The Barbary Pirates penchant for the Bomb Ketch

[Hosakawa Tito]

I just finished up my Prussian campaign. Has anyone else noticed the dubious Barbary naval strategy of spamming flotillas of mostly Bomb Ketches? Apart from their probability of exploding when struck with a broadside they are ineffective to the point of being useless. I hope this gets fixed because it's no challenge at all.

[Slaists]

I just finished up my Prussian campaign. Has anyone else noticed the dubious Barbary naval strategy of spamming flotillas of mostly Bomb Ketches? Apart from their probability of exploding when struck with a broadside they are ineffective to the point of being useless. I hope this gets fixed because it's no challenge at all.

Hmm. The few times I had to fight them, Barbary pirates were sporting galleys and light galleys.

[Cultured Drizzt fan]

Yes the only thing I have ever seen them have is Light galleys. But that may be that they are pretty much getting owned by Spain.

[Hosakawa Tito]

This was late game, 1770's onward, because I didn't really bother with a navy till I could build 3rd Rates. They did start out with mostly galleys, then it seemed once the ability to build bomb ketches was reached they spammed them. Might just have been a 1 game aberration, but to me, bomb ketches would be more useful at bombarding shore facilities than being used against ships in the open sea. Unless you get too close and they IED you, they are useless.

[Prussian to the Iron]

ive never seen them with that, the only times ive ever had to fight them they were using galleys.

[Chaotix]

Usually they spam Dhows in my Austrian game.

[Fisherking]

I just finished up my Prussian campaign. Has anyone else noticed the dubious Barbary naval strategy of spamming flotillas of mostly Bomb Ketches? Apart from their probability of exploding when struck with a broadside they are ineffective to the point of being useless. I hope this gets fixed because it's no challenge at all.

I have seen it!

The thing is you have to fight every darned battle with them too. The Bomb Ketches have such a large auto resolve stat you dare not punch that button.

As soon as they can upgrade their ports they start spamming those things but they may throw in a 2nd rate with them.

The days of the light galley are over with 1.3 guys!

[Prussian to the Iron]

on a side note, i have found that using 2-3 bomb ketches and rocket ships in a fleet of 10 can be really effective. one time i had a single rocket ship beat a first rate:

a single rocket hit, then exploded and destroyed 20 cannons. then it lit them on fire, and i ran my ass away. after a while, they just burned.

[AussieGiant]

I also experienced that in the late game Hosakawa Tito.

And as FK states, they have great auto resolve stats so you have to fight them and never auto resolve.

A, pain, in, the, ass.

[Fisherking]

Uh! They don’t seem to be the only ones spamming the things. The Mughals now seem to be some sort of naval super stars and they are building them too. I think Poland had one in a couple of different stacks also. I think they are becoming the in thing for the AI at the moment.

As a side note, I am starting to see 3rd rates showing up in AI fleets. I have seen a lot of 4th rates and 2nd rates too but now I am starting to see 3rd rates...hope they don’t start tossing out heavy 1st rates...

[sharkscott2]

As France I've had this exact bomb ketch problem. Every second turn 1 or 2 Bomb Ketches would come to blockade my southern port in france. I had to keep a small group of ships there just to fend them off each year. And yes, fought every battle, most in fast forward. I'd just like to see them adapt their tactic after 3 tries, send different ships, raid somewhere else. I suppose I could have adapted, put my war with Engliand and Austria on hold and sent a few armies to north africia.

[Hermann the Lombard]

I'd just like to see them adapt their tactic after 3 tries, send different ships, raid somewhere else.

Among other adaptations! I get tired of watching them sail into a particular Spanish port, burning it. Then the Spanish send a small stack to chase them off and the Barbary ships pop out. In the same turn the Spanish troops march back where they came from and in their turn the Barbary ships sail back in. Repeat ad nauseum.

In my current game the French sailed two ships into Greenwich and shut down the trade of Great Britain. Those two ships stayed there for at least ten years before the Brits sent a small stack to kick them out, at which point two British ships sailed up and destroyed them. Finally my (Russian) trade with Great Britain was restored after wasting a slot for 20+ turns.

[Didz]

Has anyone else noticed the dubious Barbary naval strategy of spamming flotillas of mostly Bomb Ketches?

Not the Barbary Pirates but I used to get fleets of 10+ bomb ketches from the pirates of the caribean. Its the main reason I chose to remove these stupid vessels from the game, they have no role seing as how the naval battles don't have any land, let alone forts or ports to bombard with them.

[pockettank]

In my current game the French sailed two ships into Greenwich and shut down the trade of Great Britain. Those two ships stayed there for at least ten years before the Brits sent a small stack to kick them out, at which point two British ships sailed up and destroyed them. Finally my (Russian) trade with Great Britain was restored after wasting a slot for 20+ turns.

just a tip, if something like this happens put a navy of yours so the tips of the radius of your ships and the enemys are just barely touching, then move a single ship like a sloop or brig in between, they'll attack that single ship and your others will come in as reinforcements, then destroy the enemy and your allies port reopend.