Are there any anti-orbital weapons?

[Seleck]

Any weapons we can use from the planet to shoot at ships, or a defensive station in orbit with guns? I find bothersome the alien ships hanging around in low orbit

[db48x]

Yes.

[Adam413]

Yes. At the mercy of the AI, though, unless you meticulously camp one of the global research slots.

I should add that the ships hanging around in LEO is, from what I can see, quite intentional. After all, the UFOs that crash don't just come from thin air.

[SteelHeart]

At a certain point in thh tech tree you get access to layered defenses for your stations and bases. These are t2 modules that will shoot back at enemy ships using your best unlocked armor and lasers weapons. Apparently they be used to make stations pretty tanky, or so I've read.

For Earth defense, you will eventually unlock the ability to build space defenses. These are per region items that take I think 100 IP to build. You need 100 IP per region you want defend, and I think it goes capital first and then to others. They also have the added benefit of completely protecting against nukes in addition to shooting back at enemy ships in orbit.

[Chicago Ted]

Yes, though both space defenses countries can build and the point defense hab modules you can build will only shoot back once hostiles start bombarding, they won't clear out loiterers.
Similarly, defense modules on stations won't zzap hostiles until attacked, and then it goes into the normal real-time 3d tactics combat as if you had two fleets engage.

If you want to clear out the aliens loitering menacingly overhead, build a fleet.

[corisai]

Originally posted by SteelHeart:

These are per region items that take I think 100 IP to build. You need 100 IP per region you want defend, and I think it goes capital first and then to others.

50 IP. Start with capital then goes to most developed and rich regions.

[The Haney]

Originally posted by Adam413:

At the mercy of the AI, though, unless you meticulously camp one of the global research slots.

Unless you're doing a special slow-burn strat like beelining for China/India you should always control at least one tech slot, ideally two.

Most of my campaigns so far have been US -> Europe and I can generally hold all three research slots AND still work on two projects.

[GAY_WEED_DAD_69]

Originally posted by Adam413:

Yes. At the mercy of the AI, though, unless you meticulously camp one of the global research slots.

I should add that the ships hanging around in LEO is, from what I can see, quite intentional. After all, the UFOs that crash don't just come from thin air.

Well, i think he's more asking if there's any Anti satellite missiles launched from earth that can be used against Space station and.... alien ships.

[Seleck]

Originally posted by The Haney:

Originally posted by Adam413:

At the mercy of the AI, though, unless you meticulously camp one of the global research slots.

Unless you're doing a special slow-burn strat like beelining for China/India you should always control at least one tech slot, ideally two.

Most of my campaigns so far have been US -> Europe and I can generally hold all three research slots AND still work on two projects.

I got 2, I'm a tech power house and the ai have to fight over the last tech point, but I'm not quite sure what I'm doing anyways

[Seleck]

Ah ok, so I have to build a fleet then, I'm in the process of building my first ship let me see how long it last as it looks like it's laughingly underpowered next to the alien ships I have seen

[Happiers1989]

Combat power is a dirty lie in the early game, because it counts the alien ship's impressive engines for the majority of their combat power. So they have high combat power but something like 90% of it is the ability to run away real good. If you grab basic missile doctrine technology and one of the decent missiles from it and use them on, say, two or three monitors, or three or five escorts, or some mix between those two ship types and amounts, they will five times out of six easily kill the early alien ships. (The other one time in six the alien will actually use their impressive engines to bloody dodge tank all your missiles, which is greatly annoying. Build a new fleet, and try again.) You'll probably lose at least one ship in doing so, but you'll also kill the alien ship.

Of course, don't do this until you have space mining going to pay for it, and don't do this until you've unlocked the alien threat bar so you can see how angry the aliens are at you, because if you make them sufficiently angry at you before you have point defense modules on all your stations and habs, with the T2 ones being a lot better then the basic ones, you well be VERY SORRY. (Also remember that the more mission control you're actively using, the more they are likely to decide you're in need of some weeding anyway and the higher the base floor of their annoyance at you tends to get.)

[GAY_WEED_DAD_69]

Originally posted by Happiers1989:

Combat power is a dirty lie in the early game, because it counts the alien ship's impressive engines for the majority of their combat power. So they have high combat power but something like 90% of it is the ability to run away real good. If you grab basic missile doctrine technology and one of the decent missiles from it and use them on, say, two or three monitors, or three or five escorts, or some mix between those two ship types and amounts, they will five times out of six easily kill the early alien ships. (The other one time in six the alien will actually use their impressive engines to bloody dodge tank all your missiles, which is greatly annoying. Build a new fleet, and try again.) You'll probably lose at least one ship in doing so, but you'll also kill the alien ship.

Of course, don't do this until you have space mining going to pay for it, and don't do this until you've unlocked the alien threat bar so you can see how angry the aliens are at you, because if you make them sufficiently angry at you before you have point defense modules on all your stations and habs, with the T2 ones being a lot better then the basic ones, you well be VERY SORRY. (Also remember that the more mission control you're actively using, the more they are likely to decide you're in need of some weeding anyway and the higher the base floor of their annoyance at you tends to get.)

Missiles only work against frigates. If they bring a dreadnought - the missile game is over. Trust me - they're just a really quick stopgap.

Build Railguns as fast as you can

[VoiD]

Originally posted by GAY_WEED_DAD_69:

Originally posted by Happiers1989:

Combat power is a dirty lie in the early game, because it counts the alien ship's impressive engines for the majority of their combat power. So they have high combat power but something like 90% of it is the ability to run away real good. If you grab basic missile doctrine technology and one of the decent missiles from it and use them on, say, two or three monitors, or three or five escorts, or some mix between those two ship types and amounts, they will five times out of six easily kill the early alien ships. (The other one time in six the alien will actually use their impressive engines to bloody dodge tank all your missiles, which is greatly annoying. Build a new fleet, and try again.) You'll probably lose at least one ship in doing so, but you'll also kill the alien ship.

Of course, don't do this until you have space mining going to pay for it, and don't do this until you've unlocked the alien threat bar so you can see how angry the aliens are at you, because if you make them sufficiently angry at you before you have point defense modules on all your stations and habs, with the T2 ones being a lot better then the basic ones, you well be VERY SORRY. (Also remember that the more mission control you're actively using, the more they are likely to decide you're in need of some weeding anyway and the higher the base floor of their annoyance at you tends to get.)

Missiles only work against frigates. If they bring a dreadnought - the missile game is over. Trust me - they're just a really quick stopgap.

Build Railguns as fast as you can

And by railguns he means not the actual railguns, those first ones are too slow to hit anything.

Also, lasers are your actual shields, they stop almost everything, even alien railguns.

[corisai]

Originally posted by GAY_WEED_DAD_69:

Missiles only work against frigates. If they bring a dreadnought - the missile game is over. Trust me - they're just a really quick stopgap.

Nah, dreadnought have weak armor & strong PD - you need A LOT of missiles but could overcome it too.

Originally posted by GAY_WEED_DAD_69:

And by railguns he means not the actual railguns, those first ones are too slow to hit anything.

No, tier3 railguns and especially later - coilguns/plasma are killing machines. Lasers are strictly inferior at long-mid range (kinetics even capable to do lucky hits at start of battle).

But you need to actually fight your battles - autobattles seems to buff PD a lot :)

[💖Medibot💖]

Originally posted by Happiers1989:

Combat power is a dirty lie in the early game, because it counts the alien ship's impressive engines for the majority of their combat power. So they have high combat power but something like 90% of it is the ability to run away real good. If you grab basic missile doctrine technology and one of the decent missiles from it and use them on, say, two or three monitors, or three or five escorts, or some mix between those two ship types and amounts, they will five times out of six easily kill the early alien ships. (The other one time in six the alien will actually use their impressive engines to bloody dodge tank all your missiles, which is greatly annoying. Build a new fleet, and try again.) You'll probably lose at least one ship in doing so, but you'll also kill the alien ship.

Of course, don't do this until you have space mining going to pay for it, and don't do this until you've unlocked the alien threat bar so you can see how angry the aliens are at you, because if you make them sufficiently angry at you before you have point defense modules on all your stations and habs, with the T2 ones being a lot better then the basic ones, you well be VERY SORRY. (Also remember that the more mission control you're actively using, the more they are likely to decide you're in need of some weeding anyway and the higher the base floor of their annoyance at you tends to get.)

Are alien ships really that ♥♥♥♥? I only tried attacking them early on with a rusty excuse of a ship to test the waters and it got blasted to smithereens with a single plasma volley or whatever those purple orbs they shot were

[corisai]

Originally posted by 💖Medibot💖:

Are alien ships really that ♥♥♥♥? I only tried attacking them early on with a rusty excuse of a ship to test the waters and it got blasted to smithereens with a single plasma volley or whatever those purple orbs they shot were

Early missiles are work wonderfully against aliens on massed naked escorts/monitors. Then aliens will advance their ships and sooner or later missile-based naked ships defence will suffer from attrition (huge losses). And missiles are all-or-nothing weapon as if you're unable to penetrate enemy PD - you will lose all your ships.

In mid-end game you want beam/kinetic battleships capable to attack alien bases and don't suffer a huge losses.