However, your strike fleet is also good at raiding if you can spare the fuel costs. The best ships for convoy raiding are submarines. Supply to troops overseas can also be blocked by performing Convoy Raiding troops on remote islands will attrition as a result. If you go for SHBBs, try stacking as much armor and attack bonuses as possible!Ĭonvoy raiding in just 1 Sea zone can already reduce trade route efficiency by 50%!Ĭonvoy raiding is one of the most important purposes of the navy cripple their trade routes, and you'll block their access to valuable resources like oil and rubber. If you're up against a balanced fleet, go for BBs if against a player who builds BBs, go for SHBBs. The London Naval Treaty prevents the building of SHBBs. This is because torpedoes actually deal very low damage to capital ships torpedoes are very weak currently. Note that this shopping list does not include screens. Use any screening ship you have for this purpose they will not influence the battle at all. Any screening ship: 4 per (Super Heavy) Battleship.

(Super Heavy) Battleships A minimum of 1 per carrier.

Only build 4, the 5th one barely does any damage. Don't use submarines in this Deathstack, as these are very bad in big battles once submarines reveal themselves, they will die to depth charges very quickly.įor optimal fleet composition, you'll need: Your deathstack only needs to be comfortably larger than the enemy fleet excess ships will not contribute that much and eat your fuel supply dry. If you are playing as a major nation, you'll want to put all ships in the same task force ( Deathstack). The best doctrine for a big battles is ' Fleet in Being' especially the last slot of this doctrine is very important (10% attack increase). Try to keep an eye on the ongoing battle retreat if you're losing, to limit losses. Once you've won this decisive battle, you should change these settings back. Put your strike force on 'Always Engage', 'Split Off: Disabled' and 'Never Repair' (or Low Repair Priority) to prevent your ships from fleeing during this decisive battle this setting also ensures your fleet chasing down the enemy fleet after beating them. You'll want to win this decisive battle at all costs. Once one side gains the upper hand, they will 'snowball' into destroying almost all enemy ships, typically immediately followed by another battle that cleans up the remains. Provides Shore Bombardment, which debuffs enemy troops.Ī battle between 2 large fleets ends up with 1 big winner, and 1 big loser.

Hold: Stand still in their current location.

Naval Invasion Support: Escorts convoys carrying troops.

Minesweeping: Removes mines, removing their effect.

Minelaying: Lays mines, giving you extra naval superiority, and increases the chance of enemy ships randomly sinking, and reduces enemy ship speed by up to 80% (!).

Convoy Escort: Protects your convoys against enemy ships.

Typically performed by submarines, but any ship can be used for this, even your strike fleet.

Convoy Raiding: Attacks enemy convoys.

This also passively projects naval superiority on sea zones more on that later. Then they will attack that fleet (or not, depending on engagement rules).

Strike force: Your ships stay in the harbor, waiting until an enemy fleet is found.

Once you spotted the enemy, you can immediately fight them, or keep observing them from a distance, depending on engagement rules for that taskforce.

Both surface ships and submarines can be spotted. Patrol: Actively search the sea for enemy ships (spotting).If you are low on fuel, try exercising submarines, as these use very little fuel. In addition, it will also grant a lot of navy XP. Naval Exercises: this trains your taskforce, leveling up your ships, which increases their damage just like army training does.

Hearts of iron iv fleet composition