Losing convoys - cannot tell where. Help please.

[AOW]

I have 2000+ hours in HOI4 but find myself stumped. I am losing a ton of convoys and cannot tell where. The little "sunk convoy" icons only show me enemy convoys sunk. So, how can I tell what sea zone(s) is the one I need to avoid?
Also, how do I re-route a convoy? I thought this was now possible but have not found the mechanism in the interface.
And ... Is it possible to block a port from being used for supply? I would like to NOT use one particular port that I suspect maybe allowing enemy air to decimate my convoys.
Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Harin]

I have 2000+ hours in HOI4 but find myself stumped. I am losing a ton of convoys and cannot tell where. The little "sunk convoy" icons only show me enemy convoys sunk. So, how can I tell what sea zone(s) is the one I need to avoid?
Also, how do I re-route a convoy? I thought this was now possible but have not found the mechanism in the interface.
And ... Is it possible to block a port from being used for supply? I would like to NOT use one particular port that I suspect maybe allowing enemy air to decimate my convoys.
Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.

I do not know off the top of my head the best way to tell where your convoys are sinking. I usually leave the icons in the sea zones so I can see where my naval losses are accumulating.

You can re-route convoys. Hit F2, to open the naval map mode. Click on a sea zone and you will notice a window pop up in the lower left of your screen. At the bottom of that window is a green, yellow, and red button. The red button will make convoys and warships avoid that sea zone. Do that enough and you can create shipping lanes for your convoys so they bypass dangerous areas and make it easier for you to escort them. Using this same tool, will stop supplies going to a port, by using the red button for the sea zone outside the port.

 

[Mister Analyst]

@AOW

Below is a screenshot to add to Harin's explanation. It shows that the Eastern North Sea has been selected. You can see that the "Blocked" button in the lower left corner has also been activated. The upper right corner of the screen shows an "alert" that the Eastern North Sea has been blocked. Hovering the mouse pointer over the "alert" reveals a helpful tooltip.

The HOI4 wiki Naval access level gives the following explanation:
Naval access level

Available only with the Man the Guns DLC enabled.

When strategic region containing water provinces is selected, the access level of that region can be manually configured by the player.

These access levels only apply to the player's own ships, and are applicable to convoys in addition to warships.

Access level	Effect
Allowed	All ships can enter this region.
Avoid	All ships will avoid this region if possible, unless there is no other way to reach their destination.
Blocked	Convoys will always avoid this region. Warships will avoid this region if possible, unless there is no other way to reach their destination.

At the start of the game, all such regions are initialised to the Allowed access level.

 

[AOW]

I do not know off the top of my head the best way to tell where your convoys are sinking. I usually leave the icons in the sea zones so I can see where my naval losses are accumulating.

You can re-route convoys. Hit F2, to open the naval map mode. Click on a sea zone and you will notice a window pop up in the lower left of your screen. At the bottom of that window is a green, yellow, and red button. The red button will make convoys and warships avoid that sea zone. Do that enough and you can create shipping lanes for your convoys so they bypass dangerous areas and make it easier for you to escort them. Using this same tool, will stop supplies going to a port, by using the red button for the sea zone outside the port.

Thank you! That should do the trick.

 

[AOW]

@AOW

Below is a screenshot to add to Harin's explanation. It shows that the Eastern North Sea has been selected. You can see that the "Blocked" button in the lower left corner has also been activated. The upper right corner of the screen shows an "alert" that the Eastern North Sea has been blocked. Hovering the mouse pointer over the "alert" reveals a helpful tooltip.

View attachment 659734

The HOI4 wiki Naval access level gives the following explanation:
Naval access level

Available only with the Man the Guns DLC enabled.

When strategic region containing water provinces is selected, the access level of that region can be manually configured by the player.

These access levels only apply to the player's own ships, and are applicable to convoys in addition to warships.

Access level	Effect
Allowed	All ships can enter this region.
Avoid	All ships will avoid this region if possible, unless there is no other way to reach their destination.
Blocked	Convoys will always avoid this region. Warships will avoid this region if possible, unless there is no other way to reach their destination.

At the start of the game, all such regions are initialised to the Allowed access level.

What a great visual. Thank you for taking the time!! This will help A LOT. Cheers.

 

[AOW]

So the adjustments to the convoy routing did help, but I am still losing way too many convoys AND the game will not tell me where. I have attached a save file so some of you kind readers might try to see what I am missing. My suspicion is that enemy naval bombers are sinking my convoys and the game is not reporting it OR, my naval bombers are sinking my convoys in error ( a bug perhaps?). I tested that by grounding my naval bombers, letting the game run and low and behold my convoy losses did decrease and I was positive in convoys for the first time in a while. The only thing is that the convoy numbers did not keep climbing so something else may have been going on. If you are so inclined, please check out the save game below and see if you can spot the black hole my convoys seem to be running into.

 

[AOW]

I realize this isn't an easy question .... just hoping for some more visibility for the thread.

 

[HugsAndSnuggles]

And what makes you think you're losing any?

That's 41 convoy in the last year (none during last month), and another 92 over 10 years of warfare - barely anything.

 

[goodcigar]

That why I ask for Convoy mapmode.

 

[AOW]

And what makes you think you're losing any?
View attachment 660844View attachment 660845
That's 41 convoy in the last year (none during last month), and another 92 over 10 years of warfare - barely anything.

Thank you for showing me the naval losses screen. I had forgotten about that, but you are assuming those numbers are recorded correctly. The reporting system might be buggy. To answer your question, I have 45 dockyards churning out convoys and have been under water (heh heh) on convoys for a year or so game time. I have never had this much trouble keeping my convoys intact. By this point in the game I usually have a 2-3k surplus.

 

[Harin]

Thank you for showing me the naval losses screen. I had forgotten about that, but you are assuming those numbers are recorded correctly. The reporting system might be buggy. To answer your question, I have 45 dockyards churning out convoys and have been under water (heh heh) on convoys for a year or so game time. I have never had this much trouble keeping my convoys intact. By this point in the game I usually have a 2-3k surplus.

I know this is a stretch, but could your convoys be getting used up for resources and other uses? With your convoy losses so low, maybe your convoys are just busy instead of sunk.

 

[AOW]

I know this is a stretch, but could your convoys be getting used up for resources and other uses? With your convoy losses so low, maybe your convoys are just busy instead of sunk.

Nota bad idea ... but then why don't I have an ever growing surplus of convoys? I have 45 dockyards working on convoys and I am barely maintaining my necessary numbers of convoys. Actually I am somewhat negative. One thing I did, just for fun, .... I stopped all of my naval bomber missions and after a month or so I had a small surplus of convoys. I am not sure, but it seemed like my convoys were getting sunk by friendly fire while the game was not reporting the losses.

 

[desphorin]

Are you sure it is not because you've been sending 4600+ convoys to the DEI in the last 4 years?

 

[Evethor]

"friendly fire"
This is not simulated in the game.

 

[Sbrubbles]

Are you sure it is not because you've been sending 4600+ convoys to the DEI in the last 4 years?

View attachment 661136

I guess it's time to invade and get them all back

 

[AOW]

Are you sure it is not because you've been sending 4600+ convoys to the DEI in the last 4 years?

View attachment 661136

That just might be it!! It was supposed to be a 1 time thing, not monthly!!

 

[Harin]

That just might be it!! It was supposed to be a 1 time thing, not monthly!!

I am so glad you made your thread! It is refreshing to see that I am not the only one who has things like this happen in their game. There is so much going on in the game with very little feedback after that first click, that I can see myself doing what you did. I probably have done it and never noticed.

 

[CrasherZZ]

That just might be it!! It was supposed to be a 1 time thing, not monthly!!

Can you see what the DEI has in their equipment stockpiles? Just curious...

 

[AOW]

Can you see what the DEI has in their equipment stockpiles? Just curious...

It did not occur to me to check their equipment, and I do not think I know how anyways I have never tried such a thing.

 

[AOW]

I am so glad you made your thread! It is refreshing to see that I am not the only one who has things like this happen in their game. There is so much going on in the game with very little feedback after that first click, that I can see myself doing what you did. I probably have done it and never noticed.

Thank you! Indeed, always things to learn with this game. At least I learned more about convoys and other naval info. ... I still feel like it was a foolish mistake ... c'est la vie