Star Fortress useless?

[Adeptus Lebowski]

I have 6 entry points into my domain, so i built a Star Fortress at every point to stop anyone coming in. Each Fortress is 9.3k dmg with 8 defence platforms. However, when a small fleet of 2.3k enter, my fortress does absolutely nothing to them. The ships get close and wipe out my platforms super quick.

How does something that is 4x their dmg so useless against them?

My load out for the platforms is pretty much random. I sue everything available to me. I also have 2x guns and 2x missiles on the fortress itself.

Please help me understand what to do, should i also have a fleet at every fortress? Gonna cost me too many credits to do this i think.

[Rord64]

Yeah you need the technology that puts FTL inhibitors on starbases

[Elitewrecker PT]

His problem is that the base looses against 1/4 of it's fleet power, not that they ignore it.
Starbase power is heavily biased due to its big hull pool though.

[Blake Walsh]

Use only guns, since missiles can be shot down by PD. Normally a Bastion armed with guns can fight off a fleet from half to 2/3rds its fleet power. Defense Platforms get taken out very quickly, they aren't that worth using, if you do use them it's probably best to put on Large long range weapons since they're going to die when the enemy gets close anyway.

The el-cheapo way of defending chokepoints is with a planet or habitat with a couple of fortresses and preferably a Shield Generator. It'll take the AI ages to break it.

[HugsAndSnuggles]

If you use missles and strike craft, it is to be expected.

[FourGreenFields]

Yea, defence platforms aren't that powerfull. They have their uses (can place them on unupgraded starbases for defence against low-strength raiders, and the enemy will likely destroy them making reclaiming the system easier than taking it), but they're not what's going to make your fortresses deserve the name fortress.

[Mistfox]

Starbases cannot standoff an entire enemy empire's navy by itself, you always have to back it up with ships. Your starbases are tanks, lots of HP but very little firepower, you need fleet to supply the boom for the starbase's wall. Platforms have the reverse problem, dies whenever someone sneezes at them so they need your fleet's hull and shields to protect them.

And your normal naval capacity is NEVER enough, you definitely need to build anchorages and logistics offices to boost it. For a border fortress, Crew Quarters is a good investment, lets you park a fleet there for half the upkeep cost.

Mid game, you need about 1000(low end) to 1500 naval cap in ships to defend your empire, late game, the number can go to 2000-4000 or more. If you got a Federation fleet though, you can skimp on it a bit.

[Adeptus Lebowski]

ok thanks for the tips guys, appreciate it.

I'll use only guns, not missiles and i'll back them up with a small fleet also.

[Rage]

you need good shields armor and a ftl inhibitor then you need a ton of defense platforms all doing something else say you have 8 slots 2 hangers 2 missles 2 flak and the rest lasers

[Shinzor]

I ignore defence platforms till ion cannons as they take up lots of energy instead I make 4 gun batteries and two hanger bays(to extend trade protect by two systems)I get the building that extends weapon range,the one that limits their disengage,defence super computer and last but not least hyperlane registry I will support my star bases with 1-5 fleets depending on
empire size and how late i am in the game(1-2 early game) with fleet support your starbase will hold and your fleets can even fight much stronger fleets with less loses thanks to the hyperlane registry while they take more loses thank to the communications jammer helping to keep your war exhaustion lower and theirs to go up faster

[Mistfox]

I've got a more "strategic" view with my fortress designs, yes, upgunning them can increase their HP by 60% but I rather build them as anchorages, this way I can build a fleet that can move around for support instead of having a high powered fortress that can't move.

My chokepoint fortresses tend to be 1 shipyard, 5 anchorages, Crew Quarters, Listening Post, Logistics Office, Defence Grid Supercomputer or Command Center. As you can see, it's meant to support large fleets since I prefer a more mobile defence. You have 12 medium guns if you went all 6 gun modules but this way you get 30 command points instead, which is 3 battleships and a bit that you can move from other sectors and even use to attack instead of defend. And 3 battleships definitely give more than 12 medium guns.

[Locklave]

Ya, the devs hate missiles (If they didn't hate them they'd have fixed it since this has been an issue since 1.0 ffs). Guns/Energy are the only viable types.

[Helios]

With my RP and general setup my early game survival very often entirely depends on my chokepoint fortresses. So i have quite some experience with it.
Definitely go guns only, then Starbase itself with no platform should be able win battle against 3/4 its military power.
Defense platforms are weak imho and not worth building all over again. In my current game i bordered 3 enemy empires and no ally, Glavius mod, scalling Admiral diff, and yet i haven't used any defense platforms. Alloys are better to invest into ships directly. Only platform i use is Ion cannon, but not sure its worthy...but its definitely cool :D. (it's necessary in Terminal egress system, to catch fleets travelling through L-gate.)
At early and early-mid game starbases can stop enemy fleets itself if you are ahead in technology. When bordering multiple enemies, it's even necessary. It's ussualy very close, i think that in my current game i finished upgrade to starfortresses at middle of war, but still was in time.

Btw devs don't hate missiles, even in some versions ago early game missile corvette was totally OP, thats why corvettes got PD slot... If AI wouldn't counter missiles with PD properly (not sure about vanilla tough), it would be very powerfull weapon. In some cases missiles can be still good, i imagine against Unbidden it can work quite well, but havent tested that.

[Blake Walsh]

Missiles (and Torpedos) are basically pretty good if the AI doesn't have much point defense, and you're shooting them at low evasion targets or have a buttload of tracking. It is not unheard of for the AI to field fleets without PD but it's definitely a bad thing to count on it for stationary defenses, a fleet can always run away if you notice the enemy fleet is bristling with PD, a Starbase can't run away.

[galadon3]

Are the def-platforms build with large guns, while the attacking fleets are mostly corvettes?

[Captain Conundrum]

I don't make bastions often, but when I do, my reason is to defend against an otherwise even enemy force. I tell my fleet to hold position and not chase after the enemy, then I hide it behind the starbase. When the fight starts the enemy ships waste their firepower shooting at the base while my ships run in and get to work.