Pretty sure most people what gacha games are. Gacha games are games that requires a shit ton of luck that it kills you on the inside in order to get that one specific waifu.( I?m looking at you Fate: Grand Order you son of a?.)
But enough about me being pissed off at Fate:GO, let?s talk about one of the best gacha friendly games in my opinion this year. AZURAAA LANEEEE
Azur Lane is a side-scrolling shoot ?em up video game that turns warships into waifus a.k.a using female moe anthropomorphic characters based on World War 2 ships. Sounds familiar? Well that?s because Kantai Collection was the first one to introduce this concept.
The new UI for Azur Lane.
Kantai Collection Menu ( Google Images)
Well you might have heard of Kantai Collection if you?ve either played the game or watched the anime. But I?m assuming the latter because not everyone played the game because it?s in Japanese so unless if you?ve learned the language, I will say you just played it by clicking whatever button does what.(I actually did it on my first try)
But think about it, what if we make a better redesigned version of the game, actually interact with our fanbase and community and make the gacha rates enjoyable for our users?
And that?s how Azur Lane was born! The baby of Chinese developers Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi that was first released in 2017 for JP and CN servers. But I?ll limit myself to the EN server since I started there.
So to start off, Azur Lane recently ended their OBT( Open Beta Test) phase a week ago after a 9 month run for the EN servers, and since then released a new UI design for all servers, that was teased back in January during an interview with Crunchyroll. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksoApSQRWZs&t=316s
Bismarck?s appearance in the Tutorial
And by the time I finished this, they will be releasing a new event based on the Ironblood faction (German) and will be centered on Bismarck. So for the newcomers and veterans , Ich wnsche dir alles Gute ( I wish you all the best)
Now onto the guide parts, how do I play this game?
Azur Lane?s auto mode. (No joystick controls)
Well Azur Lane offers an automatic mode and manual mode. I personally recommend using auto mode for grinding stuff in between chapters 2?8. The manual mode will be needed in chapters 9 and above because of it?s increasing difficulty. Trust me, 10?4 is not to be touched until you get lvl 110 for all of your ships. The game is very simple to play, in manual you can use a joystick to control the movements of your ships while having 3 buttons that will call airstrikes, torpedo launchers and battleship artilery seperately.The only difference between manual and auto mode is simple. Manual allows you avoid more damage from torpedos and artilery while auto lets you be lazy.
WHAT SHIPS ARE GOOD? IS THIS GIRL GOOD?
If you just started this game, I feel bad for you. But do not fear my friend, for it is I. Tohka ?The Malaysian Weeb Master? will help you from a newcomer?s perspective.
First of all, avoid San Diego. That?s all.
San Diego. Please don?t use her.
On a serious note, San Diego is a good ship but her stats are horrible. If it weren?t for her Anti-Air stats I would have dumped her. And the fact she created a meme and an everlasting cult terrifies me. And me playing on the Sandy server is worse.#don?tpicksandiego. #sandycult
My normie fleet.
Enough jokes, here?s my recommendation. Hood had a barrage skill which allows for massive AOE attack damage, Illustrious(a.k.a useless boat because her voice actor is Aqua from Konosuba) has a skill which gives protection to her allies every airstrike launched, and my favourite Entreprise (a.k.a Big E or Lucky E) has a skill called ?OWARIDA? which pretty much nukes enemies for high damage and most common MVP.
For vanguard, Belfast is there because she?s overused and good given proper equipment and maxed skills, Ayanami (which you?ll only get by max limit breaking the 3 starter ships of Z23, Javelin and Laffey) because she?s a literal demon with her torpedo stats and Atago just for the ara-ara onee~san vibes.
In all there are 6 types of ships. * Heavy Cruisers ( Tankers, have high HP pool)* Light Cruiser ( Balanced, average speed)* Destroyers (High Torpedo damages, also might get the FBI onto you depending on which ships)* Battleships/Battlecruisers/Aviation Battleships (High dakka power, can even launch planes if retrofitted into Aviation Battleships)* Aircraft Carriers ( Needs no explaination, skills varies on abilities)* Repair ships (Really, do I need to explain?)
Repair ships are kinda rare because there are two ships being Akashi and Vestal. You can get Akashi for free but you have to do her quests which could take a whole month. Vestal on the other hand is grindable in chapter 7?3. A pro tip, get Akashi/Vestal as soon as you can because chapters 9 and above requires at least 1 repair ship.
WHAT EQUIPMENTS SHOULD I USE?
Unfortunately I am not good in equipment. So I?ll just leave a link to a guide on recommended equipment for each ship.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B-kGGh6rHk7PlXQDkAl8bOGPUMp0oncVFeJAzSjdEgg/edit#gid=908352959
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO IN THIS GAME?
My Kizuna AI based dorm
Well there are several more activities you can do in Azur Lane, for example like creating a room so that your shipfus can rest. But at the same time you can feed them and they will gain more EXP over time when you?re not playing the game. It will also help you to recover their morale if you pushed them too far and ended up like this.
Don?t end up like Parker?s Shoukaku. ( https://mangadex.org/title/32265/azur-lane-a-journal-doujinshi )
PRIORITY SHIPS a.k.a PR
My waifu Saint Louis in progress.
Recently just before the new UI update, Yostar decided to release a collaboration with World of Warships by releasing 6 exclusive ships which can only be acquired by literally playing the game. But here?s the kicker, the requirements are really heavy such as grinding a total amount of 3 million EXPs. But in return you will get some of the most badass ships in the game. So get to it as fast as you can.
ACADEMY IN AZUR LANE
Current academy status
In Azur Lane?s academy there are several places to go to.
The first being the Canteen and Merchant where it?ll be your primary source of gold and oil. Gold is needed to build ships and buy stuff at the Munitions store. Oil is needed for long commission runs and battles. Medallion is just a place where you flex achievements with exclusive medals and was recently added with the new UI. Lecture Hall is a place like the Dorm, but unlike the Dorm where you recover morale you will actually lose morale by going here. Main reason being it?s a lecture hall, you study and you get bored( I know I do IRL) but in return you become smarter and gain extra EXP while not playing but classes varies on a day to day basis like lectures. Except Sunday, because who tf goes to classes on Sunday?
Tactical Classes
Tactical Classes is where you level up your shipfu?s skills. The higher the skills, the more effective they will be to turn the tides of battle. Except San Diego, no matter how much you level her skill, she will never be smart. Heh.
THE DEVS ACTUALLY LISTEN AND MEME WITH US
Let me tell you rn, Yostar?s staff and devs are actually some of the best people I love to meet IRL. It?s because of their friendly behaviour and experts in memeology (IDK if it?s a real word)
They listen to our complaints and fix it immediately
Whenever we have a really game-breaking bugs, they would instantly issue an hot-fix and meme about it while on the case. But this shows that Yostar cares about it?s fanbase and community. They even have a 10 hour maintenance riot where players would be spamming ?LET ME IN? memes in order to play the newly installed content (being UI and upcoming Bismarck event) and devs will extend it just to fix major bugs within the game which was 13 hours in total. Which is suprising since people in the Asia region were mostly awake throughout the night just to play the game. It shows that the fans are actually committed to play this game, bugs or no bugs. They care about the game but more importantly, their shipfu?s.
:laffeydrinks:
Also here?s a drink to you Intern-kun!!!
DID I MENTION YOU CAN MARRY THEM?
I married Zui on my birthday, I feel lonely now.
I forgot to put this, but you can marry any ships and rename them into your favourite waifu. But here?s the problem, you can marry anyone. ANYONE.A piece of advice, don?t marry destroyers unless if you want to get FBI?ed.They also put customized wedding registration forms based on the faction so that?s pretty good!
CLOSING WORDS
Overall, Azur Lane ain?t bad. The gacha is player friendly, you can get most ships by playing the game except event ships where you have to build, the developers actually cares for its community and gameplay is not hard. I personally took a liking in Azur Lane since September when it was publicly release because I like the game. And with the upcoming EN 1st year?s anniversary, I can?t wait for new content and celebrate with others in the community!!
P.S : Mikasa is coming so dibs on her.
Contact me on social media ?
Twitter ? @tohka_aryaniFacebook ? @TohkaAryani Email ? [email protected] ? twitch.tv/tohka_aryaniInstagram ? Tohka_aryani
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