The TL regained some of their power when the Ankylon gut buffed. Now it looks more like it did when on the TEC had been released in beta.

That too. The TL get that advantage too. I'd say that one is probably more useful in SP though, since Novalith's are easy to counter in MP matches.

I've definitely been thinking the same thing- TEC loyal fleets may actually be able to survive titan AoE now.

That said I do feel compelled to mention that group shield doesn't make titan AoE "negligible".  It's a very significant reduction, but remember that due to how sins math works "-86% damage taken" actually reduces the incoming damage by about 46.3%.  SO just a bit more then half of incoming damage gets by area group shield(though that damage will also get mitigated by shield mitigation and if hitting hull armor).  The only exceptions to this sort of math as far as I know is shield mitigation and the Iconus Guardian's shield projection.  Basically if it says in the description the word "reduces" it generally means it uses sins math.

The point is I wouldn't say negligible- but shaving off almost half the damage of AoEs right off the bat could very easily be enough to keep frigates alive long enough to matter.

if you're at all interested in how it's done it's pretty simple:

Sins reductions basically tell you the yield for the change.  Which is to say "86% reduced damage" actually means the damage is reduced by the amount that results in the ship being able to take 86% more damage before being destroyed(so +86% effective HP while the buff is up).  Before I get into the details I'd like to reiterate that this representation change is only for reductions- Increases work exactly as one would expect.

Mathematically this is pretty simple, take the % of the reduction and put it in decimal form(so in this case 86/100=.86).  Add that to 1(so in this case 1.86), and finally take the inverse of that number((1/1.86)=roughly .538).  The result is basically what is left of the reduced stat.  So if our final result is .538 it means 53.8% of damage gets through the "86% reduced damage" shield, which translates into a 46.2% reduction to damage.

While most people find it very stranger, this representation of reductions is actually very useful.  Measuring the effective yield of the reduction actually protrays a much more intuitive explanation of the magnitude of the effect(for example knowing the buff will make ships live 82% longer is often more useful then knowing they are taking 46.2% less damage). 

Another advantage is that it creates uncapped potential for reduction- You can have any number of reductions stack additively without issue as you never hit a point where the affected number is reduced to 0, nor does it suffer from the increasing returns that normally accompany normal percentile representations.  This is the reason it's balanced that every single reduction in sins stacks additively with each other such reduction(note most games with normal percentile representations lots of abilities have to impose stacking limitations).

 It only really seems odd to use because most other games use the "traditional" protrayal of just giving us the reduction.

Anyway this post turned out a bit longer then I expected- I always like discussing the sins reduction representation when I get the chance. 

Yes, it is indeed somewhat strange. Not only does is have by far the most firepower, but it also can have phase missiles which drastically improve that firepower even further. Should you have the misfortune of it being close to your jump in point, I think it will do actually more damage than Meteor Storm in the same ammount of time.

I also agree with the Tec Loyalist... their starbases need some serious love.

A fully upgraded TEC Loyalist Starbase should blow a fully upgraded Orkulus Starbase out of the sky. if it doesnt... the point of the faction is moot.

The problem with that is that the Orkulus Star Base is suppose to be the Vasari's Anti-Structure (and that includes Star Bases) weapon. Its first weapon upgrade is a weapon that is excellent for attacking structures.

I understand your point Ryat. 

But please try to understand my point:

If I am TEC... I have placed that starbase there for a single purpose... to hold of the enemy because my fleet right now is too far away or otherwise busy. That starbases job is simple. HOLD THE LINE. Or if that is not possible, at least make it damm costly for getting by.

Same for Advent

Now... you go there... build a Orkulus nicely out of range of my SB.... which usually is possible without much of a trouble, unless the defending starbase has full bombers onboard... which is not necessarly a good idea for various reasons.

You upgrade that starbase.... and then it moves into range and attacks my starbase.

My starbase dies....

Now... anwer me a single question: What did it bring me to build the starbase there in the first place? Nothing.

In the contrary... now when my fleet finally has time to get there... I will face a fully upgraded starbase at (hopefully) still MY planet..... and I will loose ships to that monster....

So I paid:

Starbase construction and upgrade

Fleet losses

Possible planet loss as it is defenseless - economic penalty

loss of all logistic structures arround the planet - economic penalty

All that I paid... and I got nothing for it.

The Vasari paid:

Starbase construction and upgrade

AND:

The Vasari still has a very useful starbase at that planet.... so he got a lot of nice things for the money he paid.

I have no problem with the Orky being the anti structure weapon of the Vasari.... but I expect that in a straight fight against another starbase (same tech level, same upgrades) it should loose.

Because:

The Orky is far more usefull generaly than the Anti structure cruisers of TEC or Advent

- it does actually counter those anti structure cruisers quite well...

- the cruisers cost fleet supply... and you need to spent far more money on them than on the Orky...because see one line above)

- after the job is done... they are worthless.

I am fine if the Advent or TEC starbase is heavily damaged after that.... but not destroyed. Being stationary, they should outlast the mobile Orky.

I am actually curios now... I am going to try this in Dev.exe.

Have your own Anti-Structural weapons on stand by then. Bombers in hangars work great for leveling that odds there.

Oh plz stop trolling....