Combat will begin with a contest of firepower, followed by shock action in which ships attempt to grapple or ram one another. The naval combat interface shows the strength of the two fleets engaged in the combat. In EU4, there is no player involvement inside combat, but the interface now displays more information, showing among other information which ship is fighting which.
Also like land battles, these sea battles can go on for many days, so they should be considered not as a single engagement, but as two fleets maneuvering to gain wind, standing off and skirmishing before the fleets finally collide. Like land warfare, naval combat occurs when opposing fleets confront each other in the same sea province.
