How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate attacks?

Matrix Games Forums

Forums Register Login Photo Gallery Member List Search Calendars FAQ

My Profile Inbox Address Book My Subscription My Forums Log Out

How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate attacks?

View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest

Users viewing this topic: none

Printable Version

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series >> How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate attacks?

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate att... - 6/1/2014 7:59:54 PM

Kantay

Posts: 33
Joined: 5/30/2014
Status: offline

I need some tips on how to defend my empire against pirate attacks.
I tried several things, none of them seemed to work. When I get to 10+ colonies, it just stops being manageable by hand and I need SOME way to automate it, but nothing I have tried seemed to work, not even decently.

1) I built a ton of ships and set them all on auto. They spend most of the time (and precious fuel) just flying from place to place, doing absolutely nothing, which of course NEVER makes them be where the pirates strike (colonies, mining stations). Also they absolutely don't care that a construction ship can't build a station because of a Kaltor.
2) making small fleets and placing them on each colony with the "defend" posture. This actually helps with defending the actual colony, but again, even when they have range set to nearby systems, they totally ignore attacks on ships and bases in the area. they just sit on their home planet. I had those fleets on auto and range was "nearby systems". At 20+ colonies, it was a mess to find a fleet I needed in the fleet tab.
3) Building shields and weapons on everything. This totaly ruins the private sector, also doesn't really help. The pirates raid a colony anyway, even if there is a base there, and if they come in sufficient numbers, they can trash any decently armed mine anyway.

So what am I doing wrong? And what could I be doin better? thanks for any advice, because this part of the game drives me crazy sometimes, how stupid the ship AI is

Post #: 1

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/1/2014 8:45:13 PM

Ralzakark

Posts: 225
Joined: 4/24/2012
Status: offline

Pirates vary greatly depending on the strength you set them at. You might want to try a weaker setting. On the stong ones they are so prevelant you spend all your time trying to deal with them.

Here's a few tip which may help:

1. Use long range scanners to both see them coming and see where they have come from, so you can find and attack their bases. Go on the offensive!
2. Pirates can concentrate their attacks, so if you spread yourself thinly and evenly you may not be strong enough anywhere to stop them.
3. Concentrate both the planets you colonise and the mines you build into small areas so you can defend them.
4. You don't have to defeat pirate raids on colonies in space. Recruit troops, planetary defence units and armour to give you an edge.

I'm surprised your automated fleets don't move to intercept, might be worth checking their settings as it is not a problem I have.

Good luck!

(in reply to Kantay)

Post #: 2

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/1/2014 9:41:44 PM

Fleshbits

Posts: 140
Joined: 5/29/2014
Status: offline

I usually do the following steps:

Look for a colony
Queue colony ship to colonize
Go to ship build screen
build 4 escorts, 4 frigates, 3 destroyers
go to ships and bases
uncheck the automated column and use it to guide my multiselect
with them all multiselected form new fleet
select colony
open fleets screen
name fleet <colony name> defense by looking at lower left
select fleet
set them to system and attack
move fleet to colony location
wait for colony ship to finish
build small space port
set fleet to homebase spaceport
done

use hammer to look at construction ships
manually build on everything in colony system
profit

< Message edited by Fleshbits -- 6/1/2014 10:42:48 PM >

(in reply to Ralzakark)

Post #: 3

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/1/2014 10:23:29 PM

Jim D Burns

Posts: 4013
Joined: 2/25/2002
From: Salida, CA.
Status: offline

The best defense against pirates is a strong offense, get out there and smash them where they live. You will never be able to stop them destroying your stuff unless you end their existence in your region of space. By design pirates make a living blowing stuff up, so you aren�t really intended to be able to stop them everywhere simply using fleets. After all they wouldn�t add a lot to the game if they could easily be prevented from even earning a living.

I suggest you try playing a short game as a pirate and you�ll quickly learn what can be done to hurt them. Then jump back into your game and you�ll find lots of ways to deal with them or at lease make them less threatening.

But for a quick fix, try these:

Destroy their bases with fleets.
Use agents to destroy their bases.
Create attack missions that get two local pirate factions to attack each other.
If they are too powerful to deal with right now, sign a protection agreement until your tech catches up to theirs.

Jim

_____________________________

(in reply to Kantay)

Post #: 4

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/2/2014 12:28:47 AM

henri51

Posts: 1151
Joined: 1/16/2009
Status: offline

There is a video series by Antiscamp where he automates everything and uses only a single fleet. His strategy is to use the fleet to raid pirate resoource bases (essentially guerilla warfare), and when possible, to attack weaker pirate fleets. As mentioned above, in the early game you usually have to pay them off for a while, then crush them when you become strong enough.

Henri

(in reply to Jim D Burns)

Post #: 5

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/2/2014 8:51:02 AM

Kantay

Posts: 33
Joined: 5/30/2014
Status: offline

I don't really have problems with the pirates being strong, but pirate hunting isn't something I enjoy that much - they don't really pose a threat, they are just annoying with their raids and constantly building bases on my colonies. The problem is that I would love to "automate" pirate defense in SOME meaningful way without ruining my economy as I enjoy other aspects of the game more.
So far what I have tried is either still too much micromanagement, or is very, very costly.

I am using long range scanners, but at the technology level I am, pirates have MUCH longer range than I can reach that way. And I have not found a way to somehow automate ships to actively look for pirates in systems I have already explored :(
I would love to use more Intelligence agents (mainly so that they can reveal bases), but I have no control over how many of them I have or what abilities they train. So often I am stuck with one agent with retarded bonuses, and I can only reasonably do one mission a year.

(in reply to henri51)

Post #: 6

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/2/2014 9:30:48 AM

Bingeling

Posts: 5186
Joined: 8/12/2010
Status: offline

If you don't enjoy pirate battles, the main defense is probably in how you configure your game :) Keep in mind that killing pirates has a role in keeping the empire reputation up, though.

Defending against pirates is indeed tricky, that is why offensive answers and pushing them away is the key to some peace and quiet. Pirates may build new bases that give some annoyance, as for "wiping" pirates, keep in mind the option in game setup to not having them respawn.

Before shadows, pirates respawning could be a very annoying whack-a-mole part of the game. I am not sure how it is now.

(in reply to Kantay)

Post #: 7

RE: How to efficiently guard your empire against pirate... - 6/2/2014 10:00:56 AM

Lucian

Posts: 279
Joined: 12/1/2012
Status: offline

I always play with respawn off. I quite like killing pirates but endless Whack-a-mole can really grate on my nerves. Besides, even with respawn off, the game likes to continually throw legendary pirates at me so I don't get bored.

(in reply to Bingeling)

Post #: 8