Early weaonry?

[Phoenix-D]

"For that matter, races electing to research PPBs will likely have a research deficit in other areas. Those points could be put into Astrophysics and Stellar Harnessing for Solar Sails, or Propulsion, to get an edge in speed; they could be sunk into shields, to get Phased Shields; Armor gets a +30% to defense pretty cheaply; Combat Support gets you ECM; Combat Sensors makes you hit more often than the PPBs; etc., ad nauseum."

PPBs cost the same amount to research, total, as Meson BLasters.

Phoenix-D

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Graviton Hellbores have no use. They do about half the damage of APBs, and have the same range.

I really don't get the graviton hellbore. By the time you research physics 3, and gravitational weapons, you should have a better weapon.

Maybe if graviton hellbores skipped shields and armor, but we have null space for that. Maybe quad damage to armor? What I'm trying to do is apply some technobabble to this weapon -- it's focused gravitions, it should do damage to anything that has mass, maybe armor has more density and is affected more? Meh, I'm just being stupid here. Maybe if graviton hellbore was earlier on the research tree, or a racial tech, or I dunno if you found it as a ruin tech when everyone else had APB4, you'd be pretty bad ***, but ...

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
The key to APBs is that you don't research them in the early-mid game. Use DUCs, then PPBs, then APBs + Shield Depleters (not Disruptors).

Don't scoff at the disruptor out of hand, if the opponent has shield regenerators or crystaline armor, you may want to take out shield generators as well as drain the shields, or theyll be back up again the next combat round

[Lord_Shleepy]

I have found that missiles often have a devastating effect on the AI very early in the game. A common AI ship design is the DUC I escort/frigate...which is completely ineffective when faced with missile fire in tactical combat...and can be very deadly in strategic as well if you have been careful of your combat strategy. Even against other missile races they hold their own - especially if you research Point defense early, which many AI races do not.

[tbontob]

My experience has been the same.

Put missiles on Maximum Weapons Range (Primary) and Don't Get Hurt (Secondary) and watch the carnage begin in strategic combat.

The only drawback is going through a warp point and finding the enemy next to you or facing a vastly superior fleet (then they run out of space before they can shoot off enough missiles to destroy them).

[ August 20, 2002, 20:49: Message edited by: tbontob ]

[Krsqk]

PPBs cost the same amount to research, total, as Meson BLasters.

Oops. I stand corrected. I was thinking PPB was 10000/lvl.

[oleg]

Originally posted by Lord_Shleepy:
I have found that missiles often have a devastating effect on the AI very early in the game. A common AI ship design is the DUC I escort/frigate...which is completely ineffective when faced with missile fire in tactical combat...and can be very deadly in strategic as well if you have been careful of your combat strategy. Even against other missile races they hold their own - especially if you research Point defense early, which many AI races do not.

Bhaa, several TDM AI with medium/high bonus, Colonials for example, are missile-impregnable after turn 20.

[Fyron]

Don't scoff at the disruptor out of hand, if the opponent has shield regenerators or crystaline armor, you may want to take out shield generators as well as drain the shields, or theyll be back up again the next combat round

Shield regenerators are not very useful in the normal game. 1 LM Shield Depelter V (300 dmg, 30 KT) will drop the shields regenerated by 12 Shield Regenerator Vs (300 shield points, 240 KT). That is no reason to use Shield Disruptors. As for Crystalline Armor, the Shield Depleter knocks out the shields that the previous APB hit raised up. By the time you have APB XIIs, CA isn't much of a threat, esp. with large and heavy -mounted APBs.