Playing my first campaign....quick questions

[leadhitter]

Started my first campaign 5 days after purchase and I think I've got the allies on the run at Guadalcanal. Chased the Enterprise down north of Espirirtu Santo and sunk her but got a little too extened and both of my fleet carriers are a bit dinged. Don't have my laptop with me (which contains the game), so I'm plotting my strategies here at work (I'm sure I'm not the first).

My questions are: Is there a minimum size port to make ship repairs or is there a restriction? My ASW ships make constant enemy sub sightings and depth charge the hell out of them, but never sink anything. Are there some nuances I'm missing?

Thanks for the help....and God bless my beleagured troops holding out at Tassafronga.[:)]

Parker in Baton Rouge

[tsimmonds]

For repairs, bigger is better. For a ship with a high durability like a CV, you need to go to Truk. ARs at the port help, as do Naval HQs.

IJN ASW is pitiful. IJN MSWs are miserable at ASW. Look at the ship's experience, need 60+. A good leader for the ASW TF may help too. But don't figure on having much success as IJN doing sub hunting in 1942.

[Terminus]

No minimum port size to make repairs, but if you don't have a repair yard there, then the repairs will only be what the crew (or any repair ship present) can perform themselves.

As for ASW, you'll be dropping hundreds and hundreds of depth charges for every sunk submarine. Keep at it.

[Terminus]

13 seconds! Darn you, nefarious hell-hound![:D]

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: leadhitter

Started my first campaign 5 days after purchase and I think I've got the allies on the run at Guadalcanal. Chased the Enterprise down north of Espirirtu Santo and sunk her but got a little too extened and both of my fleet carriers are a bit dinged. Don't have my laptop with me (which contains the game), so I'm plotting my strategies here at work (I'm sure I'm not the first).

My questions are: Is there a minimum size port to make ship repairs or is there a restriction? My ASW ships make constant enemy sub sightings and depth charge the hell out of them, but never sink anything. Are there some nuances I'm missing?

Thanks for the help....and God bless my beleagured troops holding out at Tassafronga.[:)]

Parker in Baton Rouge

Sounds like you're playing the Japanese side (since you were "chasing" the Enterprise). As to your questions:

(1) Ship Damage Repair: Ships can (and Allied ones sometimes do) repair even at sea. This being said, the larger the port the better, as far as repair. Adding in AR, AD, AS will help for All-Ships, Destroyers, Subs as indicated by the type. Also Naval HQs, like 4th Fleet HQ or Combined Fleet HQ will help. And finally, "repair yards" will help by contributing "repair points" to the process.

(2) Best way to fight subs seems to be to get air cover (there are debates about whether Naval Search or ASW mission is best, I use Naval Search) over the operating area of the submarines and then send in ASW TFs with about 5 escorts each under a good leader. Maintaining this type of stance against submarines operating near your ports will create a hazardous environment. A human player will eventually back off. The AI will not and will continue sending subs in to their doom. Once your patrol (or bomber squadrons) get up into the 80s on EXP they will start to get "hits" on the subs during the seach phase. It is possible to get a lot of non-critical hits. But 2-3 "real" hits will usually sink a sub, even if only while in route for home port.