Charleston harbour has missile defense system ?

[Spruce]

It seems my blockade fleets are being sunk in one turn by the naval defenses of Charleston SC.

My fleet (about 8-10) blockade ships goes to the entrance of the delta to blockade. During the game turn - a few "boom boom 's " go around and my fleet is gone !

I send a new one and the same thing happens.

What did I do wrong - I'm still new at these blockading tactics.

What does the blockading do ?

Does it really help to take down the confederacy ?

[Coregonas]

The normal reason is the city has several artillery well trenched.

However, destroying a full blockade group means it has several defending stacks with artillery, not a single unit.

(...or that you were moving up & down or some other rare thing.)

Each stack did a maximum of 50 hits/ battle. Your full stack has more than 50 hits...

Blockading a port -> -50% production. Of course losing so much units is not worth it...

[Bertram]

What version of the game are you playing?

In 1.09 it was indeed pretty notrmal that a fort sunk complete passing fleets in one turn. I have heard that in 1.10 it is more difficult for the forts to sink a fleet.

[Brochgale]

I reckon you have effectively blockaded Charleston harbour - with the wrecks of your own ships - sorry I could not resist that.

[Spruce]

I'm playing the latest patch - I think it's a a bug because my fleet got over 80 hits and was unable to deal zero hits.

I think the Charleston harbour is blockaded by a reef of bugs. Now continue laughing please.

Seriously - this was reproducable.

[arsan]

Charleston harbor is the hardest nut to crack (as was historically)
It has 3 forts which can bombard your fleet as he entries or leaves the area to blockade it. Not counting any guns emplace on teh city itself
A trick that i learned from an spanish forum member that could work (at a cost) is send a very BIG fleet.
Enter all the fleet at once (one stack) take the punishment that will be evenly dividend between the ships so none will sink and then leave next turn leaving there just the needed ships to blockade. The leaving ship will be fired again but not the blockading ones.
Be sure to put some transports in the blocking fleet so they can remain there for half a year or more... as extricating them form the harbor will be a very dangerous work because the will be fired again.
The main point of this tactic is that fleets are fired while entering/leaving the area, but not while remaining still on the area.
Oh, and use Farragut. He has a special ability than can avoid being bombarded.
In any case, the best advice would be to try to block other easier ports... the ones with just one or two forts... or take the forts before trying to blockade.
Also bear in mind that each fort increases the required elements to block the area. I think normally its 8 elements plus 4 for each fort...
Regards

[Brochgale]

It might be a strategy of blockading Chaleston as AI is opponent but when I play CSA I might end up having Charleston building Blackade runners but I never use it as a return port - Norfolk is usually the closest port to Atlantic blockade and shipping blocks. It makes sense for a CSA player to use closest port to maximise WS and Money returns from blockade runners. If I were playing Feds I would hunt out blockade runners and sink them on open seas rather than have my fleets etc sinking in heavily defended harbours.

[arsan]

Besides lowering the production of the blockaded harbor area, this brown water blockading also help upping the blue water blockade %.
This are the southern ports that increases the blue water blockade % when directly blockaded (the number is the % increase on the box)

$Warwick, VA|1|
$Norfolk, VA|5|
$Currituck, VA|1|
$Tyrell, NC|1|
$Hyde, NC|1|
$Beaufort, NC|3|
$Charleston, SC|8|
$Mobile, AL|6|

Norfolk has the best effort/reward relation in this list.
Charleston 8% is very nice, but also very costly to do.

Regards

[Spruce]

so it's not a bug then ! Wow - Charleston was really hard to blockade then.

Some amph. invasion will be required.

Anyhow, I've taken Richmond, Nashville and Memphis and Chattanooga.

Think the CSA is bleading to death.

[Banks6060]

I suggest taking the forts first before blockading ANY area. Because, unless I'm mistaken....supply will not make it to your ocean transports past an enemy controlled fort?

Charelston isn't worth the effort IMHO. Not until later in the war.

[Doomwalker]

Besides lowering the production of the blockaded harbor area, this brown water blockading also help upping the blue water blockade %.
This are the southern ports that increases the blue water blockade % when directly blockaded (the number is the % increase on the box)

$Warwick, VA|1|
$Norfolk, VA|5|
$Currituck, VA|1|
$Tyrell, NC|1|
$Hyde, NC|1|
$Beaufort, NC|3|
$Charleston, SC|8|
$Mobile, AL|6|

Norfolk has the best effort/reward relation in this list.
Charleston 8% is very nice, but also very costly to do.

Regards

Arsan,

Where did you get the list, and are there any other ports that will affect the blue water blockade? For instance does New Orleans have an affect percentage?

[arsan]

Arsan,

Where did you get the list, and are there any other ports that will affect the blue water blockade? For instance does New Orleans have an affect percentage?

Hi!
Sorry, i have been away last week.
The ports list was posted by another forum member (Antonyo) on the spanish subforum some months ago.
He explained that he got the info from one of the xls files from the AACW DB posted on the modding forum.
One of the lines of the April 61 campaign has the parameter "AddHarborBlockaded" for the ports i posted before.
New Orleans did not appear on the list Antonyo did so i suppose it has no related event for this. But i'm not sure at 100%. You could check it yourself downloading the AACW DB files from this post
http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?t=5358

Cheers!

[Pocus]

A cookie for someone putting in PDF the list of harbors with associated blockade %, in a nice presentation and some colors

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Bertram]

And what happens if you conquer a port?

Do ships "blocking" it still count, or dont they? Thay should not, as conquering it should hurt the CSA more then just blocking it..

[arsan]

I think conquering the port has the same effect than blocking.... but it uses less ships
Gray, the events you propose sound great if you can find a slot in your loooooong list of things "to do"
But they would not be top priority IMHO
Regards!

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[Rafiki]

1864 from the start. The US can start making an impact by starting with the larger ports, but if they want to put a full blockade into effect, they'll need to make a strategic decision to do so, emphasizing naval builds and/or naval invasions.

My 2 cents

[Jabberwock]

1864 from the start. The US can start making an impact by starting with the larger ports, but if they want to put a full blockade into effect, they'll need to make a strategic decision to do so, emphasizing naval builds and/or naval invasions.

My 2 cents

+1

We will definitely need some testing to make sure this doesn't unbalance the $ & WS.

Then we can seriously start looking at inconsistencies in the naval forces provided for the different scenarios.

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[Pocus]

Sorry I was sleeping. Me lazy French.

+1 for the 1864 from the start settings.
Except for a bug, taking the port achieve the same result.

I would like also that we consider reducing by a good 1/3 the initial WSU production for both side. Yes, even if it hampers more the CSA. They should be poorer in industrial potential than they are.

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[Doomwalker]

Hi!
Sorry, i have been away last week.
The ports list was posted by another forum member (Antonyo) on the spanish subforum some months ago.
He explained that he got the info from one of the xls files from the AACW DB posted on the modding forum.
One of the lines of the April 61 campaign has the parameter "AddHarborBlockaded" for the ports i posted before.
New Orleans did not appear on the list Antonyo did so i suppose it has no related event for this. But i'm not sure at 100%. You could check it yourself downloading the AACW DB files from this post
http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?t=5358

Cheers!

Thanks for the info Arsan, and the link to the file.

[Bertram]

While we are on the War Supply: would it be an idea to total the amount of points a side gets, and then applying the NM modifier?
Unless I am very mistaken, the modifier is now applied earlier in the formula (either at state level or even at town level). Due to the rounding of factors, this means that there are jumps in the amount of War Supply a side gets when the the NM gets just a bit higher or lower (I think because all towns reach the moment the fractions are rounded up at the same time).

[Pocus]

Regarding the 1/3 reduction you are referring to. In what way are you suggesting it should be changed? The initial amount itself, or reducing the individual cities outputs, or both?

Both actually. But as Bertram suggests, I have to see if there is not a rounding factor problem.

[Daxil]

I suggest taking the forts first before blockading ANY area. Because, unless I'm mistaken....supply will not make it to your ocean transports past an enemy controlled fort?

Charelston isn't worth the effort IMHO. Not until later in the war.

That's what I was thinking. Also, I don't think forts fire on you unless you "leave" the space they're guarding or attack them do they? At least that was my experience during my brief go as Union.