Escorts-Do's and dont's of squadron composition

[AndrewChristlieb]

Intersting on the Devi, not sure if i agree tho. 30cm prow only lances would be quite craptastic, much worse than the 30cm guns. At least with the ships that have the prow lances they also have 60cm range so they can get hits in while closing and are designed with closer broadsides in mind.

On the Jovian I dont think lowering its price and adding guns are a good idea. It should have a nova yes but it should be priced comparable to the Mars in that case, 270-280.

As for the rule book my paper version reads the same as the online, i got my box set in late 00 so maybe they had corrected the prices by then? I know we had been playing the Ret at 345 even before i decided to get my own fleet but im not sure when the first faq would have come out, although i imagine not long after the initial release given how gw and rules are .

[horizon]

My rulebook has Retribution at 365 in all places and Emperor at 345pts in all places. It is a 1999 edition.

The swap was FAQ'ed and applied in the current 1.5 rulebook. Then a FAQ was needed because it was changed only in 1 place in the rulebook.

[Talos]

Based on upgrades and existing ships, an integrated NC is worth roughly 10 pts more than 6 strength torpedos, and optional is +20. The dictator either pays +20 pts a side for AC or +10-15pts and a premium of 10-20pts. Battlecruiser status seems to be at roughly 35-40pts, and range increases either cost firepower of roughly 10-15pts per component (both sides combined for broadsides). So if you took a dicator and swapped out is torpedoes for a nova cannon, its price should remain fairly similar (NC cost offset by loss of synergy and thus premium). If you then ripped out its batteries for half strength launch bays, this would cost another +10 a side I would imagine. Upgrading it to battlecruiser status adds another hypothetical 35pts, for a total so far of 275. It also has a pretty useful special ability, which is probably priced at 5-10pts. But at 285pts, it seems far too weak, even as a support vessel. So I guess 10pts less, at 275 is probably right then? If such a ship were to exist? Feel free to correct/rip apart/sodomize my math and/or pricing, but bear in mind these are pretty hypothetical; I have little experience reverse point engineering vessels. If there is a specific list for doing so, a link would be appreciated.

[AndrewChristlieb]

http://yenlowang.free.fr/BFG/smotherman_formula_v205.pdf

Its not perfect but will get you in the ballpark and playtest from there.

275 sounds good to me, 15 pt premium over the base Jovian is a bit steep for a non torpedo ship but thats meh.

[Talos]

Smotherman seems weird...the lunar is like 200pts!

[AndrewChristlieb]

Ya, not perfect but none of the ships were built using a system. They were all given their weapons and priced based off performance. Like I said use this to get you in the ball park then playtest! theres no magic formula to determine the value of a ship you just have to keep playing it against other ships and determine how well it does.

[horizon]

Best is to derive from other vessels, use Smotherman as a little help, playtest and if you are not sure add 5pts-10pts. Opponents will sooner accept a ship that reads underpowered then overpowered.

[Talos]

Do any of you have any custom ships you would be willing to share? Particularly escorts?

[horizon]

No, no new escorts from me only changes to existing ones (distant darkness/eldar mms).

[AndrewChristlieb]

Carrier Frigates but I cant seem to locate the file... Other than that tho no most fleets have a good selection of escorts they just need some tweaking.

[Talos]

There is a carrier frigate in BFG:R...is that the one you are referring to? How do you even use carrier frigates? Without the large squadrons of true carriers, this seems to limit them to defensive roles.

[AndrewChristlieb]

Use bigger squadrons.

[Talos]

I meant bigger waves, rather...as far as I know, you cannot link multiple ships do create bigger waves, a la torpedo.

[Sigoroth]

I meant bigger waves, rather...as far as I know, you cannot link multiple ships do create bigger waves, a la torpedo.

Yes you can, they just need to be in squadron and base to base contact.

[Talos]

Just to confirm; multiple vessels in a squadron, in base to base contact can combine ANY ordnance, not just torpedoes? So you could have 2 dictators "link up" to create a 12 a strength torpedo wave AND a strength 8 bomber wave...that's welcome information.