Which is a better purchase for $24 (ok, AC and trans costs a bit more but still almost the same price)? When and why?
i’ve seen enough questions posed like this one to know that you’re going to need to be a little bit more specific about what you mean by ‘better.’ otherwise you’re just going to get a never-ending argument involving people arguing 2 very different things.
does ‘better’ mean the stronger attack strength? defense strength? if so then it’s not an opinion, it’s just a math calculation.
do you have an excess of fighters? 24 IPCs along with excess fighters from previous purchases makes buying a carrier worth more than just 24 IPCs without any fighters to put on the carrier.
do you already have naval units from previous purchases? if you’re adding 24 IPCs of naval units to an already existing naval force you might get different answers than if the reader assumes this is supposed to be a stand alone force.
which nation are you talking about? it matters because some nations are generally trying to move ground units and thus need transports. other nations might just be trying to block enemy naval units and thus might not need transports as much.
if by ‘better’ you mean incorporating all possible factors, then once again you will just get people arguing 2 different things… someone thinking ferrying troops is most important and someone else thinking attack/defense is the most important, etc…
I voted for the transports. The basis for this is the following:
The assumption is that the purchase will be for a country that needs naval units to achieve its ends. This would almost always exclude Germany and Russia, which would be buying ground units in 99.999% of cases.
The game is ultimately won or lost on the ground - only transports allow you to make a naval purchase that directly affects what you can do on the ground.
Excess transports allow greater flexibility of attack options.
The exceptions:
a) If BOTH UK BB’s survive G1, but Germany otherwise has a relatively strong opening, I would consider buying a 3rd BB to allow the UK to economically cripple Germany by way of offshore bombardment. 1 inf, 3 BB shots per round v Germany can do a LOT of damage to the Axis.
b) If Japan has secured Industrial Technology (but not HB’s), I would consider buying a fleet of subs for the US to compel Japan to buy naval defending units at nearly full price rather than infantry at bargain basement cost.
c) If the US loses both BB and CV in the Pacific in rounds 1 & 2, I’d buy a CV, most likely with a transport.
Thanks for the input BlackWatch. Of course purchases are dependant on many factors, but that is what I wanted to discuss.
I like the idea of subs in the Pacific (if Japan has IT) to try to knock out the transports. I have thought this might be a weak point for the axis, but have never tried this in a real game. The closest I have tried is retreating the sub in HI towards Japan, then attacking transports with this sub and the fighter in China (got lucky with it surviving). Have you ever tried (and been successful) this approach?
I’ve never tried the BB constant bombardment of W. Europe. Assuming this produces a net gain of 6 to 9 ipc a turn, the extra BB would be responsible for 2-3 ipcs (divided by 3) and would pay for itself in about 10 turns. It does divert infantry from the Eastern front, but I dunno if the money couldn’t have been better spent elsewhere… Has anyone tried this before?
In about 300 on line games I’ve bought the extra BB for the UK twice and the subs v Japanese IT once - all three were won games. If I remember right, the buy of subs was accompanied by a very cheap acquisition of super subs. Japan was already struggling and threw in the towel as soon as the first purchase was laid down.
overall the 3 subs is the best buy vs. Sea Units… My take is that it can Sink a BB, Can Retreat easy from combat, only downfall is Vs. Air… IT also can force enemy Sea units to change course when you Station them in a hitting position from there fleet (like Japan blocking a US Island Hopping Campaign) but for fleet Defense AC and Tranny…
GG
By far the Aircraft Carrier is more bang for the buck if you are no in danger of being sunk the first turn after placement. You can put planes on it an get better firepower than a battleship at a greater range. Otherwise 3 subs.
I would never buy a Battleship. They are only good if you are using the 2 hit battleship rule. Even then I would still take a carrier if I could defend it long enough to get planes on board.
