Contemplating my naval

[King Kurt]

In the near future I anticipate getting into a bit of a naval scrap with the English with my widespread Sicilian fleet. It is mostly dromans but I have just started building gungalleys. I am thinking of using a gungalley with 2 dromans as a killer fleet, but will this work?? I think the English fleets are not hi-tech, just run of the mill boats.

All contributions welcomed

[Vladimir]

Split your fleet into fast and slow like normal and don't attack if you have less than 2 to 1 odds in your favor; 3-1 is better. Stars are very important in naval combat so pay attention to those. Hopefully your trade routes are guarded by fast ships. If they're faster than the enemy, keep moving them around to keep them alive and the seas choked up.

That and damn the bloody English fleet ! I always have a problem with those guys.

[macsen rufus]

Note that sometimes in coastal waters, small (coastal) boats seem to trump big (deep sea) ones (or I just have a lot of bad luck ) Straits of Gibraltar and the Adriatic seem particularly bad for this. In one recent battle (as English, attacking Spanish fleet) I lost a 4* barque to a 0* barque, then lost 2 barques and 2 caravels to the same one (which had gained a star from the previous battle!) This was in the dreaded SoG. So beware

[caravel]

Note that sometimes in coastal waters, small (coastal) boats seem to trump big (deep sea) ones (or I just have a lot of bad luck ) Straits of Gibraltar and the Adriatic seem particularly bad for this. In one recent battle (as English, attacking Spanish fleet) I lost a 4* barque to a 0* barque, then lost 2 barques and 2 caravels to the same one (which had gained a star from the previous battle!) This was in the dreaded SoG. So beware

It's random, sometimes the AI decides to give you a good hiding and you lose stacks of ships. I've often lost a stack of six Caravels with the lead ship at say valour (command) 4 against one or two low valour Dromons. Ships seem to work like a stack of agents, though as a stack working independently, and their success must be based on the infamous "seed number". That is, they have a success/failure percentage modified by their valour level, as well as the defense and attack values, the speed just determines if they can escape from another ship if they move to another sea zone, and if they can catch a ship that is escaping to another sea zone.

[Sensei Warrior]

Unfortunately the sea battles seem very random. The method I use is:

1. Grouping boats together by speed. A stack is only as fast as its slowest ship.

2. I attack when odds are in your favor 2 or 3-1.

I seem to have better luck when hitting a stack with multiple stacks. So if I am attacking a 2 ship stack, I will use as many 4-6 ship stacks as I can. This might be difficult if you don't have alot of ships, but I tend to churn ships out like mad.

I also keep a general strategy of having at least 2 to 3 times the amount of ships as the most powerful naval AI faction. I also have the tendancy to keep large stacks of ships near my ship-production provences as a reserve.

Another thing I do, is any coastal provence that I own, that isn't a unit producing provence, I make into ship producing provences to guarantee I will have the ability to replenish ships as quickly as possible, in case of naval catastrophe.

[gaijinalways]

Sounds like a super navy. I tend to build up slower, as some provinces double as ship builders and troop builders. I am currently building more shipyards though, as i want to flood the waters for trade and a possible take over of the Italians later in my current English campaign.