Overview
KanColle popularized the "girls representing warships" genre years before it had any real competition. It's still Japanese-only over a decade later, but a large unofficial English-speaking community has kept it alive the whole time — this page exists because that demand never went away.
Collect Kanmusu
Recruit shipgirls (kanmusu) representing real WWII-era vessels, from destroyers up to battleships, and grow your fleet.
Manage a Fleet
Balance four resources — fuel, ammo, steel, and bauxite — across sorties, expeditions, and repairs.
Fight in Waves
Sortie through map nodes against the Abyssal Fleet, resolve air and shelling phases, and clear boss nodes to complete an area.
Japanese UI Glossary
Every menu in the game is Japanese-only. These are the terms you'll run into constantly — bookmark this table.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出撃 | Shutsugeki | Sortie — send your fleet into a map to fight. |
| 遠征 | Ensei | Expedition — send a fleet to gather resources; no combat, no damage. |
| 入渠 | Nyuukyo | Docking — repair damaged ships. Costs time and steel. |
| 工廠 | Koushou | Arsenal — build new ships and develop equipment here. |
| 演習 | Enshuu | Exercise — practice PvP against other admirals; no risk of losing ships. |
| 編成 | Hensei | Organize — the screen for fleet composition and equipment loadout. |
| 近代化改修 | Kindaika Kaishuu | Modernization — feed ships to another ship to raise its stats. |
| 改造 | Kaizou | Remodel — evolve a ship at a level threshold into a stronger form ("Kai"). |
| 疲労度 | Hiroudo | Morale — low morale hurts combat performance; high morale ("sparkle") boosts it. |
| 燃料 | Nenryou | Fuel — one of the four core resources. |
| 弾薬 | Dan'yaku | Ammo — one of the four core resources. |
| 鋼材 | Kouzai | Steel — one of the four core resources. |
| ボーキサイト | Bauxite | One of the four core resources; consumed by aircraft. |
| 艦娘 | Kanmusu | Shipgirl — the playable characters. |
| 深海棲艦 | Shinkaiseikan | Abyssal — the enemy faction you fight. |
| 母港 | Bokou | Homeport — your main fleet roster screen. |
| 小破 | Shouha | Lightly Damaged — minor damage state. |
| 中破 | Chuuha | Moderately Damaged — noticeable damage state. |
| 大破 | Taiha | Heavily Damaged — critical; retreat this ship immediately. |
| 轟沈 | Gouchin | Sunk — permanent loss. Only a risk when a ship is already Heavily Damaged. |
Getting Started
The menus are all in Japanese, but the early flow is simple once you know the shape of it.
- 1Pick your Admiral name. It can't be changed later — don't overthink it, but don't be careless either.
- 2Choose a starter ship. The four choices are close enough in stats; pick whichever destroyer you like the look of.
- 3Check your Quests (任務) at the top of the screen — they reward resources and unlock features. Do the ones you can.
- 4Complete the 6-ship fleet organization quest. This is your first real milestone and unlocks your second fleet slot.
- 5Farm early nodes like map 1-1 for destroyers — it's the standard early spot to build up your roster.
- 6Unlock Expeditions (遠征) by clearing the 2nd fleet quest, so you can gather resources in parallel with sorties.
- 7Don't rush every daily quest or ranking board. You don't need to clear everything from day one — pace yourself.
Stuck on 2-4? Fleet, routing and air power for the first big wall →
Orange or red faces? Fatigue and sparkling explained →
Can't read the menus? Every button translated →
When can ships sink? Heavy damage and the retreat rule →
How to unlock the 2nd, 3rd and 4th fleet →
Quest won't complete? The eight usual reasons →
First event? Which difficulty to pick →
Event ship locks (tags) explained →
Ship cap full? Port Expansion and what to scrap →
Exercises (PvP) and exercise EXP explained →
Not sure which expedition to run? Try the Expedition Efficiency Calculator →
Need the fleet requirements for A2, B4 or 32? See every expedition's requirements →
Wondering what a construction timer means? Look up the build time and recipes →
Equipment Development
The Arsenal (工廠) doubles as a blueprint lab: feed it fuel, ammo, steel, and bauxite in the right ratios and it favors specific gear instead of a random result. These are the community-standard recipes.
| Target | Fuel | Ammo | Steel | Bauxite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-round starter | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Aircraft-focused | 20 | 60 | 10 | 110 |
| Radar-focused | 10 | 11 | 251 | 250 |
| Large-caliber gun-focused | 10 | 251 | 250 | 10 |
Read the full Equipment Development guide →
Running out of resources? How to recover →
Daily quests: full list and routine →
How to remodel (Kai, Kai Ni) →
Which ships to remodel first →
Equipment improvement (Akashi's Arsenal) →
Routing explained: how the compass decides →
1-6 guide: route, fleet and restrictions →
Land-Based Air Squadrons (LBAS) for beginners →
Your first event: how to prepare →
Marriage (Kekkon Kakko Kari) explained →
1-5 guide: fleet and anti-submarine tips →
2-5 guide: north and south routes →
Your first week as a new admiral →
How to play without knowing Japanese →
Air Superiority Calculator
Fighter power per aircraft slot = floor(AA stat × √aircraft count) + proficiency bonus. Sum every slot in your fleet, then compare against the enemy's total to see what air state you'll fight under.