new B5 player looking for help

[scythewing]

Hello I’m just getting into b5 a call to arms. I’m a huge fan of space combat games and never got a chance to get into this one. I have the rule book on its way to me at the moment but was wondering if someone would be able to give me a good sample fleet to learn the ins and outs of the game. The fleets I’m leaning towards is ISA is the main one the Centauri I like a lot and the Vree and Drazi from the non-aligned worlds.

I have been seeing that the Centauri seems to be a very popular fleet I was just wondering why? Not to mention wondering if anyone could give me some positives or negatives for the fleets of ISA, Centauri, Vree, Drazi. Thanks for the help in advance and can’t wait to get playing.

 

[treknogeek]

Greetings,

I'm a junior player too, but I'll throw in my two cents for what it's worth.

The Centauri are well balanced due to the number of ships they have to choose from. One thing I like about them is the Specials for the weapons. The Centauri like their toys. A down side would be that they can have fewer weapons per ship than other races. Though while the potency of the weapons can make up for this it can be a factor when dealing with critical hits.

The Vree are fragile, but they pack a punch, have some ships with good range, and their super maneuverable ability is very handy. Also, their Turret weapons make positioning for a kill easier but there is a risk of loosing all your weapons with one crit.

White Stars can be a pain in the neck to kill and the ISA's ability to include League ships means that you will have a lot of flexibility with your fleet build and the ability to keep your opponents guessing.

I do not know much about the Drazi, but the looks of their fleet list make it look like they would be harder to use due to the great number of bore weapons.

My advice is to pick a fleet that fits your personality/approach to situations. I chose the Centauri because of their tendency to have most weapons in the Forward Arc and that their weapons have specials, and good ones at that, but that is what fits me. Also, keep in mind cost. This will determine whether you get Fleet Action scall or ACtoA scale, as well as which fleet to aquire. ISA is going to be the most expensive to get all of the ships for unless you find a motivated seller.

So, to sum up: They all have their advantages so pick what fits you best, but also be aware of cost in mind.

If you decide to go with Fleet Action, Agents of Gaming still has inventory and you can get fleet packs from their website. I bought from them recently and they are still legit.

 

[Da Boss]

an excellent sumary of the races

Like many games - It is likely the fleet you will most enjoy is the fleet that fits you own play style

Charging - Centuari, Dilgar, maybe Drazi
L/R Sniper - Minbari, maybe Vorlons, Vree, Pak
Tricksy - Shadows, Vree

All rounders: Brakiri, Earth,

Attrition: Abbai,

Super flexible: Centauri, ISA, League, Army of Light

look forward to hearing about your battles - also check out the resources thread - lots of useful stuff there

 

[Digger]

@ Da Boss - What no mention of the Mighty Narn Regime - Your favourite race I hear! :wink:

 

[M1ndr1d3rs]

Welcome to the forum..

I think most of the options in regard of strategic and play style preference have been eloquently presented.
What is also important IMHO, since ACTA is a miniatures game, is a fleet with ships you like looking at. It's up to you to find the balance between looks and performance that suits you.

In defense of the Narn, they do have some of the best looking ships in the game. (yes I do keep G'quans) :lol:

 

[scythewing]

Wow thanks for the replies that cleared a lot up for me.

I am very much leaning toward the Vree they seem like a lot of fun. But the ISA is still the one im trying to put together just looking for some more white stars.

 

[H]

an excellent sumary of the races

Like many games - It is likely the fleet you will most enjoy is the fleet that fits you own play style

Charging - Centuari, Dilgar, maybe Drazi
L/R Sniper - Minbari, maybe Vorlons, Vree, Pak
Tricksy - Shadows, Vree

All rounders: Brakiri, Earth,

Attrition: Abbai,

Super flexible: Centauri, ISA, League, Army of Light

look forward to hearing about your battles - also check out the resources thread - lots of useful stuff there

Ah the mighty centauri, so afraid of the narn that tney refuse to list them. They come into a special category.

Coolest looking ships: Narn. Sadly their ship abilities are harder to define. they "should" be attritional I suspect but the Crit system has somewhat removed this. They are not an easy fleet to use effectively due to some lame ducks in their ship lists. They Do have some excelent ships at skirmish, Raid and War.

 

[scythewing]

I do have to say that the Centauri and Narn have some cool looking ships. I cant give my 2 cents just yet but I cant wait to get a few games under my belt.

I am putting my ISA together at the moment as they are my favorite fleet. So far I have the Victory, White Star carrier, and a few White Stars put together. I was thinking 6 might be a good number or should I go more? I was wondering what was the best way on doing fighters? I was thinking about splitting them up to 3 a base but do you use regular small bases or flight bases with the pins?

 

[H]

Can't say how many whitestars are enough without knowning your usual fleet sizes
if you want to field your victory though, and still have a balanced fleet you are looking at large fleets, so more WS will be required. Or some Allies. If you like the look of the Narn, then you could have a couple of Narn ships as Allies. Best ships to support whitestars in my opinion are Dag'Kars. quite a sick combination.

 

[AdrianH]

If the Victory is on the table then the game is probably at least 4 War, and even then a lot of your allocation is tied up in one ship. In a War level scenario you'll want some Battle level ships - breaking War straight down to Raid will put you at a disadvantage with the breakdown system in P&P.

Which means you probably don't need any more basic White Stars, but what you could use is a couple of White Star Gunships.

And at the other end of the scale, some Blue Stars could prove useful in low level scenarios. I don't think much of the Liandra or Nolo'Tar - not too well armed, and will have trouble keeping up with the rest of the fleet. If you need Skirmish level ships you're probably better to get them from allies - which means you get to use some Vree, the other ships you liked.

 

[KennyBoy]

And you would be hard pressed to find better allies than the Vree... especially in small to mid range fights. 8)