Navy 101

[MrBoats]

Ok -- I need advice on how best to use the navy. I'm trying to cover the shipping boxes and the coastal zones -- is it better to focus on one strategy over the other? As I understand it, the boxes will never top 25% effectiveness. I am still in 1861, so I suppose some answers will be revealed in time, but I'd appreciate any advice anyone has.

By the way, will the Hunley ever appear? It would be interesting to try a raid with it, although I doubt it would have much more luck than it did historically.

Thanks

[denisonh]

ORIGINAL: MrBoats

Ok -- I need advice on how best to use the navy. I'm trying to cover the shipping boxes and the coastal zones -- is it better to focus on one strategy over the other? As I understand it, the boxes will never top 25% effectiveness. I am still in 1861, so I suppose some answers will be revealed in time, but I'd appreciate any advice anyone has.

By the way, will the Hunley ever appear? It would be interesting to try a raid with it, although I doubt it would have much more luck than it did historically.

Thanks

Are we talking Union or CSA? As the Union, I have had the blockade box up to 35%, but it generally varies between 20-30% as I rotate blockade squadrons in and out.

[MrBoats]

Union -- I should have specified that. I think I'll mix it up a bit and try to take a couple of ports away from the CSA by amphibious landings. I'd like to see if New Orleans can be taken as quickly as it was in the real war.

Side note: one of my Swiss ancestors landed in New Orleans in the late 1850's, wound up in Vicksburg and joined the rebel army. He was captured at Vicksburg, paroled, re-joined the southern forces and was captured again.

[dpazuk]

ORIGINAL: MrBoats

Union -- I should have specified that. I think I'll mix it up a bit and try to take a couple of ports away from the CSA by amphibious landings. I'd like to see if New Orleans can be taken as quickly as it was in the real war.

Side note: one of my Swiss ancestors landed in New Orleans in the late 1850's, wound up in Vicksburg and joined the rebel army. He was captured at Vicksburg, paroled, re-joined the southern forces and was captured again.

Some points to consider:

Blockade Boxes = Blue Water Blockade
Blockading Sea Zones adjacent to ports = Brown Water Blockade

According to the designer, it is best to get the Blue Water Blockade up to around 30% then to directly blockade the largest Southern Ports using a brown water blockade. Hover your mouse over the harbor of a city to determine the exit/entrance points (adjacent sea zones) and then blockade those sea zones with the appropriate amount of 'units' ( a unit being one ship counter) to blockade the actual city. Use combat ships (brigs, for example) for brown water blockades and save the blockade fleets for the blockade boxes.

As to invading New Orleans, it is very possible to invade easily within the historic time frame (I have done it myself).

[MrBoats]

Thanks! I tend to jump into the games without reading the manual very thoroughly. (Same for the tooltips.) This is turning out to be a "keeper" -- it's definitely growing on me. It reminds me of the early days of WITP as far as learning the best use of assets.

[Brooksie]

Yep, rotate the blockading squadrons in from harbor to the blockade box. Ive never seen it above 35 either.

Then use Frigates, Brigs, Steam Frigates, to blockade his larger ports, for example mobile. charleston. It cuts off half the production of the city and he wont be able to use runners from it. Once you blockade his largest ports then you can just cap the small ones its what the union is good at after all.

I do not think though that blockading Hampton roads for instance will blockade Richmond as well, which always seemed strange to me.