How to play Kantai Collection

So are you raring to pick up the much-talked about browser game Kantai Collection - or maybe just curious - but have no clue how to do so? Or you've tried it, only to find it utterly confusing that you gave up?

Worry not, because this post will guide you through the steps - as well as the essential of playing the game!

I shall first of all impart this very important piece of information: the Wiki site is your best friend, so always always ALWAYS go through it during the stages of playing the game. If you're stuck or have no idea what to do, chances are you'll find the answer there.

I know a browse through the Wiki will tell you all you need on how to play the game, but I thought I'll mention some other small stuff which some might not be so clear about after all the browsing (and even through tthe game!). Now, lets start with registering for the game:

Registering for the game

1) Register for a DMM account . After you register and verify your e-mail, you would want to get into the DMM account.

2) Chances are you will stumble upon an Error page: this is because the site actually only allow Japanese user to use it, and for that you have to use VPN to bypass it (here's the article on wiki because it's rather a lengthy process). If you find you're still getting Error even when you've logged in VPN, you might want to change a different IP. 

3) Once you managed to get pass that, it's time to enter the lottery! To do so, check their official twitter account and look for message which impart the next time of lottery; here's a recent one at the time of writing for an example: 

Take note of the date and time: in this example, the next lottery would be at 16:00, 11th of January, with spots opened for 10,000 people. Also, remember the time mentioned in the account is in JST, which leaves us for the next preparation...

4) Once you've managed to find a time to enter the lottery, here's what you should do beforehand:

a) Clear your browser cache
b) Set your clock to JST (UTC+09:00): I've heard of people who had trouble to register, until they followed this step
c) Head over to the game website during the time of lottery, log in, and wait!

Once you've reached the lottery page (that's the one with the cat pawing the girl's head) take note of the Refresh time (either 5 minute or 10 minute: here it is 10 minute): you would be required to refresh at exactly or slightly more than the specific time, but not less: i.e. for 5 minutes, it will probably fail if you refresh 4 minutes after seeing the girl-and-cat page. It might sound tricky, but there's nothing to it - it's all about timing!

Servers not full: select the one which isn't full 

Full servers: try again on the next lottery! 

If you've reached the page with the girl holding the cat to her face, that would meant your attempt for the lottery was not successful. If so, keep your spirit high, check the Twitter page for the next lottery, and try again!

Starting the game

Congratulation, you've managed to enter the game! By now, for future ease you might want to check on ways to play without VPN (check the page again), because the alternative is for you to log in your VPN everytime you wanted to play the game... which is a bit bothersome if you ask me.

After loading up, you'll have the choice of starting your first ship out of a total five:

Not an in-game shot of course, but a useful representation!

L-R: Sazanami, Inazuma, Fubuki, Samidare, Murakumo

At this point just go with either look or their voice (all the character have voices! Isn't that nice?); don't fret too much about the stats. And if you're torn between two or more of the ships, take note that you could always get them later - much more easier than getting all the Pokemon starters, if I'm allowed to make an analogy.

Like so [I had Samidare prior, but she was scrapped to make room for other ships...]

Afterwards you'll be asked to complete some tutorials before you can truly dive in into the game: check out the basic to the game to familiarize yourself!

No one likes to see this screen

I have some ship girls, kicked some enemies stern: now what? 

KanColle is a browser game after all, so it's all pretty repetitive if you come down to it.

A typical day of an admiral would be as such:

1) Check quest for the day/week/specific quest which you'd want to fulfill 

2) Build ships through construction 

3) Send fleet for PVP (a bloodless way to get EXP)

4) Send the other fleet for expedition: resources gaining [I actually didn't bother doing these until I was way long into the game, and my resources started dwindling fast...]

5) Send main fleet to sortie: level up, find ships, get to next stage etc

6) Resupply and send to dock any damaged ship after sorties and/or expeditions


...And that's pretty much it! You're going to spend a lot of time on the game before you realize it - consider yourself warned.

Good luck, and may the odds (of RNG) be in your favour.

You'll learn to hate her - everyone does