Fleet Construction

The first decision you and your opponent will have to agree on is the amount of points you can spend on your fleets. The two most common sizes are 999 points and 1500 points.

999 point fleets is still classed as a *skirmish* level battle with only four battlegroups. It does allow players to bring admirals and customise their fleets a bit, while keeping large vessels like battleships and dreadnoughts off the table. It is also a good size for new players to learn the  details of the game.

Most tournaments use 1500 points as their default fleet size, which adds Flag battlegroups to the equation. This enables you to take battleships and dreadnoughts, and opens up fleet construction even more.

Each of the fleets in Dropfleet Commander have various styles of play and it’s up to you on which of these styles or combination of these styles which suit you. Ships and tactics that feel like complete rubbish to you can be deadly in the hands of another player with a different play style.

Some common play styles include:

* Close action brawlers: Capitalize on massed close action weapons to overwhelm an enemy’s point defense.
* Long range snipers: The counterpoint to brawling, where you increase a ship’s signature with spikes and then target them with high damage weapons like *burnthrough* lasers.
* Massed batteries: Use the combined weapon batteries of multiple ships to finish off an enemy vessel before moving on to the next target.
* Launch asset swarms: Use launch assets to force the opponent to deal with their bomber waves and torpedoes.
* Stealth fleets: Use debris fields, Silent Running orders, and rules like *stealth* and *cloak* to move into position and strike.
* Toolbox fleets: Bring the right tool for the job and rely on weapons with *calibre* to more easily target ships of certain classes or rules like *impel* to control what the enemy is doing.

A useful approach is to split your fleet into thirds, with one third built to capture or deny objectives, a second third to inflict damage on your opponent, and a final third whose composition will depend on your faction. This last group can compensate for a weakness or utilise a specific advantage available to your faction.

Try to have a clear goal for each battlegroup - define what each one is trying to achieve and how it will go about that goal. For example, if your goal for the battlegroup is to snipe targets with a UCM St. Petersburg, including some Lima frigates to add spikes to your target with the *detector* special rules is a good approach. Including a group of Taipeis would be a mistake, since they want to get up close and personal with their targets.

The *Strategy Rating* (SR) of your battlegroups also impacts your fleet construction a great deal more than a lot of beginners realize. During each round, smaller battlegroups can dictate who activates first or second. If the role of a battlegroup is to respond quickly to the enemy, ensure that they have a low SR to control the flow of the battle. Approach types in a scenario can affect SR ratings as well. This may mean that key battlegroups will not enter the table before much later into the game.

Consider the role of launch assets on your fleet and play style. Bombers and close action weapons can be devastating, but opponents can easily mitigate their impact with fighters and *Aegis-*capable vessels. Always include some way of dealing with these kinds of attacks in your own fleets as well.

Ships with dropships and bulk landers capture objectives and win you the game. You hold your objects with infantry and armour units. Infantry units are more durable against bombardment than an armour unit, whereas armour units are more durable against attacks from other ground assets. This also means that you could include bombardment assets of your own to deal with your opponent's armour units.

Another ground asset that bears mentioning is the defense battery that can shoot down enemy dropships or bulk landers as they attempt to drop their cargo, which can help you keep any objectives that you've already claimed. Defense batteries can only be deployed by bulk lander however.

Strike carriers, such as the UCM New Orleans or Scourge Gargoyle, are usually small ships that can enter atmosphere and drop either a single armour unit or a single infantry unit onto a sector. Troopships meanwhile come with bulk landers, which can deploy three infantry units or a defense battery. Keep in mind that if you have a ship that can launch multiple dropships/bulk landers, you can mix and match which ground assets you deploy to adapt to changing circumstances.

When building your fleet, add up the amount of dropships and bulk landers you can launch. Most fleets require around 2 to 3 dropships or bulk landers for every 500 points of the fleet e.g. 6 Medea strike carriers and a Ganymede troopship for a 1500 point game. Carefully weigh up your choices, based on your style, between strike carriers, troopships, or some combination thereof.

In which battlegroup you place your drop capabilities also plays a big role. Some players like to consolidate most of their drop capability in one battlegroup. This gives control over when such a critical component of their fleet activates. Others distribute their vessels throughout their fleet, since most strike carriers have the *open* rule and thus can operate independently from the rest of the battlegroup.

### Rules of Thumb for fleet design:

* Have a plan to control a minimum of three clusters. Either via drop, bombardment, or by keeping the cluster clear of troops and ships in orbit. Most standard missions have 5 total scoring clusters, so controlling three is sufficient to win. Typically this is around 30% of your total points.
* Always use the max number of battlegroups available for your point level. This lets you lower your overall fleet SR level and gives you a better chance of out activating your opponent.
* Pathfinder groups are ideal for low SR offensive battlegroups. Destroyers often have good firepower and can out activate cruiser groups due to their lower SR.