Below is a copy of the listing I had for all naval units, using a non-complicated algebraic equation:
- DD = 8 IPC = Attack 2, Defend 2, Detect Submarines, Move 2
- CA = 12 IPC = Attack 3, Defend 3, Shore Bombard 3, Move 2
- AC = 12 IPC = Attack 0, Defend 2, Carry 2 Fighters, Move 2
- BB = 22 IPC = Attack 4, Defend 4, Plunging Fire, 3 Hits to sink, Move 2
- SS = 8 IPC = Attack 2, Defend 1, Sneak Shot, Move 2
- TRN = 6 IPC = Cargo two ground units, Move 2
2(Attack Value + Defense Value) + Special Ability 1 + Special Ability 2 + Special Ability 3 - 2 Corrective = Cost of Naval Unit
(if the unit does not have a 1st, 2nd and/or 3rd special ability, input 0 for these numbers.)
As you can see, the Cruiser cost isn’t different. Maybe it should be raised to 14 since it really is better if you look at them on a per round purchase scale. For instance, if a nation has 24 IPC are they purchasing 1 battleship, or would they go for 2 cruisers? (Let’s assume they have destroyers already and aircraft carriers.) Not unheard of, ANZAC, India, the United States (if they split build) Italy, Germany and England may all be in that situation numerous times during a game. If you compare 2 cruisers to 1 battleship, the 2 cruisers far exceed the value of the battleship as they have greater attacking punch, greater defending punch and more shots per round, which is a small price to pay since you cannot afford a destroyer with the 4 IPC left over from the battleship purchase.
If we look at the prices, we see they are almost identical to what is in the book, but some units are changed. (Note: the cruiser isn’t one of them!)
The submarine went back up in price to 8 IPC. I would say, to justify this cost, we take a page from the AAR:enhanced rulebook. Submarines, when attacking without aircraft or surface ships, may “call their shot” on the first shot. Before the first round, dedicate what ship each submarine will be aiming for (transports are valid for this) and then roll each attack separately…by that I mean, if there are 5 submarines aiming for the carrier and 3 for the battleship, then roll the 5 for the carrier, determine hits, then roll against the battleship. That would certainly justify returning the price to the historic norm, at least for me.
Battleships went up in price, again by 2 IPC, but we agreed to give them plunging fire allowing them 2 shots in round 1 (1@1 and 1@4.)
The sticking point are the aircraft carriers that went down in price from 16 to 14 (a minor change.) Considering Larry seems perfectly happy with them costing 13 IPC (he did allow it if you had shipyards tech) it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to assume they may be a little over priced. However, to justify it, we could bar them from engaging the enemy on an attack so they cannot even be used to soak hits, which makes historical sense. Japan and the United States went to great lengths to keep their carriers out of combat when attacking and to focus their attacks on attacking the enemy carriers, why would either of the two fleet admirals suddenly want to push their carriers up to the front lines to soak hits? So now, if they cannot use their 2 hit ability on attack, but only on defense, a minor shift downward seems logical.
The rest of the units are not changed.
