A battery of secondary weapons with a factor > 9 would be very useful, even if it didn't benefit from the -6 on the damage table modifier, or the additional damage rolls. I've pointed out before that High Guard high-agility frigates (<2000 tons) can be very difficult to hit; being able to improve the to hit and penetration roll target numbers would be helpful.
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I agree, and this is the biggest reason I allowed the fighters to be used as roving batteries. The traditional use of destroyers and frigates is screening the capitol ships and harrassing lines of supply. Torpedo boast would launch torpedoes at pre-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts en mass...and torpedo boat destroyers would try to intercept them.
Destroyers in this game can also have that task if so designed (lots of laser batteries), but they tend to lack the agility because of thier size. Also, they are far more expensive to buy enough to make this really effective unless the battles are only small skirmish affairs. Swarms of cheap fighters with agility-6 and 3 beam lasers are far more cost effective for missile interdiction and support craft harrasment.
If you have <2000 ton support craft like assault landers, Broadsword Cruisers, missile boats, SDB's, and the like, then a roving "battery" of beam lasers that has the speed to break the line and hit the rear is a real threat.
For casualties, just determine how many fighters you need for every point in the battery and compute from there.
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I agree, and this is the biggest reason I allowed the fighters to be used as roving batteries. The traditional use of destroyers and frigates is screening the capitol ships and harrassing lines of supply. Torpedo boast would launch torpedoes at pre-dreadnoughts and dreadnoughts en mass...and torpedo boat destroyers would try to intercept them.
Destroyers in this game can also have that task if so designed (lots of laser batteries), but they tend to lack the agility because of thier size. Also, they are far more expensive to buy enough to make this really effective unless the battles are only small skirmish affairs. Swarms of cheap fighters with agility-6 and 3 beam lasers are far more cost effective for missile interdiction and support craft harrasment.
If you have <2000 ton support craft like assault landers, Broadsword Cruisers, missile boats, SDB's, and the like, then a roving "battery" of beam lasers that has the speed to break the line and hit the rear is a real threat.
For casualties, just determine how many fighters you need for every point in the battery and compute from there.