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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

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Messages - Sendrien

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1
General Discussion / Re: Legion XIV availability? And how do you fit them?
« on: February 05, 2024, 08:03:45 PM »
As for the fits, just post what you got. It's kind of in an unfortunate place of being split three ways(ballistics/missiles/fighters) with nowhere near enough OP to get it all, even after the buff(which to be fair is likely by design)

This looks ridiculous on paper, so this is one of those builds that you just have to try.

3x Heavy Needler, 2x Heavy Autocannon, 4 Vulcan Cannon, 2 Hammer Barrage, 1 Claw Fighter, 2 Sarissa Fighter, 1 Warthog Assault Fighter.

Armoured Weapon Mounts (S)
Hardened Shields (S)
Flux Coil Adjunct (S)
ITU
Expanded Missile Racks

If you're not in a position to have so many S-mods, Hardened Shields and FCA are pretty expendable.

(If you're not yet at the stage where you're dealing with heavily shielded enemies, then feel free to substitute more HE damage, or even Thumpers are pretty good in this situation.)

2
This is off-topic, but I am extremely curious as to how you are able to determine the damage percentages of each weapon. Is there some way to turn on weapon damage tracking that I don't know about?

3
General Discussion / 0.97a Seed Compatibility?
« on: February 02, 2024, 11:19:49 AM »
Since 0.97a is save-compatible with 0.96a, does that also mean that I can use a 0.96a seed for 0.97a and expect the exact same map and experience?

4
Bug Reports & Support / Reaper bounced off my Invictus?
« on: February 02, 2024, 09:57:03 AM »
My Invictus is equipped with 6 Gauss and 2 Pilums. I noticed an Aurora fire its Reaper at me, and to my surprise, it literally bounced right off the front of my Invictus. I've been trying to reproduce this situation in sim, but to no avail. Usually, the Gauss shots just rip right through the Reaper.

Thought I'd throw this in here in case Alex can figure out if there's some wonky interaction. If this is expected behaviour, please feel free to delete the thread.

5
General Discussion / Re: Help Required: 1 HP Challenge
« on: February 01, 2024, 07:26:43 PM »
So far, I've been able to get by with things like SO Scarab, SO Aurora and Paragon. But my instincts tell me that I'm going to need something completely different for Doritos.

I've been considering using a Radiant and some SO Monitors to fight Doritos, but I feel like the collective wisdom of this forum will come up with something far more optimal that I could theory-craft on my own.  ;D

6
General Discussion / Help Required: 1 HP Challenge
« on: February 01, 2024, 06:06:14 PM »
I'm currently trying to play an entire game without any of my ships taking a single hull point of damage. So far, indexing heavily into high tech ships, this has yielded great results. However, as I progress towards fights against Doritos, I'm starting to get worried.

Anyone have any ideas what kind of fleet might be able to take on this challenge?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions!

7
General Discussion / Re: XIV Onslaught loadout ?
« on: January 30, 2024, 12:04:32 PM »
My brother in Ludd what have you done. I make a hobby of collecting regrettable Onslaught fits I find on Reddit and such, and this... is a work of art because it looks like a horrible fit, but it actually works. It has EVERYTHING. Large slot PD. Thumpers. I see this take the field, rearing upwards into the clouds like Cthulu risen, and am struck dumb by it's horrifying, Stygian grandeur.

I'm grinning quite widely as I write this response.  ;D

Out of curiosity, did you actually find the constitution to pilot that obscene loadout? Because in my case, it took me three weeks after theory-crafting that it should work to bring myself to configure my XIV in such a fashion.  ;D ;D ;D

8
General Discussion / Re: XIV Onslaught loadout ?
« on: January 26, 2024, 11:32:26 AM »
Nah, the side large mounts don't converge in the front. But you could theoretically fly it broadside and use 2 large ballistics at once.

My (perhaps weak) justification for not having a front-facing ballistic source of HE is based on this premise. Worst case scenario, at the end of a fight, if I'm completely out of PCL ammo, I can still use the broadside Devastators to deal HE damage, with the additional perk that my front is the most likely to be missing armour by the end of a protracted conflict, so it might even be an advantage to use broadside fire in that circumstance. Don't know if that is considered optimal play though...

9
General Discussion / Re: XIV Onslaught loadout ?
« on: January 26, 2024, 11:08:02 AM »
I'll add that Sendrien's build might improve in the next patch as Thumper and Storm Needler are getting buffed, but PCLs are getting nerfed.

I've never liked this build's reliance on PCLs, and the fact that the source of HE damage is in some way "limited". With the upcoming changes in mind, what do you think would be a good replacement for those PCLs? I think LDACs are getting nerfed too, maybe I could switch those to LAGs.

10
General Discussion / Re: XIV Onslaught loadout ?
« on: January 26, 2024, 08:12:42 AM »
Hi evryone ! just a quick question, what would be the best endgame Onslaught loadout ? I have tested many different capital ships from many mods, but i always get back to the XIV Onslaught. I think it really fits my playstyle ( plus it looks incredible ). So any good loadout is welcome, i am looking for specialised loadout since i think i found i good all around one.

Thanks for your suggestion !

A few questions to better help you:

1. Are you planning to pilot it yourself?
1a. If so, what skills does your character have?
2. What other ships are in your fleet?
3. What fleet role are you using the ship for?
4. What enemies are you planning to use it to fight?

Here's a generalist build that I use for my own XIV which looks ridiculous, but is actually quite lethal, and has the advantage of being nearly impervious to missiles and torpedoes. Due to the side-mounted Devastators, it also has the advantage of being extremely good, even when surrounded. One weakness to keep in mind would be the sharp fall-off of HE damage as soon as your PCLs run out of ammo.



11
Announcements / Re: Starsector 0.96.1a (In Development) Patch Notes
« on: January 02, 2024, 07:39:32 AM »
Skills & related:
  • Missile Specialization:
    • Reduced bonus rate of fire to 25% (was: 50%)
    • Reduced bonus missile hitpoints to 25% (was: 50%)

    Weapons:
    • Squall: reduced missile hitpoints to 150 (was: 300)

The changes to Missile Spec and Squall were needed and are good changes, but it is important to be aware of ship hulls that are disproportionately impacted by such balance changes and also address them in the same patch. Otherwise, you can easily end up with ships that are functionally useless (i.e. a player trying to play optimally, rather than for challenge or role-playing reasons, would never use said ship in their fleet.)

With that in mind, I would like to suggest 3 ships whose power levels have likely dropped farther than intended with these changes, in order of severity:

Astral - Critical
With the changes to Missile Spec and Squall, the combat value it brings to the battlefield is so much lower than its DP cost. For the price of 2 Astrals, you could field 5 Herons, which also empower their 15 wings of fighters. Or, for 10 less DP than an Astral, you could have access to the Legion, which doesn't depend on Missiles for range, suppression or armour shredding. The Astral already didn't bring enough to the table to justify 50 DP, now, with its primary weapon against shields nerfed so heavily, it effectively depends on fighters to deal with the shields, leaving the Large Missile slots for strike capabilities. Being so low on the power list already, the Astral does not need to have even less flexibility weighing it down even further.

Apogee - Moderate
I realize that this is not meant to be a combat ship. That being said, if the Squall ends up being a less desirable option for the Large Missile slot, this is going to severely limit how the Apogee can be built, due to the off-center orientation of the slot. The most logical alternatives are MIRV and Dragonfire, but both of these are HE damage, and the Apogee, whose primary weapon is a Large Energy slot, is not going to have many practical options to deal with shields. In turn, this weakness means that the Apogee will likely require escorts that shore up its weaknesses, but that eliminates one of the main reasons why people would put an Apogee in their fleet in the first place.

Champion - Low
This is nowhere near as severe as the first two, but worth mentioning, because the changes to Missile Spec and Squall will likely result in a decrease in the effective combat range of the Champion. And given its shield profile, this will force it into much more dangerous situations to bring its full firepower to bear, but there are going to be ships far better suited to those closer ranges than the Champion. (Dominator and Eagle come to mind).

--

I bring this up in the hopes that Alex will consider the impact of the upcoming changes to the power levels of these ships, and make any adjustments he deems necessary to ensure that these ships can perform in a manner consistent with their DP cost and intended role within a fleet without being dominated by other ships who can perform that role better and/or cheaper, with little to no trade-offs.

12
General Discussion / Re: Astral feels like a waste of dp.
« on: December 24, 2023, 11:43:09 AM »
I feel like this thread is super relevant here! Not to say that the Astral is in a perfect place or some such but there are some really interesting ideas there about what type of fighter mix to use to keep the replacement rate high, and how to use the ship as a "line ship" which would also make it more interesting for player piloting.

I would like to specify one distinction which pertains more to the OP's thesis: a lot of what works or makes something good in a monofleet breaks down in "normal" play. I have no statistical basis for this claim, but I strongly suspect (as an experienced player of the game) that most players eschew the Astral in favour of other carriers because the value/DP is too low for their fleet's needs. I suspect that this value/DP will decline further with the upcoming changes to Missile Specialisation and Squall.

That being said, I readily accept the premise that multiple Astrals can hold their own, even in their current iteration, especially when built with the ideas promoted by CapnHector.

13
General Discussion / Re: Astral feels like a waste of dp.
« on: December 24, 2023, 11:10:14 AM »
Astral is iconic? Why?
The OG big carrier. Legion is from 0.8a.

Also, aesthetically its shape/features are like no other in the game. I would go so far as to say that it is the most recognisable ship in the Sector.

14
General Discussion / Re: Astral feels like a waste of dp.
« on: December 24, 2023, 08:56:53 AM »
Kinda suggested it because felt somewhat appropiate for such a massive carrier. But the hullmods you suggested sound pretty cool.

It does make sense for such a large carrier! I suppose the real deciding factor will be whether Alex wants to give the Astral a bit more TLC, or if he just wants to make use of what's available in the existing game. ;D

Either way, I think the goal should be to give the Astral a very significant boost to its abilities as a carrier to justify the current DP cost.

I really hope Alex does weigh in on this, as the Astral is such an iconic ship, and it feels extremely lacklustre in its current form.

15
General Discussion / Re: Astral feels like a waste of dp.
« on: December 24, 2023, 07:25:39 AM »
Well as i said before if Astral needs to keep up mpre why not add drover's B-Deck hullmod to it?

I always think that recycling built-in hullmods should be viewed as a last resort, rather than a first resort. For the simple reason that if you do that too often, it dilutes the uniqueness of each ship, while depriving the game of opportunities for further innovations in gameplay mechanics.

If I were a modder, I would probably implement your suggestion without hesitation! But for the main game, and especially since the Astral has been around for such a long time, I do believe it deserves a little better than to share a hullmod with a Drover.

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