Destroyer swarms, all the way! By about turn 20-25 I can have Destroyers, and that's my combat ship for the rest of the game. Glass Cannons for the win, baby.



Zerg Mk I

Swarm power is all about giving them the least bang for their buck. Grant in advance that they will take out one Zerg for each of their ships. That's all they're gonna get, because they're gonna all be dead by the end of long range combat.



Weapon choice is situational, depending on resources you have access to. Missiles are a long-range weapon, but Titanium-70 is tough to come by and enemy Flak is an early answer. Beams are also good because enemy Shields require some focused research effort, but again access to Hyperium is the deciding factor. For me, Kinetics is the old standby if it's all I can get. Early ships are almost always protected by Deflectors, and it's my intention that the battle is over before melee phase, so it's a weapon of last resort.



Also, the High Energy Coupling module is a definite must. Trading more firepower for less hit points fits perfectly with this strategy. But Smart Wrenches are a definite no, as any ships that have been attacked are assumed to be dead by the end of the round. Get lucky or die in glorious battle.

I should try this tactic out sometime. I usually rush to be able to build bigger ships. A nice blend of ships usually seems to do the trick. I wonder if combat features a paper scissor stone system next to the power rating based on the ships in a fleet.

AngleWyrm wrote:
But Smart Wrenches are a definite no, as any ships that have been attacked are assumed to be dead by the end of the round. Get lucky or die in glorious battle.

I don't follow. Can you say more about that?

davea wrote:

anglewyrm wrote:
But Smart Wrenches are a definite no

I don't follow. Can you say more about that?

It's a strategic choice, not a complaint about Smart Wrenches (although I do find repair times out of line with constructing an entire new ship).



My Zerg Mk I is designed to go up against cruiser class vessels, which usually have enough firepower to take out a destroyer in one volley. So instead of planning for the fight where a destroyer gets only partially damaged, I'm planning for the fight where destroyers either get wiped out or are not hit at all.



There are exceptions of course, where I run into destroyer vs destroyer, such as pirates.

The Zerg was my favorite faction in StarCraft! Sorry, everytime I see the word Zerg I get all misty-eyed for StarCraft. I haven't tried Zerging yet - I always get wrapped up in building larger ships.

Try this: Google the phrase "zerg rush". It's freakin hilarious!

AngleWyrm wrote:
Try this: Google the phrase "zerg rush". It's freakin hilarious!

Ha! That is TOTALLY amazing, kewl, AWESOME, funny! I LOVED IT! I never saw that before.

AngleWyrm wrote:
Try this: Google the phrase "zerg rush". It's freakin hilarious!

Nice feature.

But Zerging is not my playstyle in this game.

I don't really zerg, I guess. I build mixed fleets as the capabilities arise. Mix up BBs, CRs, and DD's with a DN or 3. Destroyers are there mostly to draw fire away from the capitals, especially stray missile launches. But that is what screening elements are for. I suppose my zerg is in the outfitting. Full out beam damage, with a modest amount of counter missile capability, just in case. Enough armour to take the missiles that get through the CM. Most of the time, my beams will wipe out a fleet in the first volley. Often before the first volley is even done. Always keep the beams refit to latest design to stay ahead of the enemies armour/shielding curve. Is what most of my dust goes for. Refits. Lets me keep a modest sized fleet, but one that will eat wave after wave of enemy fleets. First card depends on what kinda fleet I'm facing. second two are almost always nano-repair. That way if the second one chokes, the third goes off at end of combat and most damage, often all, is repaired for the next wave of victims.