AI Tackle Drone Launchers

[LordSloth]

How do you handle Tackle Drones when the AI has 60+ of them in a CPA or patrol, while you only have one homeworld?

I've been trying out Heavy Bomber starships, but it doesn't quite do what I need. Any other suggestions (preferably not one involving bonus ships, but bonus ships are still useful suggestions given some hacking)?

I've got an ongoing Fallen Spire/Champion game that just won't be fun any more unless I can figure a way to break past the hassle of these AI Tackle Drones. I can upload the save if anyone's curious, but I'm not having defensive problems so much as offensive.

P.S. I've thought of suiciding my Champion with the right modules, but that isn't quite the tactic I'd hoped to use. Ideally I want to be able to push back against tackle drones while my champion is off in a nebula.

[Dichotomy]

Starships. Lots of them.
The champion minion fleet is quite powerful after later scenarios.
That fleet should walk you through the first five or so shard recoveries. After that you simply melt them with the spire capital fleet.

[Kahuna]

You handle them by either playing with Normal or Simple ships setting or by disabling Ancient Shadows expansion.

[keith.lamothe]

You handle them by either playing with Normal or Simple ships setting or by disabling Ancient Shadows expansion.

Normally I'd just say glass-half-empty, but just how low is your glass?

[rabican]

TD launchers are pretty OP and you've probably alrady noticed that any non tractor immune ship is completly useless against the numbers AI is using them.  So yeah, starships, and tractor immune fleet ships. Etherjet mercanaries . If you want to do some extreme micro , bring stuff under Riot ss forcefields . Gravity effects might do some good, haven't tested.  But generally TD is most painful bonus ship for AI by far and there won't be any easy way out.

[Faulty Logic]

there won't be any easy way out.

Riot IIIs with a gravity module. Costs 9750 k, but you get riot starships and grav turrets, beyond just countering the TDs.

[LordSloth]

Really, the starship route alone isn't helping too much: Zenith, Heavy Bombers to mk2 each, along with the champion minions and four spire frigates. I'm just critically short of the required knowledge for critical mass. The problem is the cluster of regular fleetships there in enough numbers to slaughter my starships. What is making a rather large difference is some tractor equipped MK1 Riot Starships hauling the small craft onto my turret balls the next system over, leaving my starships free to kill things. Said killing still takes a while, however I'm experimenting with that now that I've figured out how to keep my starships from being critically outnumbered and dead. I don't know whether the zenith starships prefer the close combat drones or the medium launchers, so I think setting them to prefer the launchers may make a large difference.

[Burnstreet]

Anything with FF on helps, especially shield bearers. With shadow and spire ships use their shields to your advantage. The big spire shield bearers are also nice.

[Kahuna]

You handle them by either playing with Normal or Simple ships setting or by disabling Ancient Shadows expansion.

Snipers might work too.