Naval Battles.

In-depth tactical discussion on how to lose the least

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Ace Rimmer
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Naval Battles.

Postby Ace Rimmer » Mon Aug 06, 2007 4:33 pm

Here are some observations that I've made over time that might be of help.

In 1v1:

Organization, or rather the lack of really affects how well one does. I've seen and played countless games where a player with superior forces or some other advantage throws it out the window because of the lack of proper fleet management. If you take a close look at my game over screen shots, you'll notice that in most 1v1 games I play and win, my population suffers heavy loses. However, I still manage to overcome those heavy loses mainly because at the end of the game, I'm left with a far larger naval force and am free to do as I please.

A couple of points about how to be organized:
  • Deploy your fleet in the same manner you would silos. That is, each ship should be able to support another or be supported by another as much as possible. Don't leave large numbers of ships stranded or cut off from land/naval support. Scout battleships are the exception.
  • When using scout battleships, don't set 5 of your battleships on top of a single enemy scout. What will happen is you'll kill one ship only to find subs underneath yours and be immediately at a disadvantage. On top of the loss, the enemy will now have even better intel on your navy.
  • During the course of the game, don't allow your fleet to become scattered and cut off from the rest of your forces. This is akin to an infantry breaking its lines. That usually means defeat. If your lines are broken, reform them quickly.
  • Use ships in a manner that complement each other. For instance, I've noticed that many players follow the rule of carriers behind battleships but keep their carriers too far behind to be of significant help.

Here's an example of the last point. Take a look at the fighter range difference. The top group is what I typically see, carriers stuck way back. The picture shows the immediate difference in the range. If you stop and think about this, the top groups fighters have to use up 60% of its fuel and range just to get to the front line (bb's). By the time it can engage the enemy, it's almost out of fuel. On the other hand, the rest of the group can almost immediately engage in the battle. Fighters have the smallest radar range of them all and must almost be on top of enemy ships to start shooting at them if they are the eyes of your fight.

In 1v1, please don't empty out every fighter from your arsenal. That is completely unnecessary. It becomes even more wasteful when, as I typically observe, they are left to fight the battle themselves. Seeing 30 fighters being launched arbitrarily and then left to fly off with no further instructions is just mind boggling to me. What a waste.

Something else that I'd like to mention. See how the four bombers are traveling north/south? That is the correct way to launch bombers for naval battle. Parallel to enemy ships and behind the protection of battleships. The bomber heading directly into battle is what I see more often. It will almost certainly die a miserable fiery death before it can do much damage.

With regards to staying organized... The picture also shows how to group units together. Use the combo of carrier/battleship as this allows for the best use of both ships. They can support each other much more effectively this way. While the game is being played, the original groups should stick together. Also, don't forget to use the airbases to support your navy. Remember, an airbase stops making fighters when it has 5 on the tarmac. As soon as you use one from a carrier, there should be another on it's way from an airbase to replace it, at least at the start.

Image

When using bombers to kill surface ships, either re-direct your bombers back behind your battleships when they reach the edge or move your battleships along with the bombers to keep them protected. Too many times I've seen bombers lost because they started out protected, but ended up away from that protection.

Lastly, keep your navy fluid. When the enemy discovers your location, move. Make the enemy guess every single time where you might be, don't give them the advantage of a static position or area.
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Postby Angel of Death » Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:04 pm

Ace I like what you have said, but I try some of these tactics with one flaw. When I set my navy formation, I tend to have BS up front, carriers close behind for my airstrike with my bombers. I send my bombers out parallel to the enemy, but I get a rush of fighters that take out my bombers. The front line of BS gets overwelmed. Now after my bombers are sent the carriers are already set back to fighter mode and I send out my fighters to procect the bombers. That is where I wish we had a speed halfway between 1-2. RT is great for giving orders but I seem to get lost in the action when sped up to 5x.

P.S In your picture, where is the enemy supposed to be in realtion to your fleet? I see the bombers going N-S and one flying East.
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Postby Ace Rimmer » Mon Aug 06, 2007 7:13 pm

I think you'll find that you only think you're getting overwhelmed in most cases.

A little clarification here, you don't need all of your bombers up in the air ready to fire, a few here and there work just fine. In this manner you don't have to loose so many bombers when being rushed at with fighters.

Take advantage of fighters (and players) main weakness. That is, their uncanny ability to meaninglessly fly to now dead targets or way points wasting fuel along the way and move your fleet around. If you're being rushed with fighters, then make the other guy waste every one he sends at you then retaliate with a more controlled "rush". You'll find that as I said, it turns out to be a perceived case of overwhelmed most of the time.

The enemy fleet is supposed to be on the left. You can see my territory on the right.
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Postby mrobertsonesq » Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:37 am

I tend to go for a row of battleships (slighly more "line" formation than your picture, albeit easier to punch a hole in but I like to cover my coasts - comments on this please chaps?) - and a back row of carriers mainly set to bombers.

However, I also dot 2 carriers about 1 ships length behind my main line, with them set to "anti sub" - this I feel means I have a long, all seeing wall set along my coast. But yes, with a powerful enough needlepoint, it's not that hard to break through. Against the CPU it's still effective but online I wouldn't really put much stock in it. :(
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Postby world idiot » Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:25 am

good tips there ace, especially about avoiding the fighter swarm, thx :D
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby suboost79 » Mon Aug 17, 2015 8:02 pm

nobody here uses subs behind batlleships as tactical nuke launcher against big incoming fleets?
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby Laika » Mon Aug 17, 2015 8:35 pm

Baton does occassionally. But why use vulnerable subs when you have bombers ?
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby Xx_MLG_Noah_MLG_xX » Mon Aug 17, 2015 8:37 pm

suboost79 wrote:nobody here uses subs behind batlleships as tactical nuke launcher against big incoming fleets?

Good chance you are talking to a dead guy.
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby Ärstotzka » Mon Aug 17, 2015 8:41 pm

suboost79 wrote:nobody here uses subs behind batlleships as tactical nuke launcher against big incoming fleets?


That move is usually out of desperation from my experience, no point in wasting/risking subs without a very good reason.
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby Colytic » Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:27 pm

There are some situations where the range of a sub is very useful, but weigh up the trade-off carefully.
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby Zorotama » Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:29 am

I would like to give a link for the rec of a match in which stiffmeister (us) did a combo to my navy (eu) with bombers, subs and silos..all converged to nuke the sea along 3 lines. I had no chance to escape.
I could say that is a useless tactic, or a moment of joke..but if it used creatively it can be effective.

Maybe one day I will find that rec..it's in my sharewood archive.
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Re: Naval Battles.

Postby MachK » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:57 pm

Zorotama wrote:I would like to give a link for the rec of a match in which stiffmeister (us) did a combo to my navy (eu) with bombers, subs and silos..all converged to nuke the sea along 3 lines. I had no chance to escape.
I could say that is a useless tactic, or a moment of joke..but if it used creatively it can be effective.

Maybe one day I will find that rec..it's in my sharewood archive.


Sub nukes can be effective versus fleets in certain circumstances. Their significant range gives them a distinct advantage over bombers, especially when the approach is covered with enemy fighters. The problem, of course, is accuracy. Because you are launching from further away, the "lead" must be greater, and if the enemy fleet turns, a miss becomes very likely. However, when there are many ships and maneuvering room is constrained (ex:Philippines gap, Iceland gap, African/South American gaps with Antarctica), sub launches can be a good choice. The sub(s) should already be on launch mode in a safe area behind your fleet. And, since the lead you need to dial in needs to be large, sometimes it makes sense to target an enemy fighter in front of the enemy fleet rather than the closest enemy ship.

One quirk to be aware of is that if you target an enemy ship with a sub launch, the sub may dive (to pursue/attack the targeted ship) if you don't have another launch queued. So if you anticipate needing more than 1 nuke from that sub, have a second nuke ordered (and then cancel it).

Lastly, as soon as your sub launches, expect bombers to approach to launch their own nukes at the general sub launch location. Depending on your concern with the airspace, you may want to dive after the first nuke launch. Other subs in the ready position can fire with limited risk if they haven't already launched and given their positions away. So in a sense, you leap-frog your subs, firing once and changing positions.

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