LF countering carriers - a success

from Sins Forums

I've been trying to counter carriers with LF for God knows how long - always unsuccessfully.  I finally had a success.  I was vasari, my TEC enemy was predictably spamming carriers.  So I started spamming skirmishers in what I thought would be yet another utterly doomed attempt.

It took me 40-something skirmishers to counter his 15 TEC carriers - roughly a 3 to 1 ratio.  It worked - I killed all of them.  A few things:

1) Just as when trying to counter the enemy with flak, it takes a LONG time and a dedicated committment to churn out that many LF.  Requires several frig factories churning them out continuously.  Don't know if it's my imagination or not, as I've never timed it before, but it certainly does seem to me that the enemy can turn out a carrier quicker than you can turn out 2 flak, or 3 LF.  I always had to play "catch up" to how many carriers he was able to field.

2) I didn't add up resources spent, but I may have in fact spent more than him.

3) He didn't micro his carriers very well.  If he had, I doubt the counter would have worked.

4) If he had mixed in LRM, I doubt I would have stood a chance.

Oh, I got the interference ability too, and saw it working, but I have no idea how much good it did.

strategy
2,534 views 8 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Yeah it takes long time to make 40 skirmnishers, however in that case 15 would do.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Umm I don't know man, by the time your enemy began to spam Carriers, especially the TECs, his fleets usually come with a healthy and deadly supplies of LRMs.  It's a miracle that you beat him, actually, but 40 LF vs. 15 Carriers sounds fair...I guess, what did you do after the battle?   

Galactic Civilizations III
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Astax, reply 1
Yeah it takes long time to make 40 skirmnishers, however in that case 15 would do.
End of Astax's quote

I have never even come remotely close to countering carriers with a 1 to 1 ratio of lf.  Of course, I'm not the pro player that you are either, so....

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

But fleet supply to fleet supply it was a good counter.

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

nah 40 skirmishers is equal to 20 Carriers in supply.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

Hmm. So, spamming cobalts to counter carriers. Wasn't some noob blasted for spamming only cobalts a while back ? :D   

Seriously, though, looks like a decent counter. I'd just mix in a few flak and it's a good force to chase down carriers ( fast, flexible, good against more then one thing ). 40 or so LF's is a decent attack force.

Like a pack of 40 weiner dogs, not dangerous by themselves, but once they chew your ankles off you ain't running to far...

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

If you spam cobalts out of the gates without knowing what your opponent has, then yes you are noob.  If you see he has a few carriers and makign more, what you do is make few extra frigate factories, wait till he loads up on all Carriers filling up his fleet supply, then you spam cobalts real fast.  Idea is if he saw you making cobalts he would stop making only carriers, but once he has 'em out, it's too late.

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

i would just assume a competement player would ALWAYS mix in some Javelis with his Percherons. it saves you from being countered by Light Frigs and its not like having 10-15 Javelis around is a bad thing, they're generically useful in their own right.