In the early stages of Navy Field, I have written numerous guides concerning AA for
a couple of years. Now, with new items, ships and strategies developing in Navy
Field, my newest guide does not emphasize the basics of an AA ship, but introduces
new tactics and setups for the modern AA whore. However, before you read
through the concepts and tactics, I recommend reading the ethics involved in AA that
has never been fully written into a guide before. I hope you all enjoy and learn from
this guide. This guide will not teach you how to AA, it is a guide meant to teach you
different ideas of AA.

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I) AA Ethics
II) Concept of Defensive AA Whore
III) Tactics of Defensive AA Whore
IV) Concept of Offensive AA Whore
V) Tactics of Offensive AA Whore

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I) AA Ethics

The ethics involving AA is a longstanding discussion among members of the Navy
Field community; however, it is unfortunately absent in established guides within the
Navy Field forums. Since the advent or popularization of the AA whore, guides
specializing in AA have mostly discuss the very basic skills and tactics, such as the
setup of the crew and ship and how to shoot enemy aircraft. As a result, new AA
players who call themselves "experts" within the field tend to be ignorant of the
ethics.

Some of the examples of actions by AA players who do not abide to the ethics
consists of shooting down friendly planes in large numbers along with enemy
aircraft, not informing friendly battleship players of crossing over them when
pursuing enemy planes and ignoring higher priority aircraft and only pursuing high-
credit planes (ignoring a scout and killing fighters instead).

What are the ethics of AA exactly? Unfortunately, the ethics are not written in stone
since different scenarios and factors determine what is right or wrong to do. In
addition, these ethics do not apply to all AA ships. For example, a low-level or 'noob'
AA whore is encouraged to level as quickly as possible, so if they are only interested
in shooting high-credit planes, such as fighters and bombers, then ignoring low-cost
planes, such as torpedo bombers and scouts is reasonable. However, for higher
level AA players, shooting down high-priority aircraft over high-cost planes is
expected. In other words, experts must immediately shoot any enemy plane acting
as a scout to keep the opposing side blind.

In terms of crossing over friendly battleships, it is universally accepted in the
community that informing them by stating 'x' is mandatory. It is also important to
understand that crossing a BB should only be done if absolutely necessary, such as
saving your own ass if you have taken serious damage. However, if you are too
damaged to the point where your lack of speed prevents you to cross the BB in less
than a second, then you should not bother to cross them. In terms of crossing to
eliminate aircrafts, you are expected to be able to eliminate enemy aircraft without
hindering the ability of a BB from firing his main guns on another target. In addition,
crossing a BB while it is already engaging enemy battleships is not ideal; instead,
going around them is a better choice. The role of the AA ship is to escort and provide
AA defense for your fleet, it is not its role to assist the enemy in destroying your
battleships. Basically, pay attention to your ally battleships, and if necessary,
quickly inform them and cross them.

The most common complaints directed at AA players is the indiscriminate shooting of
aircraft. For whatever reason, some, if not a large majority of AA players tend to
follow the 'trigger happy' or 'spam' tactic. In other words, they shoot at enemy
aircraft and disregard the friendly planes engaging them or merely passing by.
Although it is true that the role of the AA ship is to eliminate enemy aircraft, it is not
its duty to eliminate friendly aircraft. However, besides accidental shootings, there
are some scenarios that justify the shooting of friendly aircraft. For example, if a
dogfight occurs between enemy and friendly planes above friendly battleships, it is
in the best interest of the fleet that you take down the enemy planes and if
necessary, the friendly planes as well in order to keep the opposing fleet blind.
Usually, ten seconds is a sufficient countdown before you open your guns to
breakup the dogfight.

Another situation that justifies killing friendly aircraft is enemy bombers bound to
drop their ordinance on or at friendly ships or yourself. Whatever the cost, the
preservation of your allies and yourself takes priority over friendly planes. However,
CV players should also expect to lose their fighters if they continue to pursue enemy
aircraft within a BB player's AA umbrella of escorts. In any case, all new AA players
are expected to abide to these ethics, but within reason. The loss of friendly aircraft
is understandable from these players since they are new to the game and are more
inclined to level and not be a 'team player.' However, veteran AA players are
expected to be team players, and as a result, they should already understand that
unnecessary destruction of friendly aircraft is a hindrance to the entire fleet.

As I stated before in a previous thread discussing the issue of friendly AA fire, "If you
cannot kill enemy planes while sparing friendly planes, you still suck at AA."
Basically, if you are still unable to stop killing friendly planes alongside with enemy
planes, you should not consider yourself an expert in AA until you can.

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II) Concept of Defensive AA Whore

The Defensive AA Whore has been around since the advent of the AA ship. For the
most part, all new AA players will have to start out as a Defensive AA Whore, but
most players who consider themselves as 'experts' will be comfortable in the
defensive setup as well.

This concept is designed solely for low-level players in their beginning stage as an
AA Whore. It works perfectly for them because it is simple, and yet effective for the
limited resources they have. I have no doubt that most AA players who consider
themselves experts will cringe at this concept because they would never do this or
that. However, as stated before, this setup is not designed for them. They already
have high level sailors and ships, so of course this concept does not apply to them.
For the new generation of AA players, they may not be the most accurate AA
shooters in the game, so reload may become more important to them than us
experts. In addition, they have yet to grasp or have the experience to change
angles, so reload becomes even more important for them. Even if they have reload,
it does not mean they have a fast enough reload or a smaller spread to eliminate
enemy ships, so secondary weapons like hedgehogs becomes more important to
them than experts. Also, they may not have the a high level engineer sailor with
sufficient experts and veterans, so a fast ship with little or no armor may not be a
bright idea. So, if you are a new AA player, this is a concept designed for you, and
this concept still applies to any expert AA player who likes this setup.

There are two differences between the setup of a Defensive AA compared to an
Aggressive AA.

꽞 Heavily Armored.
꽞 Carries Secondary Weapons, i.e. second slot ammo, secondary guns or
hedgehogs.

Although the Defensive AA lacks speed, it compensates with its heavy armor setup.
Preferably, the allocation of armor should be placed in bulge and deck armor since
the greatest threat for the Defensive AA ship are high-angle BB fire, high-altitude
dive bombers and incoming torpedoes.

The secondary weapons allows the Defensive AA ship to be flexible in his role. If a
enemy submarine appears nearby your ship or the allies you are escorting,
hedgehogs will be a prudent solution to get rid of the problem. If you cannot install
hedgehogs, secondary guns or using the second ammo slot to compliment your AA
guns are a good solution in getting rid of enemy ships. The setup of your ship
should be built around your AA guns and nothing else, so if the compromises in your
setup results in a less efficient AA ship, then abandon those compromises or make
adjustments on other parts of your ship. In other words, if you cannot fit secondary
guns or hedgehogs on your ship, either go without secondary weapons or reduce
your armor - do not change or remove your AA guns unless you plan on upgrading to
better guns. Of course, the ship setup varies depending on what ship you are using
and where you place your AA guns. For example, if you are using the U.S. ship, the
Oakland, you will not be able to use any guns besides your AA guns, but you can
switch to HE shells if you loaded them into your A or B slot. In general, it is best for
a Defensive AA ship to be capable of fighting other ships besides planes. Since a
Defensive AA ship's role is to defend its ally ships, it is best to have the whole
package.

For all AA ships, the most important sailors are the AA Gunners or the Reload
Gunners depending on the nation. In addition, two restorers or two repairmen or a
combination of both is sufficient for all AA ships in terms of improving soft defense as
well as restore and repair time. By adding at most two engineers, the AA ship is
capable of a short and necessary boost of speed for any situation that requires it.
Lastly, the optional sailors are for whatever secondary setup you have, such as the
hedgehogs or secondary guns.

----- Ships to consider in the Defensive AA Whore role -----

- All Ships, primarily DD and low to mid level CL.
- No speed or sailor slot restriction like the Aggressive AA Whore.

----- Specific nation ships to consider for role ------

- US - DDX, Atlanta/Juneau II/Oakland, Brooklyn, Pensacola
- UK - Dido/Sirius, Emerald
- KM - Emden, M Project, Moltke, Admiral Hipper, Deutschland, P Project
- JN - Akitsuki, Tsukikei, Mogami (1938), Mogami (1941), Kuma-Kai, Kitakami, Asama

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III) Tactics of Defensive AA Whore

Due to its slow speed, the duties of the Defensive AA ship is somewhat limited or
localized. As a result, the ships tend to concentrate their efforts on one region on
their side of the map, such as the center, the north or the south. Whatever the
region it is located, it practically sticks to it to the very end since it will be unable to
reach another part of the map in time to be any help.

The duties are rather simple if not straightforward - shoot down enemy planes,
preferably the high priority planes. Usually, a Defensive AA Whore positions itself on
or behind the front line or the so called 'BB line'. The only reason the ship should go
beyond the line is if its AA shells cannot reach an enemy scout from its normal
position. There is tremendous risk in going beyond the BB line since you are at risk
of getting shot by enemy BB shells or possibly friendly BB shells if you carelessly
crossed your teammate. The greatest disadvantage of crossing the BB line is the
lack of speed. If you get hit, you should not expect a quick getaway; however, the
addition of heavy armor should negate most of the damage. In addition, if you use
your maximum speed sparingly, you can strain your engines for a short and quick
retreat. For the most part, sticking behind the BB line is the preferable position for
the Defensive AA Whore since you are less likely to take a direct hit from a BB. This
type of Whore is designed specifically to defend friendly BB from enemy aircraft and
smaller enemy ships, such as the CL and below. It is not designed to engage the
more heavily armored BB or CA; however, as you gain higher level sailors, you may
manage to sink a CA or higher.

Your ship should be resourceful enough to go against both incoming enemy planes
and approaching enemy vessels. Usually, your secondary weapons are not effective
in terms of damage, especially if you are a low-level AA player. However, you can at
least provide some protection to your allies or keep the enemy occupied enough for
friendly ships to either fall back or target the enemy.

Overall, the Defensive AA Whore sticks to its allies and is forced to move along with
the 'BB line.' By escorting the BB ships, it concentrates its efforts in likely areas
where enemy planes will be; however, it is restricted to the area it defends due to
its lack of speed.

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IV) Concept of Aggressive AA Whore

The Aggressive AA Whore is a fairly recent phenomenon within the five years of the
game's history. As AA players continue to level their sailors to much higher levels
and obtain higher level ships, a new breed of AA ship develops. Unfortunately, for
lower-level AA players, they will be unable to manage this new style of AA ship since
they will most likely lack the mandatory high levels sailors.

When all primary sailors reach at roughly level 80, the player should be capable of
setting up their ship to be an Aggressive AA Whore. The primary sailors consist of
the Bridge Operator, AA or Reload Gunners, two Engineers and one or two other
support crew, such as a repairman or a restorer.

The differences in setup between an Aggressive AA Whore and a Defensive AA
Whore is practically the opposite of the Defensive AA Whore.

꽞 Lightly Armored or No Armor.
꽞 Only Carries AA Capable Guns. No Secondary Weapons.

The reason for an Aggressive AA Whore to have little or no armor is that this concept
concentrates on speed rather than armor. With the combination of high level
engineers and a high level ship capable of going over sixty or more knots at
overheat, you can rely on speed to evade enemy fire. By adding armor, you will only
reduce your speed, thus rendering the ship to become an easier target. In addition,
the secondary weapons will only add more weight with the additional weapons,
ammo and sailors who fire the weapons.

For the most part, speed, maneuverability and luck is key into surviving. Also, the
soft defense and your support crews will save you in situations where you take
serious damage, but for the most part, you should use your ridiculous fast speed as
your means to avoid damage.

Without secondary weapons, you are entirely reliant on your AA guns to fend off
against other ships. So if your AA guns can hold two separate binds, such as the A
slot for AA and the B slot for HE, then you have a greater advantage compared to a
ship that is unable implement a secondary bind. Since it is expected for the player
to have high level sailors, it will not be surprising when either the AA Gunners or
Reload Gunners, depending on the nation, fire at a menacing pace. In addition, the
spread of the ammo should be nice and tight, which results in more concentrated
damage on the enemy vessel.

Overall, the Aggressive AA Whore should be a very fast and maneuverable with
weapons capable of firing both AA and HE. If the AA ship does not meet all of these
requirements, you will not be able to fully implement the capabilities and the tactics
of an Aggressive AA Whore.

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V) Tactics of Offensive AA Whore

Unlike the Defensive AA Whore, which is limited and localized in its role, the
Aggressive AA Whore is much more flexible. With its high speed of over sixty knots
and long overheat duration, it can quickly move to another region of the map if the
situation demands it. In other words, if north requires an additional AA whore, an
Aggressive AA Whore will have no trouble from redirecting his course from south to
north in a short amount of time. These advantages also make an excellent reacting
and reinforcing ship for cohesive teamwork.

Like any other AA Whore, the Aggressive AA Whore뭩 main priority is to eliminate
planes of interest. For the most part, scouts are the main concern of an Aggressive
AA Whore since its duty is to insure the fleet remains hidden from the sight of the
enemy. In addition, it can maintain the more traditional role of a Defensive AA
Whore by escorting ally ships and protecting from approaching enemy targets, such
as enemy dive bombers and torpedo bombers, and smaller vessels and submarines.
However, it can instantly switch into Aggressive AA Whore mode at a moment뭩
notice.

As stated before, the Defensive AA Whore usually sticks at or behind the BB line.
For an Aggressive AA Whore, he or she can be situated at the front. With the high
speed and maneuverability, the player can evade enemy BB fire as long as he or she
does not maintain a fixed course. The zigzag strategy helps to reduce the likeliness
of getting hit, but the best solution to avoid getting shot early in the game is not to
be in the front.

The idea of the Aggressive AA Whore is to come to the front when only necessary.
The best time to move to the front is when you manage to spot an enemy aircraft
coming at your direction long before it sights your fleet. By intercepting the enemy
aircraft before it reaches your fleet, you can keep the enemy fleet blind. Of course,
by intercepting the enemy aircraft, you become the most visible target for the enemy
fleet, so the speed and maneuverability comes in play. Once, you eliminate the
target, return to the BB line and repeat the process whenever necessary. The idea
is not overuse the advantage of a long overheat since there is a limit on the
duration. As a result, you must conserve it, and use it only when the situation
demands it - when you leave the relative safety of the BB line to intercept the
enemy aircraft to the time you return to your BB line once you eliminate the threat
and hightail it out of there. So remember to return to your normal speed once you
reach the safety of your BB line, so you do not expend your overheat.
The speed and maneuverability of the Aggressive AA Whore is also essential when
engaging enemy ships. With the additional high reload gunners, the Aggressive AA
Whore is a fierce opponent that can outperform most enemy ships. The machinegun-
like fire and high speed can easily allow an Aggressive AA Whore to get up close and
personal to any ship. It is much more ideal to fire at close range rather than from a
distance, since the greatest advantage of the AA Whore is essentially the reload. In
addition, reload guns usually lack the range, and as a result, you are going to
engage at close range regardless.

Overall, the characteristics of the Aggressive AA Whore makes it far more aggressive
compared to the Defensive AA Whore. Instead of hanging out at the relative safety
of the BB line, the Aggressive AA Whore can switch from the front to the back of the
line whenever it needs to. And if the situation allows it, it can spearhead into the
enemy fleet with the support of its own fleet creating chaos and havoc on the
enemy line, or it can at least be an annoying target to sink. The Aggressive AA
Whore demands high level ships and high level sailors, but more importantly, it
demands a highly skilled player who can think on his or her feet, multitask and
strategically exploit a situation to benefit the fleet.

----- Ships to consider in the Aggressive AA Whore role -----

- All Ships, primarily high level CL and CA in general.
- As long as your ship can go over 50 or more knots with overheat.
- Can fit roughly 6 sailors. BO, 2 Gunners & 3 Support.

----- Specific nation ships to consider for role ------

- US - Brooklyn & Pensacola
- UK - N/A <- Not sure if UK has an AA ship that meets the requirements above. If
you are UK and you can experiment with your ship, please see if it meets the above
list.
- KM - M Project & Moltke
- JN - Mogami (1938) & Mogami (1941)

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VI) Advanced Tactics

Usually, in a close range brawl or better known
as 'humping' between your ship and the enemy ship, the idea is to encircle them as
you fire.

For enemy BBs, the best idea is to cross their middle section in each pass. The
reason for crossing their mid-section is to make it more difficult for the BB to hit you.
In addition, when you pass them, they are forced to rotate their guns around, which
give you more time to cross them again. If the BB is too preoccupied with your
friendly BBs, then all you have to do is get close and hump away. However, if the
situation becomes too difficult to handle, you can try withdraw from the battle as
long as you are not critically damaged to the point where every single hit on your
ship takes a piece of your speed, but in a situation against a BB, it is best to duke it
out in a blaze of glory.

Another way of attacking BBs is to attack the area with the least guns. Basically, if
you see a Nelson with only guns in the front, the back end of the ship is the best
humping target. So all you need to do is get on top of him and match his speed, and
he won't be able to hit you at all as long as you do it right.

The rather challenging enemy ship to hump is the submarine; however, if you have
mastered the speed and maneuverability of your AA ship, you can easily evade the
torpedoes. In the end, it is pretty much a run and wait game until the submarine
runs out of oxygen and is forced to surface, or completely run out of torpedoes. This
tactic of evasive maneuverability can be also applied to enemy torpedo whores and
enemy torpedo bombers. It is best to remember that speed and maneuverability is
your key defense, not armor; however, the soft defense that comes along with your
high level sailors and support sailors adds some defense in case you are in a
situation where it is impossible to avoid getting hit.

Although the Aggressive AA Whore can pummel enemy ships with its quick reload
guns, it's main purpose is not necessarily to be an attack ship. It's main duty is and
will always be to shoot down enemy aircraft to keep the enemy fleet blind and to
protect your fleet from bombers and torpedoes. At best, the role of an attack ship is
its third purpose. The second purpose of the Aggressive AA Whore is to act as the
fleet's scout. With its fast speed and maneuverability, it becomes a vital asset when
friendly aircraft fail to keep the enemy fleet lit up for your allies to shoot at. In
addition, the Aggressive AA Whore excels in harassing the enemy through the pest
tactic.

The pest tactic is the idea of exploiting a situation that can get you closer to the
enemy and sink them, and at the same time, keep them blind. Basically, as you rush
closer and closer to the enemy, you are still shooting down scouts and any other
aircraft along the way, so your fleet will remain concealed. If you get extremely
close that you can hump the enemy ship without getting killed right off the bat, all
the better. In addition, the idea of rushing is to find and opening to the enemy CVs.
The main objective of an Aggressive AA Whore is not only to kill enemy planes but to
find a way to eliminate the source. If you can exploit a situation and break or
covertly bypass the enemy BB line, your primary objective after that is to chase
down and sink the enemy CV. More than likely, a couple of enemy ships including BB
will turn around and try to eliminate you before you sink it, but that is also the plan
since it will remove their firepower from the line, thus making it easier for your fleet
to overpower them. However, most of the time, finding an exploit where you can
merely go through the BB line is rare, so you have to exploit the line in different
ways, such as rushing alongside with other ally ships unless the situation can be
easily exploited by just an AA ship with small caliber guns.

For example, if you have BB support right behind you, you can expect BB fire to help
grab the enemy BBs attention and away from you. Once you reach the enemy BB,
he can do one of three things: Continue firing at your ally BB and making him
a 'humping' target for you, re-angle his guns at you and try to destroy you, which
leaves him vulnerable to ally BB fire, or run away and give your fleet a strategic
position within the game since they will likely grab whatever territory that was held
before the enemy BBs withdrew from - ideally, if he runs, you should run back to the
friendly BB line since it is best to continue to force the enemy BB into a disadvantage
by replaying this tactic until the enemy ship is destroyed or you find yourself behind
the enemy fleet line. Also, every time an enemy BB fires a shot at you, it does two
thing - further deplete their ammo and waste valuable time that could have been
spent on your friendly BB; however, it is only an advantage if you have the high
speed, the long overheat, the skill in maneuvering and lastly, the luck.

The concept of the pest tactic works quite well with submarines that are nearby
enemy BBs, yet still too far away to fire a effective barrage of torpedoes at them.
You can use your ship's high speed and long overheat to maneuver and avoid
enemy fire in such a way that forces the enemy battleship to swerve into a position
where all of his guns are pointed at you or grab his full attention and interest in
sinking you. As a result, you can influence its movements towards your friendly
submarine without it realizing. It is best to force it where the BB's entire hull is
facing the submarine rather than having his 'ass' side facing the submerged
submarine. More than likely, the moment the BB turns and provides the submarine a
more wider target, the easier for him to get sunk. Once the submarine fires its first
wave of torpedoes, it is best to hightail it out of there if you still can or go through
the enemy line while the BB is preoccupied with evading and killing the submarine.

Another ally that is helpful in the pest tactic is the CV. If there is a sufficient wave of
aircraft whether it be dive bombers or torpedo bombers, you can preoccupy the
enemy BB into firing at you while the friendly aircraft are capable of dropping their
ordinance in an effective manner; however, enemy AA escorts and enemy fighters
tend to mitigate this exploit, so only do it if you know the enemy BB is alone and has
no escorts.

Other ships that are effective in the pest tactic is the torpedo whore where you can
ride the torpedo waves to pierce through the enemy line - only do it if you are really
gung-ho about it and a small number of small warships rushing along with you
where they essentially become your cannon fodder so you can get close to a
humping target, but it only works if you are not the first or second target to be shot
at out of the whole group.

The main point and greatest disadvantage for the enemy fleet as a whole when you
do the pest tactic is that you continuously provide valuable information to your
friendly ships - the location of the enemy BBs. By doing this tactic, you practically act
like a scout. This tactic should be mastered early on in practicing this role since it
becomes a valuable asset for the fleet, especially when friendly aircraft are no
longer available. But as stated before, the rush tactic will only work as long as you
have high speed and a long overheat with a side of skill and luck. Essentially, the
pest tactic is based on the idea that you continually annoy the opposing fleet as
much as possible while staying alive as long as possible.

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I reorganized the guide to separate some aspects of the fifth segment into its own
category as displayed in the sixth section. The guide will eventually include youtube
links that will display a visual example to some of these tactics. Updates will
continue.

Again, I hope you all enjoy this guide and look forward to my future guide as well as
seminars.

*Lasted Updated - 4/2/10 at 6:02 AM PST*