Stellaris best defense platform. Used on battleships, titans, and defence stations. Stellaris best defense platform

 
 Used on battleships, titans, and defence stationsStellaris best defense platform  Then, even if you max out on defense platforms (24 or 32 or something with the Strategic-something ascension perk, which implies an opportunity cost of not being able to pick another ascension perk) that means still fewer Neutron Launchers than a single battleship fleet

also remember lanchester's laws. Let say the scourge appeared on one side of the galaxy. Except terminal egress, which gets 3 ion cannons and 4 L/L. All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos Workshop News Guides Reviews. It was a long-awaited change since the meta seemed to be amassing Battleships with Neutron Launcers and going. I personally like strike craft as a concept so I fill my starbase with hangars and have a mix of small/pd platforms and some medium platforms, plus ion cannons. This is as it should be as they are really easy to hit because they can't evade so. It adds back the defense station and defense fortress that were removed after 2. Which is better depends on the target. Defense platforms have no base upkeep, you only pay the upkeep for the weapons and components on them. Showing 1 - 8 of 8 comments. Democracy is a good unity start if you take beacon of liberty and fulfill goals. This mod makes all military stations (defense platforms, ion cannons, and anything modded in the same class) behave like starbases. Just drop one around the star, incoming enemy fleets will be teleported there and then they have to kill the platform and move to the star system's edge again to move away. Because for all intensive purposes a starbase has that fleet power however since a starbase is a single thing weapons that deal a high damage are extra effective and don’t suffer from nuking something. 1. On battleships, late in the game. Last I heard, yes they do, CC wise at least. They build twice as fast (120 -> 60 days) The fire rate and tracking is tied to combat computers. What they will do is buy you time. I'm keeping a 1:1:1 ratio of s:m:l Gauss/gamma stations as about half of the platforms. Also helps immensely if you are defending a pulsar. 4. Best design is pure strike craft. Now that said, I do agree that defense platforms need a lot more love. They don't cost alloy upkeep at very least, but their cost to performance is absolutely abysmal. Usually either the fleet can scrap the entire thing or would die trying. Enemy comes in with a decent fleet, gets baited into station range, utterly destroys the everything. They can be upgraded to support more as you convert them into larger Star Bases. Note the change in fleet power. Hangars seem to work better in that situation because really all they have to do is help hold the line for a bit until you can get reinforcements in place. 0. This basically means Swarmer Missiles and Hangars are the only good options for Defense Platforms. Originally posted by Keltosh: A basic defense platforms with subspace snare is supercheap and can make you gain up to a month of time. Apr 4, 2019 703 24. Specialist_Growth_49 • 1 yr. Equal cost spent on Defense Platforms vs Fleets, has the platforms absolutely trash a fleet with barely any losses on the platforms. Defense platforms have two sections for weapon slots which can be outfitted with a wide variety of weapon configurations. early to mid game just stack as much hangars as you can. Rule Zero of Stellaris combat: autodesigned ships suck so much they have an event horizon. Secondly, Starbases are way more cost effective than fleets in the early game. They are very underpowered and not worth their expense. New Sniper Combat Computers. But that 25% armor damage means you'll get hard countered if the enemy adapts and runs all armor. Ion cannons are actually fully free and have no upkeep costs whatsoever. This means that Ion Cannons get left behind. I usually pair mine (lately I only build two in a system) with defense platforms designed to hold hangars or a hangar plus artillery (it'd be SO. The lack of control over the weapons loadout is a big weakness. I believe OP doesn't have either NLs nor Ion Cannons unlocked though. Defense Platforms are underpowered, there really are no good designs. They. Early game, I just mix kinetic+energy in even proportions with a lot of medium platforms and a few light platforms to handle corvette swarms. Anchorages, like most things in stellaris works best when you specialise around one objective per starbase or planet. If you have enough fleet power to be. Yup, defense platforms are kinda useless. I have figured out how to do it for ships in the fleet manager, but the only options seem to be 'inspect', upgrade, and disband for defence platforms. Thasher Class Assault Ships - Doubling as both my point defense and kinetic weapon platforms my Thasher class ship is 2 small point. Ion Cannons aren’t any better, on account of being a very fat Defense Platform (same downsides) with Perdition Beam (imagine a Tachyon Lance that deals 5 times the damage but takes 3 times as long to reload, thus suffering from overkilling enemies in a major way) for a low, low price of Battleship and a half in Alloys. >Defense-Grid Supercomputer A lot of times I don't even build Defense Platforms. Better park fleet. The only reason I can get that high is because I can upgrade the defense platforms the 10% dozens of times. That's the best way to use defense platforms. This includes defense platform, ion cannons, and should work with any modded item that is built in the same way. One corvette sitting on the bypass node will engage combat including your starbase. 4 carriers, 22 artillery battleships and a titan is a solid fleet composition for late game. Defence platforms aren't great as. We are all aware that Stellaris ship design has had a massive rebalance, and with that the combat system and the overall pace of the game. r/Stellaris. CryptoPatrolling a few corvettes along your trade routes will eliminate the piracy, and is a decent way to level up admirals when you’re not doing much real warfare. Their main offensive tactics involve their building and colony ships, so if they spawn in your territory put a lot. Anything smaller than the L slot will be outranged by any player-controlled fleet that just stays at 150 range with carrier computers and a Cautious admiral (for Neutron Launchers to have >150 range). I usually end up with 2-3 ions with split shield/armor and the rest with cloud lightning. For existing games, you can open the game console[stellaris. usually they only are usefull if combined with a defensive flleet. 1. Second priorities are anchorages and trading bases. Torpedoes do more damage, and especially do more damage per hit, meaning enemy ships are more likely to be destroyed, rather than escape to emergency FTL. Optimally, I'll use 2 large, one using Torpedos and the other Kinetic, max range is the aim of the game. They are accessible early on in the game and will also increase the amount of defense platforms that starbases can support slightly; enough to build one. This mod provides a series of small buffs to make defense platforms more useful without altering the meta. I'm keeping a 1:1:1 ratio of s:m:l Gauss/gamma stations as about half of the platforms. In mid game when I have unlocked all 6 slots I set up my base with 4 gun battery and 2 missile, meanwhile defensive platform filled with Torpedos. Ion-canons do lot of damage, but have a long reload time and are not very good against a fleet of small ships. 0 unless otherwise noted. I normally build starbases with 6 plattforms as fast as possible on chokepoints. Your fleet will. You can go really high with starhold + traditions + ascension perk + module. Additionally, weapon range is the most common determinant of engagement range, and it can be very useful to combat-lock a fleeing enemy from across the system. Ring World has always been one of the most powerful megastructures in Stellaris due to its flexibility in placement and resource production. The technologies required to unlock them are back. In terms of defense warfare, Stellaris doesn't make sense at all! You have planets and starbases, each with different functions, and the port being much more important, marking borders, producing ships, "containing" stations, portals and structures within itself; but it is the planet that is costly to conquer with invading armies and. throwayohay • 5. Currently, stations placed at pulsar systems are underperforming using default station template with pointless shields and stock weapon choices completely missing on the advantage that pulsar system can give. paradoxwikis. I'd go so far as to say ACs are a better defense than offense. In an ideal world, it should matter what the platforms are. Ship Design Components. The best way to use them is to combine them with a fleet in the system. * As with any mod that affects game play, NOT achievement compatible. Starting with. Come join me live at 8PM ESTThis Stellaris video is a challenge to all the experts out there regarding defense platforms. Really not the worst thing just fortify your borders and prepare your fleets. 83 at a cost of about. Outposts can be fitted with defense platforms. The best use of defense platforms I've found is to split the DPS of the attacker off from a single starbase defending into multiple targets. Eternal Vigilance (+25% starbase hull points, +25% starbase damage, defense platform damage, +5 defense platform capacity) Galactic Contender (+33% damage to awakened empires, and others that aren't relevant) Level 6 or 7 with every endgame tech (each level gives +5% to attack speed, attack damage, etc. While defense platforms don't cost any naval capacity, they are exceedingly weak for their alloy cost. Considering that vanilla scripts for defense station and defense fortress. Theutus Dec 9, 2021 @ 10:24am. To answer the title question, if memory serves, it's always a 30 day delay on healing, and then they repair at a rate of like 1-2% hull and armor per day afterwards. Unfortunately I already blew up the galaxy and turns out that wipes your defense platforms blueprints as well :( They were autogenerated though. Oligarchy start is real good due to agendas, and because it has meritocracy, a great finisher. Added new aux components that use Exotic Gases, Rare Crystals, Living Metal, or Zro to provide armor and shield hardening. They add to the firepower of the spacestation that they are attached to. All it should be doing is buying you time. Stronger defense platforms. Energy weapons generally have slightly better accuracy, lower damage and shorter range compared to kinetic weapons. Yes. Used on battleships, titans, and defence stations. Discovery. Current cap on defense platforms/weapons is pretty high. Stellaris Defence Platforms Stellaris Defence Platform designs will be analysed to find out how well they perform. Defense Platforms are a waste of Alloys and Energy and need their cost reduced or their stats buffed to better reflect their actual effectiveness/cost. " It scales better into the late game, due to missile weapons having decent range and inflicting hull damage, and in the early game, missile corvettes are the best way to take down starbases until Carrier Cruisers. 06% of the cost. The only defense platform worth building is the Hanger one, here's why: Every ship has a max deployment limit. Gonna Sting - Med weapons component loaded with swarmer missiles, comboed with a torp component. • 5 yr. If done by different players, whoever destroys the starbase will gain the system. If you take control of the L cluster, then ion cannons are absolutely crucial for preventing empires you're at war with from just leap-frogging through Terminal Egress to any other L-Gate willy-nilly. By: Wolfie. Thank you very much, I. This page was last edited on 28 February 2018, at 06:00. 76 small weapon equivalents for a relative power of 7. Stellaris Wiki Active Wikis. Because the AI was not using them (vanilla stellaris issue) and modders can't make the AI use those defense platforms 2. Defense platforms are pretty weak, and unless you're stacking large cost discounts are usually not worth building. Defense platforms are smaller military stations that are deployed around the starbase and act as weapons platforms. 2x Hangar module starport are superb value in the early-game, 3x Hangar/1x shipyard starholds stay relevant for quite some time and can provide a superb staging base for your fleets (seriously, make sure you include that shipyard, your fleets repair basically instantly at a starbase with a shipyard and it's well worth the inclusion). Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. Yes, for the reasons you stated: they don't use up naval capacity. Because as long as the fight goes on new fighters spawn even if the platform is destroyed. Raaaage-Alert • 4 yr. Disruptors are better against opposing Corvettes, while Missiles are better against starbases and defense platforms. When the starbase is lost, all defense platforms are lost as well, you will have to rebuild all of them. At the very unlikely extreme, a single starbase on a tiny map could face the combined resources of 199 systems in the form of an offensive fleet. Starbases (and defense platform autodesigns) probably shouldn't mount the following: Torpedoes (Range 30) Autocannons (Range 35) Disruptors (Range 40) Any idea if weapon slots can be coded to only accept weapons of a specific type? If so, missile batteries could be changed to 4xS which only accepts missile components. Automatically regenerating makes sense, although I will add the caveat that it should only happen if you win the battle. Oligarchy is something all democracies should switch to. The fleet will likely kill that corvette, but once combat is engaged, the enemy has to finish or ftl retreat. This mod adds three tiers of builds which unlock the "Create Orbital Defense Platforms" decision, with the final tier unlocking the "Create Orbital Ion Cannons" decision. Authority has minimal ability to be best. My reasoning being that you can double down on stronger repeatable techs for strike craft damage/attack speed, and stronger repeatable techs for defense platform damage. . On the plus side, if you don't lose your starbase, your defense platform investment is safe. AI will favor P slots over S slots if it researched new P weapons that are of the same tech tier or higher than its best S/M weapon. You need to zoom in closer when looking at all the planets in a system. I usually end up with 2-3 ions with split shield/armor and the rest with cloud lightning. . This guide contains only examples of good ship designs. In this context, the attacker would want/need Point Defense to mitigate the starbase support in a battle outside of the range of the M-slot weapon alternatives. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. TheOtherBridge • 1 min. They are best used at choke points to do 2 things: Slow down the enemy to buy time for your fleet to arrive if they are stationed elsewhereDefense platforms, however, are not worthwhile. Defense platforms themselves don't have new chassis, rather you have access to all their parts out the gate. 4. . Once there was a bug which allowed a player to build fe defense platforms and upgrade them to fortresses during its starbases being. 6+ rebalance), but the weakness to Flak has made it trickier to use. Hull components are useless, Defense Platforms have naturally high hull and the crystal plating adds relatively little. 1. Reintroduces the medium and large military stations which can be build at starbases just like defense platforms. 1 or 3. The repeatable defense platform techs are actually really strong because they scale non-linearly with 10% instead of 5%, and they also benefit from physics techs ie energy weapons damage/attack rate. Please give the game at least a day for the option to show up under Edicts. Please do not ask if it works with <Insert your Mod here> because I likely won't know. Shield nullification let's you go full anti-armor. Jan 29, 2022. Specialist_Growth_49 • 1 yr. How to build defense platform ? :: Stellaris General Discussions. #8. Small Disruptor (The most. Raaaage-Alert • 4 yr. Age of Wonders 4 Empire of Sin Cities: Skylines 2 Crusader Kings 3 Europa Universalis 4 Hearts of Iron 4 Hunter:. Now as for defense platforms, I can see a case to be made here. . Though, platforms are mostly extremely bad because of the way they function: 1. Ygolnac Dec 27, 2017 @ 6:55am. The big thing to remember is that every starbase that is devoted to something other than anchorages will reduce the size of your fleet, and having a large mobile fleet is always a good. They have their own HP - and that too is weak. 3 version of the mod with Stellaris 3. 560. GameStop Moderna Pfizer Johnson & Johnson AstraZeneca Walgreens Best Buy Novavax SpaceX Tesla. Hi, I'm just playing through my first game of Stellaris (2. Some amount of Shields, mostly Armor. Hi, I'm just playing through my first game of Stellaris (2. There are two basic types of defense platforms in Stellaris. Dragonslayer. I had always just assumed you needed to upgrade the starbase before you could build platforms, but even level 0 starbases can have some platforms. That should normally get you to 2,5k-3k. Build three defense platforms 2. . A lot of point defence, flak and ALL armor (just unequip shields) Fighters might be usefull against their bombers, but flak and PD should be enough. Considering that vanilla scripts for defense station and defense fortress. Keep in mind that starbases fight way below their listed fleet power. Defense platforms cost no upkeep at all, but the weapons added to them still require upkeep like a normal ship would (meaning Defense. So too does kinetic artillery. Upgrade for 4 platforms. Bozidar Radulovic. with unyielding they get a 33% boost to hull and damage, a 15% boost to fire rate, and can stack 50% more platforms per station. These platforms allow your Outposts to protect their individual star systems. While having a constructor selected, click in space. The technologies required to unlock them are back. breakingdefense. Nah, you don't get to increase that in vanilla. Large is a very distant second, and Torpedo is an extremely distant third. Autocannons are also probably one of the best weapons at slaughtering corvettes with their high ROF and tracking. Noticing that Hangar Bay is supposed to provide +1 to the defense platform cap, while Ancient Rampart is supposed to provide +2 - the actual cap provided is however bugged, with Ancient Rampart providing 1 less cap than the Hangar Bay. ago 1 light platform section (all slots filled with missiles), 1 hangar section. Weapons aside, I usually go with 5 small/small, 5 medium/medium, and 10 large/large. Trickster is also pretty decent. Ragdoll Apr 28, 2017 @ 9:49am. 1. Right now, i got 2 patrol fleets of 20 corvettes just to hold up those pesky pirates. 9 the game used to have three tiers of defensive platforms all the way up to fortresses, currently only the smallest one of those is available for construction. Then look at fleet comp. 9, with leaders having no upkeep while employed. Because every Archaeo Weapon is Rare and has a low weight-chance, TA's 1. Warning: ALL Defense Platform Cap bonuses are COMPLETELY broken post update! Bug. This is my second mod for Stellaris and is still in beta, it requires Apocalypse for some elements. Just check the box as you do for ship designs and they will automatically upgrade (exceptions, if any, are the same as for ships). An ion cannon platform is equivalent to 8 defense platforms in terms of capacity slots and can only be constructed on citadel-level starbases. >Hyperlane Registrar Sounds nice but it's effects are pretty negligible and almost irrelevant. I also try to stack the +platforms as much as i can, quantity above quality. Ion Cannons are both better than defense platforms, and also do not benefit from the hull upgrade (they're glass cannons with long range; if they're getting shot at, they're already dead anyways). The technologies required to unlock them are back. There's a Defense Platform Hull repeatable too, also for 10% per level. Yes, for the reasons you stated: they don't use up naval capacity. They could even make their own defense section in the ship design. I think it's Ancient Cache of Technologies that has the heavy platforms. If you're that intent on building defense platforms, it's best to ignore ion cannons in favor of L slot platforms with nothing but neutron launchers. ago. I find a happy medium is for two of these to be Ion Cannons (which essentially fire a titan laser that will oneshot anything smaller than a Titan that it. 4 "Gemini"! Please see the patch notes for more details. >Target Uplink Computer Maybe gives one or two hits. Defense platforms are like a stationaryvfleet, each has its own hull, shields and armor values. This is why Escape is the best defense in the game, with 90% evasion being a middling second. Upload. and call it a day. 9. The Target Uplink Computer building on starbases that increases the range by 50%, does not work. If 3/4 of them are shield heavy, go anti shield. Starbases on they're own are actually handled pretty well in Stellaris considering that they are static defenses and are very vulnerable to fleets. I mean I can exchange the Gun Battery Modules for Hangar Bays or Missile Batteries (- or something completely different), and just add a few Defense Platforms instead, but I don't like the fact that Defense Platforms don't regenerate / they get really destroyed in a war, when Starbases change hands back and forth, whereas the base. Oligarchy start is real good due to agendas, and because it has meritocracy, a great finisher. For piracy hangars. Moongduri • 10 mo. I will say the same thing many others will say, dont build platforms. But against any mixed AI comp the best option is Defense Platforms with 2 L slots, Neutron Launchers and the +50% range from the starbase building. This platforms are pure amoeba flagella in this case. Destroyers counter corvettes. The best Defense Platform is the one you never build. also remember lanchester's laws. Research Blue Lasers (thus making the initial red lasers obsolete) 3. After a few days you get pop-up then a decsion to rebuild appears on the world. 1 day ago · Guarded by multiple powerful defense platforms. Back in 1. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile view7. Unfortunately, the original authors have not updated it for a long time. I can design the defense platforms and pick what weapons they have, thats fine. Defense platforms and starbases are very strong in the early game, if used well. Ie: Defense platforms in pulsar systems (no shields) are all protected by heavy armor with guns that are weak only against shields. Let say the scourge appeared on one side of the galaxy. It was stated by the devs that customization of the station loadout (station designer) is. ago. Honestly when im making my chokepoints I use all the modules that give me more/buffed defense platforms, then I usually go with the disengage. Corvettes primarily rely on evasion and armor for protection. . Incorrect defense platform caps post update. Late game it's all heavy. Stellaris Game Director. on account of being a very fat Defense Platform (same downsides) with Perdition Beam (imagine a Tachyon Lance that deals 5 times the damage but takes 3 times as long to reload, thus suffering from overkilling enemies in a major way) for a low, low. They just killed defense platforms. Pocket Sand - Both point defense/flak battery components. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile view Pro Tip Four: Combining tips Two and Three, you can make a Defense Platform for as cheap as 82 alloys per platform, before discounts. 9 comments Best Add a Comment BadAtVidya92 • 5 mo. Defense Platforms are cost roughly 1/3 of a corvettes upkeep costs, but have about double the power. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. 0 unless otherwise noted. Pretty sure hangar spam is usually the way to go, with 1 ion Cannon to make sure your strike craft get released early. This page was last edited on 8 December 2022, at 22:04. Imagine the fleet upgrade complete notifications on upgrade all-ing a 4060 strong station. The only exception is the Starbase Cap. Beefy starbases that you can customize and upgrade heavily over time could really breathe some life into the tactics of defense in Stellaris. Authority has minimal ability to be best. They have their own armor - which is weak 2. This includes defense platform, ion cannons, and should work with any modded item that is built in the same way. Missile Cruisers, Carrier Battleships, X-slot+Carrier Battleships, Carrier-Cruisers, Hangar-Defense. By the time they reach enemy ships, most of combat is already over. Then ideally you want any enemy fleets to be under fire from both the defense platform as well as your. Equal cost spent on Defense Platforms vs Fleets, has the platforms absolutely trash a fleet with barely any losses on the platforms. For existing games, you can open the game console[stellaris. Hanger Platforms only have 2 fighter slots each, so they deploy very fast. The only difference between a 10k station base station and a 13k defense platform station is that the 13k cost a lot more. GameStop Moderna Pfizer Johnson & Johnson AstraZeneca Walgreens Best Buy Novavax SpaceX Tesla. 25x for an equivalent amount of other repeatables on another weapons platform. In this video we will look at a variety of defence platform builds to. Combined with the -20% Shields and -20% Sublight Speed and. ago. I had an admiral that. If you're that intent on building defense platforms, it's best to ignore ion cannons in favor of L slot platforms with nothing but neutron launchers. Also the defence modules (missile module, battery module, hangar module) add their. #1. 798. Step 2: still doesn't stop a near-peer neighbor and you have to manually click the defense platform build button 4060 times. My starbases: 2 gun/missile/hangar bays. And unlike T slots, which are spinal and therefore require the ship to be facing in the right direction, strike craft can attack from any direction. T4 Station, six offensive modules, debuff auras + Defensive Grid Supercomputer, one ion cannon + defensive platforms up to the limit (the cap on platforms was around 55 iirc). though stuff like Hydroponics can have its uses, same with heritage sites. Defense Platforms are a waste of Alloys and Energy and need their cost reduced or their stats buffed to better reflect their actual effectiveness/cost. Adjust the templates according to your needs in the ship manager. Three Platforms on an Outpost is less effective than upgrading to a Starbase and building a defensive module, but again going over starbase capacity is expensive. It appears to be active for all basic defense platforms and is shown in the ship designer as well. Some are giant spaceborne aliens, but the Enigmatic Fortress is ancient abandoned stronghold. sapient: 25% tracking 35% fire rate, 10% accuracy psionic: 35% tracking and fire rate. 10. We can, after all, totally suppress pirates with a fewscore naked corvettes. Starbase modules also do not cost mineral upkeep, only the energy upkeep listed. Intel is a value between 0 and 100 that represents how much information an empire has about another empire. This ownership is permeant (until reconquered). Note - military stations are a class of ship that are built in the starbase defense tab. I love playing the TEC Loyalists (A defense-sepcializing faction for those who haven't played) in Sins and just digging in, turning my entire territory into a nightmarish galaxy-spanning uber-stronghold. The extra engagement range overshadows every other option, and it’s the only thing I build. Stellaris. The Angry Hive - Hanger components on both. They have their own shield - which is also weak 3. Pocket Sand - Both point defense/flak battery components. You can build more star bases. They don't cost alloy upkeep at very least, but their cost to performance is absolutely abysmal. Adjust the templates according to your needs in the ship manager. Unfortunately, the original authors have not updated it for a long time. Your platforms will do their job only upto early midgame. The purpose of the Maginot line is to defend France by forcing Germany to attack through Belgium. Defense Platforms, and Bastions in general, really only serve one purpose once everyone has Destroyers - a speed bump. Starbases have a free +X armour buff that scales based on their level, e. Buildings#shorts #stellaris #howto #tutorial #tips #guide Discord: tip is about how to build d. E. Option should say move here or build defense platform. The best use of defense platforms I've found is to split the DPS of the attacker off from a single starbase defending into multiple targets. The best build would be anchorages and a fleet. T4 Station, six offensive modules, debuff auras + Defensive Grid Supercomputer, one ion cannon + defensive platforms up to the limit (the cap on platforms was around 55 iirc). The influence cost is a base of 75, multiplied by the number of hyperlane jumps, including bypasses, between the target systems and the empire's closest owned. Fortifying our Starbase to ensure its survivability in the event of an attack. Besides defense stations are bad designed. Best. (and I just realized, after all tehse years. Also imo; The best thing about a strategic coordination center is the extra defensive platforms it allows per starbase. Stellaris: Suggestions. Select build platform then place it exactly where you want and press A. Try to avoid defence platforms. Ion-canons do lot of damage, but have a long reload time and are not very good against a fleet of small ships. If FE decides to bang you, your platforms will cook and dissappear faster than you can pause the game. Every weapon and armor type in Stellaris has a direct hard counter. Because for all intensive purposes a starbase has that fleet power however since a starbase is a single thing weapons that deal a high damage are extra effective and don’t suffer from nuking something. So if your economy is tight, they are a great weapons to have. Exept FE/Crisis of course, with their 100k+ fleets, but against the "normal" AI empires it worked quite well. R5: After I annexed an early space age primitive world, I found that I owned their space station. The Tracking and Range, however, look irrelevant. If you get both of these to a respectable level, Ion Cannons can become monsters. If you roughly consider 1T=2X=4L, then you're throwing away 16L for 1T, which is a massive waste of potential damage.