Merchants in Shipping Box, Commerce steamer only or any transport ships?

[LoupVert]

Hi community,

the manual tells us that "If there are less than 25 merchant shipping elements in the Atlantic Shipping Box", it's bad.

But what exactly is a "merchant shipping element"? Commerce steamer only or any kind of transport ship, eg. Liners and troopship?

[Kensai]

Anything that has the merchant ship ability. It will be shown as a small round icon.

[LoupVert]

Got it, thank you Kensai.

Like a minute after I wrote my question, I suddenly realized that the rule was about 25 elements, not 25 units, a true enlightenment as I was struggling to have 25 units in both boxes while shipping my troops around.

[Kensai]

It is kind of even more convoluted like that, actually. Indeed what you need is elements, but elements as the game implies them (let's call them subunits). Because if you go on and click on an element of a merchant ship, you will be scratching your head: it is made of 3 ships!

Thus, the units in the Atlantic and Mediterranean blockades are made of elements (subunits) and each element of ships. Fortunately, most other classes of ships are unique elements. In some rare instances a single ship portayed as a single element will be a unique unit. Look at the Antilles Fleet of the French for an example.

[Merlin]

Or a bit more forthrightly, you need 25 elements. So any unit with sufficient transport capacity will do. The requirement is 25 elements (the individual ships listed on the right when you click on the unit), so you need 25 of those. Not 25 units, but 25 elements total within those units.

[Altaris]

Merlin is correct, usually merchant marine units have 4 elements in them, so 6 units will cover you, though losses will quickly dip it down. Once you get below 25 elements, the chances start increasing of getting the Great Britain Rebel alignment penalty each turn.

[DrPostman]

Merlin is correct, usually merchant marine units have 4 elements in them, so 6 units will cover you, though losses will quickly dip it down. Once you get below 25 elements, the chances start increasing of getting the Great Britain Rebel alignment penalty each turn.

And it doesn't hurt to start building the occasionally merchant for the
WE. That way you have them when you start feeling losses.