The Best Unit in sea

[Killjoe45]

Normaly i keep thinking of what is the strongest Unit to take out to sea and explore but a tried an aegis criuser but a cruiser destroyed it so i dont know what is the strongest unit well you must be thinking im nuts that a aegis cruiser died to to a criuser
er but it is real and i need help

 

[Ali Ardavan]

The strongest unit is a battleship but it is slightly slower than the other units. Each naval unit has some unique feature making it worthwhile; for example destroyers have the most movement points. If naval battles are a priority build a port so your ships start as vets.

For midgame the best sea unit is a Frigate. It is quite powerful and speedy for its age. Furthermore, it can carry units.

 

[Prof. Garfield]

For midgame the best sea unit is a Frigate. It is quite powerful and speedy for its age. Furthermore, it can carry units.

I have to disagree with this. Frigates have the same speed as galleons and ironclads, and ironclads are more powerful (they can kill pre-gunpowder units in one hit). Galleons have the same defense as a frigate, so transporting units with a frigate is only safer if you spot the enemy first. Also, Leo's can't upgrade frigates.

Frigates are what I call "special purpose" units. They can be worthwhile in unusual circumstances, but aren't worth building without a special purpose in mind. They have 2 uses I can think of: they are the only warship available before steam-engine/electricity, and 1 frigate is cheaper than a galleon and Ironclad if you want to attack a moderately defended target.

Normaly i keep thinking of what is the strongest Unit to take out to sea and explore but a tried an aegis criuser but a cruiser destroyed it so i dont know what is the strongest unit well you must be thinking im nuts that a aegis cruiser died to to a criuser
er but it is real and i need help

A vet Cruiser will have higher stats than a non-vet AEGIS, so losing to one isn't that surprising. If you want to explore, a few fast and expendable destroyers are probably your best bet. If you want to fight, build vet ships, as Ali suggested. An alternative to battleships is to bring some transports with spies along with your AEGIS Cruisers; 2 spies can sabotage any non-stacked ship and bring it down to 25%.

 

[timtofly]

You have to have a battleship as defense against other ships and an aegis for air units. These two units in combo are your defensive units.

 

[Ace]

There is no one "perfect" ship to explore with. You have to select the best, ie., most useful to you, unit that is available at the moment. If you have only discovered Map Making and the Trireme is the only ship available, its fruitless to speculate about the value of ageis cruisers vs. battleships vs. cruisers. You use the one that most closely fits your needs, and is available at the moment.

Personally, I much prefef to use a ship that can carry units to do my exploring because such a ship can carry a unit to pop huts and any unit that comes from said hut.

That said, I rarely built warships anymore because the trireme>caravel>transport line is all I need. 1: The AI should never be allowed to develop a strong navy. 2: in most games, the land masses are close enough together that you do not need a long ship chain to reach "accross the sea" to an AI trade city and when you get transports, your ships can usually end their turns in a port. 3: Napolean had the ideal way to defeat a sea power, ie., capture all his ports. its kinda hard for an opponent to support a navy if he has no coastal cities.

If you do have to deal with a strong naval power late in the game, a good battle group is a pair of battleships, 3 ageis cruisers, and a transport full of spies, perferrably all veteran units, especiallly the ships. The battleships can sink anything you run into, and the ageis cruisers will keep the air clear of insects.

 

[Ali Ardavan]

There is no one "perfect" ship to explore with. You have to select the best, ie., most useful to you, unit that is available at the moment. ...

Personally, I much prefef to use a ship that can carry units to do my exploring because such a ship can carry a unit to pop huts and any unit that comes from said hut.

I second all of the above.

I have to disagree with this. Frigates have the same speed as galleons and ironclads, and ironclads are more powerful (they can kill pre-gunpowder units in one hit). Galleons have the same defense as a frigate, so transporting units with a frigate is only safer if you spot the enemy first. Also, Leo's can't upgrade frigates.

True. Even though you disagree, your argument for disagreement is very much a reason for agreement: In Frigates you get speed, ability to carry units, good defense, and reasonable offense all in one unit. Sure an Ironclad and galleon together are better but they cost twice as much to build, twice as much in upkeep, twice as much in unhappiness, and quite a few extra techs to get Steam Engine on top of Magnetism.

If I am at war I zoom to Magnetism for getting Frigates to carry all my units. Triremes and caravels are both warships and quite powerful against each other but do not stand much of a chance against a Frigate. Losing a loaded ship is a great disaster that sets one back significantly. When my enemy has triremes and caravels, carrying units in similar ships is a great risk. With Frigates I am much safer as they can typically withstand 3-4 encounters with lesser ships before they are destroyed. Furthermore, unlike Galleons, they not only keep my units safe but they also allow me to sink any enemy ships I happen to spot along the way.

Having said all that, I do not build Frigates very often because I prefer to be at peace with my rivals as much as possible. Trading partners are a lot more useful to me than enemies.

 

[Duckboy7]

what if an enemy stealth fighter comes or a stealth bomber comes to destroy the battleship

 

[timtofly]

You have to have a battleship as defense against other ships and an aegis for air units. These two units in combo are your defensive units.

this

 

[WildPony]

what if an enemy stealth fighter comes or a stealth bomber comes to destroy the battleship

With full strength units, the Stealth Bomber crashes and burns 19 times out of 20 and the stealth fighter 20 of 20. Stealth bombers are awesome though for recon and for picking off red slivered Battleships.