Retribution compared to an Armageddon and a Defiant:
Points: 355pts vs 355pts.
Even.
Ordnance: 9 Torps vs 8Torps & 2AC.
Advantage Cruisers, as AC completely eliminate Ret's torps. However, unless fired together, the Defiant's torps will be completely eliminated by turrets, its AC are completely impotent offensively, and the Armageddon's can expect fewer than 1 hit on average against the Retribution's prow. Armageddon is unlikely to get off a shot against flank armour, and Defiant isn't powerful enough for it to matter if it does, so this advantage matters little.
Minimum hits before permanent damage: 4 vs 1or2.
Retribution obliterates the cruisers in this category.
Weapons:
@60cm: 3L vs 2L
@45cm: 3L&FP18 vs 4L&FP6
@30cm: 3l&FP18 vs 6L&FP6.
Clear advantage to Retribution, which starts firing earlier and maintains that advantage at all ranged. The cruisers come closest to matching Retribution at 15-30cm whilst abeam 4 vs 4.5points of damage scored, however they cannot expect to frequently breach Retribution's shields except when locked on or at close range. Retribution gains far more benefit from being locked on, at close range, or against target moving away; with all 3 benefits, Retribution wins 11hits vs 7.5hits, enough to kill Armageddon or Defiant in one salvo yet hardly damaged in return.
Hits: 12 vs 14
Advantage Cruisers, however this is totally outweighed by the firepower, range and shields advantage as above. Without special orders or return fire, at the range most advantageous to the cruisers, the Retribution could destroy both of them in 7 turns, whilst the cruisers could barely be expected to destroy the Retribution in all but the longest games.
Let’s try another example.
2x Retributions (710pts) vs 2x Lunars 1xArmageddon and 1xDauntless (705pts)
Minimum hits to take damage: 4 vs 1 or 2.
Again, massively in favour of Retributions.
Ordnance:
18 torps vs 18torps.
Even.
Weapons:
@60cm 6L vs 2L
@45cm, 6L&FP36 vs 2L&FP6
@30cm, 6L&FP36 vs 11L&FP18.
Again, the Retributions have the advantage at every range. The cruisers come close at 30cm, with 8,5 hits vs 9, but his isn’t enough to expect to cripple a Retribution in one turn’s firing, whilst the Retributions will nearly destroy a cruiser with that level of firepower.
Once again, the Retributions gain most benefit from lock-on, aspect and range thanks to their high proportion in WBS, and against a fleet this size they are also far more likely to get to fire both broadsides than the cruisers. In a worst case the Retributions could dish out an expected 36 hits past shields on 2 targets in one turn of shooting (both broadsides at close range into cap ships moving away), enough to obliterate 2 braced cruisers in a single turn. Clearly this is an exaggerated situation, but the cruisers would only expect 23 hits past shields in the same situation (just not enough to cripple both braced Retributions) and it shows how the Retributions only need to get things slightly right to swing an unassailable advantage.
Hits: 30 vs 24.
Advantage cruisers, however this is again neutralised by the massive gulf between the Retributions and Cruisers in their ability to dish out and take hits. Without any special orders on either side or return fire, at the range most advantageous to the cruisers, it would take them 6 turns to destroy the Retributions, whilst the Retributions would take just 5 turns to destroy all the cruisers in the same situation.
And these two analyses are pretty much how my playtests played out. Combined with BryanTroy’s playtests, how can anyone say the Retributions are overcosted at 355?
