Torpedo boat Janus or Ranger?

[Commodus]

Ranger fires 2 salvos with a 1 turn reload

Janus fires 3 salvos with a 3 turn reload

Ranger gets an extra salvo essentially, Janus is tougher but thats another topic:)

I was not expecting the Janus to have such a high reload time:/

[USS Midway veteran]

With the increase in munitions since the Armistice DLCs and Daybreak, the differences between the Janus and the Ranger have been narrowed.

Of course, the Janus can carry 50 percent more weaponry, but the Ranger can use it much more quickly. In a quick battle, your best bet would be a Ranger, but in an extended battle the Janus would be the best choice, not only for its supply of missiles and heavy turrets, but for it's thick armor.

However, if you were to use a Celestra along with the Ranger to feed it more ammo, the Ranger could be best, if the Ranger or the Celestra - with their thin armor and practically non-existent guns - can survive.

It's really a "toss-up" and depends on how long the battle lasts and what you are up against. I have found that when you are facing a Cylon fleet heavy on Revenants, Arachnes, Argos, Basestars and Raiders, that the Janus is the best one for the job.

[kucsidaveee]

It is not as much of a toss-up in my oppinion as much as a strategic choice.
If you like to brawl out an want all your ships righ in the thick of it, one should chose the Janus.
If you want to keep your distance and snipe most of the really dangerous enemy ships before they could even engage, chose the ranger.

The Janus
-It is a tipical heavy weight brawler. Punches like hell and can take a beating. It is slow and although it punches hard, it can't see far and takes twice as long to recover and deal out the next greater bit of damage.
Ususally one sends in an expendable scout ship like a manticore to get missile lock and then launch guided ammo into the most dangerous targets from a Janus. By the time you reload, you are usually engaged the enemy and your second targer is a ship that is going to die within a turn with some help. You guide one or two missile barages at that and use the third to engage a dangerous opponent, so that you weaken it for your more close range focused ships to do the job. The third reload is much the same, and by the fourth you are usually just mopping up the fast ships trying to run from you.

The Ranger
-It is like a lightweight brawler. Piunches fast and moves faster. Can't take a beating and is unable to knock an enemy down by itself, BUT if you use two in tandem filled with unguided torpedoes, they can easily knock 2-3 enemy ships BEFORE the fight would even start.
Spend the first turn carefully looking at the enemy fleet and find it's slowest moving ships. Those are most possibly the Minotaurs, Januses, Battlestarts on the colonial side, and the Talons, Arachnes and Basestarts of the Cylon Fleet. Then you launch all your unguided missiles from 2 Rangers at one targer with a full offensive posture, and that target is going to be obliterated.
Even if it is not destroyed, it won't be able to enter a fight with it's 3 hp left. Then you have one turn(usually when the missiles reach their target) and in the next turn you unleash the next barage on a second target.

If you add up everything, the Ranger has better DPT(Damage per Turn) if we average.

Let's say that this is a 12 turn battle. One Janus is able to shoot 9 salvos(3x3), while a Ranger shoots 12 salvos(2x6). This really does mean that the Ranger burns trough it's ammo faster, but it also means that it takes out enemy guns faster as well.


In conclusion:
I find the Ranger a much better alternative for offensive fleets, where you don't have to protect a target and you are able to keep your distance from the enemy fleet, but if you have a target to defend or you expect a fast moving enemy fleet what can close the distance with you in a few turns, the Janus is definitely the better option.

I hope this helps you out.

[Sir Wagglepuss III]

The Janus is better at alpha striking, the Ranger is better at sustained fire.

If you want a hard target utterly dead in one go, bring the Janus with it's 3 munition slots and increased salvo size. If you want to apply pressure or be continuously spitting out utility munitions, bring a Ranger.

[Commodus]

Some great really detailed info! thanks everyone:)

Originally I was leaning towards the ranger and its a great early game ship, but after a few battles tonight, my janus cruisers are alive and the rangers are not:P

[condottiere]

In my experience, needs to close in to be effective, and usually you don't get the opportunity to set up that close to the Cylons. Also, probably more effective when facing minimal number of capitals, so that you have the potential to taking out a major portion of the enemy forces.

Rangers are snipers, and benefit from range, since you'll be placing a more attractive target, that incidentally can look after itself, between them and the Cylons.

[USS Midway veteran]

When using the Janus Cruiser, but you are not interested in unloading all three missile batteries at the same time, consider firing only one battery per turn. By the time you have fired all three, you only need one more turn before you can start firing all three again. That way you can have almost constant fire from a Janus Cruiser. If you pair the Janus with a Celestra, you can keep that constant fire going even longer with reloads...and you can load a variety of different offensive and defensive weapons.