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[OrangeLima]

I think a AI change would reflect the entire attitude behind the buffalo at least, it should pop all its middles in a very aggressive and forward manner, reflecting the fact that it is a death trap.

Then again, AI changes may be hard.... I am sorry, I don't know how this stuff works too well :S

[Alex]

Very good point about the AI. I'll take a look at it and see what I can do.

[Reshy]

The conquest seems a bit weak too, even with me going in and modifying it.  A dominator can take it down without suffering more than 50% hull in most cases.  Wonder why this is occuring.

[Chancellor Meatsteak]

I think the Conquest is plenty strong; it has the most flux capacity and venting of any ship save for the Paragon, is faster than most capital ships, and can carry a very respectable weapons loadout (the Onslaught can point more weapons in one direction, but doesn't have the flux to back it up. The Paragon also outguns it, but that goes without saying).

If you mean in the hands of the AI then... yeah. The AI doesn't seem to understand how to use the broadsides correctly; instead of attacking at an angle or coasting towards the target side-first it charges its target head on and tries to use Reapers on it before backing off and turning to use broadsides, and by then its inefficient shields would have taken a pounding and it no longer has enough flux to reliably fire its main weapons. The combination of strong broadsides, poor lateral acceleration (i.e. can't strafe well), and narrow and inefficient shields means the Conquest requires some tricky maneuvering to use well; and while that is exactly what makes it so much fun to pilot, it seems to also be what makes the AI struggle with it so much.

Alex, if you don't mind answering, how well does the Conquest fare with the upcoming AI changes? I noticed "Improved logic for deciding which side to turn towards enemy for broadsides" as part of the patch notes; but is that just a fix for the AI failing to compare the left and right broadsides with one another, or is there more to it than that?

[Alex]

Alex, if you don't mind answering, how well does the Conquest fare with the upcoming AI changes? I noticed "Improved logic for deciding which side to turn towards enemy for broadsides" as part of the patch notes; but is that just a fix for the AI failing to compare the left and right broadsides with one another, or is there more to it than that?

It does *much* better. A large part of that is it's system - Maneuvering Jets - which actually lets the stock configuration effectively alternate between a Reaper barrage and using its broadsides. For reference: it beats the stock Assault and Support Dominators while taking minimal damage (0 to hull in the few tests I just ran). I'd say power-wise, it's right about where it ought to be, in AI hands - loses to battleships, crushes anything smaller than itself.

As for coasting in at an angle, it still doesn't do that. A possible improvement down the line, but it's a tricky one to get right.

It has something of a hard time vs the Outdated Dominator, actually - due to how many Annihilators that thing can launch. It still beats it reliably, but it's a long battle and not a pretty one. These are all just 1-1's, though, which don't happen very often in the actual game.

[ClosetGoth]

Alex, one thing I want to know about the Conquest is whether it will straddle a pair of say, frigates, to use both broadsides at once.

[Reshy]

Alex, if you don't mind answering, how well does the Conquest fare with the upcoming AI changes? I noticed "Improved logic for deciding which side to turn towards enemy for broadsides" as part of the patch notes; but is that just a fix for the AI failing to compare the left and right broadsides with one another, or is there more to it than that?

It does *much* better. A large part of that is it's system - Maneuvering Jets - which actually lets the stock configuration effectively alternate between a Reaper barrage and using its broadsides. For reference: it beats the stock Assault and Support Dominators while taking minimal damage (0 to hull in the few tests I just ran). I'd say power-wise, it's right about where it ought to be, in AI hands - loses to battleships, crushes anything smaller than itself.

As for coasting in at an angle, it still doesn't do that. A possible improvement down the line, but it's a tricky one to get right.

It has something of a hard time vs the Outdated Dominator, actually - due to how many Annihilators that thing can launch. It still beats it reliably, but it's a long battle and not a pretty one. These are all just 1-1's, though, which don't happen very often in the actual game.

My customized dominators always win.  I don't know if that speaks the weakness of the standard design or the ship, however I tried pitting my custom Conquest against it and it still lost for whatever reason, though it was a lot more even.

[nonomo4]

  A custom coquest should have a good advantage in player command, especially if you balance it to destroy anything on the left or right. I can understand a ai mesing it up atm but under player controll, you can dominate.

[hadesian]

A player command ship will have many, many times the survivability and destructive capacity of an AI handled ship due to a human's advanced perception of kiting and such.

[Reshy]

A player command ship will have many, many times the survivability and destructive capacity of an AI handled ship due to a human's advanced perception of kiting and such.

This was an AI VS AI battle, it was wholly on autopilot.

[Aratoop]

Then give the conquest a custom-job. It's only fair . I don't know what alex was thinking when he made some of these...

[hadesian]

Then give the conquest a custom-job. It's only fair . I don't know what alex was thinking when he made some of these...

The conquest is one of the best ships in the game. By far. Yes, it partially suffers, but it's like an aurora with large ballistics...!

[OrangeLima]

I have successfully done what I like to call a conquest charge before, where you do a full escort on it, and then charge through the middle of the enemy, surrounded by interceptors to soak up fire, and allow your ship to have both sides on auto fire. This, IMHO, was the most powerful system defense breaking fleet tactic I can do.

Its hard to describe though, might film it :S

[MidnightSun]

The Conquest is an interesting ship, but its weak armor and inefficient shields mean that you have to get it just right--and then it'll pack a huge punch--but if not, you could wind up losing half your hull integrity.

The Last Hurrah is a good testament to that. Oftentimes, I lose that mission after a single mistake takes me too close to a pair of Dominators, or to the Onslaught. Other times, I can utterly crush the enemy while taking minimal damage to the hull.

I think the Conquest's main flaws are
1.- Incompetent AI, as of 0.52.1
2.- Insufficient passive flux venting (requiring heavy investment in vents)
3.- Reliance on large battery of energy PD (coupled with #2, that's not good)

Of course, there's the inherent relatively weak hull, but that goes with being a battlecruiser. To remedy this, I usually pilot Conquests myself. I use a custom loadout that is usually big-gun only, with no PD. For The Last Hurrah, I use a loadout with 2x Gauss Cannon, 2x HVD on each side, with no missiles.

The rest of the points go to hull mods and vents to boost maneuverability, increase range, increase ammo, and boost flux venting. A very effective fleet capital ship, as long as it has some PD support and explosive-damage companions.

With my custom Dominator, I can take down a stock AI Conquest while taking no hull or armor damage whatsoever. But that doesn't mean all too much.

[Chancellor Meatsteak]

...
2.- Insufficient passive flux venting (requiring heavy investment in vents)
...

This is not actually the case, the Conquest actually has plenty of flux dissipation to fire its weapons, the second most in the game. The preposterously high "Weapon Flux/Sec" stat displayed in the refit screen is a bit misleading, you will never use that much as you can only use one of your broadsides on any given target. With max vents and no mods that boost venting your Conquest loadout can continuously fire a broadside with the shields up and still have an extra 50 flux/sec to spare.