Bk917

Unsurprisingly, I agree completely with pandakraut.

I find the flavor text to be very confusing/misleading when it gives a description that is contradicted by the stars.

I don’t understand why troop ships have a limited number of units (as opposed to just a limit on the number of troops) that can be transported. If a transport can carry 1,000 troops, what is the logic for requiring those troops to be in no more than 4 units? I often like to have my troops in 100-200 man units to have more tactical flexibility (in addition to what can be achieved by separating skirmishes). Similarly, I would be more likely to include a small artillery unit (say 2-4 guns) if that didn’t burn one of a limited number of spaces.

other than reducing cannon carriage weight, I haven’t used too many of the ship upgrades yet. Knocking down all the masts seems to help accelerate surrender. It can help minimize the damage to the ship I want to capture, and reduce their morale if I need to board.

I haven’t found grapeshot to be very useful. I like double shot in situations where I might otherwise use grapeshot, and raking the stern is the best I generally target the foremast manually. I don’t use chain shot much, preferring to target mast, but I could see using chain if your guns are too small for mast. In Total War: Empire, I focused on chain because it had a longer range than round (in addition to damaging sails to allow you to control engagement.) In UA:AoS, chain has a shorter ranger than round shot, which could be more realistic, but makes it less useful. The idea of targeting the waterline is interesting. I have used the Congreves and the EIC line a lot, with occasional Woolwich guns for range. I think a lot of the battle is 500 yards or closer, so I have wanted guns that had high damage and decent penetration out to 500 yards. Most of cannonades seemed to have too little penetration (except for ultra short range). it has been interesting that a cannon’s utility doesn’t seem that tied to price. Certainly, the bigger guns are more expensive, but within each size the price doesn’t seem determinative. Eg, the J&H guns are expensive, but have little penetration. In addition to providing more damage for their size, I like how the Congreves and the EIC cannons reload quicker - due to shorter barrels. Quicker reloading is valuable for getting more focused lead on target.

Can anyone explain the exact cause and effect of the different types of shocks? I have seen rigging shock, artillery shock, and crew shock. Rigging shock seems to be caused by felling a mast. The artillery shock can be a good broadside. I assume those are good times to board the enemy.

Thanks

One thing I find challenging about UA:AoS (and UGCW) is how often a unit routs repeatedly, but keeps coming back even after it is small and should give up. It is like Freddy Krueger or Jason , how many times these units rally from routing. My units try to move on to the next objective, and get flanked (or rearflanked) by these annoying units (sometimes very small). It seems that after a unit “shatters,” it is gone. Is that right? How can I expedite units shattering? I try to charge them from behind when they are touting, but can’t always catch up. Similarly, what are the mechanics for capturing enemies?

Is there any way to support in battle saves? Ultimate Admiral seems to really suck down the power of my laptop. Even when I have it plugged in when playing Ultimate Admiral, the laptop seems to stop charging at some point - if I am using Ultimate Admiral - and I suddenly have a critical power situation. It is like Ultimate Admiral uses more power than my laptop can get from its A/C adapter.