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Post by Officer Genious on Oct 23, 2014 8:37:45 GMT -5
I just dug through the research tree and I can't find an upgrade for repairing cruisers. I want to see some lancer types in action, but I'd like to repair them as I hate disposable troops (money sink!). Am I just missing it?
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Post by Brutus Aurelius on Oct 23, 2014 8:39:47 GMT -5
In the Alpha, Repair worked on all Ship types, but Cory restricted it to Fighters only.
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Post by Officer Genious on Oct 23, 2014 8:53:15 GMT -5
In the Alpha, Repair worked on all Ship types, but Cory restricted it to Fighters only. Drat, thought the heavy Paladin may have changed that. Oh well. I would rather have a force I can cycle in and out for quick healing to keep costs/numbers down instead of letting awesome super-cruisers drift in friendly space slowly healing themselves... unless a trade ban screws around with refueling numbers. Strong fighter flood and assault swarms it is, then! |
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 23, 2014 9:00:51 GMT -5
Carriers (Normal, Heavy and Ultra) will all focus on Fighters.
They can Repair only Fast Reactor ships, but can Refuel any Reactor (excluding other Carriers.)
This puts an emphasis on Repair attribute (and upgrades that boost it) for Cruisers (Normal, Battle and Ultra.)
You will want highly survivable Cruisers, but can build them to burn W-F quickly in battle.
In my current game (AE 42) a single fully upgraded Battlecruiser replaces 2-3 Fighters, and usually rolls with a support Carrier for Refuel and an Assault Fighter / Strike Cruiser for de-buff boarding.
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vylox
Consul
Colonial Minister of Clan Javat.
Posts: 89 
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Post by vylox on Oct 24, 2014 22:48:06 GMT -5
I have looked at the damage output of the heavy high end guns, and I am surprised that your battle cruisers can replace 3 fighters....
With a few proper placed upgrades my little fighters easily rack up 30-40 damage per combat turn. In order to replace 3 of them with a single ship, its damage output (including everything except exp) would have to start around 90...that's just insane!
I guess that our fighter class ships are built entirely differently......
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 25, 2014 8:47:04 GMT -5
I have looked at the damage output of the heavy high end guns, and I am surprised that your battle cruisers can replace 3 fighters.... With a few proper placed upgrades my little fighters easily rack up 30-40 damage per combat turn. In order to replace 3 of them with a single ship, its damage output (including everything except exp) would have to start around 90...that's just insane! I guess that our fighter class ships are built entirely differently...... I was looking at it from the ability to hold back Xeno ships -- BC can really soak up a lot of damage with heavy armor and high Durability, which means they can stand up to a pretty substantial number of ships alone, and expect to eliminate 2 of them per turn. They're definitely less versatile, and doing less overall DPT than 3 fighters, but in terms of the battle lines, they are accomplishing the same thing. BC are not the ships I use to push into Xeno territory -- I switch to attack fighters and heavy carriers. |
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vylox
Consul
Colonial Minister of Clan Javat.
Posts: 89
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Post by vylox on Oct 25, 2014 17:21:05 GMT -5
Yup, we build ships entirely differently.... Agile lightly armored ships can accomplish essentially the same thing...
Of course since fighters can easily be repaired by a carrier, one could skimp on their hull/durability with investment into evasion, stealth, and pilot... I have even sent single fighters or cruisers into Xeno packs to kill off the ship while dishing some damage into Xeno ships before I roll into their territory, and watch as they last for 20-30 turns of combat against multiple Xeno ships (the first 3 times I just sent them in to die, now I do it just to see how long some designs can last). Too bad I can't get that kind of longevity for military transports or carriers.
Each player has their own style I guess ;>
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Post by Brutus Aurelius on Oct 25, 2014 17:27:10 GMT -5
I usually use Carriers solely for Repair and Refuel. Transports I skimp a bit on Durability and use my other ships as an active defense, engaging and destroying any Xeno ships before they can enter Torpedo Range.
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 25, 2014 18:46:21 GMT -5
I tend to arm Carriers with low WF weapons and training, and use them as back line fire support.
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Post by xdesperado on Oct 25, 2014 19:53:04 GMT -5
I tend to arm Carriers with low WF weapons and training, and use them as back line fire support. I arm carriers only with light guns. That W-F is for keeping fighters repaired or refueling the combatants, not so they can take pot shots with pop gun torps. Only reason I arm them at all is so the crews have a little something to fight back with if somehow an enemy ship gets past the main battle lines. |
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vylox
Consul
Colonial Minister of Clan Javat.
Posts: 89
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Post by vylox on Oct 25, 2014 23:13:01 GMT -5
I tend to arm Carriers with low WF weapons and training, and use them as back line fire support. but weapons in and of themselves don't use WF. Regular barrage is 0 cost... unless your talking about arming them with just torpedoes. For carriers i give them middle armor, a decent gun and thats pretty much it. then i stick em on the front with the fighters they are supposed to repair or the invasion ships that they are refueling. Because sometimes you might need that extra couple points of damage.... |
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Post by Cory Trese on Oct 25, 2014 23:19:01 GMT -5
by mid-game you will need the accuracy of Torp Spread, however.
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vylox
Consul
Colonial Minister of Clan Javat.
Posts: 89
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Post by vylox on Oct 26, 2014 11:17:07 GMT -5
by mid-game you will need the accuracy of Torp Spread, however. Only if you actually use torpedoes. the problem with them is that their damage output to mass ratio is weak compared to most of the guns. The only reason I even install torpedoes is for retaliation attacks. Mostly I invade the Xeno's personal space (so to speak). An example of what i mean as concerns damage to mass ratio. The Wolf Railgun is +3attack +1 defensewith 14-31 damage for 560 mass. The Barracuda Torpedo is +3 attack at up to 3 range with 10-20 damage costing 530 mass. Or how about the Prow Lance...760 mass for 24-48 damage, the equivalent torpedo is the Squid Torpedo which has 16-48 damage on 2280 mass with alower attack bonus. Personally, I find torpedos lacking in comparison to most guns of equivalent mass or cost. I might build a torpedo boat at some point after i unlock allthe new stuff, but I doubt it will prove useful for me, even with Torpedo Spread 3 to increase accuracy and damage. Others might find them just fine and dandy though. And what is considered mid-game ? edit: Also the 2 best ship types in the game cant even install torpedos! (fighter, and heavy carrier). **my opninion anyhow** |
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Post by xdesperado on Oct 28, 2014 0:58:20 GMT -5
I like having dedicated torpedo cruisers for stand off attacks against the xeno mass driver ships.
I'll use advanced fighters for closing and taking down their torpedo ships and let my torpedo cruisers at least soften up the mass driver ships.
BTW my fighter designs tend to be very expensive to build and maintain, but they pack the best tech I can field and with carrier support will have a long combat life.
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Post by En1gma on Oct 28, 2014 6:09:39 GMT -5
I am morally opposed to building cheap, throwaway fighters. I'm of the same mind as xdesperado- my fighters routinely cost as much as a similarly outfitted Cruiser, but get the majority of my kills. I just toyed with the Railgun Cruiser, using one as a final defense against World Killers, so they never leave close orbit. It's great to have such a massive damage weapon to get through the crazy armour off the WK. The other setup for cruisers is low armour, and great torpedoes- since I have great fighters, I just keep the torp cruisers in the back, in orbit, and they spit out an unlimited supply of death... |
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