Fortifying Neutral Nodes

My Idea in a Nutshell

Implement an option for fleets to build some sort of temporary defensive “fortification” on neutral nodes which provide a combat boost for the defending fleet. They should require at least one turn and some resources to construct, and I believe this would add a new dynamic to the fleet movement aspect in the game, where the fastest route from A to B may not always be the best one. 

Example

These fortifications should take a couple of turns to construct and a small amount of resources, because the idea is to reward foresight and add an additional strategic layer to fleet movement. You’re being given a small but welcome bonus for successfully getting the enemy fleet to battle you on your terms at a location of your choosing, where you’ve had time to fortify.

The bonus this provides should be negligible enough that if your fleet was notably outmatched to begin with, these foritications aren't going to magically win an unwinnable battle for you. Instead, they're designed to tip the scales in your favour in fleet battles where things are relatively even, it could be the difference between a draw and a victory.

Possibilities

What I like about this idea is that you can keep it very simple and relatively easy to implement into ES2, or you can let your imagination go wild and add additional layers to it. For the sake of brevity I’m keeping the original concept simple, however I welcome you to build upon it. Below I’ve described some of the possibilities for this idea to get the ball rolling.

Mines

Mines take time and resources to place on a node, but they’re single use. This means that if you both have multiple fleets stacked on a node, only the defender’s first fleet battle will benefit from the mines. Once detonated, you can’t build them again until there are no more enemy fleets on that node, and of course they will once again take a couple of turns / resources to construct. Mines remain on the node even after your fleet moves to a new node, so you can use them to employ guerilla tactics of sorts by using them as a means to cover your retreat after raiding a system.

I considered suggesting making mines cloaked with a relevant tech researched (and of course let the enemy decloak them if they have a certain tech researched) but I feel this would be too overcomplicated and lead to player frustration when they are on the receiving end. Instead, I think mines should be visible to all and act as a deterrent. Perhaps you have a smaller fleet than your opponent and you place mines before harassing a nearby enemy system. He chases you with his larger fleet and you lead him towards your mines.

They have to make a decision: do I charge through the mines and tank the damage (which may or may not weaken my fleet enough for the opponent’s fleet to stand a chance against me in battle now), do I go around the node, or simply give up the chase and destroy the minefield so my opponent has to spend time/money rebuilding it again, perhaps even choosing to build my own. Everything should have a counter, so you could have a minesweeper module be unlocked with research to negate the opponent’s defensive bonus in exchange for taking up a module slot in one of your ship designs.

Orbital Canons

Similar to mines, the canons require a certain amount of turns and resources to construct on an unclaimed node. They provide less of a bonus in battle for the defender, however they don’t self-detonate likes mines so you can use them for more than one fleet battle. These canons—although not attached to your ships physically—cannot fire autonomously. They require your fleet to be on the node to activate, since they rely on your fleet’s targetting systems to function. If your fleets move away from the node and an enemy fleet moves onto it, the canons are automatically destroyed.

These are great to build on chokepoint nodes, however their combat bonus is significantly less than mines to balance them out. I want to reiterate my statement from earlier; these are not intended to make a battle you would have lost magically turn into a victory, but simply to make a battle that would’ve been a draw tip towards your favour. They’re nice to have, but don’t expect to build these everywhere and just stack all your fleets on top of them.

Cloaking and Fortifications

With cloaked ships becoming a thing in the upcoming Penumbra expansion, it’s also interesting thinking about the potential interplay between these two elements. I think these fortifications should only be built on neutral nodes, so you can’t put mines or canons on a system and just camp your fleets on top of it to go super turtle.

This once again creates a choice for the players. Do I keep my fleet on top of this key system, or do I move them to the closest neutral node and keep them on top of a fortification? If they do the latter, there’s a chance a cloaked enemy fleet can bypass them and target the system directly. If they choose the former, they avoid this risk but have to forego the combat bonuses a fortified node could provide.