Our group enhanced the lesser batteries, but kept to the d6 format. Our
systems work as follows: (Each 'slash' is 6")
A Bat: 3/3/2/2/1/1 <ie, standard>
B Bat: 2/2/2/1/1 <mildly enhanced>
C Bat 2/1 + anti-ftr/missile prayers
So, if you're looking for knife fighting ability, and you believe that you
can reach 0-6, the C is very good for its cost.
Of course, other batteries are pounding on you earlier... For us, it makes for
better trade offs... how much long range capability do we really need? On a
seperate note, does anyone use (ever) minedroppers? I've found them worse than
useless, and even bumping them to 4d (as a beam), no one in our group uses
them. Does anyone out there bother?
> At 07:11 PM 11/23/96 -0500, you wrote:
In my recent PBEM game, four ships were given minelayers. Only one actually
used it, and the mines never detonated (no ships came close enough). The
problem is that they are hard to use and only really worthwhile if a ship is
VERY close to you in your rear arc. I'm not sure when you would declare a mine
drop: during combat or during movement. If during movement, it's hard to catch
anyone due to the mine's arm time. However, during combat might be handy if
the mines didn't take a turn to arm.
Minelayers CAN be handy if you MUST travel straight ahead and you think
someone is going to drop into your rear arc (i.e. heading for a jump point in
games that use them). They are also good for seeding a jump point in cases
where two forces use the same jump point. However, they don't seem cost
effective for the damage that the 3 mines can do. I usually only use them as
scenario "plot points."
> Allan Goodall wrote:
The
> problem is that they are hard to use and only really worthwhile if a
We used mines in our Fire in the Sky scenario with good results. The mines
were not all powerful, but did dictate how the attackers move their ships
through the mine field. Some ships took damage from several mines and even a
couple were destroyed (small ships). In order to make it more interesting, we
used a variation of the the mine rules making the mines active versus passive.
For each mine launcher, the defender was allowed to either launch one mine or
move an active mine up to 6" in any direction. This created a floating
minefield which helped the defender when some mines
were destroyed. We also allow mines to be destroyed as per anti-missile
fire.