Core Data Guide
Core Data Guide
Latest update: 7/9/2020
Welcome to the Core Data guide. Today we will be looking at what you should be spending your precious Core Data on.
Reading this guide is strongly recommended. It will inform you what each gear does and WHY it is where it is on the priority chart. This is important, as the Core Data shop tells you very little about what you are buying, and a lot of this gear is rather niche.
Recommended purchase order
1st Oxytorp* > 1st Shell set* > 2nd Oxytorp > 2nd Shell set > 1st Hero Corsair
By the time you have purchased all of this, you should be on hardmode maps that drop enough Core Data to buy multiple items per month. Keep buying Shells, Hero Corsairs, and Oxytorps until you’re comfortable, and mix in other gear as appropriate for the ships you own/use.
*If you get a really good BB early on, buy your first Shell set before your first Oxytorp.
Reasoning:
You should have two full sets of Shells, a pair of Oxytorps, and one Hero Corsair before buying anything else. This is the recommended order of purchase, although depending on the ships you acquire early on this may change.
The Hero Corsair sits at the bottom of the list, purely due to low RoI. While it is the best fighter in the game by a noticeable margin, there are three non-Core planes that are almost as good - the Hellcat, Seafang, and Reppu. These are all top-of-the line fighters, more than capable of filling in for the Hero Corsair in all content, so the overall fleet power increase from buying Hero Corsairs is much lower than the Oxytorp or Shells. It should still, however, be purchased before anything else in the Core Data shop.
Priority 1: Must-buy
Best-in-Slot equipment for entire ship classes. These should be your first few purchases. Also very safe to purchase extras of, if you have excess Core Data.
aka "White Shell"
Best Aux gear for BBs. +55 FP, +15 HIT, increases main gun Crit damage by 25%.
The term “best” is somewhat misleading. While superior to the Black Shell (below) as a standalone equipment, the crit buff skill does NOT stack if you equip 2x White Shells on the same BB. So the Black and White shells are best used and purchased as a pair.
Minimum: 2 (one on a single BB in each fleet)
Maximum: 6 (one on each BB, with two full BB backlines. VERY rare setup, due to ASC.)
aka "Black Shell"
“Second-best” Aux gear for BBs. +70 FP and increases main gun Crit Rate by 8%.
Just like the White Shell, the crit buff does not stack if you equip 2x Black Shell. 1x Black Shell and 1x White Shell is optimal Aux gear for every BB, to get both skill buffs.
Minimum: 2 (one on a single BB in each fleet)
Maximum: 6 (one on each BB, with two full BB backlines. VERY rare setup, due to ASC.)
aka "Oxytorp"
+100 TORP and +10 RLD.
Massively increases the torpedo damage output of most DDs, certain CLs, and all submarines (SS). Also invaluable for cheesing event hardmodes that require 1500+ TORP.
This is the only Aux gear in the game that buffs torpedoes, and the only functional DPS gear for DDs, CLs*, and at least half your SS slots (Oxygen gear also increases DPS for SSs, but they can only equip one piece of Oxygen gear each). The most that can be used simultaneously is a staggering 18 (6 on each fleet, plus 6 on the SS fleet), so buying this is always a safe choice.
*The Russian Intel Report is the only other functional DPS Aux gear that DDs and CLs can equip. However, it can only be obtained during the Northern Overture event, and is limited to one per event run.
Minimum: 4 (so that you can meet 1500 TORP requirements with only 2 DDs)
Maximum: 18 (2 on each frontliner in both fleets, plus 2 on each submarine. VERY uncommon, due to the prevalence of Gunboats and survival/AA gear on frontlines in high-level maps, and the best subs being KMS (and thus not using 2x Oxytorp).)
aka "Hero Corsair"
Best fighter in the game. Slightly higher HP and faster takeoff compared to the Hellcat/Seafang/Reppu/Seafury, while still having 2x500lb bombs. The bombs are actually slightly stronger than on the other planes, since the Hero Corsair’s are T0. Also has a skill that increases the entire fleet’s AA by 5% for 8 seconds on airstrike.
Despite its many advantages, this is still the lowest priority of the “high-priority” Core Data equipments. The reason is simply due to the relative power of alternatives, and overall power gain for your Core Data investment. There is no non-Core replacement for Oxytorps, and the Shells’ viable substitutes are much weaker. Meanwhile, the aforementioned planes are almost as strong as the Hero Corsair and most can be obtained through other means, so you don’t need to spend Core Data to get top-of-the-line fighters.
Min: 2 (one on each fleet. The AA skill doesn’t stack.)
Max: 7 (assuming total backline is 1BB 5CV/L, and two of those CV/Ls are Centaur and Illustrious which have two fighter slots)
Priority 2a - Niche BiS gear
BiS equipment for specific ships. If you own these ships and plan on using them, their gear is your second priority. If not, you can skip them.
Improved Snorkel aka "Snorkel"
KMS submarines only.
KMS submarines have very poor oxygen, and the Snorkel allows them enough submerged time for an extra volley. This is a higher return on damage than a second Oxytorp, and also cheaper to buy/upgrade. If you plan on running a KMS submarine fleet (and you should, they’re really good), you should acquire 3 Snorkels.
Subs of other nations do not see significant returns for extra Oxygen. These subs should use 2x Oxytorp instead.
Min: 0
Max: 3 (one for each sub)
Fairey Barracuda (831 Squadron)aka "831 Barracuda"
One of the worst dive bombers in the game. Its damage is the third worst of all T3/0 dive bombers - above only the Fairey Fulmar (which carries a memetic load of 2x100lb bombs), and the Blackburn Skua (which carries an equally memetic single 500lb bomb). Yes, it’s actually WORSE than the blue Dauntless, which only carries +6 weapons. The 831 Barracuda has the relatively unique ability to inflict Armor Break on any armor type; however, it sacrifices FAR too much damage for this to be remotely worthwhile.
To add insult to injury, the 831 Barracuda barely ever procs its Armor Break. Each plane carries only a single 1600lb bomb with which to inflict the debuff, meaning that a slot with this bomber can only roll to inflict the debuff 2-3 times at most per airstrike. Each bomb only has a 24% chance of actually inflicting the debuff, which is rather atrocious.
You should only ever purchase the 831 Barracuda if you own Shirakami Fubuki. It is her best plane, as her dive bomber slot is gimped so badly that it doesn’t do damage even with a good plane. On her, the Armor Break is effectively a free support debuff.
Seaplane. For BBVs and SSVs only (so basically just Hyuuga, Ise, and I-13).
Significant improvement over the Zuiun. Carries a much more functional 1600lb bomb, with no (relevant) tradeoffs.
If you plan on using any of these ships, make sure to pick up a Seiran. Otherwise, skip. Current maximum usable is technically 5, but it’s more like 3 because Yamashiro/Fusou are bad as BBVs.
Priority 2b - Utility
Good utility gear, which is worth acquiring/keeping a few copies of. Eventually you’ll find a use for it.
For Healers and PvP only. 60% of a gold Catapult's AVI, in exchange for reducing airstrike cooldown by 4%.
Useful in PvP because striking first is important, although CV/Ls aren’t really meta anymore (except Hiryuu). Debatably useful on healers (Shouhou/Unicorn/Ryuuhou) in PvE to slightly accelerate healing.
In the grand scheme of things, the Beacon is not very useful in PvE. The airstrike CD cut is so small that it almost never allows for an extra airstrike, and thus is not a reliable increase in damage, healing, or screenclearing ability. Meanwhile, having less AVI IS relevant, as it causes a noticeable reduction in both ASC contribution and damage output. You should buy one for PvP at some point, but should never buy more than 3.
Min: 0
Max: 3 (one for each healer)
aka "Slowcuda"
Torpedo bomber, with damage output on par with the purple Barracuda. Overall solid plane.
While the Slowcuda’s damage output is lower than the Blackburn/VT-18/gold Barracuda, it slows enemies hit by its torpedoes by 60% for 8 seconds. This can be very useful for nailing down fast targets, such as DD bosses and the enemy frontline in PvP, in order to ensure higher-damage attacks connect.
The slow from the Slowcuda does not stack with other Slowcudas. As such, you should only purchase one of this plane.
Min: 0
Max: 1
Priority 3: Hep my boxes hate me
Good gear which is outclassed by obnoxiously hard-to-get gear. Some accounts can justify buying these.
Very slight downgrade of the gold Barracuda. Not counting the event-limited VT-18, this is the second-best torpedo bomber in the game.
Unlike fighters (where there are 5 viable endgame options) and dive bombers (where the Helldiver is the second-easiest plane in the game to obtain and outclasses every other DB), the gold Barracuda has no other real peers and is very obnoxious to obtain. It is only farmable during certain events, and can otherwise only be obtained from gold HMS boxes. Very annoying, as most CV/Ls (including all the healers) have at least one torpedo bomber slot.
As a result, there are people out there with excess Core Data and a deficit of good torpedo bombers. These accounts could easily justify picking up a few Blackburns.
Priority 4 - LOL PvP
Technically useful gear that isn’t actually all that useful.
PvP only.
+70 AVI, and increases plane flight speed. Gives less AVI than a gold Catapult, and the flight speed in unnecessary in PvE, so this functions worse than a gold Catapult in PvE.
Useful in PvP, as faster planes drop their payload faster (striking first is really important in PvP), and spend less time in the enemy AA zone (increasing the number of planes that can kamikaze into the enemy backline). However, in PvP, CV/Ls have largely fallen out of favor - BB piles are now “in”, and the only CV/L that regularly sees PvP usage is Hiryuu. So you really don’t ever need more than one of these.
Disclaimer: Technically, you don’t need any of this at all, as players have reached PvP Top 10 on EN using 2x gold Catapult. It is also completely unnecessary if you only use PvP for free EXP and bullins, and don’t care about rank.
Funny Memes
Bad gear that you can still have fun with. Remember that reason we play games? FUN?
aka "Skyrocket"
Fighter with AA guns on par with the Me-155, with slightly faster reload. No bombs.
Overall a bad plane, for the same reason the Me-155 is bad. Having bombs is just too good, and this plane’s AA guns are only slightly-above-average in practice. However, this IS the fastest-loading fighter, so you could do some shenanigans with this on someone like Unicorn*.
*Disclaimer: Using the Skyrocket on Unicorn & Co. is not recommended by the writer. Please just use a Fighter with bombs on her (such as the Hero Corsair).
+550 HP (slightly more than a Toolbox). When equipped to an Anshan-class ship, increases the ship’s Main Gun damage by 16% and Full Barrage damage by 50%. Also gives the Full Barrage cool-looking cosmetic shells (each of the four Anshans has a different barrage appearance, themed after an element).
This doesn’t make the Anshans good enough for high-level maps, so it’s pretty much just a fun meme. Feel free to mess around with it while farming though, if you have too much Core Data. There are only 4 Anshan-class ships, so you can “only” use 4 of these.
Don’t Buy
The items in this section range from “good in a vacuum” to “horrible traps that eat your Core Data and give you nothing in return”. All of them have one thing in common, however: they are outclassed by other readily-available gear, and buying them is an inexcusable misuse of Core Data.
aka "Seafury"
Sidegrade of the gold Hellcat/Seafang/Reppu. One of the 5 top-of-the-line fighters.
Unfortunately for the Seafury, it was added to Core Data alongside the Hero Corsair, which is strictly better. So there is very little reason to buy this.
Dive bomber with reasonable bombs and above-average AA guns. Good overall plane.
AA-focus on a Dive isn’t very useful, as Dives do not perform passive AA like Fighters. It’s better to just have Dive slots do more damage to kill the source of the planes.
As a result, the Firefly has a very bad case of “but the Helldiver exists”. The Helldiver has a much better payload, and also carries decent AA guns. Since the Helldiver is so easy to obtain, spending Core Data on the Firefly is impossible to justify.
aka "Hero Dauntless"
The only gold plane to carry a 2000lb bomb (the same “main” bomb that the notorious Helldiver carries), plus a reasonable “secondary” payload of 2x100lb bombs. Also gets a 5% damage bonus against CV/Ls. Carries no AA guns for some reason (this is actually the only plane with no AA guns), which is awkward considering the skill, but dives aren’t really used for AA anyways. Overall solid dive bomber.
Just like the Firefly, the Hero Dauntless has a bad case of “but the Helldiver exists”. While they have the same “main” payload, the Helldiver’s 2x500lb “secondary” payload completely dumpsters the Hero Dauntless’s 2x100lb. On top of this, the Helldiver HAS AA guns.
The extra 20 AVI from being a gold plane, and the extra damage against CV/Ls, are simply not enough to compete with the Helldiver’s superior weapons. Since the Helldiver is so easy to obtain, it is impossible to justify purchasing the Hero Dauntless.
aka "Buffalo"
Fighter with average AA guns and no bombs. Hilariously, the AA guns on the Buffalo are worse than the Hellcat's. Also increases the Efficiency of equipped fighters by 4%, which is not even remotely a fair tradeoff for how awful the rest of the plane is.
Significantly worse than the Hellcat/Seafang/Reppu/Hero Corsair/Seafury/Skyrocket, and inexcusable to purchase when half of those are also in Core Data.
aka "New Atago Gun"
Third-best CA HE gun in the game.
Not a particularly distinguished medal, as CA HE is highly situational, and this gun is heavily outclassed by the purple Prinz Gun for general use. Also strictly worse than the Sanrui Gun, of which you should have at least one copy by the time your Sanrui is a usable dev level.
aka "Purple Camo"
“Upgrade” of the blue Camo/Rudder.
The “upgrade” is extremely marginal - only +56 HP and +1 Evasion (total 100 HP and 18 Evasion). Blue Camo gives too little HP and Evasion to matter, and this does nothing to improve it. Strictly worse than the PR Washing Machine on every possible level.
The nail in the coffin, however, is the upgrade breakpoints. The purple Camo must be enhanced to +10, while the blue Camo must only be enhanced to +6. At +6, the purple version only gives +14 EVA - less than the blue at the same upgrade level. They don’t break even until the purple is +9, and the purple doesn’t get its one-point advantage until +10. This is a massive waste of valuable Aux plates, which are needed elsewhere on actually good equipments. And a massive waste of Core Data, which could’ve been used elsewhere.
+32 FP. Reduces Main Gun spread by 2.
Stats are worse than the Shells, and the spread reduction is too small to matter. Significantly worse than both Shells.
Interestingly, this can be used on Monitors, while Shells cannot. Not that you would, because purple Fire Control Radars exist and also give HIT, which Monitors want as much as BBs. Also because Monitors are awful.
+55 AA, +10 HIT. Half the AA of a PR AA Radar, noticeably less AA than the purple AA Radar. No skills whatsoever, while the PR Radar has a debatably useful skill. AA Aux gear is not necessary until ch12/13, by which point you should have access to these better options.
Splitting stats with HIT specifically is also very useless. Only BBs really care about extra HIT, and BBs have mediocre AA mounts that do not leverage extra AA well. They should be equipping proper DPS Aux gear (read: Shells), even in plane hells, and leave the AA Auxes to ships with real AA mounts.
aka "that garbo ASW plane"
ASW plane. Goes in the Aux slot for CVLs (full CVs can’t use it), plus Warspite retrofit. Autolaunches to attack enemy SSs.
You can S-rank the hardest ASW content in the game with a fleet of decent-ASW CLs, carrying no ASW gear other than the welfare Sonar. That’s how unnecessary ASW-related stuff is right now.
We’ve had some hints, via event drops/ship skills/enemies, that we might see more serious SS enemies in the future - however, that is currently pure conjecture, and not officially confirmed or hinted by the devs themselves. Also, the most recent event SS enemies were reworked to surface and become regular enemies after ~10 seconds, making ASW completely unnecessary. If these reworks become the norm for future event content, ASW gear will become even more useless than it currently is.
TL;DR - Do not buy a currently useless equipment just because it MIGHT be usable in the future. Since only CVLs can equip this, the number of simultaneously usable ASW planes is very low. So hoarding is unnecessary. If you ever have need of this, it will still be in the shop to purchase.
aka "Battery"
Increases submarine hunting range.
The Battery was rendered completely useless with the update on 7/11/2019, which added the ability to move the submarine fleet, as well as U-522 (who allows you to completely ignore hunting range).
Ships
All the ships currently in Core Data are collectors items. Most of them are abjectly terrible, and all of them can be farmed from War Archives. Do not purchase these unless you want "fast" 100% completion.
West VirginiaShitty downgrade of Rodney/Nelson. Farmable from Fallen Wings in War Archives. Do not purchase.
Terrible super-gimped CV. Farmable from Fallen Wings in War Archives. Do not purchase.
Bad IJN Torpedo-focused DD. Badly outclassed by numerous drop ships (and your starter), and farmable from Visitors Dyed in Red in War Archives. Do not purchase.
Mediocre HMS CL. There are a million better options, just looking a permanent pool HMS CLs alone. Farmable from Winter's Crown in War Archives. Do not purchase.
Crappy HMS knockoff on an IJN Torpedo DD. Badly outclassed by numerous ships, who aren't that great to begin with. Farmable from Winter's Crown in War Archives. Do not purchase.
Don’t spend 500 Core Data on a gold Repair Crane. Spend it on actual BiS shop-exclusive gear instead.
Once you get past the initial awkward crunch at Commander lv60, Cog chips are obtained much faster than they are used. Just be patient, and don’t waste valuable Core Data on these. You WILL regret your purchase.
Gold/Purple boxes
Buying these is basically nickle-and-diming yourself for a gacha with horrible returns, almost all of which are easily farmable. Save your Core Data and spend it on shop-exclusive items instead.
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