[PvK]

Yes, the firing orders would explain that. "Has Weapons" is a good one to include in first or second place, though that can also backfire if the enemy switches to using unarmed ram ships! So "Closest" is another good one to put first or second, usually. The defaults tend to be things like "Most Damaged" and "Strongest", which can lead to some retarded behaviour.

Another thing to consider is setting ships to NOT target seekers. PD will still fire at seekers with this turned off, but with it turned on, ships will actually move towards seekers - this can spell doom for a fleet that is trying to blockade a planet with a lot of seeking weapons, for example.

PvK