Horrendous naval dissaster

[]

Alright, I decided to try and learn naval battles... but either I am not getting something, or I ran into a bug. I had 10 ships all healthy but outmatched at the start of a battle. So I decided to hit the white retreat flag. My understanding is it makes your ships run to the red border to live and fight another day. Battle ends, and the screen panel shows both sides did 0 kills. Next second, it showed all my 10 ships sink to the bottom. WHAT!?

[Insaniac]

Did you retreat from battle twice in a row? And did you actually have room to retreat on the campaign map?

[Faramir's Rangers]

you might have been out of movement points so no where to go but die. but best way to win at naval battles is 5th rates and then get enemy to sail into wind while u just flip about from side to side shooting out their sails. Then capture ships and make money.

[Charlemagne]

That is the paradigm in all TW games, if you retreat when the enemy attacks you, then get attacked again same turn (you can't retreat the second time on the campaign map) and withdraw from the subsequent battle all is eliminated.

[]

How ridiculous that it gives me the option then... if it's all for nothing. Makes no sense.

[Insaniac]

Well in all fairness, if you weren't capped at 1 retreat per army per turn then you could just run away forever and ever.

[Hat8]

Originally posted by :

How ridiculous that it gives me the option then... if it's all for nothing. Makes no sense.

So that you can evacuate damaged units from battle while others fight.

[operating1]

Originally posted by :

Alright, I decided to try and learn naval battles... but either I am not getting something, or I ran into a bug. I had 10 ships all healthy but outmatched at the start of a battle. So I decided to hit the white retreat flag. My understanding is it makes your ships run to the red border to live and fight another day. Battle ends, and the screen panel shows both sides did 0 kills. Next second, it showed all my 10 ships sink to the bottom. WHAT!?

Always do a save (top right hand corner button) pre-battle screen before activating battle. The results may be different depending if you are the attacker or the attacked. If your fleet is on a trade node when attacked it may not allow a retreat at all, even though you have the choice to select retreat. If there are other enemy fleets nearby, their ZOC may not allow retreats through them, thus you lose your fleet. Prior to the end of your turn: Set the battle clock to 20 minutes, which gives you the opportunity to run the clock out when you are attacked on the AI's turn (there are several ways to manage your fleet to survive when in this mode). Map Management: Try to avoid placing fleet(s) in nooks and crannies of coastlines where there is little chance of escape when attacked, especially if there are known enemy fleets in vincinity, open water is the best..

[Charlemagne]

Originally posted by :

How ridiculous that it gives me the option then... if it's all for nothing. Makes no sense.

To make a valiant last stand... To bloody the enemy... Many times I have actually won those "no retreat" battles. When it is truly hopeless I just autoresolve.

[]

I always used auto-resolve naval, but tried to master actually handling them myself. This is what got me into this mess in the first place, LOL.


That said, I have what looks like an annoying glitch. Often the sails keep changing from full mast to partial. And other times, it keeps rapidly flickering from normal to none, no matter how many times I click on full sail. Not sure what's going on.

[Charlemagne]

The sails never seem to do what you want if you use the sails button. The sailors put them up or down depending on the angle of the wind. Supposedly they should be full if you order the ship to go fast (double arrow) using R or double clicking on the map.

[Nursultan Tulyakbay]

same ♥♥♥♥ happening to me... have a small trade fleet on one of the nodes off the ivory coast. have a small but deadly maratha fleet that intercepts and attacks while my fleet is stationary and has been for quite a few turns. being a merchant fleet of 4 vessels, i chose the flight option as fighing would be an end to my trade ability full stop. (remember my fleet has not moved in some 4 turns so i have DEFINITLY got the movement available for retreat) but as soon as i click the retreat it acts as though i have hit auto resolve... this has got to be a bug... any help here would be GREAT. getting extremely frustrating. only option i seem to have is to move the fleet out of west africa wasting 2 turns of trade... this is REDICULOUS. in all the years of total war playing throughout ALL the series... i have not ONCE come across anything so frustrating... i would understand if i had exaserbated my movement range, but i havnt moved the fleet in over a year in game... i have PLENTY of movement ability left but retreating this naval battle automaticly resolves the battle instead of retreating... the rest of this game is brilliant. just this little yet ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ frustrating issue.

[operating1]

Try retreating your fleet during the actual battle to save the fleet, instead of picking retreat on the pre-battle window. It also depends on what trade node you possess, like that really odd one at the East Indies. Ever notice when sometimes your defeated fleet will retreat to some nook and cranny on the map where it cannot retreat from if attacked again?

[solidap]

If you retreat, the enemy army still has a chance to attack you again if they have movement left. If they win this additional battle then you auotmatically lose all your units. It's like this in almost all the TW games

[Maximus]

most times i stand and fight. My prize ship, The Jules Rapp (named after my general that killed 5000 units in austria) was a heavy first rate, and it had a fourth or fith rate, cant remember, called the Kamen Aga supporting it. Anways they were a part of a large fleet going to the trade theaters to take out some enemy trade fleets to make way from my trade ships. I split the fleet up, the Jules Rapp and Kamen Aga were to attack one of the enemy fleets, just a damaged 2 indiamen and a sloop, while the rest of the fleet fought a real battle against some british warships. after the two battles i was planning on uniting the fleet, but the Kamen Aga and the Jules Rapp were ambushed by a large fleet, i think polish. this enemy fleet consited of third rates and one second rate. it also had a bomb ketch, and the rest of the avalable slots were filled with inidamen and brigs. I tried to run away, but they followed. i saved the game (something you should also do) to my battle save, then made my last stand. yeah i got reckt/ i loaded it again, and used auto resolve. to my surpirse, not only did i win. the Jules Rapp and Kamen Aga both survived, and were able to kill all but 4 of the enemy ships, and those 4 were brigs and indiamen(they probably fled when they saw 2 ships destory half of Poland's navy might in a few minutes). I was delighted, and this was probably one of my favorite moments in this game. i sent my new favorite two ships back to paris for repairs, under heavy escort. nowdays they lead my most experienced and deadly fleet which patrols the atlantic and medditerrian. I gave it an admiral, Horace Germain, who is definatly deserving of the ship, and did so well Horace got his own ship named after him. (i like to name ships after my favorite generals/admirals/rulers as its the only way to immortalize them) The Kamen Aga is kind of misplaced in a fleet consiting of First rates and second rates, but it definatly deserves the spot. one thing i never added and never will add to this fleet are bomb ketches and rocket ships. They are very OP, but friendly fire is lethal, and i cannot risk my prize ships.

[Dummkopf]

Originally posted by :

I always used auto-resolve naval, but tried to master actually handling them myself. This is what got me into this mess in the first place, LOL.


That said, I have what looks like an annoying glitch. Often the sails keep changing from full mast to partial. And other times, it keeps rapidly flickering from normal to none, no matter how many times I click on full sail. Not sure what's going on.

It's just realism. You can't use square rigged sails when sailing into the wind. So the game automatically puts them down. They continue to use the fore-and-aft rigged sails when sailing close-hauled.