[Noble713]

Yeah, spending several years to build a battlestation is ridiculous; it didn't take that long in SE3. Maybe a starbase would, but not a BS when you have Yard III. Also, I never found defense stations to be worth the effort in SE3. They take forever to build, take almost as long to upgrade, are expensive to maintain, and can usually stand up to only a few ships each (cruisers for BS, dreads for SB). I just used mines with a station to build them, another to store them, and several ships to ferry them to the warp points.