Can someone explain how navies work in this game?

[St3amed Hams]

1. What is the point of navies if land troops can create boats when they reach the water?

2. What advantages do real navies have over land troop navies?

3. Why do you still have the option to board the land army onto a navy if they can just create their own boats?

4. Can navies take over coastal cities by themselves?

5. Are there any special game mechanics that navies have that I should know about?

[Sovereign]

The "land troop navies" are transport ships which are substantially weaker than the combat ships. For example, you might have 100s of hardened veterans on your transport ship, but a smaller warship with fewer men can sink it quickly by ramming.

Navies can take over coastal cities, but the battle will be amphibious... that is your ships will have to run aground and your sailors will disembark. This process makes them extremely vulnerable.

When you board armies on navies what happens is you get the normal amount of troop transport ships created, but they are escorted by the warship navy and they move as a unit. If you go into battle you will have both the navy and the troop transports to command. I suggest you protect your troop transports.

[St3amed Hams]

Originally posted by Sovereign:

The "land troop navies" are transport ships which are substantially weaker than the combat ships. For example, you might have 100s of hardened veterans on your transport ship, but a smaller warship with fewer men can sink it quickly by ramming.

Navies can take over coastal cities, but the battle will be amphibious... that is your ships will have to run aground and your sailors will disembark. This process makes them extremely vulnerable.

When you board armies on navies what happens is you get the normal amount of troop transport ships created, but they are escorted by the warship navy and they move as a unit. If you go into battle you will have both the navy and the troop transports to command. I suggest you protect your troop transports.

Thanks for the explaination, makes a lot more sense now. Just wish the game was more clear about things like this (I'm an experienced total war player but I still get pretty confused in this game).

[Swimming Samurai]

1. Transport ships are ♥♥♥♥ ships, only thing they are good at is boarding and shooting.

2. Real navys ships can be larger, faster, and have a stronger hull.

3. what?

4. Think they can but they naval units lack in numbers.

5. archer towers allways shoot fire arrows with unlimited ammo.

Just to put it out their. Theirs a secret units that the Etruscans have. Etruscans have a Harpex balista that can shoot a harpoon and bring ships to you into melee.

[Itharus]

Boarding is useless in this game - don't bother. Just ram or use artillery ships :(

Naval battles were the best thing about Empire, and were very fun in Shogun 2, but in Rome 2 I am not very impressed :(

[Variant]

In other words just auto resolve if and when you can

[Itharus]

I still wish they'd remove troop transports entirely. I'd rather just have it abstracted into them boarding regular fleets and the fleets going at it like in every other TW game ever.

[Varmint]

Originally posted by Itharus:

I still wish they'd remove troop transports entirely. I'd rather just have it abstracted into them boarding regular fleets and the fleets going at it like in every other TW game ever.

Exactly.
Just let it be assumed that no "Transport Fleet Admiral" would ever set sail - without at least one token bona fide Naval Fighting Vessel as Escort - out of common sense principle and doctrinal CYA. Or even rule it so that any transports must at least be matched one-for-one in Fleet with Warships. In which case, it would be even easier to abstract the Transports.

And that if even that one were sunk - or a whole stack of Naval Fighting Vessels - the fate of the Transports would be decided - as they are defenseless. If you don't want them to be undefended - then defend them with a navy - and not defy intuition and try to make Transports into bona fide Fighting Vessels themselves.

If anything, one should have to build at docks any Dual Role Warship/Transport - and pay handsomely for being able to accomplish both roles at sea or land invasion.

[mcoffm]

Autoresolve always.