naval wars

[blunai]

Are naval wars common in your games? Even when I play archipelgio (sp?), the only other naval units I see are enemy transports moving around. In fact, the only time I've seen the computer actually build an offensive naval unit was on the world war 2 conquest map.

Naval war sounds like it would be fun, but I'm having a hard time finding things to attack and a reason to build AEGIS battlecruisers and the like.

 

[DS_Legionary]

I've never had a 'Naval War', but I have seen the AI build tons of offensive Naval Units. They always use them for bombarding my shore.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I almost never build a navy. I usually just have a few ships to transport my units to other landmasses. And once I get airports, then they become pretty much useless.

 

[DS_Legionary]

I try to maintain an average navy since I play on continent maps. 3-4 battleships, 4 cruisers, at least 6-10 destroyers, 15 carriers, 5-10 nuclear subs, and around 15 transports. I try to keep my transports loaded with Marines, Armies, and Artilleries. Since marines are only good for attacking from transports, and you can only transport amries and artillery by transports, so I try to have a decent navy.
Besides with a good navy you get lots of help bommbarding costal cities, and even inland cities with the carriers. And I love to bombard, it's one of the features I like the best about the game.

 

[dmanakho]

I think Naval wars are not as important in Civ3.
even if you have no navy at all and getting attacked from the sea, in many cases you can use artillery to scare those folks away and i have no offensive navy at all until undustrial age.
Once destroyers are discovered i like to build enough to keep tight control over sea. It just annoys me so much when a bunch of enemy frigates comes to the shore and start bombarding my tiles... don't do much harm but delay the turn. Very annoying....

 

[subbss]

I don't build any naval units except 2-8 battleships for escort, 1-6 transports for my troops (I play on continent maps), and 1-5 carriers for my bombers or stealth bombers. Once when I had a huge naval stack getting ready to invade I didn't want to take any chances with the transports getting attacked or ambushed so I had one AEGIS cruiser to dect invisible units but that was the only one I ever built. Oh, yea, I forgot to mention I do sometimes (like in the case when I had that huge naval stack) build nuclear subs (usually 1-8).

In all the games I have played I only ever see the AI (except in the WW2 conquest cenario of course) each build 1-2 battleships, 1 transport, and 5-10 ironclads (they seem to love those).

 

[dmanakho]

For some reasons in my games AI just loves building frigates...
They have dozens of those and they don't use it properly. Although, I don't see any proper use of frigates. They can go offensive on the sea but they are very weak at bombarding.

 

[planetfall]

It's probably related to difficulty level. AI will send escorted carriers at you for bomber attacks. It also will escort transports with 3 DS. Frigates are almost always used for coastal bombardment harrassment. Subs will be used by AI from time to time.

If you leave a galleon just sitting outside a port, eventually privateers will come along and take a wack at it.

PF

 

[Wolfwood]

I played my last game (Monarch difficulty, IIRC, in C3C) on a island map with England and I built at least 30 Man-o-Wars and twice that Privateer equivalents (Goldenhinds in my mod for England). The Goldenhinds especially gave me a chance to curb AI expansion to its start since I could sink their galleys and other transports as they left their national waters and before they reached the next island. The seas were very much littered with my ships.

Later in the game, the AI got destroyers and my Goldenhinds had to run home to hide...

The thing is, the AI seems to keep nearly all ships in ports until a war starts. Then they send out a plethora of them and the seas become a battlefield.

 

[djpjnr]

why are carriers so weak ,i just lose my flagship carrier with all my bombers on ,so dont put your eggs in one basket,or learn the hard way,and dont fight a war without air support.

 

[Chaos_BF1942]

I normally build a hugh Navy, just for the heck of it.

I really don't see the enemy make their navy, just afew ships around, and some Galleys and Caravel that never sink (I followed them)

EDIT: Changed Amry to Navy. dumb miskate

 

[Shirastro]

Maybe they reserched navigation or magnetism so they dont sink...

Anyway back on the topic.
The only ship that i see are those few bombarding ones that are just anoying....oh and i forgot the galey that transports two cavaleris when i already have mech inf

 

[LLXerxes]

In my games, the AI barely builds naval units!
Leads to an easy victory

 

[Jaded_Feriluce]

It usually depends on the landmass chosen... but since I really like sea wars I usually go with the Island setup. I dont usually start building my navy till at least I can make a gallion. Useing the smaller boats is such a waste, lol like Im going to invade someone else with a billion row boats.

 

[WS78]

Ofcourse you could!

But seriously, naval power is as important as your enemies value it.

I myself used galleys to transport settlers along coasts toward sites faster than on land. And not to mention the incredible advantage of having an islandbase just off an enemies homeland!

 

[Dell19]

I use galleys when I have to but my navies are primarily used just for transportation with some extra ships for defence. I prefer to attack by land if I can since ship transports always have the risk of being sunk if the enemy suddenly attacks.

 

[planetfall]

why are carriers so weak ,i just lose my flagship carrier with all my bombers on ,so dont put your eggs in one basket,or learn the hard way,and dont fight a war without air support.

That's why there are Naval Task Forces. Carriers are weak and need protection.

AI strategy with carriers:
Task Force is 1 carrier with bombers [maybe one fighter] and 3 DS

Fair Naval Task Force
1 carrier [ 2 fighters, 2 bombers] and 3 DS

Good Naval Task Force
2 Carriers [ 5 fighters, 3 bombers ] and 3 DS

Excellent Naval Task Force
3 Carriers [ 5 fighters, 7 bombers ], 5 DS, 1 cruiser, and 1 sub.

Build better Task Forces and you won't lose Carriers, just watch out for subs.
They can do more damage than bombers.

PF

 

[WS78]

I divide my navy into a "pacific" and "atlantic" armada. Both comprised of the type of navy to counter my enemies navy. However they mostly consist of 3 battleships each, 4 cruisers, 6 destroyers, 2 loaded carriers, 4 escorting subs and 3 transports (of which 1 is always loaded with marines). Then I detach a "wolfpack of 3 subs and a nuclear sub for each enemy nation or narrow sealane.

I also have the need to name my vessels. (which is a great addition for me)

 

[dmanakho]

Unfortunatelly, Navy doesn't play major role in Civ3 combat and all player needs is to have just enough navy to escort transports with land units everything above that IMHO is just a waste of money and too much hassle

 

[WS78]

Probably never faced a naval AI have you?