New Republic Ships

[GreyStar]

Questions on the New Republic Navy. And I would prefer primarily answers for fighting humans instead of the AI.

Corvettes: CR90 VS DP20
Any reason to use the DP20? Do the concussion missles manage to destroy fighters, as well as still being useful for damaging larger ships? Or should I just stick with the CR90?

Sacheen
Is it just me or does it, shoot fighters with it's turbo laser instead of a regular laser battery?

Light Frigates:

Nebulon B / Nebulon B2
Any reason to use these light frigates?

Heavy Frigates:

Dreadnaught VS Assualt Frigate
I, really, really like the Assualt Frigate, but is there any point to using it over the Dreadnaught as a damage ship?

[kucsidave]

Questions on the New Republic Navy. And I would prefer primarily answers for fighting humans instead of the AI.

Corvettes: CR90 VS DP20
Any reason to use the DP20? Do the concussion missles manage to destroy fighters, as well as still being useful for damaging larger ships? Or should I just stick with the CR90?

it largely depends on playstyle on what to use best. CR90 is an anti-fighter only, while DP20 is still good at being anti fighter, but also able to deal more damage to capitals. Misles are far not as fast as lasers, that's a given, but they are much better at dealing damage. A quad Maser cannon(which is the best anti fighter laser cannon) deals 12 damage each, while a concussion missle deals 18. a normal laser cannon deals 2.5-3.5. So it's quite a difference. But for exhange the DP20 doesn't fire quite as fast as a CR90, therefore making it less effective at being anti fighter, but because of the added extra damage it is a bit more effective in hit and run tactics on larger ships

Sacheen
Is it just me or does it, shoot fighters with it's turbo laser instead of a regular laser battery?

All ships are doing that. even SSDs fire turbolasers against fighters too. This is not something mod-specific either I believe. and since Turbolasers have a chance to hit too, it can be even good. And if it frustrates you you can still give a direct attack command.

Light Frigates:

Nebulon B / Nebulon B2
Any reason to use these light frigates?

Actually there is. Since both has the Power to shields ability they can soak up lots of damage which would otherwise disable the shields of other even larger spaceships like Dreadnaughts. The difference is that Neb B comes with a bit weaker firepower but with fighter escort.

Heavy Frigates:

Dreadnaught VS Assualt Frigate
I, really, really like the Assualt Frigate, but is there any point to using it over the Dreadnaught as a damage ship?

As a damage ship, absolutely not. BUT Assault frigates have 2 Quad laser Cannons which make them quite effective against fighters as well, while still being moderately effective against larger ships. The question is if you deal some heavy firepower for versatility or stick with firepower. A fleet with AFs instead of DRs doesn't need quite as much Corvettes, so you can spare pop cap for something more powerful, or spare it for maybe a dreadnaught or an another AF depending on your choice.

[GreyStar]

Alright, I'll have to give the DP20 more of a chance then I did. Along with the Assualt Frigate. Still not sure I'll use the Nebs, never liked them in any version of the game, honestly. And I'll have to give the Sacheen another look.

[kucsidave]

Alright, I'll have to give the DP20 more of a chance then I did. Along with the Assualt Frigate. Still not sure I'll use the Nebs, never liked them in any version of the game, honestly. And I'll have to give the Sacheen another look.

well... I am not sure about the sacheen. There are better choices than that to be honest.

[GreyStar]

Are you sure?

[JMDurron]

I've only recently played the NR up to Era 5, and I've found the Sacheen to be completely useless.  I just build regular Corvettes to be my anti-fighter platform even that late in the game. 

[Revanchist]

Yeah Sacheens are really not that good. Lackluster fighters, weak armament. They can fly through asteroid fields, and do have power to engines, but that's about it, not enough to justify them. Coronas on the other hand, while weak in the combat department, are a decent late game light carrier.

[GreyStar]

Okay new question. Are Defenders just better E-Wings minus bomber ability?

[Revanchist]

Okay new question. Are Defenders just better E-Wings minus bomber ability?

NR Defenders are worse E-Wings minus bomber ability.

[GreyStar]

X-Wing VS Defender then.

[JMDurron]

Defenders seem to be a bit more survivable against late-game IR and EotH fighters than X-Wings, but they still need either massive numbers or E-Wing/Corvette support to survive very long.  The X-Wings are just dead meat anyway. 

[GreyStar]

Few more questions.

What ship minus capitals would you say are best for defending a planet?

How good is the MC40A?

What would you construct a raid fleet out of intended to blow up a space station and then leave?

And oh, MC90 VS Nebula.

[JMDurron]

1) Bothan Assault Cruiser (BAC) - they launch top notch fighters and can dish out some major punishment without costing capital ship amounts of cash

2) I've never built them, as I generally ignored mid-sized frigates/cruisers until the BAC became available late in the game. 

3) Corvettes and BACs - The corvettes jump in first to smash up fighters on patrol for a few minutes, discovering the map and drawing out some light opposition, then jump in the BACs on top of the space station, put maximum power to weapons (they don't lose shields when you do this!), then see what happens.  This assumes that you mean the Shipyards, as opposed to the Golan platforms.  If you mean Golans, then you need capital ships to stay out of range of most of their hardpoints and to wear them down slowly, IMO. 

4) Nebula, and it's not close - The MC90 can take and dish out decent amounts of damage, but not quite as much as the Nebula can.  The Nebula also has the newer fighter/bomber classes that can provide a decisive edge in combat - E-Wings and K-Wings are a massive upgrade over A-Wings and B-Wings. 

[GreyStar]

So I assume replace BACs with Dreadnaughts if it's not Era 5?

And noted, will not be doing the stupid plan of one MC90, one Nebula, one Majectic, and one Endurance.

[JMDurron]

I look at fleet makeup as a choice in that situation - either Assault Frigates OR Dreadnaughts with more supporting Corvettes.  Since the AF's have laser cannons, they are more well-rounded, and their better shielding (I think?) works for defensive actions better than the Dreadnaughts' "lots of guns, shields not so impressive" setup, which makes me prefer them for offensive actions.  Keep in mind that I'm still somewhat new to this - only playing on Captain against the AI so far. 

To be honest, though, I generally just fighter spam for key defensive points as the NR.  If you're defending, you have a space station, which has fighter-oriented upgrades, which benefits the NR's balance against any opponent except the EotH throughout the game.  I generally go with 5 E/A-Wings for anti-fighter, 5 B-Wings for anti-ship, and 5 Corvettes for anti-fighter support AND crucial "don't lose the battle just because the space station is gone" capabilities when my fighters just need more time to win the day.  The combination of your space station's X/Y-Wings and the B-Wings, plus presumably an Ion Cannon if you really care about the planet should be able to handle any minor threat, and no moderately-sized force of any composition is going to stand against a full battle fleet anyway, so running away with a small force vs a medium force is a distinction without much of a difference.  I have no clue how well this would or would not work against humans, though, as I have no interest in multiplayer. 

[GreyStar]

Doubt that'd work against a human. And I'm mostly interested in human VS human as my friend got me the game and the mod. Haven't even moved past the easiest difficulty trying to learn all the eras.

So one question I haven't gotten an answer on and one new one.

Opinions on the MC30A. It sounds good but I forgot to field test it tonight.

Usefulness of building fighters VS using Neb-Bs / Coronas / Quassrs.

[Revanchist]

MC 40s are a decent ship; however, they are a bit over priced in terms of population points. The Imperial Strike Cruiser is in many ways similar to the 40's role, but it is only 2 pop while the 40 is 3 pop.

I definitely agree that BACs are the way to go. Until then I tend to stick to Assault Frigates if I need heavy frigates.

MC 90 vs. Nebula isn't quite that clear cut IMO. While it's true the Nebula has more firepower and better fighters than the 90, the 90 has Power To Shields. This makes it the more survivable ship, and since it still has respectable firepower one that can't be ignored. It is the tank of the late game NR fleet.

[GreyStar]

Do any of my ships replace their fighter units across the eras?

[kucsidave]

if it is appropriate then they do. But do not wait for a Nebulon B which is long out of production to spawn Defenders in era 4

[Bucman55]

1. I use DP20s as small anti corvette/light frigate ships. CR90s are 12X better for screening fighters.

2. I never build Sacheens because I consider them to be too weak to be useful.

3. The Nebulons have fairly long ranged Turbolasers which can be good for damaging frigates before your capital ships get in range.

4. I use both in most early fleets. Dreadnaught are great for when the enemies' shields are down and Assault Frigates lessen the need for corvettes.

5. I hate Defenders. If it were up to me, they'd all be scuttled and turned into E-Wings or something infinitely more useful.

6. I generally use Nebulons (Coronas when available), DP20s, CR90s, Dreadnaughts, Assault Frigates, and MC40s.

7. I use the MC40 to support my Dreadnaughts and Assault Frigates. The Ion Cannons can really help to knock out enemy shields.

8. Can't help you there as when I attack I intend to destroy all opposition.

9. I use both the MC90 and the Nebula as I believe neither ship is strait up better than the other. Ideally I'll do something like 2 MC90s, 2 Nebulas, 2 Endurances (for the fighters), plus a plethora of support frigates. I play with the Balance and Flavor submod so there are things added (XJ-Wings for example) that make some ships not useless.

10. I never use MC30s. I find other ships do their job just as good or better.

11. If I need fighter squadrons, I build carriers. I'd rather spend my pop cap on ships that are actually victory relevant.