Tactical Game...err...tactics!

[Jahled]

Ok, I reckon we'ld all agree the best bit of the game for all of us is the tactical battle, where we get to use those fleets of Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari Cruisers we've waited patiently for ages to build and assemble in battle!

 

I'm curious, what sort of tactics do we use? It's taken me a while to get to grips with the advanced tactical interphase and options, but i've realized if you use them you can take far larger fleets and get results!

 

...Your thoughts gentlemen.

Edited June 7, 2003 by Jahled

[Guest Scathane]

You've taken the words right out of my mouth... I was planning on posting something like this...

 

Well, as a newbie to tactical battles, I mostly do it like this:

 

1. Fighters + Corellian Corvettes/Gunboats on fighters; capital ships on capital ships

2. (when enemy fighters are gone) All on capital ships

 

This works fairly well in all cases, because you tend to focus your efforts... You do get quite some damage on one or two of your own capital ships, but you seldomly lose them.

 

Does anyone use the pre-programmed positioning tactis (I believed one of 'em's called Hammer)?

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

The computer is, fortunately, not very intelligent and so:

 

1. I leave my command ship (generally the largest ship in the fleet. It has My Admiral/General?Commander aboard) at the rear with one or two escort ships and usually a squadron of fighters.

 

2. I send my light ships/blockade-runners forward to directly engage fighters/capitol ships. I also send one squadron of fighter-to-fighter... fighters into the frey.

 

3. I send a quarter of my large ships left, right up and down.

 

4. The ships from left and right move in on the enemy fleet while those above and below flank them to prevent retreat (my interdictor also helps with this).

 

5. I send bombers after thier interdictor should things turn ugly. If they don't have one I target thier command ship.

 

6. I'll some times send in my command ship if there is no danger to my leaders.

 

 

This usually works but on occasion the computer counters.

[Guest Scathane]

p1902

 

Is there any use in having an Admiral/Commander aboard your ships if you handle the tactical yourself?

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

They increase the performance of you ships. They habe greater weapons recharge, become more maneuverable, and a bit faster. Sheild recharge is faster too.

[Guest Scathane]

p1905

 

They increase the performance of you ships. They habe greater weapons recharge, become more maneuverable, and a bit faster. Sheild recharge is faster too.

This is still the case when you handle the tactical yourself? I didn't know that!

[Jahled]

DARN!

 

I just spent twenty blasted minutes writing a post and my computer crashed! (Send error report to Microsoft sort of thing)...

 

When i've calmed down i'll write it again.

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

@Scathane: Yup, still works even if you take command. It is also a good idea to have Admirals/Commanders on a ship should you decide a battle is not worth taking command.

 

@Jahled: That sucks man

[Jahled]

Ok, here's some very basic tactics I use at the start of most battles. This is assuming fleets are reasonably matched, with say a swing of 30% in either way. Given I am Imperial to the core, I shall assume I am of course the glorious Galactic Empire! First I direct all my Lancer Frigates, Corellian Gunships, Assualt Transports, and any Corellian Corvettes I might have to SURROUND and target FIGHTERS. If i've got an Interdictor Cruiser caught up in one of their task forces I create a new fleet and give it the same order of battle, other wise it will slow down the rest of the task force it is assigned to. My Star Destroyers, Victory's and Strike Cruisers are ordered to target enemy capital ships. I hold back all of my fighters and assign them to move to a the nearest node by bringing up the first navigation point. There they gather. The AI always sends it's fighters into the frey, targeting your fighters that are most dangerous to it's Capital Ships; for the Empire, TIE Bombers and TIE Defenders.

 

Launching the battle, obviously my Lancers, Gunships, and Assualt Transports quickly pull away from the slower Star Destroyers and begin to destroy or damage attacking fighter squadrons.Given I haven't yet assigned my fighters orders of battle, the enemy fighters will race past my Cruisers and Destroyers, and my frigates and Gunships will follow. When the timing is right, I will engage my fighters. TIES & Intercepters on SURROUND, and Defenders on STANDOFF. Given my TIE Bombers are the priority target for the enemy I will usually hold them back untill the last possible moment and then HAMMER to a mid-table navigation point close to my fleet. They will move as my fighters are engaging and still keep enemy fighters in range of my Lancers and Gunships. At this stage BTW my Lancers and Gunships are behind my Star Destroyers and thus protected from enemy capital ships, even the dreaded; seldom deployed,dreaded CC-9600 Frigate with it's awesom speed and turbo laser range of 75! The enemy fighters can now be contained behind the lines of my Star Destroyers, assuming you play with the navigation points with your TIE Bombers. Assuming the fleets are reasonably matched, by this stage the AI's fighters should begin to be decimated, by the combined TIE's and Lancers. The Capital ships should also begin to be engaging; now the Defenders and Bombers can go! SURROUND and target capital ships. By this stage, the enemy's Corvettes, Nebulon Frigates, and Escourt Carriers will be targets for your Star Destroyers, long before you engage the cruisers; they're blindly chasing your fighters behind the wall of Star Destroyers.

 

...then on it depends on the circumstances of the particular battle you are engaged in! But my tactic has achieved two extremely important things. The first is to draw the AI's fighters behind my Destroyers and Cruisers for good hunting for my Lancers, Gunships, and Corvettes, the second is in by holding back my fighters, i've drawn the AI's Corvettes, Escourts and Nebulons ahead of their larger capital ships.

 

I must confess to being fairly basic at this stage, especially concerning Navigation points. If the opposition is at the end of the day overwelming, I will target the enemy CC-7700 Frigate with fighters at the first stage in order to give myself the opportunity to withdraw, as Admiral Thrawn stated previously. That actually leads onto a very important point concerning the deployment of squadrons of fighters on systems. Between 16-18 Squadrons of TIE-Bombers or TIE-Defenders on any system is enough to destroy a CC-7700 Frigate regardless of the size of virtually any fleet attacking your system, and allow any capital ships to escape; but also give you the benefit of system support of having destoyed an enemy capital ship! So don't get to paranoid about capital ships when CC-7700 Frigates and Interdictor Cruisers enter the fray! The AI never protects ships as a tactic, so if you have enough fighter squadrons, you can always destroy them, and command your galaxy enjoying the benefit of having capital ships protecting systems from enemy missions.

 

I would be very interested to read how other people use the navigation points in the tactical battle, as with fleet manoevres; it's something i've only just begun to touch on!

 

What do you guys think?

 

BTW: Somebody please tell me how to make screen shots of the tactical battle, and where to paste them!!!

[Grand_Admiral_Thrawn]

Just push print screen and then paste them into an pic program... I usually just get a black screen though.

[Jahled]

Which is exactly why I composed the question...

 

Other people seem to be able to do it....caugh caugh....Mask...La_Forge... caugh caugh... I wonder how!!!