Where and how to build starbases?

[Xaelyn]

I'm playing my first game since 2.0, and even then I only played a game or two, and i'm not really sure where and how I should be building my starbases. I couldn't find any guides or strategies either.

The trade I kind of understand, though I'm not sure if and where I should be building trade protection modules too.
Mostly I just want some general strategies on where to put my starbases and how I should be speccing them.

 

[Xeorm]

Places I build starbases:

• At defensive locations. A bottleneck location against an enemy works fantastically.
• Locations to grab trade value. The more convenient the better.
• Systems to split up major trade routes. Preferably I try to keep routes to no more than 3 systems without a base inbetween if possible.
• In systems with colonies. The deep space black site is a pretty solid building. (+5 stability)
• Systems with curators or artisan troupes for the special buildings.

As far as speccing them? First priority is to beef them up defensively if I want it as a defensive station. If not, trade modules if I need them. Hangar modules for trade protection if needed. Then shipyards or anchorages. Buildings are whatever syncs up best with the modules I've chosen.

 

[sillyrobot]

My strategy is pretty basic. Specialize star bases as much as possible. Trade should have 100% trade modules, trade protection should have 100% hangar.

I assume my trade and trade protection bases have 4 modules. Depending on how quickly you expect to get to star fortress or citadel, you may want to assume 6.

Place a trade star base to cover as much territory that generates/will generate trade value without overlapping your current trade collection.
Place a trade protection star base pretty much next door to it -- the trade protection star base should cover all systems between the new star base and its connection point into the trade route. You don't seem to need to cover systems that contain a star base. Depending on the shape of your empire, you may be able to find a central point for a trade protection star base that can cover more than one leg of the trade route. I have a "Y" shaped trade route in my current game and a single star base protects the two top wings.

**Note that trade collection and trade protection distances are wonky right now. Some systems well within reach aren't collected/protected while their neighbours are.**​

 

[Flame13223]

Look for chokepoints on the map then rush straight to them then once you are okay with the amount of territory that you have just fill out all your empire over time. Basically limit the paths into your empire as much as possible, focus on the points that lock your territory down and ignore any system that isn't on the "main road" to the chokepoint until after you already secured the choke points.

 

[westamastaflash]

Deep Space Black site is one of the best starbase buildings now. +5 to stability means that your planetary yields will be correspondingly larger. The ethics attraction is nice but stability is great especially when you've got slaves. I basically never use anchorages anymore mid to late game since you can get so much naval capacity from a fortress filled habitat.

 

[AlanC9]

My strategy is pretty basic. Specialize star bases as much as possible. Trade should have 100% trade modules, trade protection should have 100% hangar.

Although trade modules aren't very useful if they don't actually collect more trade --- the couple of points from the offworld trading company isn't worth it. I fill up any additional slots with anchorages.

**Note that trade collection and trade protection distances are wonky right now. Some systems well within reach aren't collected/protected while their neighbours are.**​

I've seen this too.

Concerning trade protection... I'm not convinced that it's worth it. It may depend on your particular map, but I'm finding that burning that much potential fleet cap on hangar modules isn't worth it. Better to build anchorages and ships and then patrol. You can switch the ships to fighting, but hangars would be in the wrong place to be useful.

(I play without DLC, so I'm not able to get fleet cap from fortress-filled habitats.)

 

[Sigma 582]

Chokepoint fortification is only useful in certain circumstances. To benefit from a fortified station, you have to have both your fleet and enemy fleet fighting over your station, and those fleets should be more or less on par for the station to make difference. Therefore I wouldn't mindlessly fortify all entrances to my territory - only those bordering strong aggressive enemy you expect to be at war with.

Other than that, priorities are:
1. Collect TV
2. Artisans/Curators/Black holes
3. Systems with developed planets for black site; there's no point putting it over low-production new colonies as difference will be marginal, but worlds with 100 pops can benefit from extra stability significantly.
4. Protect TV
5. Anchorages spread loosely (so that Crisis can't wipe all your naval bases should it spawn unfortunately close to you)

2 and 3 can double as 1 or 4 depending on actual layout; those which can't should double as 5.

 

[sillyrobot]

Although trade modules aren't very useful if they don't actually collect more trade --- the couple of points from the offworld trading company isn't worth it. I fill up any additional slots with anchorages.



I've seen this too.

Concerning trade protection... I'm not convinced that it's worth it. It may depend on your particular map, but I'm finding that burning that much potential fleet cap on hangar modules isn't worth it. Better to build anchorages and ships and then patrol. You can switch the ships to fighting, but hangars would be in the wrong place to be useful.

(I play without DLC, so I'm not able to get fleet cap from fortress-filled habitats.)

Although I doubt you are wrong, I can't find anything in the game that suggests hangar bays cost fleet cap. It's not listed under fleet cap usage or as part of the description of hangar bay. Is it something a player is just supposed to know?

 

[Xeorm]

Although I doubt you are wrong, I can't find anything in the game that suggests hangar bays cost fleet cap. It's not listed under fleet cap usage or as part of the description of hangar bay. Is it something a player is just supposed to know?

Hangar bays means not having an anchorage. I really only use them so I can lengthen out patrols. A patrol that can go out far enough means a good deal less in fleet cap and upkeep.

 

[Pyoro]

Star bases are one of the more interesting aspects of the current patch, imo.

You want them for defense. For anchorages. For trade and trade protections. To build and reinforce your fleets. For supporting your planets and the special boni they can collect.
I always seem to run out of them and pay a lot for their upkeep. It feels like it's one of the areas where you can make meaningful decisions ^^;

 

[Pragmatic]

What modules & buildings for choke point systems?

There's so many different defensive buildings for star ports, I don't know what to build.

 

[sillyrobot]

Hangar bays means not having an anchorage. I really only use them so I can lengthen out patrols. A patrol that can go out far enough means a good deal less in fleet cap and upkeep.

Ah! Hanger bay vs. anchorage makes sense, thanks.

Trade protection and piracy suppression don't seem additive. If the protection is high enough to completely protect the trade, patrols seem useless. If it is almost high enough then the patrol still needs to be beefy enough to put a dent in the piracy value as if there was no protection present.

My first game, I was using 90% of my 60ish fleet cap on corvette patrols and barely keeping the trade protected. Then I discovered hangar bays. Now I only patrol those systems where the trade value exceeds the protection.

 

[Xeorm]

Ah! Hanger bay vs. anchorage makes sense, thanks.

Trade protection and piracy suppression don't seem additive. If the protection is high enough to completely protect the trade, patrols seem useless. If it is almost high enough then the patrol still needs to be beefy enough to put a dent in the piracy value as if there was no protection present.

My first game, I was using 90% of my 60ish fleet cap on corvette patrols and barely keeping the trade protected. Then I discovered hangar bays. Now I only patrol those systems where the trade value exceeds the protection.

They don't seem it at first, but they are. The issue has to do with timing. A fleet on patrol spends ~65 days in a system with default engines. If you have a patrol over 3 systems that means ~195 days until the first system is there to be suppressed. If piracy goes above trade protection in that time (~150 trade value passing through the system) then you start losing trade value and run the risk of pirates. Adding a single hangar module pumps that value up. Now you'd need ~1700 trade value in the system before you'd need to worry.

 

[Pragmatic]

Hangar bays... I really only use them so I can lengthen out patrols. A patrol that can go out far enough means a good deal less in fleet cap and upkeep.

Can you explain, please? I haven't gone much beyond my home system, so don't know about trade value & protection, fleet patrols, and so on.

Are you saying that multiple hangars extend trade protection, so you don't need a small squadron of ships to patrol?

 

[sillyrobot]

They don't seem it at first, but they are. The issue has to do with timing. A fleet on patrol spends ~65 days in a system with default engines. If you have a patrol over 3 systems that means ~195 days until the first system is there to be suppressed. If piracy goes above trade protection in that time (~150 trade value passing through the system) then you start losing trade value and run the risk of pirates. Adding a single hangar module pumps that value up. Now you'd need ~1700 trade value in the system before you'd need to worry.

Right, one acts as a barrier, the other reduces the strength of piracy. I have few systems that exceed the 60ish trade protection proffered by the hangars that don't have their own star base, so I park a couple of stripped corvette hulls directly on those systems -- just enough to slowly squelch the piracy.

Once gateway construction comes online (and the devs improve gateway lag), you can probably get away with a single star base providing trade protection throughout the empire -- or two to three if the trade flow picks up enough that you need a lot of protection.

 

[sillyrobot]

Can you explain, please? I haven't gone much beyond my home system, so don't know about trade value & protection, fleet patrols, and so on.

Are you saying that multiple hangars extend trade protection, so you don't need a small squadron of ships to patrol?

Yes. Each hangar add one to the link distance the protection extends. So a 4-hangar base provides protection for out to 4 jumps from the base.

Actually that applies to all the defensive modules like guns and beams. Hangars just give the best protection amount per module.

 

[Xeorm]

Right, one acts as a barrier, the other reduces the strength of piracy. I have few systems that exceed the 60ish trade protection proffered by the hangars that don't have their own star base, so I park a couple of stripped corvette hulls directly on those systems -- just enough to slowly squelch the piracy.

Once gateway construction comes online (and the devs improve gateway lag), you can probably get away with a single star base providing trade protection throughout the empire -- or two to three if the trade flow picks up enough that you need a lot of protection.

My own experience is that trade value picks up drastically once I'm past the midgame and hangar modules can't compete by themselves. Nor do I want to spend the massive amount of alloys on building so many gateways. Corvette suppression works well enough.

 

[westamastaflash]

My own experience is that trade value picks up drastically once I'm past the midgame and hangar modules can't compete by themselves. Nor do I want to spend the massive amount of alloys on building so many gateways. Corvette suppression works well enough.

Don't forget that Corvettes with no guns, armor, shields, advanced computers, etc supress piracy just as well as a tricked-out corvette. So I have a 'patrol' corvette design that costs a lot less but does the same.

 

[Xeorm]

Don't forget that Corvettes with no guns, armor, shields, advanced computers, etc supress piracy just as well as a tricked-out corvette. So I have a 'patrol' corvette design that costs a lot less but does the same.

Of course.

 

[AlanC9]

Although I doubt you are wrong, I can't find anything in the game that suggests hangar bays cost fleet cap. It's not listed under fleet cap usage or as part of the description of hangar bay. Is it something a player is just supposed to know?

As mentioned, they only cost fleet cap as an opportunity cost. You can build a hangar bay or an anchorage in any given slot.

In the midgame you may need both for efficiency.