Question Time: Popping a CS

[Dragondraikk]

Still relatively new around the game, although I have finished a couple of (sub-7) campaigns and am going pretty strong on a 7/7 right now.

Now one thing I am still not 100% certain about in terms of strategy is whether it is generally better to shoot straight for the Command Station or take out all Guard Posts first on a planet I plan to take over (given that no targets that need to be removed first are around. My current campaign loves seeding nuke eyes, which certainly slow down progress a good bit  ).

If I am not mistaken, popping a CS without taking the Guard Posts first frees up the remaining defenders as Threat, right? Or are they going to instead charge after the aggressors indiscriminately?

I guess in general I would like to know the precise advantages and disadvantages of either approach, since I am fairly certain that each has a certain degree of usefulness depending on the situation.

[Bognor]

If memory serves, targeting an AI command station has a 50% chance of freeing all the defenders, and if they're not freed, starting to build a command station of your own has another 50% chance of freeing them.  I read that ages ago so it might have since changed.

I normally take out all the defenders first.  On higher difficulties, threat becomes a lot smarter.  The freed ships are likely to dash away through a wormhole and eventually team up with the threatfleet, a potentially huge mobile AI fleet that will hang back from your worlds until it detects a weakness it can exploit.  CPAs and the threatfleet are two of the more likely ways of losing at higher difficulty, at least in my experience.

[Kahuna]

Imo it's much better to just pop the command station. It releases the defenders 100% of the time and it also prevents the AI from reinforcing the planet. The ships released as threat.. are threat ships.. so they will attack you if they find a weak spot in your defenses. If the AI thinks it can win the fight it will attack. So if you're going to pop a Mark IV planet you might want to be prepared. Especially if that planet has been on alert for a while. Mark IV (Raider) Guardians hurt.

It also means that you can capture the planet right away which means you can use Turrets to destroy the Guard Posts. No need to use fleet.. can use it to do something else/more useful. Needler Turrets can be used to destroy Force Fields. Mark >= II Needler turrets can be used to destroy Fortresses and Guard Posts and Sniper Turrets can be used to destroy anything.

Note that Turrets can trigger AI Eyes.

[Kahuna]

If the planet has an AI Eye it's actually better when the AI keeps reinforcing the planet because the Eye only triggers if you out number the AI 2 to 1. So if the AI has some ships you're not as likely to trigger the Eye. Just don't spare any Guardians. They will wreck your stuff.

Another advantage of not destroying the CS first is not increasing AIP immediately. If the planet is Mark IV and has heavy defenses it can take a long time to capture the planet.. thus you would increase the AIP needlessly without achieving anything.. on the other hand if the planet has heavy defenses Turrets make breaking them much faster and easier.

[Dragondraikk]

Thanks for the input, although all that does open up another question:

What all IS counted as a unit in terms of eyes and the like? I originally thought it only considered mobile military, but since turrets are counted as well that does leave some questions.
What about allied minor factions? (Roaming Enclaves spring to mind, although rebels and dyson gatlings are noteworthy as well)
What about neutral factions? (Again Dysons come to mind, as well as marauders and the like... Zenith Devourers/Mining Golems?)
Are zombies counted? That could cause issues pretty fast unless they are smart enough to stay out of systems with an eye on them.

[TechSY730]

I'm pretty sure the only 50% chance for the AI to free defenders on destruction and on capture is still in place, but is likely being "shadowed" by the logic to free guards if the AI gets massively "outgunned" on a planet.

[Hearteater]

I don't believe neutral factions are counted since I don't think I've ever seen them set an Eye off by themselves. Zombies likely are counted. Also MODULES count! So be careful with those units.

[Kahuna]

I'm pretty sure the only 50% chance for the AI to free defenders on destruction and on capture is still in place, but is likely being "shadowed" by the logic to free guards if the AI gets massively "outgunned" on a planet.

3 Mark II Raider Guardians don't outgun hundreds of Mark IV ships.

I actually never outgun the AI except on my own planets.