heavy or light?

**Hooahguy** · 03-09-2009, 16:56

im about to begin building my navy.
but idk whether to build light, small and fast ships or heavy, big and slow ships.
opinions?

**Sheogorath** · 03-09-2009, 16:59

Generally, anything below a fourth rate is going to be useless against a proper ship of the line. Historically, though, third-rates were regarded as the 'ideal' balance of firepower and speed, as is mentioned in the game. First rates provide lots of firepower, but have some maneuvering and speed issues.
I'd suggest the bulk of your fleet be third-rates, with a few 2nd or 1st rates for firepower, and some 4th and 5th rates for pursuit and suchlike. Essentially, try to keep things balanced.

**ZIM!!** · 03-09-2009, 17:00

Build the biggest ships you can afford

**Ardri** · 03-09-2009, 19:59

Most of my naval battles break down into masses of ships just drilling one another once the intial battle lines become entangled so I recommend ships that are best able to take a pounding. The larger the navy the more important big ships are as the fleets get really difficult to micro manage from my experience.

**Sheogorath** · 03-09-2009, 20:04

You should also take repair and upkeep into account. 1st rates cost a lot more to repair than 3rd rates, not to mention less build time and expense.

Then again, the other thread mentioned that galleys have lots of firepower. Maybe somebody should try an all-galley fleet vs. some 1st rates and see what happens :P

**Sir Beane** · 03-09-2009, 20:07

Originally Posted by Sheogorath

You should also take repair and upkeep into account. 1st rates cost a lot more to repair than 3rd rates, not to mention less build time and expense.

Then again, the other thread mentioned that galleys have lots of firepower. Maybe somebody should try an all-galley fleet vs. some 1st rates and see what happens :P

The galleys die a horrible, horrible death. They might have a lot of firepower but they seem to be made out of cardboard.

Build third rates, anything bigger is overkill in most battles.

**yankeefan05** · 03-09-2009, 20:08

If your just starting out building a navy, then get some 5th and 6th rates in. As you progress through the century, more powerful ships will become avaliable. Sheogorath's post is a good one; read that for good advice.

**andrewt** · 03-09-2009, 20:30

What about all those admiral versions of first, second rates, etc.? Not to mention carronades, razees and other special ships?

**Sheogorath** · 03-09-2009, 20:36

Originally Posted by andrewt

What about all those admiral versions of first, second rates, etc.? Not to mention carronades, razees and other special ships?

Admiral ships, as far as I can tell, are identical to regular ships, just with a slight bonus to accuracy. not worth the extra cash, IMO. Better spent on more ships. You can build a fifth rate and a light galley for the same price as a fifth rate admiral (I think, I cant check the roster here), then use the galley as a distraction to preserve your big ship.

**Fisherking** · 03-09-2009, 20:37

Galleys don’t do a good job of capturing other ships, though they are cheep.

They might be good to take care of a small fleet if you had 5 or 6 of the little monsters.

They do not fight in line a head but line abreast formation. They could make an ugly death for 2 or 3 ships but I wouldn’t go against 5 or more without a dozen.

**Sir Beane** · 03-09-2009, 20:39

Originally Posted by Sheogorath

Admiral ships, as far as I can tell, are identical to regular ships, just with a slight bonus to accuracy. not worth the extra cash, IMO. Better spent on more ships. You can build a fifth rate and a light galley for the same price as a fifth rate admiral (I think, I cant check the roster here), then use the galley as a distraction to preserve your big ship.

They are exactly the same except they come with an Admiral, hence the name.

Razee's are actually pretty good. They act like super tough frigates, and are both quick and manouverable. They still lose against larger ships however.

Because of the arcade tactics of naval battles the majority of the more 'interesting' ships have been rendered utterly pointless. Not CA's smartest design choice really.