Matrix Games Forums

Forums  Register  Login  Photo Gallery  Member List  Search  Calendars  FAQ 

My Profile  Inbox  Address Book  My Subscription  My Forums  Log Out

The art of ground invasions?

 
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 >> The art of ground invasions? Page: [1]
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 12:28:05 PM   
Mansen


Posts: 352
Joined: 5/3/2013
Status: offline
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.

_____________________________

Currently Working On:
X-Universe Conversion (Hiatus)
Post #: 1
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 12:32:51 PM   
Icemania


Posts: 1847
Joined: 6/5/2013
From: Australia
Status: offline
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 ...

(in reply to Mansen)
Post #: 2
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 12:37:22 PM   
Bingeling

 

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

(in reply to Mansen)
Post #: 3
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 1:34:00 PM   
Spidey


Posts: 411
Joined: 12/8/2013
Status: offline
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.

(in reply to Bingeling)
Post #: 4
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 1:46:35 PM   
Jeeves


Posts: 940
Joined: 9/28/2010
From: Arlington TN U.S.A
Status: offline
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


_____________________________

Live long and prosper!

Lonnie Courtney Clay

(in reply to Spidey)
Post #: 5
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 5:19:04 PM   
mxmissile

 

Posts: 30
Joined: 10/30/2013
Status: offline
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.

(in reply to Jeeves)
Post #: 6
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 5:50:15 PM   
Mansen


Posts: 352
Joined: 5/3/2013
Status: offline
Thanks for the tips - I'll definitely field bigger troop invasions then. And upgraded ones once I can :)

_____________________________

Currently Working On:
X-Universe Conversion (Hiatus)

(in reply to mxmissile)
Post #: 7
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/2/2014 7:01:53 PM   
Red Dawn

 

Posts: 11
Joined: 6/2/2014
Status: offline
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.

(in reply to Mansen)
Post #: 8
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 2:24:29 AM   
Shark7


Posts: 7937
Joined: 7/24/2007
From: The Big Nowhere
Status: offline
Follow Shark7's simple rule for ground invasions...

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

It's not pretty, but it works.

_____________________________

Distant Worlds Fan

'When in doubt...attack!'

(in reply to Red Dawn)
Post #: 9
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 7:19:34 AM   
DeadlyShoe


Posts: 217
Joined: 6/2/2013
Status: offline
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.


(in reply to Shark7)
Post #: 10
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 8:26:01 AM   
Lucian

 

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

(in reply to DeadlyShoe)
Post #: 11
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 9:38:41 AM   
DeadlyShoe


Posts: 217
Joined: 6/2/2013
Status: offline
How strong was the defence force in Strength?

(in reply to Lucian)
Post #: 12
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 9:58:13 AM   
Lucian

 

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

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.

(in reply to DeadlyShoe)
Post #: 13
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 10:26:11 AM   
DeadlyShoe


Posts: 217
Joined: 6/2/2013
Status: offline
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. :)

(in reply to Lucian)
Post #: 14
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 11:17:17 AM   
Icemania


Posts: 1847
Joined: 6/5/2013
From: Australia
Status: offline
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.



Attachment (1)

< Message edited by Icemania -- 6/3/2014 12:17:40 PM >

(in reply to Lucian)
Post #: 15
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 11:29:44 AM   
Icemania


Posts: 1847
Joined: 6/5/2013
From: Australia
Status: offline
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.

(in reply to DeadlyShoe)
Post #: 16
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/3/2014 11:46:37 AM   
Lucian

 

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

(in reply to Icemania)
Post #: 17
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/4/2014 12:58:22 PM   
Jeeves


Posts: 940
Joined: 9/28/2010
From: Arlington TN U.S.A
Status: offline
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


_____________________________

Live long and prosper!

Lonnie Courtney Clay

(in reply to Lucian)
Post #: 18
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/4/2014 1:05:13 PM   
Bingeling

 

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

(in reply to Jeeves)
Post #: 19
RE: The art of ground invasions? - 6/4/2014 1:27:10 PM   
Jeeves


Posts: 940
Joined: 9/28/2010
From: Arlington TN U.S.A
Status: offline
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


_____________________________

Live long and prosper!

Lonnie Courtney Clay

(in reply to Bingeling)
Post #: 20
Page:   [1]
All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Distant Worlds 1 Series >> The art of ground invasions? Page: [1]
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts


Forum Software © ASPPlayground.NET Advanced Edition 2.4.5 ANSI

0.734