Underwater Vessels Classified as Boats and its Counters

aka Submarines and Anti-Submarine Warfare 101

A guide not by pootatoast#1337

For support and suggestions, you can either DM me directly on Discord or feel free to visit Ayanamie Discord server.

UPDATED: 07/13/19

DISCLAIMER: Images are now updated to the new UI formant. The gifs are yet to be updated to the new UI format but the mechanics are still the same. Also, some of the information presented in this guide are subject to additions, changes and removals due to errors, discrepancies, and/or new content. All of the information is researched ahead and also given advice to other game gurus.

Before you Start

While you can obtain submarines very early by building, they are formally introduced and usable after clearing 3-4. To unlock submarines and anti-submarine warfare, please clear stage 3-4. Once you clear it, you will get a one-time free I-58, a Basic Depth Charge and a Basic Sonar. Check your tasks for rewards. Also, subs are constructible in special construction tab (for 2 Cubes, and 1500 gold) and starter submarine equipment box can be found in merit shop for 20 that can be bought twice a day. More information will be covered once you read this guide so please do read it if you wanna learn new mechanics.

Tier guide for subs can be found here. Subs are not necessary for the core gameplay although it can help with clearing maps with extra damage dealing.

What are Submarines?





Submarines are underwater vessels capable of independent operation underwater. Basically, it's a boat that goes underwater. In Azur Lane though, they are mainly support ships normally uncontrollable by the player (exceptions may apply on certain stages). They support the player's fleet by launching torpedoes at enemies during battle and also reduces the HP of nodes in map mode. Submarine usage are available only after clearing 3-4 (you'll also get I-58 as a bonus) and they can be constructed in the Special Construction tab (for 2 Cubes, and 1500 gold). Not all subs are found in this tab and others may be event exclusive or limited build only.

Usage of submarines are not really necessary to the core gameplay but they are nice for dealing some extra damage to opposing fleets especially on difficult worlds and events and if you're in the collector side, you can always collect these subs for your fleet collection.

Who are all the Submarines? How can I obtain them?

These are all the submarines available in the game. Note that some of these submarines may not be available on the EN server until later updates.

A write-up guide on individual submarines can be found in YWIS Azur Lane Tier Guides

How do Submarines work?

Submarine Fleet



Submarines will have their own separate fleet in which a maximum of 3 submarines can be deployed. You can have a maximum of two submarine fleets in total, accessible next to the main fleet selection tab or just tapping the right arrow on the right side of the screen all the way to the last two fleets. When deployed in battle, the middle will be at center, the rear will be at the top, and the frontmost will be at the bottom. The center sub also functions as the flagship of the submarine fleet.

All subs have a maximum of 2 ammo which is stackable up to three times for a total of six ammo per submarine fleet. There are exceptions however, U-47 is unique to have four ammo if she is the only submarine in the submarine fleet being deployed.

The best way to use a sub fleet effectively is to use 3 subs at once in the fleet. Good examples for these are full (or partial) IJN setups or wolfpack (U-81, U-47, U-557). While U-47 solo does have 4 ammo and has a good raw damage (more on battleships due to her skill), in practice it is a bit niche and possibly memey and often not recommended as you will lose out on HP reduction percentage and damage output for a mere +2 ammo and +1 hunting range even though it costs more oil to do.

Deploying Submarines



Submarine fleets can be deployed in stages. Only one submarine fleet can be deployed during a sortie. Once in the map, you can see:

Red grid squares which is the hunting range on your sub.

The ammo on the top-right of the sub chibi tells how much ammo the sub has.

On the right tab where you can change fleet formations and use quick repair is two more icons for: Enable/Disable visual hunting range radius. Demonstration Enable/Disable movement for submarines. Disable Movement , Enable Movement Moving the hunting range location.



Not all stages can support the deployment of submarines. Submarines can be deployed on:

x-5 starting on Chapter 3 and onward. (SOS Missions)

x-4 starting on Chapter 3 and onward.

x-3 starting on Chapter 8 and onward.

x-2 starting on Chapter 10 and onward.

x-1 starting on Chapter 11 and onward.

Certain event stages can deploy submarines. Usually large events, but can be on some small events as well.

Event Hardmode (does not count towards hardmode restrictions).

You cannot deploy subs in:

PvP exercises.

Daily raids.

Story hardmode.

Certain event stages.

Hunting Range

All submarines have an area in the map which they can operate and it is known as the Hunting Range or Hunting Radius of a submarine depending on the source (Hunting Range for the purposes of this guide). The Hunting Range can be easily identified by the red grid on the map (see picture above). The Hunting Range used in the submarine fleet will always use the Hunting Range of the flagship submarine. Submarines can only move in this Hunting Range and they can only move up to two grid tiles every time any of your main fleets move. It is possible to disable movement.

There are five levels of Hunting Range, each increasing level increases the area of the Hunting Range. To increase the Hunting Range area, you can do the following:

Second limit break on any submarine increases the Hunting Range level by one.

Using the Improved Storage Battery auxiliary on the sub (not available on EN) which you can obtain in Core Data Shop for 800. Also the event only Unfulfilled Promise equipped only by U-556 It increases Hunting Range level by one.

Improved Storage Battery Unfulfilled Promise

U-47, besides the extra ammo, also increases her hunting range level by one if she is the only submarine in the submarine fleet being deployed.

The Meowficer Steel and Edelweiss (also not available on EN) also increases the hunting range level by one and they both stack each other.

Note that not all subs may benefit from having a very large hunting radius mainly due to:

The Hunting Range being moveable. Costs oil to do so.

Target Priority (see Hunting Mode for more info)

In regards to the Improved Storage Battery and the Unfulfilled Promise, Meowficers can do the same thing and it's a waste of auxiliary equipment slot for better auxiliary equipment like the Oxytorp.

Many submarines have sufficiently good hunting ranges at lvl 2 that it's not necessary to increase it further.

Poor submarine fleet spawn locations.

Moving the Hunting Range

As seen in Deploying Submarines image section, it is possible to move the hunting range to a more strategic position. Moving the hunting range uses up oil and it depends on the amount of subs and the amount of tiles needed to move from one location to another. The oil cost for the movement can be calculated by this formula (to be confirmed):

[math]\text{Oil Cost} = 1 + (\text{Total Submarines Deployed}\times\text{Number of Tiles})[/math]

Note Regarding Hunting Range

The next section will contain Hunting Range of all submarines. As such the hunting range level is color coded for convenience. For that you may want to refer to this legend:

- None - Level 4 - Level 1 - Level 5 - Level 2 - Submarine Starting Location - Level 3

You can also hover over names of each sub to go to their respective pages.

Hunting Range Areas

The hunting range of each submarine can be seen below:

Albacore's Hunting Range 4 3 2 3 2 5 4 2 5 3 2 3 4 Cavalla's Hunting Range 4 3 3 2 3 3 2 5 4 2 5 4 2 Dace's Hunting Range 3 3 4 4 2 2 2 2 5 5 4 3 3 I-13's Hunting Range 5 5 4 4 4 2 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 I-19's Hunting Range 5 5 3 3 3 2 2 4 2 2 4 I-25's Hunting Range 3 4 2 2 4 5 3 3 5 2 2 I-26's Hunting Range 3 4 2 2 4 5 3 3 5 2 2 I-56's Hunting Range 3 2 2 2 2 4 5 4 5 3 3 I-58's Hunting Range 3 2 2 2 2 4 5 4 5 3 3 I-168's Hunting Range 3 3 2 2 5 5 2 3 2 4 4 U-47's Hunting Range 3 2 2 5 5 2 2 3 4 3 4 U-73's Hunting Range 2 2 5 3 5 2 2 4 3 3 4 U-81's Hunting Range 2 2 2 2 3 3 5 4 3 4 5 U-101's Hunting Range 2 3 2 2 2 4 4 5 5 3 3 U-110's Hunting Range 5 5 4 4 2 2 2 3 3 2 3 U-522's Hunting Range 5 4 3 2 3 2 2 5 3 4 2 U-556's Hunting Range 5 2 2 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 5 U-557's Hunting Range 2 2 5 4 3 3 4 5 2 2 3 Surcouf's Hunting Range 5 3 2 2 4 3 4 3 5 3 2 2 4

Minato Aqua's Hunting Range 4 4 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 5 5



In-sortie

When in a sortie, submarine fleets can operate in two modes; Hunting mode and Combat mode.

Hunting Mode

Hunting mode is only available on the map. In this mode, the submarine fleet actively hunts any enemy ship nodes within its hunting radius.

There is a hidden mechanic in the hunting range known as Target Priority. Target Priority is a layered search system. The sub will start from hunting level 1, searching each tile within said level. It will start from the first top row, starting at the left-most tile before moving right. It will keep on searching till the last row, right-most tile of said level. Then it will repeat again at level 2: top row, left-most tile and ending at the bottom row, right-most tile.

The sub will stop searching the moment it finds an enemy on a tile-regardless of if it is the closest or farthest enemy. It will move two tiles per turn towards the enemy, before torpedoing the enemy, giving the node a HP reduction percentage. Then it will search based on the same system, this time ignoring the last search result. If an enemy is destroyed before the sub reaches the target, it will search again for another enemy. If no enemy is found, it will not move till an enemy is within the hunting range.

You cannot torpedo an enemy if there is an island cutting off the hunting range even though the enemy is within the hunting range of the sub fleet (see pic above). There needs to be a direct path towards horizontally and vertically adjacent to the grid squares towards the enemy for the sub to torpedo an enemy. Subs cannot move diagonally.

The sub will ignore any enemy that has already been torpedoed. The sub also ignores boss nodes. The sub will also move one tile away from the enemy tile the following turn if there are no other enemies detected within its range. Please also note that subs will not gain any EXP for torpedoing and as a bonus, they will also not use up oil.

Demonstration of Submarine Movement, Demonstration of Submarine Attacking a Node, Demonstration of Target Priority

The Target Priority of each submarine can be seen below:

Albacore's Target Priority 22 18 14 19 1 2 3 4 15 25 23 5 6 7 8 9 16 10 11 12 13 26 20 17 21 24 I-13's Target Priority 28 29 1 25 2 26 27 3 4 5 6 7 17 8 9 10 11 21 12 13 14 18 22 15 23 16 24 19 20 I-19's Target Priority 26 27 21 1 22 2 23 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 17 13 14 15 18 24 19 16 20 25 I-168's Target Priority 21 1 22 17 2 3 4 18 26 5 6 7 8 9 27 10 11 12 13 14 19 15 23 16 20 24 25 U-47's Target Priority 24 20 1 2 3 21 4 5 6 7 29 8 9 10 11 12 30 13 14 15 16 22 17 18 19 23 25 27 26 28 U-81's Target Priority 20 1 2 3 21 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 22 14 15 16 23 24 17 18 19 25 29 27 26 28 30 U-101's Target Priority 20 24 21 22 1 2 3 23 27 4 5 6 7 8 28 29 9 10 11 12 13 30 25 14 15 16 26 17 18 19 Dace's Target Priority 16 17 20 21 12 1 2 3 13 4 5 6 7 8 14 9 10 11 15 23 24 22 18 19 I-25's Target Priority 1 19 2 22 15 3 4 5 16 23 24 20 6 7 8 21 25 17 9 10 11 18 12 13 14 I-26's Target Priority 1 19 2 22 15 3 4 5 16 23 24 20 6 7 8 21 25 17 9 10 11 18 12 13 14 I-56's Target Priority 20 16 1 17 18 2 3 4 19 23 5 6 7 8 9 25 24 10 11 12 13 14 26 21 15 22 I-58's Target Priority 20 16 1 17 18 2 3 4 19 23 5 6 7 8 9 25 24 10 11 12 13 14 26 21 15 22 Surcouf's Target Priority 24 17 13 14 21 1 2 3 4 18 5 6 7 8 22 9 10 11 12 19 25 20 15 16 23 U-73's Target Priority 18 19 27 1 22 2 28 3 4 5 6 7 20 8 9 10 11 12 21 13 14 15 16 17 25 23 24 26 U-522's Target Priority 27 25 22 1 2 3 18 23 4 5 6 7 19 8 9 10 20 28 11 12 13 14 24 26 21 15 16 17 U-556's Target Priority 27 18 19 1 25 2 3 4 5 6 22 7 8 9 10 11 23 12 13 14 15 16 26 24 17 20 21 28 U-557's Target Priority 1 18 19 27 2 3 4 5 6 25 22 7 8 9 10 11 23 26 12 13 14 15 16 28 20 21 17 24

Attacking a node will cost the sub one ammo. It doesn't however cost any oil to attack a node. The amount of damage dealt to a node can be calculated by this formula:

[math] \mbox{Node HP Reduction Percentage} = 0.15 \times \sqrt{ \text{Submarine Fleet Power} } + 0.25 \times (\text{Average Submarine Fleet Level} - \text{Enemy Level}) [/math]

Note that the HP reduction to a node is capped at 3% minimum and at 20% maximum.

Combat Mode



Demonstration of Submarines being Deployed in Battle

Submarines can be deployed in battle provided that the enemy being attacked by the main fleet is within the hunting range of a submarine fleet, regardless of where the sub actually is in the map (even if the island cuts off the the hunting range as shown in this pic). To deploy the submarine fleet in battle, you tap or click the submarine button usually found on the left side of the airstrike button. Deploying a submarine fleet costs one ammo and the total oil of all subs (usually 6-8 oil per sub depending on the sub) in the fleet; they will also gain EXP when deployed in battle.

Once deployed, they initially start submerged and will put themselves in a position where the front most will be at center, the middle at the top and the rear at the bottom (refer here). Submarines that are submerged are practically invulnerable to damage. Once in position, they will trigger their Full Barrage skills whenever it's applicable and launch torpedoes at the targets. There is a time limit in which, when in position, a submarine can stay underwater to support the player's fleet in combat and this is limited by the Oxygen stat. The amount of time the subs can submerge can be calculated by:

[math]\text{Submerged Time} = \frac{\text{Oxygen Stat of a Submarine}}{10}[/math]

Upon the end of its submerged time, they will surface and be vulnerable to all forms of damage like a normal ship would. Surfaced submarines will fire their secondary guns (if available) and will start retreating back to the left side of the screen. Please note that you can only deploy a submarine fleet once per battle. After they retreated, there is no way for you to redeploy them again until the start of a new battle.

Leveling Submarines

You can level submarines in:

Most PvE Battles that support submarine fleet deployment

Commissions

Auditorium, they are part of the DD pool thus Monday and Friday

Dorm

Supply Line Disruption Weekly Raid.

You cannot however level submarines in:

PvP Exercises

Daily Raid

Story hardmode

Certain event stages

Levelling submarines can be a bit tricky in battle due to the fact that they can only gain experience if they are deployed in battle and they also have limited ammo to begin with (within two to six ammo). Thus the most reliable way is to just put them in dorm, do the 10 hour EXP commissions (do mind the oil cost) or do both. Levelling subs are slow and time-consuming for simply extra damage towards your enemies so plan accordingly.

Supply Line Disruption Weekly Raid

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

What Equipment do Submarines Use?

Submarines have their own special equipment such as submarine-launched torpedoes and auxiliary equipment that affects oxygen stat and the hunting range. Having decent equipment with your subs may improve your chances of having your subs deal damage in combat and also improve the HP reduction percentage on Hunting mode when submarine fleet power is considered.

Submarine-launched Torpedoes

Submarine-mounted Mark 16 Torpedo Submarine-mounted Type 95 Oxygen Torpedo Submarine-mounted G7e Acoustic Homing Torpedo Submarine-mounted Mark 14 Torpedo Submarine-mounted Type 92 Battery-powered Torpedo Submarine-mounted G7a Torpedo Submarine-mounted 550mm 24V Torpedo

Submarine-launched torpedoes are the primary weapon that subs use and they take up two equipment slots of the sub. Different types of torpedoes have a gimmick with respect to their nationality.

A typical setup for submarine torpedoes will be a mix of two different submarine torpedoes or a single type for both slots.

All submarine torpedoes are dropped in SOS Rescue Missions (will be covered later on), Supply Line Disruption weekly raid, or special equipment box that can be purchased in the merit shop for 20. These boxes are always available daily although can only be purchased twice a day for two boxes. These boxes can also be found in the lower levels of Supply Line Disruption weekly raids. They contain mainly White-rarity to Blue-rarity submarine torpedoes and are just used to get started with submarines and are NOT UPGRADABLE to higher rarity box.

Submarine

Equipment Box

Secondary Gun/Seaplane

Single 138.6mm (Mle 1929) Twin 100mm (Type 98) Twin 127mm (5"/38 Mk38) Single 127mm (5"/38 Mk30) Twin 120mm (QF Mark XII) Aichi E16A Zuiun Aichi M6A Seiran Submarine-mounted Twin 203mm Cannon Mle1924

Depending on the sub, the 3rd equipment slot is reserved for either a secondary gun or a seaplane, most often a DD gun. The secondary guns only open fire after the sub has surfaced. For seaplanes, it functions similarly to how BBVs use it with normal reloads. The seaplane is pre-loaded so that it can launch the seaplane as soon as the sub is deployed.

For most subs, they use a DD secondary gun. Opinions may vary, but since most submarines don't stay in battle for long after surfacing and their full barrage is triggered by other means, the gun's stat increases matter more than its damage, as they buff the submarine's fleet power thus increasing the HP Reduction Percentage on ship nodes on Hunting mode.

Surcouf is unique, having its own exclusive CA secondary gun, the Submarine-mounted Twin 203mm Cannon Mle1924. Her skill also benefits the gun as it can fire more shots before she can retreat.

I-13 is also unique since she can equip a seaplane, either the Aichi E16A Zuiun is the typical seaplane often used on BBV, and the Aichi M6A Seiran (only in CN/JP core data shop for 500) which is recommended for her since not only it's an upgrade to the Zuiun, being equipped on her will also increase its damage.

Auxiliary Equipment

Type 93 Pure Oxygen Torpedo Improved Snorkel Improved Storage Battery SG Radar Pearl Tears Unfulfilled Promise High Performance Anti-Air Radar Compressed Oxygen Cylinder Gyroscope Autoloader

The last two slots are your run of the mill auxiliaries. There are 3 submarine-exclusive equipment while the rest is the typical equipment used on other ships.

Depending on the sub, it's either recommended to have a Snorkel and Oxytorp or all Oxytorp. Additionally, one can equip an Oxytorp/Snorkel and Pearl Tears for the intents of using the sub as a fodder for one-time healing other ships. It depends on the player though, so feel free to experiment on it.

What is Anti-Submarine Warfare?





Note: A lot of information is covered in the actual Anti-Submarine Warfare wiki page thus some information will be referenced from there.

Anti-Submarine Warfare, commonly known as ASW, is a branch of warfare that uses ships, aircraft or other submarines to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. In Azur Lane, the definition holds true as these are the mechanics behind battling enemy submarines. ASW's bread and butter when fighting submarines are the Sonar and the Depth Charge. Anti-Submarine warfare is unlocked alongside with submarines once 3-4 has been cleared and you also get your starting ASW gear. Currently, you can encounter enemy submarines in SOS Rescue Missions that will be discussed in the next section.

How can I search for Missions?

To understand how these SOS Rescue Mission appear and work, then you must also understand how to search for these stages via the SOS Signal Search.

SOS Signal Search

On story mode chapter selection, there is a button on the bottom right just above the PvP Exercise button. This is the SOS Signal Search button and when pressed, it opens up an interface where you can search for and access SOS Rescue Missions as well as view your Signal Sensitivity, Signal Range, and remaining SOS Signals. Note that 3-4 must be cleared before this button can be accessed.

SOS Signals

SOS Signals are used to search for SOS Rescue Missions. The number is the amount of signal searches you can search for SOS Rescue missions and can be found at the bottom left of the interface or in the SOS Signal Search button.

SOS Signals replenish over time server side, even when the player is offline. Specifically, every 30 minutes gives a chance for a SOS Signal to appear. If the signal does not appear after 16 attempts (equivalent to 8 hours), then a signal is guaranteed to appear. The maximum amount of SOS Signals you can store is tied to your Signal Sensitivity.

Alternatively, a SOS Signal can be gained by using a Distress Signal Reception Device. Note that signals gained this way cannot exceed your maximum dictated by the Signal Sensitivity. Currently, these devices are only obtainable from system mail and are very limited in amount.

Distress Signal Reception Device

Signal Sensitivity

Signal Sensitivity controls the maximum amount of SOS Signals you can hold. You will start at sensitivity level 1, and it will raise as your Signal Range increases. At level 1, you can store a maximum of 1 SOS Signal, and at level 2 you can store a maximum of 2 signals, and so on. Currently, the highest Signal Sensitivity is level 8.

Signal Range

Signal Range dictates the range of SOS Rescue Missions you are able to find. Signal Range starts at chapter 3, and increases when you clear and S-rank the boss node of the SOS Rescue Mission at your current Signal Range.

For example, if your Signal Range is Chapter 4, and you wish to increase the range to Chapter 5, you need to both clear and S-rank the boss node on the Chapter 4 SOS Rescue Mission.

Since SOS Rescue Missions are selected at random, there is a possibility to rarely encounter the SOS Rescue Mission needed to increase your Signal Range. Since you cannot receive a SOS Rescue Mission for a chapter you already have an active rescue mission on, it is recommended to use multiple SOS Signals before attempting the rescue missions, such that you have increased odds of finding the rescue mission needed to increase Signal Range.

SOS Rescue Missions

SOS Rescue Missions, commonly known as x-5 or simply SOS Missions, are unique stages where you will battle enemy submarines and earn exclusive rewards related to submarines. A SOS Rescue Mission will be available when you search for it using the gold button at the bottom right of the SOS Signal Search interface. This search consumes 1 SOS Signal. After confirmation, you will be directed to the world map chapter where the stage was found. The chapter selected is random, from chapter 3 up to the chapter indicated by your Signal Range. The SOS Rescue Mission can be easily be identified by the red triangle with a submarine icon on the center located in a the chapter where it's found or a list can be found in the SOS Signal Search interface.

The SOS Missions is then accessed like a normal stage, allowing you to choose your fleets. These stages have a time limit of 12 hours before they disappear. If 12 hours has expired but the player is still in the the stage, then it will expire once you exit the stage or the stage timer expires (also 12 hours). These stages have the following properties:

Enemy submarines will be encountered on every enemy node.

The stage boss will be an Elite enemy submarine.

There are no ambushes and airstrikes.

There are no 3-star conditions unlike normal stages.

Ship drop tables are identical to the x-4 stage of that chapter.

Equipment drop tables include both Submarine and ASW equipment. This is the only reliable way that you can get high tier Submarine and ASW gear and it's the sole reason why investing in Submarines is a time consuming task.

Regarding equipment drops on SOS Missions:

Higher rarity equipment can be unlocked on lower world SOS missions after reaching a certain Signal Sensitivity. You might need to also clear the world within the signal sensitivity to unlock the said equipment blueprint drops. White-rarity and Blue-rarity equipment are available from the start. Purple-rarity equipment is unlocked on Signal Sensitivity 6. Gold-rarity equipment is unlocked on Signal Sensitivity 8.

10-5 will not drop any White-rarity equipment drops.

What are the Mechanics of Anti-Submarine Warfare

Anti-Submarine Warfare only works in combat mode; there's no mechanic of ASW in map mode.

Detection

Detection of submarines requires any Sonar auxiliary equipment and it's recommended to have at least one Sonar per fleet if you want to deal against enemy submarines. Sonar is only equippable on Destroyers and Light Cruisers. In battle, the Sonar range is shown with a solid line circle. Enemy submarines that enter this range will be revealed at set intervals known as Ping Frequency (like real Sonar does when it pings other submarines), and the enemy submarine will stay revealed for a few seconds.

Combating Submarines

Depth charges are the main weapon against submarines and like Sonar, only Destroyers and Light Cruisers have the ability to equip one and they are also the only vanguard ships that can hit submarines. To actually damage submarines, the vanguard fleet should move close to the submarine revealed by the sonar, and depth charges will be launched automatically. Besides depth charges, when an enemy submarine collides with the main fleet, they will also get destroyed and also damage your main fleet akin to suicide boats. Boss submarines will eventually surface and be susceptible to all forms of damage. There's also ASW Aircraft equippable on Light Aircraft Carriers which launches ASW aircraft armed with depth charges once an enemy sub is revealed.

Fleet Composition

Fighting submarines in SOS Rescue Missions requires you to have at least one fleet mainly DD/CL vanguards with full ASW gear (mainly to counter the boss). The second fleet can be fine without ASW up to Chapter 8 or 9 depending on the composition since, originally it's required for mob fleet to equip ASW gear since enemy mob submarines are required to be destroyed in order to clear a node but that has since changed and submarines are optional kills in mob nodes.

Special ASW Ships

Köln , while she can normally search and kill subs, is enhanced by her retrofit which can equip the Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri ASW Helicopter which is needed for her retrofit skill. This skill functions like a sonar that also has a bonus of increasing damage dealt to revealed submarines.

, while she can normally search and kill subs, is enhanced by her retrofit which can equip the Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri ASW Helicopter which is needed for her retrofit skill. This skill functions like a sonar that also has a bonus of increasing damage dealt to revealed submarines. Chaser is unique for being the only Light Aircraft Carrier actually geared for ASW due to her skill being is dedicated for ASW capabilities. Her skill, upon launching an airstrike, triggers an anti-submarine search and reveals all submarines currently present for up to 10 seconds, then release ASW aircraft for anti-submarine and torpedo attack. The damage and the submarine reveal increases depending on the skill level. She can also equip ASW aircraft auxiliary which further increases her ASW potential. She can be good for vanguards without ASW gear although she needs an investment for her to function effectively.

is unique for being the only Light Aircraft Carrier actually geared for ASW due to her skill being is dedicated for ASW capabilities. Her skill, upon launching an airstrike, triggers an anti-submarine search and reveals all submarines currently present for up to 10 seconds, then release ASW aircraft for anti-submarine and torpedo attack. The damage and the submarine reveal increases depending on the skill level. She can also equip ASW aircraft auxiliary which further increases her ASW potential. She can be good for vanguards without ASW gear although she needs an investment for her to function effectively. Warspite Retrofit is also unique for being the only Battleship to gear up for ASW. She can equip ASW bombers that can attack submarines detected by sonar from Destroyers, and Light Cruisers.

is also unique for being the only Battleship to gear up for ASW. She can equip ASW bombers that can attack submarines detected by sonar from Destroyers, and Light Cruisers. Cooper has a skill like Chaser that reveals the location of all enemy submarines for up to 10 seconds and launches a ASW seaplane airstrike.

What Equipment is used in Anti-Submarine Warfare?

There are 6 ASW equipment ranging from Sonars, Depth Charges and Aircraft. All of these ASW equipment are only equippable on the auxiliary equipment slots. Unlike submarine gear, mediocrely upgraded ASW gear as long as there is a sonar and a depth charge can do more than enough to combat mob and boss submarines.

All ASW equipment can be found in SOS Rescue Missions, Supply Line Disruption weekly raids, or special equipment box that can be purchased in the merit shop for 20. These boxes are always available daily although can only be purchased twice a day for two boxes. These boxes can also be found in the lower levels of Supply Line Disruption weekly raids. They contain mainly White-rarity to Blue-rarity starter ASW equipment and are NOT UPGRADABLE to higher rarity box.

Submarine

Equipment Box

Sonar

Improved Sonar Basic Sonar

Sonars are ASW auxiliary used to detect submarines. They can be equipped by Destroyers and Light Cruisers. They are essential when you want to actually hit submarines and it's required to equip at least one of them. The Ping Frequency of a Sonar is an interval in which when the sub enters in range of the sonar, it gets revealed and how long the enemy sub gets revealed depends on what sonar is being equipped. The range of the sonar is always fixed. The Improved Sonar is pretty much a straight upgrade to the Basic Sonar. Do note that it's not beneficial to equip more than one sonar on the same ship and usually one is enough for the entire fleet.

Depth Charge

Improved Depth Charge Basic Depth Charge

Depth Charges are ASW auxiliary used to improve depth charges launched only by Destroyers and Light Cruisers. By default, if there's no depth charge equipped, then it will equip default depth charges that requires you to be at melee range of the sub in order for it to be launched and it does less damage and launches slower. Equipping depth charges increases the range to hit submarines and it does better damage and reload. Basic Depth Charge is your standard, run on the mill depth charge while the Improved Depth Charge is an upgraded variant that fires faster, does more damage and (unconfirmed) also, has a wider blast radius, enabling it to hit more than one submarine. You cannot run two depth charges on a single ship.

ASW Aircraft

General Motors TBM-3 Avenger (ASW) Fairey Swordfish Mk II-ASV (ASW)

ASW Aircraft are ASW auxiliary equippable on Light Aircraft Carriers. When equipped, these will launch aircraft equipped with aerial depth charges once an enemy sub gets revealed. These planes are separate and not tied to airstrikes done by the CVL. Like regular depth charges, ASW aircraft have two variants: Fairey Swordfish Mk II-ASV (ASW) which has standard depth charge on the plane and the upgraded General Motors TBM-3 Avenger (ASW) which has wide-area (increased blast radius) depth charge. For every one ASW aircraft auxiliary equipped, it launches one ASW aircraft, thus two ASW aircraft auxiliary on the same ship can launch two ASW aircraft.

ASW Helicopter

Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri

There's only one ASW Helicopter and thats the Flettner Fl 282 Kolibri. It can only be equipped by Köln Retrofit and it functions like an enhanced sonar, additionally increasing damage dealt to revealed submarines.

Special Thanks to

fish#6225 - proofreading and guide additions

Enbayft#2527 - formulas, proofreading and insights

gurosebe#4054 - insights

Kawaii Five-O#2305 - tier guide for subs

Rinix2#5734 - proofreading

CaladWoDestroyer#9313 - proofreading

Auraaa#6483 - proofreading

