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!

Ask Specs Anything June 29, 2016

Can Centurions be built to do a 107 FM stronghold?

Today’s question comes from Merlin as new student of mine that is only about six months into the game. He needs to do the weekly, but does not have the punisher yet and his question was

“Hey Specs, can my Centurions do the 107?”

My reply:

Hey Merlin,

Yes, I think that the centurion can be built to handle the new 107 strongholds. You have to understand that it will not be optimum and that you will more than likely not do all five in one go. But, I do think that you can do probably three with the right tweaks to your current Centurion fleet. Remember the keys to the 107 are; Combat speed, Missile resistance, explosive resistance and plenty of Countermeasure to keep the mortars off you. With that in mind here is the Centurion refit I would do if I was in your shoes.

https://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!B07400I0I0I0I0I5K6A342U2B2323232C1A1A4M4M000007400I0I0I0I0I5K6A342U2B2323232C1A1A4M4M000007400I0I0I0I0I5K6A342U2B2323232C1A1A4M4M000007400I0I0I0I0I5K6A342U2B2323232C1A1A4M4M000007400I0I0I0I0I5K6A342U2B2323232C1A1A4M4M0000dC

This should be enough firepower to take out the stands, be fast enough to get you to the platforms following the approved path I have shared with you and not need a pinch. Of course, a pinch would lower the damage you take significantly. Also, remember to park next to the Citadels to keep within their minimum range at firing their mortars that will save you some damage as well as only facing the mortars from each island.

Let me know how it goes and I would like to video the attempt so others might learn.

Hopefully, that will help some of you that do not have the Punisher, but have the Centurion and the technology shown. Or, at the very least give ideas of what to look out for during raids and what might be useful in the FM if they put the prizes in. If you do not have the old style Arbalest, then you will want at least 6 of the new D110-R and you could use Crossbow as well if needed.

Helpful tips for the FM changes

Forsaken Mission changes and people lose their collective minds!

Lots of angst with the new FM change on June 22, 2016.  I hope that the following will help you all with some technology get through this troubling time of adjustment. You need a few things to make the FM a success for you a minor refit will more than likely help you get to 50 million in less time than you did with the old FM and even 350 million in about an hour.

First to the weapons that are best for the Strongholds.

• Arbalest 
• D98
• Judgment mortars
• Pando Mortars
• Rockets (somewhat not fully tested yet)

Second you need Good missile and explosive resistance and Countermeasure against mortars. 

So, the best would be MX-3 and retrofit it to R15, but you could go with RA3 and add in enough hailstorm B/C or Gale 2 to keep mortars at bay. You will want a Countermeasure ship with at least 4 Hailstorm C/Gale with Countermeasure equipment or loader 3. Otherwise, you will want about 6 to 7 hail B.

Third and last you want combat speed. In the 107 you need a minimum of 30, and you will still take one shot from the Halo on each end without a pinch. 35 combat speed will get you to the platform damage free from the Halo. Those do hurt a lot, so it is best to either pinch them or make your fleet as fast as possible.

Hulls you should consider in order of best to worst

• Punisher – king of PvE in my opinion
• Centurion – Yes it can be made to do the FM with a minor refit and still do the level 60 mines at minimum
• Citadels – Great when paired with Judgement mortar
• Novastorm – mini Citadel and can be very useful in the FM now
• DNX – Great hull to use to hit these targets especially lower levels
• Dreadnought – Mini Punisher and can be a great ballistic fleet for lower to midlevel’s.

I understand that none of this will be helpful to people that are just starting out. You see you need to get Tier one finished twice to get the pieces to finish the level one foundry ships. You can hit all the level 40 and 51 salvages you want, but you need that Siege Battery one at a minimum to build the dreadnought.

I can only speculate that Kixeye does not think those new to the game need to worry about the Forsaken Missions until around level 30+ and want them to concentrate on the campaigns, salvages, and research? It is their way of slowing down the power creep I guess. I am at a loss, to be honest here and will try to work out a fleet to help the lower levels at least make it to 150K as soon as possible.

For those that have some of the hulls mentioned, for all fleets, it is best to make a countermeasure ship. Put at least four anti-mortar, two phalanx and a couple of weapons to help rank it. Then, add most of your armor to this ship to keep it alive and allow it to tank for your remote targeting mortars. You will want judgment mortars to make the most efficient way to kill level 87 and 107 targets. The other mortars can work well in targets below the 87 due to the iron curtain being removed in those targets. On your tank for this fleet, you will want to go with something that is not mortar or missile, so it is not shot down. D98, D92, D104, or arbalest is the key. Put 2 to 3 on it and use it to target the iron curtain if you are in the 87+

The best weapon to use in the new FM is the same as the old FM, and that is the Arbalest, be it D110 or the older version. The same concept works here, dedicated CM ship and at least three DPS ships behind it.

The faster you make these fleets the better you will do as well. Here is a video that a player did to show his path in a 107 and he uses combat speed 30.

As always, any questions feel free to post in the comments and have a great weekend.