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cable_guy said:
**However, in human vs. human, the first thing that the rebel would do is stay out of turret range, allowing the patrol ships to come to him or her, then releasing the mantas to take them out, whilst taking out any patrol ships that stray within gunning range. Therefore, the manoeverable ships are taken out, and it's one-on-one. Mantas redock, then take off again with a full compliment of missiles launched at the fed cruiser. It will fire torpedoes at your cruiser, but these are easily avoided because of the manoeverability. However, the fed will not be able to avoid your missiles. Shields now down to, at the most, 75%. This is enough of a headstart for the rebl cruiser to take down the fed with guns and heavy rockets, making sure to stay behind the fed, well away from the neutron cannons.
**
This is my take on how human vs human would go.
The cruiser duel with "humans" flying all of the ships involved...
The tactics will depend on the objectives of the combatents. Here, I assume that the confeds must kill all the rebels and the rebels must kill all of the confeds. The ships are 1 fully upgraded confed cruiser + 4 carried PT boats and 1 fully upgraded rebel cruiser + 4 carried Mantas. I first consider "reasonably" upgraded ships -- Something you would fly around with regulary. 30 or so torpedos, may or may not have missles and heavy rockets, no space bombs, full armor, shield, engine upgrades. Later I consider extreme upgrades which equip the ship specifically to fight the duel while reducing its general usefulness.
General observations:
The confed cruiser must conserve its shields and fuel, and never let the rebel get close unless the confed has superior shields. The confed cannot rely on guided or forward weapons to do damage, but guided weapons can make the rebel evade and break off an attack.
The rebel cruiser cannot survive a turret-only battle with the confed cruiser. At long range, the rebel will use guided weapons to reduce the confed shields to below 500 while avoiding damage to himself. At close range, the rebel must exploit mistakes by the confed and hit with his forward weapons to supplement turret fire while avoiding the confed forward weapons.
The rebel speed and agility gives him the the choice of when to engage and at what range, but the confed cruiser is fast enough to dictate the flight path of the engagement (ie, the rebel cannot fly circles around the confed).
The duel with "Reasonable" Mods:
The patrol ships and mantas will fight each other. The victorious fighters will empty their long range weapons into the enemy cruiser, then return to their mothership (perhaps repeatedly). Its also possible that the one side or the other will forgo the fighter duel and keep its fighters for fire support when the cruisers get close. Neither side will send its fighters against the other cruiser until later in the battle.
The rebel can expect most of his guided shots to hit, while the confed can expect most of his to miss. At long range, the confed will fire torpedos and missles in small clusters to make the rebels dance. The confed must conserve torpedos for close range. The rebel will empty his supply of guided munitions into the hull of the confed cruiser, then close for the kill.
The confed cruiser will run from the rebel cruiser along a curved path, eventually flying in wide circles with the rebel cruiser following closely. The circular flight pattern makes it very hard for the rebel cruiser to bring its forward weapons on the confed cruiser. Also, the path allows the confed to "lob" torpedos at the rebel with a much better chance of hitting. If the rebel does not follow, then the confed will recover from damage inflicted by the long range attack and life gets much harder for the rebel. If the either cruiser has fighters remaining they should be lauched and ordered to attack at this stage (and recalled if the rebel breaks off).
Both sides will attempt variations on the flight pattern. Either player can attempt an afterburner boost to cut across the circle and bring forward weapons to bear. Either player may choose to drift for a bit and turn more sharply.
The rebel may choose not to launch a long range attack (or simply save some of his torpedos), but wait until he is close to the confed before firing torpedos. The rebel can expect a 100% hit rate, and victory if he can stay close long enough. The confed will use the same circle and lob tactic hoping to force the rebel to break off and dodge torpedos while he recovers.
I favor the confed cruiser in this battle. The shield advantage is just too much for the rebel cruiser to overcome on a regular basis. If the rebel's initial attack fails, then he must rely heavily on his forward weapons to defeat the confed. The fight could end in a stalemate, with the rebel unwilling to allow the confed into gun range, and unable to do sufficient damage at long range to make a gun battle winnable.
Extreme mods:
These are modifications you might use if you knew what ship you would be fighting against.
The rebel cruiser could be equipped with 100+ torpedos and destroy the confed cruiser from just outside turret range. The confed does not have an answer for this except to use afterburners to dodge until fuel runs out, then he is doomed.
The confed could mount 200 missiles. The rebel cruiser does not dodge them well even with the missile jammer and engine upgrades. Firing the 200 missles will take longer than firing 100 torpedos, and the confed cannot aim and dodge simultaneously (jammed missiles turn so slowly that they must be aimed in the general direction of the target or they are useless).
The tracter beam is deadly in this engagement. It can stop the confed from circling away, or slow the rebel enough for the confed to bring forward guns to bear. Which ever ship has it will win. If both of them have it, then... I think the rebel will win, hard to say.
Spacebombs.. I never use spacebombs, so I can't say how they would influence the fight, but I am sure it will be a big impact.
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