I disagree. Obviously the Sova rush is an option but aside from that, the 2-7 fighter/bomber squadron it supports tend to help make enemy long range frigates impotent.

Of course, they are pretty bad at planetary bombardment, but I love squadrons so what can I say...

Midgame:

2 Kols/1 Marza/1 Sova/1 Dunov

Late game:

2 Kols/1 Marza/1 Sova/1 Dunov/1 Akkan + lots of Hoshikos and Cielos

I don't see any purpose in building more than five or six Caps. Their value begins to diminish as games become more lengthy and frigate/HC fleets become oppressive in size and firepower.


I have on an occassion employed five Kols (midgame) simply because the ship is one of the best stand alone vessels in the game.

I normally stride towards this fleet composition:

50% Kodiaks
15% Cielos
15% Hoshikos
20% Percherons

If my opponent has a lot of strikecraft, add to the above Flaks at minimum a 1:2 ratio to the amount of strikecraft he has. And the composition of my own strikecraft naturally depends on what ships he favours.

With regards to capitol ships, I normally end the game with 6, since it seems to be the threshold after which the fleet sizes are so large that low level cap ships don't stand a chance if targetted.

I normally have:

1 Akkan
1 Kol
4 Dunovs

The Akkan is, if not destroyed, the cap I've started the game with, and a cap I love not only due to its colonize ability, but also due to Targeting Uplink and Armistice. The Kol, on the other hand, packs a punch and is an excellent tank. To focus fire on a Kol is normally not the best decision you can make, especially so if it's supported by 4 Dunovs with level 3 Shield Restore. I've fought battles against equal sized opponent fleets and won without loosing more than one or two frigates, because my opponent focus fired on one of my capitol ships (doesn't have to be the Kol). And if they would have succeeded in bringing the cap to the brink of destruction: Armistice. I love Shield Restore (the Dunov's other abilities are some of the best TEC cap abilites as well).

You know I don't usually have more than 2 or 3 caps ships even in a really big fleet. I think of them like big support ships. It is too easy to lose them or have them disabled for the battle. I like the abilities but I don't rely on them for firepower...I can usually get more damage from regular ships...

What I get depends on the map a lot. If I am going to have a lot of asteroids I will get the Akkan. Otherwise I will get either a pair of Kols with damage reduction and anti-fighter flak ( better for the fleet over all I think after trying it both ways...Gauss is nice but better to kill hoards of fighters rather than 400 damage on one unit...). My alternate is all Sovas with fighters for the same reason... change to bombers if need be. I found the missile platforms do a lot of damage and you get a lot of them... like motionless LRM's with more hp... and they sort of "attract fire" or "taunt".