Ship roles (division of labor)

[Taqwus]

Out of curiousity, how are people normally building fleets?

I've been experimenting with fleets including the following roles (in a max-tech, max-planet, large mid-life start)

* Utility CA (at least 1-2 per fleet)
Jobs:
Resupply (quantum reactor)
Repair (1 repair bay)
Satellite/mine launching
Cargo carrying
Missile defense (3 Point-Defense Cannons; others in fleet usually have 1 or 2)

Stays a short distance behind others in battle.

* Picador CA (at least 2-3)
Jobs:
Immobilizing enemies (4 large Ionic Dispersers, 2 Ionic Pulse Missiles)
Plinking (one Shard Cannon)

Typically does run-and-gun until all enemies lack engines. Needs a bit of armor and shielding when getting close enough for the Dispersers. 1 Point-Def cannon, IIRC.

For space reasons and range (ionic dispersers are only range 6 -- and allegiance shifters are either 5 or 6, IIRC), it's got an expensive Master Computer. Can't recall whether I did the same for any of the other ships, but I don't think so.

Getting hit by all Dispersers, or both missiles, will result in all engines being destroyed (120 and 130 pts respectively, and no engine in the demo has more than 20 IIRC).

* Missile CA (pref. 2 or so)
Jobs:
Launching missiles (3 CSMs, 3 Plasma).
Missile def (2 P-DCs).
Lightly armored/shielded, meant for staying out of range.

* Shredder CA (1-2)
Job:
Finishing off the weak, or pursuers
(7 large shard cannons).
Lightly armored, but very very dangerous to an opponent who can't counter as the Shredder dances in and out of range. This ship class gets, by far, the bulk of the credit/experience for kills.

* Troop transport/killer (utterly optional)
Job:
Bombing planets (neutron bombs)
Transporting troops (cargo bays)
Not that critical a ship. Bomb, then invade.

Carriers/Fighters are currently being ignored in this particular game (low speed/range), although I'm considering trying them as bait for slow-recharging weapons.

The combo ain't too bad -- a 10-ship fleet (2 utility ships, 1 troop transport, 2 missile ships, 3 picadors, and 2 shredders) destroyed a 15-ship fleet (all identical CAs with nasty organic beam-type weapons IIRC), losing 1 missile ship in the process. It took two consecutive attacks, but at the end of the first one, all surviving enemy ships had already been immobilized, making the second one mere experience-building target practice...


------------------
-- The thing that goes bump in the night

[This message has been edited by Taqwus (edited 26 August 2000).]