Strategy tip for carriers

[Urendi Maleldil]

The best configuration for a user-controlled carrier is vital stuff(engines, etc.), enough fighter bays so the requirement goes away, any extras (ECM, shields weapons), and fill the rest up with cargo bays (they hold more than fighter bays). You wont be able to launch all your fighters in one combat turn, but your carrier can hold many more fighters. I had a light carrier with about 150 light fighters. And you can still launch them all in one strategic turn.

Note: light carriers can use heavy weapon mounts

[T]

Thats interesting.....Cargo Bays you say.....Hehehe A Large Transport could suddenly become Rather Deadly!

LOL! Use Large Transports as your carriers....create HAVOC in Multi-player games as Hordes of Escorts Die at the hands of the Fighters!!

[Instar]

sorry to dump on your strategy, but those ships will not be able to launch fighters very fast -- as in you can only launch so many fighters at a time in combat (you can launch all fighters in the regular view)
This was fixed a while back
You can make carriers like that, but their combat usefullness drops

[Urendi Maleldil]

This is most useful if you want to launch fighters strategically, but I find it effective in combat. I have my carriers built so that I can launch about 15 fighters per combat turn. I find that to be enouch. In most cases the sides start far enough apart to be able to have anywhere from 25-75 fighters in the air by the time the two meet in combat. The volume of fighters more than makes up for the advantage of point defense. Sometimes I back up these carriers with missile frigates. If an enemy w/ pt defense fires on the seekers, they have to deal with the fighters and vice-versa.

[Richard]

Actually he is right and HISTORICALLY it makes sense. Most people who think carriers suck are using them wrong. Unless you have a VERY fast ship, or get lucky and land in the middle of the task force, by the time you reach a carrier he will normally have had 4-6 turns (at least) to launch fighters. Once they form up they can be devastating.

Most folks put too many fighters bays and then skimp on fighters. For a carrier to make sense it should be able to carry more fighters than it can launch (many more). In fact some of those should be specialized. I send out assault fighters and bombers to the target and then have slow fighters with tons of weopons as CAP to defend the carrier.

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Sarge is coming...

Richard Arnesen
Director of Covert Ops
Shrapnel Games
http://www.shrapnelgames.com

[wingte]

Well,, the early launch stratege is only useful if the enemy is coming after your fleet and you are out gunned.
When I am chasing down an enemy I prefer to keep the fighters in the bays until my carriers are close enough that when I launch the fighters,, they can immediately fire without moving so they don't activate the enemy PD weapons.

I am currently using a carrier as an exploration ship when I play a High Tech start game.

Carrier--- Master computer, quantum reactor, max engines, 14 fighter bays, repair pod, 2 organic armor, 1 shield, 2 PD cannons, 1 Ionic disperser, combat sensor, and a long range scanner.

The 28 fighters have are armed with shield depleter and electric discharge.


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Wingte

[Cyrien]

Well... here is my carrier design (max tech for demo)... and I also use a mix of specialized fighters.

Master Computer 3
Quantum Engine 3 x 6
Fighter Bay x 15
ECM 3
Quantum Reactor
Storage Bay 3 x 3
Phased Shield Gen 5
Wave Motion Gun 3 (Heavy Mount - Not Large but Heavy)

This gives me 80 fighters (40 assault 20 bomber and then whatever else I want, depending on what the carrier is doing) and a carrier more than capable of taking out those running away freighters all by its lonesome. No PD you say? That is what those escorting Frigates are for isn't it? IRL carriers go with Cruiser support and destroyer support. This is the modern navy and I find it works rather nicely in SE4 as well without the massive behemoth Battleships and Dreadnoughts which are notably missing from modern navies and my SE4 armadas. And with 480 damage every third round at range 8 I don't worry about weak transports. Don't even bother with fighters on those guys.

[wingte]

Hmnn,, well I primarily use a 4 ship fleet with 3 designs. 1 Explorere, one of Ship 2 and 2 of ship 3.
Ship one is the explorer.


Ship 2 is another carrier.
Master Computer
Quantum reactor
6 engines
14 fighter bays
2 organic armor
1 shield generator
2 PDs
1 heavy mount ionic disperser R6 120
(should take out 6 engines per shot)
1 heavy mount hyper-plasmic bolt Rg 8 150/90
combat sensors
ECM

28 of the same fighters as on the explorer
1 shield depleter Range 2 15X14=210
1 Electric discharge Range 3 20X14=280

Ship 3 is a cruiser

Master computer
Quantum reactor
6 engines
2 organic armor
2 shield gen
3 PDs
multiplex tracking
combat sensors
1 large mount shield depleter R7 300
(1 large mount ionic disperser R6 80
(should take out 4 engines per shot)
1 large mount hyper-plasmic bolt R8 100/60
1 large mount enveloping acid globe R8 200


The first 3 are fire rate 1. The acid thing is fire rate 2 and very effective against planets.




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Wingte

[Instar]

I have to totally agree with you, fighter capacity is very important. But, if you can only launch like three fighters a turn, it wont be too long before they get over to you, and you wont have much of a fighter group (By the way, Ive gotten fighters with 9 moves, and well armed. So in a carrier vs carrier, I could launch a lot of fighters fast, while you launch 2 or 3 at a time. I would zoom over, and pound you easily) Of course, Im assuming that all fighters are in the hangars before combat begins.
My goal with carriers is to balance launching capabilities with cargo, I try to be able to launch 15-20 fighters a turn or better, and that leaves enough room for Cargo Bays.
Also, I forget about CAPs. Having a group of fighters patrolling with the carrier would be a good defense idea (but fighters cannot go through warp points! so your carrier would have to recover fighters, go through the point, and relaunch)

[This message has been edited by Instar (edited 19 October 2000).]

[Urendi Maleldil]

It's also good to have a group of fighters in the same fleet outside of the carrier. "On patrol" if you will. Also, you can't have a carrier that launches only 3 fighters per combat turn. All carriers must be at least 50% fighter bays. With level 1 bays on a light carrier you can launch about 14 fighters per turn(1 per bay). You can launch 2 per fighter bay at level 3 doubling your launch capacity at higher techs.