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TheCrow68
TheCrow68
Join Date 04/2008
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Possible strategy to destroy pirate base???

Or: how to crack a nut

April 15, 2008 9:16:54 AM from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

Hi there,

I am relatively new to SoaSe, still been playing lots of RTS/Strategy during years. Now, I'm enjoying SoaSe a lot and a quite addicted already. Concerning the Pirates issue, I've read a lot of different opinions on Pirates: useful/useless, easy to kill/hard to kill etc. etc. Some say: use pirates to your advantage, others say: outbid them, make sure they can't get to you, try to destroy them etc.

Now, when I played one of my very first SoaSe games, I had some very rare luck: around mid-game I utterly destroyed a pirate base with a medium sized fleet. I was, at that time, unaware that this is something "rare" or "unuasual", reading other poster's comments on pirates.

Still, since my "lucky strike" it never happened again, and when later on in a game, pirates CAN be used to prop up the caps' experience points. But then again, there are people who think they're a pain in the behind and wish to destroy their bases, just to concentrate on the opponent players (AI or human).

Now, I was thinking about the following. I don't know if this already has been posted! I've read something about a strategy to send in a medium sized fleet of cobalt frigates/flak frigates and after their arrival, sending in the cavalry: a small to medium sized fleet of caps/cruisers. The pirates tend to focus on the first vessel/fleet that arrives, pracitcally ignoring the "newcomers".

Thinking this over, what about this then: if the Pirate base has 2 lanes from which ships can travel to and from, place one fleet of frigates on one end of a lane towards the pirates base, a cap ship fleet at the other lane's end (assuming that the planets at those "ends" are yours so your fleet will not be attacked by other enemy vessels) and, in effect, take them in a "nut cracker" sort of move....frigates from the "left", all pirates will gather around that fleet, a second later sending in the cap ship fleet, which will attack the pirates from behind.

Yeah, I know, not much of a honorable way to attack....but hey, how many of you are frustrated by pirates??? Let's get even....ha ha

Maybe this idea is as old as the game itself, but still, haven't read it anywhere else or I must have read over it all completely.....if this is the case, my apologies for re-posting an old(er) issue!?

Greetz,

TheCrow68

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TheCrow68
wildsage
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #1 April 15, 2008 9:42:52 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
Sounds like a fun time... I just might try this out... pirates are not usually my pressing concern in the game, but for laughs and giggles i might spend soe time on this one.
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TheCrow68
Andrew Cory
Join Date 04/2004
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Reply #2 April 15, 2008 4:25:18 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
Pincer movements are pretty much my standard way of taking on large enemy planets-- when I can pull it off. They're a whole lot of fun to watch

A buddy of mine and I would take turns giving an AI whiplash-- I would jump in to a grav. well, causing the AI to pull her fleet in. Then my buddy would jump into another grav. well-- causing the AI to either concede that well, or pull her fleet out of the battle with me to contest it. After about 30 minutes of this, we'd eaten the the AI down to just the homeworld. Good times...
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TheCrow68
SplitPeaSoup
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #3 April 16, 2008 12:19:59 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
I hear pirates are reasonable. Chat them up. They usually make a deal.
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TheCrow68
FlyingNinja77
Join Date 04/2008
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Reply #4 April 16, 2008 12:30:17 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
The very first game of Sins I played had a pirate base with, I kid you not, 400 total pirate ships. I'm not joking at all. I sent a fleet of 300 upgraded ships (including some caps) to their base with confidence only to have it limp back defeated...it was ridiculous.

Of course I haven't ever seen a pirate base that big since then, maybe it was just luck? Sometimes I get annoyed by pirates but usually every game I leave them on...it adds a bit of fun, right?
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TheCrow68
Sideshow_
Join Date 02/2008
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Reply #5 April 16, 2008 9:18:05 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
The more cash people give to the pirates via bounty the bigger and more dangerous they get.
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TheCrow68
ob1_shinobi
Join Date 06/2007
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Reply #6 April 16, 2008 9:44:58 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
And the more pirates that survive raids throughout the game accumulate at their base too.
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TheCrow68
Zaisha
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #7 April 16, 2008 9:48:22 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
The more cash people give to the pirates via bounty the bigger and more dangerous they get.


One thing I observed about the pirates is that after they manage a "succesful" raid (ie. defeated all forces in the gravwell they target, bounty collected) they return to the pirate base. I don't think the raiding force vanishes when they reach the base, they just pile up.

The AI tends to be particularly bad in fending of pirate raids, so raids against them can cause a fairly nasty base defence. In one lengthy game I consistently sicced the pirates on my opponents (going peaceful research achievement, didnt need the extra aggro) and the pirate base grew absurdly powerful. In another I took every pirate raid head-on on my own turf, exterminating their raids handily, and the pirate base stayed relatively tame. (though the fact that there was no bounty-race as a result might have influenced matters.)
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Tridus
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #8 April 16, 2008 9:55:44 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
I like killing Pirate bases because once colonized they have a plundered booty income bonus, and since there's only ever one phase lane in, they don't need guarding.

The most important thing seems to be high level cap ships, really. Pirates can have mass fleets, but they're just straight up attack ships. They don't have abilities. So if you can bring some strong abilities to bear against them, it really beats them up.

It can also take a couple of raids. Go in, weaken them, and get out without losing too many of your own ships. Repair/shield recharge, and go back in.
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DarkSide73
Join Date 04/2006
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Reply #9 April 16, 2008 10:20:50 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
I always attack the pirate bases once my fleet is big enough. No need to have them hanging around too long. If there are mutlistars the system I am in currently attacking i usually take the pirate base first. There is agood income boost from it and the AI factions tend to want it once I have it.
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Sideshow_
Join Date 02/2008
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Reply #10 April 16, 2008 10:57:37 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
I like killing Pirate bases because once colonized they have a plundered booty income bonus, and since there's only ever one phase lane in, they don't need guarding.


Eh, since when? I've never seen a pirate base with only one phase lane. In my experience it tends to have more phase lanes than most planets.
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TheCrow68
Tridus
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #11 April 16, 2008 11:19:47 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
Since always, I've never seen a pirate base with more then one phase lane.

Could be because I haven't played on a random map either?
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TheCrow68
Sideshow_
Join Date 02/2008
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Reply #12 April 16, 2008 11:33:05 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
Ah, yes, that would be it exactly
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TheCrow68
richterm
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #13 April 16, 2008 12:03:51 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
What's interesting is that random maps often have more than one pirate base...depending on the settings you use for planet groups, you can end up with 4-5. I've also seen the map generator end up with no pirate bases. For the custom maps I build, I generally ensure that each star has at least one planet group set to have a guaranteed pirate base.

Last night, my buddy and I ended up with 3 at our star system and an unknown number at the second star. We had to save and quit just before I finished crushing the one that had me trapped in...yep, I had my home planet, an asteroid and a lava planet, with the only phase lane out of that going right into a pirate base.
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DarkSide73
Join Date 04/2006
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Reply #14 April 16, 2008 12:10:21 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums
I always attack the pirate bases once my fleet is big enough. No need to have them hanging around too long. If there are mutlistars the system I am in currently attacking i usually take the pirate base first. There is agood income boost from it and the AI factions tend to want it once I have it.
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