Defense Based Strategy

Is a defense-based strategy viable in single player and in multiplayer?

from Sins Forums

Hey guys,

I've been a big fan of SOE for years, but I stopped playing it around Diplomacy release. I'm hoping to get into the beta soon and have preodered Rebellion, but I've got a big question regarding strategy in both AI games and multiplayer matches.

Is defense a viable strategy? In every RTS or similar game I play, I prefer to secure an area and slowly expand, taking things as I go and keeping them in a stranglehold. This worked well enough in SOE AI games, but I'm wondering how it holds up in Rebellion, especially against other players. I'm a very defensive type of player, I hope to be able to find natural chokepoints along travel lanes and fortify those planets with Starbases and other orbital defenses. My fleet would primarily be one large force I would use to overwhelm whatever I'm up against, but I'd occasionally split it into several groups, in the event that I needed to bolster a defense or flank an enemy. My general strategy was to let my defended chokepoints guard my empire while my fleet expanded it, though I'd occasionally pull my entire fleet back if the need was dire, such as a massive fleet of another empire bearing down upon my starbases. I generally make my main fleets primarily out of capital ships with a smattering of carriers for fighter defense and starbase assault and my secondary or defensive fleets out of lesser craft working in unison. I'm likely to incorporate the new Titans into my main capital ship fleet I suppose.

I'm also open to a hit-and-run playstyle, but again I'd like to have a strong defense as the backbone of my strategy. I'm not good at being constantly offensive, keeping the pressure up at all times. That's mostly because of how defensive I am, I'd be far too worried about my own holdings and such. I know most people use that pressure as their defense, but I'd prefer to use actual defenses as my defense...

I'm just wondering if my playstyle is viable, and I'm open to tips/suggestions on how to change it.

Thanks for any help!

11,284 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

Well defense and turtling is much more effective in general for Rebellion.

The TEC loyalists with their "defense-oriented" Titan and the ablity to place multiple starbases in any well makes it much better.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Well the good news is defense seems to be a major theme with the TEC loyalist subfaction in Rebellion, which apparently gets the ability to build two starbases per gravity well as well as a lot of other defensive bonuses and the ability to build superweapons early (sounds a bit like the superweapon general in Command and Conquer, Generals, which was also defense based). Also as of diplomacy the AI is quite bad at attacking well fortified positions, and it is not had to repulse them with even just a small fleet at a properly fortified position.

The bad news is competitively defense is a very bad idea, and even against the AI you can't turtle right away. In Sins planets are everything, they determine the maximum extent of your research, economy, and thus fleet as well. If you turtle with only a few planets under your control and let other players take the rest of the map, you are going to lose. Early on everyone needs (or at least should) to be aggressive in capturing neutral planets. That means getting your initial fleet supply maxed out quite quickly, perhaps get the first fleet expansion, and focus on taking planets until your borders eventually all meet enemy planets.

At that point if you have more or less as many planets as other players, you can turtle up and focus on research. In a way Sins sort of encourages this, as the fewer fleet supply researches you need allows you to have a larger economy. In large games the main risk is that another player will take over another player's territory and thus once again have substantially more planets than you, which in the long run is a losing situation for you.

Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

I'm a very defensive minded player too. but I will expand my territory out and take about 5 or 6 planets and then defend those areas until I'm ready to move on.  usually I need ot get my resources under control and research going good. then Igo on the attack.  So I know exactly how he feels.  but i don't play against other players either. I'm a AI oriented player.  I like playing those kinds of games better.

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

That's what I was worried about.

I'm not saying that I don't expand, rather, in what little multiplayer experience I had I always made sure to grab as much territory as possible as quickly as sustainable. My question pertains mostly to mid-late game, where I already have a large territory as do my opponents. Once I hit those enemy territories, I'm hoping to be able to become super defensive and only attack when I have overwhelming force. I'd take advantage of any weaknesses in my opponent's defenses or of attacks by other players on said enemy with a massive attack from my own fleet, but I'd mostly just turtle what I have and take anything and everything that presents itself. I just like to have an excessively strong infrastructure and defense as part of my strategy, relying on overwhelming force and unbreakable defenses to win matches. I won a few games against friends in this way during Diplomacy and Entrenchment, but I'm curious as to how this will stand up against Rebellion players.

Also, I'm finding the Vasari increasingly interesting with this new titan of theirs. I've never really played the Vasari, so how do they seem to be working out? An incredibly mobile, unstoppable fleet also appeals to me in the absence of a strong defense. With the ability to harvest/destroy planets, would my Vasari fleet finally be self-sustaining, allowing me to basically become a full-time attacker? That's my other favorite thing in RTS, I'd often build a powerful force and rampage around destroying my enemies, only stopping to build bases/harvest resources when I absolutely needed to replenish. Is this possible with the new Vasari?

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

No strategy is required, save the AI strategy of building six military labs, then researching and building the Novalth  Cannon.

Forget the huge fleets of old. I tried this strategy, I had to have 7 mil labs not 6, before I could research but not build the cannon because I was informed that my faction had exceeded the allowed capacity for this weapon.

 

This occurred in SSE Rebellion.

 

Sorry if I posted to the wrong thread.

 

But this early introduction (about the time I colonize my third or fourth system!), only to be threatened with the most powerful

weapon in the game, with no way to research planetary shields.

 

The cannon used to be one of the last military research projects available.

 

And to me this is a major flaw in SSE Rebellion, I hope someone from Stardock sees this, because this is the corrective action

that I would like to see implement before the Cannon can be researched;

 

1. All faction military tech must be first researched;

 

2. All faction Defense tech must be researched;

 

3. then cannon research permitted

 

this would allow time for expansion, development, and research

Thank You

 

 

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

Hmm... I just noticed I could've used my own avatar... derp.

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

That's pretty damn nasty...

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

Single player here(hard AI). Diplomacy.

My main problem is that i expand so fast that i (occasionally) end up locking some AI expansion + start wars on 1-2 more fronts even in early games. Sometimes I even snatch planets in last seconds before AI, then build repair bay and eventually turrets(for quick solutions, then scuttle afterwards). I end up being behind in research for some time, but eventually catch up pretty fast when all my back-end planets are producing at least some good income.

Sometimes I even think that fast expansion MAY be not the best choice cause of the more front lines. Sometimes it's better to let one AI to get some planet just for letting that AI attack another AI(wasting resources, that is).

Then, harassing is a great option to distract AI. Just use optimal movement to get behind enemy lines, then pew pew here and pew pew there and throw main fleet into the front line. By that time a starbase is kinda a must to advance. Or just send some quick punches to get some structure down.

If harassing is not your style, then use diplomacy - declare peace and watch AI's are ripping themselves apart. Send pirates to say hello to those AIs who have an upper hand or to those AIs, whom you going to attack first. Even without attacking you can snatch planets here and there, if you have peace between two AIs who are at war with each other. With that strategy, choke points not available.

Now, with rebellion, I don't know anymore. Just got Rebellion and read and reread all the techs and I'm pretty much disappointed in those techs. I will write about that later in my own thread, though. Quick hint: rebellion is much more about offense than defense(except tec loyalists) and economy is pretty much neglected(except twin fortresses for tec loyalists). Bigger issue is that rebellion is streamlined for the very specific gameplay multiplayer people so adore - 5v5 or 4v4, locked teams(AND faster speed of everything). Like, ultra-specific. But I guess I have to research a little bit more before starting ranting.

I like chaos.