X17 I see less and less of as people focus note and more on cheaper upgrades and dedicated carriers, and Avenger combos that don't allow defenses at all and typically remove an entire shield facing.
Even with big ship attacks using X17, larger portions of incoming damage are being handled by squadrons and ships that cannot take or don't benefit from taking X17s.
25 minutes ago, thecactusman17 said:I'm Always shocked I never saw more ECM+Advanced Projectors on the Doom Pickle. AP are so good in the current squadron focused meta, they effectively double your health vs squads. Sure you still get boned by BTAvenger, but then who doesn't?
Ecm+ap is the only build i run on the doom pickle, soo strong
Ecm is always a definite.
AP tends to redirect more than 3 damage a game, even with x-17s and shield damage is better than hull damage so thats better than RBD IMO.
Cluster bombs - yea nah
Redundant shields: eeeh expensive, good, but id rather AP.
EWS: havent tried yet.
I've been enjoying Spinal + H9s on a Vader Cymoon, also good on Lib Battlecruisers.
Expanded Hangars + Boosted Comms on Quasar Is.
ECM + RBD on Mc80 Assault, although will enjoy taking ECM + EWS in my squadron heavier local meta.
Looking forward to trying Expanded Launchers + External Racks on an Mc75 Ordnance for LOLs.
9 hours ago, DrakonLord said:Ecm is always a definite.
AP tends to redirect more than 3 damage a game, even with x-17s and shield damage is better than hull damage so thats better than RBD IMO.
My take on APs vs RBD vs RS is how much equivalent Engineering value they generate over a game.
AP allows me to redirect to nonadjacent zones. So really, they save me around 4-7 Engineering points that I would have spent on moving shields to priority zones.
RBD: 6-9 Engineering to Repair the 2-3 hull I get back. With the caveat that RBD doesn’t undo crits, so 6-9 “weak” Engineering.
RS: I run MC80A/MC80C in such a way that I typically see 3 rounds of combat where I am repairing. That means 6 engineering.
ECM: Allows me a brace which usually saves 2-3 Damage a turn. So they give me a pseudo 4-9 Engineering a turn. The only exceptions are very strange combat-light MSU lists and bomber swarms.
I think this is how the developers viewed it, because besides ECM, the other three all sit pretty even. So I find little to no high ground to get after anyone who runs any of the three B-team defensive upgrades in the second slot. I do find it silly to not run ECM in the first.
I have no opinion yet on EWS. It is hard for me to quantify on paper. I found facing it in my 4+1 Raddus list to be underwhelming. I offered too many threats from too many angles. I do need to see how it stacks against a bomber/squadron-heavy list or against gun lines.
6 hours ago, Church14 said:My take on APs vs RBD vs RS is how much equivalent Engineering value they generate over a game.
AP allows me to redirect to nonadjacent zones. So really, they save me around 4-7 Engineering points that I would have spent on moving shields to priority zones.
RBD: 6-9 Engineering to Repair the 2-3 hull I get back. With the caveat that RBD doesn’t undo crits, so 6-9 “weak” Engineering.
RS: I run MC80A/MC80C in such a way that I typically see 3 rounds of combat where I am repairing. That means 6 engineering.
ECM: Allows me a brace which usually saves 2-3 Damage a turn. So they give me a pseudo 4-9 Engineering a turn. The only exceptions are very strange combat-light MSU lists and bomber swarms.
I think this is how the developers viewed it, because besides ECM, the other three all sit pretty even. So I find little to no high ground to get after anyone who runs any of the three B-team defensive upgrades in the second slot. I do find it silly to not run ECM in the first.
I have no opinion yet on EWS. It is hard for me to quantify on paper. I found facing it in my 4+1 Raddus list to be underwhelming. I offered too many threats from too many angles. I do need to see how it stacks against a bomber/squadron-heavy list or against gun lines.
I concour, I’ve done similar math, but rather than base it on engineering, just on “hull damage points saved”.
All But ECM (and including cluster bombs, in a roundabout justification) ends up being, roughly on average, 3. 3 damage saved for your points.
Redundant shields are more expensive because they are almost 4.
ECM saved so much more as long as a brace is used.
EWS has the potential to save 3+ very easily , which puts it out of the Bush leagues of the regular choices and straight into the “ECM vs EWS” category of meta call.
My most consistent pairing is H9/QTC on a gunnery team Liberty Battle Cruiser with Leading Shots. It's like having spinal armaments in every arc.
On 2/8/2018 at 4:27 PM, Squark said:I think we as a community need to start including a few more letters in our abbreviations, because I was very confused what Strategic Advisor had to do with generating accuracies.
We have. SA is spinal armaments, since that dropped first. Strategic advisor is SAd
