best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Could anyone offer suggestions about attacking planets with alot of weapons platforms?
I am tired of losing fleets to well defended planets!

thanks in advance

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Depends. If you want to capture, make a few heavily shielded BIG transports. Have them run in on suicide runes and try to take it intact, WPs and all.

If you want to glass, either get out of range, bring lots and lots of Planetary Napalm, or put one ship in with Don't Get Hurt orders. Said ship can blockade the world, making it useless..or, if it carries a planet killer, destroy it completely. No muss, no fuss, one less planet.

Phoenix-D

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Glass, gas or mass invasions, every planet can fall.

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Planetary Napalm?? Great I will try lots of that! Does that destroy population only? Industry? Weapons?!?

When you say 'have some heavily shielded transports do suicide runs', do you mean send them in without escorts? Set the Troop transport fleet to kamikaze? I am guessing that 'if' the ship can get past the weapons platforms, the only thing to stop the troops would be ground forces right? Population doesn't fight invading ground troops do they?

Thanks a million this should really help

L

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

I recommend the Transport tactic. Just outfit a large transport with tons of shields and armor so it can draw the WP fire away from your nimble craft that is carring a few planetary napalm bombs. When you get close enough to the planet, release enough bombs to take out the WP. Then invade with troops and gobble up all the goodies. WPs get taken out first before facilities and population, which is helpful if you want to capture a planet with existing industry. And if you loose the decoy transport, what have you really lost?

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Planetary napalm will make Dresden hell look like paradise. No cargo, facility or population can survive few dedicated ships with antiplanetary weapons http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

If you want _REALlY_ well defended planets, play Proportions !

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yes, they do. In the unmodded game, the planet gets 1 "militia" for every 20M pop.

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

I have lost planets because the WPs do not have enough range.
Typically at equal tech levels the ships can move into WP firing range and Ships firing range on the same turn.
You may want to start with a Wall or Inverse Wedge formation and then let the ships break formation. Try to avoid a letting ships run up alone.
WP do not multiplex the targets very well, so it helps to have many targets. The default WP firing strategy can sometimes favor the biggest ships and ignore the smaller ones. So a smaller ship that is quick and hard to hit can slip in through the crowd. Load the ship with a Plague bomb or Planetary Napalm(s).

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Wardad, you need to use mounts; they give a pretty heft to-hit bonus and range increase.

"When you say 'have some heavily shielded transports do suicide runs', do you mean send them in without escorts? Set the Troop transport fleet to kamikaze? I am guessing that 'if' the ship can get past the weapons platforms, the only thing to stop the troops would be ground forces right? Population doesn't fight invading ground troops do they?"

I mean send them in ALONE, no escorts, with the strategy set to drop troops. They'll charge the planet and try to land their troops. If there are warships around, they try to wait until the warships kill off the weapons platforms.

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Here is another question along the same lines;

If I send a fleet to a planet that has an enemy fleet in orbit, I set the fleet to
'do not attack planet' will the planetary WP's participate in the impending battle?

L-

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

If its enemy and in range, they will fire.

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Neutron Bombs are the ones that destroy only population. Useless weapons, if you ask me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Lots of fighters with cluster bombs.

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Okay I keep hearing planetary napalm. I also will but the napalm on smaller ships as apparently they are not targeted first.

Is there away to scan colonies for defensive units? Can I park a ship with a certain scanner to see the units on a planet?

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

Why don't you sign a peace treaty and behave as a good boy? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

For taking planets, build transports using the fastest hull you have, add some armor and a lot of shields, then load your troops and go on the rampage.

If instead of conquering the planet you just want to glass it, and if you have researched late level of missile tech you can fire barrages of missiles from far away. This missiles will be intercepted with Point Defense Cannons, but it will entertain the Point Defenses while your fighters or drones charge the planet.

Re: best ship components against planets / WP\'s
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You need to set them to not attack bases or sattelites. If either of those are present the fleet will merrily move up and attack them while getting platstered by the WPs.