 Surface Radars Kai 4 you may have for support expeditions to use for DDs. Type 21 Air Radar Kai upgraded is better than Type 14 and FuMO in terms of Fleet AA, but requires heavy upgrading to be useful.


[2-1h] ASW equipment (Sonar/Depth charge/Autogyro/Anti-submarine patrol):
6 Type 3 Depth Charges Projectors, 6 Type 2 or 95 Depth Charges (a.k.a. racks) and 12 Type 3 Active Sonars or better, in case you're dispatching Yuubari, Ooyodo, Katori and Kashima together. Currently the Ka-type Observation Autogyros and Type 3 Liaison are pretty useless. DDs performing ASW duties will need Type 4 Passive Sonar to reach daytime damage cap, which is important against SS Hime, but it is time consuming to acquire and will have trouble compared to 4 slot CLs. Regular sonar is still good for normal maps though, so don't sweat it. At least 3, max 6 ASW focused torpedo bombers for Taiyou/Gamby/Zuihou, preferably more than +7 ASW.


[2-1i] Miscellaneous:
-AA Director: You won't need more than 1 of them. You can upgrade excess AA directors to Duck guns, however, it is not advisable to upgrade all of them since you can farm Akizuki-class during events. You can freely scrap Type 91 AA Directors and upgrade only Type 94 FDs instead if you are lazy or can't wait for an event. Even then, it would probably be better to just farm Duck guns from Akizuki herself instead during events.

-Engine/boiler (Engine upgrades): You can now make slow ships fast with a turbine/boiler combo, but I don't think you'll ever need more than 6 turbines and boilers and that's if you actually use them in things like that. Amatsukaze turbines are ideal but rare.

-AP shell: Type 91 and Type 1 exist; you'll need up to 6 for combined fleet (4 BBs in main, 2 BBs in escort). You can work for the Type 1 in the endgame.

-Sanshiki (AA shell): It's better to have 6 in case of maps like Fall 2013 E4.

-Type A Ko-hyoteki (Midget submarine): 1 each for your torpedo sluts, 1 for Abukuma and Yura Kai 2, and 1 or 2 per AV, depending on the situation.

-Daihatsu (Landing craft): With Mizuho, Akitsushima, Abukuma kai 2, Kasumi kai 2, Satsuki kai 2, Verniy, Ooshio kai 2, Mutsuki and Kisaragi kai 2, Kinu kai 2 and Arashio kai 2, 12 is enough. Even if you have more Daihatsu carrying ships, you'll only need 12 max, 4 for each expedition fleet due to the 20% cap in resource gain Daihatsu has. As for daihatsu landing force and amphibious tanks, 3-4 tanks are enough for tank capable DDs and 2 landing forces for non-capable ones. You can greatly increase damage output by stacking tank/daihatsu+/WG42, but requires more time to develop.

-Torpedo bulge (Extension armor): Again, do you really need them? Even less reason to use than boilers. Ships heavier than a CA need an expansion slot to make them useful.

-Searchlight: 1 normal and 1 BB-only, for a total of 2. If you want, you can use excess search lights to upgrade these 2. BB searchlight may not be used as often as the regular searchlight and is highly situational, so upgrade at your discretion.

-Repair Facility: Your first Akashi will give you 2 total; aim for 4.

-Drum (Transport): 19 total, for running 21/37/38 and 5-4 ranking, Transport Combined Fleet too in case you need to. They are viable for expedition 24 and 40 too.

-Star shell: You will not need more than 2.

-Fleet Command Facility (FCF): 1 is enough.

-Personnel (Maintenance team): You probably won't need more than 2 SCAMP, not that you can get more at this point anyway. Flight deck night operators are pretty good but locked away behind a long quest chain, worth getting though.

-WG42 (Rocket artillery): Sanshiki for small ships, so 7-9, except that you'll need multiple Yuu to get more. Very useful in case you are forced to use light ships to battle installations like Spring 2016 and 6-4.

-Skilled Lookout (Picket crew): For ships with mid tier luck and a cool visual sparkle effect, 2 is already enough for most purposes.

-Flying boat: 3 Type 2 flying boats. Akitsushima, the only ship able to carry them so far, has only 3 slots, and you have to farm her during events if you want more.


[2-2] Equipment For Support Expeditions

The following will assume generic support fleet setups of 2 DDs, 3 BBs and 1 CV(L)s, for both route and boss support. The equipment to be kept is not included in the Main Section. Keep in mind that Akashi upgrades and overweight penalty does not apply in support expeditions.

-You will have 4 DDs, 2 CV(L)s and 6 BBs, and you will want to equip them properly.
-DDs will have a combination of DD guns and Type 33 Surface Radars (or Type 22 Surface Radar Kai 4 if you have enough radars to go around); usually 3 guns or 3 radars (this setup has become increasingly popular as of late). If you are giving them a gun, the Libe and Duck gun are ideal for the extra firepower and accuracy.
-BBs will have two 46cm guns OR 1 46cm and 1 38cm/41cm proto/16inch and a Type 32 Surface Radar(kai)/FuMO/Duplex radar and a second radar (nothing less than a Type 33 Surface Radar).
-CV(L)s will have bombers (of at least Suisei 12A/Ryuusei Kai strength; Type 99 Egusa Dive Bomber or Suisei Egusa is recommended here) and radars (at least 1 Type 32 Surface Radar/Type 33 Surface Radar). Either 3 bombers and 1 radar, or 2 bombers and 2 radars depending if they hit daytime shelling cap (second radar must be nothing less than a Type 33 Surface Radar).

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[3] EQUIPMENT TO UPGRADE (under construction)

Summary of list of things to improve/upgrade at Akashi's (up to 9 stars (+9) unless stated otherwise; brackets indicate level of upgrade to attain if you believe in accuracy effect increment being significant for each upgrade, and is taken to be max unless stated otherwise) What to upgrade first entirely depends on what you need at the moment. http://akashi-list.me is a great website for checking upgrade requirements, costs and benefits they gain.

Recommended:
-Ducky guns (Max. Needs Akizuki or Teruzuki)
-If you do not have Akizuki class, the regular 12.7cm and Poi gun can be enough if upgraded to +4. (Needs Yuudachi or Ayanami for Poi gun)
-20.3cm(3) guns (+9. Less common, needs Mikuma.)
-OTO 152mm guns (+9. Needs Littorio or Roma.)
-90mm guns (Max. See above.)
-Triple Oxygen Torpedoes (Max. Needs Fubuki kai 2.)
-Quint Oxygen Torpedoes (+6(+9). Needs Shimakaze.)
-Skilled Fighters Model 21/52/52C (max. At least 6 for land bases for long range nodes.)
-Type 3 Active Sonars (+3(+6). Increases torpedo evasion and firepower with upgrades, needs Isuzu or Yuubari.)
-Type 1 or 91 AP Shells (T91 at +9 or T1 at +6. Needs Kongou class.)
-Prototype 35.6cm guns (+9 or max. Needs Fusou or Kongou kai 2.)
-Prototype 41cm guns (+9 or max. Needs Mutsu or Nagato.)
-16inch Triple Gun Mk.7 (+4(+6). Needs Iowa.)
-Type 0 Recon/Ro.43 (max. Converts into seaplane fighters and their necessity has reached the point of being mandatory during events.)
-Daihatsu Landing Craft (max. Needs Akitsu Maru or Abukuma kai 2. Cheap for the daily and gives resource bonuses.)
-Type 2 Amphibious Landing Craft (max. Needs Hacchi or Goya)
-Combat Ration (+6. It costs 0 screws and you can profit 1 screw if used with the upgrade daily. Good for when you feel like jewing the pink jew.)


Recommended one-time upgrades:
-Type 0 Fighter Model 53 (Iwamoto) (max. Needs Zuikaku)
-F6F-3/5 (max. They are needed for their night fighter versions but insanely expensive.)
-Type 13 Air Radar Kai (max. The only air radar for light ships, specifically for Akizuki class. You only ever need 2 upgraded.)
-Type 98 Night Recon (Max. Needs Sendai kai 2. Increases yasen activation rate)
-Searchlight (max. Increases cut-in rates. Getting some girls to kai 2 will give you an excess number of them. Scrapping them is a waste for their rarity, it's up to you.)


Optional:
-20.3cm(2) guns (More common, needs Myoukou but (3) variant is better)
-15.2cm Kai gun (+9. This is not mandatory but it's nice to have when needed.)
-381mm/50 guns Kai (+9 or max. Needs Roma or Littorio. Event drops only.)
-Quad oxygen torps (+1(+4) Upgrading to Quint Torpedo in particular IS NOT recommended since you have limited screws. (Needs Kitakami or Ooi.)
-Type 3 Depth Charges (+3(+6). Needs Isuzu.)
-Prototype Keiun (+6. Gives very high LoS and contact rate but it's also very situational. Can be made into Jet Keiun, but >using jets.)
-Type 0 Observation Seaplane (+6 or max. Gives LoS, especially useful for 2-5 LoS checks or LoS checks in general.)
-Type 4 Passive Sonar (+3(+6). Better than Type 3 sonar, but more time consuming to acquire.)
-Type 32 surface radar and Type 22 radar kai 4 (+6. The accuracy bonus is pretty generous but the upgrade materials are expensive to get.)
-38cm guns Kai (+9 or max. Needs Bismarck. Rare LSC result and requires blueprints. Proto 35.6cm has rendered it mostly outclassed due to being too rare, but it's not a bad investment.)
-25mm Concentrated Development (max. The best AA gun for Maya but the upgrade cost is a huge barrier.)
-Prototype 51cm gun (+4. Needs Yamato or Musashi kai. The best gun for Nagato or Yamato class, but has a high price to pay as a result. This gun is the endgame gun to upgrade if you have it.)
-Type 94 AA Fire Directors (Not recommended since you can now farm her during events. Needs Akizuki, Fubuki or Maya; Maya can be considered over the other 2 if you don't want to waste too many 10cm guns, which can be hard to come by. However, Akizuki can upgrade Type 94 every day of the week, unlike Maya. Also, at max stars Maya upgrades them to a different gun unlike Akizuki or Fubuki, so take care not to use her for the final upgrade unless you really want that secondary gun for some reason.)


NOT RECOMMENDED:
-41cm guns (+1(+4). Not recommended unless you do not own a prototype, 38cm or 381/50mm gun. Needs Nagato or Mutsu.)
-46cm guns (Not recommended at all for their high cost and neutral fit gun. Needs Yamato or Musashi.)
-Kyoufuu/Type 2 Fighter/Ro.44 (It honestly depends, the gains are negligible for the cost because the majority of their air power comes from plane proficiency.)
-Engines and bulges (Upgrade values make it not worth it.)
-That one submarine radar, I mean, seriously?
-Obviously junk equipment like 15.2cm secondary, base torpedoes, base fighters, use common sense.
-