just wondering how do ppl usually do it…
tribe shielding is usually not worth it as far as cruiser combat go
but they will need at least one shield 2 protect them from fighters
has anyone found a way that works for them?
I find having another repair module works better than a shield 2, even against army with a lot of rocket fighters. Have 3 repair modules and they survive against fighters just fine.
Killing enemy fighters however, seem to be a much bigger problem. With - 50% armor, they lose the option of anti air frigate. They have to rely on winning dogfights in most cases.
you don’t win against rebel/swarm in dogfights, period.
you can either murder the enemy before fighters start to matter,or you can try a blend of some form of defence
usually having a blend of fighters for a defence screen and then support for those fighters (tractor beams,light guns,carrier bays) works good i guess… when fighters attack,they fight on enemy territory so to speak… you can make their life (the rest of it) a real living hell without putting too much cash to it utilizing proper combination of craft,equipment and tactics
and to the original question… yeah,shields are hard to use on tribe, maybe good for some reflecting i guess but the repair module really makes a difference… the only case i`d consider shields on tribe i guess is when theyre fighting against order rad guns/missiles,and even then its difficult because of the leak-through
In open areas, no. But with tractor beams and a relatively small escort range, they can prevent an aggressive rocket fighter assault. Carrier bay also works well for tribes.
true, in fact, carrier bays with the tribe are amazingly helpful
I am starting to think that putting repair module on tribe ships are not worth it. Sure you get repair, and if it uses up it adds 1040 to your hp, but you lose damage (for having that over a weapon). Plus co-operate/vulture pretty much neutralize their effectiveness. You might get 200 hp out of it before it’s destroyed.
well wat u reckon u add on those ships… their VERY LIVES depend on those repairs…
tribes arn’t that good against high DPS scenarios anyways
especially when the enemy have fighters/bombers
Problem is repair makes them worst in high DPS situation. The more DPS the other side has, the less chance your repair has in using up it’s supply. If repair gets to use half it’s supply on average, that’s only 520 HP, or 15% on a 3500 HP ship. If 1/3 gets used, then it only adds 10%.
What I do now instead is to cut cost by using high HP/Cost items (engine 1, power 1, reinforced crew). That way I still maintain the 3000 ish HP but have each cost under 2000.
huh… interesting… might try that
Try my challenge at 4592326. I am still experimenting with it but seem to have potential.
No one mentioned EMP. I find EMP paired with 2-3 repair modules, good AA and speed to close the distance makes for very durable Tribe cruisers.
I’m finding that having repair modules do an awesome job; they let cruisers take the pounding of 2-3+ enemy cruisers and survive for extended periods of time; this more than makes up for any deficiencies in weaponry they have.
I am starting to like stacking multiple camouflage on a few tribe ships. They act as formation breakers by moving to 100 range, and draws aggro with 1 howitzer. Unlike repair they give a solid 880 hp without stacking penalty.
Camouflage is awesome on Tribe ships. Who needs shields and armour when you’ve got 5000HP? (I still use repair modules though).
One way to look at it (assuming that the effectiveness decrease for repair modules doesn’t affect amount of supplies available) is that each repair module adds 1040 HP, because that’s the max it can repair (and let me tell you, i’ve seen my repair stuff get heavily used). Thus, if you slap 6 repair modules on a hull and have a base health of 3500 HP, you got yourself a 9.5k+ health cruiser. 
Actually, you can think of them as 1258 HP each providing they uses up (they have 109 hp).
Problem is I can’t get them to use up even half of their supply against fleets with the co-operate tag.
They should repair till A: the module is obliterated or B: everything fixed is fixable…
Yes, and the shift from B to A happens too fast against focus fire.
dont u mean everything fixable is fixed?