Centauri Demos and Vorchan

[Lone Gunman]

So, after reading through the new Centauri I have to say that I really like them. Imo much more to the core of the race as seen on screen than the B5W-edition. My personal favourit is the Altarian, durable, nice looking and very difficult to destroy if you don't have masses of beams.

When looking over the new Vorchan and Demos I was quite pleased that they now have become real good assests to Centauri fleets. But, now when comparin it to other skrimish-level vessels of other races, I'm presently not sure if both are not a bit too much. when two have even more firepower than an alterian, why should I use it? And even neither EA, Drakh or League ships cannot, at least on paper, cope with Demos and Vorchans.

Has anyone played both yet? Did they perform bad/ good/great? Would a Vorchan only fleet with some Maximus as defense make sense?

 

[Target]

They do have must die written all over them. They are fairly easy kill. A Maximus is a must to protect from fighters but then thats 1 less Vorchan/Demos. Haven't played enough to say they OTT but i do think 10 AD on the Demos should be reduced to 8AD. It could be a little overpowered but i had a G'Varhn pop 4 in a round which seems about right.
Just looking at a few of the other races stats, they have more firepower but on the whole less surviability by a bit & all their weapons are interceptable which helps a little to the balance.

 

[Tolwyn]

My EA Cronos is armed with paper balls compared to the both

 

[Locutus9956]

Yes but the EA Chronos is hull 6 with 2 interceptors. In a straight fight between a single Chronos and a single Vorchan I reckon it could be relatively close.

 

[The Hobbybox]

Yes but the EA Chronos is hull 6 with 2 interceptors. In a straight fight between a single Chronos and a single Vorchan I reckon it could be relatively close.

Hmmm, yes, I thought that, then the ass whooping started!
Damn pointy hairs!

 

[Locutus9956]

hmm as I look at it closely the Demos might be SLIGHTLY too much. As a few people have said dropping it back to 8 might do the trick but I dont honestly think its that big an issue. The main thing with the Chronos though is that it can fire any direction and is at its best when you park a group of them in the middle of an enemy formation and can fire multiple arcs at once. One on one Id suspect a Demos would probably eat a Chronos, but a Vorchan wouldnt. That 1 interceptor the Demos has really would be the decisive factor for me.

 

[Tolwyn]

I don't mind the new Cronos defensiv capabilities, they are great for a Skirmish Level Ship, but the weapons are few. Turret Railgun is ok, but 4 AD to the sides and 2 AD front/aft is not that much.

 

[Banichi]

I played 2 vorchan in my last game (against narn) and they brutalized his skirmish ships. Those ion cannons, and the extra bit of survivablity are awesome. Next game I'm going to give squadroned demoses a go.

 

[Locutus9956]

Aye looking at the other skirimish ships I do wonder if perhaps they cut the firepower on the Chronos just a tad too much. Maybe 4/6/6/4 on the pulse cannons?

 

[Gunnvaldr]

*sigh* since I now focusing on EA:C, I dearly miss my Vorchans. Chronos are nice but something about the Vorchan's aggressiveness is sorely miss

 

[Locutus9956]

The Chronos was my favourite little ship in 1st ed. Now, I still like it and lough how tough it is but I must admit it does seem a bit lacking in 'teeth' compared to some other skirmish ships. I'll still use it though

 

[Tolwyn]

I use them, too. At least to stall the enemy, but the Cronos is definitly lacking teeth, while the Vorchan and Demos seem to have a bit too much of them.

 

[scorpioni]

As a Dilgar, I have to work with Ochlavita's and for an 'agressive' skirmish ship, it is sorely lacking anything worthy of the name 'serious firepower'.

I will run the numbers on them to check if they have a hidden strength or something but I'm not holding my breath over it...

(Note: Nothing bad said about the Command variant however. True it has even less firepower but at least it has a decent ability that can potentially greatly enhance even warships)

 

[Locutus9956]

All Dilgar ships have 'hidden strength'. It's called the Masters of Destruction rule..... the Ochalvita may not have the raw firepower of the Centauri gunships but god help your opponent if you roll any crits!

 

[scorpioni]

I know that but even MoD is nothing compared to the volume of fire a Vorchan or a Demos can throw out...

Furthermore... mentioning MoD when talking about a semi-dedicated missile ship...

Triple damage bolter crits are great but not with 2x2 AD Bolters Just look at a Jashakar or Jashakar Tae and the Ochlavita is mediocre at best...

 

[Triggy]

The Vorchan is definitely in the "glass hammer" mould where it can hit very hard but also dies relatively quickly. The Interceptor on the Demos though makes all the difference as it has around the same firepower as on the Vorchan.

(reminder - it's not a good thing to not notice when a ship has Interceptors added in playtesting like I did with the Demos)

 

[Davesaint]

The Vorchan is definitely in the "glass hammer" mould where it can hit very hard but also dies relatively quickly. The Interceptor on the Demos though makes all the difference as it has around the same firepower as on the Vorchan.

(reminder - it's not a good thing to not notice when a ship has Interceptors added in playtesting like I did with the Demos)

Please explain the whole "glass hammer" aspect of the Vorchan and Demos to me. Both ships run around using the CBD special action all game. On average the ship gets 33% bigger because of that. That makes it pretty beefy, especially for the Demos who has slow loading missles. But then I could just be using them incorrectly.


Dave

 

[Burger]

Hull 5 with 19 damage is not all that feeble for a Skirmish ship, in fact it's quite respectable. So I wouldn't say its a glass hammer at all.

 

[Triggy]

Hull 5 with 19 damage is not all that feeble for a Skirmish ship, in fact it's quite respectable. So I wouldn't say its a glass hammer at all.

Well neither are weak at all on guns and both are amazingly fast and manoeuvrable... even though they are tough enough for a Skirmish PL ship it's still their weakest suit.

As for running round on CBD - this does decrease the Vorchan's firepower and reduces the Demos's 50% of the time so it's far from an automatic choice.

 

[katadder]

they have more damage than alot of skirmish ships.
the demos only uses CBD when reloading.
really they are the best skirmish ships out there.