Defenses
From Astro Empires Wiki
In Astro Empires, defenses are special Structures, which will help to protect your bases from enemies trying to conquer them.
They have the same requirements as normal structures; each level requires area, population and energy. Although some higher level defense structures only require energy.
When a defense structure is built, it actually builds 5 units instead of one, for example in the layout of the Structure box on the planet overview below:
| Structures | Level | Defenses (100%) | Units |
| Urban Structures | 2 | ||
| Solar Plants | 3 | Barracks | 5/5 |
| Research Labs | 2 | ||
| Metal Refineries | 5 |
The Barracks is level one, yet it is displayed as 5/5 (level 2 would be 10/10, and it carries on.) As one actual barrack would be too weak, equal to one fighter, so if they are built in bunches they equal to a larger force, larger defense.
For more detail on using defenses please see the Defense Guide.
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Barracks
| Stats | Requirements |
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Barracks are the most basic defense you can buy. They use no energy (just batteries for your soldiers' laser rifles.) However, the rapid transition between these and the higher-level defenses generally discourage most players from investing in barracks after their first few days in the game.
Laser Turrets
| Stats | Requirements |
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Laser Turrets use Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (LASER, get it?) which excites large numbers of electrons within a ruby crystal or other lasing medium into an energized state that can sustain a coherent, radiant light beam which is then chirped into short, femtosecond, ultra-dense pulses of energy. When these pulses hit attacking ships, its heat melts the outer armour to destroy it.
Still a relatively basic defense, but sometimes enough to scare away low-level attackers from your base. Again, many players will move on from deploying these turrets relatively quickly in the game, and these defenses are largely avoided by base owners.
Missile Turrets
| Stats | Requirements |
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A missile is a self-propelled projectile launched from silos on the surface of your Astro. It uses chemical propulsion and sophisticated computer guidance systems to home in on its target, with deadly thermonuclear warheads that detonate with a blast radius that makes them most effective against multiple small ships.
Among the first turrets capable of inflicting any meaningful damage on the attacker, these turrets are good against small ships during the early stage of the game.
Plasma Turrets
| Stats | Requirements |
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Plasmas are a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to their nuclei. A plasma turret uses superconducting magnetic coils to contain these superheated plasmas, and then uses a particle accelerator to launch these devastating globules onto enemy ships.
Plasma Turrets are the last defence that most players would classify as basic because they are unshielded, but still have the ability to destroy medium-sized units. They aren't used much by players beyond level 15 - 20, because of the strength of higher level turrets.
Ion Turrets
| Stats | Requirements |
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Ions are charged nuclei with extra electrons (anions) or missing electrons (cations), desperate to become neutral again. With powerful, superconducting electromagnets to accelerate them to super-high velocities, the ion turret fires them at enemy ships where they impact a ship's armour with immensely destructive kinetic energy.
The first turrets to have a shield capability, ion defenses are regarded, at least in the earlier stages of the game, to be a strong deterrent to attackers. Many players also cite their efficiency at luring fighters into attacking them instead of capital ships as one reason to keep them up even after much higher-level defenses are built.
Photon Turrets
| Stats | Requirements |
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Photon Turrets fire intense, quantized packets of energetic, short wavelength X-Rays, and are the first defenses with high enough shields to render attacking Fighters impotent and obsolete. They can prove extremely important in your defense strategy, as the power of these turrets will make it tough for an attacker to profit from attacking you. Often in the early stages of the game, bases with Photon Turrets are simply avoided by attackers who are looking to make an easy profit.
Disruptor Turrets
| Stats | Requirements |
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Disruptor Turrets are the first of four defenses employed by higher-level players. They make reasonable defenses against Titans, but don't overestimate them. Most higher-level players, however, scrap these turrets in order to make room for Planetary Rings.
Deflection Shields
| Stats | Requirements |
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Deflection Shields emit a carefully-calibrated, computer-controlled ionic breeze that produces a regional screen capable of dissipating the energies of the weapons used by attacking ships at a distance. They are used generally with Disruptor Turrets. While they do not completely prevent attacking units from doing damage to the owner's ships and other base defenses, they can act as a 'recharger' unit. For example, think of a scenario in which just the right amount of Cruisers strike and kill one level of Disruptor Turrets. With Deflection Shields, the damage done by the Cruisers is spread between the Deflection Shields and Disruptor Turrets. After that combat round, the HP of the shields and turrets are redistributed, and this might "revive" what would have otherwise been destroyed turrets.
Higher-level players replace Deflection Shields for their better version, Planetary Shields. From an economic perspective, players with sufficient technology to choose will often prefer Planetary Shields because they outperform Deflection Shields when deployed on asteroids and moons. However, it is noteworthy that while Deflection Shields are only half as energy efficient as Planetary Shields, they are more economical from a cost perspective on planets (for which there is no discount to erect Planetary Shields).
Planetary Shield
| Stats | Requirements |
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Planetary Shields are a technological step above Deflection Shields, projecting their ionic shielding globally so that it can extend outside of your Astro's atmosphere. Subsequent levels of investment increase the intensity of this global shield. They are cheaper on moons and asteroids (which are smaller in diameter) than on planets, and higher-level players often deploy them in pairs with Planetary Rings.
Planetary Ring
| Stats | Requirements |
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The Planetary Ring is comprised of billions of micro-sized satellites that orbit an Astro as a shiny ring, and are capable of blasting attacking ships with powerful quanta of X-Ray wavelength light. They can be built at a discount on moons and asteroids (which are smaller in diameter) than on planets, because the rings are smaller while still producing an equal density of firepower all-around the Astro. It requires no Area on an Astro because it completely exists in orbit (powered by microwaves beamed up from the surface).
These are the backbone of a higher-level player's base defenses, and can sorely damage an attacking fleet, whereas other ships and base defenses merely distract attacking ships. Players with 2 or more levels of Planetary Rings would only be attacked by idiots, because most such attackers cannot hope to profit or even be successful with anything less than the most gargantuan of attacking armadas.
