[A] Star Battle - Page 22

On January 01 2011 09:09 DoomGuy wrote:
So guys, are long range builds worth it, and if so, could you please give me some tips or even an actual build order on how to do it?

On January 01 2011 09:46 Newbistic wrote:


I swear by long range builds, they are probably the most powerful solo build. Only beatable if you are caught off-guard or probably a very specific ship-sniping voidray build. Late-game if your farming advantage is good enough you can 1v3 easy.

-Start with 4 laser, 2 engine, wait for 50 minerals to buy warp.
-Warp to farthest ship
-Try to farm as much as possible, support teammates, etc.
-Run away from fights, prioritize chasing groups of creeps
-Don't go solo farming near the enemy, any good team will just surround you and that's the end.
-Once you have about 500-600 minerals, warp back. Get 2 engine, warp cooldown, 5 range
-repeat farming, saving stupid team-mates, support duty until you have 500-600 minerals again
-warp back, get lvl 8 laser, rest into range
-repeat farming, saving stupid team-mates, support duty until you have 500-600 minerals again
-more range, maybe lvl 12 laser. Aim for 11-12 laser range
-Once you have 12 laser and range of 11-12, time to start pumping missiles. Get 8 missiles and pump missile attack. Raise laser to 16 if creeps are getting stronger.

-If you find you have 12-16 laser, 12 range, and missile upgrades but the enemy hasn't lost, invest in psi storm and energy ups to farm even faster.

Playstyle:You get better range and better vision than your enemies. Until you have 12 laser and 11-12 laser, you will be playing purely support and concentrating on farming. You'll farm faster than almost everyone else so you'll have a lot of money. Unless you're ganging up on a lone enemy ship, you probably won't make any ship kills until 400-500 creep kills.

Anti-ship tactics: Range is your first and last line of defense. Always run away before enemy closes to missile range, and control your distance so that you are firing at them, but they are not firing at you. If they turn towards you, you turn away from them, etc. If they chase, run. Do not pursue enemy ships unless a) you have a sure kill or b) you have started on your missile upgrades. Range builds are essentially glass cannons since you have little to no armor. However, you will also be able to melt enemies and put on pressure at extreme range, allowing you to deny creeping to 2-3 enemies at once. If they persist on staying, you can whittle them down and even kill them.

On January 02 2011 06:39 dukethegold wrote:
The only problem I have with long range laser+missile build is that it's inefficient for raising kill count. Your mates can easily steal the kill with special attacks. Theoretically you can buy the plasma barrage along with other upgrades. But in the end a caster carrier is still more specialized in getting the kill counts to yourself.

The greatest excitement in Star Battle, for me at least, is competing with your mates for kill counts. It's all about timing. I even managed to get all 6 kills in one game. xD

On January 02 2011 06:39 dukethegold wrote:
The only problem I have with long range laser+missile build is that it's inefficient for raising kill count. Your mates can easily steal the kill with special attacks. Theoretically you can buy the plasma barrage along with other upgrades. But in the end a caster carrier is still more specialized in getting the kill counts to yourself.

The greatest excitement in Star Battle, for me at least, is competing with your mates for kill counts. It's all about timing. I even managed to get all 6 kills in one game. xD

On January 02 2011 18:14 Newbistic wrote:

True and false.

Vast majority of time if games are short and you can't rack up the 400 creep kills required to get missiles and switch from farming to ship killing, you'll only get ship kills by being lucky. But once you get 400 kills, and from experience I know this build will let you farm faster than other people, you'll be able to rack up ship kills like nobody's business. I've often killed 3-5 ships in late games with range.

Barrage is decent, I'd count it more as a support attack than a ship killing attack. It'll let you deal a lot of damage without investing in lasers and missiles. However, since it's not a single big attack but many small ones there's still possibility of kill-steal via laser/missile. Also, you stop moving and charge up, so if you don't kill the enemy you've basically got no chance to chase him down.

Laser/missile/range is fantastic all-round for survivability and offense in pubbie games or carrying your team. If you're playing a specialist in an arranged team, all the more power to you.

On January 03 2011 15:36 bronzeterran wrote:
So little talk of early teamwork and positioning. If you're farming and haven't earned it by superior maneuvering, ur doing it wrong.

On January 02 2011 18:14 Newbistic wrote:


True and false.

Vast majority of time if games are short and you can't rack up the 400 creep kills required to get missiles and switch from farming to ship killing, you'll only get ship kills by being lucky. But once you get 400 kills, and from experience I know this build will let you farm faster than other people, you'll be able to rack up ship kills like nobody's business. I've often killed 3-5 ships in late games with range.

Barrage is decent, I'd count it more as a support attack than a ship killing attack. It'll let you deal a lot of damage without investing in lasers and missiles. However, since it's not a single big attack but many small ones there's still possibility of kill-steal via laser/missile. Also, you stop moving and charge up, so if you don't kill the enemy you've basically got no chance to chase him down.

Laser/missile/range is fantastic all-round for survivability and offense in pubbie games or carrying your team. If you're playing a specialist in an arranged team, all the more power to you.