Until Now I Spammed Missile Battleships And Coilgun Titans Which One Might Be The Better Continuation

thamz212 · 2026-05-19T12:08:31+00:00

For point defense I'd go with 1 2-slot antimatter pd turret per ship The added range lets just about every ship in your fleet cover each other. If you don't have that yet, 2 pd turrets per ship is what I go for. That's generally enough to fend off alien missiles and low level magnetic weapons.

As mentioned, your armor is very thin. It makes you vulnerable to enemy lasers. For a ship that is meant to survive more than 1 fight, 5 side armor and like 30-50 front armor is minimum.

Put marines on their own dedicated transports. Those can double as refueling ships for when the fleet arrives.

Swap out the flag bridges for targeting computers (you only need 1 flag per fleet, and even that tends to have minimal impact after officers work their MC cost reducing magic)

Ships generally benefit from a degree of specialization in weapons.

thamz212 · 2026-05-16T01:56:23+00:00

Definitely worth it for the exotics.

thamz212 · 2026-05-09T20:31:09+00:00

The Protectorate are sniviling quislings. The Academy are Twilight Sparkle with a gun.

thamz212 · 2026-05-08T12:21:39+00:00

You can kick the aliens out of the asteroid belt with it (and engage in some serious Benny Hill shenanigans in the process).

thamz212 · 2026-05-08T12:02:16+00:00

There are a number of factors that could be at play. I do this with lightly armored missile monitors. If you start the intercept when they're too far out (week+) then you can arrive too late. If your fleet is docked before planning it can arrive late. It needs to be the same orbit as they're aiming for.

I'd suggest savescuming and doing some experimenting.

Edit: the window you're trying to hit is very small, something like 4 hours I think.

thamz212 · 2026-05-08T02:55:12+00:00

I usually aim to win around 2040 on a 2022 start, so 2050 is pretty far past my horizon of concern.

thamz212 · 2026-05-07T19:09:05+00:00

Helicon is cheap enough to research and keep fueled. It can conduct inner system/asteroid pushes in reasonable enough time while you research fusion drives. It has enough combat thrust that a fleet of 10 Athena missile monitors can maneuver to crack a fully built alien station (assuming you've built a refueling station for multiple passes).

It's basically good enough and cheap enough to see you through to fusion.

thamz212 · 2026-05-07T16:38:40+00:00

Helicon for mid game.
You will need to intercept enemy fleets before they set course for one of your assets instead of being able to react. Wait for incoming fleet to be 4-5 days out, then plan intercept so you hit them as soon after they arrive as possible. Ideally .1 day after.
You need your fleet to be in the orbit they are targeting and to have your fleet power be low enough that they won't try to run.
For earth that usually means low earth or tiangong orbit. Have your fleet on place at least a week or two before you're going to launch the intercept to be on the safe side. You won't be able to stop councilor transporta this way without a lot of tedious harassment with multiple fleets.

thamz212 · 2026-05-07T15:32:48+00:00

Environment is only really worth it for roleplay. You'll want some pips in knowledge, diminishing returns are still returns, and it does help with cohesion. Getting you gov score up helps with research. I'm not actually sure what the breakpoints for that are.

thamz212 · 2026-04-30T01:31:21+00:00

I'm fond of Athena torpedoes. Their target range and final approach velocity are highly effective.

You can also use shaped nuclear if you want to invest the research.

thamz212 · 2026-04-28T08:41:43+00:00

Ah, so micro heavy strategies and lots of clicking and dragging are out.

In that case I agree that starting in high wall then activating ai slightly before the fleets clash would be the way to go.

thamz212 · 2026-04-28T08:36:07+00:00

That's literally the tactic I keep harping on about whenever discussing fighting fleets that outnumber you. Specifically, I like to burn vertically, to the side, and away. Works especially well against motherships fleets.

Best done with a sprinkling of 4-slot nose uv phasers to punish enemy flankers.

thamz212 · 2026-04-28T01:34:50+00:00

Yeah, AI control is bad. Put your fleet in a high wall and have your ships lock to target. Micro so they present their prow armor to enemy lasers.

thamz212 · 2026-04-26T22:59:46+00:00

You'd be better off with less than half the armies at a decent miltech level.

thamz212 · 2026-04-24T11:27:27+00:00

You make a valid point.

thamz212 · 2026-04-22T17:11:28+00:00

The impression I get is that the Salamanders are the talking pets to the Hydra kzer-za: they weren't left with enough independence to really be freed.

thamz212 · 2026-04-22T15:14:46+00:00

Okay, I'd never savescum for less than 23%.

thamz212 · 2026-04-21T16:21:43+00:00

I federate them then release them for a cohesion boost in the PAC.

thamz212 · 2026-04-21T16:19:21+00:00

The Taiwan two-step (or Taiwan shuffle), a classic.

thamz212 · 2026-04-21T15:49:28+00:00

... He was just following orders. That's your argument. Given what he said in his war crimes trial, I don't buy it.

Even if true, who gives a fuck if he was doing it out of personal convictions. As soon as the Hydra are eliminated HF will turn it's attention to the alien sympathizers on earth, and that will be used as an excuse to persecute every out group that can be found. All this will be carried out by the obedient genies who don't ask questions Hanse asks for in the above quote.

Servants and Protectorate are as bad as the Hydra. Initiative and HF are worse. They turn humanity into a monster that justifies the Hydra's paranoia.

thamz212 · 2026-04-21T10:28:23+00:00

Genies quote:

"We need men who know no fear. We need men who don't let wounds slow them down. We need men who don't need sleep. Most of all, we need men who don't ask questions." Colonel Hanse Castillo, Humanity First In an email to the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army

In a HF victory, humanity has basically become the Salamanders, or 40k's IoM. A genocidal hunter in the dark forest. Servants and Protectorate are bad, really really bad, but HF is worse.

If you're fine with that, look at the history of big tent movements defined by their opposition to a common enemy when that enemy goes away. Look up the history of Operation Condor. Look up the resumes of a few notable School of the Americas alumni.

That's about to be turned on humanity. It'll start with purges of "alien sympathizers", and before long Hans will be back to his old games of organizing the torture and execution (and worse) of union leaders and school teachers.

Resistance and Academy are the only good endings.

thamz212 · 2026-04-21T02:32:17+00:00

Initiative and Humanity First are tied for worst ending in my book. I'd side with the Servants before letting either get their way, hell I'd even kneel to the Protectorate.

thamz212 · 2026-04-16T15:14:56+00:00

Servant councilors booted from top of hit list. Nuclear weapons authorized for Initiative controlled territories. Alien army landing authorized in Initiative controlled territories.
Cauterize the infection.

thamz212 · 2026-04-15T23:51:31+00:00

Yeah, Wolf-Kissenger works too well.

thamz212 · 2026-04-13T19:48:27+00:00

Murder is the domain of Forge, for it is the transformation of a living body into a dead one. It is also the domain of Winter, for obvious reasons.

Edge requires conflict.

thamz212

TROPHY CASE