Azur Lane PR Ship Guide: How to Complete Research Fast

To unlock Priority Research (PR) and Decisive (DR) ships quickly in Azur Lane, field three eligible ships simultaneously in oil-capped campaign maps to clear the 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 Combat Data Collection milestones. Stack flagship, MVP, and Dorm morale multipliers to shorten the experience grind, while focusing your Research Academy queue on targeted blueprint projects to reach Developmental Level 30 (Dev 30).

Farming Combat Data Collection EXP Efficiently

Combat Data Collection only counts experience earned by qualifying ships that match the specified faction and hull type. Running mismatched ships drastically prolongs the grind.

Follow these rules to maximize Combat Data output per sortie:

• Field a full trio: Run three qualifying vanguard ships (such as destroyers or cruisers) or three qualifying main fleet ships (battleships, battlecruisers, or carriers) according to the active combat data phase.
• Funnel MVP to an eligible ship: The ship dealing the highest battle damage earns an MVP bonus of double experience (a 100% boost). Equip your best offensive gear on a qualifying hull to prevent off-type ships from stealing MVP.
• Assign the flagship position: When grinding main fleet data, place an eligible ship in the center flagship slot to gain an inherent 1.5x experience multiplier.
• Maintain sparkling morale: Keep qualifying ships on the first floor of the Dorm to maintain morale at 120 or above. This adds a passive 20% experience multiplier to battle yields. Combining sparkling morale, the flagship slot, and MVP yields a 360% effective experience multiplier for that ship compared to baseline combat rates.
• Sortie in oil-capped chapters: Chapter 9 and higher enforce an oil cap per clear, allowing full six-ship fleets to farm without runaway fuel costs. Use Chapters 9 through 11 for lower-level fleets, or Chapter 12-4 for endgame farming. Chapter 12 features carrier-heavy encounters with no suicide boats, offering safe backline leveling and high coin rewards.

Selecting Research Academy Projects

Unlocking the ship hull provides an incomplete unit. Priority ships require blueprints to increase their Developmental Level, with Dev 30 serving as the standard benchmark for full combat effectiveness.

Prioritize your daily Research Academy queue based on blueprint yields and resource demands:

• Face and Cognition projects (D and DR variants): These display specific ship avatars and guarantee blueprints for that exact ship. Always prioritize these when developing a specific hull.
• Soul and Strengthening projects: These offer series-wide blueprints at modest resource costs, making them solid backup options.
• Short free projects (H-series): Basic 30-minute to 1-hour free projects allow you to refresh an unfavorable project rotation quickly without spending resources.
• Wisdom Cube projects (caution): While cube-cost projects offer high blueprint returns, they quickly exhaust your Wisdom Cube reserves. Avoid them unless you have an abundant stockpile reserved for limited event construction banners.
• Equipment-only projects (avoid): Gear-only research locks your queue for up to 8 hours without awarding the ship blueprints required for Dev 30.

Using Catch-Up and Coin Strengthening for Blueprints

Azur Lane includes built-in catch-up mechanics so you do not have to spend Academy research slots on older generations.

Take advantage of daily coin strengthening for older PR ships by purchasing the first two discounted blueprints every day. Direct all active Research Academy slots toward the latest PR and DR generations where coin strengthening is unavailable.