StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Yeah, recently reinstalled homeworld 2 and decided I should actually play it. As it is, I can't survive 15 minutes with an easy CPU and got reamed bad while playing PDS. So I was hoping for advice from those who are much better at the game then me.

In the HW2 campaign, don't be too good. The enemy fleet matches yours, so don't hang around after a missions building everything you can afford. Keeping a large supply of cash is more useful than a few dreads, since the bloody CPU just magically has more than you.

After like mission 7-9, when you have a solid core of destroyers and the like... scuttle every last frigate you have, or recycle them before the end of the mission. Each 4 frigates will eventually add up to an enemy battlecruiser, which is NOT good.

I entered the 2nd to last mission with maxed out fleet, and met 7 enemy battlecruisers at once. It was not pretty.

One thing to try is to perhaps keep your construction lines for corvettes and strike craft maxed out. They'll provide distraction and nickel-and-dime fire if nothing else and construction time is fast.

It's sometimes a good idea to go on the offensive quickly - you can preempt some of the computer's hordes that way, before they've had time to mass to jump in via hypergate. I've beat the game with the "maximal" force levels, and it ain't easy (though all those fireworks are quite pretty)

Wasn't he asking about Skirmishing, not the Campaign?

Best advice is not to fight like with like--that's just basic fleet construction advice I've always found useful. Like, if you can, make fighters that kill cappies. Make corvettes that kill fighters. And make cappies that kill corvettes. I play as the Vagyr, so I really love my laser Corvettes. Those things shred capitals! Missile corvs are also good, especially once upgraded. They take out tons of fighters as well as being decent against light caps. You also wanna expand as fast as you can afford to put some fighters and corvs out there to defend a resource patch.

If you can provide some more specific "this kills me" questions, we can all help!

well, I can barely muster a fleet in bog standard skirmish and I got a pair of supercaps out, a handful of frigates and fighters out in PDS, but I got mauled by a few frigates, a carrier and fighters when I sent my battle group after them because the super caps and frigates were moving slow as all hell.

Ah, crud, he's also referring to PDS, which is a very different game than stock HW2.

Tasoth wrote:well, I can barely muster a fleet in bog standard skirmish and I got a pair of supercaps out, a handful of frigates and fighters out in PDS, but I got mauled by a few frigates, a carrier and fighters when I sent my battle group after them because the super caps and frigates were moving slow as all hell.

You have to have a balanced force in PDS, and massive numbers do not always win the day. Use some formations (or Guard) to keep them around in one place, use Aggressive and waypoints if you want antimissile fire to work (though it is noticibly less effective than itu sed to be)

In vanila HW2, Mines mines mines mines on the harder missions where the AI rams 7-8 BC's at you.

Jump in with only a moderate fleet, max your destroyers and BC's but cut your frigates to nothing before so you don't get completly overwhelmed. The first time just scout out where the enemy is going to come from and in what strength.

Then when you arrive start churning out those frigates from your shipyard, mothership and carrier(s). Have your minelayers spread out a minefield a good distance from your mothership in their approach vector and move your capital ships into formation behind it at a distance just a little more then weapons range.

I've found almost every time that you can genearaly get at least 3-4 BC kills with ease and save your fleet for the main course (not to mention buy time for your frigates to rebuild).