Federation Commander

[lightsenshi]

As I've had some time to refresh my memory on the rules; I've got a rather straightforward question.


Is it my imagination, or do tactics boil down to: Close to point blank and fire everything?

[pixelgeek]

[Steve Cole]

The basic idea is to maneuver to place your best firing arc against the enemy's weakest shield at the minimum range.

There are a lot of things to do while you are doing that.

You can use drones to distract enemy phasers. The enemy does this to. Kzintis and some rare other ships can stack up enough drones to actually crash through a shield, forcing the enemy to wild weasel or run.

Direct-fire weapons and seeking weapons (plasma) work differently. Plasma works better from the front (harder to avoid) while direct-fire works from anywhere (but better against a weak shield). Plasma works lots better if you grab the enemy in a tractor beam to prevent wild weasel launch or running away; this is called the Gorn Anchor

Sometimes you play the long game. If you bash down half of any enemy shield, you create a weak spot to target with the next shot. The enemy is now limited in that he has to move in a way to keep that weak shield away from you. If you cannot reach it, bash down half of another shield, and sooner or later you make it so hard that he cannot maneuver at all as all of his shields are weak.

Remember that whatever you are trying to accomplish, your enemy is trying to accomplish something equally unpleasant to you.
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The Guy Who Designed Fed Commander

[lightsenshi]

That is more or less what I was thinking, thank you.