@Rakeman:
@Cmdr:
You don’t have to provoke me to go Pacific with USA. It’s my preferred attack plan.
Really? How does that work out for you?
So far this year my KJF (in AAR no NAs) is 32 wins, 7 losses with one loss on the way so let’s just say 32 Wins / 8 Losses.
What makes it viable? Most players do not know how to handle Japan. They either buy too much navy and Russia ends up owning Manchuria, Kwangtung and French Indo China or they don’t buy enough navy resulting in America owning Borneo/E. Indies and landing 8 ground units a round into French Indo China and complete dominance of the Pacific Ocean.
What makes many players think KJF is not viable is they don’t know how to build a Navy for America. It’s not all submarines in hopes you can eventually out dice the Japanese by round 5 or 6. You really need to think about what you are doing. You need enough defensive punch that any attack would by at best 50/50 against you and you need enough air power in range that you can exchange fighters for overwhelming punch. (2 Carriers can support 8 fighters if you are stationed correctly. that’s a LOT of damage potential.) But surface ships are also needed. Sure, your theoretical best bang for the buck is the submarine, but in reality, 4 destroyers > 6 submarines, even though they have the same punch. They both have the same punch, and the same cost, but the submarines have a significantly smaller chance to hit than the destroyers do. (33% vs 50%) and, one would hope that your fleet would also contain at least one or two battleships and one or two carriers.
Now, I’m not saying don’t buy ANY submarines. Just that 1 destroyer for every 3-5 submarines is a good bet, IMHO. Also, 1 transport for every 5 submarines is an absolute must! What good is a navy with no transports??? (More transports = greater threat to neighboring islands forcing Japan to consider how they would liberate said islands if it came to it.)
KJF is all about the right mix of equipment placed in the right place. KGF is all about brute force. Do you want to be the Surgeon or the Barbarian?