Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness Hints

Attacking units on sea

• Personally, I think sea battles are the hardest in the game.  Here are as many strategies as I could think of.
  
  First of all, the cannons always overshoot a fast unit coming toward you, such as a Transport or a Oil Tanker.  What I find works is to use the "move" command, and click on the oncoming ship.  As soon as the enemy ship passes you, use the "stop" command and, if the enemy is within range, your ships will fire and hopefully sink the vessel.  Only Oil Tankers and Transports will try to get through your defensive line.  All other ships will attack it.
  
  Most bases only have one or two Transports to shuttle their units across bodies of water.  If you can find a Transport on the shore, immedietly destroy it.  If you destroy all of the Transports, and the Shipyard, the enemy will not be able to get any more units across water.  This means that you can concentrate on making a strong navy.  But beware, after you destroy the Shipyard and Transports, the enemy will continuously build land defenders, so when you do send in a landing party, you will meet a lot of defenders.  But they can't get off the island, and their mine will eventually run out.  If their mine is VERY large, you can always destroy it.
  
  The best way to get past Cannon (or Guard) Towers located on a beach is a fast and furious attack.  Send in as many ships as you can.  Once you clear away a small area, get a Ballista or two on the beach (out of range of the towers) to take out the remaining Towers.  Your losses may be heavy.
  
  When searching for enemy ships, always keep a Flying Machine close by in case you run into an enemy Submarine.  You will know you are under attack by a Submarine if you see big explosions on your ship, but no enemy units nearby. Or you can always make your own Submarines, because they can see enemy underwater units as well.  Submarines are very weak, and can be destroyed in one or two hits.  The problem is GETTING those one or two hits, because if you don't have a Submarine or Flying Machine close by, you won't be able to see the enemy Submarine.  That's why you always travel with a Flying Machine (also do this when attacking an enemy base, but keep the Flying Machine out of Guard Tower range).
  
  If you can't get close enough to destroy the Shipyard, then go for the enemy Oil Platforms.  These are usually guarded by a few ships.  Once you destroy the enemy's supply for oil, it will not be able to continue constructing ships. You can the rule the seas, and kill some buildings near the shore with you boats.  Battleships have a longer weapon range than Destroyers, so if you need that one extra unit of range to attack a building, get a Battleship.  If there are enemy ground units one square out of range, use the "attack ground" command to attack the space right next to the enemy.  A lot of the time, the enemy will run towards you, and into range.
  
  If you are getting attacked with ground units being brought across on Transports, build a GUARD Tower as close to the shore as you can.  A Cannon Tower would overshoot the Transport, but a Guard Tower is not as strong.  But each time the Transport gets close, it will get damaged a little.  Patience!   Also, with the enemy AI in this game, if they send a Transport in a place where they're squard gets slaughtered, they'll send them somewhere else next time.  Keep an eye out for this....keep defenders and Towers everywhere!
  
  Always outnumber the enemy in both number and level.  In other words, upgrade to higher level than the ships you're battling, if it's possible to.
  
  When attacking enemy bases, watch for Ballistas!  They can easily take out ships, especially if the Ballista is positioned good, where your ships cannot hit it.  Get rid of Towers, too, and any other bad guys that are on the shore.  Also kill any Peasants that try to repair anything, if they are close enough.
  

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