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Now let's begin with the "lowly" Type II
Most people say it sucks but i think it's the best T1 sub around... the MN T1 runs it
close but proxy torps and turning speed still do it for me :P
Very good against other subs main disadvantage is no rear torp tube.
Setup:
1 BO (try to get +14 and as much repair and restore it adds up, if u have to sacrifice,
pick repair as being more important ALSO AT LVL 1 take off ALL CREW - click RCT and scroll
mouse down to 0 ZERO CREW. It's called making a Skeleton crew. Keep him this way...BO on
an SS is only so u can have access to the ship line, he is otherwise useless: small
rep/engie bonus and adds some SD
2 torpmen (they are gunners for now put 1 in the front and 1 in the back for leveling will
need him later)
1 sonarman (try +15 potentail neut for base)
1 plansman (same +15)
FOR LATER U WILL NEED AN ENGIE (+12 eng) which u have no room 4 so u need to raise him on
a separate ship. Also IF POSSIBLE try to get crew that besides main ability also has +10
or +11 on enginge or repair...they will add a small bonus if u'r a perfectionist.
the mine slot requires you to purchase mines and is not really worth it, maybe against
other SS that are behind you
no armor of ANY kind, heavy engine
Keep ur crew at max strenght added bonus FULL Strenght Plansman means u start with FULL
air supply
Tactics:
now first u need to learn ur keys and develop a reflex for the "critical dive" button on
the keyboard not on sceen lag + mouse movement will cost u 1 extra sec .ond= difference
between life and death
second select torp slots (t) and press z to selec only the front (only ones u have at the
moment) now
steer the sub up and down and u see the GUIDELINES at one point SHEER off about 11 notches
out. THAT is your BULLSEYE use it to aproximate range and fire at future positions of slow
ships.
Dive after first being fired on by BB, you are too small for them to hit 1st time and u
need the air later. Ur air runs out fast so head for the middle where most small ships
come and that u can sink with 1 shot (remember to press F4 if u'r coming out of a surface
ship and switching to sub for fun). Now try and guess where the enemy ship will be and
fire 1 torp at it's future position (u'll get the hang of it soon)
If u see an enemy sub head str8 for it forget everything else
You have proxy torps (almost never miss and DETONATE in the VICINITY of the target so no
need for precise aiming)
If u saw a sub heading u'r way launch a torp where u think he will be
and get ready to shoot then deep dive. Ur main advantage is also u can TURN faster.
PRIORITY IS
A enemy subs
B small slower newb ships that tend to go str8 (look at exp bar...up to 2 silver lines
means they won't know what hit them)
C everything else
Now for the real deal the Type VIIA
It has 4 tubes forward and 1 back. Most other T2 subs have 6 forward and 2 back so keep
that in mind when fighting. Much better underwater time and speed. It will outturn it's SS
conunterparts.
Setup
1BO
2 torpmen
1 plansman
1 sonarboy
1 engineboy
1 repairman in the gun slot (IT WILL WORK in this slot) don't bother with heavy gunner
it's not worth
it; optional u can level a neut here if needed but SS is not good for lvling or u can
leave it EMPTY
As for armor...people say that you can put 0.2 belt + 2 bulge + 1 bulkhead to help against
torpedoes but personally I run my SS without armor, speed is much more important and you
cand deep dive rather than take the torp hit so u should add in this order
BULGE>BELT>BULKHEAD until just before losing a knot
Torps should be 3 in the back and the rest evened out in the front (some say put one extra
torp in the first launcher and 1 less in the last...leave it up to you)
Tactics
U can try and time ur underwater time but it's not of much use, when it runs out it runs
out :D remember overheating DOUBLES your AIR CONSUMPTION RATE
Same here get ur target setup and head anywhere u like u now have the air to reach the BBs
although it's (still) good pickings in the middle
Same tactic here with firing on future position and start taking out subs, they will hate
you and even no-life-medal 120's will bow down to you. Again u can outturn them and your
are faster at the same level. While fighting subs try to aim with front tubes, don't turn
to use the back one unless it's surely a finishing or crippling shot.
As for BB's rather than chase one that saw you coming, disengage and go for smthing else.
Best results are to hug the North or South THIRD of the map and dive late.
Beware BB's are fast and will run away once they know you are there so I advise setting
the torps to FAST and engage at close range. At longer range they will see it coming and
run and you will use up you air chasing them and then you have to surface and R.I.P
One other thing about fighting BBs...take a good look at front-gun only BBs...they are the
most likely to have HH on the back (Dunk 4 example).
Next remeber to use ur BRAKES don't charge the ship just keep ur few inches of
distance...BB MAIN ANTI SS TACTIC is to GUESS where the torps came from and strat circling
that location...now what u have to do is to draw a path that will have u intersect their
circle preferably at a good angle...not head on...u can even go as far as moving backwords
a little and HOLD UR HORSES. EVEN IF UR TORPS HAVE RELOADED WAIT AND WAIT for the BB to
circle about 2/3 of the circle while u line up to engage in that spot.
Priority
A all SS - you do have to go through another sub to get anywhere most of the time
B any ship that comes close
C lower level BB1,2,3,4
Priority is this way because u can't really take on bigger ships due to lack of air...i
have sunk BB4s in this SS but find that BB5 is almost impossible to sink in this SS
because u need like 12 torps that means 3 salvos and u've traveled a lot to get to the BB
and USUALLY UR AIR RUNS OUT before u get all the shots off.
If u have to choose BBs remember IJN has GOOD bulge so make them ur last choice. Also an
Armor-Whored UK BB is most of the time without bulge. On extra detail...BB1-4 with MEDAL
means they have a heavy crew and little room for bulge so keep that in mind.
At this point u should think about Skeletizing the rest of ur crew. Weight will become an
increasing concern.
U already have a zero crew BO. Next u can sacrifice is the back torper. IMO if u need ur
Back tube more than once ur doing smthing wrong... give him little crew as u rarely need
him at all...when i mean little i don't mean 0, having experts also helps.
Next comes SONAR...recomend classing him on time as u need him to see other SS as far away
as possible...not to soke up more damage if the other SS sees u first. U can lower his
crew to say 80% to get decent results. If u think that u should u can get him down to
half-strenght but no less otherwise he becomes almost useless
Planesman is now fast enough to load all the air before u need to dive so give him 90%
crew but no less.
Engie i recommend keeping at FULL strenght he also provides most of ur SD.
Type VII C
Daddy of em all will take out anything although you will still have a tough time against
BB5 and
BB6 because u lack the number of tubes of a P type or the hitting power of a Kaidai.
Ultimate SS hunter 1on1 it WILL
wack anyother SS becasue of torps you have the underwater equivalent of a proximity
missile, they have bows and arrows.
Main improvement is in submerged time with some luck you will reach the unsuspecting CV's
also the SPEED also helps
Setup
same as Type VIIA
Again no armor (i prefer speed but feel free to experiment- my conclusions so far...u can
only add a little bulge but soon have to give up on that as well due to HEAVY CREW.
Tactics
Go clean out other SS or just make a a 45 degree angle with your starting position (unless
some prankster reorients the team)
If you are close to a BB and you are out of air you can stall for some time by
quick-diving for a couple of seconds just before he fires.
Your torpguys will cap at about 60 i think and you will have a 10 second-ish reload time,
vets and experts help alot here.
Priority
A other SS
B everything except BB6
C BB6, CV5, CV6
Final mentions
everyone will hate you for your proxy torps and say they are for beginners...just sink
them to silence....over and over again
And feel convinced you are in the best all-round SS (IJN SS3 drivers will say the same but
they will sink first)
This turns a little faster than the bigger U-Flak so keep that in mind if u encounter 1
and you both start circling.
OK now adding T4 U-Flak
This is the T3 sub with lots of DP and some good surface miniguns. Main advantages are:
SPEED - you can now chase BBs underwater (24knot-ish cruising when submerged) as you are
faster this is the only SS fast enough
to catch a running BB so forget the "don't give chase if he knows i'm there" rule
AIR - as much as you need to make it across the map and sink a bulgewhore BB5
Guns - they are so fun that u forget to dive again. USE THEM AS A LAST RESORT YOU ARE NOT
A PCL YOU ARE A SUB. DIVE ONCE YOU GET SOME AIR BACK. You can basically engage anything.
Beware of keeping Spacebar pressed as each guns has 4 shots so you can end up still firing
long after you killed your target. You can also AA golden angle is around 46 ish...not
sure here but it's not that important
DP - it can take a lot of punishment and a lot of torps too
Tactics - whatever you feel like...in the now popular GB2 just go for the flag...sink
anything on the way but not too close to it so as not to scare him.
Other things u can do:
-go for the biggest BB with the best driver...he is usually the first BB down south. By
taking him out u cut down the other team's offense by at least 20%...yes he counts that
much...if u let him live chances are he will get min 200K damage out of the team's total
which is usually above 600K.
-almost as important...hunt as many enemy SS on the way to the other battle line...sinking
1 SS means ur saving at least 1 friendly BB so if u sink 2 SS ur saving half the battle
line (apart from when a new nation is patched in there is almost never an abundance of ASW
ships to aid the BBs). Not uncommon for an SS to get 100k damage so u do the math.
Final things to keep in mind:
1 plan ur route ahead- it's pointless to go south together with the only BB6 in the game
that will use u as a scout and kill all ur "pray". Aslo u DO have to go south when against
a KITAKAMI...they usually torp the middle or north...if u feel brave go just there and
surface after the wave to find the enemy SS has "surfed" the torp wave and has the drop on
u. If u plan right and keep ur course u should run out of air next to a
usually-undefended-CV in the back. Also if u spend lots of air fighting another SS just
head back to ur line, take a deep breath and have another go...it's futile to run out of
air just short of ur target.
2 remember u'r up against other people that HAVE READ THIS GUIDE ( :) not necessarely)so
by going south to kill the big bad BB5 u'll end up meeting the other SS trying to do the
same. DISCLAIMER the above idea was already in use long before being posted here :)
3 be prepared for SS on SS combat...if the other team has 2 SS or more there's an 80%
chance u'll run into an enemy SS...would like to see those who say don't fight other SS
and concentrate on BBs give u advice here. The other 20% is when they go together (which
they usually don't because all they do is get in each other's way) and by going together
they pick a path that doesn't cross yours.
4 adapt- if u were planning to go for a BB that is guarded by a FF or other ASW just
change path and pick another target
5 try to help ur team win- no point killing lots of small ships as an SS3 or SS4...just go
for the biggest thing u can take down..a sunk BB can't get those 200k damage i was talking
about earlier
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