“Talon Tuesdays” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically on Tuesdays.  It features articles from the Talon development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.

Issue #10

Empire War is a strategic game mode in Talon that does not use the written scenarios. It’s going to get its own Talon Tues in the coming weeks but I’ve got this really interesting play test report from one of our MVP playtesters, Michael that I really want to share first. I’ll explain the game mode briefly here.

In Empire War, each player has a fleet of ships that he assigns to different sectors on a strategic map. The game has 4 sectors – Antares, Badlands, Maelstrom, and Orion and each sector is broken into a number of “Conflict Zones” where battles take place. Ship buying and assignment take place over strategic turns, and then battles are fought in each sector.  As one faction wins, the “front line” in that sector advances towards the enemy home world. The game ends when a player loses a battle over his home world.  It’s a big game and it offers players a way to run a “campaign” over multiple sessions in addition to playing the written scenarios.

As you gain territory you increase your income and decrease your opponent’s. Furthermore, there are planets in some sectors, typically guarded by bases that are worth additional income and are easier to defend since they must be invaded by the enemy to be captured.

The most important thing in an Empire War is keeping your ships alive and destroying those of the enemy. If one side gets a large fleet size advantage, they are going to be able to very easily take territory. Knowing when to retreat is an important key to victory. Empire War is honestly my favorite way to play the game in the long term.

There are ship assignment minimums that mandate a certain quantity of ships be assigned to each sector. This prevents a side from just blitzing through one sector with his entire fleet strength. Tracking ship assignments is pretty easy on the tracking sheet that comes with the game, but to make things easier, I’m working on a player aid app that will hopefully be ready shortly after the game’s release.

Michael was one of our most prolific play testers. Not only did he put in the time, he consistently wrote very detailed and insightful reports. He also tested every written scenario and wrote some of his own. He was a developer’s dream as far as play testers go. One of his last play tests was an Empire War game that he soloed. In the second strategic round of play, one of the largest battles in Talon history took place over the planet Orion.  Here’s his report:

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Empire War Turn 2

The First Battle for Orion (aka “How the planet Orion acquired rings”)

On strategic turn 2, the Talon massed half their fleet against the Terran world of Orion, which is on the shortest path the Talon have to get to Earth.  The Terrans deployed a strong defense in support of the base they had placed there.  Deployment for both sides followed the rules of Empire War as they existed during the playtest.

This was a big battle – the Talon had 2 x DN, 3 x BB, 2 x CL, 1 x FF, and 2 x transport versus the Terran’s 1 x BB, 2 x BC, 1 x CL, 1 x DD, 1 x CV, 1 x Base, 8 x fighters, and 2 x transports.  The Talon had 1265 points, the Terrans 1275 counting the base (Dev: ships have point values and these were the totals for each side).  Part of my reason for chronicling this battle was to show an example of how well the Talon system handles a big fleet battle.

There are no Talon missile armed ships in this fight because of how I had organized the Talon fleet.  All the BCs and DDs were grouped into two smaller fleets to see if missile fire was more effective when concentrated.  The Talon did put all their DNs and BBs into this fight, which gave them a tremendous amount of anti-ship firepower, though in hindsight they could have used more escort vessels to deal with the Terran fighters.  My theory going into the battle was that the disruptors on the capital ships would be more survivable than those on smaller ships, and could eliminate enough fighters to keep the big ships safe.  That theory did not survive contact with the enemy.

On the Terran side, I emphasized the ship types I like the most – the BC, CL, and DD, along with fighters.  The BB is okay, but the dual phaser armament is actually less useful than the single phasers on the smaller ships – the latter can fire on impulse F and recharge to fire again on impulse A, while the former cannot.  The CV is great because it allows you to bring fighters to the battle and makes them much more effective, while also giving you a lot of AP to work with, but it is slow, not very maneuverable, and too weak to stay close to the fighters for long.  CAs were put in secondary fleets because, in my opinion, the BC is better in fleet combat.  SCs should just stay far away from any sort of combat.

Since this report is so long, there are 3 versions, depending on how much time you want to spend reading.

Short Version

“Varus give me back my Legions!” This quote from a distraught Talon Emperor was recorded by a very confused Imperial scribe after the battle.

Medium Version

7 rounds of mayhem.  Neither side shot well, Terrans (87% of expected damage) did worse than Talon (91% of expected damage), but still managed to win by shooting more often, thanks to their phasers.  Once the Talon light ships were gone, the Talon heavies could not turn quickly enough to effectively engage the Terrans, especially the fighters.

The Talon transports survived by jumping to lightspeed at the end of round 4.  No other Talon ships survived.  The Terrans lost the base, the BB, and 4 squadrons of fighters.  One Terran BC was undamaged after the battle, though her front and port shields were down.  All other Terran ships had hull damage, including the 4 surviving fighter squadrons.  The game took about 15 minutes to set up, then 6 hours to play, though half of that time was me recording what was going on – I would estimate a “normal” playing time of well under 4 hours.  By way of comparison, it took almost 4 hours to write this report, plus another 2 hours to edit it for publication.

Strategically, this battle lost the war for the Talon.  The Terrans were delayed for a turn while they patched up all the damaged ships, but the Talon never recovered from their losses and surrendered on turn 5, as the Terrans were poised to attack the Talon homeworld.

Long Version

A note on the map – I printed my own playtest map, which was 18 columns by 13 rows, but followed standard Talon rules for setting up a scenario.

Talon setup:  1305 (Dev: these numbers are the coordinates on Michael’s map) CL Fearless, 1306 BB Eviscerator, 1307 DN Dominator, 1308 DN Imperial, 1309 BB Eradicator, 1310 BB Eliminator, 1311 CL Dauntless, 1312 FF Vision

Transports in 1408 and 1409.  All Talon ships facing “northwest” (e.g. Fearless is facing hex 1205).

The Talon’s basic plan is to kill the fighters and the base, then mop up the Terran ships, while protecting the transports.

Terran setup:  Orion in 0307, base in 0407 (facing S), fighters N, NE, SE, S.  Transports in 0105 (SE) and 0109 (NE).  0301 DD Hercules, 0302 CL Thor, 0303 BC Sun Tzu, 0404 CV Wasp, fighters N, NE, SE, S, 0305 BC Alexander, 0306 BB Thunderchild, all facing NE.

The Terran’s basic plan is to get the transports landed as soon as possible to secure the planet, flank the Talon using fighters, and avoid the fusion cannons.

I will be tracking expected damage (ed) and actual damage (ad).  I will multiply these numbers by 6 so I don’t have to write fractions.

Round 1

Impulse A
Talon
Dauntless and Fearless reinforce front shields

Terran
Alexander and Sun Tzu charge batteries, base and Wasp reinforce starboard shields
Fighters move forward

Impulse B
Talon
BBs and DNs reinforce front shields
All Talon warships move forward

Terran
Thunderchild and Thor charge batteries, base and Wasp reinforce front shields
Fighters move forward

Impulse C
Talon
Dauntless reinforces starboard shield
Fearless reinforces port shield
Vision reinforces front shield
Transports move forward

Terran
Alexander, Sun Tzu reinforce front shield
Hercules charges battery
Base and Wasp power sideslips for Black Sheep and Flying Tigers (0706 to 0705 and 0607 to 0606); other fighters move forward
Base rotates
Wasp and transports move forward

Impulse D
Talon
Warships sideslip to port (except Vision, which turns to port)

Terran
Thor and Thunderchild reinforce front shield
Alexander and Sun Tzu reinforce starboard shield
Base reinforces rear shield
Cougar and 3 northernmost fighters turn starboard, others move forward, ships move forward
Cougar fires 3 phasers at Fearless, range 2, 5 damage (4 front shield boxes) <ed 27 ad 30>

Impulse E
Talon
Eviscerator fires 4 disruptors at Flying Tiger (range 2) and Cougar (range 3), 4 kills, Flying Tiger destroyed, Cougar down 1 fighter <ed 38 ad 48>
Fearless fires 3 disruptors at Ace of Spades range 3, 1 kill <ed 62 ad 60>

Terran
Base flips initiative

Throughout playtesting, I found that impulse E and batteries (or a base) were the Terrans’ best friends, allowing them to control initiative at the end of the turn.

Impulse F
Terran
Base and Wasp recharge Cougar, other 7 Terrans defend initiative
Wolverine turns starboard (0804 to 0904) Double Down turns starboard (0803 to 0903)
Terran battle line turns starboard (now in 0601 to 0606)
Transports move forward, base rotates
5 fighters fire at Fearless range 2, only 6 damage and the crit is no effect <ed 72 ad 66>

Talon
Eviscerator and Fearless recharge disruptors, the other 8 flip the initiative
Vision turns starboard, all others move forward
Imperial fires starboard disruptors at Cougar, range 2, 2 kills (why?  Cougar threatens the transports) <ed 82 ad 84>
Dominion fires 4 disruptors at Black Sheep range 3, 2 kills <ed 114 ad 108>

A situation where numbers matter – each ship gets a maximum of one AP per impulse, so the side with more ships is better positioned to control the initiative.

Interturn Terran CV and transports drop to speed 1, Fearless goes to speed 4, while everybody else maintains speed 3.

Score:  Talon 1 CL crippled, ed 114 ad 108; Terran 2 fighter groups destroyed, 2 fighter groups crippled, ed 72 ad 66

Round 2

Impulse A
Talon
Dauntless defends initiative
Fearless turns starboard

Terran
Wasp and base recharge Ace of Spades
Alexander and Sun Tzu flip initiative
Fighters move forward
Black Sheep fires at Fearless, range 2 1 damage (reinforcement stops it) <ed 81 ad 72>

Impulse B
Terran
Wasp and base recharge Wolverine
Thor and Thunderchild defend the initiative
Double Down fires at Eviscerator, range 1, 5 damage <ed 114 ad 102>
Black Jack fires at Eviscerator range 2, 4 damage (2 hull) <ed 141 ad 126>
Diamondback fires at Eviscerator range 2, 5 damage (5 hull) crit 1 shields down crit 2 -1 power <ed 168 ad 156>
Alexander fires 2 torpedoes at Dominion range 3, 8 damage (7 shield hits) <ed 200 ad 204>
Thunderchild fires WMG at Dominon range 3, misses <ed 240 ad 204>

Talon
BBs and DNs sideslip port
Dauntless and Vision turn to starboard
Eviscerator fires fusion cannon at Thunderchild and Alexander, range 2, 8 damage to each <ed 186 ad 204>

Dominion fires 2 fusion cannon at Thunderchild (range 2) and Alexander (range 3), rolls snake eyes!  8 damage to Thunderchild (crit -1 power), 0 to Alexander <ed 282 ad 252>

The cubed war gods are not kind to either side, though in this case it probably hurt the Terrans more – they were counting on knocking Dominion out of fusion cannon range.

Impulse C
Terran
Base recharges Double Down, Wasp recharges Wolverine
Hercules reinforces front shield
Transports defend initiative
Alexander recharges torpedo
Sun Tzu reinforces front shield
Alexander fires port phaser at Eviscerator (range 2), destroys Eviscerator, explosion deals 4 damage to Dominion’s starboard shield <ed 246 ad 210>
Thunderchild fires 4 phasers at Dominion, range 2, 5 damage (4 shield boxes) <ed 282 ad 240>

Talon
Vision, Dauntless reinforce front shield
Fearless reduces turn
Transports turn port
Dominion uses jet, turns starboard
Fearless turns starboard
Imperial, Eradicator, and Eliminator use jets, move forward
Imperial fires port disruptors at Thunderchild, range 2, destroys her, 4 damage to Alexander’s starboard shield (3 shield boxes) <ed 302 ad 276>

Impulse D
Terran
Wasp recharges Double Down, base reinforces starboard shield, Thor reinforces front shield, Alexander recharges port phaser
All fighters except Ace of Spades turn starboard
Alexander turns port, all others move forward
Alexander fires starboard phaser at Dominion, range 2, 2 hull <ed 291 ad 252>
Sun Tzu fires 2 torpedoes at Dominion, range 3, both miss! <ed 323 ad 252>
Base fires WMG at Imperial, range 4, miss! <ed 363 ad 252>
Wolverine fires 3 phasers at Imperial range 2, 3 damage <ed 390 ad 270>
Hercules fires torpedo at Fearless range 3, miss <ed 406 ad 270>

Talon
Dauntless fires 3 disruptors at Wolverine range 2, 3 kills <ed 332 ad 312>

Impulse E
Terran
Wasp recharges Double Down
Base recharges WMG
Sun Tzu fires 2 phasers at Dominion, range 2, 4 hull, crit 1 is -1 power, crit 2 NE <ed 424 ad 294>
Thor fires torpedo at Dominion range 3, hit, destroys Dominion, Alexander takes 3 hull damage from the explosion, starboard shield down <ed 440 ad 318>

Talon
Imperial burns jet
Fearless burns jet, turns starboard
Eliminator fires 4 disruptors at transport, range 3, 4 damage (front shield down) <ed 364 ad 336> (probably a waste of effort; Talon were trying to kill at least one transport before it could land on the planet)

Impulse F
Terran
Base reinforces front shield
Alexander recharges starboard phaser
Wasp recharges Black Jack
Sun Tzu recharges starboard phaser
Thor and Hercules recharge torpedoes
Sun Tzu, Thor, Hercules, and Wasp turn starboard
Transports land on Orion

Talon
Eliminator, Imperial, Dauntless recharge disruptors
Transports sideslip
Vision fires 2 disruptors at Double Down, range 2, 1 kill <ed 384 ad 348>
Imperial fires 2 fusion cannon at the base, range 2, 12 damage <ed 456 ad 420>, crit is weapon group (starboard phasers)
Eliminator fires fusion cannon at base, range 2, 8 damage <ed 492 ad 468>
Eradicator fires 4 disruptors at base, range 2, 8 damage, destroys base <ed 532 ad 516>

Interturn:  everybody maintains speed

Score:  Talon 1 DN, 1 BB destroyed, 1 CL crippled, ed 532 ad 516; Terran 1 base, 1 BB, and 3 fighter groups destroyed, 1 BC and 2 fighter groups crippled, ed 440 ad 318

Round 3

Impulse A
Terran
Wasp recharges Black Jack
Sun Tzu recharges phaser
Alexander defends initiative
Wasp fires 2 phasers at Imperial, range 2, 4 shield damage <ed 458 ad 342>
Ace of Spades fires 2 phasers at Vision, range 1, 4 damage (2 hull) crit is -1 power <ed 469 ad 354>

Talon
Dauntless recharges disruptor
Fearless moves forward

Impulse B
Terran
Thor and Alexander recharge torpedoes
Sun Tzu sideslips starboard
Sun Tzu fires 2 phasers at Imperial, range 2, 3 damage (1 hull) <ed 496 ad 372>
Diamondback fires 1 phaser at Vision, range 1, destroys her, explosion does 1 damage to Diamondback, Black Jack, Ace of Spades, rear shield of Dauntless, and shields of both transports <ed 502 ad 378>

Talon
Eliminator, Eradicator turn starboard
Imperial, Dauntless move forward
Eradicator fires fusion cannon at Wasp (range 2), Sun Tzu (range 2), and Thor (range 3), rolls a 1!  Damage 4/4/0 <ed 616 ad 564>
Dauntless fires a disruptor at Alexander, range 3, misses <ed 624 ad 564>
Imperial fires starboard disruptors at Wasp range 2, 2 damage to hull, crit is weapon group – port phaser <ed 644 ad 576>

Another case of dice flu.  If the Talon had succeeded in destroying Wasp, it would have reduced the effectiveness of the Terran fighters.

Impulse C
Terran
Wasp recharges Black Jack
Sun Tzu and Hercules recharge torpedoes
Fighters turn starboard, line up for attack runs on Eradicator
Double Down fires 2 phasers at Eradicator, range 2, 3 damage <ed 520 ad 396>

Talon
Dauntless recharges disruptor
Fearless reinforces starboard shield, turns starboard
Transports turn port
Eradicator burns jet (trying to get away from fighters)

Impulse D
Terran
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Alexander recharges torpedoes
Sun Tzu recharges starboard phaser
Thor defends initiative
Double Down and Ace of Spades turn port
Alexander turns port (gets down shields away from Talon)
Thor, Hercules, and Sun Tzu move forward
Black Jack fires 3 phasers at Eradicator, range 2, 4 damage, starboard shield down <ed 547 ad 420>
Thor fires phaser at Eradicator, range 2, 2 hull damage <ed 556 ad 432>

Talon
Ships move forward

Impulse E
Terran
Wasp recharges Diamondback

Impulse F
Terran
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Sun Tzu and Thor recharge phasers
Alexander reduces her turn
Sun Tzu turns starboard
Thor and Hercules turn port

Talon
Imperial and Eradicator turn port
Fearless reinforces starboard shield

Interturn:  everybody maintains speed

Score:  Talon 1 DN, 1 BB, 1 FF destroyed, 1 DN, 1 BB, 1 CL crippled, ed 644 ad 576; Terran 1 base, 1 BB, and 3 fighter groups destroyed, 1 BC, 1 CV, 5 fighter groups crippled, ed 556 ad 432

Round 4

Impulse A
Terran
Wasp recharges Ace of Spades
Sun Tzu shortens turn
Thor fires torpedo at Dauntless, range 2, 4 damage (2 hull) crit 9 single disruptor <ed 576 ad 456>
Thor fires phaser at Dauntless, range 2, 2 hull damage, crit 5 dual disruptor <ed 585 ad 468>
Diamondback fires 3 phasers at Eliminator, range 2, 4 damage to starboard shield <ed 612 ad 492>

Talon
Dauntless reinforces port shield
Dauntless burns jet, turns port
Fearless turns starboard
Eliminator fires starboard disruptors at Black Jack range 2, 1 kill <ed 664 ad 588>

Impulse B
Terran
Wasp recharges Ace of Spades
Thor recharges phaser
Alexander reinforces port shield
Alexander turns port

Talon
Eliminator turns port

Impulse C
Terran
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Sun Tzu recharges torpedo
Ace of Spades fires 1 phaser at Dauntless, range 2, destroys her <ed 670 ad 564>

Talon
Fearless shortens her turn, turns starboard, fires 3 disruptors at Hercules, range 3, 1 hits, 2 damage to front shield <ed 688 ad 600>

Impulse D
Terran
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Sun Tzu, Thor recharge torpedoes
Alexander shortens turn
Hercules fires torpedo at Fearless, range 2, hit, destroys her <ed 690 ad 588>

Impulse E
Terran
Sun Tzu uses battery to finish charging torpedoes

Talon
Eliminator burns jet so Sun Tzu cannot sideslip and fire an optimal range alpha strike at her rear shield

Impulse F
Terran
Sun Tzu recharges battery
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Thor and Hercules recharge torpedoes
Alexander sideslips to port
Wasp, Thor, and Hercules turn port

Talon
All turn port

Interturn:  Talon transports jump to lightspeed; all ships maintain speed

Score:  Talon 1 DN, 1 BB, 2 CL, 1 FF destroyed, 1 DN, 1 BB crippled, ed 688 ad 600; Terran 1 base, 1 BB, and 3 fighter groups destroyed, 1 BC, 1 CV, 5 fighter groups crippled, ed 690 ad 588

At this point the Talon have lost.  They cannot take the planet and their surviving ships are not maneuverable enough to deal with the smaller Terran ships.  If they could, they would leave, but their FTL drives will not spool up for 4 or 6 more turns – an eternity in Talon.  An interesting observation – at this point in the battle, both expected and actual damage are nearly even for the two sides.

Round 5

Impulse A
Terran
Wasp recharges Ace of Spades
Sun Tzu shortens turn
Double Down, Black Jack, and Diamondback turn port
Black Jack fires 2 phasers at Eliminator, range 1, 4 damage to rear shield <ed 712 ad 612>
Diamondback fires 3 phasers at Eliminator range 2, 5 damage (3 hull) <ed 739 ad 642>

Talon
Eliminator and Eradicator fire port disruptors at Sun Tzu range 3, 4 damage, front shield down <ed 720 ad 624>

Impulse B
Terran
Alexander sideslips
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Thor and Hercules (battery) shorten turns
Thor, Hercules, and Sun Tzu turn port
Black Sheep, Ace of Spades, Black Jack, and Double Down turn port, Diamondback turns starboard
Sun Tzu fires 2 torpeodes and 2 phasers at Imperial, range 2, 8 damage to rear shield <ed 797 ad 690>

Talon
Imperial and Eliminator shorten turns

Impulse C
Terran
Hercules recharges battery
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Eradicator shortens turn

Impulse D
Terran
Thor and Hercules (battery) shorten turns
Wasp recharges Diamondback
Alexander protects initiative, turns port
Sun Tzu sideslips
Thor and Hercules turn port
Double Down fires 2 phasers at Imperial range 2, 4 hull, crit power down <ed 815 ad 714>

Talon
Talon turn port
Eradicator fires 2 disruptors at Double Down, range 2, 2 kills <ed 740 ad 648>

Impulse E
Terran
Sun Tzu uses battery to shorten turn

Impulse F
Terran
Wasp recharges Black Jack
Sun Tzu recharges port phaser
Hercules recharges torpedo
Alexander and Thor defend initiative
Sun Tzu turns port

Talon
All recharge fusion cannon, move forward

Interturn:  Alexander and Sun Tzu speed up to 4

Score:  Talon 1 DN, 1 BB, 2 CL, 1 FF destroyed, 1 DN, 2 BB crippled, ed 740 ad 648; Terran 1 base, 1 BB, and 4 fighter groups destroyed, 1 BC, 1 CV, 4 fighter groups crippled, ed 815 ad 714

The Terrans begin to take the lead in expected and actual damage, thanks to faster recharge times and more maneuverable firing platforms.  The Talon are really regretting not killing Wasp when they had the chance.

Round 6

Impulse A
Terran
Wasp powers sideslip for Ace of Spades
Fighters and Sun Tzu move
Sun Tzu fires port phaser at Imperial, range 1, 2 damage, crit helm down <ed 826 ad 726>  That would have been bad, if Imperial had survived to actually care.
Black Jack fires 2 phasers at Imperial, range 2, 3 damage, destroys Imperial, Sun Tzu port shield down <ed 844 ad 744>
Diamondback fires 3 phasers at Eliminator range 1, 4 damage, crits +2 turn <ed 877 ad 768>  As if Eliminator had any hope of turning into the fighters, anyway.
Ace of Spades fires 1 phaser at Eliminator range 2, 2 damage, destroys Eliminator, Diamondback loses a fighter, Eradicator takes 4 hull damage crit 1 weapon group port disruptor crit 2 -1 power <ed 886 ad 780>

Impulse B
Terran
Wasp recharges Black Jack
Sun Tzu recharges starboard phaser

Impulse C
Terran
Wasp recharges Black Jack
Hercules charges battery
Alexander powers sideslip

Talon
Eradicator reinforces rear shield – I get the mental image of a man holding up an umbrella against an oncoming tsunami

Impulse D
Terran
Sun Tzu recharges port phaser
Sun Tzu turns starboard
Alexander sideslips port
Alexander fires 2 torpedoes range 3, 1 hit, 3 shield damage <ed 918 ad 804>

Talon
Eradicator turns port

Impulse F
Terran
Wasp reinforces rear shield, turns port
Sun Tzu shortens turn, Hercules and Thor reinforce front shields
Alexander turns port

Interturn:  Eradicator drops to speed 2, others maintain speed

Score:  Talon 2 DN, 2 BB, 2 CL, 1 FF destroyed, 1 BB crippled, ed 740 ad 648; Terran 1 base, 1 BB, and 4 fighter groups destroyed, 1 BC, 1 CV, 4 fighter groups crippled, ed 918 ad 804

Round 7

Impulse A
Terran
Wasp shortens turn
Sun Tzu turns starboard
Ace of Spades fires, range 2, 1 damage to rear shield <ed 927 ad 810>

Impulse B
Terran
Alexander recharges torpedoes
Sun Tzu shortens turn
Alexander fires 2 phasers, range 2, 2 damage, rear shield down <ed 945 ad 822>

Impulse C
Terran
Hercules powers sideslip
Sun Tzu uses battery to shorten turn
Black Sheep fires 1 phaser at range 2, 1 damage (Eradicator has 1 hull left) <ed 954 ad 828>

Talon
Eradicator shortens turn, turns port, fires fusion cannon at Thor (range 2) and Hercules (range 3), does 8/4 damage, crit on Hercules is -1 power <ed 788 ad 720>  The last great act of defiance.

Impulse D
Terran
Thor and Hercules sideslip, fire 2 torpedoes and 1 phaser at Eradicator, range 2, 9 damage (front shield down) <ed 1003 ad 882>
Diamondback fires 1 phaser range 2, 1 damage, Eradicator destroyed <ed 1015 ad 888>

Final Score:  Talon 2 DN, 3 BB, 2 CL, 1 FF destroyed, ed 788 ad 720; Terran 1 base, 1 BB, and 4 fighter groups destroyed, 1 BC, 1 CV, 1 CL, 1 DD, 4 fighter groups crippled, ed 1015 ad 888

Terrans were 21 points of damage below expected, Talon 11.  Ratio of actual to expected damage Terran 87%, Talon 91%.

Observations

1. All or nothing weapons can be very frustrating when they miss, as did both Terran WMG shots. The Talon did do well to make sure they did not get the chance to fire a second time.
2. Fusion cannon can be deadly in fleet battles, though you have to be careful not to hit your friends. The long recharge time makes using them tricky, though.
3. Once fighters get behind heavy ships, the heavy ships are in trouble. In this battle I did not bring enough escorts – future Talon doctrine will be to have at least one FF or CL for each big ship, whose only job is to kill fighters.  In general, disruptors should be used to kill fighters before worrying about Terran ships.
4. In hindsight, I probably should have kept the Talon fleet outside of the base’s range and focused on killing fighters and ships before tackling the base. I had set the strategic goal as eliminating the base, which I did, but it cost me the Talon fleet.

After this battle, I have a better understanding of both Augustus’ lament after Teutoberger Wald and Jellicoe’s caution at Jutland (he knew he was the only man who could lose the war in an afternoon) – the Talon just lost (literally) half their fleet and the war.

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Thanks and stay tuned for the next Talon Tuesday post.

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