ORIGINAL: Pippin
For a while I have been thinking on writing one of those strategic essays for EiA/EiH. At least in regards to the British player. However I guess I can state a few BASICS for now as I don’t know when I’ll get around to it..
The major pieces to master for Britain IMHO is the navy. You have the biggest and the best, so take full advantage of it. Don’t do something stupid like early start trading it away for little gains. Yes , we have all seen those newbies who decided to do those portraids and smash em face on into the port-guns just to eliminate some French pieces. Well great, you’ve lost a big chunk of your navy for someone else’s fleet that certainly was no where near as useful as yours, so what have you gained in comparison to your loss?
Watch the channel! Make sure France can not just march across easily into your territory. In other words, use your fleet once again to ensure this is not possible, so keep it safe and within reach of home. In other words, don’t go off sailing your navy halfway around the world without expecting to pay the repercussions afterwards. There are some players who will let you get away with this, if I am France, I will definitely give you a raping for it! I will even get an ally or two, or three to join me in the beating you are about to get!
Beware of joined forces. Once again, you may have the best navy..but what happens when a few opponents stack together and:
#1. Secure the channel crossing… (I sense your doom coming soon after this)
#2. Lock you into a port… (Can basically make your fleet useless for the rest of the game)
#3. Some worse fates yet to come..
Be very cautions of splitting up your navy. Now, yes there are often multiple gains by doing so but… can you afford to risk this? Keep in mind many players love nothing else but to see Britain get greedy and weakening her naval stacks… It takes 1000x more effort to break a British navy when it is fully stacked, than to jump onto it while in little clumps.
Keep Nelson protected! And for god’s stake don’t put him with a tiny scout group either! Besides the attack bonus, that windgage is one of the biggest naval winning factors. That extra +1 modifier for wind gauge will often help to spell doom for your opponent(s), it will also cause a major decrease in the ships you lose. That first strike effect is more important than a lot of players realize. Nelson is more important than the extra +1 political point he gives, though that is another nice benefit of course. Remember, the larger stack Nelson is on, the more ships he can help give the first strike bonus to. This is huge.
Do not lose your dominant status! Look at the key territories you need to watch out for. Gibraltar, Malta, etc. These are very easily taken from you if your opponents wish. Make sure you have a plan to prevent losing the last territory that will cause you to lose that dominant status.
Britain also can chose when to do its naval movement. Use this to your advantage. No one else has this ability.
The “Pippin Death-Grip Special“:
One of my favourite moves… look for an opponent who has been bottled up in port, or had to flee there. If you suspect the port is under garrisoned, block the bastard in (assuming you haven’t pursued him). Lock and hold him locked in there while sitting in the BB and hit the garrison with your grunts. If it fails, it’s not the end of the world… But if you get in… he can say goodbye to his ships.
Only problem is if you do this too well, there may not be enough enemy ships left to gain PP points for the rest of the game
Too many things to mention here.. But on a side note, I will trade with everyone EXCEPT for France. Not only does this make things a little more frustrating for the big boss, but it seems to win more trust over the other players.
OK NOT spam but it was either that or I am with stupid to get the up arrow and out of the two....