(I was the original author of this post way back in the day when I was xCaptainx. I
traded accounts and this Guide became more and more idle and needing revision. I
had it unsticked so I can re-post it and edit it to be more suitable. Thankfully I saved
the edited pics of the CVs. ^^)
Welcome to United States Naval Academy. Today's training will involve all five tiers of
the United States Carriers, their roles, and their capabilities. So, sit down class, and
take a deep breath.
First, you should learn by heart that a CV's role is anti-Carrier operations. If your
team can carry the air, it usually means that the surface ships can carry the battle.
Though, this isn't always true, it's always a good idea to try your best at it.
Before we even dive into the CVs, we're going to discuss the types of planes you'll
be using, and how to properly handle them.
Fighters - Any good CV player will know that it takes atleast 4 fighter pilots to cover
a hemisphere. You could be a CV1 with 4 Lv 40 fighter pilots, put them all up and get
them chewed up, and your team will still thank you for it. (Though, they may not
voice it.) At Lv 40, your fighters should strictly be chasing down scouts and avoiding
enemy fighters. At mid Lv. 65-75, your fighters should be less afraid of enemy
fighters. Though, not powerful enough to take on heavy enemy fighters, they can
chew through scouts, bombers and equivelent (CV's 1-3) fighters. At high level 90+,
your fighters should be strictly on an interceptor role, attacking enemy fighters,
pushing into the opposing BB line and aiding BBs. While I belive that fighters are
NOT scouts, and shoud not be put into the line of AA fire, they should be worked into
the enemy lines. Harassment is key at this point.
Dive Bombers - They work well at any level, and are great starter bombers. A BB aid
in that they strike immediate damage, though, against armored or upper tier BBs
(BB4/5/6), they won't typically be the knock out punch, unless they're already
damaged. Short ranged in that they are easily spotted, easily eaten with AA. A
skilled DB player will seek ONLY capital ships and try to strike already damaged ones.
Torpedo Bombers - A long range craft in that, at high levels, are entirely AAW
immune, meaning they can fly low and mess with a player's ability to AA them down.
This makes them quite useful for peircing enemy lines and doing heavy amounts of
damage in waves of 8-9, sinking a capital ship in 2 waves of them. Because they are
going past the enemy's front line, it means that they won't be escorted by fighters
and must be micro-managed. If you can take out the enemy's biggest CV in 2 waves
of planes, you're sitting pretty.
Bogue
______________________
______________________
The Bogue, a CVE by all rights and means, was used in the war primarily for Anti-
Submarine operations. Well, since you're unable to sink the NF Imaginary subs in
this game, I suppose we should go with the Bogue's secondary role - Fighter
support. Until submaries are added, anyway. ^^
The Bogue has the 2nd lowest aircraft space of all the Carriers in Navy Field. With
only 1560 aircraft space, you're going to end up carrying roughly 15 Dive Bombers.
With 15 as your max load, you're going to get eaten faster than an Oyodo in a CV
war. So, if you're smart, and in a fleet, borrow some Fighter pilots until you have 4
on station, or, even better, raise your own. Equip your 4 pilots, then load on as
many fighters as you can, roughly about 20. With this done, get ready for your Great
Battle fights.
Now that you have the proper fighters equipped, it's time to fight. And fight hard.
Pick out the biggest Battleship on your team, preferably a Tier 4 or 5, such as an
Iowa or Yamato. Follow this thing around like your it's lost little puppy about a
screen to a screen and a half back from it. Put up fighters constantly, even if they
get eaten by enemy fighters, wait for your BB to pick them off with AA, then re-
launch new squadrons.
The fighters will down some of the incoming Dive Bombers and Torpedo Bombers.
Congratulations. The Battleship loves you, and doesn't think you're rather worthless.
You'll also notice that the Bogue's small size and decent turn radius makes it a
compact fighting tool. If you've loaded only fighters and putting them up for BBs,
you'll need to be dodging not only shells, but, more in particular, Dive and Torp
bombers. To avoid Torpedo bombers, as they dive down to begin their run,
turn /into/ the torpedo bombers.
Not only will this give you a chance to AAW down some bombers before they
release, ontop of that, it'll increase the chance that the torpedos will be too close to
be armed and bounce off your hull. Lastly, this will have the effect of giving the
torpedos a smaller package to hit. Instead of a long line, it's now down to a small
needle.
Moving on...
Carrier Comparisons:
Bogue stats: 1560 Aircraft space, 6 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 5 Support Slots
Attacker stats: 1800 Aircraft space, 6 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 5 Support Slots
Hosho stats: 1320 Aircraft space, 5 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 5 Support Slots
Mogami 1944 stats: 1000 Aircraft space, 4 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 5 Support Slots
Ise 1937 stats: 1800 Aircraft space, 5 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Seydilitz stats: 1900 Aircraft space, 7 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
The Attacker, Hosho, and other Bogues are all roughly the same strength as the
Bogue. On the other hand, the Seydilitz has not only extra aircraft space, but 1 more
Aircraft Takeoff Capability than the Bogue, as well as another support slot and all at
level 55. Oh, and thank Talentz for helping me remind you to pay attention when
you go after the Hosho. The thing is tiny and has a great turning force. If you're
attacking it with DBs, make sure you get a little lower on your run, IJN AAW sucks,
and you can afford to wait an extra second. Same with TBs. Get yourself a little
closer and manually TB it. ;3 Thanks, Talentz!
Independence
__________________
__________________
Good work. You grinded out a whole 5 levels to the Independence class Carrier.
Now, you have much more aircraft space, and a whole whopping 1 more Aircraft
Takeoff Capability! If you were smart at all, you'd have stayed in your CA, whichever
crappy one you wanted to use, and grinded out the 5 quick levels. Now at level 55,
you're a Carrier Tier 2, and a match for anything else on that playing field in terms of
ideally keeping you alive through the combat zone.
Now with 3780 Aircraft space, your load out for your planes is going to shift slightly.
If you want to be an amazingly good Independence, you're going to stick with your
Fighter lay out from the Bogue and add on 2 Dive Bombers on your 2 spare slots. So,
now running 4 fighters and 2 Dive Bombers (Or Torpedo Bombers, if they're not high
enough yet or you prefer the TB runs.), you've a new role - Attacking. While always
keeping at least 1 to 2 fighter squadrons in the air, launch the occasional Bomber
squadron and attack any Battleship that is attacking the BB you're attached to. Now,
with the addition of a little attack to your Personal Credits, you should be getting
more exp to help you in the 10 level grind to the Yorktown.
Carrier Comparisons:
Independence: 3780 Aircraft space, 7 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Ryujo: 3760 Aircraft space, 6 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Junyo: 4540 Aircraft space, 6 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Collosus: 3720 Aircraft space, 7 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Other Independence, Ryujo and Collosus are going to have roughly the same
strength as you are, though the Junyo is going to have gobs of more aircraft space,
it's also got a jarring disadvantage of 1 less Aircraft Takeoff Capability. If you're any
decent in the Indy, you're right in line with it.
Yorktown
_________________
_________________
Alright, now that's a Carrier if I ever saw one. The Carrier Tier 3, Yorktown class, not
only saw a lot of action during the war, but also for good reason, the ship absolutely
rocks. You've got about the same aircraft space as the Independence and the Bogue
combined, totaling a whopping 5860. Believe you me, you won't be running out
soon. With the addition of 1 more Aircraft Takeoff Capability, you get something
much more astounding on the Yorktown that you didn't have on either the
Independence, nor the Bogue - Gunner slots.
Now, you may be asking me why you care about gunner slots when the Gun
emplacements only have 24 space. I'll tell you. Restorers. They add SD like your
little brother adds Yu-gi-oh cards to his collection. This new addition of SD will allow
you to take a beating from other Carriers and keep on trucking. Most battleship
players will want to get rid of their Restorers in favor of Repairers in the later levels,
so they come cheap. Put up a room in area 13 and buy one and a Repairer. Put
those babies on your Yorktown and watch your SD rise.
If you have or can borrow high level TBs that don't get hammered by AAW, grab
them and put them on instead of your DBs, it doesn't take much from TBs to break
255 bulge, and the bonus exp from torps is a boost.
Again, you're going to grab the biggest BB on the field and fighter for him like you
mean it - and you do. Because if you fail to accomplish any or all of your roles at any
time, most importantly Fighters, it's going to sink, and your team is going to most
likely lose, all because you didn't want to put fighters up in favor of TBs or DBs. You
should be running such as: 4 Fighter 4 DB/TB, 4 Fighter 4 DB/TB, 6 Fighter (All
squadrons in, repeat)
Carrier Comparisons:
Yorktown: 5860 Aircraft space, 8 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Courageous: 4260 Aircraft space, 8 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Hiryu: 5700 Aircraft space, 7 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Unryu: 6740 Aircraft space, 7 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Graf Zeppelin: 4140 Aircraft space, 8 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Mmm, be proud of yourself, my young Padawan friend. Of all the Carrier Tier 3's, over
all, you've got the best stats. With the 2nd highest aircraft space, you still have 8
Aircraft Takeoff Capability, which is more than the Unryu can say. Against any other
shipin your Tier, you're more than a match for them, and even for some Tier 4's.
Essex
_________________
_________________
More aircraft space? Another Aircraft Takeoff Capability? My God, when will it end...
Never, I hope. Now with a beefed up aircraft space, and one sweet looking CV
(Probably the 2nd best looking, 2nd to only the Lexington) you're ready to rock. With
the addition of even more aircraft space, and the fact that your fighters should be in
their 70's as well. With this change, your role also shifts. Instead of picking 1
Battleship to support, it's time to simply pick a hemisphere, North or South. Sail in
that direction and put your 2 fighter squadrons up into the air a screen or two out in
front of, not your line, but the enemy line. Keeping them out of AA fire, they'll eat any
lower CV's planes as they come out of the battle line looking for yours, including the
all hated Scout planes. Keep in mind that you should be running a minimum of 3
Fighter Pilots at all times on your CV to keep the fighters in the air with no
downtime. Remember. Bombing is secondary to Fightering AT ALL TIMES.
If you sink the enemy carriers, you don't need to put up fighters, just like your Dad
didn't need to putup Christmas lights last year. While the Bogue, Independence and
Yorktown couldn't do this because of inexperience and lower pilot levels, you now
have the ability to get behind the enemy battle lines and find their carriers to sink
them. The attack pilots should consist of any combination of DBs or high Lv. TBs.
Carrier Comparisons:
Essex: 8400 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Illustrious: 5980 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Ark Royal: 7280 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 7 Support Slots
Akagi 1927: 7320 Aircraft space, 8 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Akagi 1938: 7620 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Kaga 1928 1938: 8040 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Taiho: 7100 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 6 Support Slots
Graf Zeppelin II: 6920 Aircraft space, 9 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 7 Support Slots
With all of these carriers duking it out to be the best CV4, you still come out on top,
with the best Aircraft space of them all, and the matching 9 Aircraft Takeoff
Capability.
Any other CV4 is
going to lose to you, as long as you use the Essex properly, and the fighters are of
comparison level.
Lexington
________________
________________
What's left to say? You're far ahead of myself in levels, and by this point, you've
accrued enough skill and pilot levels that you should have no worries in dealing with
any other aircraft carrier, and strike fear into the hearts of Battleships everywhere.
The set up should be roughly the same as the Essex, only with more aircraft to
pump along like a semi truck barreling into a building. Just don't forget to fighter,
please?
Carrier Comparisons:
Lexington: 9840 Aircraft space, 10 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 7 Support Slots
Malta Project: 9540 Aircraft space, 10 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 8 Support Slots
Shokaku: 8700 Aircraft space, 10 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 7 Support Slots
Kaga 1935: 9800 Aircraft space, 10 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 7 Support Slots
Shinano: 9900 Aircraft space, 10 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 8 Support Slots
Europa: 9600 Aircraft space, 10 Aircraft Takeoff Capability, 7 Support Slots
With the Shinano barely skeeting by with a win for the best statistical Carrier in the
game, it's a minute change from the Lexington, but barely 60 Aircraft space. Put up
against any other carrier in the game, the Lexington is going to come out on top,
and by God, you'd better keep up that ideal. The Lex has one major advantage over
the Shinano class- Size. The Lexington is sleek and long compared the the
Shinano 'Parking lot' size. By this point, the captain of a Lex should know full well
how to handle getting around any incoming bombers with some skill.
Midway
___________
___________
Seriously? Don't even look at me for help on this one. I've never even touched a
CV6. But, who thought they'd ever even be added?
Carrier Comparisons:
Midway: 14000 Aircraft space, 12 Aircraft Takeoff Ability, 9 Support Slots
De Grasse: 14000 Aircraft space, 12 Aircraft Takeoff Ability, 9 Support Slots
Definitions:
Aircraft space - The amount of planes a carrier can hold. Such as, 1 Tier 1 DB takes up
100 aircraft space, so if you have 2000 aircraft space, you can carry 20 DBs.
Carrier Comparisons - The other carriers that you'll be balanced against and mostly in
your level and comparable carrier range.
Aircraft Takeoff Capability - The number of planes a carrier can ready at any one time.
Fighter Wh---ing - What you need to get used to doing. Putting up a lot of fighters
and keeping them in the air. It's called 'Air Superiority' for a reason
TB/DB - Torp Bomber/Dive Bomber
CV - Carrier
BB - Battleship/Battle Cruiser
Epilogue:
If I missed anything, have any spelling mistakes, slap me and I'll change them. Or if
you want to post and tell me how to put up pictures. Hopefully,
I'll figure out how to make them pictures on the thread soon. Either way, if you
learned something, then I did my job. ^^
Please post if you see any errors, or have additions you'd like me to make.
Version 1.1 -
Added:
Mogami CV
Ise CV
Support Slot numbers for all Carriers listed.
(Thanks to Lord Kelvin for the Suggestion to add these. ^^)
(Thanks to Anonymous_ for spell checking me. ;3 Needed it.)
Version 1.3 - Feb. 18, 2008
Added:
Took out any notes regarding losing Fighter Pilots, seeing as how CVs are sagging in
that department as of late.
Edited the bonus to USN Fighters.
(Thanks to xbenderunitx for nailing me on the Fighter Pilot stats.)
Version 1.4 - August 28th, 2008
Fixed few errors, added in about the CV6