Anti cluster partol advice

[zdan30]

Every few hours or so i get two clusters appear in ore belt.theyve already taken out everything bar the trading station an XL spp and my ore mine.
Ive managed to get there in time twice now and save my ts ships but im thinking about putting some patrols in there and about 50 laser towers

So ive bought myself 20 novas and i wanted to have groups of 5 patrolling,but heres my problem,ive tried setting a patrol once before and it didnt go well,i had one ship patrolling and the rest protecting it,have to say the patrol ship wasnt the best but i wanted to do somthing with it.

So really im asking how to set up a decent patrol and how to group them so they fight as a team.

I havent looked into it much as you can tell and as its not somthing i get off on i just want some advice and an easy standard patrol set up.

Thanks for replys

[JTressy]

The whole 'teamwork' thing doesn't mean a huge amount OOS - you're probably better off getting a couple of M6s tbh. They have more firepower, larger shielding and are 'better' than M3s on paper, which is what counts when you're not there.

[jlehtone]

I have single M6 Hydras in that duty. They cope with cluster, OOS.

[Etolf]

two centaurs would probably be best, or one hefalump...

[jlehtone]

Heffalump in Ore Belt is nice as long as you don't visit the sector ...

Hydra and Centaur have the same shielding.
Hydra is faster than Centaur. Quicker to catch the threat.
Hydra has only 8 BHEPT + 1 AHEPT, while Centaur has 11 BHEPT. But Hydra's weaponry kills most targets just as quickly as Centaur's, so there is no real difference.

Hence my preference for Hydra. But two is better than one, no doubt about that.

[zdan30]

In the end i put my dragon in there which i never use and its currently being tailed by 20 novas,dont mind if i lose any of them its just an experiment.

Thanks for replys

[Daveofthewood]

Depends, oos ships are unreliable the only way to make them decent is with PSG's but then you could lose rank, id go for an M6 but either a Nemesis or an Osprey as they can mount PSG's that are perfect for Khaak. Or if lke me you've re engineered your M7 then build a fleet of them armed with Hept's up front and PSG's everywhere else to protect your factories or systems and watch the khaak die!!!!!!

[Joshua_Dahl]

Heffalumps, eh? Sounds like we have a couple Pooh fans in here.

A Centaur will work just fine, but you will probably get paged every now and then that he is in a fight (which i hate). So a centaur and 2 M3's is probably best. The leader of the unit is always targeted so make sure it is heavily shielded (ie. the centaur)

[danielhumphries50]

personly i find that 1 centuar with 2 eclipses can deal with anything anyone can throw at them not lost 1 patrol yet which is good got a patrol in every pirate sector and the odd one or two doted here and there to back me up if needed

[Nanook]

Depends, oos ships are unreliable the only way to make them decent is with PSG's but then you could lose rank, id go for an M6 but either a Nemesis or an Osprey as they can mount PSG's that are perfect for Khaak. Or if lke me you've re engineered your M7 then build a fleet of them armed with Hept's up front and PSG's everywhere else to protect your factories or systems and watch the khaak die!!!!!!

PSG's are relatively worthless OOS compared to HEPT's. You don't get any of the multi-hit, multi-target advantages, and they're substantially weaker in single-shot mode. So for OOS patrols, use the highest power PAC/HEPT/PPC a ship can mount. And forget about the 'special weapons'.

[teladianium]

I'd go for two Centaurs as well, though a couple of LX might do. Not sure about the Hydra as I haven't used one since X2.

[Nanook]

Just remember that only M6's and above can use the 'patrol' command. Smaller fighters can only be given 'attack all enemies' which is a lot less efficient at protecting a given area. So a Centaur protected by LX's would be a good choice.

[Daveofthewood]

Hept's are great for attacking a single target but for khaak clusters PSG's are always going to win, everyone has their own opinions and style, but i prefer a ship that can carry PSG's as then you dont have to worry about giving corvettes fighter defense, meaning money saved.

[Daveofthewood]

Oh yer and have you ever seen an OOS ship fight? Whether it's an M5 or M1 they all do this stupid "attack then break away" meaning the xenon, khaak or pirates ships can recharge their sheilds, I dont stop firing on a target till its dead coz its the safest way.

This problem isn't so bad with a corvette or lower ship classes, but watching a M2 or M1 do it to a Xenon M1 or M2 is painful and usually results in the destruction of both ships+OOS never strafe, which means they take fire from all directions and get hit with missiles, OOS with PSG's will always to better as they destroy missiles as well as f@@@ing up fighters too, you never know you might get a few captures as well.

Works for me as i have never lost a OOS (touch wood) and barring a full scale xenon invasion or a khaak destroyer jumping in i dont see that changing, id rather lose rank than a perfectly good ship, Well you've got food for thought anyway.

[Nanook]

Hept's are great for attacking a single target but for khaak clusters PSG's are always going to win, everyone has their own opinions and style, but i prefer a ship that can carry PSG's as then you dont have to worry about giving corvettes fighter defense, meaning money saved.

The point is, PSG's don't attack multiple targets and don't do multiple hits OOS. You do NOT get the same effects as if you're in the same sector. So for OOS defense, you're much better off using HEPT's, PPC's, etc. PSG's are actually a lot less powerful than HEPT's OOS. Believe it or don't.

Not only that, but you run the major risk of doing friendly fire damage if you happen to enter a sector where one of your patrols are using its PSG's. This is not a matter of opinion, it's a fact.

[crgray]

In sector yes, but OOS the PSG's don't have an area effect (you'll never get friendly fire problems with them OOS), and the speed of the weapon isn't taken in to account. Hence Elephants with PPCs are very good OOS despite not being able to hit much in sector

[Nanook]

Oh yer and have you ever seen an OOS ship fight? Whether it's an M5 or M1 they all do this stupid "attack then break away" meaning the xenon, khaak or pirates ships can recharge their sheilds, I dont stop firing on a target till its dead coz its the safest way.

This problem isn't so bad with a corvette or lower ship classes, but watching a M2 or M1 do it to a Xenon M1 or M2 is painful and usually results in the destruction of both ships+OOS never strafe, which means they take fire from all directions and get hit with missiles, OOS with PSG's will always to better as they destroy missiles as well as f@@@ing up fighters too, you never know you might get a few captures as well.

Works for me as i have never lost a OOS (touch wood) and barring a full scale xenon invasion or a khaak destroyer jumping in i dont see that changing, id rather lose rank than a perfectly good ship, Well you've got food for thought anyway.

If you're watching it fight, then you're not OOS. OOS means it's doing it in a sector you're not currently in. And OOS, it's all a numbers game. There is no 'flying away'. It's basically turn-based, and the results depend strictly on the power of the weapons vs the power of the shields. There is no dogfighting OOS.

[Daveofthewood]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh fair play then, well in that case, go for the HEPT's all the way. Strange though, i had an ADV Satellite Nemesis with full PSG's gaurding one of my weed plants in Scale plate green, and a Xenon P convoy with 2 LX@s came through, and with what your saying my nemesis should have been debris but it took them all out lost half its shileds, and i wasn't in the Sector the only reason i looked coz i got a message saying my ship was under attack.......weird (i later retired that nemisis as a war hero).

[crgray]

I've not quite figured out P patrols. I've got an Elephant and a Centaur patrollingFamily Ryk to family Njy. They've taken out dozens of P patrols and only once did the centaur take any damage. I put another patrol in Menaliaus paradise to Ocean of Fantasy and the first P patrolit hit nearly took out the Centaur. I beefed it up with a second centaur and the next patrol killed one of them. So I added a second elephant it's just met another patrol and just managed to rescue an Elephant with about 2% hull left. Both sets of patrols seem to have a similar makeup (2 x LX) but one seems to be stronger.

[Nanook]

It may depend on who attacks who first. If the P or its buddies get the first shots in, you're in for a bad fight. If your patrol hits first, it'll go for the P initially, and if it succeeds in taking it out, then the rest are relatively easy OOS. Also remember that the P has no turrets, so its OOS firepower is a bit limited. They usually pack 4 APPC's and the rest PAC's and IRE's, so their overall firepower doesn't compare to a fully equipped player M6. Especially since maneuverability, the P's greatest asset, is negated in OOS combat.