Salvage makes coutner-attack guard posts counter-productive for the AI?

[TechSY730]

With the new salvage mechanics, it seems like counter attack guard posts start becoming a benefit to the player, as they will effectively create a bunch of scrap for the player when the wave hits. Aka, their effect now hurts the AI, which is the opposite of intended.

Given the complaints about how the counter-attack guard posts don't have a fun mechanic, maybe this is another reason to look into alternatives that actually do what they are supposed to do?

[vigilo confido]

The waves spawn on the player homeworld but with enough defenses, the waves are free salvage for something like a super fortress.

[TechSY730]

They don't always spawn on the homeworld (we just got lucky here).

However, my point still stands, though obviously, the "issue" is the worst when it does go onto a homeworld.

[Bognor]

I don't understand... Couldn't you make the same argument about regular waves, CPAs, exos...? 

Also, I thought (part of) the purpose of counter-attack guard posts was limit the power of chokepoints by bypassing them.  They still do that, right?

[RockyBst]

Counter-attack guard posts are getting removed sometime in the next few versions, primarily due to this issue. Think the discussion was in the 7.0.19 thread.

[Draco18s]

Counter-attack guard posts are getting removed sometime in the next few versions, primarily due to this issue. Think the discussion was in the 7.0.19 thread.

Not removed, turned into a lobby option.  The posts were to fix the "invincible front line" issue, but now that other ways of climbing over that wall have been brought up and discussed, they're going to take the place of CA posts as the default mechanic.

[vigilo confido]

Counterattack posts are very biased towards attacking the homeworld and there is a 50% salvage efficiency there. So if the counter attack wave attacks the homeworld, it can be like opening a distribution node. I have an orbital mass driver on the homeworld, so there is not going be any plasma starship craziness.

[Gudamor]

Because it is potentially game-ending, taking a counter-attack to the homeworld seems like a high-risk/high-reward scenario. Are you saying that it's more like no-risk/high-reward? At the very least you have some opportunity cost: you had to have invested some of your defenses which could otherwise have been used elsewhere.

[ZaneWolfe]

I have seen a Count Attack Post WIN a game for the AI by landing on my HW, a game I had practically won by completing the FS campaign. I slaughtered everything in the wave with just basic defenses, as well as the Imperial Spire Fleet. A MK IV Raider Starship killed my HW Command Station just moments before a Super Dreadnought killed it. It had already opened fire on the Raider when I lost. So while they can and usually do help me more than the AI due to salvage, they are also potential game winners when on your HW.

[Ayrix]

I recently had Dark spire attack a Rude Gesture, think it set off 5 of them at once.
Free win for the AI  even with a decent defence on my home world.

[vigilo confido]

I had an orbital mass driver that basically stopped any cheesy AI wins. They are really good.

[Faulty Logic]

With the new salvage mechanics, it seems like counter attack guard posts start becoming a benefit to the player, as they will effectively create a bunch of scrap for the player when the wave hits. Aka, their effect now hurts the AI, which is the opposite of intended.

While they can benefit the player, it's rare. Sometimes they'll go to planets you don't want them to, and that ties up your fleet for however long it takes to kill the wave. Especially annoying when you need to get rid of more than one of the things.

And even the best-case scenario just gives you metal, which isn't that important.