Fleet

OUTRIDER CLASS SCOUT
This small vessel has very limited use and is not intended for combat. Due to other more effective ships available for a marginal cost increase, the only legitimate reason to build is to function as an external fuel tank for larger warships.

NOCTURNE CLASS DESTROYER
For a small increase in cost from the Outrider, this is a vast improvement. It can be built early and in large numbers. It is cost effective and can be useful in late games. Don’t depend on it due to it taking so many to kill a Battleship or Carrier.

BOHEMIAN CLASS SURVEY SHIP
This is the warming Terraformer in the fed inventory and has two real functions. Heating up colonies to a perfect 50 degrees and minimal anti-scout defense. It can greatly improve the fed economy.

MEDIUM DEEP SPACE FREIGHTER
If you are playing in a game where many of the planets you find will not be worthwhile, you may want to build an MDSF (Medium Deep Space Freighter) so that you can scout out the good planets. Once the MDSF’s job of scouting has been finished, it can be colonized or put to use in small cargo transport. If you plan to colonize it you may choose to build a Smallie (Small Deep Space Freighter) instead.

EROS CLASS RESEARCH SHIP
This is the cooling terraformer in the fed inventory. This ship in tandem with the Bohemian gives the fed the ability to turn any world into a perfect planet. Also serves as minor anti-scout defense.

VENDETTA CLASS FRIGATE
Known as the “great disappointment”. At first glance, the Vendetta appears to be a bargain, however looking at the crew tells a different story. There is one thing worse in combat than losing your ships in battle. And that is giving your ships to your enemy. 4 beams and 4 torps do not make up for this deficiency. Build a Nocturne or Arkham instead.

NEBULA CLASS CRUISER
An all purpose armed freighter of the fleet. Any good fed leader makes sure that they have a good percentage in their fleet. With the same armament as the Vendetta without the liabilities, it serves as an effective multi-role warship. Nebulas move long distances and lay massive minefields. It also serves as an excellent supply ship for fleets. During invasions, this ship can carry clans for developing right at the front.

BANSHEE CLASS DESTROYER
A ship without any justifiable purpose in the fleet. At a cost increase in minerals and cash of 33% for the hull alone over the much cheaper and longer legged Nocturne. There are few gains for the expenditure. The ability to tow, take one mine hit, and 30 more cargo sums the gains over a Nocturne. Buy Nocturnes, you’ll have saved the money and minerals to load the Nocturne with torps.

LARGE DEEP SPACE FREIGHTER
The Medium and Small are too small, the Super Transport is too big, but the LDSF feels just right. This is actually the ship to build.

BRYNHILD CLASS ESCORT
With the Bioscanner, this ship’s usefulness is limited to the detection of natives on unvisited worlds. In fast developing empires, freighters often outrun the range of the Bioscanner. With a 20% chance of detecting natives, the Brynhild is reduced to a novelty more than a tangible asset.

ARKHAM CLASS FRIGATE
An often underused and overlooked asset in the fed arsenal. In mineral poor universes and when not fighting crystals and pirates, this ship is one of the best ships for the fed to buy prior to building the really powerful warships.

MISSOURI CLASS BATTLESHIP
This is the federations main ship of the line when there is no shield bonus. It’s heavy enough to withstand a mine hit and not be crippled and it sticks in a fight far longer than any lesser ship in the fed inventory. The mineral cost is high compared to lesser ships. If the shield bonus is on 33% or higher, then the feds are often better served by the Diplomacy/Thor/Kittyhawk’s.

LOKI CLASS DESTROYER
The cloaker’s nightmare. Pirates hate it, birds and fascist despise it. If the ES bonus is 50%, this ship lays waste to bird warships. Lizard’s of course are immune to it.

THOR CLASS FRIGATE
This is the little warship that could. This ship is often overlooked and shouldn’t be. If the Shield bonus is set to 33% or higher this ship becomes the nightmare of many carrier commanders. 3 of these little gems can often kill even the Gorbie. For such a small cost and such powerful hitting, this ship should be used more than it is.

DIPLOMACY CLASS CRUISER
This is the smallest battleship in the game. Yes, I know it’s a cruiser, but for all its’ firepower, “pocket” battleship is an appropriate title. With or without the shield bonus, this ship is extremely useful in the fed fleet. Mineral costs are minimal and for the firepower this ship wields, it’s a bargain. The Diplomacy sees its’ best days when the shield bonus is above 33%.

KITTYHAWK CLASS CARRIER
A ship that is a must for any fed fleet. This is the mop up artist. When the ES bonus is on at 33% or higher, this ship in combination with the Diplomacies and Thors becomes a real threat to the other races. 2 Thors and 1 Kittyhawk kill even the Gorbie. And when you do the math, trading 2 dinky Thors for a Gorbie is one heck of a deal.

NEUTRONIC REFINERY SHIP
The neutronic refinery ship is a tech 9 ship with 10 engines and 1050 KT of cargo room. Fuel tank will hold 800 KT of fuel. The hull is very massive, 712 KT. The ship is armed with 6 beam weapons. This ship can produce up to 525 KT of fuel per turn.

SUPER TRANSPORT FREIGHTER
To big for most purposes. With tech 10 engines and the cost involved it is much easier to build a few Large Deep Space Freighters. But I like to call it “Starbase in a Box”. You decide.

NOVA CLASS SUPER-DREADNOUGHT
Until the 500 ship limit is hit, this ship is far too expensive in mineral costs to build. Costing as much as the far more effective heavy carriers and not returning much for that investment. If the fed *CAN* build these ships without cutting production numbers then it is worthwhile, based on the build the best principle. But considering the cost, the fed can often build more bases and produce more ships than wasting a base’s worth of minerals to build a single Nova.

MERLIN CLASS ALCHEMY SHIP
The Merlin Class Alchemy Ship is a tech 10 ship with 10 engines and 2700 KT of cargo room. The fuel tank can hold 450 KT of fuel. The ship’s hull has a mass of 920 KT, which makes it one of the largest ships in any fleet. The ship is armed with 8 beam weapons and costs 840 mega-credits to build. The ship can produce a maximum of 900 KT of minerals per turn ( 300 KT duranium, 300 KT tritanium and 300 KT molybdenum ).