Naval power?

**Viking Prince Olaf** · December 31, 2008, 09:31 PM

Heres A topic we've never discussed. Naval power? Whats the
importance and do you think it's important when you play your campaigns?

Personally I never thought it important other than killing the pirates blockading my trade. Invading islands ofcourse and sailing to America.

But whats the point? Once you acheive naval superiority theirs not
really A purpose for it; it just takes up money for upkeep. So post
other reasons for naval power because most of the action takes place on land. Only suckey ships are avilible in early period and thats when
you most need it.

:hmmm: Maybe i'll take more under consideration.

**chaplainDMK** · January 01, 2009, 01:31 AM

Mostly i use it (im on turn 60-something) to destroy enemy navies and blockade hostile ports. I also use it to take my diplomats and priests to far away places (i took a priest to russia and a diplomat into the medeteranian)
Mostly i just have it to blockade enemy ports for some extra cash

**Viking Prince** · January 01, 2009, 01:55 AM

So, do you send all priests away to raise their piety and then return the cardinals home to fight heretics and witches? Seems a bit expensive to me.

I usually build the priests for local conversion and only use a few (no god squads) to convert in the next target of invasion.

Back on the Naval question --

I usually do not employ naval units to fight pirates and thus pirates do not seem to bother me too much. A blockade on a port or two for a few turns costs less in florins than building, maintaining and replacing anti-blockade fleets.

If I am sending a priest or a diplomat, a cheap cog will be sufficient and then it is decommissioned upon doing its duty. If I have a really beat up fleet with only a few points left, I will keep it for such mundane duties in low risk areas. I am very cheap.

For a member of the family a more suitable escort. It is usually 3 units of the best available ships to be used for transport. This mean upgrading specific ports and launching to pereform such responsibilities and never taking what is locally available. It is more a role-playing issue than a tactical one within the game though. An exception is the quick crossing of the English Channel if I already can see that the area is clear.

When mounting a major war -- I will build fleets to transport invading armies and then continue to use the fleets to blockade enemy ports. I seldom bother seeking out the enemy fleets since a live enemy unit not molesting me is also consuming resources.

When playing Sicily, Venice, and Egypt: I build and maintain major fleets. This is really a role playing issue. I will then attempt to control a portion of the med. With Egypt, it is fun to nail the Catholic fleets -- esp. the really cool ones flying the red crosses on white fields. I will completely close the eastern med to the Catholics.

If there was more to the naval game, I would change accordingly. Combat is too simple to get too enthused about naval tactics in M2tw.

**Sodbuster** · January 01, 2009, 02:47 AM

I almost never use Navies unless I absolutely have to. The upkeep on ships is so expensive, and on VH/VH I can't win a naval battle unless I outnumber the enemy two to one. I will use navies for quick crusades/jihads, and for island hopping. If I'm Venice I usually keep a standing Navy until I've built up enough to not be so spread out. As any faction, once I get to the point where money is no longer an issue I'll start cranking out ships and wiping out enemy navies.

**Viking Prince Olaf** · January 01, 2009, 09:18 AM

I use half A stack of my best ships to block A bridge sometimes

Did you know if you put A ship like the bridge that seperates Iberia from North Africa and the Mediteranean from the Atlantic if you put A fleet on top
of the bridge only you can go from the mediteranean to the Atlantic and
Codobra to Marrakesh. hahahaha! it's so stupid it's like A glitch man.

If anyone didn't get that just say so and i'll explain it in simpler terms......

**chaplainDMK** · January 01, 2009, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by Viking Prince Olaf

I use half A stack of my best ships to block A bridge sometimes

Did you know if you put A ship like the bridge that seperates Iberia from North Africa and the Mediteranean from the Atlantic if you put A fleet on top
of the bridge only you can go from the mediteranean to the Atlantic and
Codobra to Marrakesh. hahahaha! it's so stupid it's like A glitch man.

If anyone didn't get that just say so and i'll explain it in simpler terms......

If you mean the green arrows betwen short crossings those aint bridges, thats like where the army goes by boat. So its a naval blockade

**Viking Prince** · January 01, 2009, 07:25 PM

@Viking Prince Olaf

The only glitch may be that neutral ships are blockaded from movement on the high seas. Keeping troops from moving between Africa and Iberia is reasonable, but only if at war.

It's the neutrality!

That is the glitch.

In my most humble opinion.

**Viking Prince Olaf** · January 02, 2009, 11:54 PM

Viking Prince; about that um yea,........what?.........

**Reynolds** · January 03, 2009, 12:03 AM

I think he's suggesting it's an act of war and that the real glitch is the fact that you can block off a neutral faction in this manner with no consequences

Meh could be wrong

**Viking Prince Olaf** · January 03, 2009, 12:42 AM

O; Thanks lol

**Viking Prince** · January 03, 2009, 05:40 AM

Originally Posted by surfingturtle

I think he's suggesting it's an act of war and that the real glitch is the fact that you can block off a neutral faction in this manner with no consequences

Meh could be wrong

Correct.

**Bowden** · January 03, 2009, 12:06 PM

Protectiing your lands from invasions, protecting your ports, invading other lands (might go a lot quicker from say Iberia - Baltic sea/Holy lands than by foot).

**Viking Prince Olaf** · January 03, 2009, 02:27 PM

I play kingdoms alot more now but when I do play it's always Moors vs
Sicily in the Mediteranean trying to gain control of Ajaccio and Caglari
wich is wierd because usually they only use naval power they never invade islands! I don't know why AI until now was always too stupid to invade islands now everyone does it so not even England is safe from invasion.

**Owain Glyndŵr** · January 04, 2009, 02:41 AM

I like navies; especially as England. Rather than start wars close to home, I'll hold all of northern France and then go build my empire elsewhere; in Africa, for example. Then I'll push up the Iberian peninsula until France has to face me on two fronts. Afterwards I'll step on the Holy Roman Empire because... well, I just plain don't like them.

**Viking Prince Olaf** · January 04, 2009, 08:40 AM

That is A good stradigy, but you don't want to pick fights too far from home because of like capital issues.......or something that really screws
with em and makes em mad. If your capital is Baghdad and you own
Cuba it's like -150% happiness because of capital issues.

**Callawyn** · January 05, 2009, 08:20 PM

I generally use them just to ferry my armies around. Since a single unit, even if reduced to 1 boat can transport an entire army, you can get alot of use out of your navy for very little cost. Best places are where you can ferry an army across a straight and return your boat to port the same turn. If you own the destination province, you have the option of longer routes where your boat goes one way each turn. If you find a need to transport an army several turns away you can either use your little ferry but drop them off on land at the end of each turn, for safety, or build a decent fleet to get them their quicker without having to disembark each turn. Often not worth keeping all the ships once the army is delivered.

I've worked on getting naval superiority a few times, but its very expensive and not particularly useful. The AI with its money scripts often tends to spam ship building, and many versions of the game have too many pirates. Unlike land battles, where you counter the AI money with better tactics in battle, at sea you have to autocalc. Its really only worth it if you're going to be spending a LOT of time transporting armies by sea, which in my experience usually means I'm playing Sicily/Venice/Milan and taking territory in the Holy Land, N. Africa, and various islands.

**Viking Prince Olaf** · January 05, 2009, 08:28 PM

I always thought It was useful to make two front wars like invading
France playing as Spain in Leon you can make A diversion army to land in Rennes, Brittania and attack Angers and make them split their forces and so-on you know making two faced wars and going from Italy to N. Africa and France to England.

But thats just me.