The Akkan always struck me as the weakest capital ship in the game. It puzzles me then to see that decently skilled players are consistently picking it as their opening capital ship. I understand that having a capital colonizer speeds up expansion, but it never seemed justified to me given how little firepower the ship possesses.
Then again, I haven't really used the Akkan after patching, so I suppose it could have been buffed.
What are people's thoughts? Why would it be smart to pick Akkan as first cap?
Personally the Akkan was a large disappointment to me. It could have been more. I usually get it if I am building a large fleet of caps but beyond that I dont use it. A Kol/colonizer works better for me.
Akkan is a useful ship in larger maps and for strikecraft or defensive fleets. Armistice is an extremely useful ability to regroup; it can help clear a path for retreat if on the offense, or allow an extra minute of healing when on the defense. Strikecraft aren't affected by Armisitce, so that's why Akkan is useful in the strikecraft-oriented fleet. As a standing capital, it is weak, but works very well with a Sova (For quickly colonizing/fortifying new planets with Colonize and Rapid Manufacturing) or Marza (Armistice allows antimatter restoration time to activate Missile Barrage).
Of course, compared to the Death Egg or Progen, the Akkan is a rather weak colonizer capital. Still, consider the map size if you want Akkan as the first cap.
First of all a common misconception: the Akkan is not a low damage capital ship; its DPS is actually just a hair below the Marza, putting it at second place overall for its faction. The catch is that it's a side-shooter, so half its firepower comes out of one side and half on the other. If there are no enemies on one side, its firepower is cut in half. Maneuver the Akkan into a good position and it easily matches a Marza for DPS.
Secondly, the biggest advantage of an Akkan is that you don't need to pay money for a colony frigate. Those things are bloody expensive, and if you put that cash instead towards more units it actually makes the difference between an Akkan and a Marza much less meaningful.
Finally, Marza and Kol are really overrated. The only outstanding abilities they have are their level-6 abilities, raze planet, and flak burst. None of these will help you in an early game skirmish. Nothing like what an Evacuator or Progenitor will do, at any rate. This is why a lot of people just go with Akkan early to give them a strong start, then get the Kol or Marza second.
Agree -- it also has a the extra strikecraft that the colony caps get for extra DPS. Base DPS is good.
Disagree -- Marza Nuclear Missile attack and Raze Planet are very good abilities. Even the passive DPS boost with Incendiary rounds is kind of nice to augment the good ship DPS. Each to his own, but I loved Marza back when Missile Barrage didn't even work right.
I think Akkans are underrated and are good for rapid expansion -- Ion Bolt is also very nice for countering abilities or trying to catch cap ships that are making a run for it. The problem is that unlike the Progen or Evacuator, it doesn't outshine the other caps so much that it is a clear choice and comes down to player preference. As Vasari, you are kind of dumb not to get an Evac, and as Advent you MIGHT get a Radiance, but probably should have gotten a Progen. It just isn't as clear an advantage for first ship when you look at the Akkan, which makes it seem maligned by comparison.
Anyhow, that is my 2 cents. Ironically, I tend to only build them when I need Ion Bolt, but that is just me.
I never said they were bad. I said they were overrated. Marza and Kol fanatics talk about them as if they're in the same league as the Progenitor or Evacuator. As far as the early game is concerned (late game TEC capital ships really mature and come into their own, and that's another story) they just aren't comparable with the high-end capital ships the other factions field. They're merely above average capital ships.
This is where I agree with you, and my point about Marza/Kol overratedness comes in. Marza and Kol are good, but not so good as to overshadow all other choices.
Wow that's good to know. That makes sense as a choice now. I hadn't even considered armistice. I totally forgot about it seeing as I never played TEC enough to get the akkan that high level.
I love a good embargo rush too much for that.
What about its abilities? Other than the obligatory rank in Colonize, I get the impression one just shoves the ranks in Ion Bolt until Armstice. Is Targeting Uplink worth anything except for situational stunts like letting a starbase outrange seige craft and the like?
Targetting uplink is great if the map happens to have an asteroid field as one of its natural chokes, otherwise it's very situational. I'd take the first rank of targetting uplink over the second rank of colonize, personally, but aside from that it's your call as to whether you want it or not. Ion bolt is definitely the ability you want to sink points into.
Embargo is definitely one of my favourite abilities, and awesome if used well. That said, the Sova is a very low damage cap (IIRC it's the lowest DPS cap in the game, not counting strike craft) and its abilities are quite anti-matter intensive. There just isn't enough AM to use both its missiles and embargo. I typically find rushing in with a Marza and using raze planet near the start of the match is a way better use of your time. Faster, messier, and leaves you with a high DPS cap after you book it out of there.
I have to admit I didn't understand how strong Akkan is until I'd seen it used by a skilled player.
We are just splitting hairs then...I think we both know the Marza is one of the better caps. I do consider it one of the best caps in the game currently because all of its abilities are useful, and skillful use of a single high level Marza can change the course of a game. That said, it is certainly counterable, but the burden is on the opponent to counter it. You are also forgoing the ease of early expansion you get with an Akkan when you use it.
I am not even talking about the Kol, which is a situational cap.
disagree that the Kol is a poor choice in early game stage. The use of its force shield allows for a much longer lasting battle time especially when paired up with a repair device (hosikios, repair bay) both which come early in game. And against neutrals, it can withstand the toughest group by itself freeing up fleet space for other things (only the Kortul comes close). True it may not be the most aggressive ship but defensively its the best (pair it with a Dunvo and a repair bay it can hold a choke point quite well until you get a starbase up)
Akkan Battlecruisers are support vessels.
I don't really know what else to say... I mean... it's solo performance is pretty much irrelevent.
The Akkan, like any other capship, is capable of clearing out nearby neutral asteroids and poorly defended planets. If you have progressed beyond this point, you should have a number of frigates, a second capship, and hopefully a couple of cruisers... Thus rendering the solo performance of the Akkan entirely irrelevent.
TEC strength is in numbers (production much?). Advent strength is in unifying the diversity of it's fleet (you just 'can't deny the Unity!'). Vasari strength is in over-compensation for something and punching people weaker than them in the kidneys while they aren't looking ('this little one is mine!' - wow, what a loaded bit of brilliant voice acting, that!).
So leave the uber solo ships to the Vasari, lol.
Also, before you knock a ship - try it in squadrons, you'll find many ships become considerably more powerful when "stacked" with themselves.
A pack of Marauders, for instance, is pretty bitchin', but each of them alone is pretty lame.
-Itharus
Would the uplink end up OP, or just Useful, if it's range boost and +5/10/15% to hit was paired with a +5/10/15% boost to damage?
My gut feeling suggests 'maybe' - the Halicyon already grants allied fleets a 30% damage buff (via cooldown) as a passive aura, so a +15% damage buff and a pair of situational modifiers doesn't feel too off... but the whole package might end up a little too good if the situational modifiers end up used a lot.
I'm just curious, here.
I agree with this entirely. my favorite groupings for 16 cap ships as TEC is 4 of everything except Dunov (just don't like it much, don't know why). When my fleet is divided, its balanced, when its unified, nothing stops it. Pretty amazing
I like the Akkan. I often start with it (though sometimes with a Dunov--the abilities of that thing are so darn useful.)
But the Akkan is no Mothership. Just even on discounts, the colonizing discount you get with the Mothership saves you more (esp. in the long run, with planet upgrades) than one or two free extractors.
If I had to rate the Caps, based on DPS(w/ strikecraft), Abilities, solo power, and the ability to support their fleet, I would rate them like this:
1. Dunov (1. fleet support, 3 DPS, 2. Abilities, 3 Solo power)
2. Kol (5. fleet support, 1 DPS, 3. abilities. 1 solo power{up to lvl. 6, after that it's Marza})
3. Marza ( 4. fleet support, 2 DPS, 1 Abilities, 2 solo power)
4. Akkan ( 2. fleet support, 5 DPS, 5 abilities, 5 solo power)
5. Sova ( 3. fleet support, 4 DPS, 4 abilities, 4 solo power)
The list is for low-level caps, 1-5.
Also, the list doesn't go in order by best to worst.
Koda0 (^)
why me???
The akkan battlecruiser is actually very useful. Probably the most evident reason for these 'decently skilled players' to be using them at first, is because it highly improves expansion. If you have the necessary research and skill, you can use the Akkan in a very good way. Getting the most planets early on can help you improve your economy fast so you can support your planets with larger fleets. They probably choose the Akkan first because they use it sparingly. It is also what you might call, a 'souped up colony ship'. Supporting an akkan with a minor beginner fleet can help you drive off pirates from planets, allowing you to colonize them.
Personally the Kol is my favourite, however I 90% build an Akkan first but my second is always a Kol. I usually follow that with a Sova. i rarely build Marza's, i just find that they take a long time to do nothing. their radiation gun is kinda useless and even though they are useful planet bombers I only build one. the Dunov is my late capital, i get a couple before my killing blow to support the fleet. i will usually have mostly Kol class vessels.
thats my thoughts, sorry if i've stepped on any toes!
First, you necroed a post from 2009.
Second, I guess you haven't seen the level 6 missile barrage from a Marza and watch dozens of enemy frigates become stars in the background. Beautiful sight it is....
Oh crap. this always happens whenever i join a forum, i forget to check the date.
the problem with it being lvl6 for that is that i cant be assed getting the big slow marza up there.
Do like what everyone else does, use the pirates to level up...
The advantage of a colony cap is that you can immediantly colonize newly conquered worlds. In the early game this greatly speeds up planet grabbing. The Akkans colonize ability also saves you 250 credits for each planet you colonize which is fairly significant early game. In addition targeting uplink is extremely useful for early skirmishes because it allows your LR frigates to get the first strike. Ion bolt can also be used to shut down several capital ships at once with the support of a level 6 Dunov. This effect gets even better if you have some advent allies helping out.
The Akkan is equiped with all the necessary tools tec need to survive;
This cap makes efficient use of everything it does--i love it,
*cue Marza fanboys*
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