Is the Nolo Tar really worth it?

[Karhedron]

I am undecided about this ship. It seems to have a decent hull rating for a Skirmish PL ship but its firepower is a little on the low side. The two probably balance out but I am not sure yet.

On the face of things it's Escort trait seems a valuable asset to an ISA fleet to stop enemy fighters nipping at the heels of your White Stars. However as a recent S&P pointed out, it has only slightly over the half the speed of a White Star meaning that it will struggle to keep the ships it is meant to be protecting within 8" Escort range.

Can better protection be provided to the ISA by Allies? An Ashinata seems an obvious choice. With a 12" move it can just about keep up with the White Stars, it has significantly more fusion cannons with 50% greater range and it has AAF 6 against the Nolo tar's AF 4. Alternatively Gaim and EA both have highly effective Raid PL carriers that can bring you something to go toe-to-toe with enemy fighters (or e-mine then to death in the case of the Gaim).

So, do you use the Nolotar as an Escort or is it just there to provide an adequate Skirmish PL choice and a bit of variety?

 

[armbarred]

I use them in squadrons when I don't need the init. sinks and they hang out well with the Tara'Lin. It is a lot of AF dice, but honestly the ship is probably going to be swarmed often. And the Nolo'Tars are usually close enough to be able to support each other with extra AF dice as needed since they have no troops and boarding them is such an easy way to score a Raid worth of points.

But then I really like the models. And 4 AD and 3 AD that ignore interceptors, always hit on 4 and re-roll misses really isn't anything to sneeze at.

 

[Burger]

I wouldn't bother with a Nolo'Tar. Rather have half a White Star, or 2 Blue Stars.

 

[Ripple]

ISA has a bit of the same issue Dilgar have nowdays, a fast and a slow approach. The whitestar fleet is almost seperate from the skirmish choices, Tara'Lin and Vickie (and allies in many cases). I use it as a situational escort if I have other slow moving ships.

Ripple

 

[wpngjstr]

I honestly have not even thought about using them. I'd sooner take a Giam Shuuka as an ally at skirmish, and use its' long range E-mines to sweep fighters, with its' own fighters as close in defence for leakers.
Also the molecular pulsars on 'stars (Blue-, White-, and fighters) will eat hostile fighters (open the range and do a Mig-sweep, before closing to knife range on his ships)

 

[Galatea]

ISA has a bit of the same issue Dilgar have nowdays, a fast and a slow approach. The whitestar fleet is almost seperate from the skirmish choices, Tara'Lin and Vickie (and allies in many cases). I use it as a situational escort if I have other slow moving ships.
Ripple

Well at least the Vic can keep up with the White Stars as it moves 20" on All power to engines.

 

[Karhedron]

Also the molecular pulsars on 'stars (Blue-, White-, and fighters) will eat hostile fighters

True but the range is usually less than the movement of most fighters. It would be a dumb enemy who didn't move his fighters out of range or arc of the molecular pulsars. Only in pretty large games will you have enough to cover swathes of the table and create fighter no-go zones.

 

[David Anla Shok']

I've only got one so far. I plan on having several. Remember, that there are ships that you can always use no matter what size the game. There are other ships that fit into a unique niche. I think that the Nolo Tar is one of those ships, suitable for those large games where it can provide close in defense for others and not be on the short list of "Things To Kill Immediately".

 

[Methos5000]

As far as big battles go sometimes they become effective targets for reducing init sinks though, if you have some slow-loading missiles to fire you could kill one of those or risk having the Whitestar dodge all of them.

The biggest problem with the ship is its the only ISA ship that has no defenses against Capital ships. No Dodge, No Adaptive Armor, No Stealth, No Interceptors....nothing at all to protect it from incoming fire. And if you Close Blast Doors you cut its firepower down severly and the ship may as well not even fire if you Intensify Defensive Fire. The only real use I have managed to get out of them, since most races have some kind of bomber fighter and usually stay out of AF range, was loaning AF to Nials or Flyers prior to dogfights to help increase the odds of survival, especially since I'm usually outnumbered on fighters with ISA especially at lower levels.

 

[David Anla Shok']

As far as big battles go sometimes they become effective targets for reducing init sinks though, if you have some slow-loading missiles to fire you could kill one of those or risk having the Whitestar dodge all of them.

The biggest problem with the ship is its the only ISA ship that has no defenses against Capital ships. No Dodge, No Adaptive Armor, No Stealth, No Interceptors....nothing at all to protect it from incoming fire. And if you Close Blast Doors you cut its firepower down severly and the ship may as well not even fire if you Intensify Defensive Fire. The only real use I have managed to get out of them, since most races have some kind of bomber fighter and usually stay out of AF range, was loaning AF to Nials or Flyers prior to dogfights to help increase the odds of survival, especially since I'm usually outnumbered on fighters with ISA especially at lower levels.

I am wondering if it should not have been placed in the Minbari fleet list so that it could run around with its contemporaries.

 

[Methos5000]

It definitely can keep pace with Minbari ships, though if it was over there I would hope they would at least have given it a 3+ stealth to reflect maybe older technology otherwise they will just be destoryed at range when everything else was hiding behind stealth.

That said and this is probably an unpopular view, I would have almost preferred the Bluestar be made a little tougher (either through more damage and crew or more AD and range on its gun if not both) and bumped up to skirmish and the Nolo'tar would have been the patrol level choice for the ISA. It would have eliminated any issue of patrol level JPBs for one and would have fit pretty well since PL reflects power not size, even as small as it is the Bluestar is pretty advanced compared to the 1000+ year old design of the Nolo'tar. I know many would hate to lose such a tough patrol level choice but it just feels more right to me, and I'm an ISA player.

But thats neither here nor there as the Nolo'tar is the ISA skirmish choice not the Minbari and the Bluestar is the ISA Patrol choice.

 

[David Anla Shok']

I definitely can keep pace with Minbari ships, though if it was over there I would hope they would at least have given it a 3+ stealth to reflect maybe older technology otherwise they will just be destoryed at range when everything else was hiding behind stealth.

That said and this is probably an unpopular view, I would have almost preferred the Bluestar be made a little tougher (either through more damage and crew or more AD and range on its gun if not both) and bumped up to skirmish and the Nolo'tar would have been the patrol level choice for the ISA. It would have eliminated any issue of patrol level JPBs for one and would have fit pretty well since PL reflects power not size, even as small as it is the Bluestar is pretty advanced compared to the 1000+ year old design of the Nolo'tar. I know many would hate to lose such a tough patrol level choice but it just feels more right to me, and I'm an ISA player.

My Blue Stars are new acquisitions to my ISA fleet and I haven't had a chance to use them just yet.

But thats neither here nor there as the Nolo'tar is the ISA skirmish choice not the Minbari and the Bluestar is the ISA Patrol choice.

 

[Methos5000]

I have used Bluestars a few times and they are very good patrol choices I like them as patrol level ships I just feel it would fit a little better as a Skirmish choice with the Nolo'Tar being a patrol (the largest patrol ship in ACTA history I believe). But I am okay with them as they are now, they are a good little ship.

 

[David Anla Shok']

I have used Bluestars a few times and they are very good patrol choices I like them as patrol level ships I just feel it would fit a little better as a Skirmish choice with the Nolo'Tar being a patrol (the largest patrol ship in ACTA history I believe). But I am okay with them as they are now, they are a good little ship.

I have six of them painted up and look forward to experimenting with them. I gave away part of my ISA fleet as an xmas present so I have to replace that portion of it as well as doing a few more Blue Stars up.

 

[Karhedron]

The biggest problem with the ship is its the only ISA ship that has no defenses against Capital ships.

While it has no active defenses, it is still hull 5+ and 26 points of damage (IIRC). This means it is not exectly fragile. OK so it has no defenses but at least that means it has nothing to be countered by special rules. In many ways, a high damage level is the best form of defense since there is nothing the enemy can do except chip it away a bit at a time.

 

[Methos5000]

You have to remember though, while it has 26 damage its crew rating is 22 which generally means that the ship will be decrewed more often then destroyed, which means it can be boarded for double VP more often.

But my main point was that all other ISA ships have some form of defense (AA, Dodge, Stealth, Interceptors) which makes the Nolo'Tar an inviting target and it is slower so it will be easier to predict its movements and if you start eliminating Nolo'Tars the ISA player will have to start moving their Whitestars sooner which may land them in arc the Whitestar would prefer not to be in, namely the front arc of almost any enemy ship.

And I didn't say its fragile I just said that it has no defenses which makes it a good target to shoot at. Fire some slow loading missiles at one and you dont have to risk them being dodged or intercepted or reduced in effectiveness due to AA.

That said its a good escort and like I said earlier the best use I got out of them was defending fighters againsts Dogfights, sure I have good dogfighters but avoid the Dogfight all together if possible is much better in my opinion, especially if can get those 3AD MB on Nials or 3AD Acc, AP DD guns on the WSFighter on ships that don't have any AF protecting it.

 

[Ripple]

The ship does do well in sitting in escort roll as it often can afford to go CBD, and with a starfury (go on invest the patrol point) acting as an interceptor its as good as most any skirmish ship in the game for surviving.

And yes it does draw some fire if folks are trying to kill your sinks, but usually that means they are still facing the Nolo'tar and not turning to start covering their own backs for when the whitestars overfly.

Just saying the ship has a place, especially if you use the allies rule.

Ripple

 

[Methos5000]

Oh I agree it has a place, I would rather have them shooting at the Nolo'Tars then Whitestars I'm just saying it feels a little out of place for a fleet that is loaded with defensive traits to have have a ship with none (AF being useless against Capital ship fire).

On a side note since it not a very good dogfighter (compared to other fighters available to the ISA) anyway you could use the flyer that comes with the Nolo'tar as an interceptor as well.

And as my original comment stated the biggest problem with the ship is lack of defenses, I never said it was useless, just that is has no defenses. I wish its Damage and crew rating would have been reversed because most of my Nolo'Tars have been decrewed instead of destroyed and thats just asking to give up more VP to my opponent.

I still think its best use is loaning AF dice to ISA or allied fighters (unless you have an opponent with all short range fighters) since you can possible avoid dogfights all together and possible not even risk your good dogfighters dying.

 

[Taran]

Since when can you loan AF dice to fighters?

 

[Lokai]

since fighters are considered ships unless otherwise mentioned, and nowhere does it say that you cannot loan AF to fighters. Unless you can point us to the line that says AF can't be loaned to fighters.

Hopefully they'll reprint the rulebook and it won't be so vague in numerous places....but i wouldn't hold your breath