Hey Switch.
Can we hold off on option 3 (Z06 block) for a few more posts? I think we’re close to wrapping up option 2 - the counterattack against the unified fleet.
1. As other posters have pointed out, it looks like we have the two best UK attack purchases: 3ftr for raw hitting power or 1sub 1des 1ftr for defensive holding power. 2bmr/3sub are not viable options.
2. I asked about the rotating attack option where you start with the UK but finish with the US. Let’s walk through what it looks like. If you plan on hitting Z07 with the UK, you can pull back before you clear the zone. That would enable you to retreat to Z08, which in turn enables you to unite with US boats built R1. That means UK can build 3tra R2, preserve their battleship, and rely on the US to supply another capital ship for defense against the German planes.
The US, then, would want to look for a first round kill against whatever grey boats remain. You could have a max US force of 2tra 2des 3ftr 1bmr + purchase. And actually, for true max value the Pearl Harbor ftr might live. Let’s assume it dies ;-)
You don’t want to have boats left in Z07, so the way you would do it is to send in just enough fodder (tra + des) to absorb hits but still kill all the boats. The UK can’t get enough hits in one round to justify the strafe (too much left for the US), so you’re going to need to go two rounds. That means you need to buy 1sub 1des 1ftr with the UK or the battleship is very likely to get hit by a sub R2.
So you would have this:
UK: 2tra 1sub 1des 1btl 3ftr 1bmr : oPunch = 22 : oHits = 4
Ger: 5tra 3sub 1des 1btl : dPunch = 18 : dHits = 3
After one round:
UK: 1sub 1des 1btl 3ftr 1bmr : oPunch = 22 : oHits = 4
Ger: 2tra 3sub 1des 1btl : dPunch = 15 : dHits = 3
After two rounds, the most common outcome is:
UK: 1btl 2ftr 1bmr (if you’re retreating to Z08, you probably don’t need the destroyer, but you could lose another ftr instead)
Ger: 1sub 1des 1btl : dPunch = 9 : dHits = 2 : dCount = 4
So with the US you want to put 4 hits on the Germans while only exposing 2 cheap casualties.
We have: 2tra 2des 3ftr 1bmr + purchase. We don’t want to send in more than 2tra because whatever lives in Z07 will be Planed down by Germany.Â
US: 2tra 3ftr 1bmr: oPunch = 13 : oHits = 2
We need more juice. We can either send in a destroyer or two, or buy planes R1 to hit Z07. We can buy ftrs to do that if we also buy a carrier for them to start on. We need 12 punch more for FRK (first round kill). That would mean sending in both des and buying 1car 2ftr. Hmph.Â
Or we could skip FRK and just go for the win using all 4 green boats. Wasteful. Hmph.
Ok, that walkthrough makes me not a fan of a rotating attack. The benefit of the rotation was supposed to be to try and preserve Allied boats, but because you risk getting stuck in Z07 with either fleet, the rotation is not very economical.
You can’t count on a third UK strafing round because you could take out the German boats and then the UK would have moved up beyond the protection of the US R1 build. If the UK built transports, you’re in trouble.
I think if you’re going for the option of killing the United Fleet, you just need to go all the way with the UK.
I think the earlier summary stands with a couple modifications:
Pro Z07 attack w/ 3ftr purchase: German navy dies 67% of the time from the UK; US can finish off remainder.
Con Z07 attack w/ 3ftr purchase: Starting UK navy dies R2. R1 purchase dies R2. Fleet unprotected. Significant chance of a bad outcome in Z07 attack. No troops in Africa for UK earlier than R3.
Misc: Buying 1sub 1des 1ftr allows you to defend Z07 in conjunction with a UK naval build R2; a rotating attack from UK/US is not as good as you might think so you’re probably better off with planning on the UK as the primary attack and US only on cleanup from bad dice.
That summary says you can take out the unified fleet, but it’s not pretty. I’m still happy as the Germans.
Anyone see anything major missed in that?
