Latest revision as of 11:14, 13 September 2026

Targeting and Priority

Combat does not spray damage evenly across every enemy ship. Fire is biased toward front-line hulls first, then middle combat ships, then rear logistics and support. Planetary defenses use a separate dome-first order when they are the targets.

Echelons (ships)

Ships have a target priority tier in the catalog:

Tier	Role	Examples
1 — Front	Screens & light combat	Fighters, Corvette, Frigate, Interceptors / Kamikaze
2 — Middle	Main combat line	Cruiser, Battleship, Battlecruiser, Bomber, heavy combat hulls
3 — Rear	Logistics & support	Cargo, Recyclers, Probe, Carrier, healers / support

Exact tier per hull is on that ship’s catalog page.

How ship damage is shared

When the front tier still has ships:

Most incoming damage hits the front (typically clamped around 60–98.5%, with a little random jitter).
Rear (and deeper) shares are tightly limited (on the order of a few percent combined) while a real front screen exists.
Within a tier, damage splits by ship count (quantity), not by individual hit points alone.

If the front cannot absorb everything (or is wiped), unused damage escalates into middle and rear tiers.

Tier bias weights front much more heavily than middle or rear when computing shares, so fat fighter screens soak fire; thin screens leak hits into your battle line and backline.

Who aims this way?

Attacking fleets use target priority against enemy ships.
Planetary turrets use the same ship tiers when they fire at an attacking fleet.
When a colony’s ships and defenses both fire in the same round, their damage is merged, then re-aimed with one target-priority pass before it hits the attacker’s shared shield pool. That keeps turrets and ships focused on the same front screen instead of each volley picking its own mid/rear bias.

Hull kills still resolve with the same front-first shot logic (see Rapid Fire — overkill does not splash).

Defense targeting (dome-first)

Incoming fire aimed at planetary defenses is not split evenly across every turret:

Soak domes (Small Shield Dome, Large Shield Dome, Planetary Dome, and similar) tend to take hull damage first.
Remaining damage then hits armed turrets (flak, rockets, lasers, capitals, etc.).
While barrier / absorption domes are alive, total damage to the defense yard is also reduced (see Damage and Shields).

This is the defense-side counterpart to ship echelons: protective structures soak so the guns stay online longer.

Player implications

Fat screens protect Capitals and logistics — expect light craft to die first.
Thin or missing fronts expose Cruisers, Battleships, and Carriers much earlier.
Rear logistics and Carriers are hard to snipe while a solid front still stands.
Rapid Fire interacts with this: high RF into the front clears screens faster and opens deeper tiers sooner.
On a defended colony, strip domes before you expect the turret wall to melt.
Soft defense spam (flak / rockets) still leans into the attacker’s front screen — the same priority rules as fleets.

References

Fleet Combat · Rapid Fire · Damage and Shields · Carrier · Defenses · Fleet and Ships

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 = Targeting and Priority =
-Targeting determines which enemy unit is selected when a ship or defense fires.
+Combat does not spray damage evenly across every enemy ship. Fire is biased toward '''front-line''' hulls first, then middle combat ships, then rear logistics and support. Planetary defenses use a separate '''dome-first''' order when they are the targets.
-Each unit has a defined '''Target Priority''' value that influences how likely it is to be selected as a target.
-Target priority plays a major role in fleet survivability and battle outcomes.
-----
-== How Target Selection Works ==
-During each attack cycle:
-. An attacking unit selects a valid target from the opposing side. 2. Target selection is influenced by that target’s priority value. 3. The attacker deals damage to the selected unit. 4. If Rapid Fire applies and the target is destroyed, another target is selected.
-Target priority does NOT guarantee selection. It influences selection probability.
 ----
-== Understanding Target Priority Values ==
+== Echelons (ships) ==
-Lower numbers indicate frontline preference.
+Ships have a '''target priority''' tier in the catalog:
-Typical values:
-* Priority 1 → Frontline combat units
-* Priority 2 → Midline / support combat units
-* Priority 3 → Logistics / utility units
-Example from ships:
+{| class="wikitable"
+!Tier
+!Role
+!Examples
+|-
+|1 — Front
+|Screens & light combat
+|Fighters, Corvette, Frigate, Interceptors / Kamikaze
+|-
+|2 — Middle
+|Main combat line
+|Cruiser, Battleship, Battlecruiser, Bomber, heavy combat hulls
+|-
+|3 — Rear
+|Logistics & support
+|Cargo, Recyclers, Probe, Carrier, healers / support
+|}
-Fighter → Priority 1  Battleship → Priority 2  Cargo Ship → Priority 3
+Exact tier per hull is on that ship’s catalog page.
-This means Fighters are more likely to be targeted before Cargo Ships.
 ----
-== Example 1 – Mixed Fleet Engagement ==
+== How ship damage is shared ==
-Fleet A: 20 Fighters (Priority 1) 10 Battleships (Priority 2) 30 Cargo Ships (Priority 3)
+When the front tier still has ships:
-Fleet B attacks.
-Most early damage will hit Fighters first.
-Only after frontline losses increase will Battleships and Cargo Ships begin taking consistent damage.
-This is why frontline composition matters.
+* Most incoming damage hits the '''front''' (typically clamped around '''60–98.5%''', with a little random jitter).
-----
+* '''Rear''' (and deeper) shares are tightly limited (on the order of a few percent combined) while a real front screen exists.
+* Within a tier, damage splits by '''ship count''' (quantity), not by individual hit points alone.
-== Example 2 – Shield Support Strategy ==
+If the front cannot absorb everything (or is wiped), unused damage '''escalates''' into middle and rear tiers.
-Fleet: 10 Heavy Cruisers (Priority 1) 5 Frigates (Priority 2) 2 Support Vessels (Priority 3)
-Since Support Vessels have higher priority values (3), they are less likely to be hit early.
+Tier bias weights front much more heavily than middle or rear when computing shares, so fat fighter screens soak fire; thin screens leak hits into your battle line and backline.
-This allows them to provide sustain mechanics during early combat rounds.
 ----
-== Interaction With Rapid Fire ==
+== Who aims this way? ==
-Targeting determines who is selected. Rapid Fire determines how many consecutive attacks can occur.
-Example:
-Destroyer has Rapid Fire against Frigates.
-If Frigates are Priority 2, but Fighters (Priority 1) are present,
+* '''Attacking fleets''' use target priority against enemy ships.
+* '''Planetary turrets''' use the '''same''' ship tiers when they fire at an attacking fleet.
+* When a colony’s '''ships and defenses both fire''' in the same round, their damage is merged, then re-aimed with '''one''' target-priority pass before it hits the attacker’s shared [[Damage and Shields|shield pool]]. That keeps turrets and ships focused on the same front screen instead of each volley picking its own mid/rear bias.
-Destroyers will more often hit Fighters first, unless no Fighters remain.
+Hull kills still resolve with the same front-first shot logic (see [[Rapid Fire]] — overkill does not splash).
-Thus, target layering can reduce Rapid Fire impact.
 ----
-== Defensive Targeting ==
+== Defense targeting (dome-first) ==
-Planetary defenses also follow priority logic.
+Incoming fire aimed at '''planetary defenses''' is not split evenly across every turret:
-Turrets often eliminate:
-* Frontline attackers first
-* Swarm units before capital ships (if Rapid Fire applies)
-This is why sending only Light Interceptors into Flak Cannons is inefficient.
+# '''Soak domes''' ([[Small Shield Dome]], [[Large Shield Dome]], [[Planetary Dome]], and similar) tend to take hull damage first.
-----
+# Remaining damage then hits '''armed turrets''' (flak, rockets, lasers, capitals, etc.).
+# While barrier / absorption domes are alive, total damage to the defense yard is also reduced (see [[Damage and Shields]]).
-== Strategic Implications ==
+This is the defense-side counterpart to ship echelons: protective structures soak so the guns stay online longer.
-. Frontline units protect logistics. 2. Mixed fleets reduce catastrophic collapse. 3. High-value units should not be lowest priority. 4. Support ships survive longer in layered compositions. 5. Defense grids should counter expected attacker roles.
-Target priority is one of the key tools for fleet design.
 ----
-== Common Mistakes ==
+== Player implications ==
-* Sending only one unit type (exposes Rapid Fire and priority focus).
+* '''Fat screens''' protect Capitals and logistics — expect light craft to die first.
-* Protecting cargo without frontline buffer.
+* '''Thin or missing fronts''' expose Cruisers, Battleships, and Carriers much earlier.
-* Underestimating defense layering.
+* Rear logistics and Carriers are hard to snipe while a solid front still stands.
+* [[Rapid Fire]] interacts with this: high RF into the front clears screens faster and opens deeper tiers sooner.
+* On a defended colony, strip '''domes''' before you expect the turret wall to melt.
+* Soft defense spam (flak / rockets) still leans into the attacker’s front screen — the same priority rules as fleets.
 ----
-== Related Systems ==
+== References ==
-* [[Rapid Fire]]
+* [[Fleet Combat]] · [[Rapid Fire]] · [[Damage and Shields]] · [[Carrier]] · [[Defenses]] · [[Fleet and Ships]]
-* [[Damage and Shields]]
-* [[Fleet Formations]]
-* [[Fleet and Ships]]
-* [[Defenses]]