SE4: Point defense ships, like in WW2. Good idea?

[Urendi Maleldil]

Point defense ships are extremely useful if you're controlling everything in tactical combat. Loading up a smaller hull like a Destroyer or a Light Cruiser with Point Defense can free up a lot of space on your heavier ships for bigger weapons.

Unfortunately they're almost completely useless if you're using strategic combat or if the AI is controlling your battles. Even if you put a single non-Point Defense weapon on your PtDef ships so they don't just run away, the AI can't understand how to use them. You're better off including PtDef on your main battle ships.

[AgentZero]

Point defense ships are only really useful if you're fighting someone who uses buttloads of fighters/missiles, which so far, the AI doesn't, ergo you're only likely to see a benefit from them if you're fighting a human opponent, which unfortunately means that your battles will be fought by the AI, who really doesn't use them to their fullest, so you're better off just arming your main battle ships with PDCs, considering 2-3 of them can rip through an unholy number of fighters/missiles.

And yes, I made my sentence that long on purpose.

[capnq]

AgentZero said: which so far, the AI doesn't

The AI does use them in SE IV (see thread title).

[AgentZero]

capnq said:
The AI does use them in SE IV (see thread title).

I stated that the AI does not use them by the buttload. You overlooked the buttload part.
You'll run into carriers that usually aren't full, and a ships that lob a few CSMs at you, but you won't run into massive fighter fleets, or suffer gigantic missile barrages.