I just got a FG from gathering I didn't know that was possible
"The way of the flower is grand and proud!"
For your whaleship helper team, does the make up of the group matter or just highest total power?
Only stats matter for the most part. Chocolate(for deck team), solar nodes and solar gauge fillers apply, but're not worth gimping the numbers for.
Be aware that at later Whale Ship missions Total power is not the only thing to consider, High TP is good but sometimes late it's worth lowering your TP to get higher total Defence. Generally that's only when you start losing / coming real close to losing your ship tho. Equipment on ALL girls in the Ship is a MUST as well.
Flower Knight Girl: 255445855
If you already optimized your whaleship for the weakness-type, then it doen't matter much.
There are some girls you might find preferable for helper teams though, if you didn't include them yourself yet:
-Mei Plumblossom and Cattleya. Having both these girls in any squad(s) on your ship, including the helper squad, means you can start the map with a full solar blast bar. So if you don't have either or both, then it will really help if the helper squad does. Either of these girls twice instead of each girl once works as well, so if you happen to have Cattleya for example, then a helper with either Cattleya or Mei Plumblossom will increase the solar bar to 100% at the start.
-Chocolate Cosmos, Chocolate Cosmos (Swimsuit) or Lantana. The healing panels these girls add, are added on the whaleship map as well. I remember someone confirming they actually worked as well, but I forgot whether they healed the whaleship or the boarding unit. This ability is NOT additive, so you don't need more than one of these girls for this purpose.
-Strawberry Candle or Nigella . The panels for a 50% Solar Bar increase from these girls definitely works. Similar to the healing panels from the previous girls, this ability is not additive, so you don't need more than one of either of these girls.
The Healing Panels and the Solar Panels are also not entirely compatible. When there are plenty empty panels on a map, there's usually no problem. But when there are only few empty panels for these effects, then you may end up with only one of either sets, because they all got randomly assigned to the same panels, which results in one type getting dropped. So if you want to include these panels, pick your preferred type and simply don't include a girl who spawns the other type.
It's probably easiest to include the girls with desirable effects you want into your own squads, so you really only have to look at the team power of your helpersquad, and don't need to worry about its team composition.
I didn't notice any other girl abilities having effect on the whale maps. Including Cactace or Peach doesn't increase the amount of solar gems you get in ship combat. Including girls with a trigger bonus won't increase the chance for your ship to make a special attack. Making Solar Blasts doesn't increase the ATK of your whaleship if you have Dogwood, Leucocoryne, Madonna or Ginkgo on board. Etcetera.
is it just me that feels nutaku's version game client is laggier/less responsive compared to DMM's?