Overview
As the title suggests, this is the competitive counterpart to Sensational TKO’s guide. Its purpose is to break down the competitive fleet and show the roles that each individual ship plays, allowing new players to understand what makes an effective fleet, and how to design a ship for each role.
Interceptors
Usage
An Interceptor ship combines high speed, short range firepower, and decent altitude into one package. They are almost essential to any competitive fleet as they can move anywhere on the battlefield to take out key targets, turning the tide of the battle. The generous arc of the gatling gun and grapeshot allows them to deal damage to pierce-support ships without taking any in return if properly positioned.
Design
Most interceptors fall within the 1000-2500 price range as you want to have as many of these as you’re able to micro-manage. For weapons you have a two viable options. The grapeshot cannon has decent penatrative power and is cheap, but it’s also heavy, and the damage is not concentrated. The Gatling gun is extremely light and efficient at destroying modules, but relies on support ships for penetration and has a steep base price. Steel wall is generally favored, but medium steel is very useful for countering other interceptors. A surface ceiling greater than 200 is reccomended, along with a top speed over 100kph and a low command timer for frequent maneuvers.
Pierce Support
Usage
Pierce Support are ships armed with the heavy cannon or suspendium cannon. These weapons are excellent at piercing armor, creating gaps for interceptors to destroy the modules underneath. Interceptors and pierce support ships cover eachother’s weaknesses, making them the backbone of a competitive fleet.
Accuracy mods are important if you plan to use the heavy cannon as ships will be moving around a lot. Although it doesn’t make it nearly as accurate as the suspendium cannon, the sheer damage per shot will punch a hole in any armor and do additional damage to the module underneath. Surface ceiling must be decent and extra mobility is always useful for getting out of tight spots and moving their guns on target. They are not nearly as command-intensive as interceptors, so there is no need to spend additional resources bringing it below 4. Armor is not neccesary, but medium steel will buy you time should they get flanked.
Disposeable
Usage
These ships are cheap, designed to ram and pin down enemy vehicles when the need arises. They are usually armed and can fullfill a number of roles until they are highly damaged, or the player commanding them is desperate and needs to change the balance of the fight.
Design
A disposeable ship has done its job if it takes out a ship more expensive than itself. Aim for 500-1000 in terms of price as standard ships won’t be any cheaper than that. Its surface ceiling should match some interceptors and it should be able to get up to a decent speed in order to ram effectively and take out the enemy ship’s weapons. Grenades, muskets, grapeshot, deck guns, and even flamethrowers are decent choices for weaponry.
High Altitude Support
Usage
These ships are expensive for the firepower and armor they bring, but their position can make it hard for some ships to get a clear line of fire. This gives them the potential to harass the enemy and do massive damage over the course of the battle if left unchecked
Thanks to the altitude curve, these ships are difficult to design. Large suspendium chambers are needed for their high efficiency. Steel wall/wooden armor and propellers are also crucial to save on weight. Downward firing weaponry such as the rockets and the bomb bay allow you to outposition ships with forward-firing guns and you will likely need accuracy modules for them to hit consistently.
Skimmers/Low Altitude Support
Usage
The antithesis of the latter class, and usually the best counter as their guns are more accurate at long ranges. This is also the first class on the list that can fulfill its role as a landship. They are generally cheaper, but more vulnerable than their high-altitude counterpart in terms of position. This can be used to your advantage; however, because you can lure the enemy’s interceptors into a lower altitude where they can be surrounded.
The dorsal turret is a must-have for its high piercing and fire rate. Frontal turrets and the deck gun are highly recommended for their useful firing arcs as well as keels to increase the ship’s durability, especially with deck guns on board. Flak is more situational, but will down lightly armored ships that stay in their fire arc. Legs are far less likely to get stuck on things, making them superior to the tracks. In conquest, spamming 300 dollar dorsal turret bunkers is a useful way to protect your territories.
Ram
Usage
Purely disposeable and usually without any alternative weaponry. Landship rams tend to be more efficient as they are grounded and have more friction, allowing them to plough through enemy landships and buildings more expensive than they are, turning the tide of the fight.
Should be built as cheap as possible as even a small ram can cripple any reasonably-sized landship. Making it longer with the use of brass pipes increases its speed due to how the game calculates drag.
Carrier
Usage
Smaller crewtype aircraft fulfill the role of interceptors with less micromanagement, more cost, and less flexibility. Most interceptor weapons will make short work of crewtype aircraft, but ships with larger-caliber weaponry will be totally helpless against them. Another downside is that they cannot be used to ram other airships.
It’s important for a dedicated carrier to have at least 4 planes and the least amount of overhead possible. Torpedo planes are reccomended as they have the most firepower for their cost and spend the least amount of time in engagement, reducing their risk of dying. Air Hussars can be effective but they are slow and easily countered.