As an example... I came into this fight after just having fought another one, so down on CR
Spoiler
(https://i.imgur.com/ogmUFHK.png)
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/aPpAUPL.png)
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/pxXgQ0D.png)
They deployed 368 ish DP of ships. I killed 222 DP of ships alone and another 51 DP of ships from assists.
Now. Obviously this isn't like...a Remnant fleet. But its still a pretty significant fleet.
The onslaught i am using for reference
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/jjLIztP.png)
I could probably drop the Anhillators for a HAG on the weak side but toggling weapon groups like that would be a bit awkward. I could also pick up ATG or IPDAI (but i don't have IPDAI yet) by dropping launchers which is what i will probably do
If you thought that "oh no that was not a display of an Onslaught being a real capital ship" then i've got some more for you
That fleet wasn't that big. Lets see you do it to a real fleet
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/VCgJO9M.png)
Edit: Somehow cut the fleet off. It was 1200 deployment points (4 at once)
Oh. Well pirates are weak, even when they're buffed all to hell and have checks notes 392 fighters to suicide into your ship. You would never do that to proper carriers
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/BIUCmp9.png)
Oh well that isn't that big a fleet. And it only had 4 Astrals and was full of chaff carriers like Drover and Heron. Maybe if you had to fight something that was super high tech and modded and much bigger
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/f6M8mn8.png)
I have ITU and IPDAI(and an XIV now) and have rejiggered things around (i run 2x Typhoon launchers because the HAG's don't have the best armor pen and sometimes you run into something that can tank a bit, and the rear side HAC's became HMG's for a bit better PD and because i didn't really need the extra range) But fundamentally its the same thing. Laugh in the face of their pitiful damage. Eat tachyon lances off the armor like they were nothing and keep ... shooting ... that ... dakka.
This is the onslaught. There are maybe some tweaks that could be made. I would definitely want to find a place for RFC
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/7UPyMK8.png)
I am now level 74, so i have a few extra skills than normal at 50. Though most of those are non-combat related.
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/DNDTFZz.png)
Specifically for combat related skills i did not have at level 50 was power grid modulation and coordinated maneuvers/ECM or Helsmanship. PGM is the most "raw power" one of those and the rest were mainly just taken because they were there. I think i only had 6 officers too but i could be wrong there.
Edit: Lol trying to come up with 24 spare points and i forgot that i have 5 unspent... No wonder i could not figure out what i had and didnt. I didn't have PGM, EW 2, CW 2/3, Sensors, Navigation, planetary ops, colony management, or helsmanship. Had the rest.
Field Repairs 3 is... pretty key. Probably the most important skill of the bunch because you're going to take some hull damage* and 75% of your armor is still 1750, which is enough armor to make most hits deal minimum damage so this skill lets you fight multiple battles in a row without too many issues.
*those conquests had either 2x Squall or 2x Mirv and let me tell you that is NOT fun dealing with at the same time.
Using the TPC a lot more in harder fights/cleanup/vs capitals.
The AI uses the broadside properly yes. Both because it will try to swing to spread armor damage*. And also because it will lots of times have enemies to the side. It definitely wants to use the TPCs more than is efficient but this isn’t a huge deal. Even a slight tilt is enough to get the second HAG to not fire off into the ether** and not trying to get all three on target is pretty valuable. As an example if you run two stock onslaughts against each other in the sim the hellbores on the side will attempt to fire at the enemy and wont quite have the angle to do so.
The main thing about the broadside onslaught is less that it’s a broadside and more AWM/ARU. I could do almost or just as well with a normal one so long as you have AWM and ARU. The AI onslaughts main problem is that as soon as it’s shield goes down it ends up stopping firing because it’s mounts take damage***. If you remove this issue it can still pretty effectively leverage its armor.
*derp forgot to account for this in my undervaluing. Heavy Armor is probably not undervalued.
**though my AI onslaughts dont have a HaG there. They have a Hellbore on the side instead. This is because they are bad at using missiles (they will dump at the first opportunity) and so still need a way to punch through heavy armor and the Hellbore provides.
***its second main problem is that it inefficiently uses its medium slots for PD; both over-fluxing itself and preventing it from using more efficient/higher ranged medium sized weapons. You could use dual flak in the front mediums and then LNs in the small but you lose 100 range on your needlers, use 6 more OP per battery, increase your PD flux usage by 112 per battery, and reduce single target missile DPS by 1/2. Even if you drop IPDAI from the flaks you’re only saving 2 OP. And god help you to penetrate armor if you’re running anything but HE/Energy in the larges.
Edit: Here is an example I am playing with the second wave mod that changes fits around. Enemies tend to have far more effective fits (particularly pirates, which are all now atropos/assault chaingun'd SO monsters) though i don't like this onslaught
This is its "elite" Onslaught with one exception. Instead of AWM and ARU it has hardened shields
Spoiler
(https://imgur.com/IK4THzD.png)
When you swap to AWM and ARU, with no eliminate command, the elite version wins against the one with hardened shields (like 20% hull left?) and this is a pretty weak showing since once things get low it dinks around at the edge of TPC and gauss range and entirely negates its advantage. (it also vents waaay too much but this is i think a pressure thing. My AI onslaughts don't vent in combat.) The main reason it does win is because in the initial trades its weapons don't turn off from taking damage(and because it doesn't flux up during the initial exchange where it tends to burn in). The non-elite version which has HN's and a hellbore in the front wins with like 60% hull (it still vents for no good goddamn reason and fails to push forward for no good goddamn reason) but it wins much harder. Again, because in the initial engagement its weapons aren't turning off.
In general because of the single target and preservation AI this tends to feel worse than in the campaign where there will be lots of smaller ships and more pressure. Its also a pretty non-ideal situation because you're fighting something with very long range weapons when you're at a flux disadvantage due to the primary type being kinetic and one side having hardened shields.