The Perfect fighter

DarkHorse · #1 December 18th, 2002, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Atrocities:
I have to agree with Stone Mill. Fighters after a certain point in the game simply are no longer practical. Your better off researching PDC, than fighters. Keep them away from your ships, and use your heavy armored ships to take out their carriers. Most of the time the AI carriers have no armorment and are easily destroyed even by ships as small as Escorts.

If the game limits the number of ships you can have, as is the case in a PBW game I'm playing currently, then fighters certainly are useful

EDIT: Fighters also make good warp point defenses against AIs that send drones through unaccompanied. Since warhead-only drones can't target fighters -> turkey shoot.

[ December 18, 2002, 18:54: Message edited by: DarkHorse ]

Ruatha · #2 December 18th, 2002, 08:50 PM

I have level 5 PDC, but he has massive amounts of fighters, several hundreds I guess (I counted more then 370 of them). He annihilated afleet with ships from destroyers up to severeal battleships, they had PPB's and level 5 PDC.
I took out his capital ships but his carriers and fighters won the day, most of his carriers got away unharmed. I had no ships left (a ship fleet, mainly Big ships with Null space projectors and PPB, with shields mucho PDC)!
The fleet cost me 120 000 minerals/turn + mucho rads, My allies held me up by gifting minerals each turn as I couldn't afford the maintnance myself.
So I'm quite pleased in away that it's destroyed.

[ December 18, 2002, 18:57: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Arkcon · #3 December 18th, 2002, 08:50 PM

A long time ago someone suggested interceptors and bombers -- fighters with targeting strategy set to target other fighters or planets respectively.

Interceptors are useful against other fighters, they whittle down the group by arriving first before ships with PDC. Your fast fighters are just what you need here.

But the fact is, fighters swarm like flies, and die like them too, you will need masses of them. Your interceptors will be cut down by point defense.

I also like interceptors for sats mounting the WMG and missle sats. They are defenceless. And I'm not gonna waste my top of the line battle cruiser agains a mass of null cannon sats.

[ December 18, 2002, 18:53: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

DarkHorse · #4 December 18th, 2002, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ruatha:
I have level 5 PDC, but he has massive amounts of fighters, several hudnreds. He annihilated afleet with ships from destroyers up to severeal battleships, they had PPB's and level 5 PDC.
I took out his capital ships but his carriers and fighters won the day, most of his carriers got away unharmed. I had no ships left (a ship fleet, mainly Big ships with Null space projectors and PPB, with shields mucho PDC)!
The fleet cost me 120 000 minerals/turn + mucho rads, My allies held me up by gifting minerals each turn as I couldn't afford the maintnance myself.
So I'm quite pleased in away that it's destroyed.

If your ships are ignoring fighters at their peril, you can also rearrange your targetting priorities in the strategies section.

Ruatha · #5 December 18th, 2002, 08:58 PM

No, they took out approx 150 fighters with PDC and PPB.

Wardad · #6 December 18th, 2002, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkHorse:
[QB]...Ship mounted Phased-Polaron Beams can knock out fighters fairly handily also, especially since fighters don't get phased shields... [QB]

Whoops! Unit Shield points are treated as damage resistance points. 60 shield = 60kt damage resistance, now add that to all of the componants damage resistance. A fully shielded light fighter can take about 83kt of damage.

DarkHorse · #7 December 18th, 2002, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Wardad:

quote:
Originally posted by DarkHorse:
[QB]...Ship mounted Phased-Polaron Beams can knock out fighters fairly handily also, especially since fighters don't get phased shields... [QB]

Whoops! Unit Shield points are treated as damage resistance points. 60 shield = 60kt damage resistance, now add that to all of the componants damage resistance. A fully shielded light fighter can take about 83kt of damage.

Aha, I have learned something new today then.

At any rate, typical capital ship-mounted PPBs are doing 100+ damage each, which will still cut through stacks fairly quickly anyway, shields or no.