My 2nd Patrol and Advice for promotions and upgrades..

[CA406079]

Did pretty well for my 2nd patrol, sunk two merchies off the east coast of scotalnd, and destroyer on outer picket near scapa, and then gunned down a flower corvette.

My last torp went into a large cargo ship, but i ran out of shells,even using starshells below the waterline at one point. So far have sunk about 16,000 tons and and REALLY after an IXB that is being offered for 8000 reknown....

My question is this, what do you guy upgrade on you VIIb's to make them more efficient. I have taken an machinist officer and upgraded my petty's with torpedoman, watchmen, and gunner to spot targets and so that I dont have to sit in the F7 screen all patrol swapping crews....

But i'm wondering about what upgrades to sonar and radioman do....

Also what flotilla can I transfer to and get an IXb ASAP without "buying" it.

Also, do you keep your crew when transferring, or changing boat types?

Thanks for the info

[enaceo]

I use NYGM mod ,so managing the crew is a bit harder and efficency is more realistic.So,while using NYGM i usually take a torpedoman officer ,and then i give the gunner and flack speciality to my watchman since i usually start my career in the early years when deck-gunning is used more.
When i was playing stock SH3 i also took a machinist or torpedoman officer ,depending mostly on what type of ship i was on.
I'm not so sure what the sonar/radio skill actually does,but it probably increases the efficency of your radar/sonar/gramophone or whatever you use as a sensor.
Yes,you do keep your crew if you get a new sub/or get transfered,and i'm not sure you can actually transfer somewhere and get the IX right away.You could do that using SH3 cmdr but that would be kinda cheating.

[NeonSamurai]

Hmm well the VII is a very effective ship as it is, ive managed over 100k ton patrols (with out excessive deck gun use) with RUb and other mods. Main thing is to pick your targets and dont waste your torpedoes on low tonage ships. Most cargo and tanker ships can be sunk with a single torpedo if you know where to shoot. Also do your patrol to the patrol location, sit there (Sink any good targets of oppertunity) then go hang out in one of the major shipping lanes. With patience you will get many juicy targets and probably a convoy or 2.

As for crew promotions, qualifications, etc well for sinking ships crew efficency only realy counts for hydrophones (if you dont want to do it yourself), engines, watch, and torpedo reloads, also damage control is very helpfull. I would start with giving your main officers all the qualifications and promotions they can take first (they typicaly have the largest effect on efficency). I would plan out your officer's 3 qualifications carefully so they can handle everything (dont give them radio/hydrophone though) and there is some overlap (particularly helm, watch, torpedo, engines). After them i would give at least 2 of your lower officers radio/hydrophone certs. Then start passing out ones for the other compartments (i would worry about deck/flak gun last) starting with engines and damage control, then torpedo, and a watch officer or 2.

As for upgrades, go with what you think will help most. Oh and stick with t1 steam torps, they are far superior to the electric t2's

[HunterICX]

For upgrades on you Sub there is a nice button

Main menu -> Load your career *IN BASE*
go to the U-Boat section (the place where you can Buy parts or new Boats)
and press Right under in the screen the *?* button to see all the upgrades and when they come out very handy

[stabiz]

Wow, never seen that "?". Must check out.

[U-Bones]

1st upgrade is hydrophones to remove the 40 degree blindspot at your bow.

1st crew training is the eyes and ears ( watch and sonar ).

IMO