Tactics & Tips

ThatHistoricSailor · 11-24-23, 11:16 PM

I've got several hundred hours put in..always played SH4 to the point my room was entirely dedicated to it. Happy to see more depth in this game and wanted to share a few tips:

1. If you are in shallow water, keep an eye on the top right corner of your depth to keel. If an enemy patrol is coming, you'll spot them before they come upon you. I like to keep my deck awash to hide my profile better..this helps on missions where you need to drop off a spy, weather station, attack a port. Your crew will spot the smoke stacks.
Pause the game, Alarm, rig for silent running(blue lights), assuming you are stopped set telegraph to STOP, set depth to Depth To Keel, set dive planes to manual, turn off gyro, and make sure the radio op is on the hydrophone.

8/10 times this always works. It does feel a bit scary watching an enemy war ship chug over top of you. If they spot you, just floor it and scrap along the bottom. They will have a wide turning radius anyways.

YOU WILL ALWAYS ENCOUNTER THE TASK FORCE AT BEAR ISLAND. THIS TACTIC WORKS FANTASTIC WITH EARLY WAR SONAR.

2. Cut it in a 90 when you are about to be charged. Keep a good fair distance, playing with your depth and sound. It works if you go silent running and dive deeper, then cut into a 90 degree angle.
This tactic also works with convoys, especially if a war ship sniffs you out. Of course the idea is to never put yourself into that position in the first place.

A good note with this tactic is if the warship is heading towards or away, you'll be in his hydrophone blind spot. So exploit it by going as quiet as you can to make a good get away.

This also works by just hiding in the convoys rear blindspots until you are ready to strike.

3. When in an encounter where you must surface. Get a fair distance away and put a preference to electric engines (should be the first tick back on the telegraph) deck awash and ride on the electric for awhile. This lowers your chances of being spotted when you surface. Your Diesel engines make lots of noise and will push smoke that attracts attention.

4. Vet your crew. If you get in a high risk situation, one guy freaking out will cause a mess. If he does it once and reveals a bad personality trait, just toss him from the crew. It's not worth keeping him around when you are in a tight situation. After about my 5-6th patrol, I weeded out any anxious ones. A good way to tell if the person you recruit is going to be worth it, just read their little bio.

5. During mine laying missions, avoid encounters and load them mines....I was a noob who didn't know any better.

6. Make sure to have a radio officer on the hydrophone while deck awash or on the surface. It has a greater range than visual sight. I like to manually rotate him at times.

7. Ensure each shift has proper coverage and two floaters. That guy will probably be the sixth person and keep him fresh. I like to sort of give him three hours on, 5 hours of sleep, 3 hours anything and the rest as working where I think I'll need him. I also do it at random with another officer. This way these guys don't get tired quickly but also can cover other jobs needing to be done. Radio man or engineer would be the best option.

Anyways Happy Hunting!

11-24-23, 11:16 PM	#26
ThatHistoricSailor Bilge Rat Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Curled up in the Battery compartment of a Balao class Posts: 1 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Tactics I've got several hundred hours put in..always played SH4 to the point my room was entirely dedicated to it. Happy to see more depth in this game and wanted to share a few tips: 1. If you are in shallow water, keep an eye on the top right corner of your depth to keel. If an enemy patrol is coming, you'll spot them before they come upon you. I like to keep my deck awash to hide my profile better..this helps on missions where you need to drop off a spy, weather station, attack a port. Your crew will spot the smoke stacks. Pause the game, Alarm, rig for silent running(blue lights), assuming you are stopped set telegraph to STOP, set depth to Depth To Keel, set dive planes to manual, turn off gyro, and make sure the radio op is on the hydrophone. 8/10 times this always works. It does feel a bit scary watching an enemy war ship chug over top of you. If they spot you, just floor it and scrap along the bottom. They will have a wide turning radius anyways. YOU WILL ALWAYS ENCOUNTER THE TASK FORCE AT BEAR ISLAND. THIS TACTIC WORKS FANTASTIC WITH EARLY WAR SONAR. 2. Cut it in a 90 when you are about to be charged. Keep a good fair distance, playing with your depth and sound. It works if you go silent running and dive deeper, then cut into a 90 degree angle. This tactic also works with convoys, especially if a war ship sniffs you out. Of course the idea is to never put yourself into that position in the first place. A good note with this tactic is if the warship is heading towards or away, you'll be in his hydrophone blind spot. So exploit it by going as quiet as you can to make a good get away. This also works by just hiding in the convoys rear blindspots until you are ready to strike. 3. When in an encounter where you must surface. Get a fair distance away and put a preference to electric engines (should be the first tick back on the telegraph) deck awash and ride on the electric for awhile. This lowers your chances of being spotted when you surface. Your Diesel engines make lots of noise and will push smoke that attracts attention. 4. Vet your crew. If you get in a high risk situation, one guy freaking out will cause a mess. If he does it once and reveals a bad personality trait, just toss him from the crew. It's not worth keeping him around when you are in a tight situation. After about my 5-6th patrol, I weeded out any anxious ones. A good way to tell if the person you recruit is going to be worth it, just read their little bio. 5. During mine laying missions, avoid encounters and load them mines....I was a noob who didn't know any better. 6. Make sure to have a radio officer on the hydrophone while deck awash or on the surface. It has a greater range than visual sight. I like to manually rotate him at times. 7. Ensure each shift has proper coverage and two floaters. That guy will probably be the sixth person and keep him fresh. I like to sort of give him three hours on, 5 hours of sleep, 3 hours anything and the rest as working where I think I'll need him. I also do it at random with another officer. This way these guys don't get tired quickly but also can cover other jobs needing to be done. Radio man or engineer would be the best option. Anyways Happy Hunting!