Fleet Composition
In general, commanding a large number is like commanding a few. It is a question of dividing up the numbers.... It is a question of configuration and designation. - Sun Tzu
The Power of Delegation
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. -Theodore Roosevelt
Fleet Commanders invariably have a great deal of information being thrown about them: enemy position reports, goals, their own fleet composition, etc. As a result, cutting down the amount of specific tasks the Fleet Commander needs to watch is vital.
Make sure your boss (ideally, another Fleet Commander) is knowledgeable about how to set up fleets for leadership purposes. The boss will be shuffling wing commanders, creating squads/wings, etc. Wing Commanders will need to designate squads (occasionally by purpose) and help sort squad leaders. Squad leaders should be looking for updates on the locations of their squad members and so on - most importantly, though, all of this needs to be going on without any Fleet Commander interaction. Delegate people who can take care of this without you thinking about it - you have enough to do. A proper Fleet Command simply assigns a Boss and perhaps a Wing Commander or two, and then sets his mind to other matters, while invites and leadership sorting is taken care of elsewhere.
Tailor Fleet Make-up For Your Purpose
It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. - Whitney M. Young, Jr.
A standard combat fleet for aggressive engagement should need no more than two interceptors, two interdictors, and two covert ops. Those numbers should change depending on your fleet's need - trade your coverts for interceptors/interdictors on defensive actions since you'll need more tackle and less scout (you know where they're coming to), your interceptors -but not interdictors- for more coverts for an escort, as you'll need more advance warning and coverage. Having more interceptors and interdictors than this number is a waste - their roles are too specific and not damaging enough. Interdictors can smash interceptors, but generally attacking interceptors aren't doing enough damage to merit a major fleet role to smash them.
Prepare Your Fleet Specializations
The greatest accomplishment of reason is the discovery of the advantages of ... the division of labor. - Ludwig von Mises
Most EWAR vessels can generally shut down 2-3 ships each, so configure your fleet approximately 1/3 EWAR and 2/3 damage - with a fleet the same size as the opposing fleet, your EWAR will be enough to shut down the entirety of the enemy fleet without wasting extra damage sources on over-saturating EWAR.
Make sure your fleet knows the proper EWAR discipline - if you have a great deal of the same kind of EWAR, make sure that each pilot spreads their EWAR across multiple ships, instead of piling it all on the same one. If everyone spreads it widely, you can be sure that almost every ship is receiving some jamming or dampening - enough to keep them shut down. If you have a wide variety of EWAR, make sure it is assigned appropriately - damps on snipers, jams on enemy EWAR, disruptors on the close-range damage boats. In extremely large situations, create a distinct EWAR Wing, and have the EWAR wing commander set up squads according to tactics and needs. (Make sure the EWAR Wing Commander knows EWAR backwards and forwards.)
Interdictors and interceptors also need role-specific orders and preparations. Interceptors should know whose job it is to strike the primary and the secondary; two tackles on one target lets the other leave. Divide this up alphabetically, size-wise, or with whatever criteria you wish - but make sure it is divided. Interdictors should also be likewise pre-planned in their roles; is it their job to chase down enemy frigate-class vessels? Shall they run out at snipers and bubble them? Are they to travel towards the largest enemy blob and hold them all down? Bubble-and-jump? High-speed ship pilots must know before combat what they are expected to do - their job is too swiftly done for them to wait for orders.
:!
new)Trust your Fleet Specialist Commanders(new):!:
Once you have assigned other FCs to handle Capital FC, EWAR FC, and Tactical FC, trust them to know their jobs. Assume the EWAR is being coordinated in its own channel. Know the Capital ships will be ready and briefed on what's going on. Be confident the Tactical FC will be killing tacklers and then EWAR as fast as possible with his squad. Focus your attention on talking with your scouts, keeping a mental picture of what's going on, and tending to your fleet.
Final Battle Preparations
In planning for battle I have found that plans are useless; but planning is essential. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you have the advantage of holding the field that your opponent is trying to take (or of having pre-scouted the area and created bookmarks) then make sure to take advantage of this tool. Even if you must jump through a gate into enemy hands, if possible have your long-range vessels warp to optimal positions, and if bookmarks aren't available, have them warp out to the nearest body they can and warp back. (Spend the time before uncloaking determining exactly what that nearest body is.)
By having all your forces at their optimal ranges, you inherently defend much of your fleet from attack, simply because your opponents will not all be at their own optimal combat ranges. If possible, make sure all of your long-range vessels have "mirrorpoints" available to them. Since every battle has a predictable center (around a POS, around a gate, around an asteroid belt center, or around a station) it should be possible for a ship that is 100km from a fight to warp to another location that is still 100km from the center of the fight, but more than 150km from their current location. These are called "mirrorpoints" - they may be directly through the center, or going above/below/left/right of it, but the important thing is that they move the warping vessel 150km, and keep them the same range from the fight. This allows the warping vessel several fast advantages:
- Breaking all target locks on them
- Preventing drones/interceptors/missiles from closing
- May cause enemies to lose track of them
- At worst, forces the enemy to chase them down again
Especially if your sniping vessels are pre-aligned for these points, it can make them nearly immortal and still very capable of fighting from their new location. In the case of jamming vessels, it is quite possible to jam someone, warp to a mirrorpoint, re-lock the target and re-jam them before the first jam has even expired!
If possible, before the actual battle begins but within two minutes of fighting, briefly detail the overall plan one more time for everyone: engage on this gate, damage will concentrate on that, specialists will be doing this thing. Mention how you expect the fight to go, and what some contingencies may be if you think the possibility of losing is real, as well as what a specific pilot should do if they die early and the fight rages on.
It is absolutely vital that in the last thirty seconds before combat the fleet commander's voice can be heard, and sounds as calm and assured as possible. You can be sure that a pilot will never be more tense than they are in the last thirty seconds before combat is joined - knowing that you have faith in them, that there is a plan, and that victory is expected if everyone works together will go a long way to making sure these things happen.
Engaging in Combat
The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.-George Patton
If your force is well-prepared and well-positioned (or has the ability to become well-positioned) for an engagement, they already have the ability to unleash a tremendous amount of damage on an opponent. What becomes important, then, is recognizing what can ruin a well-prepared fleet's ability to do damage: misdirecting your force, or loss of direction. As long as planning exists to prevent both of these problems, you approach the point where a well-led, well-constructed fleet simply cannot lose. All that remains now is not to give your opponent a chance to disrupt your plans.
Target Selection and Declaration
If the enemy is in range... SO ARE YOU. - Old soldier's axiom
The first of the two ways an opposing fleet can still defeat you is by directing all its firepower to your most important vessels. It is important, then, to recognize the ships which are capable of dealing the most firepower and removing them from the enemy force as quickly as possible. Enemy firepower is normally a pretty clear equation based on the number of turrets/launchers, drones, damage bonuses, etc:
Damage Threat Level
Megathron
Dominix
Typhoon
Raven
Tempest
Abbadon
Maelstrom
Hyperion
Apocalypse
Rokh
Armageddon
Scorpion
This list is somewhat surprising to many pilots because of the remarkably low position of the Scorpion. From a strictly damage-dealing standpoint, the Scorpion is the weakest battleship, however.
A Fleet Commander then needs to review his EWAR capabilities. In a strong fleet, you will see EWAR assigned as follows:
Dampeners - shut down targets at long range (Sniper Rokh, Jam Scorpion, Jam Rook/Falcon, Long range Ravens, etc)
Disruptors - ruin turret range and tracking (Megathron, Tempest, Abbadon, Maelstrom, Hyperion, Apocalypse, Armageddon)
ECM - Jam vessels who are not dampened out or disrupted to uselessness. (Missile and drone boats at close range.)
Assuming you have proper EWAR support then, let's take a look at the list again:
Megathron - Disruptable, but watch drones
Dominix - NOS/Drone - needs jamming
Typhoon - Turrets disrupted - needs jamming
Raven - Probably only jammable
Tempest - Mostly turrets - disruptable
Abbadon - All turrets - disruptable
Maelstrom - all turrets - disruptable
Hyperion - all turrets - disruptable
Apocalypse - all turrets - disruptable OR Long Range - dampened
Rokh - Long Range - dampened
Armageddon - all turrets - disruptable
Scorpion - Long Range - dampened
Examine the threat level at this point; we know that Dampeners on a vessel at range are a 100% shut-down tool. Therefore we can remove Scorpions, Rokhs, and long-range Apocalypse pilots (or any other sniper) from the opposition altogether. (Even if these ships are not at range, a Scorpion's need to lock multiple ships will be greatly hampered by dampeners.)
We know that at close range, Tracking Disruptors are nearly as devastating as dampeners; with greatly shortened range on already short-range weapons and tracking going out the window, most all turret-based vessels will be very greatly hampered. Like dampeners, Disruptors always work - it is only how effective they are on a target that matters.
Jammers, on the other hand, are chance-based. They may sometimes work well, and other times work very poorly. As a result, we have to examine which ships are being neutralized solely by jamming:
Dominix (Drones and possibly NOS)
Raven (Missiles, esp. at closer ranges)
Typhoon (Missiles and drones both available)
Megathron (possible drone threat)
Of these, the most damage capacity is the Dominix - Drones and NOS (or possibly turrets.) The Raven has six available real damage sources, and the Typhoon four available missiles and drones (but no drone damage bonuses.) In priority for attack, then:
Damage Threats-Jam Only
Dominix
Raven
Typhoon
Megathron
Closerange possible threats - disrupted
Tempest
Apocalypse
Armageddon
Abbadon
Maelstrom
Hyperion
Other Significant Ships
Field/Fleet Command Ships
Heavy Assault Ships
Tier II Battlecruisers
Long range Battleships/EWAR Cruisers - dampened
Scorpion/Blackbird
Rook/Falcon
Lachesis/Arazu
Rokh
Other Lesser Vessels - Possibly already destroyed by Interceptor/Interdictor support
Tier I Cruisers
Tier II Frigates
Tier I Frigate
It is important that you keep a continual clear call of a Primary and Secondary - and in the cases of large battles where ships can pop quickly, a Tertiary. This is done so that pilots can lock the needed target well in advance, and shift swiftly to the new foe without wasting time on a relock. If (for whatever reason) you are unable to identify ship types swiftly enough to keep a good call of P/S/T, focus on battleships at closer ranges - though you should definitely work on Primary calling, as this is more important than any function of the Fleet Commander.
Originally Posted by Elo
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