Federation Commander

So first off, I haven't played this matchup yet in FC, but I have a bit in SFB. One of the people I play with is just starting, but seems to like the Hydrans. I am quite fond of the Klingons, despite their weaknesses, but I am totally unsure what to do against hellbores. Your agility does nothing, as their weapons hammer your weak shields. closing is dangerous due to their massive crunch power (and Ph-Gs).

What things have people tried that work?

The initial closing movements during turn 1 require you to avoid head-on vectors, but as a Klink, you should be well aware of that. Close in a wide arc so that you can position yourself to dash in outside of the hellbore's arc.

Keep your speed up so you can move after he does. Use the Klinks agility to stay out of the hellbore's arc. Close-in enough that you can keep your position, but stay out of overload range. If you're too far away, a single turn of the Hydran could move the arc line 5 or 6 hexes away from you. If you're too close, well...Ph-G. Plus, the hellbore gets better faster than the disruptor as the range decreases. On turns when he's arming, give him overloads than zip back out of overload range before the turn ends.

Use your drones and SS to hamper his maneuvers to help you stay out of arc, and hit him every turn with phasers and disruptors.

When you take hits, use shield repair and shield movement to keep your weak shield from being down. Even a 1 point shield can be reinforced. If he gets a lucky shot, turn on EM and open the range while you make repairs.

As with all Klinks, your battle is a battle of position not firepower. You need to find and take the positions that allow you to have the upper hand. If you win the position battle, the damage will take care of itself.

Thanks! I'll give these tips a try first chance I get.

I have a few alternative for you....

1. When you do penetrate a shield use marine raids to take out his heavy weapons and phaser Gs.
2. If possible, target weapons, even if you have to fire a volley of overloaded disruptors to penetrate, and then a couple phaser targetting weapons on the next impulse. Hydran ships don't have a lot of weapons, so using steps 1 and 2 to take them out at every opportunity will help.

* Don't get to range 2 or closer on a hydran ship.
* Don't give the enemy a good first shot with the HB. If you can frustrate him into firing the HB beyond rng 8 that is great. Its rarely possible to prevent someone from getting to range 8 unless you run. Don't run.
* Do take advantage of of the recharge turn. If he fires the HB, get close enough to blast a shield and do some damage (see steps 1 and 2).
* You will get hurt, you're a Klingon, you can take it.
* Your drones will only be a curiosity. But, if you can take out a pHaser-G, they suddenly become a threat (see steps 1 and 2). Don't waste a lot of power on suicide shuttles, you probably need the power for movement and shield reinforcement.
* Fix your shields by rotating down shields. DO NOT spend power repairing a shield unless you have moved out of combat. This consumes too much power and usually results in death.

Here is the situation to avoid: A savvy Hydran will figure he can close to point blank range, exchange fire, and even if its an even exchange, his ship will be in better shape because of the center hull on his ship. He can then turn the battle into a long range fight that he will win because of the HB's good range and tendency to find your down shield). Meanwhile, his shields will be able to absorb your meager long range fire.

You must turn the tables on him, don't allow a point blank shot to start with. Don't allow a combined attack of HBs and Phas-Gs. His first use of HBs must not be full strength and then you must take advantage of his recharge turn by taking out some weapons.

Of course non of this guarantees anything, you could still lose. If nothing else, avoid a point blank exchange!

I've played this matchup as the Klinks, and it's tough. I don't think there's anything you can do that can guarantee a win. But here are a few tips.

You're on the clock, so you have to be aggressive. You have to get close enough to use directed damage weapons, because that's the death of Hydrans. And really you have to get to transporter range, because you'll have to raid them, and target those Hellbores. And you better hope for good die rolls. You can't stay out at range. At long range, they put out a lot more damage than you do, and barring directed damage, and good dice, you just can't hit them hard enough to take them down before they frizzle fry your ship.

So range 5 because you need to use transporters, and maybe even range 3 if it's a phaser 2 heavy ship. But watch out for the fighters, if any. No, you can't target them because you don't have time. It goes without saying, but AVOID GETTING TO RANGE 2. He has those phaser G's that he'd love to introduce you to.

EM is of limited value against hellbores. You're better off using the power to buy extra movement. Close as fast as possible. Time is on his side, not yours.

Drones are of limited use. You can't put out enough to get past his defenses. Save them. Dribble them out one at a time to force him to burn at least some power. be able to fire a sizable volley in case you manage to take out a phaser G.

This is one case where I think the old D7 outperforms the D5W. granted the D5W has better shields, but the D7 has more internals and can hold out a bit longer. Also the D7 has more transporters. My favorite squadron for this sort of thing is two D7s and a DWL.

Patrick Doyle is absolutely right about suicide shuttles. Don't bother.

I've tried this match up again and again with Klingon D5W and a Hydran Dragoon (no Stingers) on a fixed map.

If the hydran plays the waiting game, eventually, the Klingon is run into a corner and gets the bad end of the deal.

don't forget evasive manuevers especially if you have to pass close. don't allow your self to be center lined. Also if you can get them to fire at range. you can weaken a shield away from the fight by shield rotation for helbore damage. also drones will cause them to use up weapons and power especially if you get 4 drones coming in at the same time.