What patrol lvl ships to you use?

[Target]

With the debate about the Hermes being too good I thought we should list what patrol lvl hulls we use or don't.

Being mainly a Centauri player i use " drum roll please "
The Corvan, nice model, pretty good firepower, nice stealth & scout for beams, interceptors & decent hits & a flight. It's not what i would say way overpowered (pretty damn good though) as it pretty fragile, fighters can hurt it easily if they are half decent fighter (anything with 2AD or more). Taking a horde of these won't do you anygood though, it's pretty good through it the role it preforms for the fleet in general.
The Haven is a piece of poo with no surviabilty at all, don't like the model at all pity i have eight.

With my Narn, i'd might consider using Sho ***'s if wasn't for Narn skirmish hulls being so good, maybe if they came with a flight i'd think about.

Drazi patrol hulls i'd use if they were 5+ dodge (maybe 6+) or hull 5.

EA isn't hard why would you use anything but a Hermes, Tethys if the Hull was higher or had more hits. Hermes I don't have much of a problem with it's about where i expect a patrol lvl ship to be.

Haven't used or play against other races to make much comment about them. But in general the patrol lvl hulls either all need dodge, more hits or higher hull to make then worth getting instead of a skirmish ship or raised to the lvls of the Patrol hulls that you actually see used.

 

[Abraxas]

Centauri player too... and ditto on the Covran.

Haven't used a Haven mostly because I am afraid to. I just hear bad things... but has anyone actually used them... in high numbers?

I'm anout to play as Drahk... so I guess I will add Scouts to that list as well.

I don't know that ANY fleet really plays well at PATROL level (excluding fighters) but I am curious as to what people say about the Tehys. It looks kinda decent, but why do so few people use it?

 

[CZuschlag]

Let's try it as those I have used and those I would use:

Have Used and Would Use Again:

-- Jashakar: Out of desparation. Only scout in Dilgar fleet, so might as well buy.

-- Drakh Scout: Outstanding scouting vessel. Almost top of the food chain (the Corvan is), but this thing is really really nasty.

-- Sho'Kov: It happened to fit, and was more useful in a complex fight than the Sho'Kos due to the range on the Ion Torpedo.

Would Use:

-- Corvan: Duh.

-- Vaarl: It's a toss-up between a Vaarka or two Vaarls, but I'd probably prefer the Vaarl.

-- Pak Sunhawk. 2xTriple-damage range 25 at patrol? I only barely bother to read that slow-loading bit. Mommieeee!

-- Hermes. Flash me. No, I meant Flash missiles .... no one wants to see that.

-- The Rutarian upgrade. With Balavarix ONLY. And then only maybe. Against Drakh, absolutely.

-- Tethys. Absolutely! I actually think the Tethys Laser is a vile little ship. You obviously need fighter superiority, so what do you think that Avenger is for?

Absolutely Not:

-- Drazi Sunhawk. Ugh.

-- Centauri Haven. Ugh. Barf. Ugh.

-- Narn Sho'Kos. Looks like to easy a kill for not enough firepower and certainly not enough range.

-- Abbai Shyarie. Other folks say yes, but Scout+No Stealth+No Real Guns = just not enough.

-- Abbai Tiraca. Good execution, actually -- I could be convinced, but I think I'd ... well .... I dunno. I just haven't seen this thing succeed yet.

-- Abbai Brisaria. If the Comm Disruptor did actual Damage, I'd think about it. But, it doesn't. And it's not like having no special actions is always a penalty, anyways.

-- Vree Xaar. Do these things ever survive contact? They certainly can't survive a fighter strike.

-- Raiders Freighter. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding.

 

[H]

Drakh scouts are a must, good stealth, very good guns for it's size, and heck, it's a scout, 2 of these quite easily mushed a leshath (ok, it survived, JUST) but two of my cheapest ships scared the bejesus out of it.

Sho'Kov torp cutters are OK, but the 1AD is a bit of a pain, they can do ok in large squadroned numbers, 20 range " is respectable for a skirmish ship , the sho'kos on the other hand I have used once.. it crippled a troligan as the Minbari player ignored it ;-) otherwise it's a bit pap.

and the Brakiri have no skirmish ship, so I can't comment!

 

[Celisasu]

Just remember who you're facing before using Sho'Kov's though. If your opponents have interceptors it's a wasted ship.

 

[H]

yup, it certainly is.

 

[Johnny D]

I'd use the Abbai Triaca 2 interceptors 19 hits decent amounts of twin linked weaponry and a precise beam make them one of the better stand alone skirmish ships.
The Shyarie are ok if you have a Lakara (to re-role the beam) or are fighting Minbari but as they only have the relatively useless comms disruptors they aren't much use otherwise.
The Brisaria is to my way of thinking a pointless mix of the above two that doesn't do the role of either as well.

One question do comms disruptors effect the crew quality and therefore dogfight value of fighters?

I'd never take either of the Narn patrol choices as the Skirmish are too good and the model isn't that pretty and doesn't fit with the look of the fleet.

I might take a corvan for centauri and like every one else wouldn't touch the havens.

I really like Jashakar (because re-rolling lots of heavy bolter fire is great) and they have pretty good front guns, but they do die in droves.

For Pak although the sunhawk is good I'd prefer the flights of Porfatis so it doesn't really get a look in (although the sunhawk maybe better the porfatis give the pak quite a different feel to play with and against which I like).

 

[Silvereye]

Patrol level Ship? I wish.... 1 Nial or 2 Flyers.... Everything else suddenly looks a very attractive Patrol choice after that (even the Haven), some are a lot more than others (Hermes and Corvans and Vaarls).

 

[Da Boss]

er have not used them really

 

[katadder]

corvans for centauri, my tiracas (skirmish level suvivability) n the league or with my ISA. hermes with EA.

 

[Davesaint]

Centauri - Corvans
ISA/League - Vaarls
EA - Hermes, and occasionally the Missle Tethys.
Pak - Sunhawk, Vaarls


Dave

 

[Wulf Corbett]

The Shyarie are ok if you have a Lakara (to re-role the beam) or are fighting Minbari but as they only have the relatively useless comms disruptors they aren't much use otherwise.

Use them against ships which have just suffered critical effects. They make Damage Control almost, if not totally, impossible.

WUlf

 

[Johnny D]

"Use them against ships which have just suffered critical effects. They make Damage Control almost, if not totally, impossible. "

True enough, pretty frustrating for my opponent if nothing else I guess.

Do you know if comms disruptors work on fighters and would they effect dog-fight ratings, as that could make Kotha's really effective against heavy fighters which could get hit due to their low dodge and the comms being SAP, plus might not have the speed to always escape. Heck the pak ones may even loose the initiative enabling the Kotha's to actually get the drop on them.

 

[Target]

Patrol level Ship? I wish.... 1 Nial or 2 Flyers.... Everything else suddenly looks a very attractive Patrol choice after that (even the Haven), some are a lot more than others (Hermes and Corvans and Vaarls).

It's something i wish every fleet was to have acess to patrol lvl ships & carriers. Don't really like the buying of wings as these fighters had come from somewhere. The Nial at 1 flight is a little harsh, although when you see them in action with our house rules they almost might be worth it. Instead of the dogfight, they fire their 3 shots AP,-3 to dodge at the surrounding Sentri's, thats a bit of hurt, thats why always try to fire at them first.

 

[lastbesthope]

I've considered adding some Hermes as allies to my ISA fleet for tournaments

LBH

 

[Ripple]

Okay...I've tried them all now...yes even the Haven...

Ones I think have real use...

Vaarl - single best patrol choice for the league
Tiraca - in smaller games it has some value - sadly it blows up under beam fire just fine and usually only gets one shot in. Skirmish level survivability? No. Not with that hull number.
Brisarai - same as above
Pak Sunhawk - the 2 AD bombard is fabulous, not the horror CZuschlag thinks in my opinion due to being very small and destroyable...but I rarely have passed on them either, may be a case of the learning curve and I haven't learned to really abuse them yet.

Corvan - yup...we know

ShoKov - take two in almost every fleet to make sure I do not have Ka'tans sitting useless. They are survivable enough to not die easily to anything but main guns and have enough range fighters don't get them immeadeately if I don't take enough emines.

Hermes/Missile tethys - both very solid...Hermes a bit too much so due to T-bolt/missile variants

That's the list. Sure there are fighter flights too...I have even taken them, but the reality is they almost never pay for themselves and the loss of an initiative sink that could be in that slot is too big a deal. The Vorlon might be an exception or in small battles where fighters can achieve the 'insta kill factor'.

Ripple

 

[polemarch]

Vree - Vaarls to me are a no brainer.

However Xaars are very good at iniative sinking and keeping out of the way. I have used them effectively in space superiority and as interceptor depletors, especially in concert with Vaarls. Sure they die easily, but if higher priority ships are targetting them, then my larger ships become more effective.