1. Do fleets in the Shipping Lanes/Blockade boxes need to go back to port to refit or refuel? Or can I leave them out on the ocean for extended periods of time?
2. Is it better to combine individual ships into fleets (even w/o a commander) or should I leave them as single elements?
3. What do the sailor/marine units do that I can recruit?
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Bleedinbob
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1. If you have the blockade box handling in the game options set to normal the units you have out there need to return every so often to restore cohesion and supply. Assigning a few transports to the blockade fleets will allow them to stay out there for nearly a year at a time. If you set blockade box handling to anything else, you ships can sit out there indefinitely, but it reduces their effectiveness by 25-50% depending on the setting you choose.
2. Always, always combine your ships into fleets, even if you don't have an available admiral.
3. Sailors and Marines reduce the amphibious landing and river crossing penalty. I don't assign them to every corps/division because I think that's abusing the system, but I do use Marines for my coastal fort-busting divisions and I do use sailors for fort garrisons.
2. Always, always combine your ships into fleets, even if you don't have an available admiral.
3. Sailors and Marines reduce the amphibious landing and river crossing penalty. I don't assign them to every corps/division because I think that's abusing the system, but I do use Marines for my coastal fort-busting divisions and I do use sailors for fort garrisons.
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Bleedinbob
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- Location: Chicago, USA
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Captain_Orso
- Posts: 5766
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
- Location: Stuttgart, Germany
.... ... ..... ... 
.. .. . ..[SUP]1)[/SUP]
*huh*? Okay, I've never used the "Blockade Box Handling" option, but I think that affects .... wait for it ... wait for it ... the Blockade Box only and not the Shipping Box; but I might be wrong.
What I can say is that I have never, ever, ever sent a ship out of the Shipping Box because it was low on supply, not even patrols like the African Squadron; only when they've lost enough cohesion from fighting and storms.
How you handle your trading fleet(s) in the Shipping Box depends on what the South is doing. If they are not building and sending a lot of raiders into the Shipping Box, you can leave all of your transports and merchantmen in one big fleet-stack without a worry. Just keep an eye on the message under the "Key Messages" that tells you how much money and WSU you are getting each turn from shipping. It also tells you how many raiders have been spotted.
If you see that number going up, see that there is a stack in the Shipping Box with more than a couple of ships in it or start having your shipping fleet attacked --you'll get a report in the battle messages and see bombardment during the turn execution-- then you might want to change your strategy.
Ideally you would want to break your shipping fleet into numerous smaller fleets, each escorted by a frigate squadron. The frigates have the best spotting characteristic and will help your fleets avoid being caught.
Parallel to that you can also take also take a more aggressive approach and send hunter fleets combined of frigates and steam frigates into the Shipping Box; about 2 - 4 of each; having a naval leader can also help.
Send them constantly in and out of the SB. It seems to greatly increase the chance that you will find a raider. Why, I don't know, but it's been my experience.
It is not likely that you will actually sink a raider --I can't remember ever having sunk one in the SB--, but if you catch them you will generally score a lot more hits than they will, which will lower their cohesion, lessen their effectiveness in raiding[SUP]2)[/SUP] and send them back to port that much more quickly.
The biggest issue you will have is where to take all the patrol-ships. It takes 240 day to build a frigate or steam frigate and they're not cheap. You can take them out of the Atlantic Fleet, as long as you are not using it for anything else, like patrolling for ships heading to and from ports --if you catch such, here there is a good chance of sinking them--, or escorting an invasion. But if the CS is investing heavily in raiders, the only thing you can do is also invest.
Also, if Foreign Intervention is getting critical --like over +50-- I would start building up my fleets. France and especially Great Britain have large and powerful fleets that will rape your shipping and totally dominate the seas. Without shipping, no supplies will get transported by sea to coastal forts and harbors that might need to get it from naval shipping and the affects could be devastating, depending on the situation.
1) That's me reading to myself
2) The more effective a raider is, the less money and WSU you will get each turn from shipping.
.. .. . ..[SUP]1)[/SUP]
*huh*? Okay, I've never used the "Blockade Box Handling" option, but I think that affects .... wait for it ... wait for it ... the Blockade Box only and not the Shipping Box; but I might be wrong.
What I can say is that I have never, ever, ever sent a ship out of the Shipping Box because it was low on supply, not even patrols like the African Squadron; only when they've lost enough cohesion from fighting and storms.
How you handle your trading fleet(s) in the Shipping Box depends on what the South is doing. If they are not building and sending a lot of raiders into the Shipping Box, you can leave all of your transports and merchantmen in one big fleet-stack without a worry. Just keep an eye on the message under the "Key Messages" that tells you how much money and WSU you are getting each turn from shipping. It also tells you how many raiders have been spotted.
If you see that number going up, see that there is a stack in the Shipping Box with more than a couple of ships in it or start having your shipping fleet attacked --you'll get a report in the battle messages and see bombardment during the turn execution-- then you might want to change your strategy.
Ideally you would want to break your shipping fleet into numerous smaller fleets, each escorted by a frigate squadron. The frigates have the best spotting characteristic and will help your fleets avoid being caught.
Parallel to that you can also take also take a more aggressive approach and send hunter fleets combined of frigates and steam frigates into the Shipping Box; about 2 - 4 of each; having a naval leader can also help.
Send them constantly in and out of the SB. It seems to greatly increase the chance that you will find a raider. Why, I don't know, but it's been my experience.
It is not likely that you will actually sink a raider --I can't remember ever having sunk one in the SB--, but if you catch them you will generally score a lot more hits than they will, which will lower their cohesion, lessen their effectiveness in raiding[SUP]2)[/SUP] and send them back to port that much more quickly.
The biggest issue you will have is where to take all the patrol-ships. It takes 240 day to build a frigate or steam frigate and they're not cheap. You can take them out of the Atlantic Fleet, as long as you are not using it for anything else, like patrolling for ships heading to and from ports --if you catch such, here there is a good chance of sinking them--, or escorting an invasion. But if the CS is investing heavily in raiders, the only thing you can do is also invest.
Also, if Foreign Intervention is getting critical --like over +50-- I would start building up my fleets. France and especially Great Britain have large and powerful fleets that will rape your shipping and totally dominate the seas. Without shipping, no supplies will get transported by sea to coastal forts and harbors that might need to get it from naval shipping and the affects could be devastating, depending on the situation.
1) That's me reading to myself
2) The more effective a raider is, the less money and WSU you will get each turn from shipping.
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Captain_Orso
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- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
- Location: Stuttgart, Germany
I think it has to do with all the Union "supply ships" floating around there.
I think of the Shipping Box as representing the shipping traveling back and fourth between harbors in the US and Europe and other places. When they are "in harbor" either picking up or delivering goods, they also pick up supplies. And the Union fleets in the SB take on supplies from those ships.
It should work the same for the Confederacy, if they have transports in the SB.
I think of the Shipping Box as representing the shipping traveling back and fourth between harbors in the US and Europe and other places. When they are "in harbor" either picking up or delivering goods, they also pick up supplies. And the Union fleets in the SB take on supplies from those ships.
It should work the same for the Confederacy, if they have transports in the SB.
Captain_Orso wrote:
It should work the same for the Confederacy, if they have transports in the SB.
My last game as the CSA, I had transports in the shipping box, but I didn't get supply.
The game before that, I however did get many supplies form the Shipping box.
Maybe the supply gets blocked if there are a lot of Union fleets?
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Captain_Orso
- Posts: 5766
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
- Location: Stuttgart, Germany
I've just tested that, and you are correct; even with transports in the SB the South gains no Naval Transport capacity 
.
I know I've seen it at one time or another in CW2, so probably it was deemed to be a bug and blocked for the South.
That's too bad --not that it would be important--, but what's good for the goose... is good for
Thanks for the heads-up
.
I know I've seen it at one time or another in CW2, so probably it was deemed to be a bug and blocked for the South.
That's too bad --not that it would be important--, but what's good for the goose... is good for
Thanks for the heads-up
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