Blockade Question

[scout1]

Does the proximity of the Union ships relative to the port(s) they are blockading matter ?

ie, doea Frigate 3 hexes away in raider mode any more effective then the same Frigate 15 hexes away on the convoy routes ??????

[Platoonist]

ie, does a Frigate 3 hexes away in raider mode any more effective then the same Frigate 15 hexes away on the convoy routes ??????

You only have to be on or adjacent to a convoy line (and in raider mode) to raid or interdict it. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. You can have a frigate or ship of the line sitting halfway across the Atlantic and it will chew on the convoy line if in raider mode. However, gunboats which are the cheaper and more effective raiders can't operate in deep waters, so you are obliged to keep them closer. That is why as the Union I always build a few more frigates. They don't have to struggle for space in coastal waters with all those gunboats and monitors and they are immune to the odd Confederate monitor attack when operating in deep water.

I suppose they would be vulnerable to a Confederate ocean-going ship but I've yet to see one get built.

[scout1]

ie, does a Frigate 3 hexes away in raider mode any more effective then the same Frigate 15 hexes away on the convoy routes ??????

You only have to be on or adjacent to a convoy line (and in raider mode) to raid or interdict it. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. You can have a frigate or ship of the line sitting halfway across the Atlantic and it will chew on the convoy line if in raider mode. However, gunboats which are the cheaper and more effective raiders can't operate in deep waters, so you are obliged to keep them closer. That is why as the Union I always build a few more frigates. They don't have to struggle for space in coastal waters with all those gunboats and monitors and they are immune to the odd Confederate monitor attack when operating in deep water.

I suppose they would be vulnerable to a Confederate ocean-going ship but I've yet to see one get built.

Perfect .... thanks .....

As a follow on, several southern convoy paths have a hex close to the port which says a keep a ship within 2 hexs to prevent european interdiction ..... there are several of these .. are they cumulative ? ie, of the (say) 5 of them .... if I have a unit within two hexes of only one of them mean Is the union is taking a penalty for the remaining 4 relative to the eurpoeans jumping in ?

[Platoonist]

As a follow on, several southern convoy paths have a hex close to the port which says a keep a ship within 2 hexs to prevent european interdiction ..... there are several of these .. are they cumulative ? ie, of the (say) 5 of them .... if I have a unit within two hexes of only one of them mean Is the union is taking a penalty for the remaining 4 relative to the eurpoeans jumping in ?

Yeah, those ports are New Orleans, Mobile, Savannah, Charleston, and Wilmington. This event doesn't start until a few turns into the game but if there are no Union warships within two hexes of these ports there is a 15 percent chance that a European nation will send in a "supply ship" which will also boost the sponsor nation's mobilization number by meager 1-5 percent. Just rush some frigates in by cruise mode. Yes, you want to cover them all eventually, as a check is made for each open port regardless of how many ships you have guarding other such ports. But ship one per port will do the trick and the ships don't have to be in raider mode. Barring really bad luck the mobilization number won't jump by much if you don't get there in time, but you don't wanna neglect it too long either. Once the Union blockade fleet numbers build up it pretty much becomes a non-issue.

[scout1]

ie, does a Frigate 3 hexes away in raider mode any more effective then the same Frigate 15 hexes away on the convoy routes ??????

You only have to be on or adjacent to a convoy line (and in raider mode) to raid or interdict it. Otherwise, it doesn't matter. You can have a frigate or ship of the line sitting halfway across the Atlantic and it will chew on the convoy line if in raider mode. However, gunboats which are the cheaper and more effective raiders can't operate in deep waters, so you are obliged to keep them closer. That is why as the Union I always build a few more frigates. They don't have to struggle for space in coastal waters with all those gunboats and monitors and they are immune to the odd Confederate monitor attack when operating in deep water.

I suppose they would be vulnerable to a Confederate ocean-going ship but I've yet to see one get built.

As a follow on ... is there any evidence that having two or more union ships on the convoy routes provide any additional benefit than a single ship on the same ?

[Platoonist]

As a follow on ... is there any evidence that having two or more union ships on the convoy routes provide any additional benefit than a single ship on the same ?

The evidence is in the military activity summary which you can access for every turn by hitting the "L" key. Each Union ship parked on a Confederate port's convoy route causes a certain MPP loss. Gunboats will do about 10-12 damage and frigates about 4-6. Monitors hit somewhere between. In the example below, Savannah has lost 20 MPP this turn to just two gunboats. The more ships the Union can put on station the greater the MPP loss.

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