HOI4 Naval Guide - How Naval Battles REALLY works

#hoi4 #heartsofironiv
In this guide I go through the basics of a naval battle by going through all the items in the battle view - How to understand a naval battle in HOI4.

This subject is a bit atypical for me as I'm usually very far down the rabbit hole of naval mechanics in my guides...
The reason why I wanted to do this guide, is basically due to the fact that a lot of people stay away from the naval game as it can come across as quite complex and intimidating, so that's why I wanted to do something a bit more light and seen as an "entry drug" to the naval sceene - and hopefully convince a bit more of you that navy can be a lot of fun.

So, if you already know quite a lot about navy, this is not for you, then I recommend some of my other naval guides.

I hope you will like it!

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00:00 Intro
01:07 Admiral, Terrain type, traits, prediction, disengage, weapon types, positioning
03:35 The Channel
04:10 continued - Admiral, Terrain type, traits, prediction, disengage, weapon types, positioning
08:56 Screens, battle line, carrier group, sumbarines, reinforcements, sunk ships, screening efficiency
13:52 Fleeing ships, focus fire, strength & hp, organization.
15:56 Summary and main takeaways

[kerravon]

That was very comprehensive. This is the first naval guide I've listened to that explains ALL aspects of the naval hud, all the other ones I've seen miss out on a lot and leave me guessing. Well done!

[sld]

I didn't quite realize that defense is the most important stat for a surface admiral. Getting that armor above the piercing of the opposite fleet is crucial.

[premiersportingkc]

With the new expansion, they really need to update how the AI builds its fleets. Currently, fleet submarines + anechoic tiles obliterates everything except other subs. 30 fleet subs killed the entire English and French fleets in three naval engagements as my last Germany game

[CarriedDroner]

Glad I found your channel, very good guide. Thanks for the time you put into this

[JosTheMan]

The disengagement button may save or kill your fleet. I personally only use it when i have engaged by accident and would be wiped off for sure if i were to stay.

All the stats are applied basically in real time, meaning that you can tailor for example the spirits of navy for said battle if you are rich enough in terms of naval xp.

Your admirals get more xp the longer the battle goes on. I don't like how its different from land where you don't want the battle dragging on when it comes to grinding general xp.

Personally i only do destroyers, light cruisers and heavy cruisers, and if i were to add carriers that would be later on. I value research above everything else, and most research can be sunk in naval techs.

Really good guide, well explained! My brain is like ram instead of permanent storage so i just keep forgetting the most basic of stuff, so great refreshment.

Not sure if you guys have done guide on radar yet, but i am afraid that since it has been locked behing special projects, even less people will use it. Also small countries that cant afford a facility investment now need other ways to find the enemy fleets.

[polovoi_gigant]

Just in time, thank you for your work

[andrefreeman]

What I have learned:
1) You will automatically be penalized for positioning if you have a bigger fleet.
2) During the battle, you can shower over the screening symbol for information on how many screen ships you need for 100% coverage.
What I didn't learn:
1) Is there a way how to estimate positioning before the start of the battle?
2) What happens when I have two fleets and I move the second to the area where the battle is in progress?
3) How to check my screening before the battle starts?
4) How to know If I should have one big fleet or two smaller ones?
5) What does the admiral trait "x% penalty for a number of ships in the first contract" mean?
6) Can I send reinforcement to a navy battle?
7) Should I have some submarines in the fleet?
8) Why do not put every ship in one super stack? How to know that my fleet is too big?
9) Should I use the navy missions, or should I move the fleet manually?

[vladislavshevchenko]

I had a land battle supported by shore bombardment and airforce and despite the bubble being red the whole time, the number was going up until i eventually won with a red bubble

[darkdragonsoul]

Honestly I've always kinda just ignored the navy mostly because I'm so damn bad at everything else trying to rule to seas at the same time just makes me lose faster

[timucintarakc]

I wonder how much submarines in a naval battle contribute. Imagine having some subs with strike order and high risk engagement rulle :)

[dovaiS]

Don't forget for the IC cost carriers are the most efficient. 8.5k IC + whatever the planes cost 60 x ~20 = 1, 200 IC. Plus its military factories IC instead of dockyard. Vs a BB which is 11kish IC. I think superheavies are worth it but it will take a long time for a 20kish IC SHBB. Otherwise I think the least efficient is CL and CA class ships but I still build them for spotting.

[Spielkind]

this was verry helpfull but still there are many more things like what impact orginasation has, what the different types of attack do and weather tey're worth investing in or not, what speed does, if armor or speed is bether that i guess are important to know and hope will be explained in a future guide

[yurivii]

Im watching the video now and maybe you touch on it, but mines are so important. It's true, you cant use the in really any regions but some of the regions you can use them effectively are incredibly strategic. This includes places like the English Channel, Baltic, Norweigian Coast, Malta (kinda), the Red Sea, Indonesian Archipelago, Straights of Mallaca.

[JJonez]

Great vid! You didn't mention the admiral trait which gives fleet coordination. What does fleet coordination do exactly?

[claudej]

I may have had a brain fart, did you talk about the carrier air groups ? I completely forgot how the carrier fighters are working.

[SeaaToad]

Nice guide, however i did not fully understand how position effects the battle exactly. Sure its good to have it higher than the other guy, but what does it do - does it increase damage? Speed? what

[_personoid_]

I wish you could raid coastal provinces with naval ships, maybe to damage/destroy coastal fortifications.

[EvilKiborg]

Another useful and interesting thing that was missed in this view: If you hover over the country flag, which is located above the damage characteristics, you will see statistics of your ships based on damage caused. This is very useful information, because... shows what class of ships caused how much damage and with what weapons, and all this is also a percentage of the total damage. This way you can see which ships were useful and which were not so much.

[Yhon_sito]

How ground aviation play a roll ? i use them and looks like they do nothing (medium bombers)

[thesenrai]

Do carriers need screening ships as capital ships or just destroyer, light cruiser