Tip: Sea transport relay chain

[Maltz]

I guess most people already know this... just in case. If you played Mass Effect, this is the exact same thing on a smaller scale.

We all know that shipping units from the sea is faster than having them walking on land. But there is a little exploit on sea transport, too. When you merge two navy fleets (A and B), you can double the travel distance of the transported army.

How

(1) Army to be transported boards fleet A.
(2) Fleet A merges with fleet B. Position fleet B within fleet A's range. DO NOT let fleet A use up all its movement while merging with fleet B. Save just a little bit of movement.
(3) Manually moves fleet A away from the merge fleet (so you need just a little of movement left on fleet A). The army transported by fleet A is now left on fleet B, which has full movement.
(4) Extend the chain further if longer travel distance is desired.

Practial Uses

(1) Transport fresh elite troops or a new general from the production base to the front line quickly.
(2) Relocate a powerful army to a new front line.

Concerns

(1) Each relay costs at least 50 koku upkeep.
(2) Can be easily disrupted by enemies/pirates.

[Monk]

Hello Maltz Good to see you posting again.

I believe this tip was discovered earlier on when the game was new, but after the holiday sales (especially those that ran in October and December) i'd wager a lot more people are new to the game and combing the internet for good strategies. Good to have this information reposted regardless.

[Maltz]

Yes it has been a long time. I am still having this RTW profile picture! :D I missed Empire and Napoleon (played MTW2 and the expansion though). Shogun 2 is so fun.