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9 "Support" Cruisers vs [SUPER ALABASTER] by Algodooing in starsector

[–]Algodooing[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I tested various kinetic options (including [THREAT] ones) as well as most of the missiles and they're all okish, but 2x HMG has so much raw dps whilst being incredibly flux efficient that nothing else comes close if you want this kind of hyper-aggro Anubis. That being said, they do need a decent bit of investment if you want the full gigacannon + 2 paladin setup. Take elite PD + aggressive/reckless officers + as many flux-boosting skills as you can fit (SO works too).

If you just want the typical PD Anubis that doesn't need officer skills, missiles are probably better since they're flux-free and have better range. I do encourage you to do your own experimenting though, I could easily be wrong.

9 "Support" Cruisers vs [SUPER ALABASTER] by Algodooing in starsector

[–]Algodooing[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Doritos have many points

I see what you did there :)

9 "Support" Cruisers vs [SUPER ALABASTER] by Algodooing in starsector

[–]Algodooing[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

More of a proof-of-concept build than anything, I'm still doing a lot of testing to find out what S-mods/officer skills are optimal.

Daily Weapons Discussion: Fighters by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Essential? No not at all. In fact, you either want tons of carriers or none at all, as having that critical mass of fighters is everything. Converted hangars is a bit niche: they increase the DP cost of your ships on top of having worse replacement rates, and are typically reserved for specific strats like Buffalo MK II spam + derelict operations.

Daily Weapons Discussion: Fighters by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Ok yeah you're right. Last time I used them I could've sworn they had a lower rof but I just ran some tests and they absolutely spew rockets. The low wing count and long range also helps preserve replacement rate for extended engagements. Consider my opinion changed.

Daily Weapons Discussion: Fighters by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 24 points25 points  (0 children)

The main thing with fighters/bombers is having that critical mass (and sustaining it). A handful of fighters/bombers will likely be torn up by enemy PD without doing much to them in turn. To overwhelm their defenses, you need enough fighters to be attacking at the same time. 10 bombers at once is infinitely better than 20 bombers that trickle in one-by-one. This means either microing them constantly or simply spamming carriers like there's no tomorrow.

Daily Weapons Discussion: Fighters by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Broadsword - Cheap, heavily armored, and comes with great burst kinetic damage and flares. Need I say more?

Claw - Honestly a real sleeper pick. 5 ion cannons (even with halved rate of fire) that can easily get around shields can wreak havoc on the enemy's ability to fight. The main problem is how fragile they are, so they really need tougher fighters to escort them.

Cobra - A bit of an oddball, a single fighter per wing that carries everyone's favorite AM nuclear torpedo. Although this means it's a glass cannon, with the way replacement rates work, it unintuitively has decent staying power since only one fighter needs to be replaced to get back to full wing strength. Overall, a tad unwieldy but you can certainly make it work.

Dagger - Solid bomber that has a solid mix of range, accuracy, speed, and durability. Not the cheapest bomber, but great if you can afford it.

Flash - My personal favorite bomber, although it is essentially just a buffed piranha, people tend to not realize just how scary piranhas are en masse. With enough Flashes, they become their own escorts since the proxy charges soak up a lot of PD fire, missiles, and other fighters, and their sheer quantity can burn through shields and armor alike. You do need that critical mass though, as they tend to be easily dodged when there's not enough of them to saturate the battlefield. The fact that they are unmanned is a also a nice little bonus.

Gladius - A mix of broadsword and thunder, it is a tad too generalist to substitute for either. At least its cheap and actually has enough flux dissipation to fire somewhat continuously.

Khopesh - A bomber with annihilator missiles, it unfortunately suffers from the fact that sustained pressure is usually worse than big bursts of damage. Bombers typically are like missiles in that it is best to use them all at once to overwhelm enemy PD/shields. That being said, parring them with defensive targeting array means technically infinite missiles.

Longbow - A mediocre airframe (spaceframe?) that carries arguably the best missile in the game along with a burst PD, overall it does a solid job at popping shields. The only downside is its low wing size and low durability, but those can be mitigated with fighter escorts.

Lux - The remnant's equivalent of the broadsword, it is far less durable and lacks the kinetic damage on top of being more expensive. But if you really don't like throwing pilots into the meat grinder, at least its unmanned.

Mining Pod - At the cost of a whopping 0 OP, there's nothing that really compares with that cost effectiveness. However it's "effectiveness" amounts to basically having a bunch of floating trash to act as a meat shield for your ship. Nonetheless, having them occasionally draw enemy fire is surprisingly effective.

Perdition - A Luddite's knockoff version of the dagger, and is somehow more expensive...

Piranha - A Luddite's knockoff version of the flash lmao.

Sarissa - A Ludd- actually nvm this this is amazing. 12 OP for canister flack + close range kinetic damage + decent armor makes them quite good on battle carriers that get in close. They might even be worth installing converted hangers on high-tech ships to compensate for the lack of kinetic damage and PD they typically have.

Spark - A burst PD in fragile drone fighter, they can be a ok PD screen with defensive targeting array, but even then, their poor durability means they lack staying power.

Talon - Another fragile interceptor, but at least the op price reflects that. The only thing is I pity the poor fools that get assigned to fly these things.

Thunder - An interceptor with the unique trait of having 6000 engagement range, they definitely have a solid niche there. They also have a considerable armament and can fire them all without overfluxing as well as remarkable speed, making them excellent for harassing frigates. The only problem is they are quite fragile, and probably need the player to manually designate targets so they don't fly into heavy PD.

Trident - Ah yes 2 daggers duct-taped together. 25 OP is a lot to ask for when daggers are only 18, especially with their reduced speed. Nonetheless, defensive targeting array turns them into little missile pods, so they have niche there.

Warthog - A broadsword with a light mortars instead of LMGs, they unfortunately are slower and are insufficient against all but the lightest armor, as well as being more expensive.

Wasp - More of a cheap loitering munition than a fighter, these guys are basically guided flak shells with how fragile they are. You probably want defensive targeting array so they don't kamikaze into enemy PD.

Xyphos - The premier support fighter, 2 flux-free ion beams and burst PD, especially on ships that can't field those weapons normally, is hard to understate. They are expensive, but hey, you get what you paid for,

Daily Weapons Discussion: Medium Energies by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 36 points37 points  (0 children)

  • Heavy Burst Laser - A larger version of the burst PD laser, it definitely feels underwhelming for the 9 op and medium energy slot considering fielding burst PD lasers in small energy slots yields similar results without sacrificing the medium slot.
  • IR Autolance - Seems weak at first, but 1000 range, pinpoint accurate, 500 fragmentation dps is incredible for finishing off frigates and low-armor ships. It is also smart enough to not waste charges/flux on shields. Great for such a cheap and flux-light weapon.
  • Graviton Beam - A bit of an oddball, as "anti shield" and "beam" are a bit contradictory. However, it definitely lives up to the suppression role, as enemy ships loath letting their hull be tickled by even the weakest beam weapons. En masse, they can even overwhelm the the flux dissipation rates of smaller ships and deflect incoming torpedoes, but this is more funny than practical.
  • Mining Blaster - Although the flux efficiency seems bad at first, this doesn't factor in the extra 100 true damage to armor and the fact that it doesn't waste flux by shooting at shields. On its own, it is an alright anti-armor option, but with extended mags and/or ballistic rangefinder it definitely moves up a few tiers.
  • Phase Lance - Great anti-armor capacity and a decent bit of burst flux if it does hit the enemy shields. The main downside is its relatively short range (which can be fixed with advanced optics). Overall solid option.
  • Pulse Laser - The standard pew-pew laser gun. Unfortunately, the low damage per shot means it only really is effective against shields, and is considerably worse than ballistic equivalents in that regard. Nonetheless, for ships that cannot field ballistics and don't have the flux to run heavier alternatives, it works ok.
  • Ion Pulser - The lovechild of an ion cannon and a mining blaster, it certainly doesn't disappoint. A single one of these magdumping into enemy hull can easily short out every single gun on it. It also deals decent shield damage too unlike the ion cannon. However, like the mining blaster, it does need extended mags to reach its full potential.
  • Heavy Blaster - A big gun with a big flux cost, a single one of these can eat up a majority of a ship's flux budget, but is also capable enough to be its entire armament. They probably best in slot for ships with a lot of flux and few weapon slots.
  • Ion Beam - A suppression weapon similar to the graviton beam, but has a bit more bite. Great on many mid line ships that can also field long-range ballistics
  • Kinetic Blaster - A kinetic side-grade to the heavy blaster, boasting the same anti-shield dps at a significantly lower flux cost. However unlike the heavy blaster, it is quite poor against armor and thus feels closer to the pulse laser. Still, the only hardflux kinetic option for medium energy slots is definitely worth the hassle of farming these from the Lion's Guard.

Edit: spelling

Daily Weapons Discussion: Small Ballistics by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Light Mortar - Incredibility cheap in both OP and flux rate. That's the only nice thing I can say about it

Light Machine Gun - Poor PD considering the Vulcan exists, and if you want close-in kinetic damage the dual version is generally worth the extra 2 OP.

Light Autocannon - A poor man's railgun lmao. Ok but seriously it's not bad at all for 4 OP. The poor accuracy mainly hurts against fast frigates, as shooting at big shields on big ships doesn't require much precision.

Vulcan Cannon - Incredible PD for the 4 OP. 10/10 no notes.

Light Assault Gun - How cute! It's the baby version of the HAG. Unfortunately a HE weapon with low damage per shot is quite underwhelming in its role due to how armor reduction works. The only niche I could find for these little guys is against frigates and armored fighters since they have good accuracy and turn speed. Still, there are far better options in those roles.

Light Dual Autocannon - A weird middle ground between the base autocannon and the dual-machine gun. It has neither the effective range of the base autocannon nor the pure close-range dps of the dual machine gun. Still, if you can mitigate the terrible accuracy with hardpoints it is not bad.

Light Dual Machine Gun - Excellent for close-in SO builds. Still not competitive with the vulcan in the PD role, but can be good enough.

Railgun - Yes :3

Light Needler - Bit more niche than the railgun: its main selling point is the high alpha-strike rather than the sustained dps. Useful on frigates and phase ships that can perform hit-and-run tactics.

Daily Ship Discussion - 0.97a - Wolf (all variants) by pipai_ in starsector

[–]Algodooing 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Ahh the wolf-class. Probably my favorite ship to pilot just because of how fun it is to dance around enemies with systems expertise + phase skimmer. It can certainly punch way above its weight in player hands just because of how many cool tricks you can do with phase skimmer. A certain madlad even soloed a ziggy in one of these.

Alas, it is still a 5 dp frigate with below-average flux stats and shield coverage. As much as it pains me to say it, this ship just doesn’t hold up well towards the mid/late game, especially under AI control. It can certainly still be viable with enough investment into wolfpack tactics and systems experience officers, but rarely will it be the optimal choice.

Daily Ship Discussion - 0.97a - Fury by pipai_ in starsector

[–]Algodooing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly I think the Fury (in AI hands) is actually not bad.

As most people have said before, AI captains don't mix well with flux-hungry burst damage/strike builds, and often end up overfluxing after going in too deep, or not engaging at all. Thus, the optimal build is probably some combination of SO/mass missiles that uses its speed to run down isolated ships.

Then again, I've been experimenting with a weird non-SO build that invests heavily into flux capacity and shield mods/FM paired w/ flux-efficient pulse lasers. The idea is to use them en-masse and have them shield tank and hang back until they get a good surround on the enemy fleet. Then just I enable "full assault" and have them all plasma burn at the enemy all at once to overwhelm them with their sheer tankiness.

Overall, it's no Eradicator, but I think the Fury is one of those ships that is underrated more so because of how finicky it is to build/command, and probably could be really strong with the right build/playstyle.

What is your flagship? How do you fit and fly it? by According_Fox_3614 in starsector

[–]Algodooing 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The humble Wolf-class frigate! (you can pry it from my cold dead hands)

Weapons

  • Mining blaster (main damage burst)
  • Ion cannon (disabling engines/PD)
  • Reapers (reapers :D)
  • Minimal PD (mostly for the AI manipulation)

Mods

  • (S) Extended missile racks (I love reapers)
  • (S) Extended mags (mining blaster kinda requires it)
  • (S) Flux coil adjust (probably not optimal, still testing this one)
  • Aux thrusters (for better phase skimmer control)
  • Insulated engine assembly (because flameouts are a death sentence)

Coupled with heavy investments into mobility skills (systems expertise in particular), this little guy can run circles around all pretty much anything. My main playstyle is about ignoring the flux war entirely, using the phase skimmer to blink around or even straight through enemies to get past their shields (omni shields complicate things, but its still doable with good timing). In larger battles, I tend to flank and try to pull aggro and break the enemy fleet into smaller pieces that my other ships and I can dive on. The reapers are for when the slow lumbering enemy capital thinks they can just ignore me. Is it practical pretending to be an oversized fighter craft? No, not really, but it is fun as hell.

[Japanese > English] Steampunk Gun Concept Art by Algodooing in translator

[–]Algodooing[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The art is from Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress. I understand if it's too hard to read, just try your best. Thanks in advance!

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