The server is unfortunately down for 24 hours due to maintenance (read: Vast overloading due to sudden publicity)
I did manage one last game before the server went down, so thought I'd mention a few things I've noticed. I've been playing with a cruiser and specializing in the project forcefield and summon escort ship powers.
1) Project forcefield is awesome. It can absorb a decent amount of damage (roughly 1/5th what it takes to kill a ship, if I read the stats right) at level one, and doubles when maxed. At higher levels it also regenerates strength and helps regenerate the shields of friendly ships inside it. It does have noticeable weaknesses though; obviously it's large and easy to hit, but more subtly if your forcefield intersects a friendly forcefield they both shut down. This takes some getting used to and can be a particular problem once your team upgrades minion waves to have their own forcefields. Not only do you waste your cooldown if you cancel out with another field, you hurt your minions/teammate by costing them their field.
2) Summons are fun, but tricky. I expected a summoning role to be all about standoff tactics, but its rather the opposite; the escorts have shorter range than other players or turrets, so I found the best way to utilize them was to head directly for point blank range. You can stack the skill up to three times (a stunning 18 escort ships if the skill is maxed, which I never got because the skill is off spec for cruisers), but keeping them alive long enough usually means either extreme care or simply sitting back in your base for several minutes while the skill recharges (bad idea). Turrets and enemy minion waves in particular seem to love tearing through escorts, so if you want to build up a force you'll probably have to play defensively. For my last game I gave a medal to my science officer that gave all my escorts rockets (and higher level of the skill gives them torpedoes) and their firepower shouldn't be underestimated; I was able to devastate several enemies by simply summoning a wave on top of them when the skill came off cooldown. They're quite fragile and grant cp to the enemy when destroyed though, which is one reason this skill combos well with forcefield.
3) Small ships are powerful, but require proper handling. I'm pretty sure just about everyone I was playing with was also a new player drawn by TotalBiscuit's video, and my cruiser was devastating small ships left and right when they tried to match broadsides. But I did get taken to school by a pair of frigates that tag-teamed me; one would dart in and blast at me, then retreat (and regen shields) when I got a few shots in while his friend did the same. This was even worse than might be expected because turrets take time to turn and aim, so they were getting in several volleys for every one of mine. On the other hand, I'm not quite sure how well they would work solo; the game tip says to try to stay behind your enemy, which might work against a dread, but my cruiser was consistently able to turn inside a strafing corvette or frigate. Of course, it's a MOBA; at the end of the day you don't have to outfight your enemy to win, and small ships can outrun enemies to escape or capture undefended objectives.
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Topic: Stellar Impact. MOBA set in space. With spaceships. (Read 14927 times)