Azur Lane(EN) In-Depth Equipment Guide Series: Fighters
Fighter Overview
Carrier-based planes are the can of worms that has to be opened eventually. Might as well get it over with...
Planes are quite a mess but I'll try to make it as painless as I can.
First rule of fighters and dive bombers:
BASE DAMAGE STAT IS COMPLETELY USELESS
BASE DAMAGE STAT IS COMPLETELY USELESS
BASE DAMAGE STAT IS COMPLETELY USELESS
Base damage here is boxed in red.
The rationale is as follows:
For one-dimensional equipments (guns and torpedoes), the damage comes from the equipment as a single entity. Therefore the numbers listed in game are accurate.
Planes are not one-dimensional like those. Each plane comes with its own set of weapons(machine guns, bombs, torpedoes etc) that each have stats of their own.
The number the game calculates is the theoretical damage based on all weapons assuming they all hit. This is drastically inaccurate because weapons have their own sets of attributes that need to be considered.
An (non-perfect)analogy would be like this: In this game, you can tell what a ship is good at, because you can see if she has high firepower, high torp or high AA etc. But imagine that instead of displaying each stat for your ship separately, they combined all of them and put an average number next to the ship's name. This is very unhelpful and is exactly what the game is doing to fighters and dive bombers. DPS calculated completely out of context based on the displayed damage stat is completely worthless and should not be referenced at all.
Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about fighters.
PvP will require another guide(not written by me of course), but as far as PvE is concerned, fighters are often optimized for two functions:
1. Dropping bombs to damage ships(adding to total air strike bombing damage).
2. Shortening air strike cooldown(for skills)
And of course fighters fight other planes, but that's a given.
Fighters are launched by two game actions:
1. Passive AA. Also known as fighter interception. This happens when enemy planes are present. Fighters(and only fighters) launch automatically and try to kill enemy planes with AA weapons only (not dropping bombs on ships). The cooldown/reload is dependent solely on the displayed reload on the equipped fighter.
2. Active AA: This happens when you launch an air strike(press the air strike button). The fighters launch along with all your other planes. They will shoot enemy planes in their way(to escort your bombers) and drop bombs on enemy ships. The cooldown for this action is, as expected, the air strike cooldown:
Airstrike CD time = (slot1 reload time x slot1 plane number + slot2 reload time x slot2 plane number + slot3 reload time x slot3 plane number) / total plane number x 2.18 + 0.3
This is how long it takes to reload your air strike button circle. In short, it's based on the average reload time of all your planes.
Plane weapons are tiered T3, T2, T1 just like equipments and they scale with plane tiers. T3 planes will have all T3 weapons and T2 planes will have all T2 weapons, even though they may carry weapons of the same names. T3 weapons are quite a lot better. Therefore, you should avoid T2 and T1 planes if you can.
Most fighters carry bombs. The armor modifiers for the bombs are as follows:
Modifiers are weapon tier-independent.
Plane HP in the next section are scaled to Lv 100 CVs. The relative difference in plane HP should remain the same ratio for higher or lower Lvs.
Fighter Analyses
F6F Hellcat
AA specialization fighter. Two cannons and no bombs.
A pleasant side effect of 3-4 Akagi/Kaga farming.
Skill: Increase entire fleet's Anti-Air by 5% for 8 seconds after deploying an airstrike.
The hero unit version of the F4U Corsair.
It is T0 but it's somewhat based on the T3 purple Corsair.
The weapons are identical with minor upgrades(bombs are confirmed to be T0 with extra damage per bomb, machinegun unclear(?).
Arguably the single best fighter in the game. The reason that the purple Corsair can compete with gold fighters is that its 6x12.7mm MG is a really fearsome weapon. It also has the best fighter-bomb setup possible. The old Corsair's only drawback was that these great weapons were put on a purple body. This hero Corsair fixes the problem by having the same(slightly better, even) weapons on a proper gold plane with actual gold plane stats.
The skill is also nice to have because after world 12 AA really starts to matter. But even ignoring the bonus skill this is still a great fighter. Highly recommended as a event priority.
Obtainable from: Events
Half of the stats resemble the gold Seafang; fast flying speed, low HP, low firing angle. The other half looks more like the Type 52 Zero: low gun damage and inadequate bombs. Looks like it has the worst of both worlds.
Carrier-based planes are the can of worms that has to be opened eventually. Might as well get it over with...
Planes are quite a mess but I'll try to make it as painless as I can.
First rule of fighters and dive bombers:
BASE DAMAGE STAT IS COMPLETELY USELESS
BASE DAMAGE STAT IS COMPLETELY USELESS
BASE DAMAGE STAT IS COMPLETELY USELESS
Base damage here is boxed in red.
The rationale is as follows:
For one-dimensional equipments (guns and torpedoes), the damage comes from the equipment as a single entity. Therefore the numbers listed in game are accurate.
Planes are not one-dimensional like those. Each plane comes with its own set of weapons(machine guns, bombs, torpedoes etc) that each have stats of their own.
The number the game calculates is the theoretical damage based on all weapons assuming they all hit. This is drastically inaccurate because weapons have their own sets of attributes that need to be considered.
An (non-perfect)analogy would be like this: In this game, you can tell what a ship is good at, because you can see if she has high firepower, high torp or high AA etc. But imagine that instead of displaying each stat for your ship separately, they combined all of them and put an average number next to the ship's name. This is very unhelpful and is exactly what the game is doing to fighters and dive bombers. DPS calculated completely out of context based on the displayed damage stat is completely worthless and should not be referenced at all.
Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about fighters.
PvP will require another guide(not written by me of course), but as far as PvE is concerned, fighters are often optimized for two functions:
1. Dropping bombs to damage ships(adding to total air strike bombing damage).
2. Shortening air strike cooldown(for skills)
And of course fighters fight other planes, but that's a given.
Fighters are launched by two game actions:
1. Passive AA. Also known as fighter interception. This happens when enemy planes are present. Fighters(and only fighters) launch automatically and try to kill enemy planes with AA weapons only (not dropping bombs on ships). The cooldown/reload is dependent solely on the displayed reload on the equipped fighter.
2. Active AA: This happens when you launch an air strike(press the air strike button). The fighters launch along with all your other planes. They will shoot enemy planes in their way(to escort your bombers) and drop bombs on enemy ships. The cooldown for this action is, as expected, the air strike cooldown:
Airstrike CD time = (slot1 reload time x slot1 plane number + slot2 reload time x slot2 plane number + slot3 reload time x slot3 plane number) / total plane number x 2.18 + 0.3
This is how long it takes to reload your air strike button circle. In short, it's based on the average reload time of all your planes.
Plane weapons are tiered T3, T2, T1 just like equipments and they scale with plane tiers. T3 planes will have all T3 weapons and T2 planes will have all T2 weapons, even though they may carry weapons of the same names. T3 weapons are quite a lot better. Therefore, you should avoid T2 and T1 planes if you can.
Most fighters carry bombs. The armor modifiers for the bombs are as follows:
Against Light Armor
|
Against Medium Armor
|
Against Heavy Armor
| |
100lb Bomb
|
80%
|
85%
|
100%
|
500lb Bomb
|
80%
|
90%
|
110%
|
1000lb Bomb
|
80%
|
95%
|
115%
|
1500lb Bomb
|
75%
|
100%
|
120%
|
2000lb Bomb
|
70%
|
105%
|
125%
|
Modifiers are weapon tier-independent.
Plane HP in the next section are scaled to Lv 100 CVs. The relative difference in plane HP should remain the same ratio for higher or lower Lvs.
Fighter Analyses
F6F Hellcat
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+45 | 10.90s | 50 | 156 | 529 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 4x12.7mm MG T3 | 46 | 0.63s/wave | 30 | 180° |
| 2x20mm Cannon T3 | 40 | 0.65s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2x500lb Bomb T3 | 2x360 |
Excellent gold fighter with balanced weapon choices.
500lb bombs can contribute to your air strike damage and are relevant in PvE. 500lb is the heaviest bomb fighters can carry as of now.
The 4x12.7mm MG gives a wide angle of coverage. 2x20mm Cannon is narrower but has slightly higher range. They both fire reasonably fast.
Solid all purpose fighter. Highly recommended.
The 4x12.7mm MG gives a wide angle of coverage. 2x20mm Cannon is narrower but has slightly higher range. They both fire reasonably fast.
Solid all purpose fighter. Highly recommended.
Obtainable from: US boxes, 5-2
Seafang
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+45 | 10.60s | 53 | 156 | 504 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 4x20mm Cannon T3 | 80 | 0.90s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2x500lb Bomb T3 | 2x360 |
The 4x20mm Cannon hurts a lot more than Hellcat's 2x20mm. Reload is pretty slow though.
Takeoff and flying speed are both slightly faster than Hellcat's. HP is lower.
Coupled with the high damage-per-round cannon, the Seafang can charge out really fast to deliver huge amount of damage on the first shot. Not sure if it'll get a second shot though due to the slow reload.
Also carries the same two 500lb bombs the Hellcat carries. This can help CV total damage output.
The contrast between this and the Hellcat is that the Seafang focuses on fast speed and high alpha damage to quickly react and silence the enemies in one shot, whereas Hellcat is more about pewpewpew DPS flying at lower speed, maximizing screen time sitting at a higher HP pool.
In reality, you probably won't notice how the two are different. Both are good fighters. Future maps might make the differences in their fighting styles more apparent, though.
Obtainable from: UK boxes
Takeoff and flying speed are both slightly faster than Hellcat's. HP is lower.
Coupled with the high damage-per-round cannon, the Seafang can charge out really fast to deliver huge amount of damage on the first shot. Not sure if it'll get a second shot though due to the slow reload.
Also carries the same two 500lb bombs the Hellcat carries. This can help CV total damage output.
The contrast between this and the Hellcat is that the Seafang focuses on fast speed and high alpha damage to quickly react and silence the enemies in one shot, whereas Hellcat is more about pewpewpew DPS flying at lower speed, maximizing screen time sitting at a higher HP pool.
In reality, you probably won't notice how the two are different. Both are good fighters. Future maps might make the differences in their fighting styles more apparent, though.
Obtainable from: UK boxes
A6M5 Zero(Zero Type 52)
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+45 | 9.52s | 55 | 140 | 479 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 2x7.7mm MG T3 | 26 | 0.38s/wave | 24 | 80° |
| 2x20mm Cannon T3 | 40 | 0.65s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2x100lb Bomb T3 | 2x173 |
Very fast takeoff time. This can be used to minimize your air strike cooldown time.
Mostly used on Unicorn and other ships with air strike-triggered skills: when the average cool down is shorter, you will get to trigger the skills more.
Actual role as a fighter/bomber is not fulfilled very well. Durability is bad as HP is noticeably lower than its peers. Both of the AA weapon choices have small firing angles and low damage.
The worst part is probably the bombs. It carries 2x100lb bombs that are very weak.
This is really a skill fighter and not a damage fighter. Use this on CV/Ls that are not damage output-focused and more skill focused.
Obtainable from: JP boxes, 9-3, 12-1
A7M Reppuu
An actual Japanese fighter that can compete with the Hellcat and the Seafang. This is a "normal" gold fighter compared to the Type 52 Zero, meaning that this actually has good AA and good bombs.
Mostly used on Unicorn and other ships with air strike-triggered skills: when the average cool down is shorter, you will get to trigger the skills more.
Actual role as a fighter/bomber is not fulfilled very well. Durability is bad as HP is noticeably lower than its peers. Both of the AA weapon choices have small firing angles and low damage.
The worst part is probably the bombs. It carries 2x100lb bombs that are very weak.
This is really a skill fighter and not a damage fighter. Use this on CV/Ls that are not damage output-focused and more skill focused.
Obtainable from: JP boxes, 9-3, 12-1
A7M Reppuu
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+45 | 10.44s | 60 | 162 | 479 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 4x20mm Type 99 Cannon T3 | 85 | 0.90s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2x500lb Bomb T3 | 2x360 |
Highest flying speed in the game. Arguably a relevant stat. In passive AA(fighter interception) this reacts fasts, and in active AA(airstrike button) this flies ahead of your dive bombers and torpedo bombers to attract the first round of AA fire.
HP is the lower than its peers. Tied with the Type 52 Zero.
Weapons and other stats are comparable to the Seafang(minor upgrades). So it's the same fast speed, high alpha damage/slow reload type of fighter.
Bombs are 2x500lb, same as the Hellcat and the Seafang and probably the best bombs fighters are capable of carrying.
Not normally obtainable as of now.
Obtainable from: Events
Messerschmitt Me-155A
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+45 | 9.24s | 50 | 65 | 504 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 3xMG 151 20mm Cannon T3 | 60 | 0.82s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2xMG 131 13mm Cannon T3 | 32 | 0.48s/wave | 36 | 80° |
Fastest launch time among all normally obtainable fighters. Another fighter in the core data shop will dethrone it in the future. Regardless, it has similar applications to Type 52 Zero in accelerating airstrike launch skill triggers.
Anti-plane damage should theoretically be the highest in the game. Both weapons are cannons, which have narrower firing arcs than machineguns. The per-shot damage is not as high as Seafang or Reppuu on the bigger gun. In practice the anti-plane capabilities do not feel significantly different from the other gold planes.
The loss of bombs is not favorable for (most of) PvE play, as in most maps, you'd rather have anti-ship weapons than pure AA. Exceptions do exist...
Touchdown damage is abysmal, even by fighter standards. This sort of makes sense because touchdown damage is supposed to represent "free bombing" the planes perform once they exit enemy AA zones, and this planes has... no bombs.
Overall this gives players options because it does have stats and setups that diverge from most planes. Personally I don't think it's absolutely worthless as some of the CN playerbase believes, but I guess with the rate of powercreeping hero plane units you can argue that this plane's "specialness" is being washed out with time.
Obtainable from: DE boxes
Anti-plane damage should theoretically be the highest in the game. Both weapons are cannons, which have narrower firing arcs than machineguns. The per-shot damage is not as high as Seafang or Reppuu on the bigger gun. In practice the anti-plane capabilities do not feel significantly different from the other gold planes.
The loss of bombs is not favorable for (most of) PvE play, as in most maps, you'd rather have anti-ship weapons than pure AA. Exceptions do exist...
Touchdown damage is abysmal, even by fighter standards. This sort of makes sense because touchdown damage is supposed to represent "free bombing" the planes perform once they exit enemy AA zones, and this planes has... no bombs.
Overall this gives players options because it does have stats and setups that diverge from most planes. Personally I don't think it's absolutely worthless as some of the CN playerbase believes, but I guess with the rate of powercreeping hero plane units you can argue that this plane's "specialness" is being washed out with time.
Obtainable from: DE boxes
F4U Corsair
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+25 | 11.05s | 48 | 132 | 485 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 6x12.7mm MG T3 | 69 | 0.81s/wave | 30 | 180° |
| 2x500lb Bomb T3 | 2x360 |
The best purple fighter in the game. The unique 6x12.7mm MG can take care of most of the stuff you encounter. Overall AA weapon performance is only slightly worse than the gold Hellcat.
Carries the same 2x500lb bombs as the Hellcat, fulfilling the role as a bomber very well.
Great transitional purple fighter that is also functional in late game.
Obtainable from: US boxes, 3-4, 11-2
F4U (VF-17 Corsair Squad)
Skill: Increase entire fleet's Anti-Air by 5% for 8 seconds after deploying an airstrike.
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+45 | 10.20s | 49 | 110 | 529 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 6x12.7mm MG T3(?) | 69 | 0.81s/wave | 30 | 180° |
| 2x500lb Bomb T0 | 2x380 |
It is T0 but it's somewhat based on the T3 purple Corsair.
The weapons are identical with minor upgrades(bombs are confirmed to be T0 with extra damage per bomb, machinegun unclear(?).
Arguably the single best fighter in the game. The reason that the purple Corsair can compete with gold fighters is that its 6x12.7mm MG is a really fearsome weapon. It also has the best fighter-bomb setup possible. The old Corsair's only drawback was that these great weapons were put on a purple body. This hero Corsair fixes the problem by having the same(slightly better, even) weapons on a proper gold plane with actual gold plane stats.
The skill is also nice to have because after world 12 AA really starts to matter. But even ignoring the bonus skill this is still a great fighter. Highly recommended as a event priority.
Obtainable from: Events
F4F Wildcat
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+25 | 10.56s | 48 | 116 | 485 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 6x12.7mm MG T3 | 69 | 0.81s/wave | 30 | 180° |
Looks like a weakened Corsair. Same AA weapons but no bombs. This is rather problematic for CV total output in PvE.
The tradeoff is that it launches slightly faster than the Corsair by half a second. This is not really worth it. You would much rather take the bombs.
This would have much more value if the AA aspect of it were stronger than Corsair, but as of now, it might as well be seen as a strict downgrade. Not recommended.
Obtainable from: US boxes, 3-1, 9-3
Spitfire
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+25 | 10.97s | 50 | 100 | 462 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 4x7.7mm MG T3 | 38 | 0.38s/wave | 24 | 80° |
| 2x20mm Cannon T3 | 40 | 0.65s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 1x500lb Bomb T3 | 360 |
The single 500lb bomb isn't too bad(at least it's not 100), but when the Corsair and other planes that carry 2x500lb bombs exist you really shouldn't be using this. Transitional fighter if you must use it.
Obtainable from: UK boxes, 7-1
A6M2 Zero(Zero Type 21)
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+25 | 10.24s | 52 | 106 | 439 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 2x7.7mm MG T3 | 26 | 0.38s/wave | 24 | 80° |
| 2x20mm Cannon T3 | 40 | 0.65s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2x100lb Bomb T3 | 2x173 |
Carries the same weapons as the gold Zero, but worse at all other stats.
Most Japanese planes in this game suck and this is no exception.
Similar to the gold Zero this also has fast reload relative to its peers(not by that much), but if you have the gold Zero you should switch this out.
Shares the same depressing problem with the gold Zero regarding shitty bombs.
Obtainable from: JP boxes, 3-4, 9-4, 12-1
BF-109T
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+25 | 10.58s | 50 | 42 | 462 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 2xMGFF 20mm Cannon T3 | 41 | 0.50s/wave | 36 | 60° |
| 2x7.92mm MG 17 MG T3 | 24 | 0.30s/wave | 36 | 80° |
Firing angles are especially bad. The MGFF gun has unprecedented 60 degrees, worse than regular cannons. The MG is also narrow for some reason.
Horrid touchdown damage, likely representing the lack of bombs.
Ranked very low on most lists of purple fighters. Unlike the Me-155A, the sacrifice in bombs is not nearly made up for by other stats/specialties. Not recommended.
Obtainable from: DE boxes
X5F5 Skyrocket
Similar to the Me-115A. All guns no bombs with very short takeoff time. Currently the fastest takeoff fighter in the game.
You can use it on Unicorn and others for launch-based skill triggers the same way you the Me-115A. It cuts the CD even further at the cost of having worse stats.
Suffers from the same problem as Me-155A with having no bombs. Not often used in PvE.
Obtainable from: Core data
X5F5 Skyrocket
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+25 | 8.02s | 47 | 136 | 485 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 2x20mm Cannon T3(?) | 40 | 0.65s/wave | 36 | 80° |
| 2x12.7mm MG T3(?) | 32 | 0.45s/wave | 30 | 180° |
You can use it on Unicorn and others for launch-based skill triggers the same way you the Me-115A. It cuts the CD even further at the cost of having worse stats.
Suffers from the same problem as Me-155A with having no bombs. Not often used in PvE.
Obtainable from: Core data
F2A Buffalo
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+12 | 11.72s | 45 | 88 | 335 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 4x12.7mm MG T3 | 46 | 0.63s/wave | 30 | 180° |
However, at +6 this can still be adequate especially compared to T2 and T1 planes.
Expected functionality as a transitional blue fighter.
Obtainable from: US boxes, 2-3
A5M Claude(Type96 Kansen)
Stats
|
Takeoff CD
|
Flying Speed
|
Touchdown Dmg
|
HP(CV at Lv 100)
|
| AV+12 | 11.10s | 48 | 86 | 303 |
Weapon
|
Damage
|
Reload
|
Range
|
Firing Angle
|
| 2x7.7mm MG T3 | 26 | 0.38s/wave | 24 | 80° |
Same caveat as above: weapon stats are for +10 but blue equipments only go up to +6. Reference with caution.
Faster firing and lower damage compared to the Buffalo. But it has the same shitty firing angle the other Japanese fighters get. 2x7.7mm really isn't a great weapon.
Takeoff is somewhat fast at least. Then again these stats are probably not even all that relevant on the early maps where you actually use this plane.
Obtainable from: JP boxes, 2-3
References: Chinese Azur Lane Wiki: http://wiki.joyme.com/blhx/%E9%A6%96%E9%A1%B5
