Centauri Hunting Packs - A Question for you Chaps

[Greg Smith]

It is better, cause before you could fire some weapons at 50% range & then some at normal at other targets.

But you no longer have the restriction of having all ships having to fire at the nominated target. Instead you just act as a normal (super-sized) squadron when you chose. So more flexible in some ways, but unable to combine both all-round fire with the range benefit.

 

[Greg Smith]

I have the updates now all I need is the book

Me too. Just wondering wether to spend £9 and get it from Gameslore rather than wait for Matt to post my copy.

 

[Burger]

It is better, cause before you could fire some weapons at 50% range & then some at normal at other targets.

But you no longer have the restriction of having all ships having to fire at the nominated target. Instead you just act as a normal (super-sized) squadron when you chose. So more flexible in some ways, but unable to combine both all-round fire with the range benefit.

Yep, exactly. Matt has said the Darkner is one of the ships the huntng pack was designed for... that has Beam... so you'd be unable to split it to any ships outside of 4" from the designated target. The new wording is much less restrctive, and much more broken!

I WANT MY VOTE BACK!

 

[H]

it certainly is somewhat "EEK" and brown trousers time when you face a Centauri "squadron/Pack now.

on a slightly controversial note, the inability to form new squadrons in game irked me a tad, modern technology and communications and the captain of a ship, couldn't get another 3 in formation etc? weird.
yes i am sure their is of course a game balance issue, I await burgers maths to bamboozle me ;-)

I understand to just break and reform would be easily "useable" by the less scrupulous out there. Maybe a special action "form squadron" CQ X for the first ship, then CQX-1 for the next? and it doesn't take effect till next turn, assuming all ships have become close enough? obviously this late in the day such a thing would be nothing more than a house rule ;-)

Just think though, you've been pounded left right and centre, all you have left is a few Ka'Tocs, and that darn adira is still there. grab 4 of your ka'tocs,whack em into a squadron and commence bombing run

 

[Burger]

I'm not going to bamboozle you hiff just say I do think it would be overpowered. Squadrons are very effective when used well, I'm sure you remember my 2x4 Strikehawks at Aldershot

Yes it might make fluff sense to be able to reform but IMO form should follow function, ie. fluff should be "bent" to fit a balanced rule system. You can't reform squadrons because............... the targetting computers have to be networked in order to allow co-ordinated attacks to fire silumtaneously. This link takes a technician at a starbase 24 hours to set up. How's that :lol:

 

[H]

I still like the idea of being able to re-form a squadron, heck the Gaim can do it can't they? or am i thinking of something else. and fluff explanations, nice

 

[Da Boss]

I still like the idea of being able to re-form a squadron, heck the Gaim can do it can't they? or am i thinking of something else. and fluff explanations, nice

Gaim can indeed break and reform squadrons throughout the game.

we did come up with (in the House Rules pdf)

Co-ordinate Fire! Crew Quality Check: 8
In the heat of battle a senior officer can sometimes see beyond the individual engagements and understand the big picture. They order the nearby ships to follow their lead and target a vital target in the
enemy fleet.
If a Ship with the Command trait successfully makes the CQ check for this Special Action, they order all friendly ships within 6" to act as a Squadron for the purposes of firing. The ship executing the order and All friendly ships within 6" of the command ship must fire at the designated target fighter, ship or station and may not fire at any other target this turn. If the Ship loses the Command trait, or is skeleton crewed or destroyed, the effects of this Special Order are immediately lost.

 

[Burger]

Sounds good! Though limiting it to command ships is a bit restrictive especially for some fleets who don't have any/many, or only at War or above. How about, the leader must have equal or higher CQ than all of the others? (Again restricting it to just "higher" would limit it to campaign games)

 

[Da Boss]

Sounds good! Though limiting it to command ships is a bit restrictive especially for some fleets who don't have any/many, or only at War or above. How about, the leader must have equal or higher CQ than all of the others? (Again restricting it to just "higher" would limit it to campaign games)

The only thing with equal or higher CQ is that any ship at all can do it? Is that a major worry - not sure - the Command idea was more a fluff thing as it seemed to fit?

 

[H]

I like it, it's almost in line with my thoughts
super.

 

[KennyBoy]

Really, when you think of it, it's like giving your fleet the Hunting Pack ability for a turn, except that it requires a CQ to do it and you have to fire all guns at the same target... so reasonably restrictive considering the benefits... unlike the Hunting Pack, which has no such restrictions or requisite CQ test

 

[Burger]

Hey why not remove the CQ check, at least that will stop us all moaning about the hunting pack because we'll all be able to do it :lol:

 

[lastbesthope]

I have the updates now all I need is the book

Me too. Just wondering wether to spend £9 and get it from Gameslore rather than wait for Matt to post my copy.

FP should have it in for me tomorrow along with Cortex and the new Serenity RPG supplement.

I like the new wording, to get the range benefit you need to only attack the one target, sort of like CAF with s Super Size squadron.

LBH

 

[Greg Smith]

I like the new wording, to get the range benefit you need to only attack the one target, sort of like CAF with s Super Size squadron.

So why the super-sized squadron? I could understand it if the concentration on one target allowed more ships to move and fire in unison. But the super-sized squadron can act like a regular squadron, a bigger squadron than any other race. Bigger than the Dilgar pentacon ("a specialised formation used by well-trained Dilgar pilots to support one another in battle"), bigger than the Gaim (with their hive mind), bigger than Psi Corps and the Vree (who can communicate at the speed of thought), and bigger than the ISA (with elite ranger crews). Why?

And on the subject of CAF, a hunting pack can CAF its target with no penalty. And would be stupid not to. So not only can they boost range, they reroll misses too.

 

[lastbesthope]

I'm not sure on the super size squadron, it's swings and rtoundabouts, you lose init sinks by doing it.

LBH

 

[Da Boss]

I'm not sure on the super size squadron, it's swings and rtoundabouts, you lose init sinks by doing it.

LBH

yeah and you get to fire possiibly first with 6 ships...............no one else - not even the Dilgar can do that - thats one of the reasons its dodgy.........

if squadrons are as bad as people keep making out - I guess playing the Dilgar is a auto loss? :roll:

 

[silashand]

if squadrons are as bad as people keep making out - I guess playing the Dilgar is a auto loss? :roll:

They might not be, but I almost never see any Dilgar player use the pentacon formation much since they lose so many sinks with it.

Cheers, Gary

 

[Da Boss]

wierd - have totally opposite experience

 

[katadder]

I'm not sure on the super size squadron, it's swings and rtoundabouts, you lose init sinks by doing it.

LBH

yeah and you get to fire possiibly first with 6 ships...............no one else - not even the Dilgar can do that - thats one of the reasons its dodgy.........

if squadrons are as bad as people keep making out - I guess playing the Dilgar is a auto loss? :roll:

dilgar do get the advantage of at least keeping pentacons as init sinks, no one else gets that.
but when playing dilgar I have yet to squadron up, its rare for me to use squadrons as I prefer the ability to outmanouvre my opponent compared to the firepower a squadron can bring.

 

[Da Boss]

Each to their won - depends massively on the terrain and opponents - some races movements are reletively predictable by the very compostion of their fleet - especially lumbering ships.

Maneuvre is important, but proper and effective use of squadrons is as well - using the two together is better