Ask Specs Anything October 19, 2016

FM or Raid? the timeless question

by Specs

This week we have one question that does involve build advice. It concerns building for Forsaken mission or raids.

Slacker said:

I have an ask Specs question: Will next month's raid be the same as this months? I ask because I built HW's to do the 30/50/70 reaver armadas then did some refitting to Charon torps and diff armor after last month's raid and now this month I need my twisters back and diff armor again. Should I refit back to twisters and X armor? Or will next month be a different target set again? Or maybe I should build Citadels? Or maybe I should build some base hitters? Or maybe I should build some defense ships? It would be nice if the REDUCTION of ship build time was brought to the table again. I mean BIG TIME reduction, not this measly 4 percent.  I won a Harlock Citadel and the build time on that alone is RIDICULOUS. Thanks, Specs.

 

Dear Slacker,

I cannot answer that question as they have not told us what next month will be. I will inform you that if you read the article and take a look at the Hellwraith build, I am using this raid and try to match that you will be in a right spot. Go with the Twisters and D1-X or D2-X depending on what you have available is what I would do.

While the Citadels are nice for the FM, if you are already getting to T4 or T5 without them, I would not worry just yet and get your raid fleet together. If you are not going with this least T4 in the FM twice a week, then I would get that FM fleet built as those tokens in T4 help non-coiners get their builds done in a timely fashion. I tell everyone to prioritize FM over raids for this reason, so not sure where you are game wise but the FM should be your first concern.

What next month brings, though, will depend on to a great part how this one goes. If the players enjoyed it and participation is up compared to last month. I think we have a good chance to see this similar raid targets next raid with some tweaks.

Day in the Life of a New Battle Pirates Player July 13, 2016

Raid Week!

The raid is this week, I had someone offer to help me get 3 million points this raid, and I turned it down. If you have been following the blog and are working as hard as I am, you might get an offer as well. You might be able to if they prep for you decently and you should take it. Why? Well, you could get some good stuff to give you a leg up on your competition.

What should you take as a low-level player if this is the case? That is quite easy as far as I am concerned.

First I would take the Rhino, with this hull you can put any missile on it and have a good tank to lead it through the weekly and help your game a bunch. Or, you can just use it and go to town. Second I would take the Trident missile. Why? Well, chances are you do not have any real siege missiles yet, and this missile is quick to build. Works as a part time anti-missile and has high damage. Then I would take the D4-M because it will help against the Missiles in the weekly. You will have enough anti-morts to clear the mortars, and you can use the Ablative armor special to increase the resistance to explosive and protect against the frostbite turrets.

Some might want you to take the Enforcer, D104, and the Fusion charger. All those are good choices too, and I am tempted if I was in my mid-50s and needed some help in base defense and already had the rhino. The rhino will change your game and put you on solid foot going forward. You can use it in many situations, including base defense.

If you are not doing the raid

You might decide the raid is not for you and this is OK! You can do the campaigns and get some decent gear to help you advance your game. You can also upgrade warehouses, labs, and get ready to upgrade stands to level 4 or 5 after you do the needed research.

For me going forward the next week

Right now I am upgrading warehouses to make room so I can do the Dread build, I will be upgrading turrets to level 4 at least and hopefully level 5. These goals mean that I am working on the labs to level 10 and getting needed research done. Remember to pick and choose and only take what you need to open stuff up or that can help you right now.

As always leave a comment if you have a question and I will answer as soon as I can. Have a great raid all and I will see you next week!

Day in the life of a new Battle Pirate player July 5, 2016

Outpost five done, advanced lab to level 8 and still need more!

My Outpost level 5 finished over the weekend, and I finished the advanced lab to level 8 upgrade. I had enough resources to start the Ablative armor 2, which should help more in the level 40 strongholds. I tried the 40 with the Reactive armor and the damage from the Frostbite did more damage to me than the missiles. I can research the long short missile in the weapons lab, so I will do that and upgrade the launch pad if needed that might be the only way I can do the 40’s at this time.
I am ten short of the frags from having enough for the Dreadnought, but I want to try to get the 40s at least under control without that hull. Remember, I had done the Weekly for two weeks before the change and since then I have not been able to do the 40s with any success. I might be able to do it if I worked at it for more than 2 hours a day. I will tell you, that it would frustrate me if I had to hit on a target for 2 hours and not even kill a single platform.

The only thing I can do is to take a few days and refit the Shockwave N mortars I have and the D2-E and see if that helps.  I will need the engines at least to help get me by the Guardians in the Death Grip campaign regardless, as the mortars catch me. I also noticed I need to upgrade the intelligence lab to at least level 5 so I can use the strike cruiser and the Dreadnought, those are next on the list.

So that is the plan going forward this week, a refit of the Marauders with the Shockwave N, engine 2, D2-E and then try for the Mauler again, along with attempting a 40 once the fleet finishes. If I still have issues with the explosive damage from the frostbite, I will hold off until I get the maulers built.

For the base I am getting close to needing to put in stands and weapons, so going to research Sentinel Missle 3 at least and hope to get Sent 5 soon and work towards Javelines and Halo.

The one ship to destroy them all!

Specs single ship build, for the 107 Draconian Stronghold

I will start with that this build has some bells and whistles that you might not have. I will also state that I am positive that not everyone will have what is needed. However, I am a firm believer in growing as a person and player and that this might help you decide what to take come Raid time, or maybe realize that you have these parts sitting around your intelligence lab doing nothing.

It is not the most efficient at killing the target, of course, taking 1 hour 30 minute to 1 hour 51 minutes of damage so far in tests I have done. But, in one month you can have it built and ranked and be able to do your five level 107 strongholds as you build others to go with it. I refer you back to this post that I made on tips for the FM to refresh your memory on what I believe works the best.

The build is as follows;

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!B0NH01T1T1T5K6D3468372525252A2A574M4M4M000ZZ0ZZ0ZZ0ZZdC

That single ship will do the 107 with no pinches and no coin if you are willing to wait about 2 hours per target. Yes, I do understand that not everyone can hit a target and walk away for two hours to come back later to do another. But, this option is there for those that can make that time and have the technology in their blueprints to pull this off. Also, this should give you an idea of the minimum you need for your CM tank to lead your other ships. There is plenty of videos around now of people using Dreads and DNX to do the 107 with pinches, and that is a very strategic way to approach the targets.

As well a single refit is needed to swap out the Reflective coating 3 with the Siege Battery 3, or even the CM loader 3 for the frontline CM platform. Either would be an improvement and get the repair time down drastically.

Video

Me? I hate having to rely on the Launch pad :D

After Raid Report

Specs quick thought on the raid

This raid was well balanced in my opinion. The lag was not too bad most of the weekend and allowed for some smooth sailing on this end. I was able to end up with 69 million points for $10 spent. That included three Grease monkey crews over two days, and that got me to 55 million. The other 14 million was spent just hitting sets a couple of times a day over the last two days. This success means that if I needed too, I could have hit 30 million for zero coins this raid, far better than the last raid where we all had issues getting going and through the challenging targets the first couple days.

For those points I took

• The whole Vendetta Tree – I grabbed the Apollo last raid but did not claim the special or weapon for that hull. 
• All tokens – that were used to finish refits to make my Punisher fleet better for the FM
• All Ghost Shards – I want that hull bad, still need 103 though.
• Fragments for the foundry

The fleet I used was a simple one, it consisted of an Harlock Aegis with one harrier missile (you could use Aegis), Three Rhino with Blades, and the Apollo finished up and was a CM/Tank.
Overall it was a great raid for me and many others. The CM/Tank is critical to this raid format and can be created with any assault class hull that has some corrosive resistance.

Rumors for next raid

The rumor mill is going crazy with the next raid and the September raid. Next raid we get a new defensive hull to help combat the two new Conquer hulls released. This should be interesting to see how they balance the two groups in the new meta game.

September Raid is looking to be a sub raid, meaning that in August you might want to think about grabbing a sub if you have not yet. If you have some, I would aim to put your best torps on them and hopefully they release D2-S again just in case we need the extra stealth.

More information on both these rumors should come out in the next few weeks and months. Many are very excited for the sub raid though.

Any questions feel free to comment below.

June Battle Pirates Raid - Escalation

June Battle Pirates Raid - Escalation 

Specs Thoughts on Prizes

After looking over the official prize list, I am going to offer the following advice taking into consideration the points that we can receive from each set.

•    Those below 60 can hit the C sets for around 80K points for a set
•    Those below 80 can run the B sets for 607K
•    Those above 80 can run the A set for 2.69 million
•    Anyone can hit the S level target for 3.75 million points

Of course, if you are above 60 and hitting C set you will have received reduced points for the targets, and same with those above 80 hitting B sets. They still have not removed that restriction on those targets vs. player level.

You can see the new prizes in action in bases with no guard:

With that, all in mind here is my thoughts.

To those that have not received the Rhino yet, get it. It is 1.75 million points and should be grindable over the four days for no coin.  With any luck, most fleets will work with C sets (like the last raid), and you can do them throughout the weekend.  With a good rhino build, you can do B sets next raid, and they are quick to make. Most builds are less than ten days that can do the B set targets. I will try to watch what the lower levels around me are doing and see if I can capture some of the videos and get their builds. I will post my unfinished rhino build once I see how it does in the revamped B set. I did post a V2-H build here, and that did the B set last raid nicely.

If you find, that you have time and can grind out the sets to earn 6 million points. You get to have a few more choices. You cannot go wrong with the Basilisk turret (5.75 million). If you do not have it, it can help you with the Revenge fleets running the waters now if built correctly. The Executioner (5 million) is a great option and can be buffed up to decent damage potential with the right specials and attack transformers. Both turrets are available this raid and provide some much needed updated towers to battle the newest PvP hull. Where the choice comes in here is where do you want to go? If your goal is to have an easier time with the raid, then getting the Executioner and the D4-M armor is a pretty solid choice. If it is just to get a better turret than your pyro or napalm, then the Basilisk is the way to go.

Now, what if you can get 15 million points, you have to remember this raid we still have that prize lock feature where you have to take prizes in the previous tiers to unlock those above. And this is probably not going to be popular in certain crowds, but this is my opinion for those that do not coin. Your best friend is the tokens, and in this raid, you can get over five days off your build for the 15.05 million points (or pretty close to that). So, if you can get that 15 million and you do not coin, I would look to speed up one of your builds from last month by five days. If you are like my other non-coiner friends you are trying to do the FM or get something for the raid and that extra five days will be a significant leap for you. Plus if you go this route you do not have to spend points on other things in the tiers to get to the weapon or the hull of your choice.

That is not to say that I do not like the Apollo or the specials on that side. They are exceptional at doing this raid format and the assault fleets at the towers for minimal damage. The Apollo will be offered next month as well, so if you still want it and cannot get it this raid, it is possible next month. If you go with PvP aspect, the new ship will complement the Revenge in many ways, and if you are like me and use citadels, then this hull can act as an upgrade to your citadel support. Letting you use the citadels in a role they are better suited for and that is the mines/FM.