Help a noob with naval battles

[matt49]

Hi, I'm new to naval battles in the TW games and DarthMod Empire is my first experience of them. I'm pretty good at land battles but in naval battles I can't figure out what's going on. Mainly, my issue is about moving my ships around and commanding them to attack.

So I'm playing as Spain and my first battle is a sloop, brig, and galleon (admiral) vs the Barbary pirates (3 galleys and one larger admiral ship, can't remember which exactly). I keep playing this battle over and over, losing, and reloading. The game tells me the battle odds are about equal, so I figure I should be able to win eventually, but I just can't.

So here's where I'm confused. I have no idea whether it would be best to command my ships to move in a certain way and just keep fire-at-will on, or if its better to select a unit and then double click an enemy to let them go attack it. Is there any difference between single and double clicking an enemy to attack? (on land, single click is march and double is charge). Or should I be using some formation? When you tell a ship to attack by double clicking an enemy, what exactly does that mean? Is my ship going to circle around it, stay still and rotate to fire its cannons, or head straight towards it? I've seen all three happen, and I can't figure out why.

[Patronus86]

A few general tips/comments:
1) Most ETW players (& NTW players for that matter) have no idea how to fight naval battles. The game provides all the basic mechanics (sail direction, formations, different ship attributes) but naval warfare requires somewhat of a nuanced grasp of tactics and seamanship. Basic takeway: pay attention to wind direction. Your ships can easily sail in direction the wind is blowing, but they can also sail, by varying angles, towards the wind. Read some basic articles on sailing:
https://www.discoverboating.com/reso...s-of-sail-trim

You always want to be windward of the enemy (meaning that the wind hits your sails before the enemy's). This is called having the "upwind" or "wind" advantage. This means that you have choices: you can sail straight at the enemy (as fast as the wind will blow you) or you can sail upwind (reach, close hauled) to create separation from the enemy. It essentially means you control the timing and location of the engagement, as the enemy can only sail downwind (away from you) but will have a difficult time catching up to you if you are sailing towards the wind. The naval AI isn't particularly smart in ETW, but having the wind advantage is still important.

2) Know your battle tactics. Conventional tactics of the time where to form lines (single or double) and form a defensive perimeter or gradually revolving gun line to exchange gunfire with the enemy force. Historically, and in NTW or ETW gameplay, these types of battles will turn into ship slugfests, with no immediate victory for other side unless there is a severe discrepancy in ship count and type. The other established tactic (one made famous by Admiral Nelson during the Napoleonic wars) was to form several groups of ships (normally lines) and sail straight at the enemy in order to penetrate the enemy formation and fire broadsides into the relatively vulnerable stern and bows. This tactic (known as crossing the T) requires having the wind advantage (or else you won't be able to reach the enemy) and also is very risky in that the approaching ships are themselves vulnerable to enemy broadsides (which would usually be formed up in a line). If you actually breach and encircle parts of the enemy sailing line, this tactic is especially effective at quickly causing route or surrender.

There are variations of both of the above tactics, but generally-speaking your focus should be: putting broadside fire into enemy ships (bow and stern are the most vulnerable areas) and/or disabling ships (shooting out sails and masts with chain shot) and then pounding into submission. Grapeshot is mostly only relevant if you are trying to weaken a ship's crew prior to boarding (which itself is a risky and costly endeavour and only worthwhile if after a particularly desirable ship for capture).

3) Pick the right ships. Brigs and sloops aren't warships. Get some 3rd or 5th rate frigates..those should be considered the bare minimum level of warship for true naval combat. Brigs and sloops are best left for transport or trade hubs (if playing ETW Darthmod). Generally-speaking, frigates beat other frigates (or the galleons and galleys of non-western factions). Ships of the Line come in varying types and levels...if you are facing enemy 2nd rate Ships of the Line, you yourself should have 2nd rate Ships of the Line as well. The bigger/heavier ships have devastating firepower; you need heavy ships to absorb that damage and stay in the fight.


Fire at will works fine. You can command broadsides at your discretion, but this gets tricky especially in bigger battles. focus on putting your ships at the enemy's stern and bow..those are the areas most vulnerable to cannon fire. Get better ships (even to fight galleys). Always have an admiral in your fights. Keep your cannon on regular shot; don't use chain shot unless you are simply trying to disable an enemy's sails and don't bother with grapehot and boarding (you can capture most vessels simply by exposing them to lots of stern and bow cannon-fire).