Predator sub

Getting and Using the Predator Sub 

Now that you have the Intelligence lab built, lets start finding and finishing blueprints. 

The best blueprints are found in tier 2 and tier 3, but for them we need Predator subs to be better able to take down cargo fleets. 

To get the Predator sub, you must first upgrade the Naval Lab to level 5 to research the sub. During this time you can complete the next Campaign 'Long Shot', which nets you the D51-N, the D5-E, and the Leviathan A. For the guide how: http://ouchbattlepirates.blogspot.com/2016/04/guide-to-battle-pirates-part-7-long-shot.html

Predator Sub Basics 

Every sub has a dive time, the dive time for the Predator sub is 24 seconds. Dive time refers to how long the sub will dive underwater and be avoidable from enemy ships, unless the enemy ships have sonar and/or thermal. You can protect against sonar, but not against thermal. During the ship's dive, it moves around as normal and can still fire its weapons, but can't be seen or fired upon unless the enemy has sonar or thermal.

Every sub fleet must have a lead ship that is a ship and not a submarine. This is void when using the Phantom Nighthawk and the Phantom tiger shark, but this still stands for Predator subs.
You must have a lead ship of a gunboat or long ship, any boat except for another submarine. 

Predator sub specialist 

Along with granting bonus reload, vxp points and rank also grant faster repair times to certain ships, luckily the Predator sub is one of them. Head over to the naval lab to find the specialist tab. 

Click on the Predator sub icon.

Once the ship reaches the rank level of Elite 1 for example, it lowers the repair modifier by 16%. The repair modifier gives how many seconds are required to repair one health point. If the modifier is 300%, the ship takes 3 seconds to repair one health point, if the modifier is 50% it takes .5 of a second to repair a health point.  The higher the predator sub ranks up, the faster it repairs and the faster it fires.

Predator Sub build 

This is the build I am using for the Predator sub, remember how I had you research the engine 1? Its time to use it now. This speeds up the sub by 30%, increasing it from 12 to 15.6 combat speed. On the downside, it lowers the accuracy of the weapons by 10%.

How to use Predator sub

You use the Predator sub similar to kiting, but when the dive time is running low, try and drive your sub away from the enemy ships, wait until it dives again and move in to attack. This allows that the sub remains undamaged, and helps to strengthen your kiting skills and submarine skill.

On a level 17 cargo: https://youtu.be/BJjLl383UVo
On a level 23 cargo: https://youtu.be/qAJ3BwWcqbw
On a level 31 cargo: https://youtu.be/U2NBddeii-g