Topic: Just got SFC2: OP Please help...

[Mog]

I often like to hover just around the maximum overload range of 8 (8.00 to be precise) to do my firing. When I do that, I will turn one bank of disruptors off and overload the other bank. This is because an overloaded disruptor is more accurate than a normal one, and it does the damage of 2 normal ones when it hits. Also, 2 overloaded disruptors draw the same power as 4 normals, so it is very beneficial to use this if you like skirting overload range.

[Fornax]

Quote:
 I defy most ships in early to travel at speed 22-25 and effectively charge weapons.  And yes, the AI may use a WW in the scenario I presented but it is as likely not to as I have seen in a majority of cases.  If you clearly overhwhelm the AI, it will WW.

But this is all neither here nor there, you obviously have a good deal of experience and he would be good to follow your recommendations although I have never used the phaser capacitor slider.  One lousy point of power can't be spared to charge the bank fully.  I guess if it works for you, more power to you.  This guys is getting alot of good info.  Thanks.  Good flying to all.  

Actually, the Good Klingon designs can all easily do speed 25 if you control your power well.  That's really the purpose behind the phaser capacitor slider bar.  What's the point in doing a speed yo-yo if you're not actually going to fire your phasers the second they're charged?  If you know it's going to take you 45+ seconds to get another firing opportunity, tune down the recharge and use the power for ECM to prevent taking damage, or even shield reinforcement.  Part of this is due to disruptors that require the same power to hold as they do to charge so the power drain is constant.  The Lyrans have surges in power requirements due to ESG - and all other races require significantly less power to hold than to charge.  Feds can be forced into the teens (speed) to charge all weapons.  ISC when charging plasma I and Lyrans can be caught in single-digit speeds for the first 30 seconds or more.

Try the K-D7C - hit "R".  Then turn off your disruptors since it's IMPOSSIBLE to hit anything for at least the first minute, even if they go maximum speed towards you.  Without touching the slider bar, you can attain a speed in the teens (forget exact number).  Before you actually get up to that speed, your phaser capacitor will be full.  At this point adjust it to about 60% - doesn't matter exactly, trial and error work well.  Best suggestion is to play with it - try adjusting it down before the capacitor is full and try to peg it so the overall power requirements (as listed numerically at the bottom of the screen) is at x.9 and then you accelerate with the "S" key until you hit (38.9).  After it's charged, you should be able to charge normal disruptors and go approximately speed 25.  I'd use Mogs suggestion and if you think you can hit range 8, overload one pair and turn off the other.

Btw, turning off heavy weapons, particularly when all they are doing is sucking up power since they may not even get fired for awhile is a critical component of power management.

For me, shield reinforcement is the last/lowest priority - there are times to use it though, particularly when somebody is chasing you and 'plinking' your shield from moderate ranges (~15).  Even a single point of reinforcement may cut the total damage by 33-50% or even all of it.  Reinforcement only gets really used when 'starcastling' or doing things like planetary assaults where you park around range 25 and volley (scatter pack launch) drones at hte planet to kill it or any other target with phaser 4's.

[Fornax]

Had a thought about my description of flying ahead of drones when approaching a target in order to tractor it to avoid a wild weasel.  My experience is different.  Given the amount of time at startup, the AI Always will charge it's first shuttle as a wild weasel.  Given larger hulls, it will begin a 2nd as soon as it uses the first.  This counts as a universal constant from my many hundreds of actual games played.

A very common tactic, I like to call it a 'drone slam', but there are many other names is to approach targets at maximum speeds and volley as many drones into it as possible.  Anything smaller than a heavy cruiser, if the tactic is done right, should die immediately on the first pass.  Heavy cruisers may require 2 - depends solely on how much effort you can afford - are you thinking about playing DV2 and saving drones for the next battle?

Against a CA or larger, when using slow drones (speed 16) - you accelerate as much as possible towards your target holding launch until you're within 80% of the combination of drone speed and oncoming enemy ship speed.  I tend to launch slow drones at around 60 in a K-D6D (or K-D5D) and travel around speed 20-22 towards the target.  At range 10-11 I drop a scatterpack which when it opens should be ahead of the previously launched T4 (large) drones.  By this point my ship mounted racks have recycled.  I go for a minimum of a level 3 tractor beam and HOLD phaser fire against any incoming drones.  Sometimes I do a full stop (emergency deceleration) - sometimes a HET directly towards my oncoming drones.  After the first wave (from the scatter pack) hits the ship or is destroyed by point defense, I launch my recharged 6 Type 4 drones.  And add my phasers.  Most will fire directly to the rear in those ships.

Most ships die from this.

Total time required?  ~1:45 travel time to the target.  :15 of weapons fire.  Enemy ship dies.

It's easy, very easy to duplicate, rinse and repeat.  Rarely do I even get damage past my shields from return fire.
It is not what I consider a highly skilled tactic as it relies upon the AI's inability to cope/adjust.  Do humans fall for this?  Only the ones that are very new to the game.  If this is the only tactic you know, any average pilot in a regular warship for any race will tear you a new one.

Nax

[kitten]

best advice i can give is to slow the game down to a crawl. also, my husband has the boardgame. i found the computer game made much more sense after reading the boardgame manuals.

meow