lindsay40k
Emperor
If there's anywhere Barbarian ships can spawn and I have fisheries, I'll lock down my coastal borders with two state of the art ships.
After that... depends.
I'll always try to get my HE city on the Coast, so that I can build a powerful fleet if needs be. I play with Events on, and the free MA from a Drydock is a big thing
I'll generally try to get a Privateer in every coastal city, and even consider using a Fort to host one in a headland that sees a lot of traffic. Farm XP and inhibit AI settling! If I've got a big head start on Astronomy and Chemistry, I'll even consider Privateer picket lines.
If there's another continent, I'll look at where AI would be likely to attempt a naval invasion and build a fleet to catch them out. I'll have five or so Privateers in there for a technically legal first strike that leaves anyone not bringing Frigates left with half an army.
(Tangentially, I always build a mounted army - at least a dozen Flanking II and as many Combat X as I can manage - to respond to unexpected attacks like this.)
When Frigates start appearing, I have a low priority of protecting fisheries with Ironclads. When Destroyers crop up, I don't bother patrolling - I upgrade my Ironclads into a fleet and deal with disruption as it happens; you can't really protect your fisheries from M7+ S30+ battlegroups, just replace them as and when. Best to build large naval stacks and use them as a hammer IMO, especially since you can't beat the AI on intel.
After that... depends.
I'll always try to get my HE city on the Coast, so that I can build a powerful fleet if needs be. I play with Events on, and the free MA from a Drydock is a big thing
I'll generally try to get a Privateer in every coastal city, and even consider using a Fort to host one in a headland that sees a lot of traffic. Farm XP and inhibit AI settling! If I've got a big head start on Astronomy and Chemistry, I'll even consider Privateer picket lines.
If there's another continent, I'll look at where AI would be likely to attempt a naval invasion and build a fleet to catch them out. I'll have five or so Privateers in there for a technically legal first strike that leaves anyone not bringing Frigates left with half an army.
(Tangentially, I always build a mounted army - at least a dozen Flanking II and as many Combat X as I can manage - to respond to unexpected attacks like this.)
When Frigates start appearing, I have a low priority of protecting fisheries with Ironclads. When Destroyers crop up, I don't bother patrolling - I upgrade my Ironclads into a fleet and deal with disruption as it happens; you can't really protect your fisheries from M7+ S30+ battlegroups, just replace them as and when. Best to build large naval stacks and use them as a hammer IMO, especially since you can't beat the AI on intel.
) but that makes submarines even better units (guided missiles for 1st strike attack). 1 stack with submarines + 2 transports with heavy defenders (machine guns or whatever is best) attack city with biggest naval stack (and it usually has just 4-5 defenders, so before bunker it takes ~20 guided missiles to destroy anything), so same turn can unload all defenders... and reload submarines with fresh guided missiles (best thing - guided missiles are cheap and can build anywhere and send anywhere without any limits), and because water here now is safe, can go out of city 1 for safety..
