Is there a way to set your empty ships(not fighters) to defend something other then themselves? So that there not just dead weight when your not using them?

quote:Originally posted by Molean

Is there a way to set your empty ships(not fighters) to defend something other then themselves? So that there not just dead weight when your not using them?

no

quote:Originally posted by Molean

Is there a way to set your empty ships(not fighters) to defend something other then themselves? So that there not just dead weight when your not using them?


As Harley said, no. They only defend themselves, and not very well at that! When your ships are empty, (i.e. when they have nobody in them) they defend at 1/2 their rated defensive value. (This includes Tholians. When empty, they don't do anything for you.) It's better to pull the shields and figs off and store them somewhere safe when they are not in use. The only exception that I can think of is when you are trying to mask the amount of figs you have from your enemies. Figs on ships don't show up on the 'V' screen. Not that the 'V' screen is very reliable anyway, but... Also, this tactic won't work against anyone who's been paying attention either. Nobody experienced pays any attention to the V screen, other than to track planets, and it's not very reliable for that either.

OTOH, extra ships aren't always dead weight. It's usually a good idea to keep a few extra around for emergencies. If you find yourself podded, and the SD is blockaded, you'll be glad you have a few extra's sitting around. Just don't leave anything on them you can't afford to loose.

Ok then. What does it mean when it says sentinals get 4 -1 odds in defence when defending corporate planets? Since they cant defend anything at all.

quote:Originally posted by Molean

Ok then. What does it mean when it says sentinals get 4 -1 odds in defence when defending corporate planets? Since they cant defend anything at all.

A tholian gets a bonus of 4x the normal defensive odds. If they are manned and in sector, the enemy will have to kill you before he can attempt to land on your planets.

quote:Originally posted by Traitor
As Harley said, no. They only defend themselves, and not very well at that! When your ships are empty, (i.e. when they have nobody in them) they defend at 1/2 their rated defensive value. (This includes Tholians. When empty, they don't do anything for you.)

Tholians get their defensive bonus (their odds aren't halved) even when unmanned. They don't actually protect anything, as they don't block landing when unmanned, but they can be a useful ship to keep figged for xporting into to land on your planets and warp them out.

quote:Originally posted by Harley Nuss (teamEIS)



Tholians get their defensive bonus (their odds aren't halved) even when unmanned. They don't actually protect anything, as they don't block landing when unmanned, but they can be a useful ship to keep figged for xporting into to land on your planets and warp them out.


So a unmanned tholian in front of corporate planets would have a 4 times defensive bonus when attacked?

Do manned but offline ships have full defensive bonuses? do they prevent people from landing on planets?

quote:Originally posted by Harley Nuss (teamEIS)

quote:Originally posted by Traitor
As Harley said, no. They only defend themselves, and not very well at that! When your ships are empty, (i.e. when they have nobody in them) they defend at 1/2 their rated defensive value. (This includes Tholians. When empty, they don't do anything for you.)

Tholians get their defensive bonus (their odds aren't halved) even when unmanned. They don't actually protect anything, as they don't block landing when unmanned, but they can be a useful ship to keep figged for xporting into to land on your planets and warp them out.


I can testify to that. I invaded someone's sector and they had like 10 Tholians sitting around. I tried to destroy them at first but they had ridiculous odds, as advertised. Then I just decided to take the planets first, which made killing the Tholians much easier.

interesting note from the daily logs:
"[trader], your mother was a Cabal reject", spits Kairi.

quote:Originally posted by Molean


So a unmanned tholian in front of corporate planets would have a 4 times defensive bonus when attacked?

Do manned but offline ships have full defensive bonuses? do they prevent people from landing on planets?

yes. to the first question.
This is attacking an unmanned tholian over a planet the tholian's owner controls.
Sector : 2974 in uncharted space.
Ports : Zindar, Class 3 (SBB)
Planets : (L) .
Ships : test [Owned by] 1 [1], w/ 1,235 ftrs,
(4 Dragons Ltd Tholian Sentinel)
Fighters: 1 (belong to traitor) [Toll]
Warps to Sector(s) : 552 - 4039 - (4241)

Command [TL=00:00:00]:[2974] (?=Help)? : A
<Attack>
Attack 1 [1]'s unmanned Tholian Sentinel (2,500-1,235) (Y/N) [N]? Yes
How many fighters do you wish to use (0 to 750) [0]? 500

You lost 500 fighter(s), 2,000 remain.
You destroyed 135 enemy fighters, 1,100 remain.
I was in a mercant crusier (MC) with 1.0 combat odds. killed 1/4 of the figs I should have if the odds had ben 1 to 1. (Thanks for the correction there, Harley, I'm always learning something new about this game. [:D])

When any other ship is unmanned, the following happens:

Sector : 2974 in uncharted space.
Ports : Zindar, Class 3 (SBB)
Planets : (L) .
Ships : asdf [Owned by] test1, w/ 2,500 ftrs,
(Animoso Merchant Cruiser)
Fighters: 1 (yours) [Toll]
Warps to Sector(s) : 552 - 4039 - 4241

Command [TL=00:00:00]:[2974] (?=Help)? : A
<Attack>
Attack test1's unmanned Merchant Cruiser (2,500-2,500) (Y/N) [N]? Yes
How many fighters do you wish to use (0 to 750) [0]? 750

You lost 750 fighter(s), 1,750 remain.
You destroyed 1,505 enemy fighters, 995 remain.

Again, I was in an MC. See how the unmanned ship lost 2 times as many figs as you would expect at 1:1 odds?

So unmanned ships fight at 50% odds, unless they are Tholians over one of their owner's planets, in which case, they get 4:1 defensive odds. (Or any ship with the Defensive guardian bonus turned on. But with non-stock ships, you still have to take into account their normal defensive odds in addition to the defensive guardian bonus. So, if you modify a Tholian to have 4:1 def odds, and put it over a planet, then when you attack it, the tholian defends at 16:1 even when unmanned. Of course, there is nothing preventing you from landing on their planets, since it's unmanned. see below.)

Sector : 2974 in uncharted space.
Ports : Zindar, Class 3 (SBB)
Planets : (L) .
Ships : x [Owned by] test1, w/ 2,500 ftrs,
(Pescador Traitor's Sentinel )
Fighters: 1 (yours) [Toll]
Warps to Sector(s) : 552 - 4039 - 4241

Command [TL=00:00:00]:[2974] (?=Help)? : A
<Attack>
Attack test1's unmanned Traitor's Sentinel (2,500-2,500) (Y/N) [N]? Yes
How many fighters do you wish to use (0 to 750) [0]? 500

You lost 500 fighter(s), 2,000 remain.
You destroyed 32 enemy fighters, 2,466 remain.

As you can see, when you turn on the defensive guardian bonus on a ship, it ALWAYS defends at it's full defensive odds plus the bonus when it's over a corp planet. When there is no planet under it, it behaves like any other ship.

To the second question, yes and yes.

Sector : 2974 in uncharted space.
Ports : Zindar, Class 3 (SBB)
Planets : (L) .
Traders : Civilian test1, w/ 2,000 ftrs,
in asdf (Animoso Merchant Cruiser)
Fighters: 1 (yours) [Toll]
Warps to Sector(s) : 552 - 4039 - 4241

Command [TL=00:00:00]:[2974] (?=Help)? : L
<Preparing ship to land on planet surface>

<Atmospheric maneuvering system engaged>
Landing sequence engaged...

test1 blocks your attempt to enter orbit. You will
have to defeat test1 in order to land on this planet!

and when I attack test1...

Command [TL=00:00:00]:[2974] (?=Help)? : A
<Attack>
Attack test1's Merchant Cruiser (2,000-1,000) (Y/N) [N]? Yes
How many fighters do you wish to use (0 to 750) [0]? 500

You lost 500 fighter(s), 1,500 remain.
test1 warps out of the sector!
You destroyed 544 enemy fighters, 456 remain.

Once again, I was in a MC when I attacked, so 1 to 1 odds.
Hope this helps.

quote:Originally posted by Traitor
As you can see, when you turn on the defensive guardian bonus on a ship, it ALWAYS defends at it's full defensive odds plus the bonus when it's over a corp planet. When there is no planet under it, it behaves like any other ship.

Just another quick clarification to head off any confusion. The defensive bonus of 4 is muliplied to the normal defensive odds, not added to them.

quote:Originally posted by Harley Nuss (teamEIS)

quote:Originally posted by Traitor
As you can see, when you turn on the defensive guardian bonus on a ship, it ALWAYS defends at it's full defensive odds plus the bonus when it's over a corp planet. When there is no planet under it, it behaves like any other ship.

Just another quick clarification to head off any confusion. The defensive bonus of 4 is muliplied to the normal defensive odds, not added to them.

Right.

once I get a level 4 planet(s) in my sector I like to keep a couple of loaded sentinel's in the sector, this is why. lets say you enter the game and your not in your sector and someone or some corp is trying to invade your sector. get to within transport range of your sentinel, transport into your sentinel, land and warp your level 4 out of there.