• Completely invisible to all units except helicopters, vikings, naval platforms and other submarines

• Torpedo deals good damage against enemy navy

• Missiles are long range, making it possible to lay siege from afar

• Against the confederation, submarines can destroy poseidons and deltas without contest

• Low hp and armor

• Highly vulnerable to any enemy units while firing missiles

• Expensive

• Low speed and terrible maneuverability

• They can disrupt your naval formation when marching/attacking due to occasional clumsiness resulting from their low speed

• No anti air defenses, so they need to be covered by alligators. This increases the amount of CP you need to allocate at sea

• Missiles have poor accuracy

• Easy target for vikings

The submarine's stealth ability and long range aid its primary uses

Clearing naval platforms - Due to the long missile's range, the submarine is able to clear enemy naval installations from a safe distance. This is best followed up by a heavy attack with alligators to the weakened enemy sides. Clearing naval platforms ensures a more successful strike at the enemy sea flank

Hard counter to Poseidon - Due to Poseidon being extremely heavily armored and capable of dealing massive damage, it can be exceedingly difficult to confront poseidons with alligators or any other units. However, the submarine is underwater, it cannot be targeted by poseidon and cannot be detected by it. The submarine is capable of engaging it without retaliation. The same applies when attacking deltas. So, the barracuda is completely invulnerable to 2 confederation naval units.

Naval Recon - The barracuda can be hidden in key locations such as map corners at the sea, and view approaching enemy fighters/bombers in advance. This allows for advance warning and enough time to activate boosts and patrol your own fighters for defense. However, the submarine costs 6 CP, so it is unwise to allocate too many submarines to this role, as it would strain the CP available for other operations.

Coast guard - When the enemy naval forces have been destroyed, placing submarines along the enemy coast, under water effectively creates a naval blockade and prevents the enemy from building at sea. While the submarine is invisible and undetected, no units on land can attack it. The submarine can effectively prevent the enemy from reentering the sea, keeping you with naval power.

Ambush - After scouting the enemy coast line, submarines can effectively be used for surprise attacks. The submarines are able to reach attacking positions undetected, and unload heavy fire into an unsuspecting enemy. The submarine can fire and then hide underwater, only to emerge from a different location for another ambush operation. This can keep an enemy on their toes and turn the battle tide in your favor.

Alligator support - Despite being extremely vulnerable to vikings, the submarines are able to aid alligators against the enemy navy. In a confrontation of a group of vikings combined with poseidons, submarines can aid in focusing fire on vikings along with the alligators, such that, if the alligators all perish, the submarines can try to finish off enemy Poseidons. This is particularly useful when the enemy has massed diverse naval composition. However, competent squad management is needed, since the submarines can disrupt formations and prevent alligators from reaching attack positions on time.