Need help improving Naval game

[Not a black panther not white]

I've got almost 800 hours in the game, and i finally know how to really play land warfare well. I love the air wars and different types of plans and tactics you can use, but my naval game still sucks ♥♥♥♥. Can some veterans please help me on whats best (as Germany, Japan and Usa) Thanks!

[Autumn]

I would also love tips on this. Naval warfare seems fun but I have no idea what to do with it.

[CH13F]

im no means a pro naval player but i think intel is very important. if im going against a country with big navy, then i first build agency and agents on intel missions. then you can see which ships are where.

[HappySack]

There's only three approaches to naval warfare in this game, surface ships with destroyers, cruisers, and battleships, aircraft carriers with cheap destroyers as fodder, and mass subs.

Subs are the easiest approach and requires the least amount of industry, manpower and annoyance to deal with because it's never fun to constantly interrupt what you're doing because you're crazy enough to research the different naval technologies and guns for a functional ship.

Carriers have a cap of four in a fleet before you hit a soft cap for overcrowding also there is a ratio of battleships to heavy/light cruisers to destroyers if you're going that approach but I don't know it by heart.

[hannibal_pjv]

Some rather nice naval tutorials
https://youtu.be/OLGeVlMQOfo?feature=shared

and maybe after that Italy that has rather big navy and early start. This one is not up to date, except the Navy part that has not changed since Man the guns. So maynly watch the navy parts of this one!
https://youtu.be/BMKWxqCikGo?feature=shared

[velvetcrabman]

This guy does some nice guides that work for both SP and MP

https://steamcommunity.com/id/emstelegram/myworkshopfiles/?section=guides&appid=394360

[Ryan]

If you are playing a major power with a large starting fleet just do this:
1. Consolidate your entire fleet into a giant doomstack. Use the ship button in the upper right corner to shift+click every ship and send them to a single port.
2. Separate the subs into a separate admiral fleet
3. Now you have 200+ ships in one fleet with your best admiral.
4. Take 12-15 Destroyers and put them in their own fleet in the same admiral. Set destroyer fleet to "Never engage."
5. Now you have one Admiral commanding a doomstack fleet and a 12 destroyer fleet. You are ready for enemy fleet hunting.
6 Locate the seazone the enemy fleet is in. Move both your fleets to the largest nearby port.
7. Put the destroyer fleet on Patrol in the seazone you are going to battle.
8. Put the doomstack fleet on Strike Force.
9. Your destroyer fleet will locate the enemy fleet, and your doomstack will go smash them.
10. Repeat this until all enemy fleets are destroyed. Repair damaged ships in between battles.

Doomstack wins because the AI separates their fleets into smaller forces.

You can also build 1936 light cruisers and max out the radar/sonar + seaplanes for maximum spotting ability. Make several of these spotter ships for faster locating of enemy fleets.

[Nukoolamukmuk]

I don't like the one single doomstack on strike mission cause it is gamey and boring. Much more fun to make smaller and medium fleets and use them to do an array of tasks like escort convoys, shore bombardments, patrol and strike mission using a bunch of different admirals. Keeping it real is more interesting.

[johnknott]

Only advice I'd offer is keep your ships refitted with the latest radar and fire control, especially the capital ships. It only takes a matter of days for them to refit if it's just radar and FC.

Also research ladder firing and damage control. The latter usually stops you losing capital ships in a big battle.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by johnknott:

Only advice I'd offer is keep your ships refitted with the latest radar and fire control, especially the capital ships. It only takes a matter of days for them to refit if it's just radar and FC.

Also research ladder firing and damage control. The latter usually stops you losing capital ships in a big battle.

Does radar help with ship targeting and accuracy? It seems like a waste because your capital ships are on Strike Force and not Patrol. They don't need to find the enemy right?

[johnknott]

Originally posted by Ryan:

Originally posted by johnknott:

Only advice I'd offer is keep your ships refitted with the latest radar and fire control, especially the capital ships. It only takes a matter of days for them to refit if it's just radar and FC.

Also research ladder firing and damage control. The latter usually stops you losing capital ships in a big battle.

Does radar help with ship targeting and accuracy? It seems like a waste because your capital ships are on Strike Force and not Patrol. They don't need to find the enemy right?

TBH I've no idea what goes on under the hood. I just know that in the big navy bunfights (Royal Navy vs Regia Marina in the 'Med and US Navy vs IJN in the Pacific) I come off better with up to date radar and fire control. It's so easy to refit those systems I've never really thought about whether it was worth the resources. (Updating engines and main batteries are of course a different matter)

Those Italian Battleships in particular can be really effective against the RN. I don't usually bother to build additional capital ships with the Italians. Before I started refitting them I usually came off worse. Now I find it rare to lose one.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by johnknott:

Originally posted by Ryan:

Does radar help with ship targeting and accuracy? It seems like a waste because your capital ships are on Strike Force and not Patrol. They don't need to find the enemy right?

TBH I've no idea what goes on under the hood. I just know that in the big navy bunfights (Royal Navy vs Regia Marina in the 'Med and US Navy vs IJN in the Pacific) I come off better with up to date radar and fire control. It's so easy to refit those systems I've never really thought about whether it was worth the resources. (Updating engines and main batteries are of course a different matter)

Those Italian Battleships in particular can be really effective against the RN. I don't usually bother to build additional capital ships with the Italians. Before I started refitting them I usually came off worse. Now I find it rare to lose one.

Fire Control improves your combat ability. Radar does nothing for capital ships.

[johnknott]

Originally posted by Ryan:

Fire Control improves your combat ability. Radar does nothing for capital ships.

Interesting. You've made me Google it now.

Apparently (so I'm told) level 3 and 4 radar does actually improve light and heavy attack.

But either way, I'd argue that I don't want to worry about which ships in a task force are better at detection (do more radars increase detection?) and it's a slot capital ships can't use for anything else.

[johnknott]

Thing is, it's also easier to keep track of minor refits on your few capital ships rather than all those rusty destroyers that got spammed in the '30s before radar was invented.

[Ryan]

Originally posted by johnknott:

Thing is, it's also easier to keep track of minor refits on your few capital ships rather than all those rusty destroyers that got spammed in the '30s before radar was invented.

Radar increases a ship's ability to spot the enemy. If your capital ships are not on "Spotting" duty, then it does nothing. Patrol, Escort, hunting enemy convoys missions is where it is useful. Strike Force does none of these as they just go to where they are pointed. Radar does nothing while in combat unless like you said the higher level one actually increases combat ability.

But build however you want. Whatever is most fun for you.

[Not a black panther not white]

Thanks for all the tips and guide videos dudes! Lots of good info here.