Awakening 2 days in - A new player joins the field

By Jan

Introduction

Hello everyone, before I start with a little tipps and tricks on the lvl 74 aka blitz target of this years january event I wanted to introduce myself.
My name is Jan and I have been playing Battle Pirates since the black water days when it all started. Apart from a 1 year break I have been playing almost every day and came back a little over a year ago in late december 2015 to pick up from where I had left.
 The idea for writing and sharing ideas outside of my alliance/sector came a few weeks back, when I gave a lenghty reply to one of Specs posts and he encouraged me to write more if I wanted. (Thanks in advance for that Specs).
I consider myself a non coiner, which means apart from sending gifts to other players in order to help them or thank them for helping me I do not spend money. My own account hasnt received gold from me for several years now, so I have to make up for it with using my limited resources as wisely as possible.
With my posts I hope to provide a tactical insight for other non coiners or lower lvl players who do not have all the latest tech equipped/build/ranked during raids, and maybe provide a different view on upcoming releases from a purely players point of view.
Ok without further ado lets start.

The blitz target or "How to get points without lenghty grind/repair"

As specs has covered all viable options for Tier 4 (B-Set) in his earlier post Scourge are back! lets take a look at a target that requires a little higher tech lvl but neither the millenium gun and new special nor the cannoneer.

First of all what you want to have is an ironclad preferably equipped with mauser cannons. In addition to that a generic fleet of punishers/cents equipped with atleast pacs and arbs. Sometime today the B-set was nerfed to make PACs and Arbs sort of usefull and I noticed the damage dealt by the big gun in the 74 has been halfed, so lets make good use of this.
Here is my build idea for the Ironclad, which I used the campaign tokens for, to rank and build it:

(I am currently using GS3 instead of SiegeTargeting 3, changing this might even make it instant repair on the 74)

The idea is the following:  enter at 9 o'clock and hit 5 buildings to maximize bloodthirst. Then move towards the big gun and sit under its fire until it is destroyed. (The down arrow is your friend). Then retreat and use your cents/punishers to clean up the rest. You can avoid all the small range turrets by inching closer carefully (down arrow). In the video I used my cannoneers, but I ran some tests with my punishers, it is possible.

Prepping lvl 74 with ironclad video

Cannoneers in a lvl 74

To step it up a notch here is and idea on how to hit a lvl 74 for instant repair with your cannoneers 

To conclude this post, I thank everyone for reading and hope it helps a little. As this is the first time I am writing in a blog feel free to provide some tipps on how I can improve myself, constructive criticism is always necessary and welcomend. If you have any further questions just comment below and will answer as soon as possible

Review of the January Raid Preview

Mauser will make your life easier

By Specialist_AKA_Specs

As many of you have already learned the preview was a PITA and most of our older weapons were not very effective. I have put my video up of the progression of me attempting to get the Centurions to work in the level 57 target (this would be T4 I think) and it was a mess with PAC. You can find the video at the end of this article.

Centurion –

What I found was that to do the T4 decently you need a bit more Arbalest. I know that I recommended a build that was working on the level 97 mining bases. It the assumption that the targets would be similar to those, not have enough health on the turrets to withstand multiple blasts from the secondary weapon. I know it sucks and that there is not much time left to get some refitting in if all you have is the Centurion. That knowledge had me taking a night to sit and think and collect thoughts so that I did not get all ranty here. The goal was to get my readers a build that could do at least T4 in the raid, and unless the targets change a bit with the lowering of health in T4, you will have a hard time with the PAC, Earthshaker, and D110.

We have roughly 4 days, if you get your tokens from the Forsaken mission, I will refit at least 4 arbalests to your Centurion at a minimum. If you were able to get the Mauser, I would build the build that did the best for me in the preview.

The Best Centurion for the Raid

Centurion for lower tech levels

Centurion for the low tech level I know might still not cover all players. If you do not have the Nuclear Accelerator then use Harden Barrels 3. You can get Reflective Coating 3 in the Sea of Flames Prize pack 1. You can get D2-R in the Ashes to Ashes Prize pack 1. Both are available to level 50 players.

You will need a siege battery, if you only have 2 or lower then stick to Tier 3 targets. 

Cannoneer –

What can I say about this? It did T4 with the Mauser, could do T5 target with the Mauser. After the Centurion failing with the older tech, I did not even bother testing them on this hull. I did not get the video with the Millenium, but I did manage to auto a 75 for almost the whole fleet health due to connection issues.

The tactics that I ended up using that worked best was to go counter-clockwise the whole way around. This strategy allowed the base to fully rise from the depths. That also helped me to avoid the danger of a platform pushing me into the shorter range turrets. The video I got did not show this as I found this path just as my connection became unstable and I lost connection. I think this path will allow me to do the target for 0 Damage with the Millenium cannon.

My combat speed was about 50 the whole time and that allowed me to dodge the big Launcher in the middle and move out of the way when platforms were coming up. I think you could get by with the mid-40s though and might try that at the start of the Raid.

The build presented is the one I used in the preview. I think I have an idea for a better one, but I want to test it before I share it. 

Best theory idea for the Cannoneer

Mauser build for the Cannoneer

IronClad

In the video, you will see that I could auto the T4 targets with the Mauser. It took a little more damage than my Centurions with a similar setup. But that could have been the build. I would think to increase ballistic resistance and use the Reflective Coating 3 for my specials. That would increase your resistance a bit more and give you less weight.

IronClad build

Summary

Overall I liked the idea behind the targets. I was very discouraged by the fact that the older tech was not so useful. The health of the targets seemed over the top and I am hopeful they tune that down when the raid launches next week. It will be a nasty grind for those without the Mauser, and even with that weapon you will be limited to T4 targets for your Centurion and Ironclad to keep repair time down. That is not to say that you cannot do T5, but just know that the health and damage in those targets is much higher and you should reserve that for the cannoneer builds with the Mauser or Millenium cannons.

The good thing is that the splash was not so noticeable so you could go with just the cannon system 4 and not worry about boosting splash much higher on the Ironclad.

Video

IronClad and Mauser Make a Splash!

And a Second Harlock TideSeeker? Yes! Please!

By Specialist_AKA_Specs

I say take the thing home and worship it! It resembles nothing on the earth, or in the seas or in the skies, so you can't be accused of idolatry.

Today we got to see the much-anticipated IronClad and Mauser Cannon. These two prizes have been the source of much discussion since it was announced that we would have Siege targets for January Event. The Mauser for the update to the current cannons we have, and the IronClad because it has been billed as the TideSeeker for the Siege Targets. Along with these two much-discussed pieces to our arsenal, we have a chance at a second Harlock Tideseeker and an upgrade to our cannon systems. Overall this update was a very exciting one for me as a player.

The IronClad is the hull that will mimic the TIdeseeker for the current raid set to start January 12, 2017. That means it will be auto Tier 4 targets for a coin cost.  This TLC is one that you are going to want to attempt to do if your goal is to auto the raids. The Mauser cannon is a must pick up and matches perfectly with the Cannoneer and The IronClad. The only question we have is Nuclear Accelerator or the Cannon System IV?

IronClad

I will build the Ironclad for testing purposes, my Tide fleet could do Tier 6 by the end of the event on auto, and I suspect that I can reduplicate that success with this fleet.

If we look at the hull a bit closer, we will see that it has all that we expect from a siege class hull. The biggest positive I see is the splash bonus. That will help with taking out the cluster of buildings. Other than the bonus to resistance at max stack, reload and damage will help with auto hitting the targets. The biggest negative I see is the range boost at 30% it will be below the 100 range of the Cannoneer. We saw how important the max range was in the last raid series where you hit the sweet spot for 0 damage or 30 minutes for just inching too close. I fear this will be the same with this hull compared to the Cannoneer.

That is probably why it has 100% stun resistance, and we should expect something to stun our ships while we are attacking these targets. And why this hull is being billed as our Auto hull. 

Mauser vs. Draconian Arbalest/Arbalest vs. Particle Accelerator Cannon

This Mauser cannon is a thing of beauty. Paired with the 200% splash bonus on the Ironclad this cannon will shine. The Arbalest could out DPS it in some instances on single target I think, and this will require some testing. But, I think on the IronClad you would want most of these and maybe one or two Particle Accelerator Cannons for the special it delivers to knock out clusters fast. My sweet spot seems to be 10 PAC per fleet.

By comparing the cannons, the Mauser is king taking out buildings then in order;

• Arbalest
• Crossbow III
• Railgun D-110
• PAC

PAC if you can get the special to go off is nice, but we cannot count on that reliably. I would go for a mix in this case.

I am not sure I will put this on my Current Cannoneer as I am using arbalest and PAC so while I will not be best in the show, the Cannoneer does not have the bonus to splash to make this cannon shine in my opinion. Therefore I will not be spending time in refitting before the raid.

Cannon System IV vs. Nuclear Accelerator

The Cannon System IV tops the Nuclear Accelerator in every way in my honest opinion for the Mauser. It boosts splash, it matches range and increases damage. It is also lighter by 11%. To bad we cannot match it with drum loaders, that would be an excellent combination.

I enjoy the zooming around the map as much as anyone. But, If you get this special then I would definitely go with this over the Nuclear Accelerator. Mostly because in my current build on even the cannoneer I am at max weight without full armor or weapons.

Grab the Harlock Tideseeker

If you have tideseekers you will want to attempt to get the Harlock Tideseeker this time too. It will boost that fleet of three to four tides to be able to auto the level 75 reaver armadas for hours ( was able to go 2 hours and still not have to repair) allowing you the ability to gain Uranium for a days worth of repairs while at work or sleeping.

Bug Fixes -

I could not finish the article without at least mentioning these as one fix was something that was most aggravating for the last week or so.

• Corrected an issue with the calculations being done to determine the movement speed of fleets on the world map. This should address a problem where fleets would appear to reach their destination, then jump back a certain distance and continue traveling to the target.

• Cleaned up some additional cases where stats were incorrectly showing both a plus and minus sign ahead of the bonus value.

While we do not have a fix to the diagonal land tiles yet, we at least got the map speed fixed and of course the confusing +/- signs on some blueprints.

Raid wrap up and looking to the future

Centurion is the way forward, Cannoneer is the future and low levels need something to get to Centurion.

By Specialist_AKA_Specs

As promised I would get a build on Vindicator ready to do the current mining platforms. I think I have the build and while it is not new player friendly, it is low-level player friendly. You will need items from Tier 3 of the FM, and if you have been following this blog, you know how to go about doing that no later than level 45 (sooner if you play more than I did the test account). Everything in the Vindicator builds you can find in the Forsaken Mission, Campaigns, level 31+ Cargo, and your research lab. The build is highly specialized to do only one thing, and that is hit the current mining platforms. When we see the targets, I will know if it can do the Tier 3 targets.

Why Crossbow?

The targets for the mining bases are very susceptible to ballistic damage. The Crossbow does decent building damage, has the piercing stat of the arbalest allowing it to hit multiple buildings in a line. It can be fired now while on the move, making it far more useful than before. It is also the best weapon I could see in Tier 3 of the FM. Meaning that it is easy to obtain for those that are following the advise to prioritize the FM.

Other choices – Siege cannons, Earthshaker, Particle accelerator cannon, Arbalest, and Drac Arbalest.

Honorable mention: Squall, or Antipode launcher.

Why the Evade armor?

The ballistic guns in the target do most of the damage; the glacial type turrets only fire once by the time you get into range, and you can target them first. So, by getting evade up, you can have most of that direct damage miss you. I am not sure that I would go with another type of armor as I want to raise the evade, and I only have three special slots. You can get this armor in the shell the shore campaign prize package 2.

Why those specials?

We only have three special slots. The siege battery is the best choice at tier 3 FM, because of the 50% it grants at the R15 retrofit lab. This special will make your Radioactive resistance at around 75% and Ballistic around 50%. It also adds building damage bonus which is a huge benefit.

You need the engine and Speed System 4 is the best choice for those that get to Tier 3 in the FM.

Harden Barrels 3 is chosen mostly because I am not 100% sure you could get the best in class Nuclear Accelerator. You need the range boost to kill the stands as soon as possible.

Honorable mentions: In place of Harden Barrels 3, CL-2/CL-3 will boost your resistance and stack with the Siege battery making it more efficient. Your range will be shorter, but you will survive longer.

This is a theory build I have not tested it yet so it might be that I have to go with a different build after I test them. You will want to make sure you are ranked, and I will be putting it to test by the weekend after I get some rank on the fleet.

Centurion –

If you happened to have been successful in the raid and got the 2.65 million points, you will be able to do the nuts and bolts of this build. This build is the one I have used to get my base parts since the level 97 mining bases were released. Many will try to argue with the use of PAC, but there is a reason for this weapon above the others. It has a special ability that triggers every .3% of the time. This ability will level large sections of the platform and the more PAC you have in the fleet, the greater your chance of triggering this ability. I have witnessed a steady secondary blast almost every 10 to 15 seconds within a level 97 mining base.

Everything else in the build is just an upgrade of the information I provided for the Vindicator. The difference is that I went with more resistance and used D5-C and D5-R armor.

Cannoneer – 

I will admit that I am not 100% sure what the new siege targets will bring. But, as usual, I try to put faith in GD Raikan and the telegraphing of what we can expect. They offered the Stun armor and increased the amount we could claim this last raid. That tells me to expect something that can stun our ships in the new targets. That is the reason for the Agility system and the stun armor and the 41% stun resistance.

Why Squall over PAC?

I chose Squall for a bit of flavor, and I want an AOE damage type of weapon, and while I love my Centurion PAC fleet, I wanted to see how this weapon did in the new targets. I think that it might be a benefit to a fleet and help clear buildings out or weaken them. The range is a little short compared to the Arbalest on the ship. But, I can get into range without sacrificing much with the defenses I have.

You will notice I went with a few D33-R, the reason is that it grants a bit more ballistic resistance and I had some weight to spare. I tried to fit a PAC to get that bonus damage so often, but the weight would not allow it.

The rest of the items should make sense and if they do not please ask and I will explain why I chose what I did in this buildout.

Summary

With many questions left to be answered, the cannoneer might need a refit after we see the targets. But, I will build it out as shown and go from there. The Centurion should be ready for Tier 4 targets, and if you can get the Harlock Centurion from the level 97, mining bases might do Tier 5 once we see what we have to work with. I am concerned with the push to offer so many stun resistant armors and I might have to refit that once we get into the new raid format. The vindicator is just a theory build to help low levels move through the foundry that join the game after this last hull raid. If you got the centurion, I would build that, even with the weapons I suggest for the vindicator it will do better and allow you a hull that can be refitted in the future when you get better stuff.

All of this might be mute once we see the Ironclad and how easy that is to get. It is being billed as the tiderseeker for the January raid series. That means for those that do not like to drive, it might be the hull to get as it will auto the Tier 5 targets at least.