Not being a veteran, I can't offer much, but what I could offer would be to say: Put up Hangar defences at all your rear planets. If it's a blitzkreig style strike, focus on Fighters, since most ships in a blitz would and should consist of Frigates, which Fighters are designed to destroy. Also, build Phase Jump Inhibiters, having it overlap as much of the likely avenues of the exiting enemy fleet. Having a phase drive take 250% longer to charge is vital to effectively whittling down a blitzing fleet, which, in turn, makes them less effective when they try to push further.

There really isn't a way to completely stop a blitzing fleet, except with ship abilities to shut down phase drives, and those, of course, are temporary. Plus, the ships that have such abilities are normally too weak to last very long in battle, since they are support ships, not combat ships.

My solution has always been to defend in depth. Don't stake the defense of the empire on just a few chokepoint systems; put at least some defensive works on planets with connections to your main chokepoints. Light defensive works won't stop a determined attack, but they probably will delay it. Usually long enough for you to bring in mobile forces to engage him. Light defenses like this will also discourage raiding with siege frigates and light carriers.

Phase jump inhibitors also help, but I generally don't use them. Just can't bring myself to spend the money or slots on them. I like to use that money to build more ships.

Against the AI I use layered defenses. The front line worlds have two PJIs, one to stop retreating fleets and one to stop those trying to go deeper. I then fill the rest of the space up with hangers and put fighters in them, and I those left over tactical points to put turrets along the line the AI will have to take to get from one phase jump point to the other so they can fire on them as they pass.

Next I do the same thing with the system behind this one, with just as many fighters ect. What generally happens is the fleet scoots past my first world and on to the second, taking loses the entire way. By the time they get to the second world they decide to run away and turn back, going through the front defense system again. This is good to stop small raids and stop those pesky scouts from getting to deep into your empire.

If they are using a larger fleet with a lot of capital ships I will go all bombers in my hangers and try to assassinate them as they pass. General the enemy will retreat once they've lost their capital ships but not always. Still I feel it is a heavier loss to them to lose a level 6 capital ship than for me to lose a planet which I can retake right away.

I've certainly saved myself from a myraiad of troubles with Hangar Defense. Sure, I said focus on fighters in reply #2, but I do actually split between Fighters and Bombers. An AI won't just stick with Frigates or just Cruisers and Cap Ships. They'll have a mixed bag. So I've really just split them 50/50, or maybe 33/67, with emphasis on Bombers.

Ahhh, I see. Well, same thing applies. Not everyone would do LRM spams, for which the Fighter is key to defending against. They may add in Cap Ships, which, imo, are far more dangerous, even if other ships, massed, can cause more damage. So, start bomber heavy, with some fighters, and if an opposing player pushes further, seed your defences in the back with more Fighters. In fact, follow the Allegiance scale, based on cultural connection, not counting Advent tech. Around 35% fighters at border worlds, and more further in, till it's nearly all fighters at core worlds. Or something like that. Just scout and follow the flow of player strats.

From what I've read there is no way to stop a player from skirting your defenses if he really wants to. IF he's scouted you he'll know you have a lot of hangers and bring flak, if you don't he'll just skirt your cannons. you have to have some sort of fleet that can stop him. In that case PJI with cannons around them covering the entire gravity well where he would jump to your next world would allow your defender fleet to inflict more damage before he jumps to the next world.

IF you detect an incoming attack and you know the enemy has scouted you before you might consider building a PJI right before he arrives so he won't expect it based on previous scoutting and trap him there.

usually if I raid I use a carriers or LRM/Illuminators. IF there is defense in place I lay down flak if I know there are fighters. LRM's take care of turrets on their own and so do bombers. If there are phase jump inhibitors and hangers I use bomber swarms to kill them as I move across the system. Unless there are a whole lot.

If there are a whole lot I just kill everything I can in that system as fast I as I can and force them to rebuild it. OR I just kill the extractors and research centers and then head back out. Usually the point of my raid fleet though is that I don't care if it dies as long as it does what it is supposed to. I can replace it easily and strike again in the same place or at another spot.


Best counter I have found is a delaying system that wears down an enemy also. Say carriers that hang out in systems just long enough to kill some ships then retreat to the next system to get fighters back and repeat the process. Add in some hangers here and there along the way to thicken a bit.

In each system I have a repair bay or 2 and say 2 frigate factories if I can afford the space. Then I build units along his path to do damage and delay... if he has to stop to deal with them you have won already because you will just keep making stuff and throwing it at him till his fleet dies. And the neighboring systems will be making stuff too and sending it in. This way the defense stays solid all along his line of advance.

I stole the frigate factory part form some one else's post though so that was not my idea. It just works really well. Also lets you get replacements for any fleet near it's activity area too... anything that increases mobility of my forces is well worth it.


PJI are OK but unless they are really everywhere I just kill them with bombers and faster LRM type units before they can make much difference. Same goes for hangers...don't get attached to them because they are not much harder to kill than turrets.

The point is to kill infrastructure in a raid and your defensive platforms are part of that. If I kill a bunch and then raid again in 4 or 5 min and kill more I am doing my job already. Your reacting to me not the other way around. You have to blunt that before it happens in a way that will cost you very little.

Static defense helps but against a human it is not much use in the long run.

It does work well, doesn't it Was that from me, or did you see someone else write that strategy? I figure on placing Factories at each phase lane, accounting for the entry range of the phase line (45 degrees around the grav well). Support them with turrets/hangars and/or Repair Bays (which is prefered), and use attrition and the factory bug (where 1 factory can send out ships built by all your factories) to whittle down the invading/raiding fleet.

Yea Solaron it was you. I just couldn't remember your name before.

I tried out what you described and it works well. One of the main advantages is that if you just rely on a back up fleet and some system defenses, once that first fleet is blown through by a strike fleet you have to rely on making a fleet some where and getting it to the staging area. Your strat lets you build the fleet next door almost any where instead of potentially giving up a system or 2.

On big maps I throw down some cap ship factories also so I can get those in the battle faster.

Same deal Aasch. I go ahead and toss up a cap ship factory or 2 when I advance a few stars. A nice, easy way of consolidating your planets and securing your military supply lines by placing heavy development closer to the front, then staggered on the way back so that a raiding fleet focusing on factories can't knock off too many factory planets in a row, giving more time to focus defensive fleets and converge where they are needed.