defending your empire's borders: what do you do?

[Loser]

My best border defense is an advancing fleet. Just because you're not playing the Hare doesn't mean you hold still. Just because you're playing the Tortoise doesn't mean you can't push.

[Fyron]

I usually try to open a few WPs deep into enemy territory, send in ships, then close them off. Divide and conquer. Doesn't distract the AI as much because it is too stupid, but it works well against humans.

Generally, taking the fight to enemy territory is more effective. If planets must be lost, make them enemy planets instead of your own.

[Arkcon]

Against the AI, heavily defending the frontier is the best defense against an incoming fleet. A human would attack anywhere just to trip you up. Something to defend the interior is always a good idea. In just about every sci fi picture, the planets on the boarder are always screwed ... and that just doesn't seem right to me. You want these colonies - or you wouldn't have sent colonizers there.

I almost never use bases, either at warp points or in planet orbit. I build'em occasionally but they aren't often useful. A small mobile fleet to attack enemy ships that break the line are best. Have at least a sensor level 1, the AI will always cloak once it gets stealth armor.

But you gotta send an expeditionary fleet into enemy territory to snipe at colonies. No matter how well you defend.

[ July 08, 2003, 20:57: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Rojero]

I usually gather a group of ships and they go on a suicide mission. My borders arent super strong, but what I do is i go on an incursion usually hitting enemy planets and destroying them. I dont stop to invade, just slaughter their economy so they would not be able to support a military

[Silent Sorrow]

Originally posted by Arkcon:
Against the AI, heavily defending the frontier is the best defense against an incoming fleet. A human would attack anywhere just to trip you up. Something to defend the interior is always a good idea. In just about every sci fi picture, the planets on the boarder are always screwed ... and that just doesn't seem right to me. You want these colonies - or you wouldn't have sent colonizers there.

I almost never use bases, either at warp points or in planet orbit. I build'em occasionally but they aren't often useful. A small mobile fleet to attack enemy ships that break the line are best. Have at least a sensor level 1, the AI will always cloak once it gets stealth armor.

But you gotta send an expeditionary fleet into enemy territory to snipe at colonies. No matter how well you defend.

Yeah, my issue with border defence is that, given the sheer size of the borders (I always play huge galaxies), it's not too difficult for the AI to pick a spot, mass forces and break through. And if one of you defence fleets happens not to be close by, you can be screwed as the AI can wipe out several sectors just in the time it takes you to get there.

So this is why I wonder if I should try a different strategy of heavily defending my core worlds, which would be a logistically much easier task for a variety of reasons including travel time and population growth and transport.

[Silent Sorrow]

Originally posted by Rojero:
I usually gather a group of ships and they go on a suicide mission. My borders arent super strong, but what I do is i go on an incursion usually hitting enemy planets and destroying them. I dont stop to invade, just slaughter their economy so they would not be able to support a military

This is a good idea. But those ships are expensive. Even a decent light cruiser is going to take 3 turns to build at a space yard III facility. Then you've got to marshall them, get minesweepers, supply ships ... yikes, even a suicide mission thus turns into a major operation and losing all those ships at the end of it seems like a poor pay-off.

[Fyron]

I have sent 120 BB fleets on suicide missions through WPs opened into the enemy's core systems before. Nothing wrong with that.