jacozilla
Posts: 122
Joined: 10/10/2015
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Only way i have been able to handle massive, many-many fronts of attack AI combat is to
1. Defend only systems - mines and stations outside inhabited systems can be rebuilt, forget about them unless so obvious can defend it and not get lost with other conflict
2. Set a defense posture fleet in every system - every damn system so like by mid game or later mid game i have like 40-50 fleets just as defend fleets, not even counting my 10 hotkey attack fleets. Auto usually works but always set Options screen setting for default stance to be Engage System targets when on manual.
Because this catches if a) you forgot and touched dleet and it goes off auto to manual, that manual fkeet will still defebd entire system it is parked, and b) lots of times only way you can guarantee a system defend fleet wont stupidly move on its own to go somewhere out of system is set on manual.
3. Ignore all message prompts and concentrate on taking out AI key shipping systems - let the attack vector warnings come and go - if you parked a decent enough defend fleet in every colony system, they will mostly take care of your systems. A few will still fall, so use 1-2 hotkey fleets setup as pure invade fleets but smallish - to take back your own worlds. Make sure you have just as many transports solo, as you have in these reaction troop fleets.
Because after you reconquer one pf your worlds, just click auto on your reaction troop fleet, drop any ship that has zero or low troops, and dont even bother wasting time re-picking up your troops - go back to attacking with your hotkey fleets. Your solo troop ships on auto will notuce all thiose extra troops just sitting there on reconquered world and come over to load up. This is rinse and repeat process - just add back into your reaction troop fleet some replacement full solo troop ships.
The ones you just dropped from fleet will go about refilling up, and you ought to have enough solo full troop ships to replenish for the ships you dropped. If you manage this right it is a bare moment of time to turn away from attack, poco troop fleet, target own world, invade order, go back to attack fleets, return to troop fleet when success invade msg pops, drop some ships, add some ships, go back to attack
4. A good offense is the best defense - forget conquering worlds - to chop the many, many AI off at its knees - send your 1-10 hotkey attack fleets against just two targets - gas mining stations and spaceports. Click attack fleet, forget buggy attack posture, just set to defend posture on a frontline staging world, ignore defend part - send that fleet on attack target ordee against a gas mine or spaceport, then click auto again (because when you give attack ordeer it goes on manual, so just send, then click auto because this will then automatically bring the fleet back to your staging world after it kills the target
AI that cant refuel is cripppled fast, and they will rebuild spaceports but with even few attack fleets much less 10 if you get hotkeys and juggling ok will take out their current ship buillding ability in a hurry. If you try and invade one at a time, you get swarmed like you said - so invade later - step one is always cripple refuelimg and cripple ship building
Target homeworld always first, kill spaceport, amy defense stations killed is bonus but always target order spaceport because thatnis what fleet will auto kill before auto returning. After you take out eveey spaceport on your war front, it takes awhile for AI to rebuild ships and i find his existing fleets just smash against my defend fleets and whittle down, with the fee worlds i lose here and there reconquered by my small reaction troop fleets
Then kneecap the major AIs after taking out spaceports and gas stations (not all, just the ones adound your contact war front, thats enough usually) by invading their homeworld. Hold it with a strong defend fleet and pretty much its all mopping up,after that. I usually negotiate peace at that point because AI will stupidly give it and in this game peace means you can,still attack. Just dont conquer a world and you can finish taking out rest of his spaceports and gas stations while all they say is 'i'm warning you, stop attacking me blah blah'
I find if you go UI management crazy but setup defend fleets this way and ignore comquering to cripple AI ports an pd gas stations, the waves and waves of strike fleets coming at you becomes manageable very fast
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