If you want to see the blueprints (and you haven't yet), go to the forums: https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/626155
First off, I'll have to start with a "reference" build. I don't know whether this will be the best build, or even a very good build, but it's the best I'm going to come up with this evening.
"Reference" Build Thoughts:
You can fit 5 of these in a fleet, but I'm not sure whether that's the best idea. Some Countermeasures might be helpful - if going for CM I'd probably replace an offensive hull with a hull with 7 Gail/Phalanx, 1 Gatling Gun, and use Frontline CMS instead of Siege Battery. Rad Coating might not be the best idea, but I have a instinctive bias against negative resistances. Heavy Plating would give more resistance than D6-A, but this hull isn't really about resistance and I like the speed and lower weight. I chose Evade armor since Evade will help against many center island turrets I expect to see like Executioners and Ballistas.
I don't like the nearly 19 day build - I'd like to see ships to be closer to 2 week builds in the new "post build time reduction" world.
Revenge on Offense:
For this article, I'm going to consider the fleet performance, so I'll compute the performance of one Gatling gun and multiply by 40 to get the fleet performance.
This build has the built in +315% Concussive damage from the hull, then also +55.7% Concussive damage from the Strike Warheads (at R15) and +74% Building damage from Siege Battery (R15).
The Gatling has two fire modes - Short Range Primary & Long Range Secondary. The Primary fire mode takes "priority" so that if any target is within the 68 range, then the Primary mode fires. Otherwise the secondary mode will fire with the 104 range.
104 range... hello base redesign... or hello outpost snipers?
(note that a Mod in forums has stated that Remote Targeting will only trigger from the primary range)
(Note that my usual Splash/Spread damage formula gives an accuracy of higher than 100% with this small spread. I assumed 100% equivalent accuracy, meaning every shot lands within its splash radius of the target)
The concussive damage type is very important - turrets have plenty of ways to buff up against conventional damage types, such as Zynth Reinforcements, Panel specials, or Combined Defense fields. None of those help against Concussive Damage.
DPS isn't too meaningful here because the windup effect will vastly increase the DPS, and I'm not totally sure how that kicks in.
EDIT: A COMMENTER BELOW REMINDED ME ABOUT HALF DAMAGE! ALL THE COMPARISONS OF DAMAGE VS ARMOR ON THE OFFENSIVE SIDE DO NOT TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT. NUMBERS OF VOLLEYS SHOULD BE DOUBLED.
EDIT: A COMMENTER BELOW REMINDED ME ABOUT HALF DAMAGE! ALL THE COMPARISONS OF DAMAGE VS ARMOR ON THE OFFENSIVE SIDE DO NOT TAKE THIS INTO ACCOUNT. NUMBERS OF VOLLEYS SHOULD BE DOUBLED.
Offense Against Turrets:
One volley from the Secondary fire mode will do 3,814*40 = 152,560 points of damage.
One volley from the Primary fire mode will do 14,797*40 = 591,880 points of damage.
A level 6 turret has 57,600 armor built in, and installations with 125,720 armor are common (one Permacrete and one Zynth). Yes, that turret dies at long range.
A level 7 turret has 280,000 armor built in along with 3 armor slots and a transformer slot.
Level 7 with 3 Permacrete has 436,240 armor. Interestingly enough, the Defensive Transformer won't help at all, since its defense bonuses don't affect Concussive damage.
So a Level 7 turret might be killed after three volleys from long range, or just one short range volley.
Offense Against Ships:
I'm going to skip straight to the Punisher. With 500 Assault Deflection, that ship might be the only one that has a prayer.
If I look at a build with Hydro Resistors, we get 15% Concussive resistance, and remember Evade doesn't make a difference against this splash weapon.
So with 15% resistance and -500 from the Assault Deflection, the gun is doing 400 damage per volley in secondary mode.
(1647 * (1 - 15%) - 500 * 2) = 400
Standing still, it might stand up to one volley from a fleet (16,000 damage), but it won't survive the second.
In primary mode it is doing 2,933 damage per volley.
(6392 * (1 - 15%) - 500 * 5) = 2933
If somehow the Punisher closes to primary range, 2933*40 (over 100,000 damage) will be a one shot kill against it.
Offensive Summary
I think a full fleet of 40 Gatling Guns, fully buffed with damage specials might be overkill for anything. Mixing in some countermeasures, and possibly trying something besides the Hunter special (Splash Bonus?, Projectile Speed? Combustion System 2 is coming after the raid or even consider Explosive System 4 if you are in a rush), will probably result in a more effective fleet than one heavily tilted toward damage.
EDIT: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ABOVE... EVERYTHING DOES HALF LISTED DAMAGE TO ARMOR. SORRY I MISSED THIS & I'LL TRY TO DO A FULL EDIT LATER. NOTE THAT THIS DOESN'T AFFECT MY DEFENSIVE CALCULATIONS BELOW.
EDIT: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ABOVE... EVERYTHING DOES HALF LISTED DAMAGE TO ARMOR. SORRY I MISSED THIS & I'LL TRY TO DO A FULL EDIT LATER. NOTE THAT THIS DOESN'T AFFECT MY DEFENSIVE CALCULATIONS BELOW.
Revenge on Defense:
The "reference" build above has the following defensive stats:
(from the in-game shipyard, I don't think Huggy has all these new stats coded)
Defense against Turrets
Center Island Turrets:
The Executioner doesn't get anywhere until you add Smart Warheads, Thermobaric Casing, and the A-T Transformer. A Fire Support field would help even more.
The Apoc Mortar gets nowhere even with the A-T Transformer and the Fuel Air Explosives field. One way to get damage would be the 15% Critical Hit chance with the FAE.
I didn't show the Ballista analysis, but starting with 1826 damage and 74% bypass, the Supercharged EM Rails giving a 25% chance of a +300% damage critical hit seems like the best bet there.
Frontline Turrets:
So.... the only turret that does any significant damage is the Drac Scattergun... the Basilisk might tickle it a little too and the A-T Transformer helps there. Turrets doing conventional damage types are nullified by the combo of Siege Battery and the huge Deflection... although 0 will actually be some sort of minimum damage, that is around 50 points of damage and won't make a significant dent.
Defense against Ships
The Shockwave from D98U launchers is a great way to damage these (note the accuracy refers to the shockwave effectiveness, not the accuracy of the launcher shots), although some Shock plates might be an option for some players.
The Gatling on the Revenge illustrates the usual advice, that the best way to stop a new ship/weapon combo is with often that same combo.
And even the high damage Blade can't crack through the huge deflection.
So...
Will this ship be effective? YES
Will it be hard to kill? YES
What to get:
I'm going to do an abbreviated version of "what to get" - I'll just list some of the highlights.
Top Priority: The new stuff
Revenge (15M): I don't want to be locked out of any aspect of this game, and right now, the Revenge Hull is the only tool for base hitting.
Concussive Gatling Gun (9M): This new weapon will be very effective in conjunction with the damage bonus on the new hull. Even without the hull, this weapon mounted on any other ship will be able to use its 104 secondary range to outrange many targets, and its Windup ability means that it will very quickly reach its maximum fire rate (0.2 second between shots) and keep firing until its target is dead.
Next: Unique Hulls
Consider the Harlock's Aegis, Phantom Tiger Shark, Frostburn Interceptor, Highlander's Nuclear Cruiser, or the Omega Behemoth.
Next: Useful components
Siege Battery 3: looking like a must-have on base hitting fleets.
Speed Upgrade, Splash Upgrade: Occasionally useful
D3-E Armor: I like this one for low-end builds
Next: Weapons you might build
Styx/Charon Torpedo: For subs
Judgement/Pandemonium Mortar: For Citadels. The Pandemonium's radioactive resist occasionally is helpful too.
Next: Catchup hulls
Punisher: Its combo of deflection and high resistances make it likely to be the most valuable PvE hull for the forseeable future.
Tiger Shark: If you like subs
Rhino: A great deal at 3 million if you don't have it yet
Mercury, Triton, Dreadaught X: Cheap buys & quick builds for the low end players
Tokens:
The total token limits are increased from previous raids, but the prices are the same. These will definitely help you get a headstart on the Revenge fleet you might want.
Limited Components:
Kixeye is saying this is the last time these specific components will be available. D6-A, Hydro Resistors, and Gales are my favorites. Cobra Scatterguns give a real unique capability, although they have a long build time.
Shards:
Being able to buy 1/5 of a Super Hull doesn't excite me too much, but if it's your thing, go for the 20 million points and remember that you'll have to stick with it and so will Kixeye before you get anywhere with these.
Hopefully this gives you enough info to plan your raid and start to understand how to use these new Revenge hulls more effectively. Good luck Pirates!
(from the in-game shipyard, I don't think Huggy has all these new stats coded)
Defense against Turrets
Center Island Turrets:
The Executioner doesn't get anywhere until you add Smart Warheads, Thermobaric Casing, and the A-T Transformer. A Fire Support field would help even more.
The Apoc Mortar gets nowhere even with the A-T Transformer and the Fuel Air Explosives field. One way to get damage would be the 15% Critical Hit chance with the FAE.
I didn't show the Ballista analysis, but starting with 1826 damage and 74% bypass, the Supercharged EM Rails giving a 25% chance of a +300% damage critical hit seems like the best bet there.
Frontline Turrets:
So.... the only turret that does any significant damage is the Drac Scattergun... the Basilisk might tickle it a little too and the A-T Transformer helps there. Turrets doing conventional damage types are nullified by the combo of Siege Battery and the huge Deflection... although 0 will actually be some sort of minimum damage, that is around 50 points of damage and won't make a significant dent.
Defense against Ships
The Shockwave from D98U launchers is a great way to damage these (note the accuracy refers to the shockwave effectiveness, not the accuracy of the launcher shots), although some Shock plates might be an option for some players.
The Gatling on the Revenge illustrates the usual advice, that the best way to stop a new ship/weapon combo is with often that same combo.
And even the high damage Blade can't crack through the huge deflection.
So...
Will this ship be effective? YES
Will it be hard to kill? YES
What to get:
I'm going to do an abbreviated version of "what to get" - I'll just list some of the highlights.
Top Priority: The new stuff
Revenge (15M): I don't want to be locked out of any aspect of this game, and right now, the Revenge Hull is the only tool for base hitting.
Concussive Gatling Gun (9M): This new weapon will be very effective in conjunction with the damage bonus on the new hull. Even without the hull, this weapon mounted on any other ship will be able to use its 104 secondary range to outrange many targets, and its Windup ability means that it will very quickly reach its maximum fire rate (0.2 second between shots) and keep firing until its target is dead.
Next: Unique Hulls
Consider the Harlock's Aegis, Phantom Tiger Shark, Frostburn Interceptor, Highlander's Nuclear Cruiser, or the Omega Behemoth.
Next: Useful components
Siege Battery 3: looking like a must-have on base hitting fleets.
Speed Upgrade, Splash Upgrade: Occasionally useful
D3-E Armor: I like this one for low-end builds
Next: Weapons you might build
Styx/Charon Torpedo: For subs
Judgement/Pandemonium Mortar: For Citadels. The Pandemonium's radioactive resist occasionally is helpful too.
Next: Catchup hulls
Punisher: Its combo of deflection and high resistances make it likely to be the most valuable PvE hull for the forseeable future.
Tiger Shark: If you like subs
Rhino: A great deal at 3 million if you don't have it yet
Mercury, Triton, Dreadaught X: Cheap buys & quick builds for the low end players
Tokens:
The total token limits are increased from previous raids, but the prices are the same. These will definitely help you get a headstart on the Revenge fleet you might want.
Limited Components:
Kixeye is saying this is the last time these specific components will be available. D6-A, Hydro Resistors, and Gales are my favorites. Cobra Scatterguns give a real unique capability, although they have a long build time.
Shards:
Being able to buy 1/5 of a Super Hull doesn't excite me too much, but if it's your thing, go for the 20 million points and remember that you'll have to stick with it and so will Kixeye before you get anywhere with these.
Hopefully this gives you enough info to plan your raid and start to understand how to use these new Revenge hulls more effectively. Good luck Pirates!
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