Questions from a new player

from Sins Forums
I've started playing SoaSE and I must say I'm overall impressed with the game. But I'm still learning the ropes and I have a few questions:

1. Can ships bypass jump lanes? If yes, does the AI take advantage of this? I've had huge enemy fleets showing up on my inner worlds while I control the only chokepoint planet that allows access (and keep a huge fleet there). It is possible they ran the blockade while I wasn't looking, but I'd spot them eventually since I have a fair number of scout ships deployed. So it occurred to me that they may be going the slow route and flying outside of jump lanes.

2. How can I stop enemies from running through my blockades? Yes, jump inhibitors, but I can't build them on "planets" that aren't colonizable (asteroid fields and such), can I? It just seems that ships can be dreadfully hard to catch if they don't want to commit to battle.

3. Static defenses. What's the use? I can't blockade incoming jump lanes due to the range and most enemies will just hug the edge of the gravity well and go around them. If I space them out I will have used a lot of my planet's slots AND the concentration will be too low for them to actually do any good.

4. Cap ships. I know this is a silly question, but which type do you guys prefer? It just seems to me that the plain assault variety is the most efficient, especially early on in the game. Also, how hard is the "Cap ships only" achievement?

5. Squadrons (fighters and bombers). Are they any good? It's sometimes hard to see if they are actually doing anything, so a simple yes or no would be nice, so I have some idea weather I should try for the carrier cruisers?

6. Research. I like the way it's laid out, but I've found it really slows down later. Also, I've yet to have a game where I manage to bring the cruisers to the fight, it's usually all over too soon. How do I prioritize?

7. Ship types. I've been spamming Light Frigates and LRMs most of my games so far and it seems to be working. Looking at some posts here gives me the impression that I could be getting more bang for my buck if I varied my ships more (for instance, using Flaks to hunt Siege raids). Could you give me some tips on what counters what, at least for frigates (cruisers too if it's not too much trouble :) )

Yes, I'm sure most of my questions are quite noobish, but any help would be appreciated :D
9,285 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
1: No, could it have been insurgents? (TEC Tech) Or a wormhole (some maps have one way wormholes specifically made to get into the rear of an enemy)?

2: Carriers are the best at dealing with fleeing foes due to the speed of strikecraft. Otherwise, a Jump Inhibitor and some abilities (Gravity Warhead comes to mind) help.

3: Hanger strikecraft can hit anywhere in the gravwell, regeneration bays are helpful for nearby fleets. Turrets largely exist to protect those and the PJI, covering a gravwell entirely isn't plausible.

4: Personally I usually get the Battleship cap first for whatever race, then usually their support cap. Battleship, Carrier, or Colony are all viable to start though.

5: Yes.

6: This is a matter of getting comfortable with the speed you progress and is entirely personal preference.

7: Counters are fairly loose, but... LRMs beat Light Frigates, Flak and Fighters beat LRMs. Utility Cruisers (the TEC Hoshinko being a superb example) are almost always handy to have around, even if they don't specifically counter anything.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
Thx for the replies, it helped :)

1: No, could it have been insurgents? (TEC Tech) Or a wormhole (some maps have one way wormholes specifically made to get into the rear of an enemy)?
End of quote


Nope, not insurgents. And the only wormhole on the map is under my control and leads to a totally different star system. Well, I must have been paying even less attention than I thought. Though a warning "There's a big freaking fleet passing through your systems!" would be nice :p

One more question:

8. How do rafineries work exactly? What do they do?

WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
You can research a "Warning System" that tells you when enemy ships are jumping to your systems. Quite handy.

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
8. How do rafineries work exactly? What do they do?
End of quote
They increase the production of extractors within the gravwell they are placed, as well as those extractors within one phase jump of the refineries. Putting your cursor over an extractor will show a Refinery Quota stat, which shows the current/max number of refineries that can boost an extractor (typically 3).

So building 3 refineries will fill the quota within the gravwell they're placed and those directly linked, any more is a waste.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
3. Static defenses. What's the use? I can't blockade incoming jump lanes due to the range and most enemies will just hug the edge of the gravity well and go around them. If I space them out I will have used a lot of my planet's slots AND the concentration will be too low for them to actually do any good.
End of quote

Static defenses are solely for the purpose of slowing an invader down to give you time to get a fleet there. A few clustered turrets near where the enemy will most likely jump in along with a couple of hangers can actually be quite formidable, but they won't hold off a determined attacker indefinitely. You'll need a fleet of ships on hand for any serious defense.

Think of it this way: your fleets are your primary defense and static defenses are secondary.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

I've started playing SoaSE and I must say I'm overall impressed with the game. But I'm still learning the ropes and I have a few questions:

1. Can ships bypass jump lanes? If yes, does the AI take advantage of this? I've had huge enemy fleets showing up on my inner worlds while I control the only chokepoint planet that allows access (and keep a huge fleet there). It is possible they ran the blockade while I wasn't looking, but I'd spot them eventually since I have a fair number of scout ships deployed. So it occurred to me that they may be going the slow route and flying outside of jump lanes.

2. How can I stop enemies from running through my blockades? Yes, jump inhibitors, but I can't build them on "planets" that aren't colonizable (asteroid fields and such), can I? It just seems that ships can be dreadfully hard to catch if they don't want to commit to battle.

3. Static defenses. What's the use? I can't blockade incoming jump lanes due to the range and most enemies will just hug the edge of the gravity well and go around them. If I space them out I will have used a lot of my planet's slots AND the concentration will be too low for them to actually do any good.

4. Cap ships. I know this is a silly question, but which type do you guys prefer? It just seems to me that the plain assault variety is the most efficient, especially early on in the game. Also, how hard is the "Cap ships only" achievement?

5. Squadrons (fighters and bombers). Are they any good? It's sometimes hard to see if they are actually doing anything, so a simple yes or no would be nice, so I have some idea weather I should try for the carrier cruisers?

6. Research. I like the way it's laid out, but I've found it really slows down later. Also, I've yet to have a game where I manage to bring the cruisers to the fight, it's usually all over too soon. How do I prioritize?

7. Ship types. I've been spamming Light Frigates and LRMs most of my games so far and it seems to be working. Looking at some posts here gives me the impression that I could be getting more bang for my buck if I varied my ships more (for instance, using Flaks to hunt Siege raids). Could you give me some tips on what counters what, at least for frigates (cruisers too if it's not too much trouble )

Yes, I'm sure most of my questions are quite noobish, but any help would be appreciated
End of quote


1. The Vasari can construct Phase Stabilizers - structures that allow their ships to fly faster-than-light between any two of them, much like the Star Gates from the GalCiv2 lore. They can use these things to bypass the normal phase lane network. Otherwise, random wormholes can exist which can be traversed by any ship provided the ship's owner has the technology to do so.

2. Some ships like the Akkan Battlecruiser, Kodiak Heavy Cruiser, Jarrasul Evacuator, Skarovas Enforcer, Stilakus Subverter, Antorak Marauder, Radiance Battleship, Iconus Guardian, and Halcyon Carrier have special abilities which can help slow down, disrupt, or prevent enemy ships from trying to run through your defenses.

3. Turrets aren't the only static defense system. There are lots more. Hangar-based strikecraft fly very fast and can hit anything anywhere in the gravity well. Phase Jump Inhibitors slow down phase jumps by 2.5x, but it isn't much. Repair Stations help your ships in an obvious manner - by repairing them. Advent Antimatter Recharge Stations refill the antimatter supplies on your ships instantly. The Vasari's Nano Weapon Jammers can weaken the attacks of any enemy. Vasari Phase Stabilizers can bring in reinforcements almost instantly and even summon remnants of the Dark Fleet. TEC Planetary Shields make your planets immune from siege attacks. And then you have the 3 superweapons.

4. The Battleship, Dreadnought, Carrier and Colonizer options are all fine, but it's up to you which one to pick. The 'Capital Ships only' achievement would probably make you want to get the Advent's Mass Transcendence tech and watch out for anti-capital attack ships like the Illuminator. There's also a 'no capital ships achievement which would be more interesting, IMO. And a Space Ponies achievement!

5. Yes. Fighters are good vs. other fighters, bombers, LR frigates, siege ships, and scouts, and are the fastest things in the gravwell. Bombers are highly effective against light frigates, support cruisers, heavy cruisers, orbital structures and capital ships, but they need protection from enemy fighters and flak frigates.

6. Try going to clansofsin.com and checking out the research trees without having other stuff on your head as in the game, and plan out your approach there.

7. There are counter-charts available in the Strategies forum. Look there.