Battlestations: Pacific/Clash

Clash is a map set at late dusk with high waves. There aren't many islands on this map but it is notable in Island Capture for sporting otherwise rarely seen units - the TBD Devastator, the Ki-43 Oscar, and the F2A Buffalo, among others. Although Siege is generally avoided, players can enjoy Escort, Competitive, and Island Capture with reasonable balance.

Escort
"The Yamato and her escort ships are advancing on an Allied base. The Japanese side's goal is to provide air cover to their main flagship, whilst the US players have to protect their headquarters from the Yamato by sinking it, before she starts firing her deadly shells. The session ends when either side completes its objective."

- Map description

This seemingly straightforward objective is made more complicated by units not mentioned in the map description. The Japanese and the Americans have access to their twin-engined fighter/bombers - the Gekko and the Lightning, respectively. Both carry twin 450 kg bombs, stronger than those of ordinary fighters. The Yamato starts in the northeast corner of the map and travels diagonally to the southwest, where the Allied base is. The base is lightly defended by a couple troop transports, a Cleveland-class light cruiser, and two Rocket LSMs. The LSMs give the base some long-range firepower stronger than that of your own bombs, so try to keep them protected.

The first thing the Allies will notice, however, are four squads of Ohka Carriers en route to the base. These target the Allied troop transports that give the base its short-range firepower. Therefore for starters the Allies will want to avoid equipping their planes with bombs and charge immediately to the northwest, where they'll encounter the Ohka Carriers. The carriers are extremely lightly defended; the Japanese fighters spawn closer to the Yamato, so take these Ohka Carriers out quickly before they sink anything. Right behind them will be the Japanese players and the Yamato itself, which is escorted by a pair of Akizuki-class destroyers. These AA destroyers put up a lot of flak, and should be eliminated quickly. The Allied players should use their fighter bombs to destroy these, and then hopefully the Rocket LSMs and the troop transports will finish the job.

Meanwhile the Japanese should be focused on the Allied reinforcements; a single squad of B-29 Superfortresses will fly in from the direction of the base to bomb the Yamato. Although AI-piloted carpet bombers are notoriously inaccurate, the Yamato presents a large target and therefore is vulnerable to them. The Japanese should continue to keep their planes light so they may eliminate these quickly. Naturally, the Allies will want to defend these bombers to the best of their ability, but they may want to sink the destroyers first; the B-29s continue to spawn regardless, but the destroyers do not. As the Yamato continues to get closer, the Allies will begin to focus bomb attacks on it. Now is the best time to load your fighters with bombs and make bombing runs on the Yamato. While your bombs will not cause much damage, it is important to both draw the Japanese fighter cover away from the B-29s, and simply cause as much damage to it as you possibly can. Enough bombs to the Yamato's magazine will take out a lot of its health.

Around the time the Japanese destroyers are sunk, the Japanese receive their own reinforcements: two squads of three J9Y Kikkas, equipped with rockets. While they seem extremely powerful, they are also rather slow and unmanoeuvrable when controlled by the aircraft AI. Their rockets are often employed ineffectively, but they do have 12 rockets apiece (for a total of 36 rockets per squadron) and, with their extremely damaging cannons, are a huge threat to your B-29s. That said, if you manage to get them into a turning fight, they are extremely easy to shoot down; they are dive bombers, not fighters in this game.

If the Allies have done a good job up to this point, they should continue to bomb the Yamato - it should be hurting pretty badly at this point. B-29s continue to make runs on the Yamato, so be sure to keep them protected. The game will end once the Yamato sinks, or the base it's targeting is neutralized.

Siege
"A US rocket ship force is about to neutralize Japanese bases in the area to make way for landings. The US must assist the landing forces and neutralize all enemy islands. The Japanese have to protect the islands and sink all the attacking vessels before they do devastating damage."

- Map description

This map is extremely difficult to win. Each player on either side is equipped with a single patrol boat, and is tasked with the elimination of enemy air and sea power. There are two fronts - a north and a southern island. Although the enemy ships can be eliminated easily (more or less) with torpedoes, your AA weapons will be extremely inaccurate. Compounding on the usual inaccuracy of PT-mounted machine guns are the extremely high waves, which sometimes sends your boat high. This not only screws up your aim but also prevents you from firing your weapons. For better effect try to aim to the sides of the boat rather than the front, but the waves will be a larger enemy than either the Japanese or the Americans. The American forces are split in two, one for each island. Each task force contains a Fletcher, a Clemson, two LSTs, two Rocket LSMs, and two squads of Lightnings. Each task force is backed up by player-controlled PT boats. The Japanese have a nearly identical force, sans landing ships: two squads of Gekkos, a Fubuki, and a Minekaze, backed by player-controlled Gyoraiteis and, occasionally, the coastal guns on the islands.

As aforementioned, the goal for each player is to simply cause more damage to the enemy forces. This means, for the Japanese, to target the destroyers, LSMs, and LSTs. You can attempt to target the Lightnings and the other PT boats, but the waves will make this nearly impossible. Instead use your torpedoes, as waves affect them less so than your AA guns.

The Americans should focus their torpedo attacks on the destroyers. The shore batteries will cause considerable damage if you get close, and the waves make neutralizing them extremely difficult. Train your AA weapons high to shoot down Gekkos in between lulls of the destroyer forces. What is most important, however, is picking your spawn point. It is important for your team to communicate and decide which of the two fronts requires PT boat support, and provide support where necessary.

Competitive
"Dogfights are the measure of ability between fighter pilots. But how will you react when there are dozens of enemy planes after you? As a Japanese fighter ace you have to kill as many enemy planes as you can."

- Map description

This straightforward mission can be extremely fun and challenging. All eight players command a single squad of three Japanese Raidens against an unlimited number of enemy fighters. Shoot down as many fighters to get the highest score before your rivals.

The Raiden can opt to equip rockets for a little extra reach and firepower, but because a lot of the Allied aircraft are specialists in turning fights, you may want to avoid the rockets to keep your planes as manoeuvrable. The AI does not do a good job of managing its airspeed, so it is relatively easy to out-turn even the extremely manoeuvrable F6F Hellcat in your rather sluggish interceptor.

The enemy employs every American fighter in the game: Buffalos, Wildcats, Corsairs, Hellcats, and even the prestigious Shooting Star. The only fighter not in the battle is the Hurricane, for unknown reasons. However, there are as many as 10 to 15 squadrons of enemy aircraft to face, providing a challenge even for aces.

Be sure to go after the gold-bracketed aircraft when they appear, as shooting down the highlighted squadron yields more points than usual. However, be forewarned that it only counts if you eliminate the last member of the squadron. Therefore you may want to wait until your rivals have shot down planes two and three so you can eliminate the last plane in the squad to get the points.

Island Capture - Small
Map Description:This fairly balanced map consists of multiple older units, including Minekaze-class destroyers and rarely seen land-based fighters and bombers - most notably, the TBD Devastator. People who have played the Siege version of this map know to avoid PT boats at all costs - they are extremely difficult to use due to the high waves on this map. Capture your supply base and then duke it out with your enemy for the victory.

Unlock Data: The Iowa-class, Montana-class, Yamato and Super Yamato-class battleships appear as unlocks, but no Headquarters can spawn them. Clemsons aren't the greatest, so players will probably want a destroyer upgrade.

Balancing Notes: This map is well balanced.

Click on a Headquarters to see which units it can spawn.

Island Capture - Medium
Medium includes air unlockables and an extra airfield to the north which allows players to spawn planes closer to the battle. Two supply bases to the south even things out a little, so most of the fighting will be to the northern base. Players should keep scouting to the south, however, as sneak attacks from the south, particularly around the map's borders.

Click on a Headquarters to see which units it can spawn.

Island Capture - Large
Large is only slightly larger than medium, with the addition of two fallback HQs capable of spawning planes. Similar tactics from Medium can be employed in Large.

Click on a Headquarters to see which units it can spawn.