guerilla tactics are good. the best way to deal with a massing fleet is to counter attack with a smaller fleet in an area its hard for them to get to. inflict pain, retreat as ness.

assume they chase the harrassing fleet, your main force (which is smaller than their mass) can attack into the main point of focus. if they attack your main fleet, stay the fight as long as it is profitable for you and retreat back to a place where your 2nd fleet can reinforce.

just cause there are not people blowing people up with car bombs does not mean there are not guerilla tactics in this game. this is obv theory craft, but it works well in practice if planned properly.

actually contrary to popular belief what you just described is called "Hit and Run" not guerilla tactics. i know most people thinks its the same but its not

You can use some of the tenants of Guerrilla warfare. There are differences in speed of units that can be used to place multiple fast moving units into action all over an opponents empire to damage and retreat to the cover of a more conventional fleet. You can use diversion and ambush fairly well as long as your enemy doesn't scout constantly.

A good example is once you get a fleet into an enemy rear area it is most effective in many ways to break it up into 6 or 10 ship groups and hit many worlds at once... you do some damage in many locations that force a reaction. Many players don't divert money into extensive static defenses due to the high cost and over all effectiveness of more mobile defensive fleets able to shift from system to system and this tactic forces them to split forces also or just end up chasing small units around all night. If they do chase you around you can sometimes lure an opposing force into a situation where you have the advantage... you just re-assemble your fleet in an area like an asteroid field and have an Akkan or 2 in the fleet. Most players don't pay much attention to terrain so you can get an upper hand this way... it is a classic guerrilla operation in that sense. Even if they kill one or 2 of the smaller fleets after running them down your losses can (with luck and planning) be much less than your enemy.

The bad news is you can never really function in a totally open manner as most really modern guerrilla forces do. You have home planets and a logistical system that is vital... if you lose it you lose instantly... so on a strategic scale a superior fleet can always force you into a decisive battle just by directly attacking your planets. In a normal guerrilla operation you would disperse even if the enemy hit your main rally and supply points but in most RTS games the loss of these is more or less the same as the victory conditions.

Your dealing with what is called Total Warfare. Basically the enemy is going to kill every last one of you if they have to (genocide) and guerrilla warfare is rendered ineffective if there is no where to hide within a native population or terrain. Modern empires want the resources and control of a native population to harvest the resources... also they have to contend with public opinion and can't just kill everything thing that moves. If they didn't need this then guerrilla warfare could not exist.

Note please I am not advocating genocide only pointing out the differences in principal. I can already feel the blister of the flames coming my way over that so thought I would get it out in the open.

As far as the game mechanics goes units are replace too fast and battles last too long for real attrition to work either. You are looking at eventually having a decisive fleet battle or 3 in most games.

As usual this post is way too long...I am gonna go play the game now.

Keep in mind, the biggest advantage of striking often in several locations is to keep your enemy off guard. This is essentially your "defense."

Additionally, such actions really help to hide your true intentions. If you only amass one large fleet one hop away from your target... every time... your opponent is going to know where you are going.

However, if you have several smaller fleets all over the front lines and then maybe a stronger, "invading" fleet a few hops back into your terrority, it can really keep your opponent guessing.

In the scenario described above, wait until he commits his force to one of your attacks, then send your attack fleet to support your "skirmish" fleet that is furthest from the action. Your attack plans don't always have to be so static, they can be dynamic, where you are taking targets of opportunity as they present themselves, not forcing yourself into the same choke-point again and again.

The whole point of strategy is being able to adapt it on a moments notice. If you try to make your opponent fit into your strategy all the time, you'll get in trouble. A lot of times, you must be able to adapt to his play-style.

send out multiple gangs of 10 kodiaks to destroy all but colonies themselves, force them to micromanage themselves to death  

push 4-5 kodiak gangs through the choke(s) into multiple systems forcing them to split off their fleet or stumble into your own stronghold. if you can keep them running around putting out fires instead of pressing you, just build up, be a pain, and then nail them with the big guns.

Yes it works. and it's fuckin annoying