My Nomad Navy got pwned by Sera, no idea what to do...

[rkrempel]

First serious Nomads game. Naval beach on Setons vs Sera. Got my ass kicked.

I was at a complete loss how to counter T2 naval in general and T2 submerged destroyers in particular. I cant access the unit stats so I'm unable to know if i could use superior range, AoE etc for better micro, but from the looks of it, Nomads seem to have the worst T2 and T3 navy in the game. Tried spamming the Railgun boat but it didnt seem to do anything significant vs the submerged destros and of course when those surfaced they were paper. The cruiser didnt do much in the naval fight (didnt expect it to) and the destoyer seemed a bit weak also (reminds me of the uef one, which i try not to build either).

Tried to move onto t3, but the heavy destroyer is ill suited for a defensive role, especially since it leaves no wreckage. It also doesn't have the range or staying power of a battleship, which is needed in that situation. It is in no way comparable to the uef battlecruiser because those can use shieldboats to compensate for their low health. Massive T3 subspam might have worked, but it seems the Sera one is better (and i never really got round to actual spam numbers).

The main problem seems to be countering submerged units and defending. T3 hovertanks can ward of surface navies, (not defeat them due to lack of range and speed), but that leaves enemy subs free to wreck my naval yards. T2 torpedo gunships also seem ineffective against sera t2/t3. They probably do really well against T1 though.

I foresee similar problems vs Cybran and Aeon T2 navies (maybe T3 also) and big problems vs the UEF at T3 (not so much at T2). I want to try this again, but obviously i need some tips.

[pip]

Thanks for the feedback. Next version will see some important tweaks for navy, so it's normal you have a hard time, especially against Sera.

T2 is hard against Sera due to the ability for Sera Destro to dive. But surfaced, Nomads Destroyer will win convincingly (due to range, higher DPS, and ability to shoot while moving away with rear canon). You can also use Nomads Destroyer ground fire against subs, it works because it has better AOE than average Destroyer.

When the Sera Destroyer is underwater, the railgun carrier has superior range, and its projectiles "eat torpedoes", reducing damages done by the Sera Destro. Also, Nomads t1 subs are good. T2 torpedo gunships are good too, but it's true Sera has hover flak and Cruiser flaks, so that doesn't help either. When there is a Sera Cruiser, better try to take it out with navy or hover tanks, and if with air, with fighter bombers (if enemy cruiser is immobile, 2 fighter bombers will kill it in one pass) mixed with spaced torpedo gunships.

Cruiser is very good actually, because the missile homes (not like Sera or UEF cruisers), and stun is very handy, and EMP weapon deals special damages to shield. All in all, you need the three types of units, that's what makes it harder against Sera, because they have a 3 types in 2 navy, though if you manage to kill their cruiser, and it's pure naval battle (no mobile flak), torpedo gunships will be good against Destroyers even submerged (and also against ACU who retreat in water).

To sum up : against Sera, build order is important : it's better to build cruiser and railgun carriers before you build a destroyer. Cruiser + railgun carrier will be able to counter a Sera Destroyer, wether it's surfaced or submerged.

As for t3, the Heavy Destroyer (which has a wreck, try on another map, sometimes wrecks are not visible and are below sea ground level) will be buffed in next patch, but the reason why Nomads t3 navy is not so strong currently is because t3 hover tank is extremely powerful (very cost effective). If you spam them, you can win without t3 navy. This is not a good situation though, so this tank will be heavily nerfed against navy, and t3 Nomad navy will be buffed.