Starter Fleet Guide:Redwood
TF Redwood
Difficulty: Moderate
Pros at a Glance
* Long Range Rails combined with a long-ranged Axford is a good combination * Strong ability to support team * Good softkill and scouting suite
Cons at a Glance
* The Keystone destroyers are fragile * Need to manage battlegroups that are far apart * You need map awareness
Community Maintainer: Pyrope
4TC Axford Heavy Cruiser: Star of Atlas
TF Redwood is a mid to long range artillery fleet designed to hold a firing lane and control over a large area of open space. The Axford has 4 Track Correlators and a RS41 'Spyglass' Radar in order to provide a shootable track at large targets up to 11.5km away which is noticeably beyond of a RM50 'Parallax' Radar. This means that your optimal engagement range against such large targets is between 10km - 11km as enemies are not often equipped to fight effectively or sometimes even see at that range. Utilizing this range advantage is very important as the Track Correlators are fragile and the Spyglass' ability to provide a track worth shooting at will degrade rapidly with even a single one broken. To keep these fragile modules alive for as long as possible, it is advised to actively dodge incoming fire and to point the nose of the Axford at the enemy via a Heading command in order to blunt the majority of 450mm return fire that will come your way.
For point defense, only the Axford should often have to worry about missiles and to that end largely relies on Softkill to avoid death. A mixture of Chaff, Flares, Active Decoys, Killjoys, and a Comms Jamming Ball while also utilizing EMCON can theoretically softkill all seeker combinations, but it is difficult to perform consistently and so the best way of not dying to missiles is often simply not being too close, or to group with other Capital ships that have significant hardkill defenses such as those in TF Oak. Just make sure that you can still control a relevant area of space, as capture points are the way to win a game still of course.
As an additional anti-craft deterrent measure, the Star of Atlas also has 2 Mk95 Sarissa long range point defense cannons. These point defense turrets have 8km of range, and while they need time to knock out large flights of craft and missiles, they provide effective pressure on enemy craft and missiles.
Keystone Rail Destroyers: Rime of Solitas & Singing Mantle
Railguns in Nebulous are debuff weapons that do minor damage. Hitting targets with railguns applies damage, and applies debuffing events on their modules and compartments, along with starting fires. Railguns can fire at 21km, allowing them to shoot almost anywhere on most Nebulous maps, but they do need a lock to actually be able to hit targets at that range. Note that only one of these Railgun Keystones has radar, so keep the pair close.
The Railgun Keystones provide consistent long range firepower and damage over time regardless of range, and are at home high in the sky near your team's deployment area with long sight lines allowing the Axford to win engagements with Marauders and especially Ocellos that would otherwise wind up a protracted stalemate. They are also ideal for punishing over-eager Monitors by stripping their ability to return to cover, or try to push you across open space. In this manner, TF Redwood is adept at area denial and suppressing the opposing enemy fleets rather than killing them outright oftentimes. The fleet favors a careful style and will reward those that make effectively use of its range without necessarily being cowardly or giving ground.
Sprinter Lockvette: Snowblind
The Sprinter in the fleet provides an alternate way of gaining a shootable track via its RF101 'Bullseye' Radar, able to close in on known tracks and lock them for the Axford and Keystones. The Sprinter also features a FM30X 'Prowler' Drive, making it harder to detect, but this should not be relied on and it is best to maintain a range of at least 8km from the target to avoid detection and destruction if possible. The ES22 'Pinard' Electronic Support Module allows the Snowblind to find targets to lock outside of its RS35 'Frontline' Radar range, or to operate with radar off to reduce signature.
With all this in mind, TF Redwood is at your disposal and will hopefully be a trusty tool to see you through some matches and have some fun! Good luck in the battlespace, Commander!
Missiles
SGM-299 'Killjoy' Jammer Decoy [PD Prio Fired]
A SGM-200 Tempest Missile with a Wake-Homing Seeker and a Self-Screening Jammer. This Killjoy Jammer Decoy is a defensive decoy meant to decoy anti-radiation seekers such has Home On Jam Seekers and Fixed Anti-Radiation Seekers, as well as blind Active Radar Seekers and Fixed Semi Active Radar Seekers, including when these seekers are present as a backup after the primary seeker has been jammed. Its defensive doctrine is set to only ever fire when a manual PD Priority order is given, by default bound to the Z key, on an incoming missile's radar track. This method of launch will not work on visual tracks, it must be position fired if no radar coverage is present.
This Killjoy jammer decoy is unmatrixed, and as such it is not compatible with other ACMs present on the same ship. The upside is it will not automatically fire and immediately waste all of your decoys if the ship is left on PDMSL: AUTO, instead of you spending one missile per salvo.
SGM-1 Ceremonial Arming Missile
A SGM-100 Balestra Missile with a Wake-Homing Seeker and a size 4 HE Impact warhead. This missile is not intended for offensive usage, or indeed any usage at all during a typical match. Arming missiles exist so that a ship with an arming missile counts as being offensively armed, an important feature in the Control game-mode most multiplayer matches take place within. Thus, firing this missile is not advisable, besides in very niche circumstances.
In Game Description
Task Force Redwood is a long range combined arms fleet, with success resting on the coordination of its frontline assets in concert with its railgun platforms. The heavy cruiser is outfitted with four Track Correlators which together enable semi-accurate fire on any target detected within 11km, which the destroyers can fire on while safely undetected in the rear. Railguns do not deal nearly as much raw damage as heavy cannons, but they will cripple a target's offensive firerate and knock out their maneuvering thrusters, allowing cannons to land shots more easily with less return fire. Prioritize firing the railguns at enemies you or your teammates are currently targeting with cannons, and the combined strengths of magnetic and and ballistic weaponry will overcome otherwise impossible odds. As with any other Alliance fleet, using the HDG order to point your bow towards danger will minimize incoming damage.
