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Don't read these if you prefer guesswork - I haven't finished checking paths, but here's some preliminary stops points for IJN TFs.

Carriers from Truk:
- To Shortland (20,14) 1st Turn (25,24) 2nd Turn

Transports from Truk:
- To Shortland (20,8) 1st Turn (20,14) 2nd Turn (23,20) 3rd Turn
- To Rabaul (20,8) 1st Turn (18,14) 2nd Turn

Transports from Rabaul:
- To Truk (18,27) 1st Turn (Meteiai 17,24) 2nd Turn (20,18) 3rd Turn

Transports from Shortland:
- To Truk (29,28) 1st Turn

*Carriers from Truk to Rabaul sometimes take the long way around the islands to the west instead of pathing through Meteiai, so I have to check that path.
*These points assume no damage to the ships, so they're at normal cruising speeds.

Basically if you put your subs on these points, you'll guarantee numerous contacts. Also, they're in the middle of the ocean so damaged ships are more likely to sink. I am going to check the Allied side later on and post the same thing.

Very nice. It certainly is good for the first attack but won't the AI adjust the path?

Yet another reason to forgo the AI and play PBEM if at all possible ...

Seriously - in v2.30, sub spotting is reworked, lessening the dependency of being in the "right" hex. Still, it's nice to know information Thanks for the efforts, madflava

All the more reason to have waypoints!

I don't use my subs for snudging on the coral reefs. I keep them in port most of the time to keep their movement points up high. Then I use them as part of the combined fleet when and where it counts. Subs with only two movement points will tend to snudge in "lucky" hexes. I get them back to a large port for a tune up. You need fewer good condition subs to do the same job as many slower ones.

Another problem for snudging subs is when a heavy escorted minesweeping TF will go to the very hexes you describe. For Rabaul, Kavieng and Shortlands I sweep for mines instead of waiting for an AP to strike one first. The TF with all my MSW, APD, some DD and PC trace around each base gets refueled and then moves onto the next base. Sweeps for mines (and your subs) and moves onto the next port and so on for the whole game, except when threatened by enemy CV. Truk has a much smaller TF. Many enemy subs have been surprise attacked by this TF (though not always sunk.)

Has anyone ever had a sub hit a mine? I have yet to see it but it should happen with subs moving in and out of port hexes. Also, when the hell are we gonna see a ship or sub hit a reef or run aground? Would be a nice touch and it happened often enough.

I remember a few times against the AI IJN subs would hit defensive minefields I'd laid around Noumea... But I haven't seen that in awhile.

I sank an American sub with one of my Japanese minefields in my current PBEM game, so it does happen.

You know what would help this? If a submarines position were not literal, but the center of a "patrol area" with an equal chance of an intercept in and part of the patrol area. That way, knowing that the computer course from Truk to Shortlands will always stop in hex X is not nearly as useful as it is now.