I have not been following Star Fleet updates recently and still want to get into it when it comes out. With all the races that are confirmed to be in the core rulebook and first wave of minis, how exactly is each race designed to be played in theory? Want to get an idea of which fleet I should plan for and put back cash for.
Which Fleet?
- Thread starter Garthim
- Start date
GalagaGalaxian
Mongoose
In the CTA:SF book:
Major Empires (each has 10-15 or so ships in the book)
Federation/Star Fleet - Minis available now
Klingons - Minis available now
Romulans - Minis available now
Gorns - Minis available within a month or two
Kzinitis - Minis available within a month or two
Minor Powers (both have only 3 ships in the book(
Tholians - Minis available within a month or two
Orion Pirates - Minis available within a month or two
+ Generic stuff like civilian freighters, star bases, etc.
Major Empires (each has 10-15 or so ships in the book)
Federation/Star Fleet - Minis available now
Klingons - Minis available now
Romulans - Minis available now
Gorns - Minis available within a month or two
Kzinitis - Minis available within a month or two
Minor Powers (both have only 3 ships in the book(
Tholians - Minis available within a month or two
Orion Pirates - Minis available within a month or two
+ Generic stuff like civilian freighters, star bases, etc.
Feds - its all about the alpha strike with overloaded photons for serious hurt. good amount of phasers all round.
Klingons - range disrupters before close for the kill. very agile
Romulans - approach cloaked, decloak and hit them with plasma at close range, watch them die.
Kzinti - drones, lots of drones.
Gorn - tough with plasma
Klingons - range disrupters before close for the kill. very agile
Romulans - approach cloaked, decloak and hit them with plasma at close range, watch them die.
Kzinti - drones, lots of drones.
Gorn - tough with plasma
Kzinti get +1 Iniaitive as a fleet rule whihc is a good start 
Their smaller shhps are actually quite similar to the Klingon ones in my opinion - Long range weapons for stand off fights - avoiding the horrible but short ranged Plasmas and Photons. Their mid range to heavy ships are even more stand off and shoot ships.
Nothing worng with their fleet really
Despite the hype Gorns (*) are not actually durable in the game (about average or lower damage) but have vast amounts of plasmas - not played them so not sure how good they actually are.
(*) Ironically the Romulans have highest damage ships (Specifically the Hawk series ships - except the Skyhawk) for their points cost (excepting the stupidly high damage civililan ships - I hope nothing military is based on their hulls or they will be totally broken)
Their smaller shhps are actually quite similar to the Klingon ones in my opinion - Long range weapons for stand off fights - avoiding the horrible but short ranged Plasmas and Photons. Their mid range to heavy ships are even more stand off and shoot ships.
Nothing worng with their fleet really
Despite the hype Gorns (*) are not actually durable in the game (about average or lower damage) but have vast amounts of plasmas - not played them so not sure how good they actually are.
(*) Ironically the Romulans have highest damage ships (Specifically the Hawk series ships - except the Skyhawk) for their points cost (excepting the stupidly high damage civililan ships - I hope nothing military is based on their hulls or they will be totally broken)
How much SFB detail do folks want in this answer? Short answer: Gorn ships are tough because of how damage allocation works in SFB with a more detailed / complex answer available upon request. The Hydrans will have a similar mechanic when they also are added.
Something else to keep in mind is that Gorn ships should have excellent firing arcs. Their small Plasma-Fs are LS / RS in SFB (yes, rear-firing heavy weapons!) and the paired S-torps should have angles of Front + Port / Front + Starboard. Coupled with an excellent array of phaser-1s the Gorn lack of maneuverability isn't nearly the problem they want you to think it is.
It's all a Gorn propaganda campaign, you see... 8)
Something else to keep in mind is that Gorn ships should have excellent firing arcs. Their small Plasma-Fs are LS / RS in SFB (yes, rear-firing heavy weapons!) and the paired S-torps should have angles of Front + Port / Front + Starboard. Coupled with an excellent array of phaser-1s the Gorn lack of maneuverability isn't nearly the problem they want you to think it is.
It's all a Gorn propaganda campaign, you see... 8)
GalagaGalaxian
Mongoose
Speaking of Gorn firing arcs, it'll be nice to get my book and see how CTA:SF translated the LP/RP firing arcs. I'm guessing F+P/F+S or PH/SH.
Iain McGhee
Mongoose
More or less. The BC has F,P/F,S Plasma-S and SH/PH Plasma-F.
The Rom hawks are excellent vessels easily on par with the Fed CA . Their agility and plasmas make them a dangerous foe especially cloaked . Last game against fed taskforce cloaked and decloaked against feds fired the plasma weapons and phaser1s reversed out of photon range and wore them down .
Lost a ship but 'flanked' them and pummelled the 'crippled' NCL . Cat and mouse game stayed out of range . The Roms are a excellent race to play different and varied vessels . Use the Klingon D7s for the KR variants you can have a choice of two races as well .
Lost a ship but 'flanked' them and pummelled the 'crippled' NCL . Cat and mouse game stayed out of range . The Roms are a excellent race to play different and varied vessels . Use the Klingon D7s for the KR variants you can have a choice of two races as well .
I haven't played any games of ACTA yet, but I'm hoping that changes this week. I'm not as worried that Gorn ships aren't as tough here although I'm hoping shield ratings also add into the toughness factor, not just hull. It is nice to see the firing arcs did translate over well.
Looking forward to seeing how this all plays out
Looking forward to seeing how this all plays out
My friends are also undecided in what fleet they think suits them best and I want to see if based on what you guys have said if we are picking the right fleets for us. For a good long range fleet that sits back and snipes at the enemy, go with either Klingons or Kziniti, Romulans for a good surgical strike fleet, and raw firepower for Gorn. We are assuming from what we know that Feds are good all around and especially dangerous at short ranges due to their phasers and torpedeos. Sound about right? Any fleets (current or in future releases) viable for a person who enjoys just pure durability in their ships and just withering the enemy fire power like the Narns could do in B5: ACTA?
GalagaGalaxian
Mongoose
You can easily just get the rulebook to start and play a few test games to decide what races/ships you like. All measurements are from the base stem and Line Of Sight isn't really an issue, so the game could technically be played with anything from FedCom/SFB cardboard counters to slips of scrap paper.
starbreaker
Mongoose
GalagaGalaxian said:
Tease, tease. Many of us can't get the rulebook. It's only starting to show up in US stores.
starbreaker said:
Yep, I pre-ordered (via FLGS not Mongoose) back in Nov. Every time I walk in they just automatically check their distributors online site to check the status of the order. I've been really trying to not post about rules stuff because I really don't know the rules and remembering SFB/FC just clouds the issue
Of course I have to say try because I have failed miserably a few times already.... :shock:
Garthim said:
Cough choke, durable - the Narn - we of the Centauri Republic did not find it so.........
ahem right back to SF
Romulans seem to be the most flexible - almost like my beloved Republic as they get a variety of ship designs - short range but the SparrowHawk class ships could almost fight toe to toe uncloaked if they can get in range.... You cna def run their fleet in a variety of ways - plus they get loads of Command ships which helps
The ship damage scores across fleets are not especially different - so not sure there is one for what you are looking for .
Federation are desperate to keep your ship in front of of them so they can demolish it with photons.
GalagaGalaxian
Mongoose
starbreaker said:
I don't have it either.
This week I hope!
One thing to bear in mind is that this is only the first wave of empires to appear in the game; depending on how deep into the wider SFU that Mongoose decides to go, there are many other fleets out there to be considered as the game expands.
Indeed, just as the five starter fleets in ACtA:NA had a more similar technology base than they each would have with, say, the Vau (set for Fleets of the Fading Suns), the five full fleets currently in ACtA:SF were the first to be created for SFB (and to be converted to both FC and Starmada) back in the day; the further out into the SFU you go, the more new dynamics and concepts start being built into this foundation.
In the Alpha Octant, the local empire with the biggest and bulkiest hulls per ship class is the Inter-Stellar Concordium; their Star Cruiser is larger (and more expensive) than those of the "insane empires" they set out to pacify. Plus, their fleets are renowned for the Echelon formations they adopt, in which gunlines of plasma-armed frigates or destroyers screen larger second- and third-line capital ships armed with longe-range direct-fire plasmatic pulsar devices.
But even they break a sweat once the extra-galactic Andromedans show up...
(Though I would imagine those two might have to wait until we get the likes of the Neo-Tholians and Seltorians, or the Lyrans and Hydrans, to get settled in before they have their turn.)
So, if you're not sure about the current batch of empires, there are more on the way which might make be worth keeping an eye out for.
Indeed, just as the five starter fleets in ACtA:NA had a more similar technology base than they each would have with, say, the Vau (set for Fleets of the Fading Suns), the five full fleets currently in ACtA:SF were the first to be created for SFB (and to be converted to both FC and Starmada) back in the day; the further out into the SFU you go, the more new dynamics and concepts start being built into this foundation.
In the Alpha Octant, the local empire with the biggest and bulkiest hulls per ship class is the Inter-Stellar Concordium; their Star Cruiser is larger (and more expensive) than those of the "insane empires" they set out to pacify. Plus, their fleets are renowned for the Echelon formations they adopt, in which gunlines of plasma-armed frigates or destroyers screen larger second- and third-line capital ships armed with longe-range direct-fire plasmatic pulsar devices.
But even they break a sweat once the extra-galactic Andromedans show up...
(Though I would imagine those two might have to wait until we get the likes of the Neo-Tholians and Seltorians, or the Lyrans and Hydrans, to get settled in before they have their turn.)
So, if you're not sure about the current batch of empires, there are more on the way which might make be worth keeping an eye out for.
starbreaker
Mongoose
And that's not even mentioning the Omega Quadrant stuff. Probably won't get done in ACTA, but who knows?
GalagaGalaxian
Mongoose
The Omega Octant would be interesting (the OCL rides again!), but probably won't be seen for a long time. Lots of ground to cover in the Alpha Octant, even just in the General War Period.
