Answer to HDreamer's comment on RvT Wargames's Rule the Waves 3 episode 56
Jul 9, 2024 9:36:10 GMT -6
garrisonchisholm likes this
Post by Echo on Jul 9, 2024 9:36:10 GMT -6
As YT keeps deleting my answer to this post www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqzKbtqUYQ&lc=Ugw7rYWSQPVzTrua8MB4AaABAg.A56JikxPxm7A5dY9-IlYSd I've decided to answer here (which also allows me to include a link,
too).
CVs with heavy jet fighters (piston-engine fighters if you don't have them yet) are a must have to prevent enemy attack jets from roflstomping you. I was extremely lucky to have a war right when I had heavy jet fighters and jet attacks while the enemy didn't have them but instead had light jet fighters: during the first few carrier battles I sent air strikes during the day like I was used to (since the start of my campaign in 1935) but lost the vast majority of my squadrons to their CAP, then I switched to nocturnal air strikes, which were devastating as the enemy had virtually no CAP. That is to say, even if CVs are relegated to a defensive role (barring that extremely lucky case), don't shun them or you'll regret it, doubly so since the SAM hit chance nerf a few patches ago.
If you're interested in my experience pre SAM hit chance nerf, as outdated as it might now be, please refer to drive.google.com/drive/folders/12nuDHYmcPhGEhEhMHzzsldE9Ty40bdXH (I've yet to seriously attempt another campaign post that nerf, but I already tried a couple of things which didn't work well enough for me).
Regarding anti-missile defense:
The MSAMs dilemma:
too).
CVs with heavy jet fighters (piston-engine fighters if you don't have them yet) are a must have to prevent enemy attack jets from roflstomping you. I was extremely lucky to have a war right when I had heavy jet fighters and jet attacks while the enemy didn't have them but instead had light jet fighters: during the first few carrier battles I sent air strikes during the day like I was used to (since the start of my campaign in 1935) but lost the vast majority of my squadrons to their CAP, then I switched to nocturnal air strikes, which were devastating as the enemy had virtually no CAP. That is to say, even if CVs are relegated to a defensive role (barring that extremely lucky case), don't shun them or you'll regret it, doubly so since the SAM hit chance nerf a few patches ago.
If you're interested in my experience pre SAM hit chance nerf, as outdated as it might now be, please refer to drive.google.com/drive/folders/12nuDHYmcPhGEhEhMHzzsldE9Ty40bdXH (I've yet to seriously attempt another campaign post that nerf, but I already tried a couple of things which didn't work well enough for me).
Regarding anti-missile defense:
- CIWS (or radar directed MAA if you don't have CIWS yet): they cover only the ship they are installed on, and don't suffer a hit chance penalty when targeting sea-skimming missiles and aircrafts;
- LSAMs: initially as CIWS, they gain the ability to protect nearby ships after you research "improved light SAM" (though given their short range, I wouldn't rely on them to cover nearby ships); additionally, like CIWS they don't suffer a hit chance penalty when targeting sea-skimming missiles and aircrafts;
- MSAMs: initially incapable of targeting missiles, after researching "improved medium SAM" they gain the ability to target them; at that point, they also become the best choice to protect other ships from missiles (which puts you in front of a dilemma; more on this later); another problem: after you research "anti surface capability for SAM", they (and HSAM) gain the ability to target enemy ships: before the SAM hit chance nerf this was actually a good thing as they were the best anti-ship weapon, but now you risk uselessly expending them as you try to stay close enough to the enemy ships to prevent them from disappearing from your radars due to distance;
- CAP: best anti-ASM defense against missiles that are still attached to aircrafts / that have not been launched yet.
The MSAMs dilemma:
- if you install MSAMs on smaller ships (e.g. DDs) so that they can protect more valuable ships (e.g. CLs, CAs, BXs and CVs), the DDs won't be too happy about the extra weight they have to carry, which will force you to make a compromise by sacrificing something else on those smaller ships (which are already heavily compromised by them displacing too little);
- if you install MSAMs on bigger ships, _they_ will protect the smaller ships, but that's like putting the cart in front of the horse (well, you _could_ think of them as gaining the ability to protect themselves better by adding another layer of missile defense / shooting missiles further away, but...).
