You can put guns on cargo ships they are the same as large hulls but with 1 hp. As the dread lords weapons instant kill any ship the fact that they only have 1 hp is no disadvantage. Prior to 1.2 you just hoped that you were the attacker and that you killed them before they got a shot off. However, that is not the way to go vs the dreadlords since the advent of 1.2 since their logistics is quite high.

yep.. and they are available straight away.

But with 1.2 you lose (at least) one ship every battle against the dread lords and all those guns and engines add up to being v costly.

Which one is achilles heel... is that the one where you have to take their planet?

In general, if you are playing 1.2 then to beat the Dread Lords it is best to use lots of (expendable) small ships... lots of constuctors...wait until you've enough to build a military starbase that improves attack. Put your fleets all on top of each other with as high a logistics as you can on the top of the starbase and let them come to you. They seem drawn to starbases.

You lose lots initially but you should be able to churn out tiny ships faster than they can. When you start getting on top you can progress towards their planet.

On 1.2 if they develop the correct defence method to your only attack method (seems random) then there are some almost unwinnable positions. I'd suggest restarting if this happens.

If it is the capture the planet scenario then a great method someone told me about was designing colony ships with good engines and life support. Rush build them. Rush build research buildings. Start researching planetary invasion ASAP. Sending the colony ships towards their planet ASAP (before they build any ships) and then upgrading the colony ships into transports as soon as you've finished researching planetary invasion. The whole scenario can take less than 20 turns.

The other use for cargo hulls which is the expoit I heard of was putting 1 weapon, some sensors and cramming the rest with engines so you get an uber fast, 1dmg ship that can see far.

It is used to intercept DL troop carrirers and stop them invading your and your allies planets until you can handle their real ships.

The speed keeps it out of combat and able to catch the transports in-time.

The DL cant do anyhting if they cant take your planets.

xpyre wrote:

On 1.2 if they develop the correct defence method to your only attack method (seems random) then there are some almost unwinnable positions. I'd suggest restarting if this happens.

I played Achilles' Heel for the first time last night and faced this exact situation. The DL had escort ships with speed 14 and shield defence in the high 20s, and of course the only type of weapon we can research in that scenario is beams. I decided to persist with the scenario and see if I could find some way to win, including racing up the beam research line to see if I could make ships that would outmatch their defenses. That was tough with only the starting two colonies to my name, but I gave it a go anyway.

Later in the game, as I scouted their planet, I noticed something: toward the three-year mark, they had their uber-escorts out destroying at will, but their planet was defended by a fighter with no defenses. A fighter! I redirected my fleets of small ships toward their home planet for a sneak attack, made two 3K transports, and defeated the fighter and took over the planet. It was an unexpected victory for sure.

Mind you, this was playing on painful, so the AI should have been up to snuff and IMHO at least had an escort at the planet, or put shields on the fighters.

Aside from the usual good playing tactics / strategies, the keys for me in the scenario were:
* fast ships. My teammates researched up to hyperwarp, and I traded them for it.
* tech trading. every ten turns or so, swap techs with your allies. Use your starting cash to help with trades.
* tiny or small ships. I started with medium ships and realized that numbers were more important than HP.
* numerical superiority. At the start, surround the DL ship with two or three fleets to take out their ships.
* an expectation of pyrrhic losses. Don't cherish or bond with any ship or base, because it will die. Guaranteed.
* life support. I had to have two extended modules on each ship to make it to Teth b/c my starbases were routinely destroyed, and the torians took over the planet that I lost to the DL before I could get transports out there.

The scenario is winnable, even if the DL develops shields. If that happens, stick it out and see if you can find a route to victory. It is much more rewarding to win under difficult conditions than to throw in the towel and start over. And heck, you might learn a new strategy or two that will help you improve your general playing skills.