How does one use the escort command to protect your cap ships if they get hit by bombers? So far they don't do squat and my ships go down under the weight of a proton torpedo payload.

Any suggestions?

Frankly, I wouldn't use the escort command. To be specific I would need to know the composition of the fleet you are using. The basics: look at the ship card (encyclopedia entry) and you will see a breakdown of the type of gun battery, its strength, and firing position. You need laser cannons not turbo or ion cannons to do any appreciable damage to star fighters, and for it to be truly effective you need them well distributed.. Laser cannons are mounted by corvettes frigates fighters etc. If you use the attack star fighter order the game will, by default, attack bombers first IIRC. Someone correct me on that one if Im wrong, I just found this on gog and havent even opened the game yet. Been maybe 10 years or so.


I presume you are playing as imperial and are having difficulty with Y-wings in the early game? Your dreadnaughts and star destroyers are fodder for rebel fighters. The Carrack cruiser is the only ship you have that can stand up to them but it can take a severe beating in the process. Your best bet, at least against AI, is to use attrition. Jump the Carrack in and trade blows for a short time, then flee. Ideally, you would leave before any damage is dealt to the cruiser while picking off a handful of star fighters each time. The situation changes a bit once you tech up to the Lancer Frigate.

Here's the complation: It's a late game fleet; few bulwalks, several dauntless, several Liberators, a whole bunch of gunships, and a CC-7900 for the gravity well. I load up with roughly 30-40 B-Wings, and the rest split down the middle of A-Wings and X-Wings.

My biggest issue is that the empire at this point loads up with all TIE Defenders; and he peels off one group to attack my cap ships; while the Attacking Fighters command specifies one group; which 90% of the time is NOT the one hitting my cap ships

And your "whole bunch of gunships" are not sufficient? Protecting capital ships from bomber swarms is usually their job, and I remember they are pretty good at it.

Well this changes things drastically. If the opponent is throwing TIE Defenders into the battle and you are on equal economic footing you are going to be hurting badly, since they have the same cost as x/a-wings but are much more potent. May be time to base delta zero his systems rather than fight him head on. I dont remember what bombardment strength you need to accomplish that, but I remember it was very high. You said "he peels off", are you playing against a human?


In either event the issue is you are facing an end game multi-role fighter that can be stacked for serious damage. You just need to punch through the numbers faster, and your best bet for that is stacking your fleet with X-wings. They are the better rebel superiority fighter owing to their higher damage. Mixing in a few A-wings can help the X-wings live longer, but the X-wings have half again as much firepower so make those the mainstay. Trying to reactively use the escort command to send your fighters around to ships under attack you are going to always be playing catch up.

Are you using the stand off or surround commands on your gunships?



If the losses are hurting you that badly, you may need to switch things up and send cheaper, expendable fleets of gunships and escort carriers loaded with X-wing and A-wing escorts. 4/2 or 5/1.

I am playing vs a human.

You say stack my fleet with X-Wings with a few A-Wings. No B-Wings?

Consider I am making that suggestion blindly. I don't know what kind of ships he is fielding or what kind of threat they are. Right now the big threat to your fleet is the massed TIE Defenders, and the only way to end that threat is to gun them down faster. A-wings do a bit better than X-wings versus starfighters if only because the A-wings are more nimble and live longer, but X-wings kill things much faster.

Since it is a human, I would definitely trying hitting where he isn't and BDZ his economy. If he has any sectors that are his, or largely his, write them off and bombard the planets that aren't well defended into worthlessness. You can actually destroy the resources on the system if you hit hard enough. That should slow his production and may give you an edge for a short while IF you can prevent him from retaliating.

Or don't, since you are playing soft hearted Rebel Scum.