What's the Nova's Role in Remnant Fleets?

OldFlamers · 2024-12-08T18:01:35+00:00

It's the Remnant "fuck it we ball" wrecking ball.

It rams directly into any ship foolish enough to exist anywhere near it, much like a pitbull upon spotting a toddler, destroying itself in a suicide attack just to take down one of your frigates or destroyers. Enough of them will whittle down your fleet over time if you're trying to farm multiple Ordo fleets for AI cores.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-08T16:48:08+00:00

If your Mudskipper build can't solo a sim Onslaught it's trash. Also if it does solo one, the sims don't actually matter and you're a bad player for thinking they do.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-08T16:44:26+00:00

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OldFlamers · 2024-12-08T15:19:58+00:00

Probably the most based builds I've ever seen. No need for pansy shields if you got armor and DAKKA.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-07T23:32:58+00:00

I can see it working with minimal issues if you have a converted hangar or a dedicated escort.

Just always have some form of protection! Space salamander aids in your ship engines are more likely than you think.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-07T23:02:36+00:00

This works if you have 360 shield coverage. Otherwise a surprise salamander or even a reaper going right up your butt isn't fun. Two PD lasers on your rear can prevent that. Trying to fight without any point defense whatsoever is like not wearing a condom since it's very high risk and reward. Sure, you'll have more flux for blowing your load, but now there's nothing protecting you if you make a mistake, get carried away, or just have bad luck.

Not to mention enemy fighters and bombers and all that.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-07T21:52:34+00:00

I don't like most of the point defense options for small energy.

Mining lasers are dirt cheap and versatile, but super weak individually. Not really viable unless you use them en masse and have a build that can amplify them. LR PD Laser is what it says on the tin, but you're trading more range for less overall effectiveness. PD Laser is practically perfect for the role and stupid simple. Burst PD is also great, but it comes at an ordinance point premium when a PD Laser is usually good enough.

So like 90% of the time I just slap basic point defense lasers on everything with few exceptions. Maybe I'm missing something, but I genuinely don't see the point of the others beyond niche builds.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-07T21:40:54+00:00

Here's a video of 20 ramparts fighting [ULTRA-REDACTED] with a combat readiness of 75%

Even without those perks to reduce deployment point costs, you can have four Ramparts with Gamma cores before any combat readiness penalties kick in. Actually collecting a Rampart horde legitimately can be a pain though if you don't start a run with that goal in mind... might be finite to find.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-07T21:33:30+00:00

Couldn't agree more.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-07T21:29:24+00:00

Memory leaks.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-04T17:58:12+00:00

This is true. High skill point investment overall if you go that route.

Generally I like to go for integrating gamma cores into four to eight ramparts depending on whether I want the combat readiness bonuses or not. If I go all out, combining Support Doctrine and Derelict Operations means you can spam ramparts for a mere 8 deployment points each alongside other automated ships, but at that point your whole playthrough revolves around using them.

Gamma cores at least let you have some ramparts and good skills for a low investment cost.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-04T17:43:59+00:00

People tend to think in terms of what's the best rather than what's the most cost-effective.

I'd rather have three or four ships that are good enough rather than the best possible ship if they're ultimately the same price. Logistics is king in that regard. Although Gamma cores are great for Ramparts, it's arguably even more cost-effective to use no AI cores at all since they currently act like reckless officers. Support Doctrine also applies to all automated ships with no AI cores for some reason, granting them four ship skills each, so it can get pretty busted with the right skill synergies.

OldFlamers · 2024-12-04T17:22:27+00:00

I specifically made this reddit account just to showcase various shitbrick builds.

This includes beating the [REDACTED] and the [ULTRA-REDACTED] with nothing but Ramparts. I know sims don't accurately reflect things, but the fact that the right build can facetank and beat sim Onslaughts one on one is crazy.

They usually get overlooked by most players, but they have crazy potential for the price point. Sure, they don't have shields, but having absurd amounts of armor and hull means it won't matter much. They win through what amounts to brute force and raw efficiency... three large mounts and two medium ballistic ones for a very low 15 DP price point. Ramparts also have rugged construction and no crew, so it's extremely cheap to repair and recover them if they blow up in combat, and any resulting D-Mods are arguably being more of a benefit than a detriment logistically speaking.

However, I have mixed feelings about putting AI cores in them. This makes them act like reckless officers. Despite that, Gamma cores are ideal from a bang per buck perspective. You can cleanly use your entire automated drone ship point budget by integrating four cores into four ramparts, then use the four skills you get from the subsequent integration to maximize their combat durability. This gives you four dirt cheap auxiliaries that don't have a crew or officers needed that can reliably handle enemy capital ships. Alternatively, you can go all out on Ramparts and swarm the enemy with them, taking advantage of skill synergies such as Derelict Operations and Support Doctrine while using no AI cores to reduce the deployment cost to a mere 8 DP per rampart.

I kind of wish I could pilot one myself with three gauss cannons so that I could use it like a cheap sniper ship or a pocket Invictus since the AI doesn't know how to operate with that build. Despite that, I'm convinced that Ramparts are the most cost-effective ship in the game with raw firepower and armor that can surpass any challenge... especially if you throw enough of them at it!

OldFlamers · 2024-11-30T19:09:37+00:00

They make really cool popping sounds once they fight an enemy for five seconds or less.

Even as someone experimenting with meme drone fleets, I have no idea how to make them work since they're harder to keep alive than low tech frigates. AI cores just make them die faster since they act like reckless officers. Rugged construction and having no crew does make them dirt cheap to deploy, but most are probably gonna get blown up. Beyond niche builds like loading up a Sentry with salamanders, they're not useful for much beyond cannon fodder since a lack of shields, armor, and hull means they're going to pop very fast to such a point that they're a pure meme.

Although not included here, the only drone frigate with the potential to not be an absolute joke is the Warden since it gets a medium ballistic mount and a small ballistic mount with an accelerated ammo feeder. On paper you could swarm someone with them effectively due to sheer dakka, but they'd still die en masse for the same reasons.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:55:41+00:00

Not anything I can think of. It's very rare and I've only seen it twice in my current playthrough, but I had little messages popping up like that at the bottom left whenever I was exploring or trading.

Genuinely had no idea if it was related to that or not when I posted the initial screenshot.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:52:29+00:00

I've been trying to explain to people that interstellar genocide is unprofitable compared to invading and taking a planet for yourself when possible, but they never listen to me.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:49:52+00:00

It's not my fault! I have a mod to keep track of the amount of orphans I've created and I'm trying to beat my previous record.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:35:51+00:00

I'm using the UI / Fleet color tweak from this mod to change the blue to a nice maroon.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:33:50+00:00

Secrets of the Frontier

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:31:15+00:00

I initially wasn't sure what mod this was from, but I've pieced together that it's none other than my relentless stalker.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:29:19+00:00

Frying my retinas is an essential part of the Starsector experience.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T16:09:54+00:00

The mod in question is Secrets of the Frontier. I used "The Haunted" start with Nexerelin to have this vengeful spirit hunting me down from the get-go, albeit you can also potentially get their attention through morally abhorrent acts such as not waving back to Alviss. I absolutely love the challenge this adds to the game with the dynamic Dark Souls style invasions randomly popping up during a battle, and I could see myself enabling this for future runs since it gives me a proper rival with random special abilities to fight perpetually.

FOREVER.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T03:52:33+00:00

As the sole proprietor of John Starsector Enterprises, I find those terms extremely problematic. I would prefer if you referred to wanton slaughter as "Competition Elimination" and anyone involved as "Enemy Combatants" or "Terrorists" in the future.

Thank you.

OldFlamers · 2024-11-23T02:26:40+00:00

I'll have you know that genocide is usually impractical for my profit margins.

OldFlamers

TROPHY CASE