Advanced Raiding

[sandog]

Accumulation By Mass

Wolf917 on Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:38 pm

So this is my strategy for raiding which has served me well in the game so far:

I have spread my planets far out away from each other to expand my raiding territory. Currently I have planets in 5 galaxies and even within those galaxies they are spread between hundreds of planetary systems. In G2 I have a planet at 2.79 and another at 2.386, while in G4 I have planets at 4.310, 4.350, and 4.370. The planets in G4 make up my original territory (also had one at 4.330 which I have since abandoned) and I plan to soon abandon 4.370.

I have also spread my fleets out between those systems. Most of my planets have a few hundred ships stationed on them. 1-2 hundred capital ships for attacks and another hundred or so support ships (transmitters and recyclers). This means that I am vulnerable to large attacks (I just escape flight around them) but I can at least crack a large shield at each location. The largest fleet I have at any location is about 700 capital ships plus a couple hundred support ships.

When I come online to operate for a few hours I start launching multiple attacks - multiple is 5+ attacks per planet at a time. If I will be online more than a few hours I may send as many as 15 attacks from a single planet. One set when I first log on - another when they start to return. I build my fleets bases very high (almost all my planets have at least a level 8 fleet base now; even the planets that are next to one another). I always either leave 1 fleet space open in case I need to EF or stagger my attacks so that at least 1 of my fleets is returning within 30 minutes when my last fleet starts its outward journey. This means that in a given evening I have had up to 40 fleets out at once on missions and could have a lot more if the targets are there.

Many of these are small attacks of 2-3 transmitters that are going to unguarded or inactive planets to pick up a few hundred k of res. When I began in SI I went for attacks which would gain me an average of 75k of res per attack. Now I go for an average of 250k+ per attack. If I can fill at least 1 whole mitter the attack is worth the time. The other attacks involve my capital ships but even here I rarely send an attack with more than 100 Phoenix or BS. I would rather attack two planets with Large Shields that one planet with overwhelming force. I rarely attack in overwhelming force - rather I almost always set an attack with just enough firepower to accomplish the goal. This frees up the maximum number of ships for different raids but has a downside which will be discussed below.

Advantages:

1) 40+ attacks per night averaging 250-300k of res per attack. This means I am taking in at least 4 million more res than what I am producing alone. And if its a good night I may launch 50-60 attacks and average over 300k of res. So a good night I can take in 10 million in res above what my planets have produced. Needless to say - this has massively subsidized my development

2) By spreading my fleet and my planets out so far it is impossible for one player to destroy me with a well-timed or lucky hit. No one outside of the alliance has ever been able to figure out where all my planets are (at least not yet). And even when I have taken a big hit - I only lose the fleet in that area - not everything I have. So you can shut down my operations in one area (has happened to me in both G3 and G5 at different times) but I will still be raiding and attacking in several other galaxies that night.

3) I find by keeping most of my attacks smaller (under 200 ships) players wont try and intercept you as much. The numbers usually arent worth the effort and if they see 150 ships returning but I have 96k in fleet pts - there must be a lot more somewhere else they cant see. This isnt always true but seems to work generally.

Disadvantages:

1) Being Ninja'd: This strategy has two drawbacks for counter moves by the enemy. If I am only sending just enough ships to defeat his defenses he may be able to move other ships into the area before I arrive to destroy my fleet. This has happened to me only rarely. And because I will have as many as 40 attacks out at once it becomes almost impossible to recheck every planet before an attack arrives there to make sure nothing has changed. Usually I select the 3 or 4 riskiest attacks and plan to check on them.
The other partial ninja comes from the inaccuracy of the SI Battle Sim. The sim isnt always exactly right in its predictions and since I only send enough ships to ensure victory it is not uncommon for me to lose 1 or 2 ships in an attack to the enemies defenses. I would estimate this happens in 1 out of every 8-10 attacks I launch and I consider it a cost of doing business. 2 Phoenix or BS lost for every 10 attacks represents less 1% of what I will take in res in those attacks and I will have new ships built to replace them before the fleet returns. If you follow this strategy you must become used to loses - they will happen on a regular basis. In the last 2.5 months I have probably lost close to 1000 ships (mitters, Phoenix, BS, Destroyers, Bombers) but have built well over 4000 of those same ships from the proceeds of the raids.

2) Defending my planets: Since I spread my planets and fleets out so much it is nearly impossible for me to coordinate a large scale attack (or defend one of my planets from a large scale attack). I currently have 96K in fleet pts but I cant launch an attack with more than 700 ships - even if I wanted to. This means I sometime miss out on "BIG SCORES" b/c I dont have the fleet nearby to accomplish it.

3) Lots of Enemies: This style of raiding generates a lot of animosity by the surrounding enemy players. I get multiple threats a night and have been publicly named on the SI board as a player to hunt down. I dont mind or care about that but if you follow this style you had better be very good and quick with your EF's b/c the revenge attacks will come often. B/c of this I dont bother with defenses other than shields (except on my home planet) I concentrate on always having enough fleet base capacity and fleet cargo capacity (i.e. enough mitters) to EF around any attack.



And I Broke My Own Rules

Wolf917 on Fri Jul 10, 2009 6:51 pm

Broke 2 of my cardinal rules as a raider and just paid for it.
1) Never have the majority of your fleet in one location
2) Never send out as many attacks as you have fleet spaces. Always leave 1 space open.

So because of stupidity and greed I broke them both. The guy had apparently been watching me for a while and waiting for me to make a mistake. So when he saw me launch as many fleets and I had spaces on my fleet base - he waited until they reached the halfway point in their journey (so even if I recalled them they wouldnt arrive back in time) and then launched his attack with 8000 Battleships.

Nothing I could do but watch as my entire fleet got vaporized. I got an asteroid out the whole thing but I think I would rather have the fleet back - lol

Noob asking a question

Jedijuan4 on Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:10 pm

So how do you earn money by raiding? I would probably be defined as a turtle and I am in need of some resources. I don't exactly have the ability to create any real warships just yet but I will be close here soon

Re: Accumulation By Mass

Wolf917 on Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:19 am

You can collect res by raiding. By taking the resources that others have produced you can accelerate your own growth. Since you are just starting out you should be looking for inactive planets near you. These are players that have quit the game but their planets will still be producing from their mines - after 30 days the planet will be deleted. Most of these planets you can simply send a transport to and pick up whatever the planet has produced and take it back to your own. Even just 10-20 thousand res is worth the trip when you are just starting out.
This should be a tactic of any player - raider or turtle.