Naval Warfare - Help!

I was never good at naval warfare in Empire: Total War, I failed the tutorial there. I just recently did the Napoleon tutorial, and got destroyed by the last ship. I have no idea what to do whatsoever, I tried slowing it down with chain shot, then using the round ball shot thing, and broadside grapeshot when I was close, but they barely lost any men. I can't seem to grasp what to do, I gave up on E:TW because I always had to retreat in Naval battles.

It helps to try to imagine big slow ships like line infantry and smaller faster ships like cavalry. Rocket ships are like artillery, steam ships like grenadiers to run through the enemy lines regardless of wind direction. Good luck.

"t helps to try to imagine big slow ships like line infantry and smaller faster ships like cavalry. Rocket ships are like artillery, steam ships like grenadiers to run through the enemy lines regardless of wind direction. Good luck"

lol, most dumb ex. what i read ....loool

Solo naval fight are one thing, MP - other one.
BUT - if u fight fleet on solo (vs AI) fight 1 ship each time; "squeeze" all from a shim, and after (if) its heavy damaged, run away and engage with other. Best strategy vs AI its a big shim (74, 80, 106 etc) + 3-4 bomb k. vs - any AI fleet. On NTW are a rule : NO SHIP can take more then 4-5 shoots from a group of 3-4 bomb k.
Best way to fight AI fleets its to put a heavy ship ahead on "shoot&run" and folow the AI fleet with a pair of bomb k who will decimate any AI fleet from behind. U just must be care on maintain the right dist with bomb k (to close, AI will turn on them) ; if that happend, turn fast and run out, then attack the lead ship with your heavy ship: just a bit, to keep them on follow your heavy ship and NOT the behind bomb k.
NEVER ever (in more then 2500h of game) i see AI to split his flee; AI always protect the fleet in one piece. Use that.

What I do in the campaign is put four bomb ketches into every one of my main flotillas. I use my main ships in line astern to engage the enemy's ships while my bombers stay out of their cannon range and blast them. I target the flagship and the middle ship with bombers, that way if they explode they would probably light the ships following them on fire (that is if they're in line astern also, but they usually are). Late in the game I just pair the bombers with ironclads and tear up fleets pretty easily from then on.

Standard cannonballs is the damage the ship hull and when damage a lot, grapeshot’s have a bigger effect...chain shots is best use if the enemy have full sails.

If you are just starting to fight naval battles, stick to round shot. It has the longest range and deals damage to enemy hull and guns, which means it either sinks an opposing ship or slowly strips it of guns. The longer range also means you aren't fighting it out at point-blank range, which can quickly cost you a battle if you're not careful in maneuvering. For a beginning naval player, that's all you really want.

Naval battles play differently as 1 on 1, fleet on fleet, or a few ships vs a fleet. A one-on-one, like in the tutorial, are relatively easy, as you can micromanage your ship precisely. Get the weather gauge in your favor (that is, be upwind of your opponent), so that you have maneuverability while he does not. Don't just click on the opposing ship and go. Instead, maneuver so that you always have your broadside to the enemy. As a secondary objective, try to maneuver so that your broadside faces the front or back (bow or stern) of the enemy ship, so that your cannon fire sweep down it vertically while his cannons cannot respond. The AI is fairly dumb, so you should be able to consistently pull this off. On the converse, try not to show your bow or stern to an enemy broadside. If that situation is looking likely, turn as much as possible so that one of your sides is facing his cannonballs instead of the vulnerable front and back.

When you have basic maneuvering and firing down, you can try more advanced variations. Chain shot is effective if the opponent's sails are up and you want to slow it down, and grape shot is useful if you want to kill crew. Both of these are most useful if you want to slow an enemy and board it, but their uses are limited by the situation otherwise -- they rarely damage enemy guns, and they barely hurt hull. You have to be able to identify the combat situations that would really benefit from a broadside of chain or grape. Also, because of their lower range, you have to get in close, which invites the AI to give you a rather devastating full broadside of round shot if you make one mistake. Stick to round shot until you know when you should switch.

If you're fighting a bigger ship with a smaller but faster/longer-ranged ship (frigate vs third rate, or sloop vs frigate, for example), traveling in a zigzagging pattern (roughly a big S) in front of the opposing AI ship lets you stay out of his range while firing your cannons. This does not apply to the tutorial, but in campaign you'll be taking on Indiamen and rated ships with frigates, so it's a useful maneuver to learn.