Advent Pirate Base Exploit

Advent Meteor Control Starbase can remove Pirates with defenses in place

from Sins Forums

I was playing a 4-player game last night, I think the map was Wrathful (fun map by the way!).

I was playing Advent and I happend to exteriminate one of the computer players close to me. So I deciced to go after the Pirates next as I was allied with another player.

I jumped into the Pirate Base Planet and held my ground away from the planet's defenses (which happen to have a longer range than Torpedo Cruisers by the way) and managed to take out the defenders.

Next I built a Starbase and researched 2 Meteor Control updates and subsequently destroyed the Pirate planet. I moved my Mothership in and colonized the planet.

Here's the exploit: At this stage, all the Pirate planet defenses were still in place and now I had the best defended planet in the galaxy (each Beam Defense Platform had 4900 Hit Points)!

Advent seems to have a distinct advantage by far over the other races here as I can't think of another race that has a similar capability at least at that stage of the game (6 military labs needed to get Meteor Control).

I can only imagine the benefits being more in a map where there are multiple Pirate bases or the location is much more strategic. The only drawback I see with maps with multiple Pirate bases is that the Pirates could come in and easily attack the Pirate base you captured (if they select it as the planet to attack). I'm also not sure if the Pirate defenses would continue to improve in a multi-Pirate base game after you colonize the planet, but if they did this would make the exploit even more valuable.

This seems to be a consequence of the beefed up Pirates, and so not sure if a solution is warranted (or how to implement one at this stage), but Advent does have a distinct advantage here.

What do you all think?

10,726 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

actually the TEC can do this as well (though it takes a tech tier 8 Novalith weapon) so the only one out is Vasari

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

anyone could do it. if you're willing to sacrafice seige ships to take out the base, and potentially a cap ship to go in and colonise. if you could arrange to only take out the pillagers, you could even have a fleet of pirates to help too.

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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

@Mippy:

Tell me how many ships you lose with that strategy - can you do it without losing a single ship? Any race can perform the first part where the defending ships are destroyed without losing any ships if you bring in an appropriate fleet and it is not too late in the game. However, taking the planet is a different story and the Advent Starbase allows it to be done without any losses (this is in V1.01) after the ship defenses are destroyed.

@Ryat:

Yep, I thought of that, but you need level 8. For that matter, Vasari's Kostura Cannons can also be used to take on the Pirate base as I've used Kostura's to attack the base (in V1.00) and it was effective. Not sure if it'd be any different in V1.01.

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

Not an exploit.  Whenever I take the pirate base, I leave as many of the defenses up as possible.  The other day I managed to take it without losing any ships, and without taking out any of the defenses.  I used a level 8 or so Marza backed by 2 high-level Dunovs, both of which had flux field and could spam shield restore.  I snuck a colony frig in through the defenses (not a colonizer capship) and colonized it.

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

Considering the tech or cap ships levels required to 'exploit' the pirate base, it's really not much of an exploit.  In fact, it can actually be required to kill the pirates late game as it becomes impossible to kill them with conventional tactics.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

I thought at first you might be saying something about an exploit involving the leftover cannons and synergy. I wonder if there is an affect.

That is interesting that you gain resources that didnt belong to you. I would assume the cannons count toward your tactical slots? Too bad everyone stays away from a pirate base otherwise those leftover cannons + a starbase+ mine layers could be one heck of a trap to walk into.

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

I could easily bust up your scallywag turret pirates with 2 TEC Marza Dreadnoughts with Missile Barrage, Matt. :P

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

Yeah I remember a thread that I think was before entrenchment even (when the pirates were still weak) where TEC players would novalith the pirate base and then send in an Akkan, which even at lvl 1 could colonize with only minor hull damage, if any at all. I never bothered to apply this to the advent starbase though until now, despite how long entrenchment has been out.

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting RestlessMind, reply 7
I could easily bust up your scallywag turret pirates with 2 TEC Marza Dreadnoughts with Missile Barrage, Matt.

Ha!

Yah, right - you're forgetting about my Starbase with at least 2 Meteor Control points!

I think you'll need more than 2 Marza's...

:hrmph:  

 

Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top

THe Vasari can disable the defenses with cannont hen bomb the planet down. 

Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

cant the vasari just use one or two  eggs ?

Reply #12 from Sins Forums Top

If I recall, the turrets are actually deactivated once the planet is killed. I don't know if this has changed in Diplomacy at all (Since it's been a damned long time since I've actually played), but if it still holds true, you're just wasting tactical slots like this.

Edit: Oh, damn it, just realized how much of a necrobump this was.

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top

Heh, that's interesting.  I always thought all the turrets would remain hostile regardless of whether or not you now owned the planet.  I always kill them for XP.

Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting DirtySanchezz, reply 13
Heh, that's interesting.  I always thought all the turrets would remain hostile regardless of whether or not you now owned the planet.  I always kill them for XP.
They would. But they can't shoot the planet and if another player wants the planet, he has to go through the turrets ^^.

And yeah, Vasari can "Kostura" the turrets and "Vulkoras/EGG" the planet :P though it takes 8 mil labs.

Reply #15 from Sins Forums Top

In a hurry, will read later.  Sounds interesting though.  You mean beam defenses you build upgrade like the pirate platforms???

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