Corvettes of The King: Versatile Legion of Assassins (1.16 & 1.15)

“We have but a single corvette for each of their heavy cruisers!”
Somebody inform the prince that those corvettes will be more than enough…

Trailer

If you have downloaded these ships before, you can update them all by installing the new 1.16 versions of the ships.


Check out this guide where I show about the best ways of employing these ships (or any ship) in combat:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2675645573

The guide below was made for 1.15 to illustrate how you can silent capture any caravans with the interceptors in this pack without a single alarm. Due to changes to ship top speed in this version this is now only possible by rolling back the game version.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2746211755

*SPEEDS SHOWN IN SCREENSHOTS ARE FROM PRE 1.16*

Lore

These are "The King's Corvettes", a renowned legion of fast flying vessels who stood vigilant at day or night to eliminate threats against The Crown.
The loyalty of these Corvettes was the sole reason for the longevity of the Gerati Monarchy before it became a Romani vassal; ever-ready to mobilize against any attempted usurpers of The Throne from other Great Houses, the Military or the populace itself.



Each Tarkhan of The King's Corvettes was a Merisade: A unit commander in the King's personal guard who had pledged their ships and their life to the Elaou Dynasty.
For many generations these Corvettes protected the Monarchy, and when time came for vassalization, the Tarkhans believed it to be an attack on their honor.
Despite this, The Corvettes of The King were handed a royal edict allowing the Romani fleet to swarm into Gerat and establish its presence. Bound by their oath to the King they stood down, many retired and others became highly sought-after mercenaries. Were it not for the demobilization of The King's Corvettes, the Lord Governor of Khiva may have never declared a rebellion and conquered the lands of Gerat.

Upon the exile of the King to the south, former Tarkhans of The King's Corvettes took up arms once again and battled the Governor's men, but the Rebel ships were too numerous and they found their former allies fighting against them. After sustaining massive casualties, The Legion abandoned fighting in the north and escorted the Royal Family to their place of exile.

To guarantee the swiftest response to threats against the Crown, Elaim Corvettes never used armor or reinforced steel. But following the rebellion and the proliferation of 180mm Proximity Fuse in the rebels' arsenal, Prince Fazil requested revisions to the Legion’s Corvettes to prevent further losses in their already decimated squadrons.
While most of the ships fielded today are too heavy to be Corvettes by Romani standards, Elaim ship classifications weigh the ships before the installation of armor making these ships true Gerati "Corvettes".

Link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LvNO4qwahoJJJ4ZJ3JUxA0B5T_qjacDD?usp=sharing

The Liberator

Despite their extravagant displays of wealth and opulence, the noble houses of Gerat were notoriously tight with the purse strings of The Legion and would often remind Tarkhans piloting 'The Liberator' of the following:
“Every time your guns are fired you will be costing the King 100 Dinars, if the looters were to find more expended shells in the sand than you have left in reserve after a battle, then the difference shall be docked from your pay…”

With the cost of ammunition in mind, The 'Liberator' is an incredibly versatile and reliable Elaim Corvette that when loaded with the right ammo, can easily deal with any threat.
Smaller enemies don't require anything more than standard H.E. but you can load the AK-100s with proximity fuse to shoot down missiles or to do extra damage.
The main cannon may be loaded with Incendiary, Armor Piercing, Prox fuse or even Laser Guided Missiles depending on the situation.
This impressive choice of ammunition combinations are why The 'Liberator' was the most popular ship among Harishids of "The King's Corvettes", and the most feared among enemies to the Crown.

The model seen above is the Mark 2 fully armored version.


This is the Mark 1 lighter model that can fly at higher speeds, but isn't able to endure the same levels of punishment.

The Igniter

'The Igniter' wasn’t what this fearless Corvette was originally called by its designer, but that was the name affectionately given to it by the crew of the first prototype, after witnessing its unbelievable effectiveness with 57mm Incendiary rounds.

In a legendary battle spoken of to this day, a lone 'Igniter' Corvette single-handedly incinerated and destroyed 4 ambushing heavy cruisers belonging to was up to that moment, a very promising attempt at a coup. This event marked the beginning of the now predominant Incendiary Anti-Cruiser Doctrine.

There are 3 basic models to the 'Igniter', The first is the Mark 1 seen above

There is the fully armored armored model known as the Mark 2

There is also a budget version known as the Mark 3-B


You can choose any of the models or all of them depending on your speed and protection needs.

The Aardwolf

Professional Tarkhans will recognize the value of The 'Aardwolf' Immediately.
Its astonishing speed, anti-air missile guidance capability and 400km radar tracking range make it a multi-purpose Interceptor, AA defense ship and Early Warning ship all fit into one.

Keeping one posted with your advance squadron will not only protect you from missile attacks and air raids, but also allows you to quietly capture trade vessels heading for your position and dispose of their mercenary escort with brutal efficiency. Twin AK-100 light battery is meant for destroying light escorts, and the Mk-1-180mm heavy battery can easily dispatch of an escort cruiser were you to run into one.

The Aardwolf Mk-2 has better speeds than the AA model and can silently capture even the fastest caravans at mid-day, provided there's no tactical escort:

The Jackal seen below is more suited to silently destroying cruiser escorted caravans as it is inviisble to their sensors.

The Jackal

Piloting the 'Jackal' requires expertise, and making hits with the cannon requires even more. But in the right hands, The Jackal is the most fearsome ship in its class.

Notorious for obliterating all mercenary squadrons they face using 180mm specialty ammo, and even going toe to toe with escort cruisers in order to "liberate" valuable prize ships, all the while flying completely under the radar and invisible to sensors.

The Merisades who pilot this light interceptor are known to fear nothing, as they believe their ships to be equipped with the firepower and agility to bring down any conceivable threat.

All of Gerat's merchants and their guards have learned to fear the bite of the infamous 'Jackal'.

The Nemesis

Nemesis X-57 Light Interceptor Corvette
Nemesis X-100 Light Interceptor Corvette

A slight variation of the Jackal called 'The Nemesis', devised by Tarkhans who don't share the customary fanaticism for 180mm cannons. Those who once flew their interceptors in the name of the King have been incessantly raiding and ransoming Gathering transports for the past 7 years, each amassing a sizable fortune in the process.

These Tarkhans turned pirate have not forgotten their allegiance to the usurped King and most now finance other resistance squadrons with their spoils, sacrificing their wealth so the Elaou Dynasty may one day reclaim the Throne.
They now promise to aid you in your expedition to Khiva the only way they know how: Filling the war chest by raiding unsuspecting caravans.

Scorpion-Mk5A2

The King's metal gauntlet; His Majesty's heavily armored beast. There is much superstition surrounding 'The Scorpion' in Gerat, owing to the elite reputation of the ship within the legion as well its SARMAT heavy twin cannon firing the 180mm round, or "God's Caliber".

Very few models of The Scorpion were ever made, all tasked with patrolling the region surrounding Khiva and its reactor. This handful of Scorpions could shield the entire city against even the most powerful squadrons of heavy cruisers and destroyers intent on regicide or occupation of the capital.

Even in their small number, they were united in refusing to surrender to the Gathering and most were eventually destroyed, but not before bringing down hundreds of the ships sent to wipe them out. The Romani expedition is very lucky to have the few surviving Scorpions fighting with it and not against it.

Gulf-Mk1

This great war demands that you be ready for any outcome, whether it is diminishing fuel supplies, large hostile strike groups or surprise missile attacks. Having your tanker equipped with anti-air missiles and fire control radar is a wise tactical choice, meaning your squadrons are never left without some anti air potential and easily destroyed by a missile barrage.

The 'Gulf-Mk1' is a capable tanker with full ELINT and IRST range giving your squadron all possible intelligence on inbound threats or operational strike groups. It also comes with 20 AA Sprint missiles that can shield you from many cruise missiles and dive bombers.

Another fully equipped tanker such as The 'Gulf' is the "Caspian-Mk7A1" from "The Immortal Fleet" that has all the same capabilities with more on-board fuel at the price of slightly lower top speed.

Aurora-Mk2 Flagship

The Elaims and the Harishids are very proud of the capabilities of The "Aurora" flagship. Not only can it act as the core of a large strike group, but is so blisteringly quick that it may even catch city garrisons by surprise!
Speed isn't its only advantage however, it carries 6 long range missiles, 20 AA sprint missiles and 6 jet fighters on top of a huge arsenal of machine guns to shield it against dishonorable strikes.


The "Aurora" is a modification of the much heavier "Borealis-Mk4" flagship from "The Immortal Fleet", lightened and carrying less fuel to be able to keep up with the swiftness of The King's Corvettes.

Oasis-Mk3 Flagship

The 'Oasis-Mk3 is' relatively inexpensive for a flagship, yet it still comes equipped with all the essentials to support a large fleet;

A squad of T-7 supersonic jets, 6 long ranges missiles, immense fuel storage space along with top-mounted palash, 100mm Flak cannons and R-9 AA missiles for protection against airstrikes.

Ideal for when you wish to bring more combat ships or specialized support vessels with you at the beginning.

Ammunition Priority List

The optimal deployment of most of these Corvettes was reliant on the acquisition of certain very useful types of rounds. Below you will find a list of that ammunition and their priority from top to bottom:

• 100mm Proximity fuse | 600+ Reserve
  
• 57mm Incendiary | All you can buy
  
• 130mm LGM | 75-100 reserve
  
• 180mm LGM | 25-50 reserve
  
• 37mm Incendiary | 2,000-4,000 rounds
  
• AP 100/130/180mm | 200/100/40 each
  
• Prox Fuse 130mm | 15-300 reserve
  
• Prox Fuse 180mm | 40 reserve
  
• Incendiary 100/130/180mm | 200/100/30 each

Keep In Mind that losing a single ship will mean the loss of all the ammo that was on-board at the time!

Download & Installation

Link to all ships:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LvNO4qwahoJJJ4ZJ3JUxA0B5T_qjacDD?usp=sharing

Simply download all the files or just the ships you want and copy them into the "Ships" folder of Highfleet's steam directory.

[Tupid]

I'm starting a campaign using your ships but it seems the Aurora isn't considered a flagship by the game, any idea how I can fix this? Thanks in advance! :)

[A NUMBAH 9 LARGE]

@SaltyStoryteller Yep update 1.16 changed the speed values, halving the top speed on all the fastest interceptors and killing off the silent interception tactic. It would only be possible now to get those by reverting back to 1.15 by using the steam app launch menu. And sorry for the late reply.

[SaltyStoryteller]

I think something must have changed. I was enamored with the Aardwolf designs so loaded them into my game, but they're not registering even CLOSE to the cruising speeds they should be capable of. 554km/h and range of under 1000km isn't going to see it catching much of anything, making them rather useless as convoy raiders.

[*Dies*]

Nice update bro, love it!

[Sheriff the Unalloyed]

The labor of love is so incredibly visible in all that you've done. Truly appreciate it and I cannot wait to utilize your work, myself. Thank you for bringing something alive with a touch of story and lore while also giving it a vicious bite. Cheers!

[A NUMBAH 9 LARGE]

@Bob Loblaw's Law Blog, glad you liked them! in response to your questions:

Palash is surprisingly sturdy and more expendable than other ship parts so keeping it on the outer hull preferably with a layer of armor to stop prox fuze works fine.

My first fleet were the Immortal frigates, which were excellent in battle but their low fuel range and long repair times limited the advance speed and versatility of the overall fleet. So I tried my hand at building corvettes next.
Not only are they cheaper, but most of these ships can fly independently between towns with no tanker and still solo the garrison very easily, making a corvette fleet way more efficient at total map dominance.
With corvettes it's also possible to get self sufficient silent interceptors like the jackal and nemesis for caravan raiding, and even double that up with AA missiles like the aardwolf. There's a lot you can with corvettes that you can't with frigates but at the cost of firepower and durability.

[Bob Loblaw's Law Blog]

Superb! A couple questions:

Why mount the palash so far outside the ship?

What was your main thought with these ships vs the Romani?

I love the lore and style. Interesting descriptions. Glory to Gerat!

[InventiveName]

Gracias.

[Siyah Qalam]

This is awesome. I was hoping to see some Gerati warships, or at least make them myself. Gonna use a mix of these and the royal guard my next campaign for a cool, immersive fleet.

[Jaric Beans]

You've done it again Jim, quite the line up of ample corvettes.