This guide provides advice for managing one’s navy in Fall of the Samurai. It focuses on grand campaign strategy, technological progress, and optimised ship recruitment. It does not deal with fleet composition or battle tactics, although a section could be added if the community expresses interest in the topic.
Contents
Introduction
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Maintaining navies in the early game can be a challenge due to their high upkeep. They are nonetheless crucial to defending your coasts and protecting your economy from enemy raiding and bombardments. Often, a few well-placed units with overlapping zones of control are sufficient for controlling enemy ship movement on the campaign map. Placing naval units within range of trade ports or at key choke points are the most effective ways of preventing enemy coastal raiding, bombardments, and naval invasions. Here are a few of my thoughts on naval strategy for Fall of the Samurai.
Early Game Wooden Ships: Which Ones to Build?
Naval units should be built as soon as your economy can handle. The lowest tier harbour can build Chiyodagata-class gunboats and Kaiten-class corvettes beginning on turn one. However, on harder difficulties, it is often necessary to delay the construction of navies until you build up your economy. In most cases, it is best to disband starting navies (typically a Kaiten and a gun boat) to help mitigate navy upkeep costs and increase clan revenue. Navy production can resume if enemy attacks make it necessary or, preferably, once ports have been constructed, trade routes established, and the Shipyard Research technology acquired (which allows for faster ship production).
Regarding navy composition, the wooden Kaiten, Kanko Maru, and Kaiyo Maru are the best early game ships and can be built without regret. The only ships that benefit from Copper Plating technology are the Kasuga (+1 speed, +1 rotation rate) and Kanrin Maru (+1 speed). The Kaiyo Maru, oddly, gets -1 speed while the Kanko Maru and Kaiten are both unaffected by copper plating. Hence, the wooden Kaiten, Kanko Maru, and Kaiyo Maru are preferable to their copper-plated counterparts and stay relevant until the discovery of Iron Plating technology. In the early game, the wooden Kanko Maru is a cheap, efficient way of defending your coasts. Given their high morale and crew size, they work exceptionally well in autoresolve. If lost, they are also easy to replace. The wooden Kaiyo Maru, though expensive, can easily intercept and repel enemy navies due to their superior armament. Use them to control key choke points on the campaign map and prevent enemy fleets from entering your waters. If the enemy manages to break through your Kaiyo Maru blockade, powerful wooden Kaitens can be produced in a snap in any port as a second line of defence. They are, however, more expensive to build and maintain than the Kanko Maru and are not as good in battle as the Kaiyo Maru.
Spare units of Kanko Maru and Kaiten should be used to target key infrastructure, support armies with naval bombardments, raid enemy shipping, and blockade ports. Attacking ports causes damage over time and prevents the enemy from building up their fleets. While this role is best suited to the Kaiten and Kanko Maru, lower-tier gun boats have their uses, too. Chiyodagata gun boats are more efficient at raiding enemy shipping due to their low upkeep costs. In the late game, Chiyodagata torpedo boats (limited to 8) can be recruited in a pinch to help fend off enemy ironclads and iron-plated ships.
Copper Plating, Explosive Shells, and Military Ports
Naval battles become remarkably easier once you discover Explosive Shells and Copper Plating technology (which allows you to build military ports). High explosive (HE) rounds have shorter range and slower reload rate than round shot (at least for corvettes and frigates), but are likely to set enemy ships on fire. During battle, prioritize round shot until ships are in range, then switch to HE to set enemies ablaze and force their surrender. By this point in the game, you should also invest in Copper Plating technology and construct military ports in your most exposed harbours. Military ports deal attrition damage to enemy ships that are in range and must be bombarded before troops can be unloaded. This makes them rather strategic for preventing amphibious landings. The better ships that can be produced in military ports are the copper-plated Kasuga and Kanrin Maru. Given their high speed and manoeuvrability, they can quickly close the gap during naval battles and set enemy ships ablaze using HE rounds. Ports that are at low risk of attack should invest in trade ports rather than military ports given their provincial wealth and growth bonus.
Late Game Ironclads and Other Armoured Ships
By the mid to late game, your navy should begin incorporating ironclads and, finally, iron-plated ships. Foreign ironclads are among the best ships in the game and can only be built once a foreign trade mission is established and a trading port is upgraded to the corresponding French, British, or American trading district. Prioritize building this foreign trading district – French (if shogunate), British (if imperial), or American (either shogunate, imperial, or republic) – in a province with a blacksmith (for better Marines) or coal resources (for cheaper ship production). Foreign trading districts also reduce recruitment costs for all ships in the province, which enables the construction of wooden Kaiyo Maru, Kaiten, Kanko Maru, and Chiyodagata gun/torpedo boats at reduced recruitment costs.
Drydocks (which are upgraded from military ports) are a late-game improvement. They allow iron-plated ships as well as improved coastal defences. Unlike military ports, drydocks are expensive to build and repair. For this reason, they should be built sparingly and only in a few key strategic locations – i.e., provinces with coal resources, unit production centres (the Supervise Recruitment bonus from Foreign Veterans applies to ship recruitment as well as army units), defensible territories in need of coastal batteries. Ships that benefit the most from the drydock’s iron plating capabilities are the Kaiyo Maru and Kasuga, due in large part to their higher morale and number of guns. They do, however, take longer to recruit than their copper plated and wooden counterparts. By this stage in the game, your economy should be sufficiently developed and your coasts secure enough to reliably recruit iron-plated Kaiyo Maru, Kasuga, and ironclad ships (Kotetsu and Warrior/Roanoke/L’Océan). Arguably, iron plating the Kanko Maru is also a decent strategy because of its high morale, fast production rate, and low recruitment/upkeep costs.
Apart from the foreign ironclads, the Kotetsu (available to all clans) is one of the best ships in the game due to its front-facing heavy cannon, gatling guns, and ramming ability. It performs exceptionally well in a defensive role thanks to its improved range and armour. The Kotetsu can shoot at enemy ships as they approach all the while moving astern, which makes it harder for enemy ships to move in and engage. On the campaign map, I like to position Kotetsus within reinforcement range of my main navy as it allows the easy control and monitoring of choke points. Enemy vessels are at a disadvantage taking the Kotetsu head on and this usually allows enough time for my reinforcing fleet to come in and defeat the enemy. The combined fleets of armoured ironclads, frigates and corvettes is ideal for transporting units, bombarding military ports, unloading armies and agents, and providing naval support during sieges.
You need to research armour-piercing (AP) rounds as soon as you see enemy ironclads or iron-plated ships since HE and round shot are ineffective against armour. AP rounds have higher range and are best at penetrating enemy armour, but are less effective against wooden ships. At this stage, it is still best to use HE rounds against wooden and copper plated ships. Switch round types during battle to match enemy fleet composition and range. Round shot, for instance, still has the best fire rate of all three ammunition types and better range than explosive shells, which makes it useful for the first or second volley as ships are closing range. By the endgame, however, you should research advanced armour-piercing (AAP) rounds. AAP are better than all other rounds. They have remarkable range, can pierce armour, and cause explosive and fire damage aboard enemy ships. They are the final tech improvement for navies and are useful against all types of vessels regardless of class and armour plating. With your fleets of ironclads, frigates, corvettes, and gun boats, you will dominate the seas of Japan.
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