Low Tier Carrier Tactics

In matchmaking the first things you need to know is the map and the enemy composition. If the map is small then its likely you will be rushed by sea & air. Knowing if the opposition has carriers or not is also important.

As you play against the same people, especially other cv's, you will learn to associate their names with plane compositions they tend to use.

Generic Start Up

Initially you want to get 2 or 3 fighters up in the air fast. I prefer 3 as I feel more confident to snipe scouts and counter quick bomber rushes.

From that point you have choices to make depending on the map size and CV count.

Small map - if enemy team has carriers 

Start your generic start up. Depending on what the response is, back that up with one more squad of fighters (anything from 3-5 planes).

Now you have a bit of air superiority follow that up with your bombers.

With this strategy, watch for other ships attempting to rush you.

Small map - if enemy team doesn't have carriers 

You could get 1 or 2 fighters up or forego them entirely and get bombers out fast. Form groups of 3 bombers to keep the pressure on. as these will be quicker to launch.

Prioritise any ships running you down.

Enemy team has superior carrier(s) 

In situations where you are outnumbered or outclassed, try one of the following alternatives:  

1. Start with the generic 2 or 3 fighters. Keep them close to your teams' ships (ready to lower altitude & bait them into ships AAA range) or...
2. Load 5 fighters for the first two groups. Hold the first group back so you don't reveal you're spamming fighters. Keep them together. Poke around to see what resistance you meet.

Option 2 can work because of superior numbers. 10 planes should usually win out over 5 etc etc...

[A few times I've suppressed a tier nine CV in a lower tier one simply because he couldn't rally enough fighters and hence gets outnumbered]

I guess he's thinking "Hey I'm in a higher tier, that small cv will only bomb other ships instead of gaining air superiority".  

If he has loaded bombers and sees your planes mopping things up he may switch to fighters, in which case the race is on to maintain air superiority. Load a third group of fighters and maybe a fourth & fifth.

By group 4 + 5 consider whether it's worth loading bombers or not. And by this point your first group of planes will be needing to refuel.

If your first group of fighters is totally spent (weak or out of fuel) let them crash so you can get a new group ready.

Early tier CV's find it easier using torpedo bombers. I say this as TB can avoid both AA and AAA because there altitude is low to the water.

Despite low tier levels (around 50- 70) you will still be avoiding ships and aa, so the planes don't need to be strong/evasive anyway.

Enemy team has inferior carrier(s) 

If the enemy team has lower tier carriers than you still get fighters up and suppress any FW or BW that you may face.

Don't be lenient or complacent over lower tiers. Some high level players with level 100 officers run around in low tier cv's.

One or Two Months

That was the quote from SDEnternet's development team in this forum post about when harbour assault mode will be tested.

This is fantastic news as many will be eager to get involved with this test. Super hyper buzzing right now!

Coming back to reality, the dev team also revealed that the planning period has finished and they are well under way with the actual development of their plan.

They teased by saying that the first test will be a couple months away. Even more interestingly they revealed that the harbour assaults will be on a "grander scale" than in nf1 previously.

The harbour assaults were a 5x5 grid fashion. Win a battle room to win a grid, work your way to the harbour tile, win the battle and then capture the harbour.

It is anyones guess exactly what they mean by a "grander scale". It could be that more than one fleet is involved. Or maybe there is a new world map and/or grid layout that offers new routes and challenges to get to the harbours.

Also what about rewards? If the same holds true from nf1, obtaining a harbour means you get free repairs on ships of that nation and access to producing unique ships.

Hopefully there will be a few more surprises in store for the rewards you get when owning a harbour.

The final note was that screenshots will be coming soon so that we all get a taster of what the new mode and interface will look like in readiness for the live server test.

Exciting times? Yes. We can't wait!

Tier XI Battleships

Having spent enough time & effort along with boat loads of experience & credits you have proudly bought your first BB XI. Either the long range Iowa, the accurate H39, the devastating Yamato, or the speedy and sleek Vanguard

All tier 11 battleships do not have secondary he guns. This means your DPS is limited to your main guns reload time.

However they have the longest range and most powerful guns on the sea. Tier XI's also have the highest amounts of DP in the game so far most sport a formidable AA complement with long range and damage capability. High tier BB's are quicker than previous ones.

But being in a top tier ship whilst every other players is in a tier 10 or less means you are public enemy number one. Every ship will be itching to shoot every form of high explosive destruction they can at you under the sun.

Congratulations, you will now become the biggest electro-magnet of shells and torpedoes ever, good luck.

Gameplay Changes

Play to your strengths: range, high damage, speed and accuracy.
Be aware of weaknesses: slow turn rate, long reload times, easy to hit and bomb.

I've underlined range, because you will definitely want to use it. Once you are in the range of other battleships and heavy cruisers they will target you and that is exactly what you want to avoid: being in the range of several enemy ships at once.

Your speed will allow you to dictate the flow of battle. Push other battleships back by pinging them with a salvo or two. Then watch for support ships rushing in to attack you. If you stray too close to a few enemies, speed away back to the safety of your team.

Stay within the safety net of your team. Going it alone gives your enemy an invitation to attack you whether they can successfully destroy you or just strip your armour and be a nuisance.

Also make it a habit of targeting ships you are designed to hit. Prioritize other battleships and Heavy cruisers that stray too close. It's pointless to attack distant apa's & dd's as most shells will miss and you will be wasting your shells and overall battle effectiveness in the process.

Initially It's far better to land more shells on an enemy battleship dealing upwards of 30k damage rather than missing the majority of shells on a ship who is far away and never going to harm you.

Learn to focus fire and prioritize weakened ships. If you see a half damaged ship that will bug-out try to sink it. Sinking it results in one less enemy firing at you and makes your life that bit easier.

I've seen this many many times where players will target the nearest ship to them, when a ship a little farther away is close to being sunk. In certain circumstances (maybe a crippled BB 9-11) you may want to pursue it to remove its effectiveness from the battle.

Evaluate targets worth shooting. Some targets may be so crippled that you could be wasting your shells on them, while other nearby ships can take them out. Target a new ship and leave the crippled one to your allies. If there are no allies around you finish him off yourself, but switch firing to gradual mode and only use what ammo is necessary to sink them.

High damage is only as good as your accuracy, spread and personal aiming skills are. If you are constantly missing shells your damage output will be reduced and your overall contribution to the team effort will be low.

Items

The best items for tier XI's are the boiler enhancement, and a reload item.
You want to be fast, and reload more quickly in general matchmaking battles. You will probably want some armour. How much is up to you.

In Harbour Assaults you will definitely want to repair more quickly to keep your ships from sinking. Equipping an advance repair crew will increase your battle endurance.

Armour is good for matchmaking. Speed is just as valuable for tier XI than taking a few extra hits. Maybe 1/1 Belt/Deck is sufficient. Don't over estimate the value of armour:  it's helpful yes but it doesn't make you invincible.

Think of armour as a limited buffer of dp. It never lasts forever. And it will slow you down the more you have. It really depends on your play style and the battle situation. In matchmaking you may want a bit or a lot. In fleet battles, speed might be more crucial to attack and withraw instead of having that dp buffer. Time will tell.

Bear in mind that tier XI's won't be the top of the tree for long, as tier XII's have already been leaked by the devs. And will probably be slightly quicker, tougher, dealing more damage and having even more range.

Value of Kiting

Kiting is technique in which a player uses his ship in a hit and run fashion. While the player giving chase is at a disadvantage the runner gains the advantage due to continually slipping out of gun range during every firing cycle.

This is a sound tactic especially if a player is alone and knows he will get sunk by the combined fire of his opponents.

Two keys factors in nf2 are the speed and size of your ship. In relation to incoming shells kiting becomes easier with a faster and smaller ship (CA, CL & DD's). Smaller ships are also much more agile and can turn to avoid shells.

Kiting is an effective method that can discourage  aggressors from pursuing you. Kiting can work in many 1v1 situations regardless of what ship you are in, but it is much more effective if your ship is quicker.

Kiting is an integral part of the game, especially when it comes to ship to ship combat and fleet actions.

Effective fleets will draw a ship towards them, forcing them to miss their salvo, whilst the rest of the team will hit the ship that advances with a barrage of shells.

Basic Carrier Tips

If you are looking for a fresh perspective on the game, carriers might be the place to start. They are a fun, challenging and unquestionably the most crucial ship class in the game.

The entire team looks to their carriers as a source of protection from bombers and most importantly vision for the team during the battle.

Starter Tips

Carriers can operate quickly or slowly. A quick carrier can respond to changing circumstances. 

To begin with you have a small tier V carrier with few planes, a runway that can launch 5 planes at a time and very weak level 1 planes.

When loading planes it's quicker to ready two or three at a time over four or five which take longer to fuel. On small maps being quick is imperative.

You can control 5 groups of planes at one time. You will usually want fighters up first, protecting you and your team. Once secure then begin loading bombers. Rotate planes that are low on fuel.

TIP:  At level 1-59 use torpedo bombers and stay clear of enemy ships to preserve your planes. Level 1 dive bombers just evaporate to AAW.

TIP: When engaging other groups of fighters if you're outnumbered or the enemy is a greater level than you, lure their planes down into your friendly ships AAW radius to shred them.

From this point its up to you to read the battle situation as it develops. Are you getting harassed by small ships, or bombed by another carrier. What targets are easy to bomb, what scouts can you mop up.

Carriers have to be able to think about several different things at once and pay attention to important matters in the air first.

Advanced carrier tips coming soon...

Pre Harbour Assault Era

Now that daily quest missions have been added in the 13th August weekly update, the devs have shifted their focus onto end-game content.

At the moment Navyfield's population is low. However despite that, I can guarantee that not only does everyone want harbour assaults to be added,  HA's are the very reason they started playing navyfield for in the first place and because of this they will come flooding back once the end game contents is rolled out on the server.

Not only will it be a boost to the population but it'll also be a huge boost for the community and for the life of navyfield 2. From the developers point of view it will provide a significant and ongoing boost in premium sales, as players compete to kit out their officers and ships to the limits.

Harbour assaults will prove to be the most competitive aspect of the navyfield experience, and everyone involved will want their ships to perform at there best. Fleet rivalries and alliances will be forged as the game evolves.

Testing Phase

As stated in one of their recent newsletters the developers informed us that active fleets will get the chance to test out harbour assaults. This will be great as fleets can be directly involved in how the HA mode will run.

The development team teased fleets informing us that those most active will be awarded with the first harbours when they go live. This is a great enough incentive for fleets to be getting their ships and tactics up to scratch to be ready for the testing phase.

Being Ready

Many non-premium players know that harbour assaults are a little way off yet and there has been no reason to rush getting multiple end tier ships in record time. And to be honest many who have spent lots of money so far feel short-changed because they can't really use those top tier ships for anything other than end-game content, which simply isn't there.

However all players can still be getting as many ships as they can. High tier or not, the more ships you have at your disposal for a harbour assault the better. Why? Well, during a harbour assault your ships can not be repaired in the shipyard. That means a sunken ship will be unusable for the rest of the assault.

This is one of the defining aspects of harbour assaults, sinking a ship to remove it from further battles. The two fleets go into contention against all the ships in the opposing fleets shipyards. It becomes a battle of attrition, requiring fleets to wear away the other fleets' powerful ships until they are forced to submit.

This makes players act more cautiously than normal, as they do not want to lose their best ships early on. However it also brings other skills and knowledge into the mix. For instance, repair rate becomes more important as damaged ships can retreat from the front line to heal up.

Adjusting from the chaos and randomness of matchmaking games to having two highly skilled fleets battling with their most lethal ships is going to be the challenge this game really deserves along with the satisfaction of overcoming the odds to claim the prize: a harbour.

But we don't just want the harbours, we want the rewards and the prestige that go along with them. Access to unique ships and proof to the claim that our fleet can be one of the best out there. Not just at the game itself, but because of what we stand for.

Daily Mission Update

As of right now the current server update has been completed and will introduce some moderate changes, two of which include:

• Daily Quest Missions (see details below)
• Majority of ships are receiving revisions (see details below)

Daily Missions

The daily mission are pretty much like you would expect to see in most games, complete a mission and receive/claim the reward.

The majority of missions will reward credits, but complete all the mission for day and you will earn some gold. This will be very useful for everyone looking to save up gold over a longer time.

But the incentive is for players to get onto the game server everyday, and get something back for doing that.

Among the ship adjustments are: 

• all battleships receive a universal 1 knot speed reduction
• all light cruiser plane capacity reduced from 5 down to 3
• the battleship New Mexico (USN) receives a 15% reduction in accuracy
• all high angle battleships accuracy increased by 5%.  (high angle = above 41 deg)
• all carriers receive a large DP increase (between 20-30k) somewhere between CL/CA's

*The full update from the developers can be seen here if you're interested in the exact figures.

For their size cv's are quite squishy, hence the dp increase. I'm all for that, as it seems strange that such large ships can be sunk so easily, making any small aggressor a serious problem. Small maps are  notorious for a quick cv rush.

The New Mexico has caused a lot of discussion and debate on the forum months ago and again recently because it is clearly out-classing ships of  higher tiers due a combination of great angles, shell spread, reload time, shell damage, and ship size. We will see after the update how much the accuracy change affects it.

Battleships are being slowed down slightly to help submarines, but also to encourage battleships to use gold boiler items. [yes devs we saw what you did there] Speed is key for battleships. 

High angle guns are slightly more difficult to use, and in line with the NM getting nerfed, the opposite end of the scale those high anglers are getting a 5% increase in accuracy to assist (albeit very slightly) with high angle hang time.

Lastly the light cruiser's plane capacity being reduced. Many would not agree with this. But a ship that has very accurate guns is very quick and highly maneuverable and being pretty small. To have all that AND 5 planes is a bit excessive. And it practically makes light cruisers very (if not too) similar to heavy cruisers.

Light cruisers are in a strange multi-purpose support ship role, being weak compared to DD/CA/BB who can dish out the damage. This makes their role not as well defined as it was previously in nf 1 where they were very potent at AA and/or ASW. Truly a support ship to BB & CV