Mega Hulls, Gantry, and Mega target farming!

How can you get your Gantry done and get started with your mega hull?

With the Gantry getting more love this week, and the mega hulls making a splash on the scene. Many people are going to want to have a more efficient way to hit the level 91 mega hulls that spawn during orange sector threat. With that in mind, I wanted to share my Apollo build, it is a little different in that it does not use Switchblades, is not heavy on armor, but heavy on resistance. This build is not a new player friendly build, though; you will need some technology that has taken me a few years to gather.

First things that we need to discuss, read this article by George. He goes over much of what I would have, and this will save me some space in this article.

What is in the 91?

The 91 mega hull is similar to the 86 in the Raid format for the current civil war theme we have going on. Which means that the targets deal corrosive and missile damage, those resistances are the key to success. They are also susceptible to missile damage and retargeting true. Evade is useless for the targets, as I have not seen the Rhino missiles miss, and I shoot down most of the Sent V missiles, and I shoot down all the missiles from the mega ship. So, with that said I ignored Evade.

The player will want to hit these targets to get the gantry started, build the Hyperion, and then farm materials to add weapons and engines to their mega hulls. Yes, it is a major undertaking and will take you time to complete all these steps. Couple this with the fact you need level 20 in Research and Development even to get started and level 30 to get the benefit of the mega hull.

Here is my build

First up the CM Tank, this is what I always build first for every fleet I do.

DPS build

As you can see no switchblade or the special that came with the Apollo. This development has not hindered the build at all, and I will show you the fleet auto on the level 91 in this video.

Full build in Huggies

With George's article and build, and my build and videos showing them in action. Hopefully, this helps sort your own fleets out for the upcoming challenge of hitting level 91 Mega Hulls!

Thank you and have great Weekend!

Busy Pirate this week, FM strongholds changing soonish!

Summary of a very busy week!

Been a very busy week for me. I have not had a lot of time to really dedicate to the game, let alone the account where I am testing new player game play. So, here is what has happened this week.

First – I was promoted to moderator on the forum. This was a big change for me and has taken some time to get adjusted to the new powers and trying to remain helpful on the forums. Which has taken away a few hours a day from my playtime. I am settling in now and able to actually juggle both playing and moderating the forum. I am excited about this change as it allows me to help more people than I have been.

Second – My low level base is coming along, it is level 36 and will finally get the 4^th Mauler done. I think that it will allow me to get to Tier 2 in the weekly starting this week as I can hit 47s right now with the 3, the fourth should allow me to do hopefully 2 before repairs. I will have 5^th done in about 3 days 10 hours. I have been upgrading turret stands the last two days, goal is to get them to level 5 as soon as I can.

Third – We Got word tonight that the FM is being changed slightly. We are getting rid of the 107 and spawning a 102 and 109 instead. The 102 is going to be easier and allow you to grind with lower end fleets more easily. Word is probably close to 35 million points per target, but we are awaiting final confirmation on that. The 109 is going to be worth more points and a bit harder than the 107. I would assume that means maybe 4 targets for the 350 mil? Again, all speculation, will need to wait for final confirmation but I would be happy with those target points. I do believe these are being released August 17^th. Again all this could change between now and the time they are released, just keep it in mind :)

Lastly – Raid is confirmed for August 11, 20116. This will be a six-day hull raid and we will have a chance at some really nice hulls. I will have prize redemption list out as soon as the prize list is finalized and we can see what we have to choose from. Many are excited about the hull raid, as they get to claim hulls they missed out on and this month we get a new sub! A reaver sub at that, which many wanted for as long as I can remember.

Not much I know, but I will have more later in the week once we see what is going on. Have a great week!

Sub Changes and New TLC; plus,

 what should you start doing to be ready for September raid change

This week we had the changes to subs, most notable is the fact that they have to be 100% repaired to launch, and the repair modifier changed to 100%. There is also the change for launcher based sub preps with a 25% reduction in range. This change means that a Launcher subrange will be 70 now, making it detectable by every thermal in the game, except for Rhinos. Also explosive damage will have a handicap of -99%. This is good news for those that do not have the Capital ships Proto Nemesis and Hellstar with their 100 range thermal and gives more options to combat against sub launcher preps. As well as those that cannot keep the mortar subs from getting to the OP and taking it out with a rim to get to 50%.

With the changes comes the foundry and our favorite subs are getting boost. These are without going through the foundry.

Barracuda:

• Accuracy +20%
• Explosive Defense increased to 40%
• Concussive Defense increased to 50%
• Cloak Time increased to 40sec
• Repair Modifier Removed - All subs now have a standard repair modifier of 100%
• Base Armor increased to 3,930

Spectre:

• Added a third special slot
• Explosive Defense increased to 40%
• Concussive Defense increased to 55%
• Combat speed increased to 16
• Repair Modifier Removed - All subs now have a standard repair modifier of 100%
• Base Armor increased to 7,908

Nighthawk:

• Accuracy increased to 20%
• Concussive Damage increased to 19%
• Explosive Defense increased to 30%
• Concussive Defense increased to 60%
• Cloak Time increased to 65 Sec
• Repair Modifier Removed - All subs now have a standard repair modifier of 100%
• Base Armor increased to 10,001

Tiger Shark:

• Accuracy increased to 20%
• Explosive Defense increased to 40%
• Concussive Defense increased to 65%
• Cloak Time increased to 70 Sec
• Repair Modifier Removed - All subs now have a standard repair modifier of 100%
• Base Armor increased to 10,750
• Max Weight increased to 7,650

As we can see here, the subs are getting many benefits that will aid them in the new raid format coming in September and help them with the new skirmish targets we are going to be seeing on the map. The foundry upgrades center on adding more DPS, explosive resistance, and Concussive resistance. As well, as minor tweaks to turn speeds and accuracy. Now you still might not be happy that they are taking away the zombie launches, and I cannot blame you. Many have learned to play that way, the goal going forward is to get to build different fleets to do the same thing. Also, with these changes hopefully we can get more play out of our subs. I am hopeful.

 The update brought a New TLC and new Conquer Hull.

Retribution

Thermonuclear Launcher

Atomic Targeting

This TLC will allow the player to hit other player bases to gain these prizes. I am sure it will be much like previous TLC with Three prize packs, 12 hours, 6 hours and 1 hour. Not sure how many targets per, but figure at least three to five and upwards of seven if they follow typical TLC pattern. It starts today at Noon game time.

September Raid changes

With the raid still a good 6 weeks away we can start to think ahead and get things ready. Especially with the changes to subs now, the foundry to give us access to better subs. So, lets discuss a few builds.

Cuda Build research technology only

Cuda build with some tier 3 FM technology

Cuda Build with high end FM technology and old raid torps.

For the Specrte builds you will use the same specials as I did for the Cuda, pretty much those are the three you want at all stages of your tech level.

Spectre build research technology only

Sprectre build with some FM technology

Spectre build with high end FM technology and old raid/FMtorps

Nighthawk build with research tech only

Nighthawk build with some FM technology

Nighthawk build with high end FM technology and Old Raid/FMtorps

Tiger Shark with research tech and salvages only

Tiger shark with some FM Technology

Tiger Shark with High End and FM technology and old raid/FMtorps

Hopefully, these builds will help guide you on a path to get ready for the September raid with technology you. I will state that I do not see specters and Cuda doing the high-end targets; however, Nighthawks and Tigers should do the A set and even elites. As always I will modify the advice as I see the targets and get to play with them. Hopefully, these initial builds will do the job, and no refitting will be needed. 

Remember to always use your best torpedo, your best engine, your best ablative armor 3 and then add in dive time and cloaking if you can.

Rumor on many Facebook pages is that we are getting a new sub in September Raid. No, I have not heard one way or another and have no knowledge of future prizes. If the new sub class is coming, you will want to try to get something ready for September raid so that you can claim it and new technology that will make the new raid series easy.