Some questions about Carriers

[Rocko1]

Now with the Carriers having additional capabilities can someone explain the best techniques or strategy in using them. I will be honest i am a little lost when it comes to the Fighter Cap, Naval Tactical and mix modes. Then add the Fighter or Mix mode settings of Auto, Intercept, escort and ground. Thanks

[Capt Andrew]

Rocko1,

The manual describes it best. But for a Reader's Digest version:

Fighter mode - Use this if you are worried about air strikes against your carrier or ships within CAP range.

Naval/Tactical - Use this for best results when hitting other ships or ground units. Think of it as arming your planes with torpedoes or HE bombs.

Mix - A mixture of both modes. Not as good vs. other planes, and not as good vs. ships/ground units...but better than fighter vs. ships and naval/tactical vs. fighters. A good compromise if you want to attack another ship, but are worried about their combat air patrol protection or the possibility of retaliative strikes against you the following turn.

Modes generally apply to Fighter mode only. Set to fighter/CAP and then select Mode:

Auto - Default mode. Fighters will escort other naval/tactical attacks if intercepted by other carriers or ground fighters. They'll also intercept incoming attacks if their strength is > 5.

Intercept - Intercepts incoming attacks. Think of it as having fighters circling above in combat air patrols looking for inbound attacks. Will protect friendly units within range. I typically like to keep my carriers in Fighter/Intercept mode when moving around the map. It helps to know what mode they are in right away because of the "I" icon next to the carrier.

Escort - Won't intercept, but will escort your naval/tactical or strategic attacks in case they are intercepted. Honestly, I rarely use this mode.

Ground - Keep those planes on the ground so they won't escort or intercept. I only use this if I am completely confident that my carrier won't be attacked, is out of spotting range, and that I'm planning a massive counter attack.

Hope this helps. But don't forget, as important as it is to have your carriers in the right mode, it's equally or more important to have your surface vessels in a protective placement in front. I prefer (when possible) to spread them out with a tile between them, subs in front, then destroyers, then cruisers, and battleships closest to the carrier. I do this because if you lose your subs or destroyers, they're cheapest to replace. Having a surprise encounter with a sub can inflict some nasty damage. And if your opponent keeps pushing forward, hopefully they will keep getting surprise encounters with increasing damage. Saving your cruisers and battleships for surface attacks (hint, a BB can inflict brutal damage to an unprotected carrier!) in a counter attack can really swing the battle to your side. Sometimes it's the counter attack that means the most!

Technology is also key. Having a fully upgraded carrier is vital when encountering other carriers or surface ships.

One more hint... carriers are your queens and kings all put together. Protect them and treat them like gold. But don't trade excessive surface fleets just to sink an opponents. Japan can't afford even up trades like America can due to the economic situation. So America can be slightly more aggressive. but if a trade looks like: 1 CV lost to 2 BB, 2 CA... it's not THAT great of a trade. But it also depends on the situation. If you know Japan only has one carrier in the area, you can be more aggressive. TONS of things to take into consideration, and the main campaign (Operation Z) does not have a "cookie cutter" strategy that wins every time.

Hope this helps!

[Rocko1]

Thanks for the help Capt. its interesting how old non strategies with carriers from previous versions of Strategic Command go out the window in this version!