The art of ground invasions? (Full Version)

All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series



Message

Mansen -> The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 12:28:05 PM)

I'm having real trouble taking a homeworld from my nearest neighbor - It has some 16bn inhabitants and about 900k combined troops when I try to invade it.

Initially I lost a 600k invasion force to them, forcing me to pull my transports back and replenish their numbers. This has taken long enough for my war weariness to really kick in and I've lost a few colonies sympathetic to my enemy already.

I remembered about bombards - a tech I had completely left out of my research till now because things have been very peaceful. Outfitting a bunch of the basic ones on some ships DID take out the majority of their ground forces allowing a new 600k force to land. But it also cost about half the planet's civilian population.

So what's the ideal way to break down defenses like these with minimal casualties? I'd like to prevent such losses in the future if possible. [:)]



Icemania -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 12:32:51 PM)

I normally wait until I have about 4 times the ground strength of the planet I'm invading. Apart from ensuring a win the battles also go more quickly.

I prefer not to use Bombardment as I would prefer the planet is in good shape after it becomes part of my Empire ...



Bingeling -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 12:37:22 PM)

If a hammer does not work, bring a bigger hammer.

Take care of your modifiers and the defender modifiers. Have special forces to destroy fortifications. Have armored troops, have space control. Bring more troops.



Spidey -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 1:34:00 PM)

Be aware that you can usually "buy" a peace by trading some useless lower tier tech for a cease fire. That kills all the war weariness practically right away, giving you a breather while you build up.

And when you do go to war then bring enough force that you not only have space control over the planet but also have enough to actually hurt his economy badly in the process. Killing his homeworld space port and research bases is a good start. The AI will quite predictably try to build a new port. Kill it. It tries to rebuild. Kill again. The AI will burn a nice load of money on nothing and meanwhile you might want to invade some other enemy colonies that don't have quite as much defense. This gives you more citizens, gives the enemy less tax payers, and it provides great experience for your armored horde. And training your ground forces on softer targets before throwing them into a meatgrinder homeworld with 900k defense is definitely going to help a lot.



Jeeves -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 1:46:35 PM)

See : http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3624859

I used to conquer empires starting in the 6-7th year range, but now I wait until year 9-10, having learned that patience pays off... You can conquer an empire or two per year by year 10 with at least 30 colonies recruiting a troop every 19 days. Recruitment is much faster for large happy colonies, so it pays to train up troops to be cloned by conquering independents, using the same troops over and over. I always go for Naxillian clones if possible since they cost the least. Your top priority empires to conquer should be those with very high racial bonuses, Gizurean, Wekkarus, Quameno, and Teekan, Ketarov too if they are in your game...

Lonnie Courtney Clay



mxmissile -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 5:19:04 PM)

I don't know, but I get lots of satisfaction out of bombing the holy hell out of a planet before invading. Reminds me of the transition form Desert Storm to Desert Saber. And makes the invasion easier lol.



Mansen -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 5:50:15 PM)

Thanks for the tips - I'll definitely field bigger troop invasions then. And upgraded ones once I can :)



Red Dawn -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/2/2014 7:01:53 PM)

IMO the biggest problem i have encountered in Invasions is Planetary defense units,They suck up strength of troops dropped,so i always suggest dropping loads of special forces prior to normal troops,then send in the normal troops and armored units after a month maybe once they have busted the PDU's and Bunkers etc.
You should consider Troop Cloning facility clone the best troops and send them to war ,do this every time till their strength goes to max.
Special forces and Armor should lead to win if you have 1:1 troop ratio against enemy,after taking out the spaceport,and orbital defenses.



Shark7 -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 2:24:29 AM)

Follow Shark7's simple rule for ground invasions...

If brute force doesn't get the job done, you aren't using enough. [:D]

It's not pretty, but it works. [;)]



DeadlyShoe -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 7:19:34 AM)

sometimes assembling a large enough force can be tricky.

experience place a big part in creating highly effective troop armies and the best way to get it is ground battles. once you have some highly experienced troops cloning centers will really help you increase your ground strength.

an important note is that ground strength is sort of like space firepower - it's an important stat, but it's not the whole story. if your units are outnumbered they can sometimes lose even if they have a significantly higher theoretical strength.




Lucian -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 8:26:01 AM)

Anyone ever succeeded in invading the Shakturi homeworld? I tried with a huge force of troops and was hilariously outclassed and obliterated. Cant even bomb them either because they have a planetary shield. Only option was to remain at constant war with them so they don't get the few minutes they need to rebuild defenses and begin rampaging again.



DeadlyShoe -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 9:38:41 AM)

How strong was the defence force in Strength?



Lucian -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 9:58:13 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: DeadlyShoe

How strong was the defence force in Strength?


I cant remember unfortunately, but I sent about 40 troops, thinking that I would have a good chance and I got annihilated in under a minute. Lead me to think that invasion against these guys was essentially impossible.



DeadlyShoe -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 10:26:11 AM)

Nothings impossible ;)

If you have assets in the system you can see their estimated troop strength. You can also see the troop strength in any given fleet by selecting it. You need probably 1.5x-2x their listed strength to have any real chance of succeeding. You may need to build an epic crapload of troop transports. :)



Icemania -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 11:17:17 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lucian
Anyone ever succeeded in invading the Shakturi homeworld? I tried with a huge force of troops and was hilariously outclassed and obliterated. Cant even bomb them either because they have a planetary shield. Only option was to remain at constant war with them so they don't get the few minutes they need to rebuild defenses and begin rampaging again.

Easy. But best not to let them build Merikdor Planetary Fortress.
[image]local://upfiles/44900/94DA17C047D042A08AF15968B6C31045.jpg[/image]



Icemania -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 11:29:44 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DeadlyShoe
sometimes assembling a large enough force can be tricky.

Land a force four times their strength as a minimum. Done. Seriously. With four times the strength it won't matter whether you have space control or not, it won't matter if they land more troops etc, etc.

Of course that means you need to scout so you know what they have first.



Lucian -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/3/2014 11:46:37 AM)

Thanks guys, I'll have to pay more attention to looking at their troop strength rather than just the number of troop icons on their planet. Glad to see that it's at least possible.



Jeeves -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/4/2014 12:58:22 PM)

The bug races seldon keep loads of troops on planet, because they load them into ships in orbit at the planet. Don't be deceived by just a few troop icons. I once invaded a Boskara regional capital with 32 troops against their 8, thinking it would be a piece of cake. Within a week they had landed troops to outnumber ME 2 to 1. So I lost those troops, lesson learned.

Lonnie Courtney Clay



Bingeling -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/4/2014 1:05:13 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jeeves

The bug races seldon keep loads of troops on planet, because they load them into ships in orbit at the planet. Don't be deceived by just a few troop icons. I once invaded a Boskara regional capital with 32 troops against their 8, thinking it would be a piece of cake. Within a week they had landed troops to outnumber ME 2 to 1. So I lost those troops, lesson learned.

Lonnie Courtney Clay


But we do blockade our invasions targets, don't we? Serves you well for sneaking in an invasion force [:)]



Jeeves -> RE: The art of ground invasions? (6/4/2014 1:27:10 PM)

Right! I just sent two troop transports that carried 16 troops each, with a followup fleet 3 weeks behind to defend if the invasion succeeded, not attacking the spaceport or defenses at all, ignoring the ships at the planet. If I recall correctly, both troop ships were badly damaged but got away...

Lonnie Courtney Clay



Page: [1]

Valid CSS!




Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI
0.640625