Match 1:
Zen (Mayasura) + Hunts (VMT) vs.
=PB= (Mayasura) + Rowimk (Diable)Summary: Team 1 had a solid game plan. Team 2 had good PD, but was overfluxed, had no way to seriously apply pressure and had insufficient fighter superiority, so being ground down was inevitable.
Spoiler
Zen (Mayasura) + Hunts (VMT)
2x Javanicus – Solid PD/Locust wall to defend the Valkyries. I think the Hornets could probably be Sabots to help out the Khopeshes, and GCAI/ECCM are probably less useful than something like Hardened Shields to make the Javanicii nigh-unkillable.
33/34x CH Valkyries – CH Khopeshes were not something I expected, but they performed much better than I thought. It could maybe be optimized a little more (what’s the point of that one vent?) but on the whole it’s a fine loadout.
=PB= (Mayasura) + Rowimk (Diable)
1x Arjuna – I think if you aren’t going for massive missile saturation like 33 Khopesh wings, you’re better off just massing interceptors to attain fighter superiority. Otherwise, I like the choice of Proximity Charge Launchers, and there’s enough LRPD to make a nice no-missile zone. It’s a bit heavy on flux, so 22 of those 28 caps probably should have been shoved into vents
2x Sarissa – I personally hate heavy burst lasers, especially since you don’t have LRPD to drop missiles into one-shot range. Small Harpoons without EMR aren’t very cost effective, but I suppose they’re better than nothing. HIL with no shield cracking, nor ITU seems a bit strange to me. IMO this is a ship that isn’t sure if it wants to be a carrier or a line ship, and hence fails at both.
1x Panda – 5153 weapon flux and 600 shield flux on 1700 dissipation is simply unsustainable. No wanzers with the built-in Servicing Gantry seems a bit strange to me, but I don’t really know the mechanics behind it. Heavy armor is okay given the Panda’s terrible base armor. Hardened subsystems seems questionable to me – in what situation are you going to run out of PPT where the fight hasn’t already been decided. Still liking the PCL, but this ship seems doomed to fail.
3x Derechos – Seem decent, I dunno.
Match 2:
Kissa Mies (JP) + Johan (DME) vs.
Gal Paladin (DME) + Starasp (VSP)Summary: Two hella scary fleets made for an incredibly exciting match. Both of them are teams to watch in the future. I’m curious if the match would have gone significantly differently had JP gone Reckless over Aggressive, but I can’t fault anyone’s decisions here.
Spoiler
Kissa Mies (JP) + Johan (DME)
3x Mastiff – Solid!
4x Langoustine – 7200 is the break-even point for Hardened Shields on destroyers, so I heartily approve.
4x Wirefox – Looking good. Not sold on the Tactical Laser, but it’s probably decent pressure.
4x Wanderer – Not a huge fan of Phase Lances, but the loadout looks good. My inexperience with DME is showing, heh.
1x Normandy – I’m always down for Extreme Mods. I think ECM package is overrated, but dedicated carriers don’t really need much else, so it seems fine to me.
3x d’Erlon – See Normandy comments. The Mystere Fighter-Bombers are attached to Timid carriers, which, depending on how the carrier AI works, might not be the best idea though.
Gal Paladin (DME) + Starasp (VSP)
4x Bomber Reef & 3x Interceptor Reef – Solid.
2x Cargo Rig – Easy 10% Nav Relay bonuses. I’m not exactly sure how much these ships cost, but they seem like a good addition.
1x Tyrant – I haven’t designed a Tyrant before, but this looks good. LDMGs are for anti-fighter I’m guessing. Broadswords are Low-Tech and hence illegal, but I don’t blame Thaago/Starasp for not noticing :heh:. This Tyrant is given Aggressive AI, which I think is the right call given how many interceptors Gal Paladin brought. I personally don’t like Squalls without EMR (would probably opt for Locust), but using Mjolnirs means less kinetic damage, so it’s probably the right call.
2x Intimidator – Is Advanced Optics necessary for this ship? Seems a bit expensive for +200 range on a single weapon.
2x Subjugator – Mix of Harpoons and Annihilators is interesting; I’d perhaps swap the order of them so the Annihilators are better suppression for the Harpoons, but it looks fine.
Match 3:
Paul_Kauphart (VMT) + NaitNait (Blackrock) vs.
Cums (Tiandong) + Menhir (Blackrock)Summary: Imo Team 2 didn’t have enough damage and aggression to properly threaten stuff like Victories and Sunders and the Morpheus, so I guess this was a fleet design victory rather than a ship design one (given that both teams had alright ship loadouts). Respect for using a Morpheus. Epstein didn’t kill himself.
Spoiler
Paul_Kauphart (VMT) + NaitNait (Blackrock)
1x Victory – I think this is the same Victory Paul brought to the 7th Starsector tournament. Still solid, but it looks like some weapon group optimizations are available here (e.g. alternating Harpoons). Also probably too much OP spend on the back Burst PD Lasers.
2x HIL Sunders – Same Sunders as in the 7th as well, I think. Also good, but my guess is that the Reapers wouldn’t be able to accurate hit anything short of a capital ship.
1x Monitor – I hate Monitors, but this one seems aight.
2x Alastor – One of these Alastors sniped the ally Morpheus, so this was possibly the best ship on the enemy team! :V
2x Brawler – I don’t know if Brawlers are a good choice in a mass-fighter tournament, but they look good in a vacuum.
2x Eurypterus – Tach Lances on destroyers are cool. Is that an XCOM reference?
1x Scorpion – Here’s where I point out that I know basically nothing about Blackrock. I don’t see anything egregious here though.
2x Typheus – Hardened subsystems on this thing means it can even outlast some cruisers, which is a cool touch.
2x Robberfly – If you had to shove these in I’d definitely just use it for Nav Relay/ECM auras, especially if you’re going to set them up with Timid AI. Could be a decent distraction though.
1x Mantis – Same as the Scorpion. Seems fine but I don’t know enough to say.
1x Morpheus – Dope. I think you could eschew a few caps to add strike missiles to those empty universal slots, but it’s good.
Cums (Tiandong) + Menhir (Blackrock)
3x Shouren – Reminder that Epstein didn’t kill himself. Decent loadouts too, but that’s less important.
2x Hanzhong – Another reminder that only cowards don’t use shield bypass (esp. on a high-armor-terrible-shield ship like the Hanzhong), but this loadout is good and similar to the ones my team tested against in practice.
2x Hujing – CH Mining pods is inspired. I don’t know if it’s any good, but it’s inspired.
1x Convergence – Would be cool if you could squeeze EDC in. It’s a good ship, but have you considered Extreme Mods?
1x Knight – Fine.
1x Kurmaraja – Also fine. Seems like the team in general is lacking in HE damage though, so those Serkets might be wasted.
3x Goblin – 1x LRPD might be a little too weak in the PD department, but I like the choice of max caps over vents here.
Match 4:
Mortia (SRA) + Avanitia (Tahlan) vs.
Carroy (Diable) + SCC (LoA)Summary: Edith + SB Siege Panda is glorious to watch. Also damnit I was just gonna copy everything Avanitia did.
Spoiler
Mortia (SRA) + Avanitia (Tahlan)
2x Vardr – Turreted HILs basically require ATGs so good to see that there, but it feels a bit anti-synergistic to run that and Expanded Magazines AND GCAI – like c’mon that’s the dream for Autopulse Lasers :V. No missiles is strange given how good they are in tournaments, but I don’t know anything about SRA so…?
5x Bungalow – Imo Bungalows are a trap, even with Valacors. Honestly pre-match I thought they’d do well, but 1.1 shields on a slow ship without a sizeable frontline, esp. on aggressive AI with burn drive, doesn’t work I guess? When your scouting ship is a Bungalow, you may be going too tall.
Carroy (Diable) + SCC (LoA)
1x Panda – Shield bypass and 4x Uhlan Siege Lasers is dreamy. Would have liked to see some cheap Wanzers or something with a bit less PD, but its one of those things you can’t decide without testing yourself. EDIT: I'm guessing no-fighters is useful for the zero-flux bonus when not firing, though I do question how often that will come up given the range of the Uhlans, plus the Panda's natural speed with Flicker Core.
4x Fractus – Excellent.
2x Hawke – I’m unfortunately unfamiliar with LoA, but it looks like these ships have more dissipation than necessary. Maybe the ship system uses flux?
3x Caswell – Looking good.
1x Burke – Cool I guess. Is this a ship that wants GCAI?
1x Edith – Top tier support, would commend.
1x Fox – I’m guessing this is here to fill DP.
Match 5:
TheKart (II) + Vayra (JP) vs.
Solinarius (VSP) + TheWikiFish (VLT)Summary: TheKart and Vayra are among the tournament favorites so this result isn’t surprising. The Reckless JP ships did huge work.
Spoiler
TheKart (II) + Vayra (JP)
1x AP Caesar – 4200 armor. This is a scary ship.
1x TP Matriarch – Good. Steady AI also seems appropriate.
6x Langoustine – I think Hardened Shields is wrong here – you have high weapon flux and lower capacity than the break-even point.
6x Hammer – Nice.
4x Wirefox – Aux thrusters is interesting and max caps looks right.
Solinarius (VSP) + TheWikiFish (VLT)
2x SO Typhon – Heavy Burst Lasers and Flare Guns are gross. Plasma is good, but this ship really needed to be given Reckless AI over Aggressive.
4x Dire Wolf - Heavy Burst Lasers and Flare Guns are still gross. Some strange hull mods like ECM that probably should have gone into more caps and vents.
2x Punisher – Punishers are light cruisers right? Seems strange that you’d use them and build them as your front line (30 caps) when VLT has Dominators and Onslaughts available.
3x Kite – Ok.
2x Condor – See Thaago on good things you can say about Condors.
2x Lasher – A strange mishmash of weapons and hull mods.
2x Striker – A strange mishmash of weapons and hull mods.
3x Buffalo – More CH mining pods. I think at this point you’re better off with Makeshift Shields. Nav Relay and ECM are nice to have I guess.
Match 6:
Astraltor (II) + Blothorn (Tiandong) vs.
DaddyPants (VLT) + Rubin (me!) (Tahlan)Summary: No strong frontline nor fighter superiority on Team 1. I don’t think going wide is very good on II. Tiandong could use some buffs on the heavy cruiser/capital end imo. Nia pls give back Hresvelgr (LI).
Spoiler
Astraltor (II) + Blothorn (Tiandong)
4x Harpoon Basileus – Looks good. They’ll probably be scared any time they see a missile since they have no PD, and I think Harpoons are way better with ECCM (have you considered adding Extreme Mods? (don’t actually this ship only has two engines)), but these are good.
1x Decurion – Okay.
5x Princeps – These look fine, but maybe the vents would be better off as caps and there’s a pretty big speed mismatch for the fighters.
1x Praetorian – Probably too many tach lasers.
3x Tianshui – Looks decent. Could possibly use Extreme Mods to make space for EDC.
1x Wujang – Sure. Unfortunately it looks like this ship has no strong front-line to keep it safe.
2x Shouren – Okay, but a bit uninspiring imo.
DaddyPants (VLT) + Rubin (me!) (Tahlan)
23x CH Buffalos – Some Drakes and some Talons. I don’t know how DaddyPants designs these things – they look genuinely disgusting to me – but they’re dope.
1x Hound – Nav relay and ECM and fills the last 3 DP. Hold up, Hounds only have 2 engines – was this thing spinning out during engine malfunctions?
3x Yukikaze – SYNERGY IS FOR SCRUBS AND SQUARES.
Match 7:
FrancoDeGolla (VHT) + Yuof (LoA) vs.
LightningJC (SCY) + =PB= (Seeker)Summary: High Tech Best Tech.
Spoiler
FrancoDeGolla (VHT) + Yuof (LoA)
1x Paragon – Standard and good Paragon. Sabots could maybe be Linked. No shield bypass makes me sad.
6x Vayra Omens – The gold standard.
1x Apogee – HIL + Squall is a nice combo, plus FrancoDeGolla added Advanced Optics and EMR. Bit low on PD, but you have Omens to fill in the gap so no complaints! (Except for the Swarmer, heh.)
2x Macnamara – I guess the Babyhawks aren’t supposed to be a thing, but the loadout looks good.
1x Edith – Yus.
2x Caswell – I haven’t been mentioning it thus far, but Reliants really aren’t good PD guys. Still, Omens + they’re backline carriers so it’s all good.
LightningJC (SCY) + =PB= (Seeker)
SCY Stuff: LightningJC & =PB= have graciously described their ship roles in the variant names and I don’t know anything about SCY, so go read those instead.
3x Whirlwind – I dunno, Whirlwinds feel too slow to SO personally, and Heavy Blaster + Plasma Cannon together seems like unnecessary overkill. I think something like a Heavy Ion Blaster would have been really cool to see.
1x Bully – I don’t like MKIXs.
1x Pest - +1 free OP is simply optimal.
Match 8:
dansi212 (SCY) + KnightOfTigers (DME) vs.
Archaeon (Mayasura) + Arkangelmark5 (ORA)Summary: I think more and more we see the importance of having a mix of wide and tall. Lots of these losing fleets simply do not have a strong anchor to rely on.
Spoiler
dansi212 (SCY) + KnightOfTigers (DME)
2x Corocotta (Armored) – Gee, I’m not qualified to say anything about this ship/faction. Looks good.
2x Corocotta – I don’t know if these are overfluxed, or if this is just a SCY thing.
1x Erymanthian Boar – Singularity Torpedoes are cool and recognizable. Not sure if there’s follow-up for them though.
5x Wanderer – Cool, but I feel like DME lends itself too much to carriers and fighters to not roll with CH.
2x Normandy – Slight fighter speed mismatch. Not a fan the Lightning Gun. As with all carriers I think it could use EDC (Have you considered Extreme Mods).
Archaeon (Mayasura) + Arkangelmark5 (ORA)
3x Flak Perryi – Flare guns: still gross. Otherwise nice variant. Not sure if Reckless AI is the play here.
5x HVD Perryi – Cool.
4x Stingray – Heavy Burst Lasers and Flare Guns – Bleh! EDC and Extreme Mods though, so + for that.
6x Peltast – Nav Relay over ECM is interesting.
2x Enlightenment – Hm… the only things I dislike more than HBLs and Flare Guns would have to be Paladin PD and Blast Doors – oh. ARU + Extreme Mods, plus Mini Blaster Arrays make me smile though.
Match 9:
Hrothgar Heavenlight (VSP) + neptix (II) vs.
AsterPiano (VMT) + Deskup (Sylphon)Summary: The key takeaway here is that if you’re not building for fighter superiority, you absolutely need Reckless personality on your ships.
Spoiler
Hrothgar Heavenlight (VSP) + neptix (II)
2x Persecutor – Seems okay.
4x Bruiser – Better than a brawler imo, though I don’t remember its DP cost.
15x Razorbacks – I like these, but they need Reckless AI over Aggressive.
1x Matriarch – Inferno MIRVs aren’t great missiles imo, but I see the intention here. Also it has +2 OP over the maximum, whoops!
3x Sabot/Harpoon Basileus – I like these a lot, assuming the Harpoons are linked.
4x Inferno/Ion Basileus – I don’t like these a lot – just some underwhelming missiles.
AsterPiano (VMT) + Deskup (Sylphon)
8x Khopesh Valkyries – ITU Railguns are an interesting choice – works quite well against opponents that won’t push it. Aggressive AI certainly helps.
24x Thunder Valkyries – So I guess these are preferable to Drovers for some reason?
2x Tilia – Nav Relay over ECM again – very curious. No EDC on dedicated carriers still bothers me (I hear there’s a cool hullmod to get more OP for little downside on your carriers).
1x Etrika – Looks hella overfluxed, but I’m a dumb and don’t know anything about Sylphon.
1x Repelkia – Cool. Also I want to mention how I’m constantly confused by people’s decisions to throw in caps over vents seemingly at random – is there a reason to go 5 more caps instead of finishing off the vents here?
1x Celika – Double Lances are bleh, but at least you have fighter superiority and therefore more chances to break through shields.
1x Tarima (SC) – More heavily overfluxed ships with strange cap/vent ratios.
Match 10:
Connortron7 (Blackrock) + BulbasaurWizard (Diable) vs.
Nia (SRA) + Knight Chase (LoA)Summary: These fleets seemed pretty evenly matched with nothing cheesy or crazy. Trans rights. Thank goodness matches are Bo1.
Spoiler
Connortron7 (Blackrock) + BulbasaurWizard (Diable)
1x Kurmaraja – I still don’t like Lightning Guns, but I do like the Gauss. Unfortunately, it’s overfluxed with so much OP being spend on caps. No EDC for a 4-deck carrier again.
1x Convergence – Taipan feels slightly wasted here with the slow speed of the other fighters, but otherwise it’s cool.
2x Eurypterus – two different variants, both seem pretty cool. The Gale Battery one I think should swap the allocations to caps and vents.
3x Goblin – Eh, not a huge fan of the BPDL and Light Phase Lance ones, but in the end they’re 3 DP ships – they don’t make a major difference I think.
1x Maelstrom – Solid. Empty universals are kind of sad to see but what can you do.
1x Daze – Also solid.
1x SO Hayle – Not sure if Hayles are good SO material, but that might be my inexperience with Diable showing. Good cap/vent allocation.
2x Fractus – Good.
2x Vapor – Alright.
Nia (SRA) + Knight Chase (LoA)
1x Skadi – Dope. No EDC makes me sad, but it looks like a solid battle carrier.
2x Charybdis – Same as Skadi.
1x Lyons – Looks a bit heavy on flux and a bit lacking on PD, but maybe the fighters will cover for that.
2x Osmond – Am I missing something – what is the Advanced Optics for here? EDIT: Ah, the Tachyon Lance sorta just blends in. In any case, I'm not sure it's a worthwhile investment, spending 10 OP for 200 range on a single weapon.
2x Victoria – Cool cool.
1x Caswell – Nice.
1x Thatcher – Is having a singular SO ship a good idea? Seems mighty strange to me. Loadout looks good though.
1x Edith – Game-saving game crashes.