Number of ships in your fleets

[Delthos]

I was going over what ships I want to buy for some of my different fleets and I got to thinking about the numbers of ships I should have at each priority level to choose from. Then I got to thinking what are some guidelines for people to shoot for if they want to pick up a fleet now before they are unavailable.

My two main fleets have much more than these minimums, but I was thinking about it for my two secondary fleets. I settled on 5 FAPs of ships from each priority level in general, except Armageddon, which I settled at 0 to 2 depending upon the fleet. I figure probably 8 at Patrol and Skirmish. I figure that this will give you a good number of ships so that you can play at many different priority levels and FAPs and have a decent enough selection to be competitive in your average game. It will allow for buying down and buying up to meet the FAP levels of the game. Granted if you have 5 FAPs of the lower priority levels, you won't be able to buy down efficiently, but the possibility is there.

Obviously this will be different for some fleets like Early Years EA, who will have to have many more of the lower priority ships as they don't have the high level ships available; or Shadows and Vorlons with no ships at the lower priority levels.

So I'm thinking, 8/8/5/5/5/2 are good to have and shoot for if you want to pick up a fleet that you will be able to use in the future and still be able to have some variety in it and not be completely predictable.

What does everyone else think? Are these good numbers as a general guideline? Remember I'm not asking what specific ships people should get, but how many at each priority level are good enough numbers?

 

[Sky Captain]

Well here is what I did...

Each of the 4 main factions I have 20 points of Battle for, with a slant towards Earth and Centuari as they are my favorite factions from the TV show. The idea was to be able to support 2 players per faction in a prolonged campaign (10 points of Battle each). I have also been collecting since 1997 when the miniatures first came out. Some ships are only good for later eras, and some for early eras, etc.

For the 6 non-aligned factions I have 5 points of Battle for each. It is a great number, as it matches Mongoose's Fleet Boxes.

I am not sure what I have point wise for the ISA, Drakh, Shadows, or Vorlons. I just kinda "have what I have" for those. Enough to support various senarios from the TV Show.

You hit on the biggest thing though... equal pairs of ships at each PL is a good idea. It was odd, now it is even, which is better. I have recently gone back to buy additional Patrol Level ships. I find the greatest concentration of useful ships I enjoy playing with are at Skirmish and Raid level.

 

[Sky Captain]

So I'm thinking, 8/8/5/5/5/2 are good to have and shoot for if you want to pick up a fleet that you will be able to use in the future and still be able to have some variety in it and not be completely predictable.

I guess as an addendum... it matters what you typically play with.

I find 5 points of Raid is good for a quick tournament. In that I generally use 1 Battle, 1 Raid, 3 Skirmish, and 2 Patrol level approx.

I find that 5 points of Battle is good for a one off game. In this I tend towards 1 War, 1 Battle, 2 Raid, and 4 Skirmish level ships

I rarely find myself using Armagedon level ships, beyond a senario. I frequently do not use War or Patrol level as a general rule of thumb either, unless I am playing a League race.

 

[Delthos]

Yeah, that was part of my point, but not every fleet has good selections for different FAP break downs and I don't have set breakdowns I always use. Also if you want to have some variety and choice when making those FAP breakdowns you will need more than one or two choices from a lower priority level. Hence my minimums for the number of ships you should have. None the less it is a good point to take into consideration if you are an experienced ACtA player.

My question was more geared towards those people who are just coming into the game now and don't know where to start, but want to get a fleet before they are gone. The fleet boxes are a good start, but they are limited and you will need more. They will want to get more ships, but need some guidance in order to bulk out their collection.

I come from the more options is better school of thought and try to have more than my earlier limits, especially at the lower levels. Of course I also make sure I have at least one of every ship for a fleet as well, even if they don't play well. I like to have them available to me.

 

[Sky Captain]

I come from the more options is better school of thought and try to have more than my earlier limits, especially at the lower levels. Of course I also make sure I have at least one of every ship for a fleet as well, even if they don't play well. I like to have them available to me.

I find it is a functional school of thought.

From the angle you are looking at...

I would say:

1) Buy the Fleet Box
2) Buy one of each other model
3) Buy one blister of each Fighter type
4) Earth and GAIM need to buy even more fighters!

 

[Foxmeister]

Personally, I don't think the breakdown you've given has enough raid and skirmish ships. Many fleets have several options at these levels, and therefore you'll need probably at least 2 to 4 of each ship that you favour (possibly more) and 1 of those you are less likely to use.

For example, in my Narn fleet at raid I currently have 2 Dag'Kar, 2 Var'Nic, 3 G'Karith and a T'Loth, but given the minis are going oop, I feel I need to double my quota of Dag'Kars and Var'Nics.

At Battle, 5 is a good number, but for some fleets with lots of options (e.g. Centauri) I'd probably up it to 8.

At War, 5 is definitely sufficient - perhaps even one too many IMHO.

As for Armageddon - 1 is generally sufficient.

Regards,

Dave