So, I absolutely love this game. With an ungodly amount of hours invested into it, that I would rather keep to myself, I still have not figured out how to properly strategically handle any nations naval operations efficiently, predictably, and effectively. I have of course been able to dominate the Mediterranean as Italy, and conquer the Pacific as Japan, but not once have I figured out how to effectively invest in a navy as a less naval focused nation. These nations including Germany, Greece, Turkey, Spain and the like. I think my problem arises from a failure to truly understand the purpose of each ship type, and the roles they play to support and decisively win a naval victory. Of course you can throw a ton of land based naval bombers, (which is pretty much how I win the Mediterranean as Italy) but that doesn't really mean you know what you are doing with your navies does it?
Here is what I understand so far,
1. Detection is KEY.
2. Screening your larger ships is an absolute must.
3. Organizing your navies into smaller more manageable task forces is good practice to counter the penalties associated with larger fleets, as well as allowing more smaller groups to be deployed while others are repairing.
4. Naval bombers are incredibly powerful, (Carrier and Land based alike).
5. Torpedoes are always a good investment
Here is what I can't quite get a grasp of
1. How to organize your task forces effectively.
-For example, I usually make a striking task force as Italy consisting of 2CV (Light Carrier escort types) 2BB 6CL 16DD. This seems to do well, but I am certain it is a terrible task force composition.
-How do you set up a patrol group? I usually just use 3 modern DD with radar and hydrophones equipped and set them to never engage. I don't think this is a good design either, I just don't get how to effectively create a "Recon" group.
2. What are the point of Heavy Cruisers????????????? I seriously do not understand why they are useful at all. They are expensive, slow, fairly fragile, and pale in comparison to a Battlecruiser. I must be missing something. I suppose they are good for shore bombardment? Many nations such as Japan Germany Italy and the like start with many of them as well as BB. What do you use the heavy cruisers for?
3. What is a good shore bombardment task force composition? Why would you design it as such?
4. How to effectively screen a task force. What is a good ratio and why for DD to Heavy ships such as CV and BB or BC.
Pretty much what I am looking for is not a spreadsheet of "make this task force like this". I am trying to understand the mechanics associated with navies so I can properly assess a situation and create a suitable task force on the fly. I am aware of detection, light and heavy attack, visibility and many of the stats but I do not understand how to properly assess those values to create a good task force.
For example, in land combat if I was playing a minor country who is being targeted early by a major I would focus my efforts on men, guns and artillery. I would look to create a division with high soft attack and organization complimented with a defensive general to make up for the lack of engineers early on, gradually incorporating engineers as my industry permits. Dependent on the on the enemies aerial capabilities I may invest in AA over engineers. After inevitably giving up some land for time, hopefully at a great cost to the aggressor, and holding fallback lines situated on favorable terrain that hurt armoured units badly, I would reassess the situation and look for weak points in the enemies front. Hopefully using my home field advantage to breakthrough with a cheap self propelled artillery division and create small encirclements over time.
If I was playing a nation that will become an early aggressor such as Greece, Turkey or Italy, I would focus my efforts on creating a few powerful 40W armoured divisions dependent on my industrial capacity early on. Punching through openings early to blitz and capitulate other minor powers, taking advantage of their industry to create the fodder divisions I so desperately need later. I would create an airforce to hold one or two strategic air regions in green air and continue to move the airforce forward with the advancing armies due to an inevitable lack of planes to hold more than one or two regions at a time.
With naval warfare I cannot figure out for the life of me how to create ANY effective navy as a minor (I am not talking about submarines here) until the game might as well be finished. There must be away to play as Greece, form Byzantium circa 1939 and go on to create a formidable navy circa 1940, that you have already started building circa 1937. How do you all do it? What counters what, what stats are not to important in naval warfare similar to recon in land warfare at the moment? How do you manage a major naval powers ships in the first place, such as Italy or Japan? Do you upgrade your designs, are focus on building newer ships from the get-go. (I usually go the upgrade route because it seems cheap and effective).
Thanks for your help, hopefully I don't sound like too much of an idiot to all you naval veterans. But yah, WTF are the point of heavy cruisers??
PS: This is mostly targeted against the AI. I do not think I am ready for naval PVP warfare yet whatsoever and I am sure the strategy will change immensely, as it does with land warfare.
Here is what I understand so far,
1. Detection is KEY.
2. Screening your larger ships is an absolute must.
3. Organizing your navies into smaller more manageable task forces is good practice to counter the penalties associated with larger fleets, as well as allowing more smaller groups to be deployed while others are repairing.
4. Naval bombers are incredibly powerful, (Carrier and Land based alike).
5. Torpedoes are always a good investment
Here is what I can't quite get a grasp of
1. How to organize your task forces effectively.
-For example, I usually make a striking task force as Italy consisting of 2CV (Light Carrier escort types) 2BB 6CL 16DD. This seems to do well, but I am certain it is a terrible task force composition.
-How do you set up a patrol group? I usually just use 3 modern DD with radar and hydrophones equipped and set them to never engage. I don't think this is a good design either, I just don't get how to effectively create a "Recon" group.
2. What are the point of Heavy Cruisers????????????? I seriously do not understand why they are useful at all. They are expensive, slow, fairly fragile, and pale in comparison to a Battlecruiser. I must be missing something. I suppose they are good for shore bombardment? Many nations such as Japan Germany Italy and the like start with many of them as well as BB. What do you use the heavy cruisers for?
3. What is a good shore bombardment task force composition? Why would you design it as such?
4. How to effectively screen a task force. What is a good ratio and why for DD to Heavy ships such as CV and BB or BC.
Pretty much what I am looking for is not a spreadsheet of "make this task force like this". I am trying to understand the mechanics associated with navies so I can properly assess a situation and create a suitable task force on the fly. I am aware of detection, light and heavy attack, visibility and many of the stats but I do not understand how to properly assess those values to create a good task force.
For example, in land combat if I was playing a minor country who is being targeted early by a major I would focus my efforts on men, guns and artillery. I would look to create a division with high soft attack and organization complimented with a defensive general to make up for the lack of engineers early on, gradually incorporating engineers as my industry permits. Dependent on the on the enemies aerial capabilities I may invest in AA over engineers. After inevitably giving up some land for time, hopefully at a great cost to the aggressor, and holding fallback lines situated on favorable terrain that hurt armoured units badly, I would reassess the situation and look for weak points in the enemies front. Hopefully using my home field advantage to breakthrough with a cheap self propelled artillery division and create small encirclements over time.
If I was playing a nation that will become an early aggressor such as Greece, Turkey or Italy, I would focus my efforts on creating a few powerful 40W armoured divisions dependent on my industrial capacity early on. Punching through openings early to blitz and capitulate other minor powers, taking advantage of their industry to create the fodder divisions I so desperately need later. I would create an airforce to hold one or two strategic air regions in green air and continue to move the airforce forward with the advancing armies due to an inevitable lack of planes to hold more than one or two regions at a time.
With naval warfare I cannot figure out for the life of me how to create ANY effective navy as a minor (I am not talking about submarines here) until the game might as well be finished. There must be away to play as Greece, form Byzantium circa 1939 and go on to create a formidable navy circa 1940, that you have already started building circa 1937. How do you all do it? What counters what, what stats are not to important in naval warfare similar to recon in land warfare at the moment? How do you manage a major naval powers ships in the first place, such as Italy or Japan? Do you upgrade your designs, are focus on building newer ships from the get-go. (I usually go the upgrade route because it seems cheap and effective).
Thanks for your help, hopefully I don't sound like too much of an idiot to all you naval veterans. But yah, WTF are the point of heavy cruisers??
PS: This is mostly targeted against the AI. I do not think I am ready for naval PVP warfare yet whatsoever and I am sure the strategy will change immensely, as it does with land warfare.
