Frigates fall between strike craft and Capital ships. They aren't as immobile as their larger brethren and they can behave much more like strike craft.

If a certain frigate is more mobile and is armed with tracking weapons, place it in Claw formation--a strike craft-style attack can be very, very effective. Against slower targets, the Sphere formation works wonders.

If the ship is of the more lumbering variety (such as the Ion Beam or Assault Frigate), a more conservative, Capital-ship-style Wall formation attack is the correct choice. Use this guideline to determine which tactics, and whether strike craft or Capital ships, are more appropriate.

Fighting with Super Capital-class ships is very straightforward and applies against enemies of all types.

To be effective, Capital ships must have equal access to a target to permit the maximum focus of firepower. Wall formation provides this. The downside to Wall is, for the ships to move, the entire formation must pivot at its center. This can take a very long time.

Capital ships usually should be set to Aggressive Tactics so they can use their superior range to preemptively fire on approaching strike craft.

With Capital ships, focusing fire is even more important than with strike craft. It's also even easier because your ships aren't constantly on the move.

Keep each formation of Capital ships bound to one hotkey. When you select the entire group, designate one target for all guns to attack. Each ship will focus all of its weaponry at that single target. That's a lot of firepower, even with a small group.

When the first target detonates, don't waste any time assigning your ships to the next unfortunate victim. Choose targets that the formation is already facing. Only turn the Wall formation when absolutely necessary.

While Capital ships are focusing on an enemy, they're probably being pecked to death by enemy strike craft. Counter these assaults by assigning large strike craft escorts to the Capital ships. In most circumstances, these escorts should be in Sphere formation.

Learn to anticipate the direction an attack will come from and begin turning your Capital ships to face it as early as possible. The ships should be properly oriented before the attacker can fire on them.

If you can manage it, two evenly balanced Walls of Capital ships can create a deadly trap. Let one group engage the enemy from the front while the other comes around from the flanks, rear, above, or below.

Back to Table Of Contents	|	On To Escorting