Drones and pods |
I am now using frigates with missile pods (satellites) to attack warships and defend warpoints against warships. The frigates themselves have no weapons, are set to "Don't get hurt", and drop about 7 satillites each. Every satillite has an ordnance and supply container and a CSM. This works pretty good (very early in the game atleast), for 1 frigate can deploy about 6 or 7 times as much missile launchers then normal and in groups it is even more fun.
However, this does not work when attacking civilian ships or colonies. My idea was to use drones for this. So I give them a CSM and set their strategy at "Maximum Range". However, leads to 2 peculier things:
* unlike stated in the manual) I can control them in system view, instead of having to designate a target.
* and in combat they do nothing. They just sit while the enemy either gets away or shoots them to little tiny pieces.
Is there any way to make sure the drones do attack their target?
Luctius
Re: Drones and pods
Drones don't work with projectile/beam weapons. They only seem to work with warheads.
And nice idea about using sat's offensively. It's certainly a cost effective way of dropping large ordinance at your enemy.
If you build ships, you could only have 1-2 CSM's for every 3000 minerals. (because you need bridge, engines, crew quarters etc etc etc)
But if you build sats that cost drops to less than 500.
Only probs...they don't move, and PD guns rip em to shreds.
Your lord and master (below Foamy) LordHavoc
Re: Drones and pods
Cool idea. How do you make sure that the frigates drop the sats in the right place, do you do it manually?
Re: Drones and pods
I don't 
.
That is one of the largest limitations of the tactic, the frigates just drop and flee. Which means that using it in a combined force is not that good, unless you can make sure the site of attack does not move much.
In addition, it is good against warships, but useless against stationary or civilian targets.
However, the upside is that with a minimum amount of research and costs, you can have an early hardhitting intercepting fleet/defending fleet.
I have not done much thought about using this tactic in later game, mostly because I was just setting a couple of test games up in anticipation of a multiplayer game with a friend of mine.
Maybe that in late game it can be an support tactics when you have slower ships, especially if you can make sure that the faster ships stay around the slowerships.
Re: Drones and pods
I'm gonna give it a try myself soon. It may be that in a mixed fleet, you could manuever your ordinary combat ships to keep the fight near the satalite cloud.
Re: Drones and pods
Try setting them to kamikaze.