Welcome to the IJN CV line.

[MODERATOR EDIT] This guide is a newer CV guide. The old one by Alyx can be found
here:

http://fm.en.kupaisky.com/board/view.asp?Num=107071&Sort=A03

[END MODERATOR EDIT]

I personally have played the Hosho CV line and have played every CV up to the
Agaki 1938.

CV SETUP

In the CV 5 there is 8 support slots to fill, I strongly suggest you fill them with at
least 4 fighter pilots. I personally have 4 fighter pilots, 2 Diver Bombers, and 1
Torpedo Bomber on my CV.

DB or Torpedo Bombers?

The IJN DB is one of the best, if not the best, DB in the entire game. Our TB can also
be very good if used right, check out compassghosts reply and watch his video to
see the real effectiveness of tbs. You can choose any combination of these pilots,
and much of the decision lies with personalpreference. I chose my 2 DB, 3 when I
get to CV5, and 1 TB bomber pilots for a couple of reasons. I am using the IJN DB
advantage, the tier 2 DB rock and I was surprised when I finally reached them and
they hit massive damage. I also suggest having at least 1 TB these days because of
the pesky subs and smaller ships sailing around.


FIGHTERS :D

Fighters are essential for a CV. A CV without fighters is dead meat and I think
doesn’t deserve a slot in GB.

There are many tactics to use with fighters. When you have your fighters in the air
and they engage an enemy squadron, initial battle occurs. Micromanagement is key
to your success in dogfights.

With micromanagement you can defeat a squadron of fighters many lvls higher than
your squadron. One examples of micromanagement is the dragging technique. This
is used when your fighters are in a circle of death, which is when your fighters are
following theirs in a circle, to drag you have to click your mouse as fast as you can
outside of the circle to “drag your fighters out.

Once your fighters are out of the circle drag them for a little bit to get the enemy
planes following yours, then release the mouse button and let your fighters fight it
out.

One of the more useful techniques I’ve found is that when the enemy is dragging
your fighters, you should drag yours also, but follow his fighters so it appears that
your fighters are automatically following. Then when he releases his fighters keep
dragging for a few seconds and then release yours, it really catches the enemy by
surprise and can help win dogfights.

If you eventually have air superiority send some of your fighters to the enemy BB
line and scout for your friendly BBs, scouting like this can really change them game.
Use your other fighters to kill the enemy scouts and keep their BBs blind.

BOMBERS

Ah bombers, BB players don’t always see the usefulness of the bomber, and
sometimes their right. When players abuse bombers and let the enemy have air
superiority our BBs cant see, and theirs can see everything. Nevertheless bombers
are still very useful.

Dive Bombers

The dive bomber is better than the torpedo bomber when it comes to bombing
capital ships, such as a BB or a CV. Picking your target is more tricky than actually
doing the attack.

To pick a target, I either pick a BB or an enemy CV if its a threat. When I search for a
prime target I think of a couple of priorities.

If im up against an enemy CV that is reasonably open to attack i will usually bomb
him. Killing a CV will cripple their side more than a BB because none of the other BBs
will be able to see, and will be blind.

If i cant attack a cv because of aa ships or fighter cover i usally follow these
guidlines in choosing a BB:

1)If the BB is damaged, repairing, and out of range for our BBs the BB is a
prime target and killing that bb can have a huge effect on the game.
2)If I don’t see any BBs that fit number 1, I usually bomb the most powerful
BB on the other side that is reasonably open, such as it doesn’t have fighters over
it, or it doesn’t have a skilled AA ship guarding it.

When your up against an aa ship, lowering your bombers is very effective.
For Dive bombing you have to be back at the default hieght to attack, but if you right
click their ship while gaining altitude it will still autobomb, same with TB except they
will just dive right where they are, and not go to the default hieght first

The bombing run

Once you have found a target, place your bombers behind the ship and approaching
the ship at full speed. Once the bombers are a few inches away from the ship right
click the ship to target it and when they dive spam the right mouse button as fast as
you can to release the bombs.

TORPEDO BOMBERS

So the DB is best at killing Capital ships, so who are these guys left with? With a
Torpedo Bomber some prime targets are the submarines. Killing a sub can have a
surprisingly detrimental effect on the enemy team. So how do you go around killing
submerged boats?

Torp Bombing a Submarine

Ok you have a squad of Torp bombers and you see a sub. First start your approach
so it doesn’t look like your going after the sub, like for example, act like your going
for a BB and fly to the side of a sub. Then, once your pilots are on the side of the
sub, target the sub, and the second your Tbers hit sea lvl release your torps. DON’T
WAIT. As soon as the sub driver realizes he is under attack he will submerge, and
when the sub submerges it throws off your auto aim, and your pilots will go back to
the default height.

GUNS OR NO GUNS

Some, or most, cvs have gun slots on your ship that could be used for AA. Using
guns, or not using guns and instead training supports or pilots is solely up to the
player, but it is extremely important in the lower lvls to forgo the guns and lvl up
your pilots, because they will help you out more in the end.

SUPPORT CREW

On your cv, you will most likely have 2 r slots that can be filled with support crew.
You have 4 options, a medic, restore, or a seaman. Some people say a seaman help
your fighters, a medic does reduce crew death, which is really nice. And restores
boost your sd. You can choose what combonation of the three real options you want.

JUNYO OR HOSHO CV LINES

One of the most infamous decisions of the entire IJN line, the decision between the
cv line dictates when you get your new ships, and how much space is in between
them. Heres some pros and cons to help you

Hosho line pros

-Many more ships in between, switching ships alot makes the long grind more fun.
-By the time the junyo line gets the same tier ship as you, your almost to your next
tier
-Hosho is at lvl 46, which meens you will be getting more exp than you would on the
junyo line thanks to shared exp. This is because your ship is higher lvl.

Junyo line pros
-It will cost alot less because you dont recieve reimbursement for your remodel
money, which adds up fast
-The ships of each tier are a little better than the hosho line.
-They get their CV5 2 levels before, and the kaga isnt much better, 2 planes.

I would recomend the hosho line for 2 reasons. The cost is nullified by the huge
amounts of money you make in a cv. And by the time the Junyo line gets its better
ship, your already half way to your next tier, probably already their because of the
exp boost from shared exp, so you will most likely level faster with the same effort
thanks to sharedexp. As well, the break up of the grind i