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[TJJ]

I finally got my hands on one in the campaign, and while the sensor range is a nice perk, and the range boost of the drones is great, I just can't come up with a build for it to justify its costly maintenance & rather inconsequential effect in combat.

Any suggestions?

Max level, so all mods available, and 175 OP.
Needs to have Augmented Engines in there, as my fleet is burn 9.

[borgrel]

Plasma Cannon
Cyclone Reaper or Trebuchet MIRV
and tac lasers and PD

..... what more do u need?

http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=11274.0

The Apogee, with its powerful shield emitter, large flux capacity and dissipation is an adept of the flux war. It also comes with two sensor drones, increasing its range and fending off close opponents with their ion cannons. All of this makes the Apogee an exceptionally tricky opponent to approach and take down, making it the closest thing to a "backbone" ship you can get among high-tech vessels. Oh, it's also a freighter too! Always handy to have enough room for your supplies and fuel.

Its weird weapon loadout also gives it a surprising sting, covering all its flanks without neglecting the prow. Again, an all beam Apogee is as safe as you can get, a Tachyon lance backed by tac lasers and a Hurricane does a good job at keeping enemies at bay. Something with an Autopulse also works if you need more oomph and tanking for the rest of your fleet.

[Megas]

You will want Augmented Engines.  (You know what I say about Augmented Engines in general.)

I suspect Hardened Shields is great idea for Apogee, but I almost never have Advanced Physics 10 to unlock that.

I see two major builds for Apogee: sniper with plasma cannon and beams, and brawler with autopulse laser, AM blasters, and maybe heavy blasters in the back.

My last Apogee was Plasma Cannon in the large mount, Tactical Lasers in the other energy mounts, and Salamanders and Pilums for missiles.  The idea is to hang back, blast things with plasma cannon, and tactical lasers for long-range PD.  Requires IPDAI and Advanced Turret Gyros for Tac Lasers to work as PD.  If you do not have the hullmods to make Tac Lasers effective PD, use (heavy) burst lasers in the turrets.  You still probably want one Tac Laser in a hardpoint to poke things from a far (to make them keep shields up, until that gets patched next release).

[TJJ]

Tried a few builds, and it seems such a contradictory ship.

It's got a glorious shield (just begging for Hardening), yet its alpha-strike potential is unimpressive and making it a close-up brawler wastes the range benefit of the drones.
If you do make it an in-your-face brawler using Safety Overrides, you're torn between putting OP in vents (for double reward), or capacitors (again, roughly double reward); as you don't have the OP for both, it's wasteful.
A humble Medusa makes for a better tanky brawler.

As a kiting ship, you largely waste the shield, and at least 1 of the small frontal mounts.
Then, even with the range boost from the drones, Energy mounts simply don't make good kiting weapons.

The missile mounts are ....meh; awkward positioning, and the large mount weapons give too little bang-for-the-OP.

Having cargo space is a plus, but the way combat mechanics work at the moment, there's absolutely no point in having dual purpose combat/cargo ships. Better to have dedicated combat ships with a back-line of Buffalo.

I want to love it(it certainly took long enough to get a hold of one legitimately!), but its flexibility just seems redundant & sub-optimal when faced with the current AI + campaign mechanics.

[Megas]

No argument on missile mounts.  Some can aim Reapers with it, but that is too much of a hassle for me.  It used to be good when MIRVs were unlimited.  Now, I put Pilums in the large mount if I have max Missile Spec. or leave it empty.  MIRVs and Squalls go empty fast, and Locust seems underwhelming.  If you pilot the ship and can aim with Reapers, it is good; otherwise, a royal pain to use effectively.

I used to put ion cannons on the front when they had 600 range, but the current 500 range is too short to complement anything useful in the large energy mount.  Now, the only small weapon worth it for a sniper is a tactical laser to poke enemies (and make them raise shields).  For a brawler, two AM blasters are good for autopulse (when drained) or heavy blaster.  If you get close enough to use AM blasters, two heavy blasters from the rear add more damage.

[Harmful Mechanic]

I've never found a better rig for the bow than 2x AM Blaster + Autopulse. Tach Lance is a close second though.
Missiles are usually Hurricane/Salamander or Pilum/Swarmer.
Burst PD in the small energy turrets and Pulse Lasers or Phase Lances in the mediums (Heavy Blasters are tempting but not really worth it; you don't need anti-armor, you need hard flux and butt-coverage).

With the range extension from the drones + cruiser-grade ITU you're a beast; +65% extra range on everything but the Antimatter Blasters will feel it the most. It's tempting to kite, but I think you're better off brawling from medium-long range.

[Abradolf Lincler]

My build is always Autopulse laser on the front, with some tac lasers. two graviton beams, hurricane MIRV, burst PD, I like extended mags for the autopulse and extended missile racks. along with a dedicated targeting core. I invest in skills that allow me to turn and go faster, along with that one skill(can't remember the name) that gives you no flux speed boost up to 25% flux, this allows me to go around 150 Su/s with me shields up and out turn some destroyers, which is very important with all your frontal firepower. I generally go with stabilized shields and invest the rest into vents. and I don't really care what I use for a small missile, but sabots are nice for taking out shields

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[HELMUT]

I didn't find the Apogee to be a very interesting flagship, some plasma/cyclone combo can still works if done right, but you'd be better piloting something else.

It's more a cruiser you hand to the AI to act as an "anvil" for the fleet. The Apogee's shield is really durable and will rarely break unless they meet a big kinetic boat, and its weaponry isn't bad either. Outfit it as an endurance fighter, and it should survive most battles and even rack a few kills.

[Cosmitz]

I always mod my Apogee to have a single flight deck.

[Abradolf Lincler]

I always mod my Apogee to have a single flight deck.

Is it just me or does your design have a blue tint? I love it.

[Linnis]

Its funny how I always imagined the Apogee should have a really low supply comsumption, with it being a exploration vessel.

[Cosmitz]

Is it just me or does your design have a blue tint? I love it.

Yeah, played just a tinge with the coloring on it, if i went as far as making use of that flight deck it has.

[woodsmoke]

I don't remember the exact loadout I had for my Apogee in my previous game, but I remember most of it. Autopulse laser in the large slot to build flux, two ion beams in the medium turrets to jump through shields and get an early start on wrecking the enemy ship. I want to say I had tac lasers in the small hardpoints to ensure the enemy kept their shields up (thus enabling the one-two punch of the autopulse + ion beams), but I don't quite remember. Threw a MIRV in the large missile slot and a harpoon (I think?) in the small to maximize its ability to capitalize on overloads and burst PDs in the small turrets to round it out.

I'm with Helmut; it's not particularly fun to pilot as a player ship, but it makes for an excellent AI-controlled anvil.

[dandylions]

i've done phase lances with advanced optics in the medium mounts. all beam is definitely fun. lightning guns if you're modded are even better, and the ship has the flux to support two of them firing constantly along with something heavy in the large mount.

the apogee is such a thematically beautiful ship, but it's lacking some flavor. the earlier idea about it having a low maintenance cost would be great.

[Midnight Kitsune]

the apogee is such a thematically beautiful ship, but it's lacking some flavor. the earlier idea about it having a low maintenance cost would be great.

It already does have a low cost, compared to the doom and aurora