How do I stop stealth destroyers?

[MarkJohnson]

The game's almost over over, but Alex seems to have stealth destroyers and it wiping out my fishing boats big time. I've sent my destroyers out in search of them, but they just get destroyed. Planes don't find them either. Athough I have no airships anymore. Subs can't seem to find them either.

How do I kill these invisible ships?
-=Mark=-

 

[itg]

Only other stealth destroyers can see them, IIRC.

 

[plasmacannon]

I haven't had a foe use them against me, but, you should be able to find them, as itg said, with stealth destroyers, but, then, once they are visible, other units should be able to attack it, such as carrier fighters, land based bombers or missiles.

 

[bestrfcplayer]

As said above, only other Stealth Destroyers/Bombers can see other ones. Besides that, there Stealth Bombers.

 

[MarkJohnson]

That's messed up. I'll have to research both Stealth and Robotics. He'll have free reign the rest of the game. I don't understand why there isn't a counter before hand like airships before subs plus destroyers are 1 tech behind subs on another tree. At least let me have a one or two range visibility detection.

 

[Glassfan]

That's why they're called Stealth; they're hard to see. And that's why research is so important in the game. Build Universities, Observatories and Laboratories and tweak your science up a notch. It's best to stay ahead of other players in tech.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Can they enter tiles with enemy units in them at war? I'm pretty sure they can't (the game would consider it an attack), so that's one option.

The other option if you can't detect them is to ruthlessly conquer all the AI coastal cities. Good chance a large chunk of their stealth D's are going to be in the same city as their transports/missile cruisers/etc, so if you take that on the turn you declare, those stealth naval assets are going to spend some stealthy time at the bottom of the ocean with ye olde fishies they're trying to destroy.

 

[Higher Game]

Fortify battleships on your fish tiles. Ignore that worthless part of the tech tree and be glad an AI didn't.

 

[MarkJohnson]

That's why they're called Stealth; they're hard to see. And that's why research is so important in the game. Build Universities, Observatories and Laboratories and tweak your science up a notch. It's best to stay ahead of other players in tech.

I agree they should be hard to see, but they are impossible to see until stealth, and even then they are extremely hard to see. Stealth bombers don't work at all and stealth destroyers have to be within 2 tiles.

Can they enter tiles with enemy units in them at war? I'm pretty sure they can't (the game would consider it an attack), so that's one option.

LOL - I actually trued that once I drew him into a narrow channel by sacrificing a fishing boat, but he just moves away and I still couldn't find him. The odds are just too low of randomly landing on him.

The other option if you can't detect them is to ruthlessly conquer all the AI coastal cities. Good chance a large chunk of their stealth D's are going to be in the same city as their transports/missile cruisers/etc, so if you take that on the turn you declare, those stealth naval assets are going to spend some stealthy time at the bottom of the ocean with ye olde fishies they're trying to destroy.

The game was almost over and I just gave up and let him rule the roost. I figure it was way too much work to pack up my army and take all the coastal cities. But I was contemplating it.

Fortify battleships on your fish tiles. Ignore that worthless part of the tech tree and be glad an AI didn't.

I was thinking of it, but there was just too many coastal cities and time was running out for me and focused on my domination win before Alex launched his space ship.

I didn't get to thoroughly test the stealth bomber's ability to detect as I got stealth a few turns before the end. so it may have like a per cent chance to detect, I don't know. I only searched for 3 turns with up to 4 stealth bombers. I didn't pinpoint him, with another bait boat, until the very last turn. I was then able to determine the range of the stealth destroyer.

 

[capnvonbaron]

stealth destroyers suck Sounds like a great reason to start slinging nukes to me

 

[plasmacannon]

Yes. You need stealth destroyers to see stealth destroyers, however, this does not mean you can not beat them.
The regular destroyer available earlier has the same starting strength. depending how you have upgraded them since Triremes, you could have:
1) Drill3 on one, negating the S.D's first strike advantage, and actually gaining 1 and a chance, for yourself.
2) (Flanking2 or Combat3) and Sentry, which does allow you a wider sight radius (you asked about earlier). This will help you see carriers, and other naval ships, but, not stealth.

Like Higher Game suggested, defend your resourses on that border with more than he can take out. 1 Battleship and 1 destroyer cost less than 2 stealth destroyers.
And if he only has one S.D., then, those 2 ships will be more than a match to defend against it.

 

[capnvonbaron]

I feel the need to chime in on some basic naval defense that is useful in all cases.....

-- Keep your ships in port between turns. The AI can't poach them that way.
-- A good idea is to have a sentry destroyer or SD to see subs and other SDs respectively in every other coastal city, enough to provide something of a screen.
-- Each turn, move the sentry out HALF ITS MOVEMENT POINTS so it can make it back to port before you end the turn (a sentry+nav is primo, bonus if you have the circumnav point). This is to sweep for the hidden nemesies.
-- When you find them, pound them with air support/cruise missiles and then move in your drill or combat destroyers/battleships to finish the job. Try and get everyone back to port and cover anything as much as possible that can't.

If you have spare workboats to bait them in close, all the better. Also, keep in mind that privateers get a free sentry promo and upgrade to destroyers, making a sentry+flank2+nav1or2 boat entirely feasible... especially if you have a good coastal production city with a couple settled GGs/west point and drydocks.

 

[MarkJohnson]

Yes. You need stealth destroyers to see stealth destroyers, however, this does not mean you can not beat them.
The regular destroyer available earlier has the same starting strength. depending how you have upgraded them since Triremes, you could have:
1) Drill3 on one, negating the S.D's first strike advantage, and actually gaining 1 and a chance, for yourself.
2) (Flanking2 or Combat3) and Sentry, which does allow you a wider sight radius (you asked about earlier). This will help you see carriers, and other naval ships, but, not stealth.

While a good general idea they don't really help against SD and the AI will just go around me and in deeper behind my lines still killing fishing boats.

Like Higher Game suggested, defend your resourses on that border with more than he can take out. 1 Battleship and 1 destroyer cost less than 2 stealth destroyers.
And if he only has one S.D., then, those 2 ships will be more than a match to defend against it.

Again, a good idea in general, but with over a dozen fishing boats on my front line alone, this makes it all but impossible to do.

I feel the need to chime in on some basic naval defense that is useful in all cases.....

-- Keep your ships in port between turns. The AI can't poach them that way.
-- A good idea is to have a sentry destroyer or SD to see subs and other SDs respectively in every other coastal city, enough to provide something of a screen.
-- Each turn, move the sentry out HALF ITS MOVEMENT POINTS so it can make it back to port before you end the turn (a sentry+nav is primo, bonus if you have the circumnav point). This is to sweep for the hidden nemesies.
-- When you find them, pound them with air support/cruise missiles and then move in your drill or combat destroyers/battleships to finish the job. Try and get everyone back to port and cover anything as much as possible that can't.

again, great advice, but not useful against SD when you don't have SD

If you have spare workboats to bait them in close, all the better. Also, keep in mind that privateers get a free sentry promo and upgrade to destroyers, making a sentry+flank2+nav1or2 boat entirely feasible... especially if you have a good coastal production city with a couple settled GGs/west point and drydocks.

Now, I didn't know know that about Privateers. I always build the other boats instead, usually for defense, as I never build an attack navy and I go out of my way to not have coastal cities.

I use all my resources for an attacking land army and only attack with navy when necessary. All of my coastal cities are usually captured. Most of the war I just live without coastal resources, as it is costly to build up a large navy to defend the waters, when I need a more land units to conquer AIs.

Maybe I should try some naval games sometime so can learn how to better use them, but see no real defense to the SD. I still think there should be some unit to detect them early on. Usually SDs come late game and the game is already decided, but it is still annoying nonetheless.