Wow, I tried it but wasn't so impressed, can you share your build?
sure, though i don't think it needs a super special loadout to do it. just one that can take a lot of shield damage without getting flux-locked too quickly, and one that can punish the Onslaught for venting. the Typhoons i use actually almost never get hits on the Onslaught (almost all the actual damage is done by the Shards and Sunfire) because its PD is just too strong. but they do prevent it from just venting while the Antaeus could easily punish it with double Reapers, whereas the officer-piloted Antaeus does have enough armor durability to make some aggressive vents even while under pressure from Annihilators.
this is the loadout i use in my campaign. it has the +10% OP from player skills, but isn't actually purpose-built specifically to counter an Onslaught. just a general beefy loadout designed to go toe-to-toe with other big guys, or otherwise act as a fleet anchor in large engagements:
armor state after the duel:
this loadout is without the +10% OP, but more purpose-built to counter the Onslaught in a face-to-face duel, sacrificing some rear protection and weapon range that don't matter much in an engagement with only one enemy:
armor state after the duel:
in both cases, this is the officer i use. at lvl 20, with the +50% missile hp, the duel would likely be even more one-sided:
a couple things to note here:
- the armor damage taken isn't always
that minor, often armor gets breached at the nose while venting under Annihilator fire, and taking some hull damage in the process. but it does still win the duel in most cases, and usually quite handily.
- the officer is obviously a huge advantage compared to the simulator Onslaught. however, i still think it shouldn't be able to win a duel
by engaging the Onslaught directly from the front, especially not so easily, with having most of its armor and hull remaining afterwards in most attempts.
- yes, this is purely under AI control. i just started the simulator and deployed the Onslaught, then enabled autopilot.
- if pure AI control is not quite enough for an Antaeus loadout to win the duel, just giving an Eliminate command at the start can make a big difference, because it makes the Antaeus more willing to vent aggressively, and engage even while at high flux -- both of which can be very helpful against the Onslaught's weapon range superiority. this could also be counted as an unfair advantage against the simulator ship, but is an advantage the player can often make use of in actual battles as well. and these screenshots were made without that additional advantage.