Help-Navy Tips

[Bob_Smurf42]

Can someone give me some help with boat strategy/naval warfare?
in my random map games I can usually find a land bridge or island chain
and send some settlers across, but I want to difersify my strategy.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

What sort of strategy are you looking for? Here's some highlights I learned around here:

Naval Strategy - build Lighthouse, Sun Tzu, Magellan, rush to Steam Engine, build lots of 7 move veteran Ironclads. You'll crush everyone.

If you mean an expansion/exploring strategy, build triremes (or better ships later) with a diplo or 2 on board, or a settler and a diplo. You can bribe/steal with the diplo, and if a good city site comes along, you can build the city with the settler and garrison it with the bribed unit.

Later in the game, there are many here who cruise unexplored shores with a transport and 1-2 spies, popping huts and then retreating back on the transport. Barbarians found can be bribed cheaply, and would likely be NON units.

[DrSpike]

Yeah vet clads is a killer, though with smaller maps you can conquer quicker with earlier ships.

Exploring constantly by sea throughout the whole game is a must in any case.......'fishing' for barbs is fun.

[Ben Kenobi]

Actually, you don't need Sun Tzu's.

Lighthouse makes all the new boats you produce veterans, including your ironclads.

The best combination is the two above with an early Fundy government from SoL.

This way you can afford a huge navy of 7 move veteran Ironclads.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by obiwan18
Actually, you don't need Sun Tzu's.

Lighthouse makes all the new boats you produce veterans, including your ironclads.

duh on me - forgot that effect of LH.

That makes the strat even better - though obviously I must not use it much!

Other ship strategies - stack a Battleship with 1 or more AEGIS Cruisers - once the AI has Rocketry, it'll waste dozens of cruise missiles (a lot of wasted production) on the Battleship.

- only use nukes against ships at sea - no pollution effect

- and of course, ship chains... very useful for both military and trade purposes.

[War4ever]

if you dont have lighthouse, use your triremes to pick off barb kings or other wounded troops, gaining vet status can be the matter of life and death, especially if a barb or ai trireme rams you.....

ship chaining is a good idea, so is setting up canals on your maps so boats can cut through land as opposed to going around it...though this can be difficult even under ideal situations and can require many resources to do so.

super ironclad is a viable strategy.....they will wreak havoc on any unit prior to riflemen with relative ease, but don't be too quick to upgrade to the green destroyers, cuz they suck

use black clicking to find the landmasses so you don't lose your boats, and i personally like to travel along the tops and bottoms of the map board, the barbs disappear out of the huts and one can often find nomads or units.

[Ben Kenobi]

http://www.apolyton.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53247

For a detailed exposition on the superClad strategy.

(and a shameless plug.)