Favorite Capital Ships

TEC:

The Marza Dreadnought because of the Missile Barrage ability.

Advent:

Not sure as I haven't played them much.

Vasari:

The Jarrasul Evacuator because of the Drain Planet Ability.

I don't often make capital ships because they can be "focus-fired" so easily by massed attacks.

Pound-for-pound you're better off creating a mixed fleet of frigates and cruisers and never ever using Cap ships. (at least in the MP game... you'll be eaten alive if you rely on cap-ships.... ;p)

the Monk

But one Marza Dreadnought will take out your ENTIRE mixed fleet with it's missile barrage.

I like getting the akkon when I play TEC, that way I have a cap ship that can colonize as I go along.
Usuaully, its the only cap ship I build since its free (minus the cap ship factor I scuttle after building the ship).

The akkon also have a targeting ability that increases the weapons chance to hit for all ships within range, which can be useful early game especially.

   What are you smoking...hehe? Captial ships are almost (I said almost) useless in this game. They are not worth the resource cost and most of them are only slightly useful after their abilities have been upgraded.......with the exception of being a "bullet-magnet" so the rest of your fleet can do it's thing.

Capital ships should be re-named "Bullet-magnets with abilities"

Even as an addition to a mixed-fleet so they can be used to "buff" said fleet they have their uses, but if you use the research you have available along with balanced mixed-fleets, you can quickly see that Cap-ships just aren't worth their resource-cost. Anyone who uses CAPS as the mainstay of their fleet is asking for a beating (at least in the MP game).

Not that I'd be the one to hand out that "beating".....I'm just imparting my opinions here. Trust me.....the longer you play this game....the less and less you'll be using Cap-ships.

the Monk

I myself like the vasari carrier,because its strikecraft are useful in the early game, it has the ability to repair your own forces and its strikecraft are hard to hit cuz of its microphasing aura. This cap ship is defenitely much better with an escort fleet, because it can heal the ships and duplicate them(fourth skill).

Cap ships are good for bombarding planets. I build them instead of the bombing frigs.

My personal favorite cap ship is the progenitor. Shield regen is amazing and you get it early. The planet development cost decrease is a good boost as well. Not to mention it's the heaviest hitting colonizer.

Radiance for the look of the thing.

Second, the Marza for the missile barrage ability. No matter what the_Monk is smoking.

Kol for its raw damage abilty (you just cant hate that flak burst abilty)

marza for planet killing and soaking hits

WWW Link The beta patch made that ability insanely strong.

Ouch....I stand corrected. Thanks for the tip 5i1. Guess it's been a while since I played as the TEC.   

TEC: Marza
Advent: The mothership
Vasari: Their carrier.

3 Desolators, 1 Evacuator with Drain Planet up, 2 Carriers, 1 Marauder and 1 Desolator, and planets will go BOOM insanly fast!

More seriously (well I'm serious in fact with that combo but it is not often I can get it up, 'cause I do mostly pvp), my favorite Vasari's cap ship is the Evacuator, due to his drain planet ability and earlier the Nanite Disassembling ability. Both are pretty nice, add this the colonize ability and you have a decent ship to ruin your oponnent's day.

As for a second prefered cap ship, comes the carrier and the desolator, altough the desolator need to be at least lvl 4-5 to be really interessting in planet ... pacification, that's why I usually do a duo or a trio of them, if I can (and if things are going really well, i purchase them their lvls, letting them be lvl4, wich at that point I send them heavily escorted (thanks to RA) to a pirate base to improve their lvl before sending them wrecking havok to the foe's planetary asset.

I cant give advice for others races since I dont play TEC, and very rarely Advents.

Advent
revelation for reverie

TEC
sova for embargo

vasari
desolator for it's sieging power

I don't play single player though and I imagine that these would be much less useful there.

Regardless of the Marza's ability, it's still important to think about caps because you get one for free!

Also, although you are generally right about the idea that frigs are a better value, and caps are easy to focus-fire, they are still important for one big reason: Caps can siege. If you are afraid of wasting money on a ship that is a bad value, you must have noticed that siege frigates are very expensive and weak! They are the one huge exception to the rule of caps being a worse value.

I think a fleet should be made up of as few caps as possible that you will need in order to be able to bombard planets in a reasonably short amount of time without wasting any resources of fleet points on siege frigs.

In 1.1 beta Kols are fast becoming my favorite. with the new super carriers Flak burst and shields are so nice to have.

I prefer any of the races carriers because they can hold a lot of fighters, especially the Advent, and I heavily use fighters against the AI. I dont play online since I have nobody to play against so I have no idea what to use there.

i play mostly tec and i get the akkan as the free cap ship for a number of reasons - it does colonize before all the other enemy ships and defence things are destoryed - after it up grades to colony 2 it starts to give you free extractors which saves cash. the ion bolt feacture is really great and the targeting feature. i usually hook it up with the kol. i have found that i can have 2 kols and 1-2 akkans with a few kodiack and HR cruisers a few javlins lrm and win against larger enemy fleets. when i get the slots i will also put in percheron light carrier. i have found that i can have 3 fleets this way and 95 % of the time beat AIs that are set to hard. i send largest fleet in on the first planet then send the other to fleets to the next 2 planets after the first fleet has engaged. this way i can usually knock out 2 of the 3 planets and i can then hook one of the fleets with the first if need be or send it on leaving the enemy to fight thru the onther 2. i usually have time to get a ship factory started at one of the planets so that helps as well.

As TEC, the Dunov is indispensable. EMP Charge is a highly effective way neutralizing those pesky Subverters. Also, Magnetize is especially effective against Vasari strikecraft squadrons.

Evacuator

raped 4 caps and a small fleet with one once

vasari  - has to be the space egg

tec    -  with 1.09 its the mazra

have just started my first game as advent so cant comment but the radiance seems usefull , still got a lot to learn

Each cap has it's uses.  I am particulary fond of playing Vasari, so my favorite is the egg.  However, there are other caps with abilities that also rock.  If you are a good vasari player, you will know what a good lvl 6 Maruder can do if you like to go on raids.

TEC:

Sova Carrier, has decent firepower but can pump out strikecraft to deal a crapload of damage.

Advent:

Haven't played them much but the Rapture Battlecruiser for it's Vengeance Power.

Vasari:

Jarrasul Evacuator because it can colonize but has unusually powerful firepower.

looks to me like not much people play as advent much

TEC the kol battleship because it looks nice

ADVENT radiance battleship because it looks awesome and it's batteries are also awesome

VASARi skirantra carrier because it looks nice