Micro-managing battles

It depends on how important you want to make it. Your units will fight at a basic level by themselves, but obviously you will get much better results if you do some micro management. Typically titan battles require more attention as they have powerful AoE attacks, so you'll need to order your ships out of range until they're vulnerable unless you want to take heavy loses. Other than that, the best way to find out good micro tips is to probably watch mutliplayer replay threads and see how the pros handle their units, you'll get some tips that will help you decimate the AI.

The AI at lower levels cant beat capital ships so if you lead them in the middle of his fleet to be able to fire in all possible directions it's good, just retreat them if they are being heavily attacked. Same for antifighters and illuminator vessels, but one of them will not require to be retreated . Capital ship abilities require micromanagement, so if you can hurt many ships with an ability try maximize its effect, not waste antimatter with autocast and hurt only his capitalship or something. AI likes to build capital ships even if its of no use, it worked for me to kill them in high priority, same for titans, this way ai loses extreme amount of resources, while you lose only little. Same goes for counter, don't let your ships go in the middle of ai fleet where everything can attack them (like light frigates going in the middle of his illuminator fleet), dont let your ships stray too far from where they are wanted, they waste much time by chasing one ship and meanwhile they wont attack anything. Positioning means much, you can kill an equal large AI fleet easily while he has a starbase just by not going near it. Early game its even more important to kill ships faster, so like not letting your corvettes attack light frigates, instead attack long range. same goes for all ships, they are better off attacking ships they counter well.

Defending against high level AIs: if you build a starbase and many defense structures next to it (but in range), lure AI into range thus starbase can shoot at it while that dumb is chasing your ships, taking heavy losses. Its the best to have his fleet completely surround starbase, thus it can shoot with all weapons. He even let his capitalships die while not standing a real chance against your defense. Once i could kill 6-7 high level Vasari capital ships with a small support fleet with only beam platforms shielding themselves and some repair, and hangar to give more shields. He didnt realize he should retreat, losing 8 turrets are nowhere as big loss as losing 6-7 high level capitalships.

I recommend reading the table of attack %s, what ships do what amount of damage against other type of ships, damage type I think. This way you will know with what ships who to attack with, and what is the best way to counter something.

Watching replays of online matches are good to learn many things, but AI won't be as clever as a human, so maybe not everything will be useful against it. Honestly I don't know, after I got to play Multiplayer a month ago I never played single player again, but before it I only played single for years.

@ Turchany,

I was just thinking about counters. Wherefore, is it a good idea to allocated specific groups to different classes of ships using "Ctrl" to allocate hotkeys. For example, bind all my corvettes to a hotkey. This way if I see my opposition bringing say flak mixed with LRF's fleet. I can hit my hot keys to divert all my corvettes to attack his LRF's and all my LF's to attack his flak for example. Instead of allowing what otherwise feels like a random melee. Do skilled MP players allocate hotkeys/groups?

https://www.sinsofasolarempire.wikia.com/wiki/Counters

I'm playing rebellion and exclusively single player.

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with AIs you do not need to micromanage

Just build SB and set your fleet to hold position near it. That is all micromanaging you have to do ...

Hmm I'm not an expert in multiplayer but want to be . ALT and after this hotkey is not a good idea I think as ships die fast and your hotkey will be useless as you build new ships of the same type that are not in that group, and I think it takes way too much time to constatly update your hotkey groups I never use them. It's easier I think to just push ALT when in battle if you want to attack something with all of that class. In multiplayer mixed fleets are not that common, most fleets are composed of only 1-2 ship types so you dont really need to manage small amount of ships, or if yes, it's better to manually select that much you want. If you can manage the constantly removing and added frigates of your fleet to groups.. maybe its faster than manually selecting them if you dont want other ships in that selection.. I don't know, I don't use fleets and online they do, one player got surprised I think most use fleets but I have never done it and still alive not everything is needed I think that is possible to do.

BUT

If both fleets are large, focusing fire on one ship can make brutal amounts of damage to go away for nothing (imagine all javelis missile from 200 javelis fired on a light frigate, but only killing that ship instead of dealing damage to other ships) so maybe it's better to let ships attack on their own, and only focusing fire of some ships, like 5-10.

You can exist online without groups, but it requires some micro to get the best of your fleet in big battles. It would take huge time away to continue updating your groups as online small frigates die so fast, and capital ships too..

There is also the issue of anti-structure frigates, which will quickly pound your fixed defenses into scrap if your fleet is not actively seeking them out and neutralizing them. Even though they are fragile, a large group of these ships (especially the  Adjudicators, which target multiple structures simultaneously), can do a tremendous amount of damage in a short period of time while you are picking them off.

Turcharny,

You make some valid points. Maybe its better only to focus fire on capital ships/titans. And more passive micro (like moving flak in middle of oppositions LRF's to maximise firepower etc. instead of focus fire on them; and that sort of thing).

Everything changes once you are up against cruel or vicious AI bit  not much really. most of the time (early game) you can just run your capital in circles around your SB turrets and repair platforms. AI will simply folow it and try to destroy capital ship first. He will be suiciding his fleet wave after wave and level your capitals. If he does manage to seriously dammage it just warp another one in and damaged one out.

Rinse and repeat.....

Things do change a bit with adjuncators but not too much. for them you just need to sacrifice certain amount of corvettes or be fighter heavy.