Finding Targets

[Dani]

Hello!
I'm rather new to this game, and as such for the record im starting at around early game (1939-1941)
I just had a quick question about what the most effective way on finding targets are?
I use the hydrophone often, and I realise patrolling around ports may be a good idea, but generally I only find one lone convoy every 2 odd patrols. What is the most effective way on finding targets?
Thank you in advance! I'm loving this game a lot and wanna git gud.

[Kornstalx]

Other uboats are constantly radioing the location of nearby convoys. All you have to do is open the map, click on the radio finder arc, and hit the intercept button bottom left. If you're going fast enough, it'll plot automatically (and constantly update) based on your speed vs the signal's source.

Plus when you arrive, you'll have friendly uboats there too.

[Dani]

Originally posted by Kornstalx:

Other uboats are constantly radioing the location of nearby convoys. All you have to do is open the map, click on the radio finder arc, and hit the intercept button bottom left. If you're going fast enough, it'll plot automatically (and constantly update) based on your speed vs the signal's source.

Plus when you arrive, you'll have friendly uboats there too.

yeah, the issue is when i try and intercept im usually not going fast enough, so I often shrug them off based on location, however if it's worth intercepting ill try and do so more often

[Kornstalx]

Run at Flank speed if you have to, just make sure you've got an engineer with 2 helpers on the engine. If you're looking for convoys those are the easiest method. Second best is like you said, sit still and "go fishin'" with the hydrophone.

3rd method is to find a sector you know is it a travelled path, and just zig-zag at Slow Ahead.

[kandnil]

Peronally, I swear by finding those good areas in the game and essentially lurk around in a small area waiting for contacts.
Good areas that I found are:
South of Ireland, 100-200km from the coast, catches a lot of ships coming in to Great Britain.
North of Ireland: 100km or so from the coast, catches ships coming from or going to Canada, and others going to Great Britain.
100-200km west of Bergen, really only good until Norway capitulate summer 1940.
I'm not too fussed about picking convoys. Lone merchants are perfectly good targets. Listen for merchants going fast. Those are most likely tankers.

[Fatrider]

First of all make sure if your assigned mission calls for you to reach a patrol zone do that before anything else no matter how tempting it is to hare off and sink something. Your tonnage wont count until you reach your patrol zone. You can go outside it and sink everything after that if you need to and GRT will count then.

Setting up a dive schedule is very helpful. You do that in the crew menu on the boat tab. Make sure you have a radio officer on duty for your dive times.

For plotting intercepts remember that 1 knot = 1.85 kilometers per hour. So for example, a ship traveling at 8 knots will travel about 15k in one hour. You can use the compass tool to plot ranges for you and the your prey. I also like to name my map markers with the current time so I know what time my target will be a certain point. I rarely ever do a straight up stern chase unless im pretty close. You just burn up all your fuel.

Finally, look at some historical maps of convoy routes during WWII. They are represented in the game and are good hunting grounds.

["Maester" MMarsMM]

Originally posted by kandnil:

Peronally, I swear by finding those good areas in the game and essentially lurk around in a small area waiting for contacts.
Good areas that I found are:
South of Ireland, 100-200km from the coast, catches a lot of ships coming in to Great Britain.
North of Ireland: 100km or so from the coast, catches ships coming from or going to Canada, and others going to Great Britain.
100-200km west of Bergen, really only good until Norway capitulate summer 1940.
I'm not too fussed about picking convoys. Lone merchants are perfectly good targets. Listen for merchants going fast. Those are most likely tankers.

THATS THE REAL GOOD ADVICE! SO IT IS!

[Dani]

Originally posted by Fatrider:

First of all make sure if your assigned mission calls for you to reach a patrol zone do that before anything else no matter how tempting it is to hare off and sink something. Your tonnage wont count until you reach your patrol zone. You can go outside it and sink everything after that if you need to and GRT will count then.

Setting up a dive schedule is very helpful. You do that in the crew menu on the boat tab. Make sure you have a radio officer on duty for your dive times.

For plotting intercepts remember that 1 knot = 1.85 kilometers per hour. So for example, a ship traveling at 8 knots will travel about 15k in one hour. You can use the compass tool to plot ranges for you and the your prey. I also like to name my map markers with the current time so I know what time my target will be a certain point. I rarely ever do a straight up stern chase unless im pretty close. You just burn up all your fuel.

Finally, look at some historical maps of convoy routes during WWII. They are represented in the game and are good hunting grounds.

I just want to say this is incredibly helpful, thank you!!! A lot of stuff I didn't already know. I'll be sure to set up a dive schedule. Call me a doofus, but I figured you needed to manually do hydrophone checks, and I didn't think periscope depth counted.
I will apply this in future, thank you so much!

[Dani]

Originally posted by kandnil:

Peronally, I swear by finding those good areas in the game and essentially lurk around in a small area waiting for contacts.
Good areas that I found are:
South of Ireland, 100-200km from the coast, catches a lot of ships coming in to Great Britain.
North of Ireland: 100km or so from the coast, catches ships coming from or going to Canada, and others going to Great Britain.
100-200km west of Bergen, really only good until Norway capitulate summer 1940.
I'm not too fussed about picking convoys. Lone merchants are perfectly good targets. Listen for merchants going fast. Those are most likely tankers.

Also, this too is mega handy especially with bergen since i'm still very very early game <3