Advent: Destras or Carriers?

The title pretty much sums it up. Which ship is a better basis for an Advent fleet, generally speaking? I usually will try to get Transies with meteor storm up pretty quickly, and on the way research Destras, then use those as the basis of my fleet. Is this a good strategy. (And no, I don't just spam Destras with no support)

On the other hand I'm seeing a lot on the forums lately about using Aeria Dronehosts in Advent fleets, not so much about Destras...

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Reply #1 Top

Well if you're finding that using lots of early Meteor starbases is an effective tactic, then evidently you're playing against the AI... in which nearly any strategy can work, really, because the AI is an opponent with no sense of how, uh, not to charge head-on into an enemy starbase (or other superior force).

If I play an AI opponent like that I usually find that carriers with bombers are the best tactic, because the AI doesn't know how to deal with lots of bombers, and bombers are better than heavy cruisers at taking out static defenses.

That said, if you're playing a human opponent, it's a different situation entirely. If you're going for large, relatively close-range firepower I would probably prefer Illuminators due to their superior spread-out DPS (IF you can micromanage them well), although Crusaders can work as well. But Advent also apparently have the best strike craft of any faction, which is something to consider - carriers with flak support can easily give Advent fighter/bomber dominance.

(If you're playing a human opponent) It most depends on what sort of fleet your enemy has. If your enemy has a lot of heavy cruisers, building carriers with bombers is your best bet, because bombers counter heavy cruisers... if your enemy is spamming bombers but doesn't have flak, carriers with fighters work wonders... if the enemy has some other regular combat fleet I'd use Illuminators. Darvin could probably provide more intelligent input on this... I don't play Advent much, especially not in multiplayer.

Reply #2 Top

Against the AI, go with the carriers.  Even the vicious AI is a push-over once you have 100 squadrons at your disposal (you can have this plus support cruisers plus capital ships for less than 1000 command points).  Against humans, it totally depends.  Either approach will work and it's entirely possible to start with one and develop into the other. 

Either way, the Iconus Guardian and Rapture Battlecruiser are exceptional long-term investments.  For destras, the damage reduction from shield projection (you'll need a Progenitor to keep your Iconus topped up) and vertigo is simply massive, and anything short of massive bomber swarms or phase missiles is going to have a hard time even scratching your hull.  For carriers, repulsion is a life-saver to keep strong combat units out of attack range and the damage increase from concentration aura can be massive. 

Darvin could probably provide more intelligent input on this... I don't play Advent much, especially not in multiplayer.
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Trick with Advent in multiplayer isn't what kind of mature fleet you pursue, it's surviving long enough to actually get a mature fleet at all.  If you have a significant number of carriers or destras, you've already overcome this hurdle.

 

Reply #5 Top

Fighters, flak (gradas/sentinels/defense), light frigates.

Fighters to keep the bombers down. Flak for keeping the enemy fighters under control. Light Frigates for carrier hunting.