Operating in a squadron

[JohnBWatson]

In the later systems, the player is often assigned a squadron of Centurions or Britannias to assault a target or escort a convoy. Alongside this, the player also receives wingmen throughout the game by completing specific objectives(such as going to the officer's club after achieving a certain rank in the Commonwealth Fleet.

My questions on this topic are how to use these squadrons effectively in the missions they take part in, and how to utilize my wingmen effectively. In particular, I've had trouble figuring out what to do in the missions where I am assigned to kill a Dreadnought or a squadron of Cometfalls, as my escorts tend to get in my line of fire and interrupt my ability to deal out damage to the enemy, making intercepts particularly difficult. How do you handle these missions, and are there any overall strategies to use? Furthermore, what are the most efficient ways to use one's wingmen outside of those missions?

[PM]

For missions with lots of Sandstorms or other gunships, such as in the refuge escort, use reak & Attack.

Against lone Phobos? Don't bother - Britannias do not stand a chance. Phobos will murder them with ease. If you want to keep your wingmen alive to reach Captain quickly, just make them [W]ait somewhere safe, and kill mission targets yourself.

Still think wingmen are a liability, just kill them and take their loot!

[Song]

Personally, I order them to wait under a planet or near the carrier, and go in alone. There's nothing I can't handle that a wing of centurions or Britannias could help with.

[CYRUS KGABO]

just get the wingman to wait at the csc so you can attack the enemy yourself .but if you have Volkov Rama or jenna I suggest you use the mod UG wingman. this mod allows you to upgrade your wingman thus make them as strong as you, which pretty much makes it easy for you to fight without having to worry about them getting killed easily. but this mod wont allow you to upgrade wingman you get from the csc

[NMS]

When you do actually use your squadron (and there are some fights where they're useful), I recommend beta formation (the straight line) to minimize friendly fire.

[JohnBWatson]

That formation is my favorite. How do you guys recommend using the Britannias you get when doing the missions where you fend off 3 Cometfalls?

[Song]

That formation is my favorite. How do you guys recommend using the Britannias you get when doing the missions where you fend off 3 Cometfalls?

I'd also just leave them somewhere and kill them myself, unless I'm short on weapons. The NM900 missile does low damage against larger targets due to bugs in the game, and the brits tend to fire them when you're in the way OR at each other.

[Dragonz]

One thing I like to do since the Britannias kinda suck, (my opinion only) is I will have them go in, fight the enemy and then go in and mop up the remainder. It is fun to watch, since if they do well enough, you can have a couple left over. If you want to be apart of the battle, I suggest going into formation, ordering the squad to attack in formation, (helps reduce friendly-fire, but does not eliminate it) and flying head first into the center of the enemy. I found flying towards the center can (but not always) make the enemy stop and think for a sec. Plus, your squad can do more damage that way.

[JohnBWatson]

I've figured out a few strategies that make use of the squadrons effectively.

For the destruction of an Ares commune, order your forces into the second formation(q2). When about 100ls from the target, order them to wait(qw) and open fire with your longest range weapon to draw off the station's defenders. Fall back, and the defenders will be massacred. Bombard the commune from a safe distance, and order the squadron to clear away the turrets(qb) once it is destroyed. Done correctly, you'll have no casualties, and the station will be dead and looted much faster than it would have been were you on your own.

For the unknown hostile missions, order your wingmen into formation 2(q2) and approach the target, opening fire with your longest range weapon. If it reveals itself as a swarm of Sandstorms, attack in formation(qa, iirc) and then hold position(qw) once they're in missile range. If Deimos or Phobos, you can keep them in formation while performing the capship - killing recoil maneuver and they will destroy the groups of enemies that spawn in over time and attack you, allowing you to focus on aiming(Fleet wingmen really would do wonders with standoff AI, given that the spawned Phobii will never switch their priority target). For other tactics such as using an omniweapon and dodging the lighting turrets, it still seems smartest to leave them at base.

For the refugee convoy escort mission, break and attack(qb) seems to be the smartest course of action.

All of the above resulted in zero casualties when tested.


The one mission that I'm still lost on is the attack on an Ares convoy. In formation 3(q3) with orders to attack in formation they're a decent meat shield against the Chasms, but they still don't last very long.

[Xephyr]

I always just make the squadron wait, they get in the way too much.

[Atarlost]

The only use I've been able to get from them on commune missions is to wait them out of range while I lure and kill all the defenders and then sic them on the turrets. XM900s kill stationary turrets fast without the fratricide you get using them against mobile opponents.

[JohnBWatson]

The only use I've been able to get from them on commune missions is to wait them out of range while I lure and kill all the defenders and then sic them on the turrets. XM900s kill stationary turrets fast without the fratricide you get using them against mobile opponents.

They can also kill the defenders for you fairly quickly after you lure them. Not strictly necessary, but it is certainly cathartic to see those annoying Tundras melt away in seconds.