Carrier LPC review:
I actually... Don't like using carriers. I have used so much Luddic Low tech and pirate missile junk that I've actually gotten addicted to tin ships with big dakka. AND YET - there are a lot of fun ways to use fighter LPCs, especially if you make a Legion battlecarrier or an Astral your flagship.
LW's LPC tier list:
Legion Battlecarrier tier - some LPCs were designed for the Legion Battlecarrier, that places emphasis on the "Battle" part of the "Carrier."
1. The Xyphos Support Wing is one such LPC. All of the weaknesses of the Xyphos (no engagement range meaning it's tethered to the carrier, high OP at 18 per slot) don't really matter to the Legion Battlecarrier, whilst the Legion Battlecarrier benefits from having 8 sets of EMP beams & Burst PDs that complement all of its shield-breaking ballistic weaponry. This kind of Battlecarrier really carves a unique niche for the Legion that makes it really potent and not just a more awkward Onslaught. I don't see an Onslaught with EMP beams, do you?
And if you're some kind of sexual deviant you can fit out a Heron to be a battlecarrier like that too. It is effective but just feels dirty.
2. The Broadsword Heavy Wing. Maxing out your battlecarrier on Broadswords means you have 24 extra light machine guns with decoy flare launchers and a THICC fighter with 750 HP and 100 armour. You won't believe your eyes how quickly this devours enemy shields and hulls.
Astral carrier tier - all of the bombers and torpedo bombers are made for the Astral. Interceptors are fine too but they waste the Astral's ability to instantly recall and reload with (f) to really spam all those torps. The only concession I'm willing to add is maybe one broadsword for the flares, but 3 or even all 4 torps or bombers is LEGIT.
1. An astral fitted with pure cobras is fantastic. Four reapers zeroing in on an enemy heavy cruiser or capital is going to make its day miserable, and with the astral you can keep recalling and relaunching the cobras with alarming speed. In a vacuum the cobras are vulnerable to PD, but just load up your fleet with squalls and there will always be enough missile cover to distract enemy PD to make it worthwhile.
2. Quad tridents. Sixteen atropos torpedoes will RUIN the day of frigates, destroyers and cruisers with an oversaturation of guided torpedoes. The low speed of the trident bomber is once again not a big problem for the astral because of the astral's recall.
Universally Good
1. Broadsword Heavy fighter. For obvious reasons, it's good on its own or it's good as screening for bombers.
2. Longbow bomber. Massing Longbows is surprisingly effective - they come equipped with point defence and shields to keep them alive, and synergise with basically every other bomber/heavy fighter in the game, and provide immense sources of joy, EMP damage and hard flux damage. They are slightly faster than torpedo bombers allowing them to get their flux damage in before the torpedoes strike too.
Downside - 18 second base replacement time with just two fighters per wing. You cannot afford to lose these guys because even losing one means your fighter wing is at half strength for 18 seconds and your carrier replacement rate is going to tank hard.
3. The Khopesh rocker bomber. Oh my god Khopeshes are so good it's unreal. They are peak midline - not the best in any particular way, but they are good enough against everything. Their mass saturation of rockets keeps them alive against PD, their mass barrage of rockets deletes enemy fighters/frigates/cruisers/capitals, and the khopesh rockets can be used to screen other torpedo bombers or used in tandem with MORE KHOPESHES. The rockets are ungided but there is such a wide spread of them that even nimble targets struggle to escape the barrage. Use khopeshes.
Special Considerations
1. The Talon Interceptor is a Ludd-fearing, pious LPC. I confess I only used to use them as a stop-gap measure on the race to higher OP LPCs until I realised the interceptor is horrifyingly good at its job. 4 interceptors per wing, 5 second replacement time (tied fastest in the game), armed with swarmer SRM launchers and vulcan cannons, the talon devours enemy fighters, saturates enemy PD with missiles, devours enemy ships. It is a suitable companion for bombers, and at just 2 OP it is not just viable but horrifyingly viable to give every single one of your ships pure talons, converted hangars with more talons, and the weakness of the converted hangar's replacement rate & doubled OP is mitigated by their generously tiny replacement rate.
Why isn't the talon "universally good?" It's unfortunately due to their vulnerability to flak. At 200 hull points with no shielding and a tiny profile, hegemony fleets annihilate interceptors. If you care about such things, they also tend to rack up immense crew losses over extended forays into deep space, which can be a problem for people ranging far from habitated space. But I would strongly, strongly advise considering the talon. It is not just the poor man's broadsword, in a lot of ways it is one of the most superior LPCs out there.
And remnants don't use flak >:)
2. The pirahna bomber. On its own the pirahna bomber is a bit of a meme. It's vulnerable, its bombs are easy to kill with PD or dodge, it's basically just an anti-paragon or anti-station bomber and good against nothing else.
Yet this is wrong! The pirahna bomber needs synergy. It needs synergy with MORE pirahna bombers. There is genuinely a critical mass where you have so many pirahna bombers that you end up saturating the entire field with beautiful bombastic whipper snappers that destroy enemy fighters, enemy ships, enemy dreams. The bombs end up providing the cover for the bombers and they just don't stop coming because you can fit them on all of your destroyer sized ships up. Especially devastating when the enemy forms its typical clusters - the bombs just tear through entire formations. Have you ever seen the joy of a radiant class ship desperately looking for somewhere to teleport to that isn't saturated with bombs?
I'm really tempted to make a fleet of astral pirahnas and doom phase mine droppers to see just how apocalyptic you can make things.
3. The wasp. It's a bit of an awkward thing. It combines the expendability of the talon with the point defence of the spark interceptor and its own little bomblet to drop on enemy fighters. It's the best at killing enemy fighters, is cheap, you get 6 per slot, don't have crew losses. In the player's hands they're really good and can probably fit into the "Legion battlecarrier tier" except... You can't trust them in the hands of AI pilots. The AI will tend to send the wasps to attack enemy warships where they get torn to pieces because they lack the talon's missiles and lack any ability to put hard flux on enemy shields or do armour damage. Most fighters and bombers can be memed to potency by spamming a billion of them. The wasp is not one of them. Yet it cannot be denied the beauty of utterly neutering a remnant drone swarm with the first-strike potential of 120 wasps.
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Topic: Starsector [TopDown Sandbox RPG on Space] (Read 369962 times)