Ship Classes

Ship Class 

I have seen a couple questions about the ship classes on the forums. So instead of asking on the forums and having trolls answer or people guessing; comment below any questions. 

What are Ship Classes

Ships Classes refer to what the hull was designed to do, such as hitting fleets or hitting bases. The ship classes were created by Kixeye so that no new hull will be a one-click win type of ship. Although it limits the ship use greatly, it furthers the use of the hull for it specific purpose. Yeah it sucks for now, but as time goes on, it will help us in return. 

Assault Class 

Assault class ships are meant to be used for mostly ship-based enemies, but also contain a few buildings. The recent raid, Broken council, is a good example of Assault targets. They come with high Assault deflection and also carry Siege deflection. With each new ship in this class having resistances meant for the current raid style, good-great speed, and weapon specification that helps against the current raid. This means that all Assault Class ships to come out over the current raid cycle, will most likely be missile classed, such as the Apollo. 

List of Assault Class ships 

Leviathan 

Leviathan A

Sea Scorpion

Light Cruiser

Light Cruiser X

Missile Cruiser

Missile Cruiser X

Hammerhead Hull B

Sea Scorpion A

Mercury

Interceptor V2-H

Lightning Carrier

Triton

Atlas Carrier

Nash's Lightning Carrier

Reaper

Harlock's Atlas Carrier

Harlock's Triton

Warbird Carrier

Mastodon

Grimshine's Berserker

Kodiak

Savage Kodiak

Interceptor V2-C

Valkyrie Carrier

Aegis

Proto-Mastodon

Rhino

Grimshine's Wrath

Harlock's Aegis

Heavy Cruiser

Zoe's Rhino

Neptune

Conqueror Class 

Meant for Player versus Player, such as base hitting. With stupidly high deflection, and little to none resistances. With the class having a sub-class inside of it, being of base hitting and fleet hitting. The only hull in this class currently is the Revenge, and it fits within the base hitting sub-class. 

Defender Class

These ships are you base defense hulls period. With high deflection and low resistances, similar to the Conqueror class. Meant for defending you base instead of attacking, they come with high base armor and very bad speed. 

List of Defender Class ships 

Rampart

Guardian

Goliath

Behemoth

Enforcer

Omega Behemoth

Gamma Behemoth

Garrison Class 

The opposite of Assault class, having mostly buildings and little ships. The new FM is Garrison styled, with the ships being stationary and fire support. With both Siege and Assault deflection, but siege being higher. With new ships having their resistances and weapon bonus to better fit the Garrison style targets we face. (Explosive, Penetrating resistance, and Explosive weapon bonus) For a good example of what Garrison class hulls, look at the foundry. 

List of Garrison Class ships 

Battle Barge

Destroyer

Destroyer X

Battle Barge A

Floating Fortress

Floating Fortress A

Super Fortress

Strike Cruiser

Arbiter

Hammerhead Hull A

Juggernaut

Dreadnought X

Hurricane

Mako

Mauler

Thresher

Novastorm

Dante's Novastorm

Spader's DNX

Hellstrike

Goresaber

Berserker

Monarch

Borbas' Goresaber

Draconian Carrier

Citadel

Hellstar

Siege Class 

The opposite of the Skirmish class, containing only buildings. With only Siege deflection, and resistances made to match siege class targets, such as Ballistic and Radioactive. Receiving bonuses to building damage or turret defense, and weapon types meant for siege warfare, mainly ballistic or radioactive damage. Drac mining bases are a perfect example of Siege class targets 

List of Siege Class ships 

Hammerhead

Dreadnought

Strike Cruiser X

Vindicator

Juggernaut X

Nuclear Cruiser

Greta's Nuclear Cruiser

Crusader

Avenger

Vanguard

Hellhound

Templar

Hellblazer

High-Lander's Nuclear Cruiser

Unshackled Hellhound

Fusion Cruiser

Centurion

Punisher

Skirmish Class 

The opposite to Siege class, they only contain ships. With Assault deflection only, and resistances built for current skirmish targets,  such as armada fleets. (Ballistic and concussive resistance, and bonuses to missiles) With great speed, and low base armor, these ships are the fast and deadly. 

List of Skirmish Class ships 

Gunboat

Skirmisher

Corvette

Frigate

Longship

Armored Marauder (Only available on Armor Games)

Kong Marauder (Only available on Kongregate)

Marauder

Predator Submarine

Sea Wolf

Stalker Submarine

Barracuda

Battlecruiser

Battlecruiser X

Destroyer ECM

Battleship

Sawfish

Spectre

Interdictor

Stingray

Viper Interdictor

Zoe's Stringray

Vassago's Interdictor

Nighthawk

Phantom Nighthawk

Banshee

Prototype Hunter

Frostburn Interceptor

Tiger Shark

Artemis

Phantom Tiger Shark

Vassago's Prototype Hunter

Ghostcrawler

Proto-Nemesis

Man-O-War

FAQ 

• Can I use different class ships for different class targets, such as Siege hulls in Assault targets?
  
  YES, nothing it limiting you from hitting different class targets. The Class system was created to help suggest you what to use in each type of target.

• Why do the V2-H/C go into Assault while the Frostburn is in Skirmish?
  
  The Frosty special aura only affects ships, thus it has a higher advantage in fleet combat.

• Why is the Neptune and Heavy Cruiser in the Assault class instead of the Siege class.
  
  The Neptune has missile bonuses similar to the best of the Assault class, and the Heavy Cruiser has both Siege and Assault deflection, and can hold up during fleet combat.

These are the only questions about ship classification from recent kixeye forum postings and the last 5 pages. If you have any question, feel free to leave a comment below and I will update this post to answer. 

May 24th Release notes

Mega Ships 

Read the forum post :https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/635450

This release contained the first steps to building and using the new Mega Ships, and un-level locking.

What can I do with it?

With the new Mega Ships, you can only attack other mega ships, or hit certain targets marked for mega ships. However, when attacking a player's mega ship, you can have 4 people join up with normal fleets, on both sides. To clarify, if I was to hit Doxy's mega ship, I can have four people help me hit, and he can have 4 people help him defend. Mega ships can be attacked by normal fleets at anytime. 

How do I construct the Gantry? 

To build this awesome weapons of war, you need to have your research up to level 20, and have 120 Gantry fragments. Once you have both of these conditions, you have to wait 6 weeks for the Gantry to finish building. During this time you can still upgrade buildings and use your dock.

The Gantry Fragments are found by Drac Uranium bases in Level 91 Assault Targets, and they spawn every 90 minutes, according to Laredo. About 1/3 the way down. The countdown to spawn is independent of the countdown clock until the Sector threat resets, but rather relies upon PDT.

The targets are the elite Mega Hull target from last raid. Playlist of 5 different fleets hitting the mega ship. The best fleet to use that I have seen so far is a combo of Tank/Rhino/Aegis.

The best video I have seen let of someone completing the target is Insector Gadget, of The Forsaken Council, and his Punisher/Rhino/Harlock's Aegis fleet. Speaking of the Forsaken Council, check them out, really useful things there. Either here or here.

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!9P6Z01R1R401R6F39345P251A1B1A1A1BPNH01T1T1T3817390344522A2A2A1B1B1A1A1A1AP6V01T1T1R1R1T396F34356E52525252525252525252525252521AP6V01T1T1R1R1T396F34356E52525252525252525252525252521AP6V01T1T1R1R1T396F34356E525252525252525252525252525219dC

Each target will drop 2-4 fragments, you will earn a fragment each time you defeat a target. With 120 fragments being needed, the maximum amount of times you need to hit a 91 is 60 times.


List of what you need to complete to reach level 20 in R&D, here you go.

Each Faction will have their own Mega Ship that you can build. The Forsakn hull is called the Hyperion. No other names have been released, or starts for the Hyperion.

You have 6 different ways to customize your Mega Ship, by using Modules. There are 6 different types of Modules; weapon, engine, bridge, defense, fleet, support. Within each of these modules, there are subtypes, mortar weapon module. You can retrofit and upgrade each module, and you can swap each module out whenever you please.


Hiving is a new feature, where you can 'link' up with other mega ships to boost the damage, health, etc of your mega ship. I don't know how this will implement.

Personal thoughts 

Kixeye is trying to make Mega Ships the same as current ships, with the modules being the weapons, armor, specials. The good part about this is that the Gantry doesn't interfere with building anything else, and repairing the Mega Hull won't take up dock time.

The bad part is that the repair could be days long, if Kixeye really want to improve PvP, they would make it so you only repair for the armor added, and not base armor.


The Reaver and Scoruge Mega hulls will be interesting to see, we have already seen the Drac version from raids past. The Scourge will be weird, seeing that we have only seen subs from them, a land ship will be cool to see. Unless Kixeye will make a Mega GhostCrawler.

Prepare your base defense if you are currently research R&D, as some people will be hunting down bases to get that 16 hour research deduction.

The 91 assault target can be useful, as it allows the players to try out new tactics on the elite without the time limit of 4 days. The bad side is of the spawning depending upon the sector threat level and the real time. This limits the amount of fragments available, and on Kixeye's view of things, results in less coin.

Un-Level Locking 

The 30 and 40 armadas were un-level locked today. Meaning any level can attack them, but if you were over leveled to begin with, you won't earn base parts. Useful to those players who are behind in Ballistic fleets but unable to hit 60's for the crusader.  

New Prizes and VXP Weekend

Prize tier system

Along with the addition of new targets and tier 5, kixeye has also made some changes to the prizes you earn. Instead of earning them in a random order, you now follow a path. Players have been asking for a way to choose what you earn through the weekly, and this sorta compromises it. With you only having to play the weekly until you have what you want, and knowing how many more weeks to go, instead of guessing each time. 

For some reason Kixeye has introduced prizes in tiers higher than they were before, or things you can earn from cargos as blueprints. 

Tier 1:

Siege Targeting I - Need for the Garrison tab Foundry, its good it comes first so that lower level players can reach it easier.


Siege Battery I - Needed for the Siege tab Foundry, and useful now for the Weekly Misson


Speed System III - Good for Predator fleets, and for learning how to kit, but when you can replace with Speed System 4 and 5


Negotiator Mortar III - Better mortar than anything you can earn from cargo fleets


Assault Missile D53-Z - Oh how the mighty have fallen, from tier 4 to tier 1. Still a good missile, and better than ones found in cargo fleets. This is where I would stop if the only tier i could reach is tier 1. You can earn the armours in cargo fleets, 17-23, and the token is just a bonus.


Crossbow I - A mini version of the Arbalest, with 4x less damage, and 4 second higher reload. If you followed my advice and got the arbalest you saved yourself a lot of time with building

crossbows and replacing them later.


Zynthonite D1-X - Isn't this found in cargo fleets?


Zynthonite D1-M - Isn't this found in cargo fleets?


Research Token (1 Hr) - Cheaper than two coins

Tier 2

Siege Targeting II - Needed for the Garrison tab in the Foundry


Alloy Armor MX-1 - MX3 was in Tier 1 before the change, why place 1 in tier 2?


Reflective Coating I - Was in tier 1 before the change too, why Kixeye?


Strike Warheads - Very useful for filling up a slot on Missile/Sub fleets if you don' know what to add


Siege Battery II - Needed for the Siege tab in the Foundry


Speed System IV - replace Speed System 3 with this as soon as you get it, there is no downsides to it


Zynthonite D2-M - Found in Cargo fleets, again


Siege Missile D55-Z - Very useful missile, was the best in the game for a good couple of months, still is with the weight reducing. This is where I would stop again if i was a lower leveling only reaching tier 2


Crossbow II - Arbalest is better, and dps sucks. But still provides a better DPS than Thud 4 on a BB-A 75% rank, so use it if you want to.


Zynthonite D2-X - Found in cargo fleets, again


Siege Mortar D75-S - Not really a big fan of mortars, but better than the ones offered in cargo fleets and in Weapons lab. Could be useful if you have the updated strike cruiser or DNX


Research Token (12 Hr) - Saves 24 coin

Tier 3

Siege Targeting III - Needed for Garrison tab in foundry


Alloy Armor MX-2 - MX3 was in tier 1, why Kixeye?


Reflective Coating II - RC2 was in tier 2, why bump it up a tier?


Alloy Armor MC-2 - MC3 was in Tier 1, why Kixeye?


Siege Battery III - Needed for Siege tab in Foundry


Speed System V - Replace SS3/SS4 as soon as you get this.


Zynthonite D3-M - Not found in cargo fleets, the first armor offered not to be. Very useful, two D3-M weigh the same as D4-M and D2-M, but 14 hours saved in build time.


Torrent Missile III - I had a fleet of Seawolves with Torrents on them during the returned reavers raid cycle, that lasted for 9 months, worked pretty good, but harder now to use insta fleets.


Crossbow III - If you are unable to reach the arbalest for any reason, I would consider this instead, with lower weight and higher damage at the cost of longer reload.


Zynthonite D3-X - Read the thing for D3-M


Chaos Mortar - Better than the Siege Mortar S, I would replace that with this for fire support mortar ships.


Structure Build Token (24 Hr) - Saves 48 coins

Tier 4

Incendiary Shells - Use this only for mortars, as then it will deploy the fire fields, not for Revenges, or for Proto-Nemisis, or rockets. Just Mortars


Alloy Armor MX-3 - ...


Reflective Coating III - Was found in tier 3, why the bump?


Nuclear Accelerator - Very useful, replace Harden Barrel 3 with this once you get it. Provides a bonus 40% accuracy, and 55% weight increased, not 60%. Build is 1 hour shorted too.


Alloy Armor MC-3 - ...


Guided Missile System - Very useful, saves a special slot by combing SFB3 and LT3, and saves build time.


Zynthonite D4-M - Good if you need to armor up on um... armor


Blade Missile - Best Missile in the game, use it and abuse it


Arbalest - Best Cannon in the game, use it and abuse it


Zynthonite D4-X - Good if you need to armor up on um... armor


Pandemonium Mortar - Better than the Chaos mortar


Zynthonite D4-R - Provides 10% radioactive defense, good for stacking up on armor


Phalanx Anti-Missile IV - A huge boost over PAM 3, with a higher salvo, better accuracy, but at the cost of 1 day build and 850 tons.


Frontline Countermeasures System - Want the turret defense of Siege Battery, but with the countermeasure bonus of CE? Get this, provides better turret defense, and better range with countermeasures.


Cryo Trigger - Like the oil slick, but tac feild ships, like the Aegis or Frosty can stroll past it.


EMP Blast - I like this, with a range of 102, and giving 5000 Radioactive damage, use it.


Overloaded Reload Mechanism - Very useful for center-island bases with turrets around outpost.


Draconian Scatter Gun Turret - Best turret in the game right now for damage


2 Day Ship Build Token + Bonus Token - Saves over 100 coins

Tier 5

Proto-Nemesis Shards x5 - Only get this if you are really willing to


Hellstar Shards x5 - Only get this if you are really willing to


Man-O-War Shards x5 - Only get this if you are really willing to

VXP Weekend

Oh my god is this an improvement over last time. I already have 3 fleets fully ranked.


With three different targets for you to hit, 43, 61, and 80. They are the same targets from last raid, but give amazing amount of VXP. My ships were earning about 4k just for dying in them, from the 80.


2x VXP cargoes are also running, along with URF.


Do this VXP weekend as you can, gonna be another month till the next one.

New Forsaken Mission Part 1

New tiers and points 

I was planning on doing a post about the new prizes, but I feel like showing you what the new targets are is more important. 

The tier system is staying the same, tier 1 is 150,000, tier 2 is 2,500,000, tier 3 is 4,500,000 and tier 4 is 50,000,000. The old targets will still payout the same. 

The tier system has had a new tier introduced, with 150 million needed to reach it. The only prizes currently inside the tier are 5x shard for the Proto, Hellstar, and Man-o-War. Along with a new tier, there are new targets. 

Old targets will still be available to hit, but until JUNE 22. Kixeye has stated that they will remove the old targets on June 22. During this time, I advise you to try out and hit the new targets to get a feel for them 

With 8 new targets, with points ranging from 15K to 33M. 

• Level 27 - 15,000
• Level 37 - 67,500
• Level 45 - 168,750
• Level 60 - 506,250 
• Level 70 - 1,265,625
• Level 80 - 3,796,875 
• Level 90 - 9,492,188 
• Level 97 - 33,222,656 

The uranium payouts for the tier are as follows 

• Tier 1 - 3,000
• Tier 2 - 8,500
• Tier 3 - 15,000
• Tier 4 - 40,000
• Tier 5 - 60,000 

Here is a chart I made showing how many you have to hit to get the desired tier. For tiers need 5.5 hits, for examples, I rounded to 6. The hit count is approximate.  

Fleet that I'm using

I've made a change to my punishers, I've added anti-mortars. I also took out my Aegis and my Omega. As mortars will start to fire at our ships once you enter at certain angles, and the aegis is 4 combat speed slower, and takes mortar fire too.  I'm also adding another punisher with anti-missile, as you can shoot down the missiles too.

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!4MNH00000005B6A2S330C23232323235555000000INH00000005B6A2S330C23232323230000000000MNH00000005B6A2S330C232323232355550000000ZZ0ZZdC

Make sure to use those token we got last raid for the big targets, if you still have them, as they can be very handy now. 

New Targets 

All the targets are the same from the past raid cycle. Any tactics you have from then, use them. The first issue of the new targets is the very poor spawn rate, and the missing of the 90 targets, and the inclusion of the 87's 

Anti-mortars are a must in some of these targets. With a low firing arc, they come down in a couple seconds and have a high splash. Anti-missile can be utilized too. Make sure to use crews, Steel heads, Sea Serpents, Wolfpack, Grease Monkeys if you feel like you must. 

Link to a playlist of all the targets: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz6CnlXWw4Di4-zIQMgjp4TosHJRjvV7

The hardest part of these targets is the mortars and missiles again, try and use fleet that has a fast speed to evade the coldsnap and good enough mortar/missile coverage. Make sure to take out the buildings with the special field, this greatly reduces the amount of damage they can take.

The Zoe's Rhino are over powered again in the higher level targets. As you can see in the video for the Level 90's, it took about 30 hits from 15 Arbalest on Punishers to knock one out.

Keep moving and destroy the marked buildings is the best advice I have for you, the mortars will overwhelm your counter measure, but that doesn;t mean they don't help.

The targets need a locator tab, like armadas have it. This would help the lower players find the right targets.

97 Targets 

Created to be the new 85's, there provide the same difficulty as the 85's when first introduced. The hardest part of the 97 is the new Halo-Blade turret and the Rhino again. The Halo-Blade turret has the graphics of the blade missile, but has splash damage. I recommend using a small pinch to disable it while you get in range and kill it. You can also use this method, of using the small pinches to take out certain sections. 

The red circles are the Halo-Blade turrets. They automatically fire once you enter combat, and unlike the executioner missiles they cannot be shot down.

 I would take out the Halo-Blades first, as they have a very long range. I don't know how Cobra Scatterguns would work in here, if someone knows please let me know in the comments. I would take out the Citadels first than the Rhinos, so I don;t get trapped under mortar fire.

A good crew to use would be either Steelheads, or Sea Serpents, or Wrecking Crew. Any legendary crews would be great to use also, but common crews are cheaper. Gearheads and fearless blizter are the best to use after some testing, they allow for you to run past the Halo-Blade missile at the start.

The 97 cost me about 10 hours in repairs, but that will go down as I better my driving in it, and put my anti-missile punisher with my fleet.

VXP weekend 

Are you ready for the VXP weekend? 

I am... 

Weekly Release Notes

Forsaken Mission

The mission has changed, big time. I'm planning on another article about it tomorrow and about the targets on Friday, just be patient. 

To read Kixeye's briefing of the changes...POOF! 

Apollo buffs 

Now that we can't earn the Apollo until next raid, hopefully, kixeye decided to reward those who redeemed it.  

• Penetrating defense from 50% to 60% 
• Repair time from 3 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes 
• Added Retargeting 
• +40% Penetrating accuracy 
• Corrosive defense from 50% to 60% 

Now with Retargeting and the bonus accuracy, you can add back the CME (Counter Missile Extender) back on the Apollo and take off the now useless GMS. The Repair time is amazing as well, dropping almost two hours, saving the time to repair 2 coins during raid and 4 off, per ship. The added defenses will help during the current raid style, and hopefully in the new Forsaken Mission. 

Garrison Foundry 

A new ship type has been added, Garrison hulls. Meant to deal with mainly buildings and a few ships. Last raid was a Garrison style raid if that helps any. The new hull added are the Berserker, Novastorm, DNX, and Strike Cruiser. 

Massive Buffs were added to these hulls, along with Retrofits. The Tier 1 fragments and ship part can be found in level 51 cargos, the others? I don't know yet. Remember that sector threat increases the number of fragments/parts dropped. Blue=1 Yellow=2 Orange=3 

Strike Cruiser 

 Buffs-

• Build time reduced to 4 hours 
• Remote targeting for mortars added 
• Explosive defense to 50% 
• Penetrating defense to 50% 
• Combat speed to 15 

Retrofits 

• Siege DPS to 6 
• Siege DPS to 12 
• Assault DPS to 12, Siege DPS to 24 
• Assault DPS to 24, Siege DPS to 48, Explosive defense to 55%, Remote Targeting Falloff to -60% 
• Assault DPS to 48, Siege DPS to 100, Explosive defense to 65%, Remote Targeting Falloff to -40% 

I like the buffs to the hull, but not really the retrofits. The Buffs are really useful for lower level players nowadays, but the retrofits seem mostly concerned with increasing the DPS. It seems like Kixeye is trying to steer players towards a tank/fire support fleet type. With this hull being the fire support. With the remote targeting added, to the lowering of the falloff. This should be used similar to the Citadel. KIxeye should have added some more mortar reload to the ship, as a lower level will have a hard time getting the Strike Cruiser to R5 normally. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcz6CnlXWw4C4hG1q7g-D9M_B5NQ-UbRA

Link to a short playlist of Citadels base hitting to help give you a general idea on how to use them. 

DNX 

Buffs 

• Remote Targeting Mortars added 
• Mortar reload +100% 
• Explosive defense 50% 
• Penetrating defense 50% 
• Combat Speed 15 
• Armor doubled to 8200, without repair time doubling

Retrofits 

• Siege DPS to 24 
• Siege DPS to 50 
• Assault DPS to 50, Siege DPS to 100 
• Assault DPS to 200, Siege DPS to 400, Explosive defense to 55%, Remote targeting falloff -50%, Assault deflection to 4, Siege Deflection to 10 
• Assault DPS to 400, Siege DPS to 800, Explosive defense to 65%, remote targeting falloff to -30%, Assault deflection to 20, Siege Deflection to 30. 

Kixeye is continuing their making of the Garrison hulls to be fire supports, with the DNX receiving similar buffs like the Strike Cruiser. Again, a higher mortar reload would have been nice. The armor bonus is a huge help, doubling the base armor and without adding to the repair times. 

Novastorm 

Buffs

• Build time reduced to 1 day 6 hours 
• Remote Targeting Mortars 
• +10% Anti Missile/Mortar range 
• +20% Anti Missile/Mortar accuracy 
• Explosive/Penetrating defense to 60% 
• Combat Speed to 15 
• Overload-every 500 HP-+70% Explosive and Penetrating defense, 150 Siege/Assault deflection, lasts 12 seconds 

Retrofits 

• Assault DPS to 60 
• Assault DPS to 125 
• Assault DPS to 250, Siege DPS to 125 
• Assault DPS to 500, Siege DPS to 250, Explosive defense to 65%, Remote targeting falloff to -40%
• Assault DPS to 1000, Siege DPS to 500, Explosive defense to 75%, Remote targeting falloff to -20% 

The Novastorm could do as a decent spotter now with these upgrades. Could be very useful in the new mission targets, if they are based off of the last raid. The reason I'm saying it could be a spotter is due to the overload ability and increases to countermeasures.  The overload will go off 11 times on a blank hull.

Berserker 

Buffs 

• Build time is now 2 days and 12 hours 
• Remote Targeting Mortars 
• +50% mortar/rocket reload 
• Explosive defense to 40% 
• Combat speed to 15 
• Overload, +70 resist, +30% combat speed, duration to 12 seconds 
• Repair modifier to 100%

Retrofit 

• Siege DPS to 85
• Siege DPS to 170
• Assault DPS to 170, Siege DPS to 350 
• Assault DPS to 350, Siege DPS to 700, Explosive defense to 45%, Remote targeting falloff -30%, Assault deflection to 50, Siege deflection to 100
• Assault DPS to 700, Siege DPS to 1400, Explosive defense to 55%, Remote targeting falloff to -10%, Assault deflection to 150, Siege deflection to 300 

The Overload, Repair modifier, and build time are easily the best things about the new iteration of this hull. It seems like the Berserker would make a good spotter hull now, with the reduced modifier to speed up repairs, and the overload to boost the defenses. A better reload would be nice to have, but 50% could work.

 Here is a quick build I put together.

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!40L0040400V0V0V0V44345B6800000025001B1B2A2A0ZZ0ZZ0ZZ0ZZdC

The build time should be around is 16 days, 10 and 1/2 without. This hull will do wonders in an all building target, like the mines. Once I get this hull, I know I will be building one like this. If you have any suggestions on what to change, or a build you would prefer, leave the link in the comments. I'm planning on making a huge post on the top hulls I prefer that are viewer submitted. 

VXP weekend and buying rank 

The VXP weekend is here, lets hope its not as bad as the last one. Kixeye is also offering discounts on buying rank in bulk, so choosing the 3-rank option instead of one at a time. 

20% off 

• Rhino 
• Centurion 
• Citadel 

50% off 

• Apollo 
• V2-H 

80% off 

• Missile Cruiser X 

The VXP weekend is running from Friday at 9am PDT to Monday at 9am PDT. If you don't know what time that is in your time zone, go here. 

The targets are the standard URF, and the 43, 61 and 80 level targets from the last raid. The 43 and 61 will last all weekend, while the 80 will stop spawning on Saturday at 9am PDT, and they only spawn around Drac Uranium bases. The 43 and 61 will spawn around Nav Relay towers. Salvs will pay double per usual. 

I'm gonna try and auto the 43's as best as I can in dead sectors. I'll make a post too about the weekend...on the weekend. 

Summary 

I really do like this update, the buffs and retrofits to the hulls are very useful, and not using the same targets from last VXP weekend, paying out 300 vxp upon death, is even better. The changes to the Weekly is gonna be tough when it first begins, but people will find a way to do them later on. The new 97(?) targets will be very important. 

After Raid Fleet Building

Switchblade for Spotters 

Yeah I know, we still have 1 day after, but I already started my builds for next raid, and so should you. 

This raid I got the Switchblade Missile, and despite what others say, I really like it. With double the damage of the Blade, and some anti-missile, no matter how weak, it will make for a good spotter ship with one blade or D53 attached.  

For example, using a Neptune as a spotter or tank, the high damage of the Switchblade could replace blades on board, except for one because of remote targeting. Providing Corrosive defense, important for the current raid cycle, and a little anti-missile help.  

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!407000U0W0W0V400U340C176F441B1B1B54545454545400000007000U0V0V0V400U340C176F441B1B1B2E2E2E2E2E54000000P7000U0W0W0V400U340C176F441B1B1B545454545454000000P7000U0V0V0V400U340C176F441B1B1B2E2E2E2E2E540000000ZZdA

The link has two sets of Neptune, ranked and unranked. The one with Blades has better armor, by 1000, but the one with switchblades has double the ship damage, and shorter build and repair time. With major damage this raid coming from enemy ships, the extra damage will help to get rid of them faster. 

Apollo hull 

As I reviewed in the pre-raid article, the Apollo compares nicely to the Rhino, to see what Doxy thought of the Apollo, head here. The Apollo is more of a specialized hull for the Mega Hulls, and since we have had a taste of the mega hulls to come, we can play for them. With a majority of damage being from missiles, and some damage from scatter guns, which you can avoid if you drove good enough. 

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!407700U1T401T004435345B0C2E2A2E2E2E2E2E00000007700U1T401T004435345B0C2E2A2E2E2E2E2E00000007700U1T401T004435345B0C2E2A2E2E2E2E2E00000007700U1T401T004435345B0C2E2A2E2E2E2E2E0000000ZZdC 

I'm gonna make a list of components  and state my reason for using each of them 

• Switchblade; Providing a Corrosive defense bonus, and giving a 2k damage for both ships and buildings, A four ship fleet, built like above will shoot 80k damage per round, and a 5 ship fleet without armor will shoot 100k. Also giving out some anti-missile fire every so often to help the Phalanx. 
• Phalanx 4: to help with incoming missile fire that we see from the Mega Hull and the Rhinos. 
• Front line Countermeasure System: to provide bonus to defenses from buildings and buff up the accuracy of the Phalanx. 
• Speed System 5: Speed is needed and safer to use than Heroin
• GS 3: to help against the Mega Hull missiles 
• D5-X: to provide general defense and in case you get hit by a Player's fleet 
• Guided Missile System: to provide range bonus and accuracy bonus. 
• D5-M: to provide extra missile defense and give extra deflection 
• Bulkhead: To provide extra amour and save some on build time 
• D2-E: to provide extra evade for the Mega Hull missiles. 

The build time for the single hull is 20 days, a full fleet is 80 days. By this time we will have gone through the raid cycle. It might be best to just build a single ship for a spotter if you really want to. I would prefer to use a Punisher, but its your choice. 

Kixeye has said that they are working on making Mega Hulls possible for the player, so this ship might come in handy down the road, but it's in Will's hands, not mine. 

Rhinos 

Spotter: https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!406V0404000004035445B340C1B1B1B000L002828532828282828280ZZ0ZZ0ZZ0ZZdC

This build is meant to be a spotter hull. With the tridents to provide fire to ships and buildings, D53 to use as a spotter. The specials are all common use, you can guess what they are for. The Phalanx is to protect the ship against missile fire, and the bulkhead to maximize the armor situation. 

With a 17 day build, you can build one before the next raid and rank it. The repair is the worst part, but it should hopefully last all the way through a Mega Hull so it will be the only thing to repair. You could replace the D3-X with RA3 to help with Missile damage. If you have any Rhino Spotter hulls you would like to share, comment a link to Huggy's in the comment or on the facebook post. 

Fleet: https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!406V00W400W400W355H0C44342E2E2E2E2E2E2E002E00000000000006V00W400W400W355H0C44342E2E2E2E2E2E2E002E00000000000006V00W400W400W355H0C44342E2E2E2E2E2E2E002E0000000000000ZZ0ZZdC

Gonna do another one of those components again... 

• Switchblade Missile: you need something to deal damage with, and with 2k damage and the same stats as the Blade, along with bonus corrosive defense. 
• GS3: evade is always helpful and needed 
• Frontline Countermeasure System : to help with defense and provide a bonus to the primary of the Switchblade. 
• Speed System 5: guess 
• GMS: to help with range and making sure the missiles hit their targets 
• CM-3: you can multitask with this fleet, hitting the new weekly (rolls out this Thursday) and the missile defense will help with the current raid cycle. 
• Bulkhead: to help extra armor 
• D4-E: to provide extra evade and armor 

Punishers 

This is just what I currently have on my punishers and what I am changing them to. My Punisher fleet is the work horse of my armada. 

 

Current 

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!406L00000000000000055006A34AG040000AGAG0000LNH00000002S0C5B336A23232323230000000000LNH00000002S0C5B336A23232323230000000000LNH00000002S0C5B336A2323232323000000000006M000000000174100535353533737dC

Changing to 

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!406L000000000000000550000340004000000000000LNH0401W402U0C5B336A23232323000000000000LNH0401W402U0C5B336A23232323000000000000LNH0401W402U0C5B336A2323232300000000000006M0400N0N0N44415R2A2A2A2A3737dC

The fleet also contains an Omega, but only has Streamline, Speed System, and thud 1. I'm thinking of replacing the D5-R with D5-M, better with the current raid style, but the D5-R will help with the next mission. 

May Raid, what to do

This raid sucks 

Title says it all. With ludicrous damage dealt by Zoe's Rhinos and a B set not worth the points to do. 

I'm trying to auto as many C sets as I can, trying to reach the Switchblade missile, as it can replace my Disruption Missiles, and help with incoming missile fire once in a while. The bonus are helping some...

Kixeye's gifts of forgiveness 

Each player received 3 million points, 3x Grease Monkeys crews, and 6 4-hour repair tokens.

I think i'm gonna save all the bonuses til later to use them for a better effect. Saving the crews until a raid I can actually do, and the tokens until the new forsaken mission, to save time and be able to show you what each target is like. 

For my normal account, I am saving the points until I am able to buy the Switchblade missile.

 For the lower account, I purchase the crusader, arbalest and D5-R armor. The Rhino would have been better for this raid set, but seeing as it only lasts for 4 months, while the Mines and Forsaken Mission won't be changing for a long time now. And as a level 24 now, I'm not gonna be able to hit 60 mines for the blueprint for a while now, especially  since they said they would change the mines after the raid. Link to forums if you don't believe me

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!406G000000000030I0U11232323232323000006G000000000030I0U11232323232323000006G000000000030I0U1123232323232300000ZZ0ZZdA 

I'm building the fleet first without armor to help rank it faster. If you don't remember from the Rank article I did a week ago or so; you only earn points based on what each individual ship deals and receives. i.e. for every 1/10 of your ship health you give/take you earn one VXP point for a maximum of 10 points receiving and 10 points giving. 

With high Missile defense, and Radioactive too (once I put on the armor), it should work wonders in the 30's and 40's and future Missions. 

To build a fleet of 3 though, you need a level 10 dock. So during this time, make sure to upgrade your warehouses and docks. The build time is 9 days, so during this time try and rank up the predator subs. 

Pre -raid round up

New Raid style 

Link to raid briefing: https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/632391

This raid style is meant to be similar to last raid style, but with more ships and less base platforms. If you were able to play during the preview server, I wasn't, you should have a good idea of what to expect during this raid. If not, here is a video by Liam99 as he goes through the targets. 

New points 

Kixeye has kindly stated what the total point for each target will give out, along with the uranium payout. With the total points being far down, but with no mentioned point deduction for hitting below your target level.  CORRECTION, kixeye has stated that there is point deduction, but I didn't come across any when I was hitting C sets. 60s and 61s are paying out less according to people on forums, but I haven't checked yet. 

C set 

40-7,500
43-11,500
47-15,750
Completion bonus-35,000
Total-69,750

B Set 

60-21,000

61-26,000

65-46.000

67-69,000

Completion bonus-160,000 

Total-322,000

A set 

80-340,000

83-450,000

86-550,000 

Completion bonus-1,300,000 

Total-2,640,000

S set 

1,850,000

Completion-1,850,000

Total-3,700,000

Uranium Payout

Points earned-uranium 

150,000-800

500,000-1,500

2,000,000-5,000

5,000,000-10,000

10,000,000-20,000 

Mega Hulls and S set 

The S set refers to Mega hulls again, and this time it's a forsaken styled hull. With Rhinos and Heavy cruisers guarding it. It has platforms similar to the drac one, and a long firing arch. You must destroy all targets within this target to earn the full points and bonus. Here is a video showing  current tech used against the new Mega Hull.

Prizes 

You can only choose one prize from each tier, and in order to pick a prize from tier 6, you have to have a prize from tier 5. The same rule applies for tier 5, you must have a prize from tier 4. But, this doesn't apply to the lower 3 tiers. 

Highlighted text means the one I would prefer to get. 

Tier 1

Zynthonite Armor D4-M : 350,000

Good for anti Missile fleets, but I'm leaning towards D5-R for now...

Zynthonite Armor D5-R : 350,000

As we see the game is leaning towards Radioactive and Ballistic damage more now, with the mines and future forsaken missions to come. Getting this now and refitting it over lesser armors or explosive armor could prove to be very useful. 

Tier 2 

Trident : 900,000 

The Trident is baby brother of the Switchblade basically, offering duel weapon and countermeasure. The only draw back being the shorten range of the missile, but the high damage and low weight makes for heaver armoured fleets to make up for the shorten range. 

Arbalest : 1,100,000 

Don't get me wrong, I love the Arbalest, but since it has been offered in the weekly for the past month or so while the trident has only been offered once(?) before.

Tier 3 

Rhino : 1,750,000

With the recent buffs to the Rhino, and the huge weapon slots, its worth it. Still the best missile hull in the game, and with a build time under 3 days. 

Crusader : 1,550,000 

With the Crusader being available in the Foundry, why bother wasting points on buying it?

Tier 4 

Counter Missile Extender : 6,000,000

Giving 30% to missile range, reload and counter missile range. Its worthwhile, the main reason being the bonus to the missile range and reload. The first special to grant this type of bonus, it can replace the Guided Missile System on hulls already with retargetable. 

Nuclear Accelerators : 4,000,000

Isn't this offered in the weekly?

Tier 5 

Switchblade Anti-Missile : 9,000,000 

Imagine the Blade missile and Phalanx counter missile being combined into one. With double the ship damage of the Blade, less weight than a Blade and Phalanx together, and two anti salvo instead of one. 

Particle Accelerator Cannon : 9,000,000

The PAC is basically the earth shaker cannon with a special blue shell once every so often.

Tier 6 

Apollo : 15,000,000

Think of the Mercury hull, now with better reload, more slots, more special slots and higher armor. This Hull could easily become a launcher hull, with the high weapon slots and...well any hull could be a launcher hull actually. 

Centurion : 15,000,000 

Found in the Foundry, hehe, and a less awesome version of the Punisher. 

Tokens 

# of hours - maximum amount - point cost - Total 

1 hour ship build - 10 - 120,000 - 1,200,000 

12 hour ship build - 4 - 1,400,000 - 5,600,000

1 day ship build - 3 - 2,750,000 - 8,250,000

New Prizes 

The hull seems similar to the Mercury in design, but the Rhino in stats.  

The Rhino has better build time, overall defenses and has remote targeting, but the Apollo shines with the deflection and armor points, along with the new ability. 

The the primary weapon being the countermeasure, this means that it cannot be used for remote targeting and that once a Missile or UAV coming into range of the primary, the secondary will stop firing. The secondary is very similar to the Blade Missile, but with more damage. The same range, accuracy, flak evasion, and reload time. The weapon states that it is retargetable, so you don't need it on a hull now.  The build time is 14 hours and 7 minutes.

The Primary reminds me of the Phalanx 2, with similar accuracy but with only 2 salvo instead of 5. But since it is multi-shot, and not salvo, you can use the Barrel system to increase the multi-shot by 2, bringing it up to the 4. The shorten range is kinda annoying, but allows the secondary to fire more. The reload time is the worst part of this weapon, with 12 seconds coming down to 3 seconds with full rank. I might replace the actual weapons of my aegis with this, as it provides the offense side and the defense side at once. 

Providing both a boost to the missile range and counter missile range, this was made for the Switchblade. The best part of this special is the 30% Penetrating reload. The first special to add Penetrating reload bonus. You can replace the Missile Guidance System with this, as the MGS provides the 30% range, 50% accuracy bonus and retargetablity, but with the switchblade coming with retargetability already, why not replace it and gain the reload? 

Build time is 16 Hour and 15 Minutes.  

Snowfall campaign and Mastodon

Snowfall campaign 

With the raid coming in a few days, the half repair is very useful. Some players will take the time to play the raid, or work on campaigns, but which campaign to do? The most useful campaign is probably the Snowfall campaign, with the Proto-Mastodon as the  ending prize.

Prizes 

Tier one

Strike Cruiser X 

Siege Cannon Z 

Reflective Coating 1 

Tier two

Siege Missiles F

Reflective Coating 2 

Coaxial Turret 

Tier three

Proto-Mastodon 

Being an great upgrade to the regular Mastodon, and a comparable to the R5 version.

With many of the greens being on the Proto-Mastodon side, it has several advantages over the standard and R5 version of the Mastodon. 

Playing the campaign

Stats on the enemy: http://bp-information.blogspot.com/search?q=Snowfall 

Fleets I am using: Click me, or Me 

You only get one hour to complete this campaign, but should be more than enough for it. With 7 levels to defeat, and the last one being with the Kracken. The first level opens up with a small fleet waiting for you.  

With most of the incoming fire being either missiles, or launchers. It best to  have a counter measure ship, as the missiles are Siege Z. High evade also helps, or a ship with assault deflection.

I used a VH-2 I had laying around to distract the Torp towers as I took it out. This one contains a Proto-Nemesis, with Strike missiles. If your fleet doesn't have any Penetrating defense or assault deflection, try and use a fleet that has some anti-missiles.

The first level with a base. The best strategy to do this is going around on the right and into the corner. This way you hit all the marked turrets, and avoid the ships. Make sure to use a fleet with 95+ range in order to hit the way as shown in the video.

The second base attack. Going clockwise seems to be the best method, as you avoid the bottom right corner platform and the torp towers on the right side. My Omega Behemoth died in this level. If you are using a flagship that sits and waits, such as HLNC, draw the ships out and kill them first.

With a U-shaped base, travel counter-clockwise. This way you avoid the ships to the left middle. To hit the last marked building using this method, you might have to drive into that little dip, make sure to target it, so the combat ends sooner.

My fleet had almost died in the last level, so no walk through on the path I take, just verbal. Go to the left, and the cross the middles, follow the arrow about 30-seconds into the video. This way to don't have to encounter many deadeyes, and less contact with the torp towers.

The Kracken... The method I used as to simply follow where the Kracken went, i.e. follow where the missiles pop up from or where the torpedoes are coming from. If you are using a frosty, keep the Kracken in your field, as it slows it down and increased the damage dealt and decreased the damage received. If you are using a Prototype Hunter, keep it with the sub captivator field, as it will keep the Kracken sub-surfaced. I won't recommend subs, as the Kracken has thermal and the torpedoes out range ours, but the thermal range is only 80, so try it you want to.

Spawnings

Spawns 

Every useful target spawns during a certain time, such as armadas or mining bases. Having to check every so often to see if they have spawned yet it very tiresome, but don;t be wary. The good folks at Battle Pirates Nexus have found an amazing site that give the countdown until the nest spawn of targets, and a countdown of general happenings within the Battle Pirates world. 

Site: http://frostler.com/bp/

Giving the times for the Drac mining bases in the top left, time until alliance points reset to how much time with base parts you earn from drac mining bases.Play around with the site a little bit, get used to it, for it is extremely useful nowadays. 

Drac mine spawns 

If you are unable to understand the site, or just prefer a simple chart to see when they spawn.

With the mines seeming to spawn every half hour for two hours, and then taking an one hour break. 

Preview Server 

If anyone has a clear photo of the new prizes or Apollo hull, 720p or better, please message me through Facebook with the photos attached. Thank you! 

Poll and Findings

Poll 

Last week I posted a poll to see what the average viewership level was, and 70+ won, with over 60% identifying as one. What does this mean? I will be moving away from focusing on my new bases and more onto my main base, level 71. 

Ads

I noticed the ad company I was using put pop-up adds and slider adds on this site, I have disabled this feature of the ads. You should only see the adds at the bottom. If not, please leave a comment below or message me on Kixeye. Profile page here. 

Next Post 

The next post should be coming out on Tuesday next week. 

May WIP

May Work in Progress

May is here, and with it comes the WIP.
https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/631117-WIP
https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/631017-Release notes

 With the main points being over the next raid, deflection bypass as well as new types of deflection, mission changes,changes to the Revenge and updates to the foundry.

May Raid, Civil War-Broken Counsel 

Zoe has pushed too far with Harlock, with her and her comrades taking over the Drac strongholds. Using Drac Mega Hulls to build Forsaken style Mega Hulls. This raid begins May 12th, next week Thursday. Doomrooster has said it will be a open fleet style combat, similar to what we had before the Garrison and Zoe's rebellion. 

Deflection bypass and Types of deflection 

Working like resistance bypass, negating a flat amount of resistance, but for Siege and Assault deflection.  

As for the new types of deflection, there are now deflection for each type of damage also, ballistic penetrating, explosive, concussive, radioactive, corrosive. Working the same way as siege and assault deflection. 

For examples, if you have a ship with 500 explosive deflection, and you are hit with a mortar that has 20% explosive deflection bypass, 750 explosive damage. 

Now, the 500 explosive deflection is affected by the 20% bypass and 750 damage. 

500-(500*.2) = 400 

750-400 = 350 

The ship will receive 350 explosive damage. 

Now, damage type deflection stats only work with the stat they are assigned to; i.e. 300 penetrating deflection has no defense against 400 ballistic damage.  

The damage type deflection was added to Armadas and Drac Bases. Siege and Assault deflection was not added to any targets, and with no plans for adding anymore in the future. This only affects the Revenge hull and future hulls to come. 

Changes to the Revenge 

• Siege and Assault Deflection have been removed entirely from the Revenge (base stats and the “Revenge - Bloodthirst” Ability). 

• Evade increased from +10% to +35%. 

• Ballistic Deflection increased from +2110 to +3700. 

• Penetrative Deflection increased from +2110 to +3700.
  
• Explosive Deflection increased from +2240 to +3920. 

• Bloodthirst Ability - Increased Corrosive Deflection from +0 to +750. 

• Bloodthirst Ability - Increased Concussive Deflection from +0 to +750.
  
• Bloodthirst Ability - Increased Radioactive Deflection from +0 to +750.
  
• Repair Time reduced from 2h 45m 00s to 1h 10m 00s.

The revenge will do better in the Current weekly mission,and Pvp overall. With increased evade and more deflection to negate more damage. A lower repair time always helps too. And the increased evade and changes to bloodthrist ability will work better during base attacks against enforcers. 

The downside to all of this is the siege and assault deflection being removed from the bloodthirsty ability. 

Changes to the Mission

The targets are changing to be similar to the Garrison style raid targets, with a new tier of prizes, and a tagging system to show how long before a prize rotates out.

With four new prizes going into the weekly this month,

Cryo Trigger - Similar to the Combustion Trigger for water-based buildings, the Cryo Trigger will slow ships in the ice field.

The Cryo trigger could be useful, only if the ice patch lasts long enough or if you have mortar's firing before the ice fields. Only being being able to be placed on water buildings, mostly oil rigs, it could be used in conjunction with Oil Slick. With fleets speeding up into an ice patch, and having to survive under mortar fire and short ranged turrets.

EMP Blast - A land-based building special that causes a short pinch effect when this building is destroyed.

EMP blast is simialr to the cyro trigger, but on land. Only useful if its lasts a longer time or has a long range, 90+.

Overloaded Reload Mechanisms - An Outpost special. When the Outpost receives enough damage to trigger, all turrets in its radius will overload.


Tricky to us as the outpost is often last in the base and with mortars or long ranged cannons, could be useful with Wendigo or Glacial turrets, or with the new Hyena...


Hyena Missile Turret - An upgrade to the Vulture Missile, the Hyena Missile Turret provides medium-to-long range missile defense with a bonus to deal critical damage to wounded ships.

I loved the Vulture when it came out, medium reload, good range, high damage, and an awesome ability that has 50% to give double damage if the target is under 50% health.

With requirements for the foundry being available in the new mission, as well as components for the new Garrison Class in the foundry system. Speaking of changes to the foundry...

Addings to the Foundry 

Garrison class ships are being added to the foundry, the ships being the Strike Cruiser, Dreadnought X, Novastorm, Berserker and Citadel. With their requirements being gathered from the new forsaken mission. 

The Garrison Target levels, are most likely the target levels you have to hit to earn the payouts. Which are found in the next column. The FM prizes are yet to be announced, but might be similar to those already in the weekly, and the new four ones.


The retrofits, if any, are unknown at this time.

Forsaken Mission

Forsaken mission

With the mission changing soon to fit into Kixeye's new cycle of targets, its time to get as many prizes as you can during this time. Kixeye has said that the new targets will reflect the current drac mines and the raid targets from the last cycle. With the majority of the damage being from Ballistic and Radioactive sources, the best tech to use is Allow Armor CL. 

With Allow Armor CL being reached in tier 2-4, it provides much needed defense against this two damage types. 

The best couple ships to use for the new mission are found in the foundry, with all of them having 50+ defenses to radioactive and ballistic damage. Lets look at mock builds using only what is found in the forsaken mission relative to the tiers, i.e. dreadnought tier 1, vindi tier 2 and so forth. 

Dreadnought

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!40JIA1O1O1O1O09111S0U37373737373737370JIA1O1O1O1O09111S0U37373737373737370JIA1O1O1O1O09111S0U37373737373737370JIA1O1O1O1O09111S0U37373737373737370JIA1O1O1O1O09111S0U3737373737373737dC 

The fleet has okay speed, but we don't anticipate any mortars within the new strongholds, as there are none in the mines. Good defenses for ballistic and radioactive type weapons, and awesome reload. With rank the reload gets only better, along with the turning speed. With a 3 day build, it'll only take two weeks to build a full fleet of these. 

Vindicator 

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!405CF1P1P14090U2T113737373737373705CF1P1P14090U2T113737373737373705CF1P1P14090U2T113737373737373705CF1P1P14090U2T113737373737373705CF1P1P14090U2T1137373737373737dC 

This fleet is meant for siege only, being able to survive longer than the dreadnought, although it lacks one weapon slot. I keep using the siege cannons as they provide a bonus to the speed, weigh less, build fast, and shoot fast. Again, we won't suspect to find any ships or mortars in the new strongholds, based upon the mines so far... 

Crusader 

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!406G01P14144060346A0UAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAK06G01P14144060346A0UAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAK06G01P14144060346A0UAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAK06G01P14144060346A0UAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAK06G01P14144060346A0UAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKdC 

With a hell of a lot better defenses, only getting better as you retro the crusader. With the builds only getting longer from here, it still shows. With the Reaver cannon being available in Tier 3, it is a lot better than the standard siege cannon. 

With better damage, range, reload, salvo, splash, bonus damage, and providing bonus armor, the earth shaker cannon is greatly better than the standard Siege Cannon S. 

Centurion 

If you have reached the centurion in the foundry, you have a choice of either using it or Punishers. Punishers are not available in the foundry however, and can be obtained only from the past raids, however the two ships are very similar indeed. The main difference being the Centurion special field that lowers splash damage. There are many builds that work well with the Centurion, as it can be used exactly like the punisher in mines and forsaken missions to come.