Archive through June 22, 2022
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Star Fleet Battles: General Tactics Discussion:
Omega Tactics:
Archive through June 22, 2022
I was thinking you might have gone for the NFF, but it is a bit pricey.
I was thinking of introducing my group to the Omega Sector as a way of making things a bit more even. I have played almost all of the Alpha fleets and they are new to the game. The thing is I only have the first module. Maybe I need to go DDs with the tutorial.
The OMRB isn't too expensive (and has incorporated all of the errata), but you'd still have to buy all the SSD books through spare parts.
I think I may run one of the scenarios from Omega 1, any suggestions to get a good "omega" feel?
It might be an idea to start in the middle and work outwards, by looking at the Mæsron Alliance and pitting them against each of their three opponents from the Great War; the Koligahr, Trobrin and Vari. The Mæsrons might have fun missile choices, but it's their tachyon guns which their captains really ought to get a good handle on; not least given the very different challenges they faced from each of these would-be Superpowers. Plus none of those four have much in the way of exotic rules to worry about.
Other historical rivalries among the first 11 are Trobrin versus Probr, Vari versus Drex, Hivers versus Alunda, and Sigvirions versus... well, pretty much anyone.
Some of the 11 get more fitting rivals in later products; while the Drex do fight the Vari and Hivers, the Ymatrians and Worb were more focused on them compared to anyone else. Plus, the Loriyill's true rivals are the Souldra; while the Alunda have even more bitter a dispute with the Branthodons than they do with the Hivers.
In terms of SSDs, the files from the second and third modules might be a good next step; Module Omega 2 gives you more ships for the first 11 (not least a very nice destroyer-sized Vulpa insurgent blockade runner, listed under the Mæsron section) while Module O3 will give you six new fleets (one of which being that "home away from home"; the Federal Republic of Aurora).
A recent blog entry noted that the Omega Master Rulebook is being updated (which would include things like the R-section data from Module Omega 5); if you are thinking of getting that file, it might be worth holding fire until the revised one is released.
I was going to use frigates but not all races frigates have all the weapons (tools) avail with destroyers and the BPV matches pretty closely to 95 the 2 with TM's are 85 with room to spend 10 on missiles. Clearly some are better than others but since we drafted them evenly we got to split up the more powerful ships. And 2 of the more powerful races had frigates near DD bpv the tobrin and the drex.
So after looking at the background and the stats, I am thinking I will be playing a lot of Sigs and Drex. So any tactical advice would be appreciated.
Has anyone played with the Drex? How do you ensure hits with the Heavy Hyper Cannons.
It is real easy to hit with heavy hypercannons the computer bonuses give you some bonuses that make it real easy. You will always move after your opponent no matter what speed and you can fire them from off their hex row with a -1 for each hex off but you get a plus one bonus for direct fire from the supercomputer bonus.
Is it worth taking the -1 penalty?
Usually. Play the numbers, same as any other weapon. In most cases you'll have an ECCM advantage, so the shift from firing off-bore will be canceled by the (G21.211) shift, so you're rolling straight from the chart anyway.
Thanks. I have a game tomorrow, hopefully , where we will be playing to scenarios, Maesron v Vari and Sigs v Probr. Now I just have to worry about how to use the long range KWs with the short range PEs.
PEs are point-defense weapons against the HEATs. Trying to manuever close enough to use them offensively is probably suicidal in that match-up, at least until later in the game when you've softened up your target a bit.
the best suggestion is to not arm all your KWs as the sig. It is better to hit your opponent with one in optimum range than with 3 at close range. Also note that even though PEs function similar to a phaser g they are not the max damage one can do firing all three shots is 9 where a ph g does a max of 16. That is a huge difference.
I noticed that. I get the feeling the PE is what the gatling was meant to be before it got ridiculously overpowerful (and I am a Hydran player saying that). I had planned to dance at optimum range, circling or making a zigzag in front to ring the KWs into arc one at a time.
the next ship I will play is the bolosco, and the IWT has so many different things to do I am wondering what people mostly use them for?
Lorilyll... Thoughts? Strategies? Tactics?
Just one, and it's pretty obvious.
Fireshields are best used when an enemy is setting up for a predictable exchange of fire; something like an oblique exchange or an overrun.
Is it just me or do they seem really weak? Fireballs rolling to hit and damage seem more based on luck than feds, who I hate for that reason. Two turn arming is even worse. Flame shields are a cool idea but it seems next to impossible to get that damage to hit the same shield as your fireballs since the attacker gets to decide when they fire.
It's one of those things that is easy to say in retrospect, but it probably would have made more sense thematically for the Loriyill to have been presented in the same Omega SFB module as the Singers and Souldra.
Many of the distinctive features of Loriyill magictechnology make sense only when you consider how they interact with those of the Souldra. The enveloping function of overloaded fireballs forces a Souldra opponent to spread out their soul shield blocks. The thickness of Loriyill shields makes it more difficult for the Souldra to wear them down to the point where they can attach a Black Shard to a Loriyill ship - and even then, the Loriyill can use flame shields (and flame shield projectors) to further block Black Shard vampirism. Although, once a Black Shard does manage to attach itself, it might be difficult for even a Loriyill ship to increase the range between itself and the Shard's host ship to the point where the host-Shard connection would be broken.
Plus, just as certain Singer ships incorporated aspects of Loriyill magictechnology, one of the "Omega's Lost Futures" Bruce Graw noted back in Captain's Log #36 would have involved Loriyill ships incorporating aspects of Singer technology. (One might consider how dangerous a Singer-tech Loriyill X-ship variant could be, were it allowed to wield enhanced tachyosonic beams...) Although, given where the Singer exiles were able to flee to in the wake of the fall of their home world, I'd argue that it would make more sense for such variants to first show up in the Loriyill Home Stars, rather than over in the Splinter Collective.
For what (little) it's worth, were the FC Omega project ever to make it that far, I'd prefer to keep the Loriyill, Singers, and Souldra grouped together - just as other groups of Omega empires (Drex/Ymatrian/Worb, Hiver/Alunda/Branthodon, etc) ought, in my view, to be presented together in such an eventuality.
While I agree that fireballs are kinda weak, please remember that, at close ranges (seven or less) you have the option of "Enveloping." The extra point of damage on each shield, again, isn't much, BUT if an opponent has a down shield, s/he has the annoyance of a point of internal damage.
Another annoying thing (in my opinion) about trying to fly Loriyill is that they make use of a plethora of weapons that each has its own range break. As an advantage, an opponent can't plan ahead for one of your attacks, but by the same token, it makes a good alpha strike something where SOME weapon is just outside a range break.
They do have their strengths. Let me see if I can give a decent list...
1. Solid shields. They can take a hit pretty well.
2. Good turn modes. If flown wisely, they can outmaneuver most enemies.
3. Low power demands for Fireballs. Can combine speed with turn mode to control engagement distance.
4. High number of Fireballs on ships. They may be weak, but what of the "Death of a Thousand Paper Cuts?"
5. Relatively low BPV cost. When combined with #4, how many Fireballs in a Battleforce 550 group?
6. Good Phaser arrays. Quantum Phasers at longer ranges and the traditional flexibility of Phasers.
At any rate, thanks for bringing them up; I think I might try to use them for the CL #55 Battleforce 550 article. 
I've got a fight coming up. I'll have 200 points to outfit a Lorilyll squad. we typically don't pay much attention to command ratings and standard fleet formations. I'm thinking two frigate leaders with legendary weapons officers and one fighter. The weapons officer can help a lot with a range 12 strike. They're kinda like disruptors which fire every other turn in that case. 
An alternative is a FF and a CAF. That fields 11 fireballs for exactly 200 points.
I will have O3, 4, and 5 in time so maybe there are other options as well. Maybe I could get to range 2 with ECM, erratic maneuvers, and flame shields to dissuade shots. If so then the two can do a large sum of damage.
Either way I'm not terribly stoked about the idea of playing them. But hey, what's life without challenges? Right?
What year is the battle set to take place in?
Depending on the year, the Loriyill can install mech-link refits in order to deploy "casual" fast patrol ships. (You'll get a chance to see what those look like once you have a copy of Module Omega #5.) A standard Loriyill PF has a split BPV of 40/45.
Actually, that module also gives the Loriyill a broader range of size-1 fighters to choose from.
-----
So, perhaps you could take a frigate leader (82) plus a frigate (70), install a casual mech-link on the FFL (+1), and take a "casual" PF (45) for a total of 198 BPV. Throw in a couple of commando or heavy weapon squads (or one of each) and you'd be up to 200.
Or take two frigates (70x2), a single mech-link (+1), a "casual" PF (45), and three T-bombs (+12) to also get to 198.
-----
On a side note, have you or anyone in your group ever considered trying one or more of the playtest Omega units printed in recent issues of Captain's Log?
For one thing, I'd be curious as to whether any of you had considered trying out the Zosman Marauders yet. Or perhaps even the Omega-Paravian antiproton variants from Captains Log #54.
Another question is what race will your opponent be flying? What are the Range Breaks for his/her weapons? How much of a maneuver advantage are you likely to have?
Looking at your own range breaks, all your weapons have an improvement when you go from range 8 to range 7. IF you're facing someone whose has a major improvement when they go from range 9 to range 8, you can expect them to use it.
Also, you've brought up the relatively low hitting power and accuracy of your (two turn arming) Fireballs. What's the arming cycle of his/her heavy weapons, and if s/he has two or three turn arming weapons, what's his/her Phaser array? If you both have down turns for rearming heavy weapons, will you have a firepower advantage through sheer force of your large Phaser array?
You also brought up using Frigates. Turn Mode of AA AND are nimble ships. You should have a much easier time keeping on a single enemy shield in a knife fight than your opponent, and even if s/he can turn a down shield away from you, you still have, in a knife fight, the option for an enveloping fireball (or three ) to send damage points through a non-facing down shield.
We don't have a year set. I would assume whatever year gives everyone the toys to play with. We also haven't considered CL ships. We're just now starting with Omega and want to keep things as basic as possible.
The two opponents so far are Trobrin and Ymatrian Horde. I don't have the horde stuff yet so can only look at Trobrin. I expect I'll probably see a CC unless there's a ship closer to 200BPV in Omega 3-5. That means range breaks are 9 and 8, though this group is likely to hold the Phaser-R1s because they like to be up close and personal. There's a pretty good chance of losing a shield at range 9 thanks to the power of those bolts. Not to mention the ludicrous nature of Implosion Torpedoes.
I think my only chance to beat the Trobrin is if the other two players duke it out. Those weapons are absolutely ridiculous compared to the Lorilyll. I have to keep my speed up, ECM full, and run away to dissuade them from going after me first. They like to gang up on me so this is probably a fast fight. Especially if I'm forced to take two frigates.
Then again, they like to make mistakes so maybe I'll get lucky. :D
P.S.
Is there errata for the dreadnought? It can only do speed 25 max. I can't afford one but that seems just plain silly.