Navy

[Punicus]

I don't focus too much on navies unless I need to make a long trip with an extremely important army to foreign lands for invasion (IE: attacking as the Seleucids on a trip to Greece or Rome).

carthage needs strong navy also but other nations can live long tome without having the need for a navy .. it is needed only if you want to attack islands ..

As Carthage, I feel that having several large navies is a waste as the waters around Carthage are infested with Romans, Pirates, Spainards and even Gauls, all of whom hate Carthage. The good thing about it is that you can get your men from Africa to Sicily, and from Sicily to Italy, with each trip taking one turn.

[Denzil]

So basically they are used to protect your ports and ship men from island to island?

Denny

[Punicus]

So basically they are used to protect your ports and ship men from island to island?

Denny

Exactly. If you can take care of the Romans early on when they don't have huge navies themselves, there's no need for a big navy. A half stack of decent ships with experience at most does the job for me.

[Quirinus]

Still, once my economy stabilizes, I like to have at least two or three biremes at each port, with a few large navies for combat and long journeys. This is so that I don't have to waste a few turns training up a navy for a short crossing, say, across the Adriatic, or the Hellespont. It's also nice to be able to harass the AI's ships every turn when they are carrying big armies. It's strange-- the AIs don't seem to have a sense of danger about these things. A common sight is a full stack army in a fleet of two, or even one bireme(s). More than once, I even saw a faction heir or faction leader in the aforementioned army.

I have a slightly off-topic question-- if an army is being transported across water when its faction's last city is taken, what happens to the army inside? I know that the fleet turns into pirates, but what about the army it's transporting? Does it turn rebel? If so, does it ever disembark, or does it sit in the ships until they are sunk? What of family members?

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

I have a slightly off-topic question-- if an army is being transported across water when its faction's last city is taken, what happens to the army inside? I know that the fleet turns into pirates, but what about the army it's transporting? Does it turn rebel? If so, does it ever disembark, or does it sit in the ships until they are sunk? What of family members?

I believe that everything, from family members to fleets to men in transportation, turns rebel. I do remember coming across an ex-Scipii fleet after I had destroyed them containing a few of their old troops. I don't think they disembark, however, since the fleet in question was just acting like a normal bunch of pirates - irritatingly performing blockades and sinking the ships of factions in its line of site.

[Good Ship Chuckle]

As far as navies go, I either go all out and have a massive armada that's the strongest in the sea. Or I have a couple dingies to perform transportation tasks. All or nothin for me.