Pre Air Power Attack Force Composition

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Drago,


I typically use two transports one for the former and one for the worm. The worm ususally goes first.

Og

[Drago Sinio]

And how about if the transport is Elite? Does it get an extra movement point for that?

[vitamin j]

Drago, that is a very interesting question... Oh, the possibilities!

[Drago Sinio]

Hmm. I am thinking of an invasion that starts with a drop transport into a empty enemy bunker, a probe team comes out of the transport and takes down the perimeter defense. Immediately behind the now empty transport you drop in some more tranports with troops, and a former that builds an air base, or maybe a colony pod so you have an escape route-just in case.. Then on the next turn the troops use the transports to move up to the target base, saving their movement points for the attack.

Or maybe, just for fun , a commando raid. You send in some drop transports with probe teams- the probe teams bribe a local former to build an airbase! They bribe some troops with a weapon you have not researched yet, or maybe just to divert the enemies attention from something else you are doing that you dont want them to notice. The troops and former board the transports and take off back home from the airbase you just built with the bribed former. Then you send in a waiting bomber to take out the airbase- so the enemy isnt quite sure how the hell you just did that.

[Yxklyx]

my mind is spinning - What kind of drop transports are you speaking of? What chassis? What's the best chassis for a transport anyway?

[johndmuller]

One of the downsides to the drop-transports is that, unlike the other kinds of transports, the trip uses up the passenger's turn as well as the transport's, so that there is no springing out of the transport to do probe missions, etc. You have to wait out a turn before you can do anything.

It is possible to do stuff before being transported, however, like being upgraded from a shell or arriving at the base with the transport.

[Yxklyx]

Why not then use Drop Probe Teams instead? They can move the turn they land right? I don't see the advantage of Drop Transports.

[Drago Sinio]

My post refers to an infantry chassis- with transport as the "weapon", and then you add armor, and "Drop Pods" as a later upgrade (special ability). I think that is what OO means in his posts, too. In some configurations you can add ECM for free, too, as I recall. A Rover Chassis does not give the second movement point, for some strange reason.


If I am right, from memory, you can build one on a hovertank chassis also, much more costly but gets an extra movement point.

johndmuller, I dont remember the transports using up the passengers move too. Or is that just with drop pods?

[Drago Sinio]

Yxklyx, I think there are two advantages, one- the transports are multipurpose- you can use them for all sorts of wierd stuff.

But mostly , in my case, just for fun. Not really for any practical purpose.

[Fitz]

Drop Probe teams cannot move after they drop. All non-combats lose their turn after dropping. Theoretically this includes any former, probe, transport or supply. However, someone reported being able to move an armored hovertank probe after dropping a while back.

Drago, I believe johnd means that the transport uses the pasengers turn when you drop, not when you move regularly. Or maybe you got that already.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Drago et.al.

Yes the downside to a drop capable transport is that the transported unit does give up its ability to move the same turn. Not that this is necessarily a problem for the pod lotto approach. And yes this also holds true for drop enabled probe teams.

The only way I know of to insert a unit say a probe team and allow it to move inthe same turn is to build Hueys. (Warning: the below approach may be considered dubious). Build a chopper chassis based transport. Load a probe team on it. Set out on your journey. If memeory serves fission based movement rate is 4sq/turn and fusion is 5 sq/turn. You can move the unit a total range of 4 * movement rate - 1 square before the chopper totally crashes and destroys its transported unit as well. At or near the end of it's journey either hit cntrl-u or use the menu option to unload the chopper (I forget which one works)and out pops the probe team with full movement intact. What this means is for an elite standard PT you can easily insert it intercontinentally (15 squares fission or 19 squares fusion) albeit in 4 turns and still have 3 full movement point remaining more than enuff to cause major havoc. Whats more is b/c the huey doesn't actually attack any AI unit or tear up the t-forming it doesn't scramble defenses. As such this is the perfect opener to a surprise attack campaign. Otherwise you'll need to consider fighter escort similar to sea born transports/sea probe unit.

[Drago Sinio]

Just to refresh my aging memory, I tested some infantry drop transports. The transported unit does indeed lose its movement point during a drop. I had forgotten about that.

The transport does get an extra move for being Elite. Though you have to build it as an elite, you cannot upgrade at a monolith.

Also I noticed that if they are empty, you cant drop them into enemy territory. If they are carrying a combat unit, then you can.

I was using them to drop in behind the target base to delay reinforcements while the infantry popped out and attacked the base.

And thanks for mentioning these cool little guys, Ogie O, I had forgotten all about them.

[Drago Sinio]

These drop pod transports are wierd little dudes. They can enter a seabase from a land square, but only if its your base, not a pactmate's base. I cant figure that one out.

And last night I swear I used one to drop into enemy territory, but I can not get that to work today. And error message pops up , a screen showing little guys dropping from the sky- saying non-combat units can not drop into enemy territory or zones of control.

Any way they are fun little guys. I was using a level 5 armor/ecm and commondo morale. Strong enough to survive any attack up to fusion weapons if its in good defensive terrain. The fusion troops destroyed the transport, but were reduced to "red" status in the battle. If they attacked at less than full strength- the fusion troops lost to the transport.

Another odd thing is that the troops that were in the transport dont take any damage when the transport is destroyed.

I had three transports loaded with elite unarmored shard tanks, dropped the transports in just at the edge of my territory, three squares from the target base. Then the next turn the transports advanced right up to the base, and the shard tanks each fired four times. It was one of those AI bases with about twenty defenders. When the remaining base defenders attacked on the next turn, they were defeated by the transports, because they had been reduced in strength by my artillery, also in a transport , two squares from the base. The shard tanks took the base on the next turn.

I had also placed two more transports on rocky squares in the enemy territory along our common border to mess with the enemies abilility to reinforce the base.

I also had a former build a sensor while stacked with a transport for protection.

With a fusion reactor and level 5 armor the cost is 30 minerals for the transport. ECM is free-Drop pods raise the cost to 50.

You can get an extra movement point by building on a hovertank chassis- that cost 60 mins with level 5 armor and ecm or 90 mins if you add drop pods instead of ECM. Cost goes over 100 if you add 2 specials.

So , if you have the Social Engineering to build Elite Units, you can get a well protected 2 movement point transport unit for 30 Mins. , the same as an ECM garrison unit. Seems like a very versatile unit for the cost.

Note that you cannot built them "trained" or get a monolith upgrade.

[GeneralTacticus]

The reason that rover transports only have one movement point is that the Transport equipment autmatically reduces movement by one (which is why sea transports are slower thn combat ships).