View Full Version : How do you find naval battles after Patch 15?
Seyavash
09-06-2014, 15:49
I decided to try an HaG campaign with patch 15 and the naval tweaks definitely have made a difference. I can no longer simply apply the strategy of using javelin ships as screen while artillery sits back and takes out all of the the enemy ships. It still works to an extent but I end up losing some artillery or have to actually ram ships. It could still be improved, but the changes may actually mean that the assault ships may finally be useful. Are you guys noticing the need for a more balanced/strategic approach to naval combat?
I think I will still try to stay out of the water where possible.
Hooahguy
09-06-2014, 19:15
Yup, I have yet to play a naval battle in a campaign.
Well I've only really played naval battles a bit after live & more recently in my Odrysian campaign.
I think original balance is well known with transports being grossly OP.
The recent battles I found my Medium Raiders were easily able to defeat enemy transports by ramming, generally 2 rams to sink from Mediums, sometimes only 1.
Heavy Raiders easy do a 1 ram kill & have Thracian Nobles on the off chance of getting boarded.
Most of my battles were not much more than frontal ramfests with generally massive enemy losses & minimal friendly losses unless I was significantly outnumbered.
Combat has been horrifically fast -> I have played most of those battles on slo-mo with occasional pauses to check situation & deliver orders.
I believe new combat has much slower ship movement so I may be able to actually use normal speed.
Hooahguy
09-07-2014, 04:33
They also apparently really reduced the amount of damage transport ships do it ramming so that should be interesting to see.
I am not sure, I just never liked naval battles since they came up with them. I felt in E and NTW, they were confusing, in S2 they felt really arcady and generally bad, in FotS they were less confusing and very straight forward.. pretty damn repetetive though. In R2, we're back to confusing and generally a pain to micromanage personally.
I really wish they would give us a tick box in the beginning of a campaign to let us set naval battles to happen or to be 100% AR all the time, like in R1 and M2.
Oh yeah, how do I cope with naval battles? I don't. I either avoid doing them entirely or when I have to use ships, I do it so late in the game that I can just build stacks that will win every AR.
Slower ship speed should help a lot though.
I think the high speed & high ramming lethality has made them too quick.
Of course, the down side will be boring long approaches to combat...
artillery ships are way less efficient in destroying the opposition now.
None of what they could change is going to change my opinion. I just don't want to have to fight them or have anything to do with them ^^
al Roumi
09-08-2014, 11:44
None of what they could change is going to change my opinion. I just don't want to have to fight them or have anything to do with them ^^
Sadly, that's just not realistic is it. You have to use navies in a Rome campaign, at least from the start again the Etruscans and then Carthaginians. Nerfing transports (which on paper sounds the right thing to do) means you really have to have an escort fleet in order to take the islands and make your landings in Africa. I don't think the long way round through Iberia (from Rome, not starting in Iberia as Hannibal did) has ever been a practical alternative.
They really ahd better impriove naval battles or they are in effect forcing a chore on players.
Sadly, that's just not realistic is it. You have to use navies in a Rome campaign, at least from the start again the Etruscans and then Carthaginians. Nerfing transports (which on paper sounds the right thing to do) means you really have to have an escort fleet in order to take the islands and make your landings in Africa. I don't think the long way round through Iberia (from Rome, not starting in Iberia as Hannibal did) has ever been a practical alternative.
They really ahd better impriove naval battles or they are in effect forcing a chore on players.
Meh, just leave the Etruscans on their little island. I've never had a problem with sending transports over there either yet. They never built a navy to stop me yet.
As for the war against Carthage, yes, I take (or took in my last campaign) the land route. Syracuse was my ally though and I didn't particularly want to backstab them while the rest of everything that was even remotely Greek loved them. I also got an alliance with the Arveni because they were at war with someone in Cisalpina, so that kept them off my back while I rampaged through Spain.
In this campaign here, I built 3 navies, so I could get the requirement for naval units maintained at the end: https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?147849-Finally-managed-an-economic-victory
Artillery boats are interesting for invasions now since ballistas are harder to come by (civilized nations can build the workshop in capitals only and there are better choices for those building slots). For example, I used naval artillery (+ an invasion army) to capture Carthago.
Maneuvering in naval battles seems easier with patch 15 beta.
Ethelred Unread
09-15-2014, 20:09
Still don't like the fact that after ramming my ships won't reverse oars so they can go in again.
Or am I missing something?
Artillery boats are interesting for invasions now since ballistas are harder to come by (civilized nations can build the workshop in capitals only and there are better choices for those building slots). For example, I used naval artillery (+ an invasion army) to capture Carthago.
Really? Barbarians can build them in every little town now. Or at least the Germans can.
Really? Barbarians can build them in every little town now. Or at least the Germans can.
Yup, Barbarians can; civilized nations can build artillery only in the capitals though. This might change tomorrow though ;)
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