Fleet Strategies

Fleet Strategies

Over the last couple of days I've spent a good amount of time playing many, many quick battles to get a better feel for the optimal strategies for each fleet.

So far I have worked out what seems to be a good strategy for 4 of the fleets.  Unfortunately I didn't write it all down so some of this is from memory, however there are general principles which apply to each of the fleets AI settings which I discovered yesterday.

All of the fleets require a combined arms approach to defeat the opponents - there are no one trick ponies, however certain fleets have particular strengths.

EarthHope

With all of the fleets it is the settings for the fighters and bombers that make the most difference since these form the mainstay of the fleets. EarthHope is no exception.

EarthHope's fighters and bombers have very regular continuous fire weapons that are of low to medium damage.  Their weapons have no special effects other than simply outputting damage to enemy ships.  Their fighters and bombers mainly differ in that the bombers are heavier and slower but have a greater damage output.  

What I discovered was that a good first principle to apply when assigning AI behaviours to their fighters and bombers was to engage enemy at long range. Set the Extreme Range setting all the way to the right, and the Retain Target to a value somewhere near the middle.  Avoid enemy at close range. This allows the EarthHope smaller vessels time to lock on to their targets and get the most number of shots at their opponents.  There is no need to specify larger or smaller vessels.  Targeting vessels to the rear is a good option as well since it means that the fighters and bombers will change direction more often.

Their Cruisers and Capitals should be treated differently from each other as they are very different types of ships. The Capital is worth setting to engage enemy at close range, directly to its front. The Capital is a good focus for enemy fire that can be used as a distraction and so charging directly into the midst of combat is worthwhile especially as it has flak cannons that can fire in all directions.

The Cruisers are great at taking out enemy capital ships and should be used as such, set them to target larger vessels and less agile vessels.  

It is vital to keep the EarthHope fighters and bombers alive for the duration of the combat - at least before their Cruisers go down and by being moderately aggressive but not too aggressive with them they can survive long enough and do damage to enemy ships.  

AioSenti

AioSenti are a difficult fleet to get right.  They have a very mixed bag of ships that requires a bit of thought to get right.  I've found that by setting the fighters to engage at close range, enemies that are not approaching and to have a low value for retain target will keep their fighters alive long enough for you to do damage with the bombers.  Setting the bombers to engage at long range for a long retain target value will allow them to do damage to enemy ships while the fighters keep the enemy distracted.  

Cruisers can be set to engage at close range, to enemies directly ahead. This will force the enemy to engage them since although the AioSenti cruisers are not all that deadly having one fly directly at you with its mix of long and short range weapons will not allow them to be ignored. You will likely lose a pair of cruisers in the attack but at least one should survive.

The Capital has the best beam weapon in the game but rather than flying aggressively with the Capital - set it to engage enemy at its rear at optimum or extreme range. This will cause it to change direction fairly often making it harder for the enemy to bring their weapons to bear.  You will likely keep your capital for the duration of the battle, should you win, as the enemy will not be able to bring its weapons to bear upon it. 

AioSenti do not win battles quickly.  

Hushami Corp

Hushami Corp's fighters and bombers are its main strength.  They are one of the few fleets who can afford to set their fighters and bombers to behave extremely aggressively.  Set them to target approaching enemy who are targeting you. Set their fighters to engage enemy fighters by setting target larger vessels all the way to the left, and agile vessels all the way to the right.  Have the bombers target damaged vessels and enemy at optimum range. Also target enemy who are approaching.  Hushami Corp's fighters and bombers have low damage against capitals and cruisers but against enemy small vessels they can easily outmatch them in a direct firefight. Use that your advantage.

With the capitals and cruisers, set them to avoid enemy - by keeping them alive for as long as possible they remain a distraction for enemy fighters and bombers. To do this - set the approaching enemy and enemy targeting us sliders all the way to the left.  

Outlanders

Outlanders have to make use of their EMP weapons on their fighters to win and are really a combined arms force.  Set the fighters and bombers to target enemy larger vessels at close range and to change targets rapidly.  Expect to lose many of your fighters midway through the battle however by focusing on the larger ships their EMP weapons will prevent the enemy cruisers and capital ships from being able to take out your own capital and cruisers.

Set the Cruisers for Outlanders to the default middle settings. This means that they will target their opposing cruisers first.  Set the Capital to target enemy to their front and at extreme or optimum range. Also set the Capital's 'Target Larger Vessels' slightly to the left, and the agile slider slightly to the left. This means that the Capital will prefer enemy cruisers to capitals in general.  The reason for this is because EarthHope has the best means of countering your fighters and bombers EMP weapons by virtue of the fact that their Cruisers are great at taking down capital ships.  Typically with the Outlanders - if you are winning your larger vessels should survive but you will take heavy damage to your fighters and bombers.