Starbase Upgrades and Defense

I've been using starbases a lot lately and I recently had a situation where I planted one right in a warzone and stuck my fleets on top of it to give them bonus's and the protection of the starbase. An enemy fleet attacked me and took out my starbase without every having to face my fleets... Is that a bug? Shouldn't they have to deal with my ships before they get to attack the station? Seems like they should....

And another issue I noticed. When I install upgrades that assist ships, the offensive upgrades show up, like beam assist, but the defensive upgrades don't seem to apply. Is anyone else noticing that when you install defensive fleet assist upgrades they don't show on teh stats?
5,045 views 9 replies
Reply #1 Top
On the first issue, the enemy always takes out the weakest link (in this case the starbase). Your best chance of protecting a starbase with a fleet is to set the fleet to auto-attack and even that is not a sure thing if they get there with a move left. You would need to surround the base with protection if you are going to leave it unwatched.

On the second issue: For the defensive assists to work you must have your ships equipped with at least 1 point of defense. Stick one piece of armor on your ship and it will get all the defensive assists.
Reply #2 Top
Thank you for the help, I'll upgrade my armor on my ships now and those defensive bonus's should come into play. I don't like the enemy being able to attack the starbase prior to my fleets but I guess I'll have to adjust to that.
Reply #3 Top
i dont know... i had a starbase with only 2 mining modules on it, no weapons, no defense, and parked a fleet on it and it went to the fleet everytime. if it was the weakest link (which it is in a fleet battle, but starbases dont show up in fleet battles) it didnt get attacked, so it should have worked i think
Reply #4 Top
I remember on one of the older versions, ships stacked with starbases fought in the same battle (ie as a fleet). Doesn't this happen anymore?
Reply #5 Top
I don't use starbases anymore for offense, but when I did, I would park a few fleets of very fast constructors away from the battle area just in case that happened. If they take out the base, quick build a new one and counterattack.
Reply #6 Top
Acutally it attacks the strongest link... That's why transports can hide amonst other fleets for safety. You probably had a starbase that was more powerfull than the fleet. Try not adding any offense/defense next time, only assist modules. I always use small obsolete fleets for this duty, and never bother giving my starbases any teeth. (pain to micromanage anyway)
Reply #7 Top
I think that the decision of who to attack first is random. If so then defending fleets may or may not be attacked first.

Also always attack first! You get the first shot in and the chances of winning are greatly increased. That is why speed is so valuable on combat ships.
Reply #8 Top
I reasearch sensors now all the way to get the structure "Eyes of the Universe" so that I can see all ships on the map so I can have fleets waiting for an attacking fleet to arrive and kill them before they get anywhere near a target.
Reply #9 Top
I think the most powerful ship (attack-wise) with the weakest defense/hp is targetted first in a fleet battle. So if you don't install weapons on your starbase, the enemy fleet will attack your protecting fleet first.