Blockade Basics?

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [American Civil War] >> American Civil War – The Blue and the Gray >> Blockade Basics?

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Blockade Basics? - 7/31/2007 10:31:36 PM

a24cav

Posts: 7
Joined: 7/29/2007
Status: offline

The rule book is a little thin, to say the least, on how to actually set up the blockade.

For the "distant" blockade, blockade fleets appear to be best, but you have to have enough to rotate so you can keep about 4 such fleets in each blockade zone all the time. That appears to get you a 25% rating in the Atlantic and Gulf zones, but the overall investment is significant (basically 8 blockade fleets to cover each zone, so 16 total?) I haven't tried using just 3 fleets per zone (a total requirement of 12 fleets) to see what kind of % you get. Anyone try that?

For the "close" blockade, you have to park units in the "exit zones" for each Confederate port you want to shut down. To find out which sea zones go with which port, you have to look at the tool tip for each port one by one. Here is what it looks like for the major Southern Ports (the ones Level 4 or higher):

1. Norfolk (Level 5): Exits Hampton Roads(5 units), Cape Henry(6 units), Cape Charles(4 units)

2. Wilmington (Level 7): Exits Carolina Coast(4 units), Reaves Point(4 units)

3. Charleston (Level 9): Charleston Bay (6 units)

4. Savannah (Level 6): Savannah Estuary (4 units)

5. Mobile (Level 6): Farmouth Beach (4 units), Jackson Shore (4 units)

6. New Orleans (Level 10): North Mississippi Delta (4 units), South Mississippi Delta (4 units)

7. Galveston (Level 4): Galveston Bay (4 units), Brazos Estuary (4 units)

For each of these, a "unit" appears to not be the same thing as an "element", but rather a separate ship counter (a counter equaling a picture of a ship in the unit window)? So, to shut down all the ports 4+ in size, the Union needs a whopping 114 ship units (twice the number for each zone to allow for rotations). Yikes. Better start building fast in 1861.

That being said, it is hard to know from the Union side where the cost-benefit trade off lies, because cranking out that many ships is not cheap. How much do the distant blockades hurt the south vs. the close ones? What about all those level 1 ports, do you have to blockade those as well? Does blockading 4 of those = blockading one level 4 port? Does taking the pre-war forts at the exits to these ports do the same thing as a close blockade? Anyone have any ideas?

Doug

Post #: 1

RE: Blockade Basics? - 8/2/2007 6:38:02 PM

submariner0

Posts: 9
Joined: 7/28/2007
Status: offline

This question resembles one I submitted on blockade mechanics .. with no definite responses.

Can someone who understands the blockade aspect of the game please provide some answers .. thanks in advance.

\quoting my thread\
For inland ports do you blockade the zone where the rivers or estuaries exit to the sea (which seems to make sense) or do you need to put the units in the areas listed in the tool tip when you hover over the city's harbor symbol? I put sufficient units to blockade the only exit zone to the sea for Charleston, but received no blockade icon for the city .. without this icon the city is not really blockaded, correct ? In the same vein, New Orleans harbor lists Lower Mississippi River and Bayou Run as exits. Do two zones cover Lower Mississippi River (North and South Delta?) or just one? Following Bayou Run around seems to indicate an ocean exit at Lafayette Sound .. should this also be blockaded? Maybe I am just overthinking this thing, but the mechanics are not entirely clear.

When blockading in a zone near an enemy fort, what governs if the fort opens fire? I blockaded Charleston for several turns and the garrisoned Ft Sumter never opened fire once. The fort near the entrance to Mobile Bay, however, opened fire the very next turn when ships arrived.
\unquote\

(in reply to a24cav)

Post #: 2

RE: Blockade Basics? - 8/2/2007 8:01:23 PM

Joram

Posts: 3198
Joined: 7/15/2005
Status: offline

I believe the benefit of the brown-water blockade is directly dependant on the port you are blockading. So it's not about distant vs near but the particular value of that port.

I too noticed that it is based on elements, not actual ships which is a shame because it makes it really hard to do a full blockade that way. So you really have to figure out early enough if you want to go for it or not. It would be very very difficult to do both a brown water and blue water blockade. However, you could blockade some of the more important ports. And as far as I know, you have to blockade the port at it's source. You can't blockade downriver.

In my limited experience it is more worthwhile to do the blue-water blockade but playing against the AI only, it's difficult to tell if it is having a significant effect or not.

(in reply to submariner0)

Post #: 3