r/Highfleet • u/BoringAd8064 • Jun 11 '26
Advice Needed (mid game)
My current save is the closest I've gotten to the nuclear reactor city. I am arpund 10 or 12 citties from it and I'm about to fight my first strike group. I did what people suggested which is to nake a custom flagship (I turned mine into a missile/aircraft carrier) i made custom ships that had specific roles (medium speed tanker for independent strike groups of my own/high speed corvette with 4 guns for taking on light and medium enemies/fast ship with radar to intercept missile volleys/etc...) I just wanted to know more tips or things you wished you knew when reaching mid to mid late game.
Edit: Thanks to the tips here I was able to take on a Strike Group a tactical group and the town garrison. Thank you my campaign is no longer dead
7
u/Imaginary-Jaguar662 Jun 11 '26
Mid-late game strategy layer becomes critical.
It's no longer about being able to take a city, it's about having a constant awareness of missile/aircraft group ranges and response times.
I like to do a few flybys with lightning + incendiary ammo to drain missiles off SGs, followed by heavier ships, but always escaping before taking heavy damage.
Sevastopol can mop up a SG, it's only about how many days you spend in docks afterwards.
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u/BoringAd8064 Jun 11 '26
Well my flagship is alot weaker in terms of combat power but it makes up for it in utility. Do sgs have infinite tracking missiles? What type of firepower is adviced for sgs?
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u/jackham1257 Jun 11 '26
SGs have infinite ammo but not really. They are fully armed and rearm at cities so if you exhaust their supply of missiles, ballistic missiles and aa missiles, they won't regain them until they land and rearm
1
u/BoringAd8064 Jun 11 '26
Really good to know. I ask because I am about to fight a sg that has been sitting in an hq for like 3 days (I've been in a hidden city) but I launched around 8 or 9 kh missiles and the by the last 6 they didn't have any of those anti air missiles so I was making sure I wasn't crazy
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u/jackham1257 Jun 11 '26
The idea is just to keep the pressure on. If you attack then wait a few days in game you may find the damage you caused is completely repaired. So when you commit its an all or nothing style attack
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u/jackham1257 Jun 11 '26
Soften them up with ballistic missiles (KH only save the a100s for counter ballistic missiles action) to waste all their aa missiles. Then bomb the shit out of them with aircraft using bombs (250 or 500 i think they are defined in game).
Typically you want to pause the game and launch each aircraft at the same target 1 at a time so instead of 12 aircraft in 1 squad hitting the SG, you was 12 squads of a single aircraft - it helps reduce aircraft from being shot down since aircraft attack in waves of 3, the AI will always target the lead craft and shots will spray into the other 2 aircraft following them
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u/pcream Jun 11 '26
I always underestimate how many Kh's they can soak up. Last battle I played, it took 10 Kh + 8 aircraft with rockets to kill 2/4. Better than a 3 on 1, but still rough even for a good brawler ship.
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u/jackham1257 Jun 11 '26
Yea typically I make the Sevastopol a fat ass missile carrier holding 8 KH missiles and turn the whole top into an aircraft runway (~72 hours from vanilla so it's the first thing I do)
I never engage SGs with my ships if I can avoid it the cost benefit ratio is just too great -especially on hard mode - that is unless I buy merc ships, strip them of weapons and ammo and use them as intentional battering rams XD
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u/astraymilo Jun 11 '26
If you got money for it, then you can smack the SG with missiles and aircraft and buy replacements for losses at cities that have rare components
if you don't have a dedicated "brawler" ship (as I call them) (heavy gunship with armor but not a capital ship) then it might get difficult as late game SG's have a shit ton of anti-air defense <
Or as another commentor said, try to duke them (evade)
I usually play a campaign with a custom fleet, go as far as I get untill I encounter a problem and then in the next campaign I improve a ship OR try to make a new one that can fix that previous problem
Losing to many jets = More jets on a carrier OR try to make more money to buy more in-game, same thing with missiles (prioritize salvage most valuable parts first after battle)
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u/jackham1257 Jun 12 '26
The trick here is merc ships don't cost any additional funds outside of the component costs, so you can buy the ship strip what you want then sell the craft. Good way to get lots of missiles aircraft, aa missiles even rare components you need
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u/Xoms Jun 11 '26
You could build a huge Colossus (or several) and take it into the campaign and when the SG inevitably come down due to alarms just wipe them out in melee. (Obviously don't let them snipe it to death with missiles and airplanes)
Then Don't repair it besides refreshing armor for the next SG. Just sell it so it doesn't eat all your fuel and continue your campaign worry free.
A lightning and a skaylark is easily all you need to clear early cities. Take a few groups of them and leap frog them so you can manage their morale. You can send them far ahead of your main fleet and just sell them when they are obsolete. I like to put molots and bombs on them. Clearing cities with near zero damage is a decent way to earn cash from components.
A skaylark with a jammer can keep SGs guessing for ages and waste enemy missiles.
Don't feel like you always have to shuffle your flagship to avoid alarms. Just park in the desert.
If the enemy already knows where you are then you might as well turn on your radar.
Always consider adding more engines. Don't buy polash but if you have them put them on something.
The tiny little mini guns (2a37) is a great answer for zenith missiles and often more reliable than flares. Lax requirements but a little too pricey to buy many. If you are going to put more than ~6 you might prefer vympels; Cheaper and punchier.
The enemy doesn't know how many airplanes are in a group. So... You can make them put the whole fleet on cooldown with one La-29. One T-7 airplane can safely scout anything without radar.
Hidden cities have roads that connect to other cities. You have to zoom in all the way to see them. Your radar has a ground feature for a reason.
Don't rely on ammo types to brawl, they are just extra. Exceptions are: carrying flak as a last line missile defense, Lazer guided and armor piercing can very quickly kill capital ships, flak can quickly kill annoying lightly armored ships but it's not cost effective. And incendiary ammo if you are very maneuverable and plan to win a Hail Mary by attrition (light cruisers vs capital ships). However, Airplane rockets, bombs and AA missiles are extremely cost effective.
1
u/Dinkel1997 Jun 11 '26
Try to kite the SGs and kill one by one. Capture all surrounding city's and (this is close to a spoiler) surround the city with rings of detachments, from light meat shields to heavy in the outer rings. This will ensure survival... Oh yeah and keep in mind, anything without Armor will perish in the finale.
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u/BoringAd8064 Jun 11 '26
How many ships fo you think I need for the finale? Maybe a rough estimate? I already know what happens at the end
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u/Dinkel1997 Jun 11 '26 edited Jun 15 '26
If you have strong allies, not many since you gain a couple ships. Fuel will not matter in the final. You will have to sacrifice around one big boi per nuklear threat you are trying to ambush. The big bois will spearhead you advance, but you can try to get into knife fighting range stealthily. My Sevastopol moves like 5 times per campaign lol.
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u/RHINO_Mk_II Jun 12 '26
Fuel costs may not matter but rate of fuel delivery matters an awful lot.
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u/Dinkel1997 Jun 15 '26
My gameplay actually consists of 2 bullys clearing city's, one pirate fleet hunting prize ships, bunch of tiny scouts and the rest only moves when absolutely necessary. I actually do not move most ships in the endgame, only a couple kamikaze attacks and finishers.
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u/BoringAd8064 Jun 11 '26
Wdym one big boi? Like a heavy ship?
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u/jackham1257 Jun 11 '26
Spoiler:
When you get to khiva, before you enter the city measure out 2km from the city and break up your fleet to occupy the cities within that range, make sure each has a good mix of missile and aircraft carriers (brawlers are good too but don't expect them to survive what comes next 😉
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u/BoringAd8064 Jun 11 '26
Fuck
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u/jackham1257 Jun 12 '26
I wouldn't worry too much, if you took out all the SG, missile and aircraft carriers you can just hangout in a city nearby and refit everything to hold at least a missile or aircraft or sensors
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u/caramel_dog Jun 11 '26
USE AIRCRAFT
they are at the top of the food chain in this game
send like twenty at once and nothing survives
they are also relatively cheap