quote:
>> If your enemy has a fleet equipped with lots of PDC and PPB, use ships with Phased Shields (if available) or Armour, no normal shields and strictly direct fire weapons. PPB doesn't do much raw damage, and it'll take forever to chip through the armour.
I am afraid that is not true at all.
PPBs have the highest damage Ratings aside from RipperBeams. 2.0 down to 1.67 at max range
Sorry, I didn't express that well. Whilst I agree that PPBs do plenty Dam/kT/turn, that isn't the only factor. Firstly I should explain that I ususally take Organic and Propulsion experts traits. Thus, I can get some neat guns, Organic Armour, and I usually have ships that are faster than their opponents on the tac combat board.
As PPBs are quite short ranged, I find I can dance out of their reach for a turn or two, getting unanswered fire. Then there is a turn at range 5-6, where my MBs are still better than PPBs, and because I concentrate the fleets fire on a few ships to get cripples, not kills, I have usually spread him out so I'm only fighting half his fleet. As I'm using Kick-*** Organic Armour, I can usually take one volley without significant damage. Then I can defeat the rest of his fleet in detail, just mopping up. I'll take damage, probably lose a ship or two, but hey, I've trashed the enemy fleet
Also, a race can't be strong in everything. If they have big PPBs available, they have probably sacrificed elsewhere, so ships are poorly protected, or slow, or just can't carry enough guns, something. By the time the game has gone far enough that they can correct these flaws, I find that economics wins wars, not weapons. If my fleet is 300 LCs armed with DUC Is, I'll pulverise a dozen high-tech BBs with PPBs. I'll take big losses, sure, but if I can AFFORD those losses, who cares?