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On The Road to Expert: Day 13- The Guide to Naval Warfare

Written by Age, with special note at the end for wars between the ages

For this article, I assume that you have read the previous on the Road to Expert Guides on Boat Booming. I also assume you have at least a basic mastery of the two dock boat boom. If you don't, go back and read the earlier on the Road to Expert Articles, Available on this site. This article is rather large (in both length and in terms of graphics), so give it a minute to load if it doesn't immediately appear in full.

Dark Age
Believe it or Not, Naval Combat begins in the Dark Age. The placement of your docks themselves is very important in determining who the victor will be in a later game naval battle. In the Dark age, there are two considerations when placing docks.

The Number one question is: How close together ? The answer to this generally depends on fishing. Place your docks to maximize fishing efficiency- which generally means spread docks. Spread docks are great for defending a Naval attack, but poor for Launching them. This is because your Navy needs to STAY TOGETHER at all costs. Spread docks allow you to run Fishing boats and maintain food flow under a naval attack, while close docks allow your boats to stay together. Use discretion when building your docks. If you are going for the quick feudal naval strike, build your docks close together. If you are going for the big boom, Spread your first two docks apart for maximum defensibility.

The number two question in Dark Age is : How many docks ? The general boat boom wisdom has you building two docks in Dark Age. While this is usually the best strategy, consider adding more docks in feudal if you are going to go for a Naval Warfare Strategy. If you are going for a large boom in Dark, 3,4 or even 5 docks aren't out of the question to maximize both fishing efficiency and Defensibility from early galley strategies.


Feudal Age
You've advanced to the point where you can make offensive ships. The only unit you have available: The galley.

The Galley
The principle to remember when fighting with galley is mass and upgrades. With no counters available in feudal, when going for a galley war, The determining factors in who wins are mass, and whether or not you have fletching. Obviously then, FLETCHING is a MUST on a water map.

The question of whether to attack in Feudal with galleys depends on the situation. In general, a more open map with respect to the water (such as Mediterranean), favors this strategy because your reinforcements don't have far to go. On the other hand, on a more closed map such as migration, you are best off avoiding this strategy. Because your docks are far from his, and often will require skirting the main landmass, feudal galley attacks on migration or similar maps will usually result in the defender having a larger mass of ships- sure death for your galleys. If you are on an open water map, a fast feudal and then galley attack can often work well, while on a more closed water map, feel free to boat boom larger and then go for a castle age attack.

Castle Age
Castle Age brings two new ships, and a technology to upgrade your existing ships. Be sure to use the RED ARROW on your docks to access these new ships. The first new ship is the fire ship.

The Fireship
Fireships get a bonus vs other ships, most notably the Galleys. Fireships excel at defense- because you can garrison them as you make them and then ungarrison already nearly in range of attack vessels, fireships make a potent defense against War Galley attacks. Fireships are also useful on the offense for Burning down docks and enemy War Galleys. The most powerful ship in castle age, the Fire Ship should be the core of any non-viking Castle Navy.


The Demolition Ship (Demo Ship)
The demolition ship also makes its appearance in Castle Age. A demolition ship must be immediately adjacent to the enemy ships, at which point it will explode and do a small area damage. Though billed as a counter to fireships, one demoship doesn't quite kill off one fireship, and the radius damage is small in castle. Best used in conjunction with War Galleys (to finish off fireships), the only civ that really should use Demo Ships is Vikings. Without the discount, the demo ship is really too micromanagement intensive to use in most naval combat.


The War Galley
War Galleys is an upgrade that will affect all existing Galleys. If you are going to engage in Naval combat, War Galleys are an essential part of your army. War galleys are best used with fireships as well. In a feudal galley war, someone who arrives at Castle first and gets the War Galley upgrade could very well turn the tide of the battle. Remember tha Bodkin Arrow improves War Galley's range and damage- so get it ASAP in a Naval Battle.


The Longboat
Only available to vikings upon building a castle, In my opinion longboats are a waste of resources. Though useful in a few situations, longboats major downfall is the large gold cost. Part of the attractiveness of the rest of the viking navy is the very low gold cost- allowing you to sustain it for much longer. Galleys are usually the better solution that longboats since they serve more or less the same purpose, and can be had much earlier and for a much lower cost. Also, in a naval war, building a castle earlier in order to get longboats means less wood and gold for making ships, and less food for pumping villagers- unless its well placed offensively, its usually a mistake and could lose the naval war for you. Some bill longboats as the solution to fire ships, but I recommend massing War Galleys along with a few demoships as a better solution for lower cost. I really don't recommend using longboats and so I won't talk about them again.

Castle Age combat with Boats
The thing to remember in Castle age is that combined arms now rules the sea. The only civ that can win with a one dimensional Castle navy is vikings, and them only because they have more than anyone else.
Some things to remember when fighting a naval battle in Castle age:

-You wouldn't produce champs from two barracks would you ? By the same token, don't produce boats from only two docks. Feel free to add a third and a fourth and more to improve fishing as well as to improve the sheer quantity of boats you can produce.

-Fireships are the number one unit in castle age. But remember that an army of fireships is blind. Add some war galleys to be their eyes and you will be much more successful.

-Remember that the AI in AOK can often be exploited. To win early and crucial naval battles, feel free to sacrifice a few fishing boats. Also, you can use your docks as a shield- move some galleys behind it and attack one fireship at a time, leaving one galley out front to get killed. Once the bait galley is dead, the fireships not being attacked will autotarget your dock and you're free to kill them one by one rather then en masse.
currently being attacked will often autotarget your docks- and docks can take alot more punishment than your war galleys

-Remember that mass still rules the day in Naval Battles. Retreating near to your own docks so that the battle occurs where you can supply reinforcements faster can help you take the seas.

This battle is deceptive. Though staffa starts out with more boats, the fact that it occurs near my docks allows me to bring more reinforcements and win the encounter

-While a castle by the water in imperial would be suicide vs all but a british enemy, in castle age it is often a good move, allowing you to mass boats under the castles protective cover fire.

A castle by the water in castle age is often a good step if you're losing the seas

-Careening is the only technology at the dock in castle age. It increases piercing armor on ships by one (and +5 transport capacity). You should get it in mid castle age if you are making an army of fireships or going up against alot of galleys.

Imperial Age
In imperial age we gain one new boat as well as upgrades to all our existing boats. Remember that you need War Galley to access fast fire ship/heavy demo upgrades, and Chemistry in order to make Cannon Galleons


The fast fire ship

Fast fire ships are an upgrade to regular fireships. Fast fireships is a very good upgrade to get, and though you'll find that fast fireships are useful in the same situations as regular fireships. Their a must if you have them, though having or not having the upgrade generally won't make or break your civ.


The Heavy Demolition Ship

While demolition ships were of limited use in the castle age, in imperial heavy demo ships are often worth their weight in gold. The reason is an increase in damage, as well as a large increase in the effectiveness of this damage with regards to the larger area effect. Heavy demo ships can be used to take out masses of anything. No longer used just for fireships, multiple Heavy Demos sent at a pack of Galleons or Cannon Galleons can level it in seconds, and at a much lower cost.


The Galleon

The galleon is an upgrade to the war galley. Galleons are very useful to have in imperial. In packs they absolutely decimate fireships and demoships not well managed. In addition, they often serve as low gold cost protectors of the very valuable cannon galleons.


The Cannon Galleon

Cannon galleons are available to research for most civs (with the notable exception of Britain) after researching chemistry. Cannons are best used for razing buildings, though regular Cannon Galleons (CGs), actually take awhile to do this. To be more effective at razing buildings, get the upgrade to Elite Cannon Galleons- They destroy buildings much more quickly and have the added bonus of being much better in combat vs other ships. Cannon galleons cost too much to waste , though. Always escort them with Galleons or fireships to ensure safety for your investment.

Imperial Age Naval Upgrades

Beyond the individual ship upgrades, there are four upgrades in Imperial that affect your ships. Bracer increases the range and attack of your galleons and so is a necessity. Chemistry increases the galleon attack by one, and is also a prerequisite for researching Cannon Galleons. Get it as soon as possible.
At the dock itself, their are two upgrades that affect your navy. Shipwright reduces the wood cost of ships, but at a considerable cost to you. Only get it if you forsee running out of wood at some point (for example on some migration maps). Shipwright means you are in the naval war for the long haul. Dry dock essentially makes your ships 15% faster. Like the similar upgrade for infantry, it doesn't seem like much, but it can help alot, especially for ships that must engage before attacking (fireships and demoships). Get it when you can- its nice but not essential early in imperial.

Tips for Imperial Age Naval Combat
-On many island type maps, the enemy may be fully or mostly accessible by cannon galleons. In these situations, you best bet is often to avoid a land army, Imperial as quickly as possible and build Cannon Galleons first thing. With sea control, your enemies will be hard pressed to stop the razing and you can often win the game.

-On maps where naval combat is factor, its often possible to wonder. If you do wonder, make sure your wonder is in the least accessible spot for cannon galleons.

-Remember to build docks like you would build barracks for champs- cover your island with them in an all out naval war.

-Turks get a bonus in Hitpoints for the Cannon galleon, but not the elite cannon galleon- avoid spending the money on elite cannon galleons and instead have an ally research them.

-A mixed army still works best in imperial. Heavy Demo ships are often under used- First engage with your galleons then send in the demo ships under cover and take out lots of ships all at once.

-Mass rules all. If you are losing the sea, don't keep sending boats to the slaughter ! Build some docks on the back of your landmass and build a large mass of boats before attacking.


General Tips not yet covered
-Remember that early in castle, a surprise attack on the opponents fishing can be as deadly as a surprise knight rush. Build a dock or two close to your enemy with your forward builders, and get a few fireships or war galleys garrisoned inside before attacking. Release them into the unsuspecting enemies fishing fleet and watch it go bye bye. Works especially well if your enemy is fighting your navy from another direction

-Landings can be overrated. In general, the more landmass that can be reached by Cannon Galleons, the less valuable a landing will be. In general a landing is best done as an attack to deny wood in conjunction with a naval attack.

-If you want to do a feudal attack with galleys, you might want to scout with one of your fishing boats as you click the button to upgrade to feudal.

-In planning for naval combat, be sure to have extra goldminers as you are transitioning to feudal or castle. The standard 3 miners just won't cut it to produce gold hungry navies. As a result of this, the gold mining upgrades are essential and much more beneficial when fighting a naval war.

-The wood upgrades are THE essential upgrades on Naval combat maps. Get double bit axe even before starting to castle, and get Bow Saw as soon as you arrive there. Wheelbarrow isn't as essential- the Wood Upgrades should come first if you have to choose.

-Remember to garrison your boats inside your docks to mass if you are facing a larger force. To do this remember that you cannot right click- you must manually select set gather point and then left click the dock.

-Feel free to make more fishing boats if you rule the seas and have good fishing left. Its much easier than transitioning to farming and its the bonus of ruling the seas.

-Remember that in a naval map the housing limit approaches fast. You should have housing for 75-80 when you feudal and housing for 100 or more when you castle to ensure maximum effectiveness


Wars between the ages
Unlike on land, you can be in real trouble if your opponent reaches the next age and has a chance to upgrade his ships. While regular castle fireships still counter galleons, they do so less effectively. The real difference comes when you are fighting vs the same kind of ship. Galleons will handily beat a similar fleet of War Galleys. By the same token, Fast fireships do much better vs regular fireships. Fast fireships vs war galleys is just a joke- the fireships win so bad its not even funny. So remember that the advantage in the Naval Battles goes to the person who ages the most quickly if the battle is at a stalemate.

Map Specific Considerations
Remember to take the map into account when decided which troops to use, and how much to invest in a Naval battle.

On coastal,continental, and rivers maps, the Naval battle is usually no more than a distraction. On these maps, your best bet is fireships- they work the best in smaller numbers.

On mediterranean, baltic, and Islands maps, A large group of galley type ships is often a good bet. Fireships lose to large groups of War Galleys, provide you keep them all together and concentrate fire. While fire galleys are still nice, you want to use more war galleys on these maps. The more open water means the naval battle is more important, meaning that large groups of ships can and should be the norm. These maps often have large areas reachable by cannon galleons- make sure to use them.

On crater lake and Migration maps, the water is divided by a large center island. While larger armies are still the norm, Fireships fare better here because Galley armies often won't be able to travel all together, and they often may be split due to AI pathing problems- leaving them ripe for the kill. While Galleys are still necessary, and cannon galleons essential, fireships are much more useful here and should be used more.

MrFixitOnlineAoKGame831.zip Category(s): Demo SpecificStrategyExample 12/2/99, 1:0 Settings: Random Map Medium Mediterranean Low, Normal, Normal (1.5) Pop: 200, Vic: Conquest

On the Road to the Expert Day 14: Game 1 t-1 DaRq_DarkJihad Celts Win t-1 FWH_jaheed Britons Win t-2 purple Byzantines Loss t-2 Staffa Chinese Loss

Watch DaRq_DarkJihad and Staffa battle on the Water in a 2v2 Meditteranean map. Jihad goes for the early galley attack, while staffa gets to castle first. Masterful work by Jihad in regards to navy allows him to control the seas while decimating Staffas fleet- essentially ending the game in Jihads favor.

MrFixitOnlineAoKGame832.zip Category(s): Demo SpecificStrategyExample 4/7/00, 1:0 Settings: Random Map Normal Islands Low, Normal, Normal (1.5) Pop: 200, Vic: Standard

On the Road to Expert- Day 14: Game 2 t-1 DaRq_DarkJihad Chinese Win t-1 Random ally Byzantines Win t-1 Random ally Britons Win t-2 DaRq_Navyseal Mongols Loss t-2 DaRq_Shepherd Celts Loss t-2 DaRq_TaLoN_ Persians Loss

MrFixitOnlineAoKGame833.zip Category(s): Demo SpecificStrategyExample 1/1/00, 1:0 Settings: Random Map Medium Islands Low, Normal, Normal (1.5) Pop: 200, Vic: Conquest

On the Road to Expert: Day 14- Game 3 t-1 KostyaBarzin Britons Win t-1 VG_Ranger Vikings Win t-2 Biz Celts Loss t-2 Pollux Byzantines Loss