EB naval warfare

**iounas** · 05-06-2009, 10:55

Anybody else feel its pointless in having a navy..
Upkeep is too high for what you get. My 3 ports are blocked by 3 of those 3500 upkeep ships.. so my enemy is at a loss.. and due to computer advantage on VH autoresolve I would need 2 of those ships to defend one of my ports so I dont bother as its not cost effective..
Im Carthage and have only 2 smallest ships for transport..

**anubis88** · 05-06-2009, 11:05

Originally Posted by iounas

Anybody else feel its pointless in having a navy..
Upkeep is too high for what you get. My 3 ports are blocked by 3 of those 3500 upkeep ships.. so my enemy is at a loss.. and due to computer advantage on VH autoresolve I would need 2 of those ships to defend one of my ports so I dont bother as its not cost effective..
Im Carthage and have only 2 smallest ships for transport..

I never experienced the AI having an advantage in autocalc naval battles. I seem to win quite a lot of them. If your playing on rtw.exe there is indeed little need to have a navy, but there's a whole other thing when playing with BI.exe.

In my Seleucid campaign right now, i will absolutly need a navy, since KH and the ptoleamaic empire attack me with armys on my undefended areas. It will be cheaper to have a navy then 2 large armies to hold all the invasions.

P.S. If your port is blocked you lose a lot of income, especially with carthage

**athanaric** · 05-06-2009, 12:22

Being a great fan of island empires, I currently use my large Makedonian fleet to sink Carthaginian reinforcement shipments. I've already drowned one Qarthadastim FM

. I've also chased pirates even in the Baltic sea. Oh, and that is with RTW exe.

I think a navy of a certain size is vital if you really want to control the Mediterranean. Besides, as a "civilized" faction you will literally swim in money soon enough. Better use it for navies (Nees Megistai FTW) than let it corrupt your FMs.

**Fluvius Camillus** · 05-06-2009, 12:29

Originally Posted by athanaric

Being a great fan of island empires, I currently use my large Makedonian fleet to sink Carthaginian reinforcement shipments. I've already drowned one Qarthadastim FM

. I've also chased pirates even in the Baltic sea. Oh, and that is with RTW exe.

I think a navy of a certain size is vital if you really want to control the Mediterranean. Besides, as a "civilized" faction you will literally swim in money soon enough. Better use it for navies (Nees Megistai FTW) than let it corrupt your FMs.

Lol I'd rather built one Pentere or one Trieremiolai, good cost/effectivity ratio. Sinks 3 group pirates easily, then retrain. Also handy as transport because you will rarely encounter a force stronger than yours.

**athanaric** · 05-06-2009, 12:45

Originally Posted by Fluvius Camillus

Lol I'd rather built one Pentere or one Trieremiolai, good cost/effectivity ratio. Sinks 3 group pirates easily, then retrain. Also handy as transport because you will rarely encounter a force stronger than yours.

The pirates aren't that much of a problem (It's just that I hate them and pursue them everywhere), but the Ptolies are. They usually build some Nees Megistai, which can pose a real threat to your regular fleets. Although of course the Trieremiolai are the most cost-effective ships (for the Romaioi it's the Covered Liburnes).

**Fluvius Camillus** · 05-06-2009, 13:03

Originally Posted by athanaric

The pirates aren't that much of a problem (It's just that I hate them and pursue them everywhere), but the Ptolies are. They usually build some Nees Megistai, which can pose a real threat to your regular fleets. Although of course the Trieremiolai are the most cost-effective ships (for the Romaioi it's the Covered Liburnes).

Indeed, covered Liburnes really are awesome ships!

**satalexton** · 05-06-2009, 12:50

it's handy to have a strong navy around, it makes troop deployment a LOT faster, and safely.

**/Bean\** · 05-06-2009, 13:32

Originally Posted by iounas

Anybody else feel its pointless in having a navy..

Wasn't that worth opening the thread for?

**Chris1959** · 05-06-2009, 17:31

Also don't retrain fleets when they have suffered losses, at least not in the early game.

A depleted fleet costs a fection to maintain and retraining only takes one season not several for the larger fleets.

Some might say a bit of an exploit, I see it more of ships being in reserve ready for rapid re-commission when actually needed rather than building hulls from scratch.

**anubis88** · 05-06-2009, 20:38

Originally Posted by Chris1959

Also don't retrain fleets when they have suffered losses, at least not in the early game.

A depleted fleet costs a fection to maintain and retraining only takes one season not several for the larger fleets.

Some might say a bit of an exploit, I see it more of ships being in reserve ready for rapid re-commission when actually needed rather than building hulls from scratch.

You confuse me. Don't reatrain fleets or retrain fleets? Which one is your suggestion?

**/Bean\** · 05-06-2009, 21:03

I think he means don't retrain until you need them, because retraining only takes one turn, whereas if you found you needed one and it takes 2, 3 or 4 turns, it can be a bit late.

**Belisarius II** · 05-06-2009, 23:02

Navies are something that you'll start using in the mid-game effectively. Once you hit that certain point in the game where money doesn't matter anymore, you'll start building navies en masse.

I only use navies for 3 things: Guarding my ports, transporting my armies, and destroying enemy/pirate fleets. I usually never blockade an enemy faction's port because I see it pointless since they AI gets a money script in the first place.