Homeworld 2 FAQ by Nero
E-mail: nero_orog@hotmail.com
Copyright 2002 George Minkov
Version 1.2
Hello and welcome to my first FAQ ever. When I saw there was nothing on
Homeworld 2, I decided that it was time to step out of my shell and do a
good deed for gamerkind! Too bad someone beat me to it by a week! As for the
results, you tell me.
Table of contents:
1.Version history
2.Disclamer (or copyright, or whatever)
3.General information and story
4.Basic actions
5.Hiigaran ships
5.1.Fighters
5.2.Corvettes (or Gunships as the Hiigaran call them)
5.3.Frigates
5.4.Capital Ships
5.5.Platforms
5.6.Utility Class Ships
6.Vaygr ships (working on it)
7.Hiigaran Researches and upgrades (working on it)
8.Vaygr Researches and upgrades (working on it)
9.Subsystems (half-way done)
9.1.Facilities
9.2.Modules
9.3.Sensors
9.4.Misc
10.When to contact me.
11.Credits.
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1. Version History
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V1. Well... that’s it. That’s all I know at this stage. A bit of history,
both on the game and plot. The basics of the game in a can (a rather large
can). All I know about the Hiigaran ships and strategies to use them. I
still need to fully test the Vaygr ships and work out strategies for the
Subsystems, so they’re coming up. If I come up with strategies I can’t stick
to any particular ship, I’ll make a new section for them, but it seems good
as it is now. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to write a walkthrough, but
I’ll do my best. I could also include cheats, but I’d just be ripping off
the codes already at GameFAQs, so I’ll skip that.
V2.
Fixed a few things:
Fixed a mistake that said Ctrl-clicking could make you attack your own
units. That isn’t true.
Fixed a mistake in the history of the game that said the Kushan exiled the
Taidan. It is the other way around. (Thanks to Sean Duncan and Nick Adams)
Added info on the Sensors Distortion Probe. (Thanks to MouseNo4, Josh
Lindsey, Zonr_0)
Redid the strategies for the Scout’s EMP special ability (thanks to William
Van)
Modified the Battlecruiser strategies (again, thanks to William Van)
Added a new section: 7. Subsystems.
There are still things to do
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2. Disclaimer
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This is my first ever FAQ, so I hope you’ll like it. I also hope it gets
approved. If you have ANY suggestions or tips, or if you’ve found errors or
inaccuracies, or you just want to say how good my FAQ is, drop me a line,
but check section “8.When to contact me”
Now, it’s not like I made something worthy of honour, but still if you feel
inclined to use it, drop me a line to ask for my permission. I’d be ever so
happy if someone liked my FAQ enough to want to use it, or parts of it, so
permission is no problem at all. But it would really mean of you to just
copy and paste it without even mentioning me. Thanks. Now the same thing in
a more menacing manner of speech.
The use of this FAQ in any websites, forums, message boards, or any other
places with public access without my DIRECT permission is STRICTLY
prohibited. Ask me before you put my FAQ anywhere and it should be OK. Even
with my permission, you can only the FAQ in its entirety, with this
disclaimer included. If you want to print it for easy access, be my guest.
Also, do not, under any circumstances, use it for profit. If anyone should
be making money from it, it’s me. But I’m not, so neither should you.
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3. General information and story
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For those of you who haven’t played any of the Homeworld titles, Homeworld 2
is a space RTS (Real Time Strategy). Like any RTS, you command an army of
units, build production and research structures and fight battles with the
enemy units and structures, all in real time. The difference here is that,
instead of a map of the ground, the battlefield is a spherical (or more like
cylindrical) section of space. Instead of buildings, you have huge (trust me
they’re huge) ships, that do pretty much the same thing. Also, your movement
is not restricted by a 2D map, but is more or less 3D.
*Spoiler* for the original Homeworld!
The story of the game, as explained in the introduction FMV revolves around
the Hyperspace Core(s). They are ancient artefacts, built by the Projenitors
– an ancient race that came to the galaxy aeons ago and then miteriously
disappeared, scattering the Cores around the galaxy. The Hyperspace Cores
are the only way to achieve interstellar travel, thus making them absolutely
priceless. Long ago, the Bentusi – a peaceful, merchant race – found the
first Hyperspace Core and the galaxy was united by trade and piece. Then,
much later, the Kushan, found the second Hyperspace Core and a great war
started, that nearly wiped the galaxy clean of life. Eventually defeated the
Taidan defeated the Kushan and sent them into exile, but they took their
core with them. As time went by the Kushan settled on a desert planet forgot
who they were. Then, much later, they rediscovered the Core and built
themselves a Mothership to hold it. Then the Taidan attacked and destroyed
the Kushan home planet, after which the Kushan proceeded to destroy the
Taidan empire and establish a new order in the galaxy, and piece returned.
Then, the Kushan became the Hiigaran. Now, the third Hyperspace Core has
been found by the Vaygr, who seek to dominate the galaxy and bring war and
destruction once again. Their primary goal seems to be to fulfil an ancient
prophecy. As far as I’ve seen, there is no Vaygr campaign.
*edited* I had the Kushan and Taidan mixed up, but it is fixed now. (Thanks
to Sean Duncan and Nick Adams)
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4. Basic actions
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This section provides some useful information for people who haven’t played
the original Homeworld, or the Cataclysm expansion, but there are a number
subtle differences in Homeworld 2, so even veterans of the old game should
have a look. Also, the introduction of a command interface complicates
things a bit. You could always play through the tutorial, but it’s not
nearly as much fun as it used to be in the original, and it was not much fun
even then.
SELECTING
THAT has remained almost exactly the same. Left-clicking selects one ship or
or one wing of fighters, and bounding box selects all inside. Once you have
selected a group of ships, you can see them in the right of the interface.
You can use that to either select just one of the ships, by left-clicking it
or exclude a ship by Shift-left-clicking it. To deselect LEFT-click on empty
space. DO NOT right-click as that would bring up the move disc.
*note* There is an option that makes the bounding box method select military
units only. I don’t use it, but you might find it useful.
FOCUSING AND CAMERA
Focusing, moving and zooming is the same, but panning is a new feature. To
focus PRESS the middle mouse button, or the “F” hotkey. To focus on an
unselected ship, or more often on enemies and asteroids, Alt-left-click on
the object. That is also the only way to focus on just one ship in a wing.
Holding down Alt and bounding box-selecting focuses on all selected objects.
To rotate the camera around what it is focused on, hold the right mouse
button and move the mouse. To zoom in or out, USE the middle mouse button,
or hold the left and the right buttons together and move the mouse up or
down. To pan the camera, either use the arrow keys, or move the mouse to the
edge of the screen (although edge panning can be disabled in the options).
SENSORS MANAGER
It’s the same as normal view, only from much, much further away. It shows a
few more things, such as the mission objectives and you ship’s sensors
coverage area (the blue spheres). Other than that, and a bird’s eye view of
the battlefield, it’s the same as normal view.
TACTICAL OVERLAY (TO)
Tactical overlay is an option that shows 2D geometrical figures over ships.
These range in shape and colour, depending on the type of ship and it’s
allegiance. Pressing “Tab” cycles between the different TO setting. What I
refer to as “Level 1” is no tactical overlay at all. The game is much
prettier that way. “Level 2” shows figures only for ships that reasonably
far away (not too close I mean), as well as the range for things that have
it (fire control tower and hyperspace module come to mind), only when you
select them. “Level 3” displays figures for ALL ships and draws fields for
ALL ships that have them, and also draws the destinations for currently
selected ships.
BUILDING AND RESEARCH
There are only 3 units in the game that have the build menu: the Mothership,
the Carrier, the Sipyard. The Battlecruiser also has it, but it can only
build modules. All the rest can build ships. Pressing the “B” hotkey, or the
“Build” button on the interface, you can access the “Build Menu”. Pressing
it again cycles through the available production ships. It’s divided into
several sections. At the top is a window showing the ship you’re building
from, with a line showing you where the ship is in space. It’s the last
selected “Building” ship. Below that is the categories window. Build options
are divided into categories that can be accessed from here. After that is
the build options window. It lists the available build options in the
selected category. Below that are the two queue windows – one for subsystems
and one for ships. As you queue different types of ships the queue will
fill. The same is true for the subsystems queue, but it is minimized by
default.
Researching is roughly the same and uses a similar menu, but research is not
carried out by any given ship. You need at least one research module, or the
research menu will be empty. Also, I think having more research labs speeds
up research somewhat.
RESOUCING AND REPAIRING
In Homeworld 2, resources are no longer scattered around space. Now, they’re
concentrated in fields or come in the shape of debris from destroyed capital
ships. A Resource Collector needs to be ordered to gather them, by either
right-clicking on the resources, or clicking on the “Harvest” icon (hotkey
“H”). Using the “Harvest” command will automatically head for the nearest
resource field. When a collector is full, it will return to the nearest ship
with a “Resource Drop-off”, or to a mobile refinery.
MOVING YOUR SHIPS
That used to be done solely by using the “M” hotkey, or the “Move” button on
the sensors manager. Now, there are 3 ways to order your ships to move.
Firstly, you could still use the “M” hotkey (unless you rebind it), which is
perhaps what veterans of the old game would prefer to use. Another way is to
click the green arrow on the command interface, but that takes FAR too long
and is too much of a nuisance. The third way is right-click on empty space,
which brings up the move disc. Either of the 3 ways works exactly the same
and it’s up to your convenience which you want to choose. There is another
way, which does not use the movement disc. Right-clicking on ANYTHING will
cause the ship(s) to execute the default command for the current object –
dock with a carrier, attack, harvest, ec.
*note* A point to make is that once the movement disc has appeared, both
left- and right-clicking will issue a move command. To cancel it, you need
to either press the “M” hotkey or the move icon on the command bar, or the
“Esc” key.
Height is pretty much as it used to be. Holding “Shift” key, or the left
mouse button allows you to set up how much higher (or lower) than your
current position you want your ships to move. Additionally, the relative
“height” of important objects (such as resources, clouds and objectives)
will be marked for convenience.
A new feature is placing waypoints. It is pretty much the same as movement,
only the disc won’t disappear when you issue a move command, but spawn a new
disk where you clicked, and repeat as many times as you need. The disc WILL
disappear, however, if you issue any command other than just moving, thus
ending the waypoints.
ATTACKING
It is carried out in several ways. One is by right-clicking on ONE enemy
ship or fighter wing. Another is by holding “Ctrl” and left-clicking.
Lastly, you can give the order to attack a group of enemy ships. Hold “Ctrl”
and this time bound-select the desired enemy ships. Lastly, Frigates and
Capital Ships can be ordered to move and attack at the same time. Fighters
and Corvettes cannot do this.
*note* Ships are smart this time around, so if you order an Interceptor
strike group and a Bomber strike group to attack 2 wings of Strike Craft and
1 Assault frigate, the Interceptors will engage the Strike Craft and the
Bombers will bomb the frigate. That’s good to know.
*edited* It used to say that Ctrl-clicking could cause you to attack your
own ships. That is not true.
STRIKE GROUP FORMATIONS AND TACTICS
A very important point to make here is that fighters and courvettes in
Homeworld 2 cannot be commanded as individual units. Instead, you build and
command them in “wings” of 3 or more ships. You CANNOT select individual
fighters or courvettes, or issue them orders individually. For convenience,
I will refer to a “Wing” of fighters or courvettes as a “unit”.
*note* As long as even 1 ship in a wing is alive, the wing is alive, and if
you dock it with a production ship, the wing will be restored to full
strength.
Strike groups are the regular groups of any RTS. “Ctrl” + number to bind,
just number to select. Additionally, you can select your strike groups from
the number icons on the top of the interface. Also, double-tapping a number
key will focus on that strike group. Unlike some other games, there is no
restriction as to how many units you can have in a strike group.
Formations have changed a lot since the original Homeworld. You can choose
form 3 formations (4 if you count “no formation”). As of yet, I have found
no use of formations, other than convenient travel. Units in a formation
will move at the speed of the slowest ship, which helps them to not spread
out, but they WILL break formation when they attack, so unless you plan to
make a convoy, or to migrate your whole fleet, don’t bother with formations.
Tactics have also changed dramatically, now offering an actual strategic
benefit. There are 3 tactics to choose from: Passive, Defensive, and
Aggressive. In passive tactics units will “hold ground” and “hold fire”,
even if they are being slaughtered – best for units that die easily. In
Defensive tactics, units will not attack on their own, but will engage if
they, or nearby units are under attack – best to have most of the time. In
Aggressive tactics, ships will ALWAYS engage enemies in their line of sight
– best for units that are in the thick of action as they will choose their
target wisely, but it can cause them to stray into overwhelming enemy
forces, so use with caution.
SPECIAL ACTIONS
By pressing the “Toggle Special Commands” icon or hotkey “ ’ ” (apostrophe)
you switch to the “Special Commands” menu, that replaces the Command menu.
There you have all the Special Actions there are in the game. Once that the
selected ship can perform are active and the rest are dark and inactive. If
there are no active icons, then the currently selected ship can perform no
Special Actions. Note that the “Scuttle” Special Action is ALWAYS available,
but not always desired.
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5. Hiigaran Ships
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The Hiigaran are the old-timers from the original Homeworld and as such
still have a few of their old machines, but most are of a new design. They
have kept ships like the Defence Field Frigate and the Multi Gun Couvette
(now called simply Gunship), but even those are used differently. Each ship
(except for Probes) has 2 levels of upgrades for engines and armour in
addition to the other upgrades. I will state only the other upgrades as
those are the same for every ship. Also, the stats I give for ships were
taken with NO upgrades. They’re there just to give you some grounds to
compare the ships without having to build them. Keep in mind that everything
has been taken out of the Homan vs. CPU game, not the campaign.
The Hiigaran have Fighters and Corvettes are inferior to those of the Vaygr,
but their frigates are substantially superior. Also their mobility is much
more of a burden, as they can only do a Hyperspace Jump using a Hyperspace
module on a construction ship.
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5.1. Fighters
The Hiigaran are somewhat weaker when it comes to Fighters. Theirs are less
diverse and come fewer in a wing. However, unlike the Vaygr, their Fighters
are already researched and available at the start of the game.
Keep in mind that all Fighters come in wings, and that you need to have a
Fighter Facility on the production ship you want to build them from. Also,
Fighters are an exception to the above rule, as they have NO armour
upgrades, and the Scout doesn’t have a speed upgrade either. The unit limit
is 14 Fighter wings of any kind at once on normal settings.
5.1.1. Scout
Good against: Nothing
Weak against: Everything
Cost: 350
Maximum Speed: 480
Attack Damage/Sec: 9
Health: 90
# of ships in wing: 3
Prerequisites: none
Understanding the ship:
Unlike in the original Homeworld, scouts can no longer be used as invincible
fighters. They are underpowered, under-armoured and too few in a wing to
prove cost-effective. What they are useful for is, as the name implies,
reconnaissance. They’re very fast, second only to Probes, which allows them
to go in have a look and scram. It also makes retreat preferable to
fighting. Also, their great sight range makes them ideal for border
reconnaissance, where you have them sit respectfully far from your enemy and
keep an eye on him. Also, they’re expendable. Even so, don’t let them die
just for the sake of it and pull them out when you can. Another thing you
could try to do is to draw off the enemy’s Fighters and either lead them
away and distract them or lead them into an ambush, but not many players
will give chase once you turn tail.
How to use:
Make a wing or 2 and move them on the edge of your enemy positions,
somewhere between him and you, but out of the way of a possible attack. That
way you’ll be able to keep an eye on your enemy’s activities and still be
able to see an attack coming, while being (relatively) safe. If you don’t
know where the enemy is, use Probes to find him – they see further. If you
have money to spare you could also use the sensors “ping”. If your enemy
keeps destroying your Probes, you can have your Scouts make a sweep of the
sector every now and then. You could also use them to check out dust clouds
for skulking enemy units, provided you don’t have Probes there, or the field
is too big or too scattered for Probes. If you want to get the enemy to
chase you, you can try loitering at the edge of his scanner range, but
people are not likely to commit their forces to chase Scouts, so even if he
does decide to attack, he’ll quickly call off the pursuit. You could try to
disable his Resource Collectors several times and that might make him launch
a concentrated effort to kill your Scouts, but even that’s not guaranteed.
Besides, it requires too many Scouts.
Enhanced Sensors:
Allows the Scout Wing to “ping” the scanners, thereby revealing EVERYTHING
on the map for a time... at the cost of 1000RU per ping. Why anyone would
want to use this is beyond me, but if you absolutely MUST know what your
enemy is doing, or of he has – heavens forbid – a Battlecruiser AND you have
a mountain of money to burn, then by all means, use it. However, if you have
a bad feeling in your gut and believe the enemy is plotting something
against you, you could use that to see if you’re right, though a Probe is
still MUCH more cost efficient. The Enhanced Sensors can become useful only
against many enemies.
EMP:
The Scouts shoot blue blobs that explode into a very big ball of magnetic
energy. After that they need about a minute to recharge their EMP, so use it
wisely. Fighters and corvettes caught in the blast are left standing and
stay like that for about 30 seconds. In that time they stand COMPLETELY
still, allowing your own Interceptors or Gunships to make quick work of
them. Remember – when Fighters are standing still, they’re in trouble. EMP
is also effective on Frigates, but be weary of Flack and Assault Frigates
and keep in mind you’ll need several wings of Scouts (3 or more). Also, as
far as Frigates go, EMP may be the best way to capture them, since they’ll
stand still and not fire back. The bigger the ship, the more EMP it can
take. In that respect, it’s not so good on Capital Ships, since you need TOO
many scout wings and Capital Ships are often TOO well defended to allow
Scouts through. If you have Scouts to sacrifice, throw them all at a
Destroyer or something. They won’t return, but at least you’ll put a
Destroyer to sleep.
As a summary, EMP could be very useful in the right hands. Alternatively,
you could zap any pursuers and hightail it, but then, what could really
catch up to your Scouts?
*edited* Completely redid the EMP section (Thanks to William Van).
5.1.2. Interceptor
Good against: Fighters, Bombers
Weak against: Corvettes, Frigates, Capital Ships
Cost: 500
Maximum Speed: 325
Attack Damage/Sec: 36
Health: 150
# of ships in wing: 5
Prerequisites: Fighter Facility
Understanding the ship:
The Interceptor is your earliest, cheapest and arguably best defence against
ALL forms of fighters. Other things are better in the Anti-Fighter role, but
none are as flexible, or as survivable. A considerable increase in both
armour and armament means it, unlike the Scout, the Interceptor can engage
other fighters with confidence of success. Reduced speed, however, means
that escape should be saved for desperate situations. It is still fast
enough to outmanoeuvre most other ships, so don’t worry about it being
around Frigates and Destroyers. Keep away from Flack and Assault Frigates
though, as those eat fighters for breakfast.
How to use:
Build a lot of wings of these, 6 to 8 and swarm enemy Fighters, starting
with Bombers. A good idea is to keep them behind your Frigates and engage
the enemy’s Bombers when they come to attack. Don’t be scared of Corvettes,
but don’t stay around them too long. Keep away from Frigates if you can help
it, but don’t be afraid to sacrifice a lot of Interceptors if it saves a
Destroyer or two. Also, you’re more likely to loose ships in a wing, but
more rarely an entire wing. In that respect it is good to send wings of 2 or
3 ships back home for repairs. A wing of 1 ship only MUST NOT be in the
battlefield. Later in the game, you can replace the Interceptors with Flack
Frigates if you have enough. That way, you can concentrate on bombers, but
your fleet will loose a lot of its mobility that way. Also, that way you
pretty much loose the ability to use Bombers deep behind enemy lines, since
most people will employ the above tactic. If you want to bomb the enemy
capital ships you NEED interceptors to accompany them. Use something heavy
to take out the enemy’s Anti-Fighter Frigates and send in your Bombers and
Interceptors.
5.1.3. Bomber
Good against: Frigates, Capital Ships, Subsystems
Weak against: Fighters, Corvettes, Anti-Fighter Frigates
Cost: 550
Maximum Speed: 260
Attack Damage/Sec: 439
Health: 150
# of ships in wing: 5
Prerequisites: Fighter Facility
Researches available:
Imp. Bombs 1500RU
Understanding the ship:
Cheap, effective, versatile and the only thing that can take on capital
ships with confidence. These things are cheap and fast to build, and being a
fighter makes it much more survivable than the slow Corvettes or the
deathtrap Frigates (there are 5 in a wing and you only need 1 to survive).
Also, the sheer number of Bombers you (should) have means that it’ll take
longer to kill them, giving you time to react accordingly. Again, Frigates
are better, but not that much better and not as cost effective. And there is
another benefit to having bombers – they are the only unit I know of, that
can feasibly attack subsystems. Subsystems have a ridiculous amount of
health, yet cost money to rebuild. Perfect for hit-and-run attacks, or to
disable that seemingly invincible ship, so that the Marine Frigates can
reach it alive. Also, they can save A LOT of lives when fighting an (heavens
forbid) a Battlecruiser, since the main weapons on a Battlecruiser are
Subsystems.
How to use:
Unless you’re planning to take on Capital Ships, don’t build too much, as
they share the same unit limit with the Interceptors. Even 6 wings will take
out any Frigate in about 2 sorties. The same amount can incapacitate a
Carrier completely. Works especially well if you have to fight a Shipyard,
or (heavens forbid) a Battlecruiser. But you still need to worry about
Fighters and Corvettes. They may take awhile to kill that many Bombers, but
they can severely damage them, which reduces efficiency. You need
Interceptors and Pulsar Gunships to deal with any possible threats. Keep
AWAY from Anti-Fighter Frigates. Those are off limits for bombers. Use
something else (like a Destroyer) to kill those Frigates first. Once these
have been destroyed, send in your Bombers (+ Interceptor and Pulsar Gunship
support) INSIDE the enemy’s fleet. Target his Frigates, as Destroyers take
too long to kill. Preferably, kill the Anti-Corvette frigates first. That’ll
give you a longer life. If time is of the essence, start with Anti-Frigate
Frigates and then bring in your own Frigates to mop up. IMPORTANT! When you
(heavens forbid) have to fight a Battlecruiser, Bombers are INVALUABLE. But
they still need Fighter and Corvette support, but by this stage, you’ll need
to have Destroyers too. Use them to destroy the Anti-Fighter Frigates, since
your own Frigates will NOT live long enough to even open fire. Once it is
safe, move your Bombers in and support in and IGNORE the Frigates. Head
straight for the Battlecruiser’s main weapons (either 2 Ion Cannon Turrets,
or 1 Heavy Missile Battery) and disable them. Once that is done, start
picking off subsystems. If the Bombers survive that long you can aim for the
engines to prevent the Battlecruiser from realigning and then come at it
with your Destroyers and Frigates from above or from below.
Imp. Bombs:
I’m not entirely sure, but I think that increases the damage Fighters do to
Subsystems. More important towards the end of the game, where you actually
have some Subsystems to attack and when you have better ways for dealing
with Frigates. Crucially, it make the biggest difference when fighting a
Battlecruiser.
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5.2. Corvettes (Gunships)
Again, Hiigaran Corvettes are inferior to those of the Vaygr in versatility,
power and number of ships in a wing. The Gunships are there to fill a hole,
and they do it just barely. Though they are inferior, they still take a load
off your unit limit, as they can take on the functions of other ships well
enough. Keep in mind that all Gunships (except the Minelayer) come in wings,
and that you need to have a Corvette Facility on the production ship you
want to build them from. Also, the Corvette Facility requires that a
Research Module be built on at least 1 production ship. The unit limit is 12
Corvette wings of any kind at once on normal settings.
5.2.1. Gunship
Good against: Fighters
Weak against: Corvettes, Frigates, Capital Ships
Cost: 625
Maximum Speed: 215
Attack Damage/Sec: 56
Health: 1200
# of ships in wing: 3
Prerequisites: Corvette Facility
Understanding the ship:
Another Anti-Fighter ship, and it’s a Corvette class this time. You may want
to use these instead of Interceptors in the later stages of a games, but
only under a few circumstances. Either you need the fighter limit for
bombers, or you don’t have enough Flack Frigates, in which case you’ll need
Gunships to fend off Bomber attacks on your Frigate fleet, as Interceptors
are always busy. The greatest drawback of the Gunship is the lack of any
significant advantage. Most of all, damage is almost the same as the
interceptors, but you have only 3 ships in a wing. And the 1200 health is a
dubious advantage – Corvettes are slower, are stationary when firing and are
fewer in number. Those factors combined give them pretty much the same
survivability as the Interceptors. And with other corvettes as the main
menace, it’s that much harder to keep them alive. Build Gunships only if you
need them, or if you have nothing better to do.
How to use:
If you’re using them in the place of Interceptors, then build many – 6 or 8
wings and try to keep them around things that bombers may want to hit.. In
that case target bombers first as fighters pose little threat. If you’re
using them to do the job of Flack Frigates, then you don’t need as many. 4
wings should be enough to keep the bombers busy until the Interceptors
arrive. Either way it’s Corvettes and Frigates you should fear. Keeping away
from Frigates shouldn’t be so difficult, as Gunships can fire in any
direction, regardless of the direction they’re moving in. Should you face
other Corvettes, RUN. Gunships cannot stand up to any Corvette, other than
another one of their own kind, which you’re not likely to meet. Just run.
The Gunships can’t help the fleet if they’re dead. As corvettes are slower,
you will need to learn to choose your battlefield. Use Frigates as bait for
Bombers and avoid taking the offensive. And remember: Gunships like to fight
among friendly Frigates.
5.2.2. Pulsar Gunship
Good against: Corvettes, Frigates
Weak against: Capital Ships
Cost: 625
Maximum Speed: 215
Attack Damage/Sec: 54
Health: 1200
# of ships in wing: 3
Prerequisites: Corvette Facility
Understanding the ship:
Another Gunship, this time designed to fight other Corvettes. It says they
can fight frigates too, but their guns are too weak to make a lasting
impression. As a result, you’re likely to loos half of your strike group if
you dare engage Frigates. Where they really shine is vs. other Corvettes.
The bad thing is that they themselves are vulnerable to Anti-Corvette
Corvettes, so it’s somewhat tricky. But with the only substitute being the
torpedo frigate, you may want to stick to these for a more cost-effective
solution to your corvette problems. That is, unless you need a lot of
Gunships.
How to use:
Build a large strike group – 6 or 8 and engage ANY Corvettes that come too
close. No Corvette can scare the Pulsar Gunships, so don’t be afraid to
engage them under any circumstances. Try to avoid picking fights with
Fighters as it wastes time and Lancer Fighters have a nasty effect on
corvettes. Even though you can’t scare them, do not fear enemy Frigates, but
try to pick a battlefield somewhat away form Anti-Corvette Frigates, but if
push come to shove, sacrifice the Pulsar Gunships, as enemy Corvettes do A
LOT of damage. As corvettes are slower, you will need to learn to choose
your battlefield. Use Frigates as bait for other Corvettes and avoid taking
the offensive – that’s what the Torpedo Frigates are for. And remember:
Gunships like to fight among friendly Frigates.
5.2.3. Minelayer
Good against: Capital Ships
Weak against: Corvettes, Capital Ships (and some frigates)
Cost: 800
Maximum Speed: 215
Attack Damage/Sec: 48
Health: 400
# of ships in wing: 1
Prerequisites: Corvette Facility, Advanced Research Module, Minelaying
Technology
Researches available:
Minelaying Technology 750RU
Understanding the ship:
The old Minelayer is back with a vengeance. It is used (as the name implies)
to lay 2D square, vertical minefields. Think of them as walls when placing
them. When you hit the “Deploy Mines” Special Action icon (Hotkey “N”), the
“Deploy Mines Rectangle” (I call it that) appears, with the Minelayer in the
geometrical centre. In that respect, you should manoeuvre the Minelayer in
the centre of where you want to put the minefield. The field is then
controlled similarly to the destination line in the “Move Disc” (check 4.
Basic Actions). It is a good idea to lay it perpendicular to where you
expect an attack to come from. Performing the actions that would normally
order a ship to move above or below its current plane, now control the
vertical size of the minefield. Mines are placed about 1000m apart and that
distance never changes. Mines have a lifetime of about 3 and a half minutes,
then disappear. If the Minelayer hasn’t been given other orders, it will lay
new mines to maintain the field. Once you issue ANY orders, the Minelayer
cannot track and maintain a minefield, unless it lays a new one. Also, mines
will move to track nearby Capital Ships (and maybe Frigates) and they have
about the same range as a destroyer. Mines also do a decent amount of
damage. It takes about 10-15 mines do kill a destroyer, and if you make a
minefield big enough (or make several layers mines) you can easily have 30
+. That’s 2 Destroyers down the drain before the battle has even started. A
key thing to keep in mind is that the Minelayer is NOT a combat unit. It has
a gun turret, but it’s not that good, plus its armour is atrocious and there
is only ONE ship in a wing, so the survivability of these guys is nil.
They’re not safe even around your resource collectors.
*note* I don’t know if the mines are invisible to the enemy. If anyone does,
drop me a line.
How to use:
Build just 1 (or 2 if you have money to spare) and lay a minefield in front
of your Mothership DIRECTLY in the shortest patch between you and the enemy
Mothership (or Flagship) and keep the Minelayers around to maintain the
field. Once the enemy is within range of your mines, SCRAM. The Minelayers
are the first to die. The only think you don’t have to run away from is
marauding Fighters, as Corvettes have an inherent resistance against these.
Keep the Minelayers glued to their minefields and deal with the fighters
with something else. If, however, the enemy is trying to outflank your
minefield, chances are that the Minelayers won’t get caught in the crossfire
and they can stay at the field.
Minelaying Technology:
It’s just the research that enables the construction of Minelayers. You need
an Advanced Research Lab to carry it out.
-- ------------
5.3. Frigates
The redeeming quality of the Hiigaran, their Frigates are far superior to
those of the Vaygr, in performance, versatility and diversity. Even though
all Frigates but one are available from without having to research them,
most still need an Advanced Research Module. Using Frigates in general is
very different to using Fighters and Corvettes. Frigates are slower and less
manoeuvrable, thus making them more straightforward to use and so more
predictable. Also the fact that smaller ships can fly circles around them
means that positioning them beforehand becomes crucial. Keep in mind that
Frigates come as single ships, and that you need to have a Frigate Facility
on the production ship you want to build them from. Also, the Frigate Module
requires that a Research Module be built on at least 1 production ship.
Also, the Marine Frigate and the Defence Field Frigate neither speed nor
armour upgrades. The unit limit is 21 Frigates of any kind at once on normal
settings. Defence Field Frigates are an exception.
5.3.1. Torpedo Frigate
Good against: Corvettes, Frigates (when upgraded)
Weak against: Bombers, Capital Ships
Cost: 700
Maximum Speed: 161
Attack Damage/Sec: 305
Health: 12000
Prerequisites: Frigate Facility
Researches available:
Imp. Torpedoes 1000RU
Understanding the ship:
It’s an Anti-Corvette Frigate and that’s what you should use it for. Avoid
fighting other Frigates, even with Imp. Torpedoes, unless the situation
calls for it. There are other Frigates more suited to the task and little
else that can deal with Corvettes. Besides, if you mess with a purely Anti
Frigate Frigate, you’re in trouble. As any other type Frigate, it doesn’t
have the speed to cruise the battlefield to where it’s needed. And since
Corvettes will try to avoid Torpedo Frigates, you’ll need position them in
places Corvettes win congregate, and you need to do it beforehand. Corvettes
will want to harass Fighters and other Corvettes, so keep those close to the
torpedo Frigates. Also Vaygr Corvettes will want to pick on your Ion Cannon
Frigates, so make sure the Torpedo Frigates are nearby to cover them.
How to use:
That depends on what you use them for. If you’re using them instead of
Pulsar Gunships, you’ll need at least 5 or 6, though more work better. Then
try to lure Corvettes to them with your own Corvettes and Fighters. Just
keep them close to the Torpedo Frigates and keep the Torpedo Frigates close
to the rest of the fleet and hopefully, you can watch over everything that
way. If you have Pulsar Gunships and use Torpedo Frigates as supplement,
then you need no more that 2 or 3, just to keep the Corvettes busy until the
Pulsar Gunships can intervene. In that scenario you can free your fighters
and just worry about the rest of your frigates. Also, Torpedo Frigates are 1
of the 2 kinds of Frigates to be on the first line.
Imp. Torpedoes:
An upgrade that enhances the torpedoes so that they hurt Frigates more. Even
with this upgrade I’d still advise against engaging other frigates. It’s
just NOT what this Frigate is designed for.
5.3.2. Flack Frigate
Good against: Fighters
Weak against: Capital Ships (and other Frigates)
Cost: 700
Maximum Speed: 161
Attack Damage/Sec: 50
Health: 16000
Prerequisites: Frigate Facility, Advanced Research Module
Understanding the ship:
“The cloud of death! Fighters come in, but they don’t come out!” Me. This
things works pretty much like flack artillery. It fires bombs “somewhere
near the Fighters” and lets the blat deal with them. It may have pathetic
damage, but it’s splash damage (area damage). A few well placed shots can
take out and entire wing. Make a few of these and your fleet is safe from
enemy Fighters, thus allowing you to convert your own to bombers. The Flack
Frigate is also immune to enemy Bombers. But, as all other Frigates, it’s
slow and cumbersome, so positioning is curtail. Fighters will prefer to take
the long way around rather than fly through your flack, so you need to put
the Flack Frigates where Fighters will want to be. However, they can’t
completely replace Interceptors, as they’re too slow and Bombers will try to
attack somewhere the Flack Frigates can’t reach. Also, they’re good at
fighting clusters of Fighters approaching from the front, but a flanking
attack and the subsequent scattering of the Fighters can hamper their
performance to the point where they can no longer effectively fend off the
fighters.
How to use:
Make at least 6 of them. It may sound like overkill, but these Frigates will
die like flies when faced with the other Frigates and Destroyers. Put them
on the front line and hide the heavier hitting Frigates behind them. The
objective is to meet the enemy Fighters head on, that’s the best scenario.
They may take heavy damage from the enemy’s heavy guns, but once they’ve
killed or handicapped the enemy Fighters, withdraw them to make room for the
Ion Cannon Frigates to deal with the heavy ships. If you let the enemy
Fighters scatter inside your fleet and all around the Flack Frigates, call
for reinforcements or risk loosing a few precious frigates or (even worse)
subsystems.
5.3.3. Ion Cannon Frigate
Good against: Frigates, Capital Ships
Weak against: Fighters, Destroyers (and Corvettes)
Cost: 700
Maximum Speed: 150
Attack Damage/Sec: 315
Health: 16000
Prerequisites: Frigate Facility, Advanced Research Module
Understanding the ship:
It’s the first really heavy hitting ship. It minces other Frigates and is
the cheapest way to kill lightly armed Capital Ships (like a Carrier). Ion
Frigates can also take down destroyers if you can keep them alive long
enough. The main advantage it has over bombers, is that on lager ships,
Bombers don’t make much impression. They can still take them down, but not
with the speed and efficiency of an Ion Frigate. However, Ion Cannon
Frigates are plagued by a virtually non existent defence. Although they have
a lot of health, they are actually slower than the other Frigates, so they
can barely even retreat back to their own lines. Bombers are absolute murder
for those, as that’s what they usually aim for, so other frigates can
approach. Both Anti-Fighter and Anti-Corvette defence must be ever present
around the Ion Frigates, lest they become easy prey for marauders.
How to use:
Make at least 6 of these. They WILL die, as you have to expose them to heavy
enemy fire – Heavy Missile Frigates or other Ion Frigates most often. Always
hide them behind a screen of Flack and Torpedo Frigates and (optional) keep
a few Fighters and/or Corvettes handy for emergencies. Keep hiding them
until the last possible moment, until the enemy sends his own frigates to
attack your Torpedo and Flack Frigates. Then send in all your Fighters and
Corvettes to create a chaotic environment and then have your Ion Frigates
emerge from behind the wall of defenders and attack. Do NOT turn back until
either the enemy is dead or retreating, or your Ion Frigates are no more. I
will refer to this as an “Ion Cannon Frigate wedge”.
A cheap tactic is to use a Defence Field Frigate to cast a field around your
Ion Frigates. That way you can even take on Destroyers and really get on
someone’s nerves. But beware the Bombers.
5.3.4. Marine Frigate
Good against: Capital Ships (and Frigates sometimes)
Weak against: Bombers, Frigates
Cost: 700
Maximum Speed: 230
Attack Damage/Sec: 80
Health: 18000
Prerequisites: Frigate Facility, Advanced Research Module
Understanding the ship:
Guns are very crappy, but it’s SO much faster than the rest of the Frigate
fleet, and better armour too. All this for just one purpose – to get close
and latch on. Really, this frigate is completely worthless if you use it for
combat, but the Hiigaran probably didn’t feel right about making a Frigate
with no guns. The main purpose of this ship is to invade and take over enemy
capital ships. It certainly is fast enough, but taking over military ships
takes time. More Frigates speed up this process (duh!). While they are
attached to any ship, they can still be shot at, and destroyed, at which
point they stop invading. If at any given time all Frigates release from a
given ship, the “Infiltration bar” will return to ZERO even if they reattach
immediately. Also, Marine Frigates are very susceptible to Anti-Frigate
weaponry and heavier guns, so they should either manoeuvre around enemy
Frigate defences, or follow in an Ion Cannon Frigate strike group to clear
their way. Flack frigates are bad at mobile manoeuvres, so they cannot
adequately protect the Marine Frigates from Bombers. Fighters and Corvettes
are better at it. Also, in some instances you can capture enemy frigates, if
done correctly.
How to use:
I usually use about 2, but if the action is thick, you can use more. What
you’ll want to infiltrate are Destroyers and, if you can get close enough, a
Battleship. You don’t need enemy Carriers (especially Vaygr Carriers) and
shipyards are too cumbersome to bring home. My advice is, use ALL your
marine frigates on 1 target. That way it’ll be infiltrated faster and even
if Frigates blow up, there will be more to carry on. You should move behind
an Ion Frigate wedge (as explained in 5.3.3.) to make sure that the most
dangerous Frigates are dealt with. Use bombers to help with the advance as
they have little impact on Destroyers, but they can save the lives of your
Marines. If you’re making a run for the money, don’t withdraw the Flack and
Torpedo Frigates, but instead order them to attack the Destroyers to create
a diversion so your Marine Frigates don’t have to dodge their shells. In
short, if you’re planning to capture enemy Destroyers, you’ll need to
involve your entire fleet. Well, more or less, depending on how smart the
enemy is. If you happen to kill off the hard hitting Frigates and your enemy
is left with only Anti-Fighter and Anti-Corvette Frigates, you can move it
to capture some, but only if you have nothing better to do.
5.3.5. Defence Field Frigate
Good against: N/A Defensive Ship
Weak against: Bombers, Corvettes (and everything else)
Cost: 1250
Maximum Speed: 161
Attack Damage/Sec: 17
Health: 18000
Prerequisites: Frigate Facility, Advanced Research Module, Defence Field
Technology
Researches available:
Defence Field Technology 1500RU
Understanding the ship:
Yep, they definitely felt bad about making an unarmed Frigate. The damage on
this thing is ridiculous, it’s there only in name. But that’s OK, since,
like the Marine Frigate, you won’t be using the Defence Field Frigate for
combat. Speed is also like other Frigates, so make sure it is where it is
needed even before it is needed, because chances are it’s not going to get
there in time if you don’t. The armour on this thing is better than on most
other Frigates, but its survivability is actually worse. Once you turn on
that shield, every Bomber and Anti-Frigate Corvette is going to be onto that
Frigate (if you do it in the right place, that is). The good side to that is
that you’re creating something Bombers and Corvettes will want to attack, so
it’s only reasonable that you should have the corresponding Frigates around.
But the low shield energy means that you should only activate the shield in
the thick of action when you have Fighters and Corvettes flying everywhere,
so you may opt for Fighters and Corvettes of your own as Frigates are better
at attacking things far in front, not all around. However, if you have the
Defence Field Frigate just sit quietly, chances are the enemy won’t even
notice it.
The Defence Field is activated by clicking on the “Defense Field” icon in
the Special Actions interface or by using the hotkey “T”. That will create a
spherical force field about 1200m in diameter. You can see a rough estimate
of the size on level 3 Tactical Overlay, or level 2 Tactical Overlay if you
select the Frigate or just roll over it. The field will prevent all enemy
fire from entering, but will not do anything if the attacking ship is
already inside the field. For that reason the field does not affect Fighters
and Corvettes, as they will, more often than naught, enter the field to
attack. Also, you can’t defend your own Fighters and Corvettes, as they’ll
leave the field to attack.
*note* You can only have 2 Defence Field Frigates at any time, even if your
unit limit allows you additional Frigates.
How to use:
If used correctly, 2 are more than enough. Positioning it correctly, as with
any other frigate, is key to success. The Defence Field Frigate can be used
in 2 ways. One is to defend your fleet of other frigates from destroyers,
thus allowing you anaemic Ion Cannon Frigates to fight destroyers on equal
terms. To do that, have 1 or 2 Defence Field Frigates follow in an Ion
Cannon Frigate wedge (see 5.3.3.). Don’t waste your shield energy to guard
against other frigates and save it for when you face some Destroyers. When
the Destroyers open fire activate the field and bunch your Ion Cannon
Frigates together to fit inside the shield. Also, keep the Defence Shield
Frigates as far behind as possible, to avoid enemy Destroyers entering your
field. If you have 2 frigates, wait for the first one to discharge, then
activate the second. If you want to defend Destroyers against other
Destroyers or (heavens forbid) a Battlecruiser, you should have 2 Defence
Field Frigates with your Destroyers, as they fly in a very loos formation
and bunching them up is a pain (MAN these things are slow!). Actually, you
should always have a Defence Field Frigate as part of a Destroyer strike
group’s entourage. But only activate them in DEEP trouble, as Destroyers are
tough bastards and can take quite a few hits.
-- ------------
5.4. Capital Ships
Capital Ships are more or less the same for both races, but have evolved a
LOT since the original Homeworld. Capital Ships also set their own standards
for expenses and you’ll have to dig deep in your pockets to make any kind of
use of them. Also, we’re approaching Mothership speed (and that is SLOWWW),
which means you can pretty much forget about any sort of mobile operations.
Capital Ships don’t move with your fleet, your fleet moves with them. Their
actions are very straightforward and easy for the enemy to guess, you if
you’re planning to use them, forget about strategic subtlety and go for
brute force. Also, Hyperspace jumps are advisable if you don’t feel like
growing a beard (for guys only). Capital Ships will leave behind a certain
amount of resources behind when they are destroyed. Keep in mind that
Capital Ships come as single ships, and that you need to have a Capital Ship
Facility on the production ship you want to build them from. The unit limit
is 13 Capital Ships of any kind at once on normal settings.
Also, all Capital Ships have Subsystem slots, on which they can build
subsystems. Subsystems are divided into categories and each category has its
own slots. Slots within a category are universal, which means any Subsystem
of a given category can be built on any slot that is of the same category.
There are 2 exceptions to this – Engines and Resource Drop-Off. Both of
these Subsystems, if present on the ship, are always built and cannot be
destroyed. They can only occupy the slot they are given when the ship is
built.
5.4.1. Carrier
Good against: N/A
Weak against: Bombers, Capital Ships (and Frigates)
Cost: 2800
Maximum Speed: 75
Attack Damage/Sec: 40
Health: 80000
Prerequisites: Capital Ship Facility
Understanding the ship:
The key thing to understand here is that the Carrier acts just like a
miniature Mothership – it’s big, it’s slow, it carries next to no weapons
and it builds ships. In other words, you should treat it like the
Mothership. Always keep it WELL behind your lines and make sure your fleet
stand between it and the enemy. However, unlike the Mothership, the Carrier
is fast enough for mobile operations. What this means is that you can have
it fly around with the rest of your fleet. And having a construction ship in
operations away from the Mothership can prove invaluable. You can repair
your Fighters and Corvettes and replace those lost Frigates in the field,
you don’t have to rely on the now distant Mothership. However, the Carrier
ha its limits. It can carry substantially less Subsystems and cannot produce
the hulking Capital Ships that should by then form the brunt of your fleet.
In that respect, the Carrier is not the flagship of your fleet, but just a
fleet support unit. In fact, you could bring along 2 if the action is thick,
to replace frigates with greater ease. It has a lot of health, so you can
have confidence in its survival. Bombers won’t likely attack it, as it takes
too long to bring it down and frigates are more of a threats, so you can
just ignore them, but KEEP AWAY from heavy guns. Also, it is a good idea for
Capital Ships in general to provide them with an entourage of support
vessels.
*note* Unlike the Vaygr Carrier, the Hiigaran Carrier can have a Fighter
Facility, a Corvette Facility AND a Frigate facility, ALL at the same time.
How to use:
For starters, make 1 and attach it to your fleet. Make sure it is well
behind your fleet, where the enemy is less likely to reach. That way your
fleet will keep the enemy busy, while the Carrier humbly vomits ship after
ship to strengthen your weakening fleet. That, however, is effective only
for supporting your Fighters and Corvettes, as they can fly back for repairs
and then get back into the action quickly. If you’re planning on providing
support (or in this case replacement) for your Frigates, you need to move
the Carrier inside your fleet. Since you can’t really move it around, it is
crucial where you place it beforehand. An ideal place to put is, is directly
behind your Destroyers, with Frigates on the flanks. The main threat to the
Carrier will come from enemy Frigates and Capital Ships. Bombers could also
prove a hazard, but they take too long to destroy a Carrier and their
lifespan isn’t that long. If Bombers do attack your Carrier, order your
Interceptors and/or Flack Frigates to attack the Bombers, but don’t bother
with the Gunships. If enemy Ion Cannon Frigates or Heavy Missile Frigates
break your line, you’re in trouble. These guys WILL live long enough to
destroy Your Carrier. It can’t flee, so the only chance is to hit them with
your Destroyers and hope they align before it’s too late. If your Ion Cannon
Frigates are still alive, you can use them. Bombers may prove useful, but by
that stage they’ll probably be dead.
Now, if provide your carrier with its own entourage of support vessels, the
above situation could be different. The entourage should consist of 2 or 4
Resource Collectors and (if you can spare it) a Defence Field Frigate.
Should the Carrier find itself under heavy enemy fire, send the Resourcers
to make repairs and activate the Defence Field (if you have a Frigate)
Improved Manufacturing
It speeds up the building process on all carriers by 30%. Get this as soon
as you can as it will make constructions in the field much quicker. That’s
essential to keeping your fleet alive.
5.4.2. Destroyer
Good against: Frigates, Capital Ships
Weak against: Bombers, Battlecruisers
Cost: 2000
Maximum Speed: 115
Attack Damage/Sec: 1034
Health: 85000
Prerequisites: Capital Ship Facility, Research Module, Destroyer Chassis
Research
Subsystem slots:
Engines
Researches available:
Destroyer Chassis 1500RU
Understanding the ship:
The key thing to understand about Destroyers is that you actually WANT them
to take damage. That’s what they’re made for. They must form the brunt of
your fleet and be the first into battle, to exploit their potential best.
What destroyers have on their side is health more than firepower (although
their firepower is still far grater than anything before them). The most
important think you need to do to exploit their toughness is to make sure
THEY are what the enemy attacks. Now, Destroyers will chew up frigates like
chewing gum, so people will usually freak when they see them and try to kill
them first by focusing their fire. That’s good, since that way the rest of
your fleet (namely the Frigates) will be able to close in unhindered. That
also means that you can have Fighters and Corvettes flying around the
Destroyers in relative (RELATIVE) safety. Also, never underestimate the
Destroyer’s firepower. Although 3 Ion Cannon Frigates will dish out more
damage/sec for about the same cost, they die MUCH faster. Besides, the
Destroyer has a MUCH grater range than any Frigate, so it can engage
Frigates well before they get in range to fire. What the Destroyer seriously
lacks, however, is speed. It can NEVER get to the action if IT didn’t start
it, and it can NENER flee (hyperspace notwithstanding). The only real way to
take advantage of the Destroyer’s sturdiness and make full use of its long
range guns, while masking its near immobility, is to put the Destroyer on
the very front of your fleet, so that the enemy has to go through it to
attack the rest of your fleet. Also, keep in mind that Destroyers need to
turn their broad side to fie effectively, so account for the time it takes
them to do that. Caution is advised, however, since if the enemy has
(heavens forbid) a Battlecruiser, this tactic can get you in serious
trouble. Also, it is a good idea for Capital Ships in general to provide
them with an entourage of support vessels.
*note* You can only have 5 Destroyers at any given time, even if your unit
limit allows you more Capital Ships.
How to use:
Make at least 3, anything less will be inefficient. You should build all 5
allowed when you can afford it. Form them into a strike group and put them
in the very front of your fleet, with Flack and Torpedo Frigates on the
flanks and Ion Cannon Frigates following behind. You MUST also have Fighters
and Corvettes around your Destroyers if you’re fighting a Vaygr enemy, as he
is Fighters and Corvettes are much better. Now, there are two possibilities:
either your force of Destroyers is greater than the enemy’s, or it is not.
If it is, then you should concentrate your fire on your enemy’s Destroyers,
with your own Destroyers. Keep your frigates back for now to avoid the
enemy’s big guns, but make sure they can fend off Fighters and Corvettes.
Once his frigates move in, attack them with your own Frigates and Bombers.
Don’t worry about your destroyers, the will win if you keep the enemy’s
frigates off their backs. You should also allocate a Defence Field Frigate
or two – it helps out a lot. Also, keep a group of at least 4 Resource
Collectors to repair your Destroyers when they are damaged, but have
Fighters and Corvette flying around to provide cover, as your frigates will
be attacking. Just make sure your Torpedo and Flack Frigates keep those
nasty Bombers and even nastier Lancer Fighters and Laser Corvettes, as they
can shred your Frigates and seriously damage your Destroyers.. If your
Destroyer force is inferior to your enemy’s, you need to employ different
tactics. Then your destroyers won’t be able to deal with the enemy’s, so
you’ll need to use your Ion Cannon Frigates. Try to get the enemy’s
Destroyers to attack your own, so that your frigates can move within range.
If the enemy won’t do it, order your Destroyers to attack his frigates. Once
they start popping, he should panic and redirect his Destroyers’ fire. Once
your Frigates are within range of the enemy’s Destroyers, open fire and
order your Destroyers and Bombers to do the same. The objective here is to
kill his destroyers before he kills yours, even if you loose some Frigates,
so be prepared to take some casualties. If his Anti-Frigate Frigates are too
many, send your bombers to deal with them and send in Interceptors and
Corvettes to cover them. If heavens dose not forbid and you have to face a
Battlecruser, then you’re sunk. Try to destroy it or disable its ion cannons
without using Destroyers, or you can kiss them goodbye.
*edited* it used to say that you don’t have to worry about Fighters and
Corvettes, but the Vaygr Fighters and Corvettes can cause some real pain.
(Thanks to Yoshitaro for pointing that out.)
5.4.3. Shipyard
Good against: N/A
Weak against: Bombers, Capital Ships (and Frigates)
Cost: 3500
Maximum Speed: 15
Attack Damage/Sec: 120
Health: 150000
Prerequisites: Hyperspace Module
Understanding the ship:
Another production ship, this time with more subsystem slots than even the
Mothership. Health on this thing is remarkable, but you won’t need it unless
you’re loosing badly, or you decide to take it along for an attack. Also, it
is the only other ship, except the Mothership, that can build Capital Ships.
Not only that, but it is only here, that THE biggest and meanest ship of all
can be build – the almighty Battlecruiser (bless its mechanical heart). But
really, the Battlecruiser (bless its mechanical heart), is the only reason,
sort of loosing your Mothership, that would make you want to summon a
Shipyard. However, it only needs a Hyperspace Module and even a Carrier can
summon it, so if you have the money you might want to summon one all the
same. Now, as for the Shipyard’s to speed... well... Damn it! Its top speed
is 15! Yes, you read it right. 15! It takes a keen eye to tell it’s actually
moving. Even the Mothership is faster. The only feasible way to move would
be through a hyperspace jump, since the game will be over before it has
turned to face in the right direction, let alone moved. In a nutshell – the
Shipyard is BIG, it’s SLOW, it’s TOUGH and it can make BIG ships. Try to
keep it away from the action, err try to keep the action away from it.
*note* You can only have 1Shipyard at any given time, even if your unit
limit allows you more Capital Ships.
*note* The Shipyard is the ONLY ship you have access to, that can build the
mighty Battlecruiser (bless its mechanical heart).
How to use:
There are 3 things you can use it for.
If you want a second ship, capable of producing Capital Ships. Summon one
near your Mothership and you can spew Capital ships at double the rate. The
Shipyard should be safe there, but you might want to make a few Gun
Platforms just in case.
If you want to be able to replace your Destroyers and Carriers in the field,
but don’t want to put your Mothership to risk. Either summon one with a
Carrier somewhere far away from home, or summon one near the Mothership and
hyperspace it with the rest of your fleet. Attacking a Shipyard will be the
last thing on the enemy’s mind, but keep an eye on it just in case. You
don’t have to defend it all the time, though.
If you want to build the mighty Battleship (bless its mechanical heart).
Summon a Shipyard near your Mothership and build a Capital Ship Facility.
You should have made the research for the Battleship beforehand, so start
building one when the Capital Ship Facility is completed. However, it is
advisable that you research Improved Manufacturing for the Shipyard before
you commence the construction of a Battleship, as it takes BLOODY AGES. But
be prepared to dig deep in your pockets, as the whole ordeal involves huge
spendings.
Improved Manufacturing
Since you have Carriers to build the smaller ships, you’ll be using the
Shipyard to build primarily Capital Ships. They take a very long time to
build, so Improved Manufacturing is a must have if you’re to use your
Shipyard effectively. It’s doubly as important if you want to take the
shipyard to the front lines.
5.4.4. Battlecruiser (bless its mechanical heart)
Good against: Frigates, Capital Ships
Weak against: Bombers
Cost: 4000
Maximum Speed: 69
Attack Damage/Sec: 5200
Health: 240000
Prerequisites: Capital Ship Facility (Shipyard only), Advanced Research
Module, Battlecruiser Chassis Research
Subsystem slots:
Module slots: 2
Ion Cannon Turret
Ion Cannon Turret
Engines
Understanding the ship:
Can we say “Ouchie!”? This thing is the granddaddy of all Capital Ships and
it represents a quantum leap in both firepower and health. Its health is
almost 3 times as much as that of the Destroyer and even more that of the
Mothership. Its firepower is 5 (FIVE) time greater than that of the
Destroyer. That’s the only ship that can eat a strike group of Destroyers
and ask for seconds (supporting ships still have to be dealt with lest the
Battlecruiser be overwhelmed). However, the trade-off for firepower and
protection is speed, and the Battlecruiser’s top speed is exceptionally low.
In fact, the only 2 slower ships are the Mothership and the Shipyard (but
they don’t count). That means that positioning the Battlecruiser in your
fleet (or rather positioning your fleet around it) is crucial. It has the
same advantages as the Destroyer, but drastically exaggerated. It has even
more health, MUCH grater firepower and even longer-range guns. Also like the
Destroyer, you will WANT the Battlecruiser to take damage, because that
means that your Frigates, and even your Destroyers, will survive. That means
you want to place it up first, ahead of your destroyers. You won’t likely
have to coax the enemy into attacking your Battleship, as people tend to
freak when they see that thing heading their way and will usually focus
their fire onto it. However, that is bad. Even though the Battlecruiser is
the toughest unit you can have, it’s not invulnerable, and the concentrated
fire of a lot of Frigates and Destroyers (not to mention smaller craft) can
bring it down, so you need to look after it. That means allocating your
entourage of support vessels to it. It should consist of at least 1 Defence
Field Frigate and 4 Resource Collectors. However much of a threat heavy
enemy fire may be, the one thing you should fear more than anything else is
Bombers. They may have little effect on the thick, heavy armour of the
Battlecruiser, but they can quickly rob you of your main offensive weapon –
your 2 Ion Cannon Turrets. Even worse, you can’t repair them – they have to
regenerate! Without those, a Battlecruiser isn’t worth more than a
Destroyer. However, there is another great threat – the Vaygr Laser
Corvettes. They may take somewhat long to destroy a Battlecruiser, they CAN
do it, since the Vaygr can kill your entire Fighter and Corvette support.
*note* You can only have 3 Battlecruisers at any given time, even if your
unit limit allows you more Capital Ships.
*edited* It used to say you could only have 2 Battlecruisers at any given
time. That was an oversight on my part (Thanks to William Van)
How to use:
Even 1 is enough to turn the tide of battle, but if you can make 2, do it.
Make sure you still have al least 4 Destroyers to provide support. Once you
have a Battlecruiser, there is precious little that can stop it. However,
that in itself is a problem, since your enemy will likely direct all his
fire on your Battlecruiser, so you’ll need to defend it. However the depth
of this problem depends on the size of your enemy’s fleet. If:
The enemy has only Frigates and no destroyers – parade through his line and
run him into the ground. Or you could arrange your entire flee in a Capital
Phalanx and order an all out attack.
The enemy has enough Destroyers and many Frigates – watch over your own
Destroyers. You shouldn’t have much problems, but allocate the support
entourage to the Destroyers, as your Battleship is perfectly safe.
The enemy has many Frigates and Destroyers and (heavens forbid) 1 or 2
Battlecruisers of his own - bring along as many Destroyers as you can muster
and direct BOTH of your Defence Field Frigates to the Battlecruiser. This
will be a very hard fight. The first thing you want is the enemy’s
Battlecruiser(s) out of commission. The thing here is not to get involved in
a battle of attrition since you’ll achieve an empty victory at best. The
best thing to do is to use Bombers, but you need to deal with the hazards
first. Run your own Battleship(s) into your enemy’s and try to involve them
in an arm-wrestle. Most players will gladly play along, since they tend to
ignore Destroyers when they have Battlecruisers. All the better. Drive your
Destroyers into his lines and aim for his Anti-Fighter Frigates. If there
are too many Anti-Capital Ship Frigates, send in you own. In fact, once the
Destroyers have engaged, send them in anyway, but leave as much Anti-Fighter
defence with your Battlecruiser as you have to fend off Bombers. Know, that
in this scenario Frigates are EXPENDABLE. In fact, towards the end of the
struggle, you should recklessly feed them into the carnage to take some fire
off your Capital Ships. Once the field is (relatively) safe for Fighters,
send in your Bombers and castrate the enemy’s Battlecruisers. Once that is
done, FORGET THEM and exterminate the enemy’s Destroyers and Frigates. When
you’re done with that, THEN look to the Battlecruisers again and finish
them. If you pull it off correctly, you should emerge, crippled but
victorious and hopefully still have at least one handicapped Battlecruiser.
Also, it is highly advisable that you bring a Carrier or 2 with your armada
to replace lost ships, because losses WILL be high.
*note* Defending Your Battlecruiser in general. Have both of your Defence
Field Frigates accompany your Battlecruisers, but stay somewhat behind. When
the battle starts, order one to activate its shield and move forward to
shield your Battlecruisers. When it is drained, move it back and bring the
other forward. If you time it right, you can have a (relatively) constant
field protecting your Battlecruisers. But beware – enemies will get smart to
you quickly, so make sure you pull the Frigates back if they come under
attack. Also, keep a group of 4 to 6 Resource Collectors around your
Battlecruisers at all times. They can save their lives and you have more
than enough unit limit to carry out resourcing.
*update* IMPORTANT When defending you Battlecruiser against the Vaygr, there
is something else you need to watch out for – Laser Corvettes. These guys
can pummel your Battlecruiser before you know it if left unchecked. Vaygr
players will usually aim for Anti-Corvette and Anti-Fighter units. Your
interceptors and Pulsar Gunships will get creamed, but that’s just as well.
Sacrifice them if you have to, but PROTECT your Torpedo and Flack Frigates –
that’s all that stands between your Capital Ships and certain death. Aim
your Frigates at Laser Corvettes and Lancer Fighters FIRST, let the smaller
ships handle the rest and you should be fine. Fail to, and you loose more
than just a Battleship.
(Thanks to Yoshitaro for explaining how the Vaygr system works)
5.4.5. Mothership
Good against: Not applicable
Weak against: Not applicable
Cost: You can’t build it
Maximum Speed: 40
Attack Damage/Sec: 120
Health: 200000
Prerequisites: You start with it
Understanding the ship:
Not much to understand here. The Mothership is the cornerstone of your
fleet. It’s 1 of the only 2 construction ships that can build Capital Ships,
and it will be the only one for a great part of the game, since it’s
available at the start of the game. Low top speed and weak guns means it’s
better that you keep it away from combat, although you might want to take it
with your fleet when your other ships hyperspace (especially if the
Mothership has the Hyperspace module), lest you leave it alone and
undefended. From a point of pure pragmatism, the shipyard is better at being
a production ship, in that it has more module slots and can build
Battlecruisers. However, you can summon a shipyard at (almost) any time, but
you have only 1 Mothership and it has to last the entire game. So, again
from a point of pure pragmatism, it’s much more productive to have 2 ships,
capable of producing capital ships. Also, defending your Mothership is a
matter of pride and duty and even though loosing your Mothership won’t end
the game, it’s a great humiliation. I mean, come on! It’s the only ship with
a female voice in your fleet!
How to use:
Build as many Subsystems as it can take and don’t bother moving it, unless
you have to. Keep it well guarded. It’ll take a long time to destroy, but
Bombers can destroy its Subsystems if you’re not careful and that’ll cost
you a pretty penny. If you HAVE to send most or all of your ships away,
leave some Platforms behind to defend your Mothership. If you can just keep
it safe, you’ll make the best use of it. If you can supply it with enough
RU, you’ll make even better use of it.
Improved Manufacturing:
Increases build speed on the Mothership by 30%. Since the Mothership will be
your main manufacturing until reasonably late in the game, you should take
this research. Even if you plan on using a Shipyard, you, you’ll still be
using your Mothership a lot, since that way you can make Capital Ships twice
as fast.
Hyperspace
Decreases hyperspace jump cost by 20% for ALL units and ALL Hyperspace
Modules. You don’t have to Hyperspace from the hyperspace field of the
Mothership to enjoy use the cost reduction – you can use the hyperspace
module on ANY ship. I’d say get this when you have nothing else to research
and can spare the cash. Alternatively, you could take this if you want to
jump your entire fleet over very long range.
-- ------------
5.5. Platforms
Platforms are the Homeworld 2 equivalents of the defence towers from other
RTS games. They are still built by a construction ship and can move once to
where they are needed. They are both sturdy and well armed and come at an
affordable price. Mostly, platforms are used for cannon fodder, since you’ll
likely scuttle them when an area no longer needs protection. Also, they have
their own unit limit, so you can have a reasonable defence and still be able
to operate a large fleet far from home. A collection of Platforms and a
minefield or 2 can decimate marauding ships and stop light and medium
attacks dead in their tracks. The best platforms can do against Capital
Ships, though, is delay them until your fleet come flying to the rescue.
Keep in mind that Platforms come as single ships, and that you need to have
a Platform Control Module on the production ship you want to build them
from. The Platform Control Module is not a Facility class Subsystem, and
you’ll need 1 free Module slot to build it. The unit limit is 20 Platforms
of any kind at once on normal settings. All Platforms have one-shot engines.
Platforms have no speed upgrades (for obvious reasons).
5.5.1. Gun Platform
Good against: Fighters
Weak against: Frigates, Capital Ships
Cost: 300
Maximum Speed: 200 (one-shot)
Attack Damage/Sec: 32
Health: 5000
Prerequisites: Platform Control Module
Understanding the ship:
The Gun Platforms are made to defend points of interest against enemy
fighters. Their one-shot engines make it impossible to redeploy them, so
watch where you send them. Platforms are made to be self-sufficient (they
don’t need supporting ships) and to act without orders. That means you won’t
have to micromanage them and it allows you to lead your attack without
worrying about your resourcing operation too much. They have very tough
armour for something that has to deal with fighters, so they’ll live long
enough, even without orders. Their damage, however, is somewhat low, so
you’ll need quite a few to make a serious impression on a determined foe
(can’t have it all your way). But that’s not too much of a problem, since
they’re so cheap to make, but it limits you to defending just 1 place at a
time. On the other hand, if you don’t have any particular place to defend
and just want to harass the enemy’s scouts and marauders, you can just spew
them all over the place.
How to use:
Build about 5 to 10 and send them to where they are needed – usually a
forward resourcing operation (see 5.6.1). However, you’re more likely to
face fewer Fighters, as players will often send surplus ships to attack the
enemy’s resources, so even a few Gun Platforms will suffice. If the enemy
does send in a full force Fighter attack, he’ll likely have supporting
Corvettes and maybe even Frigates. In that case, send your own ships to help
or you’ll likely loose. Even with Ion Cannon Platforms you’ll still most
likely loose to a coordinated enemy attack. If the enemy doesn’t send
Corvettes or Frigates, then he’ll get minced, but don’t expect him to make
the same mistake again. A cheaper way to use Gun Platforms is to send them
to guard resource fields you’re not working on. That will deny the enemy
immediate access to them and maybe cost him a Resource Collector or 2,
forcing him to micromanage an attack on the platforms. That is both lagging
and annoying and it takes only so much time, effort and RU to execute. Of
course he may simply choose to find himself another resource field, but
he’ll have to deal with them the Gun Platforms sooner or later. An even
cheaper way to use Gun platforms is to a resource field your enemy is
actually mining. Chances are, he won’t have Platforms guarding it very early
in the game, so your own Gun Platforms will have free reign (though
something heavier may be needed to deal with the Mobile Refineries). That’ll
cost your enemy some Resource Collectors and make him withdraw the rest,
thereby denying him the resource field and making him have to lead an attack
to reclaim it, then rebuild his losses. And if it’s early enough in the
game, he won’t have the frigates required to retake the field without
losses, further adding insult to injury. That tactic is even more lagging
and even more annoying and liable to make hotheads say nasty words. In any
event, it will make players overly paranoid in protecting their forward
resourcing operations, and that’ll slow them down without outside
assistance. And the best part about this is that you can pull it off with
minimal expenses, as Gun Platforms are so cheap.
But there is another, even cheaper trick. By abusing the system of ships
following the ship that built them, you can make Platforms move
indefinitely. Just build them from a Carrier and bring it into battle. The
Platforms will stay in formation and move with it. The Platforms themselves
haven’t received an order to move, so they’ll still be able to move (once),
but they can still shoot even if they haven’t moved. That way you can bring
an extra 20 things into battle that your enemy probably hasn’t thought of
using. Neat, but VERY cheap.
5.5.2. Ion Cannon Platform
Good against: Frigates, Capital Ships
Weak against: Fighters, Corvettes
Cost: 300
Maximum Speed: 200 (one-shot)
Attack Damage/Sec: 167
Health: 5000
Prerequisites: Platform Control Module, Research Module, Platform Ions
Research
Researches available:
Platform Ions 600RU
Understanding the ship:
Pretty much the same as the Gun Platform, but it’s meant to fight Frigates.
In theory it could fight capital ships as well, but you’d need A LOT of
Platforms. Besides, even just a few destroyers will pop the Ion Cannon
Platforms like balloons in a fairground stall, so the best you can hope to
do against them is to either delay the fight until you can bring in
reinforcements, or try to cause as much damage as you can. Normally, you
don’t need to give them any orders, but in this scenario aim your Ion Cannon
Platforms for what dies the easiest. You’re going after casualties, after
all.
How to use:
Build 5 to 10 (about as much as the Gun Platforms) and, again, send them to
where they are needed. But enemies will rarely attack your forward resource
operation with frigates and destroyers, so you might consider using them in
some other way. If you feel a storm is brewing over your resource field then
send your Ion Cannon Platforms there, but otherwise, I’d suggest you just
leave them by your Mothership. That way, they’ll protect it and still me
able to move and relocate of they need to, since you won’t have used up
their one move. In a 1vs1 game leaving your Mothership alone is not that
much of a problem, since the enemy fleet will have to get through yours
first, but with 3, 4, 5 player, the risk of an attack while your fleet is
away increases. As I said before, the Platforms will at least buy you time
to come back. Also, unless you’re looking to cause some collateral damage,
avoid issuing orders – the Platforms know what to do. You can also include
an Ion Cannon Platform in the cheap tactics from above (5.5.1.) to help with
the Mobile Refineries. A cheap tactic unique to the Ion Cannon Platforms is
a way to boost your attacking power. Yes, that’s right. Just order them to
move inside your fleet shortly before a battle starts and they should arrive
just in time to lend support. The reason I say this is unique for the Ion
Cannon Platform is that Gun Platforms won’t add enough to your Anti-Fighter
support to justify wasting them.
But there is another, even cheaper trick. By abusing the system of ships
following the ship that built them, you can make Platforms move
indefinitely. Just build them from a Carrier and bring it into battle. The
Platforms will stay in formation and move with it. The Platforms themselves
haven’t received an order to move, so they’ll still be able to move (once),
but they can still shoot even if they haven’t moved. That way you can bring
an extra 20 things into battle that your enemy probably hasn’t thought of
using. Neat, but VERY cheap.
Platform Ions:
It’s just the research that enables the construction of Ion Cannon
Platforms. Nothing else to say.
-- ------------
5.6. Utility Class Ships
Utility Class Ships are non-combat vessels. They work best in peaceful
conditions and should be should be kept away from the action unless there is
good reason. They are not good against anything and weak against all, so I
won’t even include that. Anything else is too ship-specific to say here.
Keep in mind that Utility Class Ships come as single ships, and that you
don’t need to have anything on the production ship you want to build them
from. They are available from the start. The unit limit is 20 Platforms of
any kind at once on normal settings. Also, none of the Probes have either a
speed or an armour upgrades and the Resource Collector and Mobile Refinery
have only armour upgrades
Understanding the ship:
The Resource Collector is just the same as the worker units in all other RTS
games – it works best when not under fire. Keep your Resource Collectors
AWAY from battle (or keep the battle away from them), or if you must put
them near the action, make sure you have ships and/or Platforms protecting
them. There is one exception, however. Resource Collectors, as the name
suggests, collect resources from resource fields. These can be either
meteorite fields or the wrecks of capital ships (the more the wrecks, the
richer the field). Resource Collectors have no attack and below decent
armour, but their speed is not bad. However, it takes them some time to dock
with Resource Drop-Off Modules and they can only carry 200RU per run, so it
is advisable that you send Mobile Refineries INSIDE the resource field if it
is not DIRECTLY beside your Mothership and/or Carrier. Also, only so many
Collectors can work a single meteorite at once (1 for the small ones and 2
or 3 for the bigger), so make sure you don’t send too many, or they’ll spend
most of their time waiting around. A group of Resource Collectors
accompanied by a couple of Mobile Refineries, working a field away from you
fleet and home is referred to (by me) as a “forward resourcing operation”.
Remember, these guys are the backbone of your economy. But that also makes
them an attractive target for the enemy. In fact, attacking the opponent’s
workers is an age old tradition in RTS games, so expect severe attacks on
your forward resourcing operations. However, using ships to defend them is
wasteful and you’ll almost always need your ships elsewhere and even if you
don’t, you’d still have to micromanage the battle. A better solution to the
problem is Platforms, since they are cheap, efficient and don’t need your
orders (though you can still give orders). Protection is even more
important, when you’re mining a field in the enemy’s path or near his
border. And if a serious attack does come, IMMEDIATELY pull out your
resource collectors because they’re “meat on the table” for just about
anything. Resource Collectors can also repair Frigates and Capital Ships,
but again it is best done away from battle. If you MUST do it in the middle
of a battle, try to pull back the damaged ship(s) and do the repairs
somewhat away from action. Do NOT commit Resource Collectors to the battle,
or they’re cannon fodder.
How to use:
Make as many as a resource field can take and send them to harvest. If the
field is close enough, good. If not, make several Mobile Refineries,
depending on the number of Resource Collectors you’re sending and defend
with Platforms. Depending on how “forward” the resource operation is, you
decide how many Platforms and what kind to send, but the most should be
around the most “forward”. If the enemy attacks, take a look. If the
attackers are just a few wings of interceptors, ignore them and let the
Platforms deal with them. If it’s a larger force, but you feel the Platforms
can handle it, pull out the Resource Collectors a bit and wait take another
look in a while. If the enemy force is overwhelming, evacuate both the
Collectors and the Refineries and send in your ships. As for collecting the
remains of Capital Ships, each Collector will grab and carry 1 piece,
regardless of its value, so the more Collectors, the better, but don’t
overdo it. But the pieces have to go in through a Frigate dock, so it takes
somewhat longer and will interfere with emerging Frigates. Now, about
repairing – 2 Collectors can work on repairing a Frigate at the same time, 4
can work on a Destroyer and 6 on a Battlecruiser. If you need to repair a
Frigate, PULL IT OUT, then repair it. Frigates are fast enough. Trying to
pull back a Destroyer usually does more bad than good, so you can try to
repair one in the battle, but you’ll need a lot of supporting ships. Also,
try to choose a Destroyer closer to your end of the battle. As for repairing
a Battlecruiser, you need to send the Collectors in the thick of it – that’s
the exception. You could bring Resource Collectors in the thick of action,
but you need to include them in a trick (see 5.4.4). Include about 6
Resource collectors in the entourage of your Battlecruiser(s) and have them
carry out repairs when the shield is up. You could, theoretically, continue
repairing even unshielded in the hope that people would rather hit the
Battlecruiser, than the little resource collectors attached to it, but
that’s taking a big chance.
Repair:
Allows Resource Collectors to repair other ships of Frigate and Capital Ship
class. It cannot repair Subsystems. Strategies above.
5.6.2. Mobile Refinery
Cost: 800
Maximum Speed: 226
Attack Damage/Sec: 80
Health: 18000
Prerequisites: none
Understanding the ship:
The Mobile Refineries I keep talking about. Basically a ship with a Resource
Drop-Off and a gun turret. When the Mothership is away and you can’t spare a
Carrier, send these to forward resourcing operations. The Mobile Refinery
will be the only type of ship, other than the Collectors, at forward
resourcing operations. It has vastly superior health to Collectors and
actually HAS guns. In fact, Mobile Refineries can hold their own against
Interceptors and Strike Craft, but can’t provide much of a support to
Collectors, although a couple could serve to deter casual attacks. Bombers
are lethal, though. There’s nothing else to know about this ship.
How to use:
Depending on how many Collectors you have on a given resource field, build 1
or 2 Mobile Refineries and send them to the given field. If things start to
heat up, or if you feel they’re about to, make and send Platforms for
protection. Don’t evacuate the Refineries except in emergencies. Apart from
that, this ship has no other uses.
Understanding the ship:
Staggering speed. Even more staggering sensor range. One-shot engine. Yup,
the old probe is back and it’s EXACTY the same it was in the original, only
with a different model. It’s the most straightforward ship to use in the
entire game. Build one (it takes a few seconds) and send it to where you
think the enemy either might be, or might be passing, or might be hiding.
Dies in a few shots. Simple as that.
How to use:
Well... What can I say? If you’re not really stupid, don’t finish this
paragraph. OK. Look at the map and start guessing the places where the other
Mothership(s) is (are) likely to be. Now send a probe to every such place.
If you see any dust clouds small enough, send a probe there too. If a cloud
is too big, send a Scout wing. Also send a probe to as many resource fields
as you can, to keep track of your enemy. And, oh... send a few within
scanner range of his Mothership to keep an eye on him. Nothing else I can
think of.
5.6.4. Proximity Sensor Probe
Cost: 250
Maximum Speed: 600 (one-shot)
Attack Damage/Sec: 0
Health: 100
Prerequisites: Research Module, Proximity Sensors Technology Research
Understanding the ship:
Virtually the same as the same as the original Probe, but can detect cloaked
units and has a much reduced sensor range. A little more expensive, but
still dirt cheap. Also, due to the short sensor range it needs to be used
with a purpose, not just “to have a look around.
How to use:
I haven’t faced many cloaked ships, but I believe it is best to keep the
Proximity Sensors Probes home (not move them) and only use them when you
suspect cloaked ships are lurking at a given location. You could also send
them out to places enemies are likely to pass by, so if cloaked enemies do,
you’ll know about it. Also, you should put one DIRECTLY between your
Mothership and the enemy’s, as that’s the rout people will take most often.
Proximity Sensors Technology 500RU
This enables the construction of Proximity Sensors Probes. It’s cheap
enough, so take it eveif you don’t need it, just in case.
5.6.5. Sensors Distortion Probe
Maximum Speed: 600 (one-shot)
Attack Damage/Sec: 0
Health: 100
Prerequisites: Advanced Research Module, Sensors Distortion Technology
Research
Understanding the ship:
MouseNo4 explained (but I don’t quote) that this ship creates a field, which
hides your ships from the CPU’s prying eyes. It negates the CPU’s ability to
“know” where your every ship is at every moment and plan accordingly, but it
only hides ships in the white sphere, not the full scanner range. Ships,
hidden by the Sensors Distortion Probe are treated by the CPU as
non-existent unless it actually has ships within visual range. As far as we
have been able to figure, the Sensors Distortion Probe has no effect on
human players, other than as a regular probe. MouseNo4 did not wish to
comment on multiplayer uses.
According to Josh Lindsey and Zonr_0, the Sensors Distortion Probe is like
an artificial dust cloud. It will not hide ships from enemy sight, only make
it so the enemy has to get really close to see them (but I don’t know how
close). That’s what I have for playing against human players.
Another thing is that is that it cost more, builds slower and it takes
longer to research than a regular Probe. However, it has almost double the
sensors range of the original probe, so when you get the research and if you
have the money and unit limit, you can lay an almost unavoidable early
warning system, cover all dust clouds or watch the enemy from so far away he
probably won’t even know you’re watching.
*update* There was nothing here. Now there are things (Thanks to MouseNo4,
Josh Lindsey and Zonr_0)
How to use:
This can be used like a regular Probe with double the sensors range. Build
about 5 of these and form them into a belt between your Mothership and the
enemy’s. That way the enemy will almost certainly be detected if he should
choose to attack, since the Sensors Distortion Probes will likely see him
long before he sees them, let alone have time to take them out. Just keep an
eye on the Sensors Manager and you should be fine. If you hear the “ship
under attack” or “ship lost” alert, immediately take a look at the Sensors
manager to see if it is one of your Sensors Distortion Probes, and if it is,
expect an attack. If there are large dust clouds on the map, and you believe
the enemy is, or might try to, hide in them, send 2 Sensors Distortion
Probes, so that they cover the whole cloud. That should be enough to keep an
eye on a cloud, though some may be so big or spread out that they may
require more probes. Finally, you can just put 1 (or 2) somewhere on the
border of your enemy’s scanners, but not directly between you and him. The
Sensors Distortion Probe’s sensors usually have a longer range than anything
the enemy has (unless he has a few of his own), so you should be able to
watch him without him seeing you.
Where the Sensors Distortion Probe Really shines, however, is in
camouflaging your ships. A great way to amass a fleet without your enemy
knowing it. Build 1 or 2, depending on the size of your fleet and place your
construction ships’ rally objects on them. That way, even if the enemy has
scouts peeping on you, he’ll actually have to get within range of your
defence to see the units in the Sensors Distortion Probe’s field. Another
way to use it is to send one so that it would cover an entire resource
field. That way, the enemy will have a much harder time finding your forward
resourcing operations. Also, Zonr_0 had this to add:
“One particularly dirty tactic is to hide your Mothership and shipyard about
10 or more KM above your starting position and place a sensor distortion
probe there. I've had people start cussing me out thinking I was hacking
with this trick.”
*updated* This was empty as well, but no longer (Thanks to MouseNo4, Josh
Lindsey and Zonr_0)
Sensors distortion Probe Technology:
Enables the construction of Sensors Distortion Probes. It is a cheap
research, even by Utility Class Ships standards, but one TOO slow in coming.
Not that it takes too long to research, but it requires an Advanced Research
Module, which comes a little late in the game. It is well worth it, however,
since it adds a whole new dimension (namely the 3rd dimension) to
surveillance. Sensors Distortion Probes can give you that vital piece of
information, which helps prevent those nasty surprise attacks that leave you
thinking things like “why didn’t I build more Interceptors” or “Why did I
have to send my Frigates away”. Also, the camouflage it provides can make
the difference between a hard (and maybe impossible) battle and a “piece of
cake” type surprise attack if used right. Just imagine your entire fleet
emerging from “somewhere”, right behind the enemy’s unsuspecting attack
force.
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6. Vaygr Ships (still working on it)
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7. Hiigaran Researches and upgrades
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8. Vaygr Researches and upgrades
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9. Subsystems
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Subsystems are add-ons you can add to production ships, as well as
Battlecruisers. They are divided 4 groups (or categories) – Facility,
Module, Sensor and Miscellaneous Subsystems. Each Subsystem requires one
free slot of its own category to build. If you use up all your slots of a
kind, you can’t build any more Subsystems of that group, unless you retire
or scuttle one that is already built. Vaygr Carriers have an additional
function, where the game will offer to switch a Facility when it is built
with another Facility, since the Vaygr Carriers can only house 1 (one).
Miscellaneous Subsystems can’t be build (a ship is built with them) or
destroyed, but they CAN be disabled for a time. You can NOT repair
subsystems. Also, I won’t include researches here, as things get long and
confusing.
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9.1. Facilities
Depending on the type of Facility, it will enable the construction of a
certain class of ships – Fighters, Corvettes, Frigates or Capital Ships. The
Scout is an exception, as it is a Fighter, but does not require any Facility
to build. Platforms and Utility Class Ships use different subsystems. These
Subsystems are vital and you must have them all on one ship or another, and
you should build some (if not all) in two or more places. Also, I won’t
include an “Understanding the Subsystem” section here, as these are as
straightforward as it gets. Keep in mind that each Facility takes up 1
Production slot.
Enables for Hiigaran:
With No Research Module:
The construction of Interceptors
The construction of Bombers
With Research Module:
Only researches
Advanced Research Module:
Only researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
How to use:
Build 1 immediately, as it provides you with the means of creating your most
basic defence and it’s cheap. Fighters are quick to build, so 1 should
suffice. Concentrate on Interceptors you don’t have a particular reason to
build Bombers. At later stages, you might want to build additional Fighter
Facilities on different construction ships, to avoid having Fighters wait on
the same queue as Frigates. At that point you’ll probably also want to fill
most of your Fighters unit limit with Bombers.
9.1.2. Corvette Facility
Cost: 800
Prerequisites: Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
With No Research Module:
Cannot be built
With Research Module:
The construction of Gunships
The construction of Pulsar Gunships
And researches
With Advanced Research Module:
Minelaying Technology Research
The construction of Minelayers
And researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
How to use:
As soon as you have a Research Module, build one. Concentrate on Pulsar
Gunships to counter enemy Corvettes, unless you plan to use Gunships instead
of Interceptors, in which case get some Torpedo Frigates to fill the vacuum
(in more ways than one). At later stages, you might want to build additional
Corvette Facilities on different construction ships, to avoid having
Corvettes wait on the same queue as Frigates and Capital Ships. At that
point you’ll probably also want to forget about the simple Gunship and
concentrate on Pulsars more.
9.1.3. Frigate Facility
Cost: 1000
Prerequisites: Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
With No Research Module:
Cannot be built
With Research Module:
The construction of Torpedo Frigates
And researches
With Research Module:
The construction of Flack Frigates
The construction of Ion Cannon Frigates
The construction of Marine Frigates
Defence Field Technology Research
The construction of Defence Field Frigates
And researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
How to use:
In the general case, build one once you have a reasonable Fighter and
Corvette force, since Frigates need support. At later stages you need at
LEAST 2, as Frigates are slow to build and you’ll need a lot of them later
on. You could skip straight to a Frigate Facility and try a Frigate only
rush, but Fighters and Corvettes can easily get the best of unsupported
Frigates in the right hands (especially with Vaygr Players).
9.1.4. Capital Ship Facility
Cost: 1800
Prerequisites: none
Enables for Hiigaran:
No Research Module:
The construction of Carriers
With Research Module:
Destroyer Chassis Research
The construction of Destroyers
And researches
With Research Module:
Battlecruiser Chassis Research
The construction of Battlecruisers (Shipyard only)
And researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
How to use:
Build this Facility somewhere in the beginning, but wait until you have big
Fighter and Corvette forces and a sufficient number of Frigates. In the
meantime you could make a Carrier or 2, but only if you need them. Once
you’re ready, concentrate on Destroyers. As that’s progressing, build a
Capital Ship Facility on a Shipyard and commence construction of a
Battlecruiser. But don’t start with a Battlecruiser, as it still needs
Destroyers for support and it will take up the Capital Ship Facility for a
LONG time.
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9.2. Modules
By far the most numerous, Modules make up almost half of all Subsystems.
Unlike Facilities, Modules do not help in the construction of ships (with 1
exception). Instead, they give new special abilities and increased
statistics, either to the ship they are built on, or those around it.
Anything more is too specific to say here. Keep in mind that each Module
takes up one Module slot.
9.2.1. Research Module
Cost: 1500
Prerequisites: none
Enables for Hiigaran:
The construction of Corvette Facilities
The construction of Gunships
The construction of Pulsar Gunships
The construction of Frigate Faclilities
The construction of Torpedo Frigtes
The construction of Capital Ship Facilities
Destroyer Chassis Technology Research
The construction of Destroyers
Platform Ions Technology Research (Platform Control Module required)
The construction of Ion Cannon Platforms
Proximity Sensors Technology Research
The construction of Proximity Sensors
The construction of Advanced Research Modules
The construction of Hyperspace Modules
The construction of Gravity Well Generators
The construction of Cloak Generators
The ability to carry out Researches
And Researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
Understanding the Subsystem:
Absolutely VITAL. You CANNOT do without it, so get it as soon as you can.
This goes double for Vaygr players, since, unlike the Hiigaran, most of the
Vaygr ships need to be researched. This starts as early as the Bomber. But
it equally as vital for any kind of player, with any kind of strategy,
playing either race. By my rough (and inaccurate) estimates, the Research
Module enables over two thirds of your build options. GET IT as soon as
possible and keep it alive always. No buts, ifs or maybes.
How to use:
I recommend you build a Research Module before you even start building
ships, as that requires a Facility. Don’t even bother with Resource
Collectors – you start with 6 and that’s OK for a while. Wait for all of
them to exit your Mothership and send them to harvest, then start your
Research Module. You can still make scouts in the meantime, though, but
watch your RU. Later in the game, when you have some extra money, you could
build a second Research module, which would decrease research times by about
25%. That may sound like a lot, but that’s 5 seconds out of 35 seconds.
However, it could help with the later researches for the bigger ships. Also,
if you DO want to speed up your research, you should stick to Research
Modules, as Advanced Research Modules speed up research by EXACTLY the same
amount, but are much more expensive (Hiigaran only). Also, the best ship to
put
9.2.1. Advanced Research Module (Hiigaran only)
Cost: 2250
Prerequisites: Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
Minelaying Technology Research (Requiers Corvette Facility)
The construction of Minelayers (Requiers Frigate Facility)
The construction of Flack Frigates (Requiers Frigate Facility)
The construction of Ion Cannon Frigates (Requiers Frigate Facility)
The construction of Marine Frigates (Requiers Frigate Facility)
Defence Field Technology Research (Requiers Frigate Facility)
The construction of Defence Field Frigates
Battlecruiser Chassis Technology Research (Requiers Capital Ship
Facility)
The construction of Battlecruisers (Shipyard only)
Sensors distortion Probe Technology Research
The construction of Sensors Distortion Probes
The construction of Fire Control Towers
And Researches
Enables for Vaygr: Not applicable
Understanding the Subsystem:
The second vital Subsystem that you MUST have to achieve victory. Well,
actually you CAN do without it, but it enables things like the Defence Field
Frigate (which is a cornerstone to Capital Ship warfare) and the
Battlecruiser (bless its mechanical heart), as well as almost all other
frigates. So, yeah, if you want to beat a newbie or crush an easy CPU, you
can skip the Advanced Research Module, But you’d have to play without
frigates. However, I SERIOUSLY recommend getting it when fighting even a
mediocre human player, since Frigates are the Hiigaran’s strong point. And
besides, it’s neither much more expensive, nor much slower to build than the
original Research Module. Also, it gives you access to level 2 upgrades,
which could prove quite invaluable in given situations.
How to use:
Make 1 as soon as you have an operational Frigate Facility. Ignoring
researches, you need an Advanced Research Module for all but one Frigates,
so it makes sense that this should be the appropriate moment. Unless you
have extra money, don’t start any of the new researches. Instead,
concentrate on building yourself a Frigate force. Once that is done, you
should take the armour upgrades for your Frigates, since they have a
tendency to die without you noticing.
IMPORTANT You absolutely DO NOT need a second
9.2.3. Hyperspace Module
Cost: 1000
Prerequisites: Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
The construction of a Shipyard
And researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
Understanding the Subsystem:
This is all you need to make hyperspace jumps. Period. However, hyperspacing
in Homeworld 2 is done in a somewhat awkward, yet uncomplicated way. You
need just 1 Hyperspace Module on just 1 of you construction ships. It
creates a field that allows all ships within it, the ability to jump. Only
ships capable of performing hyperspace jumps to begin with are affected –
Frigates and Capital Ships. The Hyperspace Module has NO effect on Fighters
and Corvettes. They must dock with a Carrier, Mothership, Shipyard or
Battlecruiser and have it transport them through Hyperspace. Hyperspace
jumps cost money, depending on the amount and types of ships that jump and
the distance they will travel. An estimate is displayed above the cursor. As
for now, I have made no calculation and can give you absolutely NO clue as
to how to guess the cost of a jump. If anyone can, drop me a line.
The Hyperspace Module is most useful towards the later stages of the game,
where you have the really big (and slow) ships and the money to pay for
jumps. This is great for a surprise attack, but it CAN be detected and
reacted upon, since ships stay in hyperspace for some time.
How to use:
Build one on a Carrier or Battlecruiser when you either feel you have more
money than you want, or have a couple of Battlecruisers you need transported
across the map. Avoid building it on your Mothership, unless you plan to
take it along with you (which is a bad idea), since otherwise you’ll be
sending your fleet on a one way trip. Not that you can’t build one in
mid-battle, but why put yourself in that position? Also, when hyperspacing,
make ABSOLUTELY sure you scout ahead so you know where you will exit.
There’s nothing worse than hyperspacing into a minefield (or several layers
of minefields) or dead in the centre of the enemy’s fleet (and maybe
platforms), so take caution. Also, it is preferable that you hyperspace to
places away form enemy construction ships, as they may have Hyperspace
Sensors, and the enemy will prepare for your arrival. If you can get a Probe
or Scout wing close enough, you can actually check which ships have those
Sensors, so as to avoid guessing. Also, it is a good idea to bring along a
Proximity sensor or 2, just in case, since there will be other thing you’ll
be building on site. The Vaygr have additional means to make hyperspace
jumps (see section **).
I don’t know exactly how the Gravity Well Generator works on ships already
in hyperspace, or attempting to jump INTO the field of an active Generator.
If anyone does, drop me a line.
*note* Section ** is not done yet, that’s why it has stars instead of
numbers.
9.2.4. Gravity Well Generator
Cost: 1500
Prerequisites: Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
Well, nothing.
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
Understanding the Subsystem:
The Hyperspace Inhibitors we all know and love (to kill). The same thing
that used to plague the campaign is now available in Human vs. CPU and
Multiplayer modes, but it has been modified to fit into the hyperspace
system of these modes. It now has a limited field of operations (about twice
that of the Hyperspace Module), that prevents ships from jumping into, or
out of, it. The Gravity Well Generator dose not need to be activated – it is
always active. Since no-one will likely want to jump right in the middle of
your fleet and if they want to jump next to your Mothership, they can exit
just outside the field and still achieve roughly the same result, you’ll be
more interested in using it for offence than defence. It is best used on
Carriers and (later on) Battlecruisers, since they move fast enough (well,
relatively) to actually bring the field onto ships that may try to flee into
hyperspace. Those are mostly the enemy’s Mothership or Shipyard and in some
instances maybe Battlecruisers.
How to use:
Depending n the stage of the game, build 1 on a Battlecruiser or a Carrier
that will be in your attack force. Now, if you’re going to use a Carrier,
make sure you protect it well. If you’ve pressed the enemy to the point
where he will want to evacuate through hyperspace, he’ll likely focus all
his fire on the ship with the Gravity Well Generator. You want to finish him
off, so you don’t want to let him flee. Just try to keep your Carrier alive
as long as possible and focus all the fire you can spare on the enemy’s
Mothership/Shipyard/Whatever. Your first objective here is to keep the
Carrier alive, since that’s all that’s keeping your target from fleeing, so
don’t be shy about diverting fire form the said target to save the carrier.
If all goes well, you should be able to kill the Mothership or whatever, but
you may sustain heavy damage. However, a Mothership or Shipyard down is
worth the effort. In the later stages of the game, Carriers are meat on the
table for the bigger ships, so you’ll want to use something more
substantial. A Battlecruiser can carry Modules, which makes it ideal for the
role of Hyperspace Inhibitor. It will certainly live longer than a Carrier
and it will add a LOT to the damage. However, the Battlecruiser is built for
long range warfare and bringing it in point blank range of the enemy’s
Mothership or Shipyard means it is now within range of enemy Frigates and
vulnerable to Bomber attacks. They can still hold out reasonably well, but
you HAVE to protect your Battlecruiser, lest it be overwhelmed. And this
time around killing your target won’t be as much trouble since now you’ll
now have much bigger guns. You COULD also build one on your Mothership and
send it into battle, but it’s weaker than a Battlecruiser and has almost no
attack and you can’t replace it, so I don’t recommend it.
9.2.5. Cloak Generator
Cost: 750
Prerequisites: Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
Well, nothing.
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
Understanding the Subsystem:
As the name implies, the Cloak Generator cloaks the construction ship it is
built on, as well as all the ships in a limited field around it. It has to
be enabled and it has a limited energy supply, that will regenerate when the
Cloak Generator is not active. It takes a certain amount of energy
immediately as it activates and then drains the rest slowly. If cloaked
units are ordered attack, they will immediately uncloak until the attack
order is withdrawn, at which point they’ll recloak. Making a hyperspace
jump, however, will not disengage the cloak, which means you could use it
for a surprise attack on the enemy’s Mothership, but beware of Hyperspace
Sensors. Alternatively, you could use it for a surprise frontal attack on
the enemy’s fleet, perhaps to negate its long-range guns, or to outflank it
and attack it from behind. Whatever the case, Carriers and Battlecruisers
are the prime candidates for a cloaking generator, since the Shipyard and
Mothership should stay home. I’ve made a little calculation – the Cloak
Generator will work for about 2 minutes straight if activated at full power.
In that time a Carrier travel 8km. Just for reference.
How to use:
Depending on the stage of the game, build 1 on a Carrier or Battlecruiser
and put it in the middle of your fleet. Then you can do 1 of 2 things:
either make a hyperspace jump or move in on conventional drive. If you want
to hyperspace, you’d best do that behind or near the enemy Mothership. But
make sure there are NO Hyperspace Sensors on any of the Capital Ships there,
or the enemy will know to send Proximity Sensors. Just jump outside of the
Hyperspace Sensors’ field of influence, since you can move your cloaked
fleet inside them once it exits from hyperspace without being detected. Then
attack from behind or something. If you don’t want to make a hyperspace jump
and instead opt to use your ships’ conventional drives, then you’re better
of putting the Cloak Generator on a Carrier, since the Battlecruiser is too
slow to make use of the Cloak Generator’s limited energy. Also, that is a
tactic better suited for the earlier stages of the game, where you’ll be
using Frigates primarily. A fleet of Frigates and a Carrier can move about
8km on a fully charged, which allows you to make a surprise attack, but it
needs to be pulled off carefully, and you need very good intelligence. If
you’re fighting an enemy with a superior fleet, you could just use the cloak
generator to close the distance and negate the long range guns on his
Capital Ships.
9.2.6. Fire Control Tower
Cost: 1500
Prerequisites: Advanced Research Module
Enables for Hiigaran:
Well, nothing.
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
Understanding the Subsystem:
Currently, I have no idea what this does. It’s supposed to increase the
ships’ combat performance, but I haven’t been able to see what it actually
does. If anyone knows what this is, or how to use it, drop me a line.
9.2.7. Platform Control Module
Cost: 500
Prerequisites: none
Enables for Hiigaran:
No Research Module:
The construction of Gun Platforms
With Research Module:
Platform Ions Technology Research
The construction of Ion Cannon Platforms
And researches
With Advanced Research Module:
Only researches
Enables for Vaygr (in a while)
Understanding the Subsystem:
This is the exception to the rule that Modules are not used for production.
This Module is the exact same thing as any of the Facilities, only for
Platforms. That is why I will give no additional information about
understanding it.
How to use:
You won’t need more than 1 as platforms are quick to build. Build a Platform
Control Module somewhere in the pause between the Fighter Facility and the
Corvette Facility, since you’ll need to protect your forward resourcing
operations (if you have to have any). Alternatively, you could use platforms
to defend your Mothership from early rushes that could cripple your economy
for the rest of the game. In either case, you’ll need it early on. It’s
cheap and so are the platforms, so I see no reason not to build 1. Later in
the game, when you have to make Ion Cannon Platforms, you could build a
second 1, but only if you are in a hurry. Besides, chances are you’ll need
your Module slots for something else.
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9.3. Sensors
Sensors is a passive category of Subsystems. Sensors neither allow the
construction of ships or Subsystems, nor does it add any special abilities
to the construction ship that houses one of them. Instead, they enhance the
detection capabilities of the ship. Here, the Hiigaran have the advantage,
as they have 1 Sensors Subsystem unique to them. Also, no Sensors enable
anything, or have any prerequisites, so I will only list the cost here (not
that it changes). Keep in mind that each Sensors Subsystem takes up one
Sensors slot.
9.3.1. Hyperspace Sensors
Cost: 250
Understanding the Subsystem:
I haven’t used this subsystem at all, so I can only guess. The game says it
detects hyperspace signatures in a field around the construction ship it is
built on. Though that field is not shown, I assume it is the same as the
construction ship’s field of view (the blue sphere on the Sensors Manager),
since that’s what Sensors tamper with. I guess you’ll receive a warning that
ships are approaching in hyperspace, which would give you time to react.
However, since I’ve never used it, I’ll refrain from commenting on uses. If
anyone can explain what the Hyperspace Sensors do, please drop me a line.
9.3.2. Advanced Sensors Array
Cost: 250
Understanding the Subsystem:
Well, there’s not much to understand here. The Advanced Sensors Array simply
doubles the sensors range of the ship it is built on. It really has very
little practical use, but it makes life much more convenient, since you see
attacks coming form further away. Equally effective in both defence and
offence, cheap to build and, with so little else to put in its place, I’d
say the Advanced Sensors array is something you’ll want to build soon after
the start of the game even if it won’t make a world of difference.
How to use:
Build one on your Mothership right at the start of the game. That way you’ll
see much further away, which will allow you to see enemy scouts peeping in
and chase them away, or (with luck) kill them. Also, a bit later on, when
the enemy starts making marauding attacks, especially if he is Vaygr, you’ll
be able to see those attacks coming and bring your ships back or whatever.
Later still, when both you and your enemy have Frigates and Capital Ships,
the Advance Sensors Array on the Mothership won’t be as useful. A new use of
it will be found in offensive warfare, where you’ll bring a Carrier with an
Advanced Sensors Array, to help you see the enemy early enough to put your
ships in formation. I suggest building it on the Carrier you start with,
since by the time you need Hyperspace Sensors you will (should) already have
a Shipyard, or another Carrier to put that Subsystem on.
9.3.3. Anti-Cloaking Sensors
Cost: 250
Understanding the Subsystem:
Currently, I have no idea what that does. The game says it somehow “improves
sensors against cloaked ships”, but I have yet to see how. I would guess
that maybe it allows the ship the Anti-Cloaking Sensors is built to detect
cloaked ships, but I have no way to verify this, nor any grounds to base it
upon. Sorry. If anyone knows anything about this Subsystem, drop me a line.
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10. When to contact me
-- ------------
You can reach me at nero_orog@hotmail.com
Drop me a line if you:
1. Have comments, tips or suggestions. I’ll include you in the Credits.
2. Want to inform me of errors or misjudgements I’ve made, show me something
I’ve missed or want to contribute to the FAQ. I’ll include you in the
credits with additional thanks.
3. Don’t understand part of the FAQ, or need additional information, or need
to know things I haven’t yet put in AND you’ve looked carefully. I’ll
respond as soon as I can, but I don’t have infinite knowledge.
4. Want to tell me how good my FAQ is. I’ll send you a “Thank you” e-mail
and give you my sincere thanks.
5. Want to tell me how bad my FAQ is, but want to suggest a way to improve
it. I’ll include you in the credits with additional thanks.
6. Want to use my FAQ or parts of it in you own FAQ, on your website or
whatever. I’ll allow it, but ask me anyway.
7. Are an admin. at GameFAQs and have something to tell me.
8. Believe I should give you credit and I haven’t. I’ll have a look and
include you if you’re right.
Do NOT drop me a line if you:
1. Want to tell me how bad my FAQ is, but you don’t want to offer any
constructive way to improve it. Your e-mail will be ignored.
2. Want to tell me how much you dislike me as a person, my beliefs, my
speech or my relatives. Your e-mail address will be blocked and you’ll
receive my prefabricated “hate” letter.
3. Want to sell me things, want me to send out a chain letter, or anything
else of the sort. Your e-mail will be ignored.
4. Want to ask me about information already in the FAQ. Mostly I’ll tell you
where the thing is in my FAQ, but I just MAY ignore your e-mail.
5. Want to just chat. Your e-mail will be ignored. I already have a life.
Anything else is your call.
-- ------------
10. Credits
-- ------------
Me – Nero – for playing Homeworld 2 and spending a lot of 10 hour days
typing.
phAke, my friend – for insisting that I play
MouseNo4, Josh Lindsey, Zonr_0 – For providing me with information on the
Sensors Distortion Probe. Thanks a lot!
Yoshitaro – for pointing out the weakness in my Battlecruiser strategies and
for his insight in Vaygr Fighter and Corvette tactics.
Sean Duncan, Nick Adams – For pointing out an error I had made in my history
of the game. Thanks a lot!
William Van – For pointing out an error I had made about the Battlecruiser
unit limit and for providing me with additional info on the Scouts’ EMP
Blast.
Patrick Chen – For pointing out I had been spelling the Vaygr wrong (used to
be Vygar) Thanks a lot!
Daniel Pusch and his team – For hosting my FAQ on their site
http://www.cheats.de
Bernd Wolffgramm, For hosting my FAQ on http://www.dlh.net
Stephen Ng – For hosting my FAQ on http://www.faqs.ign.com
Alain Malcotte – For hosting my FAQ on his site http://www.homeworld-2.net
Sierra, Vivend and Relic – For making and distributing the game
Logitech – For providing me with a mouse with a wheel.
And YOU – For reading.
Anyone of the above want his e-mail included or something, drop me a line.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
