questions about naval nuking?

[world idiot]

My enemy doesnt always know the distribution of my forces, which ocean, etc.

At Defcon 1? If your enemy has no intel on you (there was no naval encounter) you dont have to worry about a naval nuking attack.
If there was a naval fight before, your enemy should know whats up against him/her.
If not you dealing with a noob. And those dont naval nuke.

If you play a "cat and mouse" naval game, one which lures the opponent towards you, as opposed to chasing the opponent down, then the enemy might not have that much intel on you. And then they carpet bomb you

[trickser]

I often get half my navy blown up in the 1st naval nuke wave, beause i like to sail forward, instead of retreating. May seem stupid, but this way i can kill alot of bombers and have good radar for my own nukes.

[Nightwatch]

Maybe, maybe not. It really doesn't matter if the nuke is ineffective in hitting ships and/or disrupting your plans.

Yes, but most of the time you have to change course.

Exactly. He knows how many forces you have to begin with, but he doesn't know where those forces are or how much strength you have in each location, in most cases. Even if he encounters you at Defcon 3, he should be guessing as to the exact strength of your navy.

Plan and simple: If there isnt enough intel to locate your navy in lets say 3 to 2 grid points there wont be a carpet bomb attack.
No need to do anything with your fighters at this point.

[Why?]

Great advice in this thread.

To figure out where a nuke is going to land, try watching the arc trail. Mid to long-range arcs have a noticeable mid-way point(peak), and the 2nd half is a mirror of the first. Short-range nukes are pretty easy to see(except in the arctic), b/c they take a sharp angle. They're the most dangerous! Longer arcs are easier to dodge...

After a while you just get a feel for it. Launching and dodging..

Against most players, moving towards the nuke works well, but good players will start adjusting their aim if you do it a lot.

Moving directly away is usually the worst option, but some times it works. You can also try side-stepping it, or stopping, if you're moving. Or if you're stopped, start moving.


Like Ace said, you've gotta conserve your resources. Taking and protecting bombers is a key to the game. Fighters are renewable, but you've gotta be conservative with the ones on your carriers, or you'll have to reload early, and that can spell disaster.

[sfericz]

Moving directly away is usually the worst option, but some times it works. You can also try side-stepping it, or stopping, if you're moving. Or if you're stopped, start moving.

I usually always start moving towards the enemy bomber that launched the nuke (If I wasn't moving before)

Or if I see enemies fleet, I will start moving in their direction.

Well, since I said that, I probably won't be doing those things now.

[tllotpfkamvpe]

.

[iRadiated]

Moving directly away is actually the best option cause it gives you more time to dodge the nuke and protects you from further nukes.

not sure I agree.
If the nuke is going to land behind you then moving directly away is the worst thing to do.

you absolutely have to make a best guess as to where the nuke will land before instructing your fleet to move (or not move).

When I nuke I try to drop one behind the fleet position, one in front and one to land directly on the current position.
I generally only sea-nuke when I see a cluster of ships but sometimes if a bomber is on its way to a city and it flies over even a single ship I'll drop the nuke early right on top of the ship.

Guys talking about naval nuking only being effective at defcon 1 are wrong in my humble opinion.
I find sea-nuking a group of subs during the end game when they launch to be pretty effective and for this reason I often fly a couple of bombers on patrol. One not armed to give best radar coverage and one right behind ready to drop a nuke. At that point I've usually lost my fleet and this is the only option left to me.

I also don't mind throwing lots of nukes in the sea because I'm pretty useless at using my bombers to attack ships. Every time I try, I lose the bombers so I figure I may as well arm them ready to drop their nukes when they are discovered. Use 'em or lose 'em is my thinking.

This works against many players but not the likes of Ace/Mike/Why/Mor etc

[Why?]

Moving directly away is actually the best option cause it gives you more time to dodge the nuke and protects you from further nukes.

This is true, especially when bombers are launching to their outer ranges. However, if they can see the ships, or catch the ships off guard, in the last half of the arc... the nuker prolly aimed for you running away, once you noticed. Depends on the arc and the situation, but you get a feel for it. just need practice.