Griffin Starting strat - how viable?
posted on October 20th, 2010, 6:45 am
I'm a big fan of the Griffin but whenever I try and make it the focus of my early fleet it tends to perform horribly (no wisecracks please about my playing ability 
).
Its a good ship stat wise and crew, cheaper than the Leahval, a little more expensive than the Shrike (which i note is a viable starting strat), and its special is quite nice (and gets even better at officer level).
The Griffin is a pretty general purpose ship. and not a specific counter for anything, and lacking in passives and no torpedo. Every race has an early counter to the Griffin, but on the other hand, if their sensors are knocked out then its a bit hard for them to counter it.
So, really my question is, is there a real option to focus on Griffins early game like you can with Rhienns/Leahvals/Generix, or is it something that should be built only in limited numbers?
Saying this, i played against 3 AI last night and built up a full fleet of Griffins. By the end of the game they were all max level and just obliterating the AI forces because the AI ships were loosing subsystems constantly. It was quite fun for an AI game.
).Its a good ship stat wise and crew, cheaper than the Leahval, a little more expensive than the Shrike (which i note is a viable starting strat), and its special is quite nice (and gets even better at officer level).
The Griffin is a pretty general purpose ship. and not a specific counter for anything, and lacking in passives and no torpedo. Every race has an early counter to the Griffin, but on the other hand, if their sensors are knocked out then its a bit hard for them to counter it.
So, really my question is, is there a real option to focus on Griffins early game like you can with Rhienns/Leahvals/Generix, or is it something that should be built only in limited numbers?
Saying this, i played against 3 AI last night and built up a full fleet of Griffins. By the end of the game they were all max level and just obliterating the AI forces because the AI ships were loosing subsystems constantly. It was quite fun for an AI game.
posted on October 20th, 2010, 6:59 am
Last edited by Anonymous on October 20th, 2010, 7:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
I find the griffin is a cruiser that needs to be supported. This is because it's an Offense over Defense ship in a race where you only have a handful of ships, contrasted by the rhienn and leahval which have abilities that help keep them alive. So if you lose one, it's a huge loss. It works well while moving with either rhienns or leahvals because their defense is lower, so they're higher on the attack list. This allows you to use its higher dps to help offset the lower dps of say the rhienns, or make a cost effective unit to compliment the Leahval.
It also does something useful for Helev, as you can use it as a replacement to the generix, so that you can build a warbird yard instead and make the Eresis to back it up. Later on you can build an upgrade facility and build D'deridex and refit some rhienns, etc. Having the option of skipping the Tal'Shiar academy is quite nice.
So those are the main reasons. The special is nice, of course, but it seems to take forever to recharge. The flexibility it gives to the tech tree makes it worth it to me.
Edit: Changed my opening sentence.
Also, to answer your question better, I wouldn't spam only them in the very early game online. They can be nice once you get a critical mass of them, because then their offensive output will be able to overcome their lower defense and you'll eventually be able to avoid heavy losses in a protracted battle. Mixing them with a tanking leahval or having 3-4 rhienns and then focusing on them would probably serve you better. The other problem of course is that it's not difficult to counter, since every race has quick access to anti-mediums. So be aware of that if they end up being your core vessel.
It also does something useful for Helev, as you can use it as a replacement to the generix, so that you can build a warbird yard instead and make the Eresis to back it up. Later on you can build an upgrade facility and build D'deridex and refit some rhienns, etc. Having the option of skipping the Tal'Shiar academy is quite nice.
So those are the main reasons. The special is nice, of course, but it seems to take forever to recharge. The flexibility it gives to the tech tree makes it worth it to me.
Edit: Changed my opening sentence.
Also, to answer your question better, I wouldn't spam only them in the very early game online. They can be nice once you get a critical mass of them, because then their offensive output will be able to overcome their lower defense and you'll eventually be able to avoid heavy losses in a protracted battle. Mixing them with a tanking leahval or having 3-4 rhienns and then focusing on them would probably serve you better. The other problem of course is that it's not difficult to counter, since every race has quick access to anti-mediums. So be aware of that if they end up being your core vessel.
posted on October 20th, 2010, 7:25 am
posted on October 20th, 2010, 8:13 am
posted on October 20th, 2010, 2:07 pm
Last edited by Dominus_Noctis on October 20th, 2010, 3:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Bear in mind that the Sensor Jammer will do greatly increased damage to most faction's starting units - aka, Rhienns, Sabers and so on 
As Mal said, they really are a supporting cruiser, rather than a mainline unit, aaaand I can't really say anymore without being redundant
EDIT: typo
As Mal said, they really are a supporting cruiser, rather than a mainline unit
, aaaand I can't really say anymore without being redundant EDIT: typo
posted on October 20th, 2010, 11:58 pm
Yup gonna have to agree with da boys here .
Griffins as a starting unit can do quite well for the first 3 or even 4 ships, but after that they'll start getting overpowered and be unable to cloak-retreat effectively. They just aren't a backbone ship like Generix or even Rhienns early on.
.Griffins as a starting unit can do quite well for the first 3 or even 4 ships, but after that they'll start getting overpowered and be unable to cloak-retreat effectively. They just aren't a backbone ship like Generix or even Rhienns early on.
posted on October 21st, 2010, 6:49 am
posted on October 21st, 2010, 8:23 am
No problemo.
Good of you to ask in a thread about a strat instead of just saying
"AH GRIFFIN IS UNDERPOWERED!"
Good of you to ask in a thread about a strat instead of just saying
"AH GRIFFIN IS UNDERPOWERED!"
posted on October 21st, 2010, 9:15 am
Boggz wrote:No problemo.
Good of you to ask in a thread about a strat instead of just saying
"AH GRIFFIN IS UNDERPOWERED!"
No, that would be the Specter refit
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