Revenge Raid 3 - Revenge Raid 2 Reloaded

Yeah this is my "One Day In" post.  I tried to come up with a snazzier name, but Chris P. Bacon was taken.

Overall, the map set targets are pretty close to the same as last time, maybe with the exception of the C sets.  So if you want more detail on the targets, see last month's "One Day In" post.

Anyway for this post I'm going to be that guy you hate... Blah blah blah I'm doing the raid for free blah blah.

World Map Sets 

A set
Here's my plan:
Enter with Styx Tigers with a BB-A instant repair flagship decoy.  (actually one of those Tigers is still all Vortex Z torps).  
Send the BB away to draw out the initial Heavy Cruiser & kill it, sail around and kill the other HC and Kodiaks, then retreat.  
Come in with my fast missile fleet (my usual Proto-Hunter, 3 Rhino, Aegis except I just finished my Harlock Aegis) and pick off the V2s before they get within launcher range.  86s are the best since they don't even break formation.

Collect 2.86 million points from that, don't touch the 89 Mega Hull, repeat.

B set
Very similar to last time, just trigger each ship and engage one at a time.  Although you can't outrange the Kodiaks, their missiles don't seem to have flak evade so Phalanx works well.

C Set
These targets have been changed from last raid.  They don't seem so crowded anymore, and the super long range missiles from the Missile Cruisers are gone.  Overall they look more appropriate for the lower levels than they used to.  Again you can really cut your damage with some Phalanx.

The Mega Hulls

89 Mega-Hull Target
I tried this one and found that the very long range splash missiles were just too annoying (damaging) for me to want to attempt this target.  The energy platforms are spread out at all 4 compass directions, but since you are being shelled with those missiles, you can't use the "hit one then retreat" tactic, so you'll take a lot of damage just sailing around.  If you want the extra 625k or so points, do another 86.

69 Mega-Hull Target
This one is more do-able, but still doesn't seem worth it for players who are doing B's to get points.  It was worth 265k points to me.  

Chat comment of the day

49 Mega-Hull Target
Probably hard for players doing C sets - possibly not too bad if you have enough Phalanx for those missiles.  It's only worth 55k points though.

Before the raid, I suggested that taking out the platforms before engaging the Mega-Hull would be a good idea.  Now that I've seen a few, I think that if you really are determined to take these things on, the best tactic would be to just take out one platform on the way to the center, kill the Mega ASAP, then you can take out the rest when the hull is sunk and you aren't getting shelled.  But that's just theory.  I don't think these guys are worth the points for the damage you take, and unless you find some creative low damage way to do them... my advice is to skip them.  They aren't fast to complete, and they'll deal out plenty of damage along the way.

101 Mega-Hull Target
Apparently these were easy to do early on, but they got changed.  BOO KIXEYE!  Mid-raid changes are the worst thing.  Any built-up trust vanishes right there.  When this happens, it isn't the fault of the players (even those who are posting videos)... it is Kixeye's fault because they didn't test the target correctly.  I'll admit that I haven't done any of these, I don't want to, and I'll move on.

So that's the raid... Vanguards open up Saturday.  I might just skip those and have a raid where I don't spend a single coin.  Hasn't happened in a long time.

More on Railgun vs. Arbalest
I gave the Railgun a "yellow" in the What-to-Get list, mostly because I didn't see it as blowing away the weapons that came before it.  What I think is that there are some situations where the Railgun would be better, and others where the Arbalest would.

Railgun Advantages

• 10% more DPS/hton against fleets (25.0 vs 22.2).
• 29% better projectile speed will help it hit moving targets more accurately.
• Less pierce decay (15% vs 20%). 
• More bonus armor per weight

Arbalest Advantages

• Higher damage per shot will help overcome Assault Deflection
• Higher weight per gun will use less weapon slots for a given damage output
• Lower accuracy might help it get lucky against faster moving targets
• 30% More DPS/hton against buildings (84.7 vs 63.9)

Railgun & Arbalest Tied

• Build time
• Weapon Range
• Pierce Range

I feel like the Railgun's advantages are small, but the Arbalest's biggest advantage - the higher damage per shot - is big.  Again, all this stuff might just work differently once we see it, but I don't see the big need for getting Railguns if you have Arbalest.  If the Railgun had some Ballistic Bypass, or or even 1 more point of range, I'd be telling a different story. As is, my gut feeling is that the Arbalest might be better in bases, but the Railgun will be better in open water fights.  As always... we will see.