What ships are best against Xenon capitals

[Szynszyl]

Hello,
I want to know which race habe best xl ships against Xenon capitals? I try argons modded and vanillia ships and all exept modded carrier "Stardust?" die like a bugs. Now im looking for vanillia xl ship to fight them, also i want to ask about best carrier in your opinion. I only cant by split ships cuz they dont like me.

[adeine]

If you're asking about your personal ship, the Asgard (Terran XL ship) can pulverise any Xenon capital in seconds. You'll need to be on very good terms with them to get the blueprint and build it yourself, or capture one.

For AI controlled ships, focus on ships with good shielding and equip them with long range weaponry (L plasma). You don't really want to engage Xenon capitals and stations at close range.

[chew-ie]

A pack of cheap "medium" (=no scouts, no heavy fighters) S ships (e.g. Boron Mako, Split Balaur) can disarm* a K pretty quick. 8 suffice (more is always better / quicker) Pulsar might do the job quicker, but it's made out of paper. Main stats which I deem important for those S ships are that they have a good boost-shield ratio (so no allround engines or travel drive engines) and precise MK2 weaponary (beam, pulse, boron weapons) with as much range as possible (no shotguns or stuff like that - you want them to shoot as much as possible during their attack runs).

*use the appropriate attack command for disarming

[Szynszyl]

You don't really want to engage Xenon capitals and stations at close range.

I learn that lol and i think this is main problem, idk how to keep distance. More or less info about xenon stations i get in other topic but how stay at long range with xenon capitals? Pitty that there is no command like "attack from X kilometers" or i dont know that

[flywlyx]

I learn that lol and i think this is main problem, idk how to keep distance. More or less info about xenon stations i get in other topic but how stay at long range with xenon capitals? Pitty that there is no command like "attack from X kilometers" or i dont know that

Technically, all destroyers and battleships will maintain the maximum weapon distance.
However, Xenon capitals possess certain inherent advantages by design, making it challenging for typical capital ships to effectively engage them from proper distance.
In my experience, Asgards perform admirably in low attention, when configured appropriately for bombardment. Three Asgards can effectively handle a typical Xenon group consisting of one I and three K.
However, in high attention, success largely hinges on luck, as Asgards tend to kill each other in larger numbers.

[GCU Grey Area]

how stay at long range with xenon capitals?

I look at it from a slightly different perspective - I don't really need to do anything to keep my own destroyers at long range, that's what they want to do anyway. Instead the key thing is to slow the approach of Xenon capitals as much as possible. To that end I use heavy S fighters to delay & distract - if they keep it under fire it will be unable to activate it's travel drive & close the distance rapidly. This buys time for my destroyers to get full use out of their range advantage. I usually give those fighters at least one missile launcher, preferably loaded with Starburst (or H.Swarm if none of the Split factions like me) to smash subsystems & the longest range guns they can use, simply so they fire more shots on each attack run.

This configuration unfortunately makes them dreadful as dogfighters, so I find it's best to deploy them alongside some fast, nimble interceptors to shoot any enemy S/M ships that might take an interest in them. My carrier's fighter complement tends to be a mix of 1/3 anti-capital heavies to 2/3 fast interceptors. My favourite carriers are Boron, Teladi & Argon, all of which feature fast launch tubes for rapid deployment of S fighters from internal storage. The faster those fighters can launch & fly to the target the further away it is when they arrive, so more time for my destroyers to shoot at it. Paranid carrier also has this feature, though have never used one personally. Tend to avoid Terran & Split carriers since they lack this feature & their fighter launch speed is significantly slower as a consequence.

[Szynszyl]

Ok i have another problem. I now have fleet made from modded XL battleships (i still use argon ships) but ships are to far from commander, i try different formations but when one ship have Xenon in range 3 others are out of range.

Second problem is that ships don't listen my commands. For example i use command fly & wait but my ships (im talking about my modded capitals) dont fly to point, instead of this they fly around like piloted by idiots. What's worse is that a ship under fire, after receiving an order to move beyond the range of the Xenon ship, either does not respond to this order or responds with a delay.

I'm starting to wonder if my problem is the modded ships

[flywlyx]

Ok i have another problem. I now have fleet made from modded XL battleships (i still use argon ships) but ships are to far from commander, i try different formations but when one ship have Xenon in range 3 others are out of range.

Once the attack order is given, the formation immediately disperses.
Therefore, if you wish for them to engage the enemy sooner, issue the attack command earlier or assign them to the bombardment role.

Second problem is that ships don't listen my commands. For example i use command fly & wait but my ships (im talking about my modded capitals) dont fly to point, instead of this they fly around like piloted by idiots. What's worse is that a ship under fire, after receiving an order to move beyond the range of the Xenon ship, either does not respond to this order or responds with a delay.

This is a multifaceted issue. Capital ships refrain from moving a target position that is too close and also incorporate collision prevention measures. You must position the "fly & wait" marker farther away and also ensure there are no obstructions nearby. Refer to this video for further clarification: https://youtu.be/mfdjfnoZXd8
If you intend to micromanage a fleet, ensure to adjust the reaction of response to attack to "ignore." This designated "reaction order" holds precedence over your commands.

I'm starting to wonder if my problem is the modded ships

Vanilla ships encounter the same issues. Almost every week, there's a thread highlighting the problems with capital ship combat AI.

[Szynszyl]

This is a multifaceted issue. Capital ships refrain from moving a target position that is too close and also incorporate collision prevention measures. You must position the "fly & wait" marker farther away and also ensure there are no obstructions nearby. Refer to this video for further clarification: https://youtu.be/mfdjfnoZXd8
If you intend to micromanage a fleet, ensure to adjust the reaction of response to attack to "ignore." This designated "reaction order" holds precedence over your commands.

I'm starting to wonder if my problem is the modded ships

Vanilla ships encounter the same issues. Almost every week, there's a thread highlighting the problems with capital ship combat AI.

Hmm i really don't want micro managing fleet but how efficiently and quickly run out from I graviton turret? They destroy my ships to quick, even i command to ship escape when it get first shot it won't have time to escape. I decide to use argon ships cuz they pretty, and while I can escape the Xenon station's fire, I can't escape the ship. And it would be best if the ships decided to escape themselves, is it possible? Like i said i don't want micro managing.

[flywlyx]

Hmm i really don't want micro managing fleet but how efficiently and quickly run out from I graviton turret? They destroy my ships to quick, even i command to ship escape when it get first shot it won't have time to escape. I decide to use argon ships cuz they pretty, and while I can escape the Xenon station's fire, I can't escape the ship. And it would be best if the ships decided to escape themselves, is it possible? Like i said i don't want micro managing.

If escape isn't an option, simply eliminate the ship 1st.
For low attention (OOS), deploy more destroyers and assign them to the bombardment role. With 10 or more destroyers, you can effectively eliminate any Xenon capital ships before they damage anyone.

In high attention, it's advisable to have bombardment fighters on hand to stall the enemy, considering that capital ship AI tends to perform worse under high attention.
However, this strategy necessitates intercept fighters to safeguard the bombardment fighters. Additionally, fighters will inevitably die over time, necessitating fleet replenishment.

[Szynszyl]

So i need xl battleships, 10 L destroyers and carrier with bombers and interceptors. Thats a lot of ships. Btw bombers must be equiped with rockets right?

I'm seriously starting to wonder if I need these XL battleships

[flywlyx]

So i need xl battleships, 10 L destroyers and carrier with bombers and interceptors. Thats a lot of ships. Btw bombers must be equiped with rockets right?

I'm seriously starting to wonder if I need these XL battleships

Destroyers alone should suffice for engaging those capital ships; battleships are more about aesthetics.
Bombers can carry torpedoes, missiles, blast mortars, plasma weapons, or any other armament of your choice; their primary role is to distract and harass Xenon capital ships.
The AI lacks the ability to prioritize its targets. Therefore, if your fighters engage it first, the enemy will pursue the fighters and ignore your destroyers initially.

[adeine]

In high attention, as long as you're flying an Asgard, anything else is pretty much optional the way the game is balanced right now. Xenon don't really field fleets big enough that you couldn't just snipe down all the capital ships with the XL beam, and their fighters don't have any heavy weaponry.

The same is true for fleets accompanying you - in my experience the best way to keep them safe is to just kill whichever capital ship got into range and is shooting at them, or if they're in serious trouble, teleporting to the damaged ship personally to get it back into safety (the AI isn't very good at this, especially if the 'flee' behaviour triggers and resets over and over, leading to the ship just spinning in place).