What do wormhole guard posts even do?

[CaptainTaz]

They're so weak.... only think they even remotely seem useful for it preventing shield regen on a single ship....

[topper]

I think they just encourage the player to actually take the system instead of just glassing the turrets and moving on.

I guess it is also giving the AI places to spawn and store ships.

[Aklyon]

Also they give a good ineffective target if you want to compare damage for some reason. Fully armed and operational death star Photon Lance Spire champs will rip them to shreds in short order, if you actually stay put and do so.

[Radiant Phoenix]

I think they also boost reinforcement rates like other guard posts.

[NickAragua]

Yeah, they give the AI a place to put their reinforcements. They actually used to be completely invisible and invulnerable, but people kept a) seeing them when an EMP would go off and b) getting annoyed that there was no way to prevent reinforcements from spawning at the wormhole. They also don't count towards installations that count guard posts.

I generally never bothered clearing them out unless I *really* needed to pass through an AI controlled system. Here's the thing though, if you really need to regularly pass through a system, just blow up the command station and eat the 20 AIP.

[Vacuity]

Here's the thing though, if you really need to regularly pass through a system, just blow up the command station and eat the 20 AIP.

I strongly disagree with this at any AI difficulty from 7 upwards, and the higher the difficulty, the more I disagree.

There are plenty of tools available to the player to bring them down in reasonably short order once you've been playing a bit in any game.

[NickAragua]

Here's the thing though, if you really need to regularly pass through a system, just blow up the command station and eat the 20 AIP.

I strongly disagree with this at any AI difficulty from 7 upwards, and the higher the difficulty, the more I disagree.

There are plenty of tools available to the player to bring them down in reasonably short order once you've been playing a bit in any game.

The caveat is that I rarely need to pass *through* an AI controlled system. If I want my fleet to deploy way out in the AI's backyard, I'll build some gates or local shipyards and ignore the neutered AI systems altogether. The travel time through an AI system is abysmal, compared to travel time through your systems with logistics headquarters and space-time manipulators. Not to mention the part where the AI will take pot shots at your reinforcements as they come through.

[Kahuna]

1 word: assault transports

[Vacuity]

...If I want my fleet to deploy way out in the AI's backyard, I'll build some gates or local shipyards and ignore the neutered AI systems altogether...

Do you really need to refleet that often?

Naturally, Kahuna's pointed out the safest solution (in two words by my count, but I shan't quibble), but I find that there are frequent moments when I'm busy micromanaging my Raid starships, or some other vitally important task, and in that case, why not have my fleetball grind a wormhole guardpost or three into dust?  Selecting the fleetball and chaining the necessary orders takes just a few moments and I can then focus on whatever task needs done happy in the knowledge that my fleet is doing something trivially safe, but still useful, in the background.

[damiac]

It would be nice if wormhole guard posts just despawned when all other guard posts were destroyed.  Why force the player to complete a tedious but completely safe activity for a non-negligible gain?

[Kahuna]

two words by my count

2 words: ok

[Kahuna]

why not have my fleetball grind a wormhole guardpost or three into dust?  Selecting the fleetball and chaining the necessary orders takes just a few moments

Yep.
But I'd like to remind that beachheading works too. A beachhead.. or numerous small beachheads.. supported by Munitions Boosters or Flagships will also do the job.

[Vacuity]

But I'd like to remind that beachheading works too. A beachhead.. or numerous small beachheads.. supported by Munitions Boosters or Flagships will also do the job.

As a final task for an existing beachhead, for sure, but I'm not going to go through the process of setting up a beachhead *just* to grind down wormhole guardposts, and for me beachheads are a 'sometimes' method, not an 'always' method.  For the human effort expended, the fleetball is a lot easier, and even accounting for attack boosters (which also work for fleetballs), is likely to be faster.

[NickAragua]

...If I want my fleet to deploy way out in the AI's backyard, I'll build some gates or local shipyards and ignore the neutered AI systems altogether...

Do you really need to refleet that often?

Not a total refleet, but I do lose small/medium numbers of ships frequently. Then, it's either march the fleet home or bring the reinforcements to the fleet (in my case, via production facilities set for continuous queue). If I have to trickle said reinforcements across multiple AI-held systems, they're going to get picked on (and off). Thus, I need a clear route between my production facilities and my fleet.

but I find that there are frequent moments when I'm busy micromanaging my Raid starships, or some other vitally important task, and in that case, why not have my fleetball grind a wormhole guardpost or three into dust?

A perfectly valid option as well. It doesn't entirely solve my "reinforcements getting picked on" problem, but it helps keep AI numbers down.

[Bognor]

The travel time through an AI system is abysmal, compared to travel time through your systems with logistics headquarters and space-time manipulators.

I'm pretty sure you can put Spacetime Manipulators in neutral or enemy systems, and they'll work if they've got supply.