“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 of the Talon 1000 expansion. Since Space Empires:4x Replicators is also releasing soon and there is crossover between the two development teams, Replicator articles will be featured as well.

Issue #33 Talon 1000 – State of the Fleet: The Talon Armada Part 2

Last time we talked about the Talon Fleet and some of the changes we are implementing by adding new ships to the fleet. Today we’re going to discuss some of the archetypes of the Terran fleet structure and how we’ve added ships to allow you to focus on those archetypes.

In the core game, Terrans thrive in an up-close fighting style, where they can cycle their phasers in quick succession, chewing away at the shields of their opponents. In Talon 1000, phaser fleets become even more focused. Previously if you wanted to focus on getting in close and shredding your opponent you would have to choose some ships that mounted torpedos and those torpedoes were often useless at focusing on already hit shield arcs due to their minimum range of 2.

At 300 points, the core Terran fleet had few options:

CL(88)x2+SC(37)x3=287 SP with 5 phasers and 2 torpedoes and 2 batteries

BC(134)+CL(88)+SC(37)x2=296 SP with 4 phasers 3 torpedoes and 2 batteries

As you can see, that’s a lot of points invested in torpedoes, and multiple scouts in each option. However, if we include two of our new ship types, for 299 points, we can bring to bear 8 phasers, a torpedo and 3 batteries!

CA(115)+DDP(59)x2+SCE(33)x2=299 SP with 8 phasers, 1 torpedo and 3 batteries

The Scouts may only fire in their forward arcs, but with their speed and maneuverability, they can plant those shots where they want, and the few points we pick up from their discount, we can grab the new DDPs! These phaser boats have been adapted to bring the maneuverable DD chassis to the close up fight. Add to that the batteries that these boats bring along and you gain both the fire power and initiative control needed to get in close and shred fast.

On the opposite end, the Terrans have always struggled against missile fleets and their ranges. The Talon missile boats can scatter in multiple directions, forcing the Terran swarm to scatter and get picked off one at a time. Meanwhile, the Talon missiles soften up the Terran shields and buy time for the Talon to line up the perfect afterburner engagement. Well, not any longer. May I introduce the CLX!

At a smooth 97 points the CLX bears just two torpedoes and no phasers, but those torpedoes carry a 3 arc firing envelope, so they can maintain distance around an opponent, use their high maneuverability and take out a larger Talon missile boat by dumping two torpedoes into their rear shields. Grab three of these guys, a standard BB and CA and you’re now rocking a solid 600 point fleet with 7 missiles, a Wave Motion Gun, 6 phasers and 5 batteries. That is plenty of range to punch holes in even the strongest of Talon forward shields, or sneak a few torpedoes in their rears as the Talons bank away, all while having enough phaser coverage to clear some clutch missiles out of the sky before the enemy can close.

And let’s not forget the Wave Motion Gun on that BB, it is the sniper rifle of space combat and can take anything lighter than a CA out of the sky in a single hit. Sometimes, though, you’ll want to squeeze that baby into a smaller fleet size. I introduce to you, the BCH! At only 147 points, it sports a WMG alongside two phasers and some extra side shields to help it survive long enough to fire that baby twice in a fight. With an escort of a DDP and two SCEs you can even squeeze this baby into a 300 point battle and hopefully turn the tide with an early hit on your opponent’s largest ship!

Talon 1000 brings you all these fleet options, and more! Each faction gains 100 new premade fleets, 10 new ship designs, and we even added a new AI fleet! Swing by in two weeks for more Talon 1000 info and come back next week for more on Talon’s sister game, the new expansion for Space Empires 4X: Replicators!

Previous Article in the Series: Replicator Tuesday Issue #32: Advanced Ship Development – Part One, The DDX

Next Article in the Series: Replicator Tuesday Issue #34: Advanced Ship Development – Part Two, Curveballs

Author: Patrick Barley