So as the update drops, we'll all seek out and work with a "playstyle" for ourselves. As such, I have found my own during my time in 0.9.
I have found a playstyle for this particular run.
This was the fleet at the "end-game"
Yeah... quite flashy for a fleet, ain't it? I know I said High Tech, Best Tech but I guess it's "Tempests and Omens are the best"? Those who are accustomed to 0.8 would know the changes the Tempest has gone through. Question is, has it been changed for better, or for worse? A somewhat lengthy playthrough has given me some time to properly review it and here are my thoughts.
So, a rundown of the Tempest, the spotlight of the fleet.
It's
fast, 180 speed. Only the Hound has the same base speed, whilst the Hound (A) sits at the top at 198. But in comparison to the Tempest, it's very weak. It may have more hull and armor but overall a Tempest is arguably more durable due to fact that it actually has a shield. (Let alone an efficient shield which is supported by a big flux pool) However, there are ships that are faster than these ships due to their systems. Such as the Scarab with it's temporal shell or phase frigates in general.
It also comes with 2 medium energy slots supported by High Energy Focus. Which gives the Tempest great firepower in a such a small package, making the ship itself deadly. Real nasty when used with the right weapons. More on that later.
Last but not least, Terminator drones...
These drones brought great frustration upon those who were unfortunate enough to face it back in 0.8. Exceptionally nimble and equipped with an Ion Pulser, it was notorious for keeping ships in a disabled state. However that drone is no more in 0.9, and it has changed.
The Ion Pulser has been removed and been replaced with a PD laser. At first glance this change may seem underwhelming and a nerf. But it is so much more. I do not know the details of the Terminator Core hullmod, but one thing that it does is ignore decoy flares from broadswords and such. As to why this change is amazing, observe.
The PD lasers
shoot over allies, giving them
insane stacking potential. Previously the Tempest's system was active flares but it not as effective as several stacked Terminator drones. Flares don't kill fighters either, which the drones can do fairly well. Which is why I feel Tempest swarms are somewhat more effective than others due to the PD they bring.
Another key point is that they're still drones, which means
you can vent while still being protected by PD which is an invaluable trait and should be taken advantage of if you get the chance.
Icing on the cake.If you tried to play with a Tempest swarm in 0.8, you'll either fall to a death ball of missiles or fighters. Now? Maybe, but the chances of that happening have been slimmed down severely. Overall. I felt like the Tempest got buffed. You won't be missing that Ion Pulser, trust me.
Next up in the spotlight, the Omen.
The sidekick of the Tempest.
Base speed of 155, it can fairly catch up with the Tempest and won't fall too far behind to be an issue. You can always add in Unstable Injector if you so desire.
It's a fairly simple ship, 2 small energies, 1 small missile. Very nice flux pool and very efficient shield at 0.6. It can tank a few good hits with it's shield on before running back to vent it all away and come back for more.
It also comes with ECM which is always nice.
The highlight of this ship is the system, however. The EMP emitter. It zaps missiles, fighters and ships alike. Making it an amazing PD ship alongside the Tempest. It also comes with the added bonus of a very painful EMP package. Able to disable whole ships if done right. Consider this to be your Ion Pulser alternative.
Honestly if you ask me, I think it needs to be tuned down significantly.
Then there's the Astral, Aurora and Doom. (which I didn't use much, or at all)
But i'll go through them later.
You're probably looking at the fleet and thinking that it's only possible to acquire this number of Omens and Tempests with heavy industry and their respective blueprints, right? Well, somewhat. I managed to get 15 Tempests and as many Omens before I found their blueprints. How, you may ask. There is a way to acquire these en-masse without blueprints.
As you can see here, not only Tri Tachyon markets spawn Tempests...
Persean League markets as well. In this image I was lucky enough to get 2. Best part is that 90% of the Tempests I find in these markets come with only 1 Dmod.
The League markets are clustered in systems and are right next to one another. Allowing me to "system hop" and go check every League market for Tempests and Omens, Hybrasil is also nearby this chain of League systems which also houses 2 Tri Tachyon markets. Everytime I pass by this chain of systems, I always try to check the markets for Tempests and Omens. I can reliable get 1-3 Tempests after jumping through 3 systems.
Rinse and repeat and with patience, you'll have a fleet of Tempests and Omens in no time.
So, onto combat. Tempests have the speed to pick their fights. So use that to your advantage. Swarm frigates and burst them down, and go after the bigger ships such as destroyers after they're isolated. Once you nail the tatic down, you'll be able to kill fleets bigger than yours in no time. And fighter swarms are less effective against you the more Tempests you stack together for reasons stated earlier. So the bigger the swarm, the better.
(Here's a video of the tatic at work.)
However, you'll be having issues trying to kill bricks such as a Venture due to it's heavy armor.
Now now, didn't say it was impossible, did I?
As you can see, with just a few Tempests and maybe bring an Omen to support. You can kill pirate fleets a lot bigger than you no freaking sweat, so if you see one early-game, do not hesitate to buy it. It may be pricey but it'll be worth it in the end. Good at hunting Derelicts too for the same reasons.
Then as I continued to play, I eventually got the blueprints and started to organise the fleet. (As seen in the first picture above) It consisted of 5 squads.
Each squad consists of:
6 Tempests with varying variants
2 Omens
First is the Burst variant.
This is what I usually flag, 2 Phase Lances combined with HEF melts holes in armor pretty quick, which is it's primary role. It's pretty straight forward and simple. But I only have 1 of these per squad.
Second is the Attack variant.
2 Pulses. 600 range, good damage, fair efficiency, and deals hard flux. The balanced, all rounders of the squad. I have 2 of these in a squad. Missiles are a mix of Salamanders, Hammers and Reapers.
Third is the Heavy variant.
Heavy Blaster, not the most efficient thing out there but this thing can crack armor just as good and unlike the Phase Lances, deals hard flux. If you can't find any Heavy Blasters, Mining Blasters are a fair alternative, don't be afraid to use them, they get the job done either way. I have 2 of these in a squad.
Fourth is the Ion and Fast variant.
Simple, the support of the squad. The Ion fills a more general support role, firing an Ion beam at range, disabling enemies. The Fast variant is more of an interceptor. Usually used for bullying and harassing retreating ships. Unstable Injector on a Tempest is no joke. I have one Ion variant in the first 3 squads, while I have one Fast variant in the last 2 squads.
And finally, the Omen.
Pretty simple build. PD lasers for even more PD, Salamander for support. Hardened Shields to make it even more survivable than it already is.
I sometimes swap out the Salamander and Hardened Shields and replace it with a Sabot rack and Expanded Missile Racks.
Then there's the Aurora, it follows the vanilla Balanced variant. Astral comes with 3 Longbows and Daggers.
Doom? As for how amazing it is, yeah, I'm aware.
However, Doom mines and frigate swarms don't mix. HEHSo the Doom is just there to tag along and watch the show..
For commander skills... Coordinated Maneuvers, seriously.
Don't neglect it.Then finally.. Stations..
Honestly? We've gone through everything. Throw that fleet at a Low Tech or Midline Star Fortress and watch it crumble. I didn't even need support from the Doom, Astral or Aurora.
Then we get into the High Tech Star Fortress...
Ohhh how much I hated this thing. I can't kill it without the help from the Astral and Aurora.
Unlike the Low Tech and Midline station, the High Tech station comes with modules that actively places mines. Think Doom's system but at a ludicrous range. It likes to place mines in the middle of the swarm and there's no time to react. Taking out 1-3 frigates per explosion.
And the use of Fortress Shields... It's on the 3 drones that circle it and the Citadel of the station, that head that pops out. Your ships will go after the drones whilst their Fortress Shield is on, while they get pelted by 3 Pulses.
There's also the fact that the shield and weapon modules are separate. So fluxing out the shield does not flux out the weapons platform.
Put all these together and you got yourself a chaotic battlefield with mines appearing left and right.
I guess I still did it?
So, I guess High Tech, Best Tech?
Thanks for reading through this post!
Here's a video I made as well. (It contains spoilers so please do not share to those who are not interested in such things as I don't want to ruin a full SS experience for others.)
Enjoy!
