How do you use Barbarian navies?

[corsair831]

Playing Iceni, had ~~10 ships, tried to ram enemy transports (no navy, just transports), and got absolutely annihilated, they just instantly boarded me, their transport ships took absolutely no damage

Am i doing something very wrong here? Surely if i fight man to man on the ship the enemy will win, because the barbarian sailors number ~~ 40, whilst the enemy units are 150 strong?

Cheers

[Corelias]

I never played Iceni, but I think that barbarian ships cannot ram only board.
I played Rauxsa-Alanna and they had several techs, that said they improved ramming, but where there is no ramming ability these are moot. I could only build raiders.

[Dead*Man*Wilson]

You don't Only with the Illyrian factions does it make sense to build a navy.

[Corelias]

You can still blockade a port. I used this playing Rauxsa-alanna when I attacked Pantikapaion (Arche Bosporus) from across the sea to try to prevent their navy to attack my transport fleet. It worked. Their Navy considered themselves too weak to attack the blockading fleet and my transport fleet could land on the second turn of the voyage just SW of the city.

[H-Khan]

Only use I've found is as a raiding force for some light income and campaign missions. Just sacking a un-walled port city with garrison force only with big part of the fleet being slingers. If you see enemy ships just row hard!