Difficulty of the end of my first 80 planet

[Devout Haruhiist]

Hi there! New to posting on the forum but a long time lurker. Discovered AI War about a year ago and have been enjoying it a lot. Recently got back into it with my first 80 planet game. I am not well versed in some of the more advanced strategies, but thought the game was going reasonably well for awhile. I kept the AI progress low (at least in my opinion), got just about all of the Data Centers, and had some successful hacks.

I got to the point where I was preparing to attack the first AI homeworld, but I am running into problems getting past the Wrath Lance Core Guard Post that is there (especially in conjunction with the other Booster and attack guard posts there) I have amassed what I thought was a large enough fleet close to the homeworld, but the whole thing is cut down in seconds upon entering the place. This is to say little of the threat I start facing on my other borders.

I have attached my save file here and would certainly appreciate any tips for getting past this configuration. This is my first time playing on a map this big. Thanks!

[brokentoy]

Hello. I just ran into a Wrath Lance post for the first time in my current game. It was causing me real problems but I found a tip on the forums here - use an armoured warhead. You can build on your planet two hops away, you control the intervening Mark IV so building it and getting it there should be no problem. They are so tough they will survive numerous "caresses" of the Wrath Lance and lots of small fire. A mark I was sufficient to blow away the Lance post then the rest should fall reasonably easily. You have a lot of ships unlocked so a large fleet.

More generally - I did notice you have a large number of fleet and star ships unlocked (maybe 8 to Mark IV?), but virtually no turrets, and you have only one Mark V turret fab. A few more marks of basic turrets (Missile, Laser, Needler etc, plus Grav & Tractor) will help you to hold more of the spread-out planets you hold at least against standard waves. This will save you time shuttling your fleet around to defend and reclaim. With a large map you can even set up beach-heads on hostile planets to keep key routes between worm-holes clear.

[Devout Haruhiist]

Thanks for all of the tips, brokentoy! I will try out the armored warhead tonight.

As far as the turrets, that is probably a good idea. Since I was used to somewhat smaller maps I was used to shifting my fleet around to attack and defend. Better turrets would certainly help and prevent me from stretching my supply lines too thin.