What do I do with a navy?

[Solomwi]

My favorite naval warfare tactic is to get astronomy or combustion and build a invasion stack with 10 or so galleons/transports + support from destroyers... then use them to invade and hop between your target's coastal cities without penetrating so much on land... the AI is good at predicting how many defensive forces to pile up when they see your stack approaching on land... but navies move so quickly (especially transports), they have a hard time compensating. I can get capitulations quickly like this on prince.

I like to do something similar once marines come on the scene. I'll load up 1-3 transports with them, covered by enough escorts to remove cultural defense and a carrier or two for softening up any defenders present. This strike force will then terrorize the enemy coast, but deliberately never take a city until the enemy's army is broken. My marines destroy all the units but one, and as long as the AI has available reserves, he'll pour them into the city for me to repeat the drill the next turn. This works great with SEALs due to their free march promotion. Once his counterattack capability is utterly destroyed, I'll take a beachhead city and pour in my land forces through it.

 

[jimmythomason@e]

it says build version 3.0.3.1

I guess i'll try to find the patch

 

[Wolfshanze]

it says build version 3.0.3.1

I guess i'll try to find the patch

Yeah... version 3.03 doesn't hack it...

Download the BtS v3.17 patch, install it, and you'll then be able to use the Wolfshanze Mod.

 

[Jewman]

one turn war with transports is the best.
u build giant army of transports.
fill them with marines.
and then pile them next to a neighbor with many coastal cities (if ur doing this hes probably in another continent)
and then aircraft carriers to soften defences a bit.
plan it perfect.
and in one turn u should have 3-5 AI cities. the next turn they should either have been wiped out, or be calling for peace (capitulation if theyve only got small colonies left).
its worked for me countless times.
And then dont just forget about ur transports. Use them for future wars to attack unexpectedly and take a city deep in enemy land to distract them from ur main armies at their borders.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Navy matters more on more watery maps. It matters a LOT if every single AI city is coastal. If you have a tech lead you don't even need siege then - just bombard with navy and attack after landing (or right off the boat with the promotion). Doing this allows you to capture cities at a very, very fast rate. Much faster than a land march. Because of this, wars give the target less time to react and build more troops to defend.

After you take a city, turn it into a "pill box" by putting city garrison troops in it. It's comical what 3 CG rifles will do to an AI SoD. It will slam its stack into one or two of those and then have no stack - then just recapture them .

On many maps, earth 18 civ included, navy is of little consequence, especially because the western hemisphere teching sucks hard (usually montezuma takes the other two as vassals, spams workshops and knights, and stays over there for almost the entire game on most difficulties).

 

[thadian]

Also, i learned a navy is awesome with Japan and with anyone you get in Africa or Mesoamerica. I have been using a lot more navy now, and have learned that on "earthlike maps" a navy can set you up hemispheric defense no matter where you are. You can also use navy for other reasons:

the AI will build counter navy instead of land troops.
You can gift crap navy to AI to increase their civic cost.
You can literally cripple an island nation like japan (or england ).

I usually play on the earth18civs
On a side note... is there any way I could get an earth map with more than 18 civs on it, and the civs would start out in their respecting real-life locations? (For example, Shaka in South Africa, Mayans and Native americans start out in North America along with Monyt and America ect. ect.) such a game would be much more fun than a regular 18 civ game

RFC is also recomended, you should check out the link in my forum. It has many functions from Civlizations being born or collapsing from stability to an international congress. Wolfshanzes mod is also good, and if you can tolerate non bts (aka warlords), then TR (total realism) is pretty fun.

Good luck, and i hope you find the one thats right for you. If all else fails, you can look at "Dales Mod" and see if that appeals to you as it lets you change civ's and adjust almost every detail of the game.

 

[Firestorm94]

here if you want an earth map
or here or even here

 

[Wolfshanze]

here if you want an earth map
or here or even here

That's three links to the same map (which requires a lot more horsepower). He said he liked the default 18-civ earth map, but just wanted to play with more civs...

He's been shown links that offer the same map with more civs already!