Janus vs Ranger

[Abaçı]

Is Janus worth getting over a Ranger? It's salvo size is bigger which is great and it has an additional slot as well but I'm not sure if it justifies the much longer recharge time since a campaign battle only lasts so many turns and most of the time even on a Ranger barely half of the total munitions would have been spent at the end of a match.

[Lack of Stuff]

I don't think the Janus is worth taking over the Ranger in general but I will say that nailing a Basestar with 3 full torpedo barrages at once is a special kind of awesome.

[USS Midway veteran]

I've found the Ranger to be best in a brief offensive situation while the Janus - with an extra missile slot for PCMs or other defensive weapons - the best in a longer confrontation. The Janus is also heavily armored and has three heavy and one medium turret underneath. That has been very important in winning during a close battle with Revenants and other Cylon ships with heavy weapons. Other than a front heavy turret, the Ranger's guns are practically useless in a close battle and must remain at a distance, kind of like a sniper.

[kucsidaveee]

Also take into consideation that the Janus' munition slots take longer to reload than the Ranger's slots. If we look at every 6 turns, their missile/torpedo output is the same.
Where the Janus really shines is that it can move into engagement range with your other ships while the Ranger has to stay away from direct combat if possible.
The Janus is both more heavily armed, and armored, though also slower than the ranger.

[Xautos]

i've taken Janus's into situations where i need a harder to take out ship but it can get close and launch 3 tubes worth of unguided missiles. with something like that, even the hardest targets crack like an egg if the majority of those missiles hit their target.

[Cabusha]

For DPM, it's hard to beat the Ranger. Hammering out dual torpedo tubes every other turn is devastating, and it's very maneuverable with decent armor. OTOH, the Janus is all about the Alpha. Load one with tripple nukes, and once target locks are acquired, LET EM RIP. Sure, it wont' have any ordnance left, but just park it behind a battlestar and set the guns to full. It'll be fine, and with 3 nukes out, the Cylons should be crippled. For even more lulz, bring 2 or 3 loaded with nukes in the Daedalus fleet.

Most time though, I prefer the ranger. two rangers with dual torps is just so effective and flexible. And the medium guns are plenty respectable.

[konzacelt]

I like to use a Janus, loaded with 2 missiles and 1 nuke.

I use the missiles on smaller craft like Nemesis and Cerastes. Two volleys of 6 each (150% salvo); the 12 missiles will usually take out either of those at once if you hit them all on the same side. Once the smaller pesky craft are down use the remaining missiles to help finish off anything else.

The nukes are for Basestars and such. Since they are so slow, I try to soften them up with an armor-piercer volley first from another ship (launch these on the turn after the nuke from a closer ship, they will usually still get there right before the nuke hits). This usually severely cripples the Basestar, and you can easily finish it off with heavy guns pretty quickly.

I also fill my Celestra with 2 nukes for reload - that's 3 nukes to use for a single engagement. I keep the Janus slightly ahead of the Celestra, playing guard duty for it should any Cylon ship venture near it. Plus being close to the Janus makes the Raptor shuttle reload trip very quick.

Sometimes I use two Janus, and the 24 missiles at once will one-shot larger ships like the Arachne and Phobos. Plus it's another nuke to use.

Using the 3rd munition slot for nukes, and having a Celestra to resupply those nukes, makes the Janus a better option than the Ranger for me. The better armor and firepower also make them a much more useful combatant too; Rangers are kind of a one-trick pony, albeit a good one-trick.

Just watch out for Wardrivers and Comets...

~edited to change torps to missiles

[Dick_Jones_OCP]

Originally posted by konzacelt:

I use the torps on smaller craft like Nemesis and Cerastes.

You will never connect a torpedo barrage with a Cerastes. They're too fast and they can change their level of parallax. Nothing but guided munitions will ever make contact with them.
The only scenario in which torpedoes will connect with a Nemesis is if they're hacking, otherwise it's the same problem.

[konzacelt]

Originally posted by Dick_Jones_OCP:

Originally posted by konzacelt:

I use the torps on smaller craft like Nemesis and Cerastes.

You will never connect a torpedo barrage with a Cerastes. They're too fast and they can change their level of parallax. Nothing but guided munitions will ever make contact with them.
The only scenario in which torpedoes will connect with a Nemesis is if they're hacking, otherwise it's the same problem.

Sorry about that, I meant missiles not torps. The numbers were correct though.

I edited my post, not sure how I did that... :-/

[AeQuArTz]

There are instances when a cerastes will seem to turn its navigation down and maximize firepower and engineering (when they are shooting a capital ship) when you can surprise them with torpedoes. Otherwise guided munitions and guns are your best bet.