Individually, I believe my heavy cruisers always outdamaged my carriers even under ideal circumstances. I went the carrier route as Japan, and at BEST, they did about 25% of my damage in a fleet battle. In other words, carriers are a huge investment and they take a long time to start to give decent returns.

In order to be effective, carriers need all of the following: (1) admiral traits Air Controller +10 & Flight Deck Manager +10 (2) carrier naval doctrines that boost Sortie Efficiency (3) national spirits that boost Sortie Efficiency, if any (4) good naval bombers don't bother using fighters, they don't seem to do anything (5) full screening efficiency (6) good weather, and (7) daylight during at least two of 0:00, 8:00, & 16:00 local time, which will not be true in maybe about half the world. 'Sortie Efficiency' is a direct multiplier to how many attacks your naval bombers will make. Carriers get a lot more power ramp than other ships, so they start off comparatively weak, but later on get much stronger. Carriers: Carriers were the gods of the sea irl in WW2, but in Hoi4, not so much, at least not until later in the game. The purpose of this guide is to explain all things related to naval combat and management against the AI in single player, in particular from the point of view of Japan.Ī.

Hearts of iron 4 navy guide