Originally Posted by Unregistered

My last response on this: my whale ship(s) have been able to farm the most difficult missions for some time - so this isn't said with no experience in gearing/creating a viable whale ship.

Given the choice between 1k def and 1k atk for my ship, I'd take the 1k atk. As you point out, atk gets a 40% modifier after the chance panel. If you have the correct slash/pierce/hit/magic/nuetral type ship, you get a 50% bonus to atk. So a choice between 1k in def versus a 1k in atk should be thought of as 1k def versus 1k * 1.5 *1.4 = 2.1k atk. I'd take 2.1k in atk stats over 1k in defense stat.

Having your whaleship survive the mission is done in two ways: a) surviving long enough and b) killing the ancient pest faster. Since bonuses apply to atk and not defense, in a 1 for 1 stat debate - take the stat that gives bonuses.

You are missing 1 very important thing here tho, 1 ATK is not = to 1 DEF, that's why ampy's give 10 atk and only 4 def. You get your ATK to 2.1k vs 1k but 1k def is actually worth 2.5k atk so you are still behind in the long run. I have only ever lost 1 whaleship since they were released and after adding an extra 3k defence stat it never happened again even with bad RNG.

I'm not saying to neglect atk completely, but I am saying that if you do not focus on def at all you will have issues unless your TP is exceptional. I personally like to take the chance factor out of my runs as well tho. So the stats i'm aiming for are for 100% completion and not the 80+ that most people seem happy with. Losing a ship is not an option for me.