Whats the best number of defending ships to have at each star system?

depends how powerfull they are

0

hahahaha good one, sure you can do that but ull get ur ass kicked around mid game

lol

well tell me what you guys do then if you cant give a clear answer =P

i realize it would be a little different for each star system, depending how close it was to a potentially hostile race and stuff...im just asking for a generalization

I normally stick to zero as a garrison. If I have 30 planets each producing a Constructor, let's say 2-3 Constructors per turn across my empire, then I can at will switch that production to military vessels and increase military spend at the same time. As long as I have some cash reserves I can purchase ships at key spots.

This way, when I am DOW'ed by somebody then by next turn I can have say 6 ships in the 120-150 cost range, more if I switch to cheaper ships (fighters, corvettes) and/or buys ships outright. So far I've not come across an early/mid-game situation where the AI attacked my home systems faster than I can build a defence that can hold.

The money you save in upkeep makes a real difference IMHO.

I was giving out honest advice even if it seemed like I was joking up there. The best number of ships to keep home for defense is indeed zero. It's much better to send your ships out on patrolas so they can proactively hunt down intruders and take out targets of oppurtunity as well. This strategy allows you to keep a much smaller standing fleet with lower maintenance costs. If you need to deter the AI from attacking, just build yourself some Anti-Matter Missiles and be done with it. The only time I have a ship in orbit is if I forgot to auto-launch it or it needs repairs.

Za H, I assume that your ships needing repairs are just in orbit to remind you they need repair and not because they repair faster in orbit, right? My understanding of repair is that it doen't matter where you are, it gets done at the same rate regardless. Not counting starbase bonuses.

~SDC~

Ships repair significantly faster while in orbit, especially if you don't have any repair bonuses. I'm not sure how to quantify this as I haven't looking into it in detail, but the effects are very noticeable. If your survey ship pick ups a +4 hit point bonus early on for example, you could spend the next 30 turns without it every repairing fully, but one turn in orbit will fix it up nicely. On the other hand, starbase repair bonuses are almost useless in comparison. I suspect a typo may have reduced their effeciency by 10x in fact.

Ok, that's nice to know. It makes sense that repairs are faster in orbit due to proximity to repair personell, spare parts and whatnot. I just didn't think it worked that way.

~SDC~

lol i kept masing scout on a planet and they took it with 2 ships i guess i should try to mass escalibur and defend my homebases