Homeworld 2 Frigates
Frigates are the mid sized ships of Homeworld 2,
built and deployed as individuals. They can slowly repair themselves, but
they can't dock for repairs and you're far better off repairing
them with Resource Collectors. In the original game, Frigates
formed the mainstay of your fleet, and Corvettes
were the missing link between Strikecraft and Capital ships. In Homeworld
2, Frigates are now relegated to the role of in-betweener.
Not many players in Homeworld 2 seem to like them because at first glance,
they seem to be pretty useless compared to old game's versions...
They are comfortably trumped by the Capital warships.
To the Capitals, they're a snack sized target that simply can't avoid
heavy turret fire. Even with Strikecraft trying to distract it, a Destroyer
or Battlecruiser will focus
on what it does best: popping Frigates. Even Anti-Capital Frigates pick
on other Frigates before attacking Capital ships. You'll go through a
good few of them before a Destroyer is brought to heel, and a lone Battlecruiser
can comfortably work its way through your entire Frigate force
if you screw your tactics up. More often than not, in huge battles involving
all classes of ships, the Frigates on both sides will be the first to
be completely destroyed.
Even to Strikecraft, lone Frigates
are quickly overwhelmed. They seem to have the worst of all worlds with
few advantages. Its not so much that they're weaker than they were compared
to the first game, its just that Strikecraft are much more powerful than
they once were and the difference between each of the main ship classes
is so pronounced now.
Apart from the extra resources needed to get Frigate production off the
ground, if you compare the costs of manufacturing a Fighter
squadron, a Corvette squadron or
a lone Frigate, you'll see they're roughly the
same. You should see each one of these entities as being roughly equivalent
to each other, so use them as you would Strikecraft: numbers count. Use
them smartly, and don't just chuck them haphazardly into a fight in dribs
and drabs. You don't wouldn't one or two Frigates up against a big enemy
force any more than only sending one or two squadrons of Strikecraft.
Like all the game's escort shipping, Frigates tend to be singular in their
duties, have real difficulty against threats they aren't designed to handle,
and while they seem brittle, a wall of Frigates still represents a substantial
amount of firepower. They are best served at trumping smaller ship classes.
Make a point of including some Resource
Collectors to repair them where possible: you'll lose lots of Resource
Collectors too, and many Frigates will simply die before help can get
to them, but those small gestures of support can make all the difference.
Frigates can only be produced on production ships that have a Frigate
Facility., and most of them must be unlocked by researching the
right tech's. Most Frigates start off with 16,000 hit
points, boosted to 25,600 points when
fully upgraded. They sport Medium Armour, which
means they can be hit by anything, although a Battlecruiser's main weaponry
will only inflict 50% damage on one - although half damage by a Battlecruiser
usually blasts a Frigate within millimeters of its life anyway.
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