Ship Building Megaguide

structure:

basic description of category under header

link to guide pages including short primer for guide pages with some exceptions

Ships

practical notes for building *any ship at all in this video game* as well as:

ideally these are shortened versions of the advice given on each page with an overview of what the underlying hull can and can't do, further reading at each ship's page

Links to guide pages

beginner's guide (basic shipbuilding)

all ships

Mounts

why do you take mounts from some category? in each page:

what is each component good at? what isn't it good at? what are its advantages within its class? if its class is unique (masq) is it good at all?

Links to guide pages

Communications, Ewar, & Sensors

The mounts in this category can vary somewhat in role and functionality but very generally exist as supporting infrastructure for your other mounts. Even electronic warfare, which is much less obviously a category including 'support' equipment, is generally best used as a supplement to some other mount's purpose rather than on its own.

Flight Support

The mounts in this category are all used for storing and launching craft. As with the above category, Flight Support mounts are typically best used as a supporting asset for your other mounts, with Container Bank Hangars being a notable exception.

Missile Launchers

The mounts in this category are used for launching missiles, either from the magazine or from storage within the mount itself. Unlike the mounts mentioned so far, the vast majority of these are used offensively, though some missile launchers are still primarily used defensively or in support of other missiles/mounts.

Point Defense Turrets

The mounts in this category are used for destroying enemy missiles and craft; all mounts in this category cannot be used against other ships.

Projectile Weapons

The mounts in this category are all offensive gunfire projectile weapons, primarily used for damaging and destroying enemy ships, though some mounts may also take ammunition types which make them dangerous to enemy craft or missiles as well.

Energy Weapons

The mounts in this category differ fairly dramatically in role and purpose, with the points of commonality between them being their role as offensive weapons, and high power draw in exchange for devastating effect.

Spinal Weapons

The mounts in this category also differ from the norm, with their main point of commonality being that they are all offensive weapons.

Integrated

Integrated mounts may not be purposefully added nor removed in the fleet editor, but are described here for posterity.

Compartments

what does each compartment category broadly do? in each page:

what does each compartment do? why do you take each compartment? where should each compartment be? are there any special considerations to make for this compartment?

Links to guide pages

Command

Command compartments are what enable your ships to enact any orders at all, with CICs specifically allowing your ship to enact orders more complicated than moving to a position. At least one CIC is virtually mandatory, with more CICs being a common sight on increasingly heavy assets.

Damage Control

Damage Control compartments allow ships which have taken fire to repair and restore themselves. Damage Control compartments are more relevant on ships which expect to take more damage, but are virtually always recommended.

Flight Support

Flight Support compartments store or buff craft. Ships which don't have any craft onboard shouldn't take Flight Support compartments, while ships that do have craft onboard will situationally want Flight Support compartments.

Miscellaneous

The compartments listed here vary in role and importance, though you should always have at least one magazine per ship (your first magazine is always free!)

Modules

the same as compartments, except talking about modules

Links to guide pages

Radars

Radars are what allow your ship to see anything past visual range, as well as being mandatory for proper functioning of PD turrets and automatic softkill. The various choices in this category are chosen largely based on how well they detect targets and how well they can defeat jamming.

Propulsion

Propulsion modules enable your ship to move at all, with the options available giving various buffs and debuffs over the default drive. It is worth mentioning that large drives should be taken over small drives in almost every situation where they are available, owing to their higher health and better power generation.

Powerplants

Powerplants inexpensively give your ship substantially more power than propulsion modules, the tradeoff being that they monopolize highly valuable 3x3x3 or 5x5x5 slots which could otherwise go to strong Weapon Support or Propulsion modules.

Weapon Support

As implied by the title, Weapon Support modules support the weapons on your ship, though they are also capable of buffing mounts which are not explicitly used offensively. In most cases, you should have a decent number of these modules.

Miscellaneous

As with compartments, there are a number of modules which are not under any of the above categories, with a wide variety in their importance and role.

Craft

why do you take craft of each category? how many do you take? in each page:

what do you take each craft to do? what is each craft good or bad at? why do or don't you take x amount of craft? why do you take some modules but not others?

Links to guide pages

Sensor craft

Carriers get access to some of the strongest recon tools in the game, which can serve to support your own operations or that of your teammates.

Fighter craft

Fighters are the primary tool via which carriers may counter other carriers or missiles, though their utility against ships is substantially more limited. While it's easy to conceptualize fighters as only useful offensively, against enemy craft, they are also extremely strong when defending friendly ships.

Strike Craft

Strike craft are the main way that carriers incapacitate enemy ships, and are functionally their offensive weapons.

Missiles

Links to guide pages

Missile Bodies

The underlying body for a missile makes a substantial difference in its usable roles and how it may be implemented for said roles.

Avionics Package

Avionics dictate your missile's programming, as well as being where you may pay to enable cruise behavior on a missile or add in automatic evasion behaviors to better defeat kinetic hardkill point-defense.

Warhead Types

Different warheads dictate what happens when a missile is either nearby or misses a target, with choice in warhead varying based on the missile's stats and intended usage.

Seekers

Different seekers will dramatically impact the effectiveness of missiles no matter their role, with more expensive seekers generally (but not always!) indicating a higher difficulty of your opponent defeating a missile.

Misc

anything i forgot idk