Dreadnoughts vs Baseships

[bbq]

On a lot of Posts I have read here most people seem to use Dreadnoughts instead of Baseships. Baseships are slower and are 40% easier to hit, but you get a whopping 50% additional space than Dreadnoughts. What do you prefer, and why?

[rdouglass]

To me it depends on the mod. I usually stop researching ship sizes once I hit the Massive Mounts. To me (and with most mods), the Massive Mount does the most amount of damage per kt when it comes to DF weaponry.

For the punch that the mounts add, I'll take the slower ship. But if a mod allows Massive mounts with battleships, I'll stop there since they normally allow more engines.

All this is virtually irelevant with some mods like P&N...

[Arkcon]

In the standard game, baseships are a little slow. Only a litle really - at max tech you have speed 8, which is faster then at the start of the game. Slow to build, slow to get to the front, which is scretched wide by that late in the game.

But they're not really an uber weapon. Even with the added space, they're outmanuvered in combat by battleships, cause they're so slow.

But, you can throw all that away if you use Suicide Junkie's Pirates and Nomads mod. With QNP, you can get a reasonably fast, well defended ship -- with the pure liquid joy of the massive mount wave motion gun.

[AgentZero]

In the stock game, it's all about speed. If you're using a Dreadnought against a baseship, all the DN needs is a couple weapons with longer range than the Baseship, and it can pummell it to rubble while neatly staying out of range. I tend to use Baseships as just that, Bases. I find they make great WP defenders because you can park them on top of the WP to keep enemy ships from coming through, while yours go through and invade his system, then your baseships can move out and sit over the next set of WPs.

[Ruatha]

I use mostly dreads with a few baseships for show.
The added 40% hit factor can make a big difference if you're not facing a religous opponent.
And they are fast aswell, hmm, fast is nice...

[Colonel]

I prefer to have one baseship with every fleet I build, Actually I build One Base Ship two dreadnoughts four Battleships eight Battle Cruisers sixteen Crusiers and if I have alot of spare time thirty two Light Crusiers

[Arkcon]

I like to put a warp opener, warp closer, repair bay on my baseships I put in my fleets. Then the whole fleet moves faster than any normal ship -- a few systems at a time. But this likewise is just for show really.

[Tanus]

In stock, which I use depends primarily on my opponent. In most games, I'll build primarily Dreadnoughts, because that that +40% to be hit on baseships can make a big difference. However, in any game where my opponent is religious, I go baseships all the way, because my defence % doesn't matter a whit, and I'd rather get the most damage on target as possible with those massive mounts.

By that time, most battles consist of massive fleets going at it, with the victor mopping up the system afterwards.

[Alneyan]

Assuming we are talking about the vanilla game: Dreadnoughts all the way, unless facing a Religious opponent and/or being involved in gamble battles. In reasonable battles, where both fleets aren't sending in hundreds of warships each, the defence penalty of the Baseships can be a killer, especially when faced Dreadnoughts set at "Maximum range" (even if the Baseship can close in, they will have 1% to hit you at range 8, assuming equal training and all bonuses to offence/defence), while you have a nice 35% chance to hit them at range 8. The basic odd to hit at range 8 with all defence/offence devices is of -5%, hence the 35% for a Dreadnought against a Baseship.

If you have reached the stage of the game where only figures matter (NGC and Roanon, they who have lost salute you!), I will go with Baseships, since the battles will be closer to slaughters involving many, many vessels, and ship versus ship considerations are much less important. The only exception would be if I used a strategy of causing mass riotings, where speed would be more important than the number of APBs my ships can use (a planet isn't going to be that much of a threat). But at this stage of the game, your opponents are likely quite warded against wild Warp Opening, making the riot runs much harder to pull out.

[tesco samoa]

well...

In big big games.... Fire power is what matters not staying power.

Go big to inflict as much damage as possible in the intitial hits....

It all depends on if you can afford to build and support them.

If you can do that... Then build them away.

If not then BB and DN are your bread and butter.

As aways. SEIV comes down to 4 factors.

1. Time
2. Can I afford it
3. Can I keep it.
4. Is it efficient against the current momment