While the Romulans have undergone many extremely significant changes since our first newsposts about them many months ago, the Allround Generix Specter Refit has recently shifted back to closely match what we originally presented.

Accordingly, the Generix Specter Refit carries Projectile Weapons. It is also a fast, short ranged vessel, nearly as quick as the unrefitted Rhienn that we introduced last week. These traits make the Specter a durable, fleet-filling unit to have in all stages of the game. It does well against structures and Defensive units, and is usually fast enough to pursue its quarry.

This unit is also equipped with the Retribution Doctrine, which allows it to deal 100% additional damage to medium-ranged units. This rounds out the three range-based Doctrines, but beware, there are still other as-of-yet unannounced Doctrines!

The Specter is also unique due to the niche it occupies via its special technology. The high-energy nature of the Refractive Shield Dome causes the Specter to behave as a Defensive vessel for a full 30 seconds. As a consequence, you can convert already beefy Specters to behave as temporary diversions for your fleet. Specters thus serve to misdirect enemy weapon fire while retreating as a group, as well as allow your more fragile Rhienn chassis to avoid attention when engaged in direct fleet combat.

Now, you might wonder if it’s such a wise decision to turn this ship into a magnet for weapons fire. However, due to the extremely complex technologies underlying the Refractive Shield Dome, while it is active all incoming damage is reduced by 25%. As a consequence, the ability is always of some use. Whether you are facing Critical damage from the area of effect strikes of Offensive vessels, or simple torpedoes, the Specter will always become more resilient. You can thus imagine that if you are facing a Romulan traitor who has planted minefields near your beloved home-territory, a single decloaked Specter with its Refractive Shield Dome will serve to bulldoze these frightful traps.

Furthermore, when your opponent brings out the big guns, rest assured that the Shield Dome will become your sturdiest ally. When faced with well-armed vessels that have an Offensive Value greater than 25, Refractive Shield Dome becomes even more efficient. Such firepower is reduced by an additional 15%. As a consequence, the Specter is a staple of Romulan Staryard fleets, allowing you to weather nasty Federation Defiants and even Borg Cubes.

This situation has of course been planned by the Romulan High Command from the start! Your weakling opponents will want to keep producing lightweight ships to more effectively combat the visible Specter, only to get spaced once your invisible Mines and other nasty traps make their presence known with a bang!

Next time we'll discuss another shadowy refit - this time for the Rhienn. Hold onto your hats as we introduce a reworked cloak-detect system!