Fighter Question

[DirectorTsaarx]

I think they've also made seekers harder to hit:

From History.txt:

Version 1.75:
7. Added - Added new Settings.txt fields - "Seeker Combat Defense Modifier", "Planet Combat Offense Modifier", "Planet Combat Defense Modifier".

So that may help keep seekers viable until later in the game. Besides, just because it's "common knowledge" that seekers lose their effectiveness once everyone has point-defense doesn't mean you should completely abandon seekers; more importantly, you also can't just stop using point-defense because the enemy isn't using seekers anymore. If the enemy is human, they may just be waiting for you to let your guard down (i.e., stop using PD). Finally, a large planet full of seeker-armed weapon platforms can still be fairly deadly to a smaller fleet. Or, if the ships are smart enough to stay out of range of missiles, they're not going to get many shots at the planet...