The Ships of Skylight
[This is the 2nd post in a 4-part series describing Skylight. This post describes Skylight’s ships. Read about the gameplay, and look for posts about the campaign and multiplayer in the coming weeks!]
Before every battle in Skylight, you get a chance to customize your fleet. From a list of 12 ship types, you can take up to 15, including 3 capital ships. That’s all you get for the entire battle, so it’s an important decision.
The 12 ship types are divided into 3 classes: capital ships, regular ships, and fighter squadrons. Each type has a certain amount of armor, a certain DPS (damage-per-second) versus fighters, a separate DPS versus ships, and sometimes a special ability that can be used once per round.
CAPITAL SHIPS
Capital ships (or “capships”) are enormous hulks that form the centerpiece of your fleet. They are much larger and more powerful than the other ship types, but you only get a maximum of 3 in any battle. Destroying the enemy's capital ships is the goal of each battle in Skylight. You need to find a balance between protecting these ships and sending them out to attack the enemy.
BATTLESHIP Armor: 2500 DPS vs. ships: 60 DPS vs. fighters: 60 Special ability: None
Most capships have a hard time defending against enemy fighter squadrons, but the Battleship is an exception. Fighters would do well to steer clear.
DREADNOUGHT Armor: 1500 DPS vs. ships: 120 DPS vs. fighters: 20 Special ability: Charge Ray
The Dreadnought has more firepower than any other ship in the game, but less armor than other capships. Its Charge Ray
gains power over time, so it does more
damage when used later in the battle.
GALLEON Armor: 5000 DPS vs. ships: 40 DPS vs. fighters: 20 Special ability: None
The Galleon is the heaviest, best-armored ship available. Although it’s less useful on attack than other capships, it is exceedingly
hard to destroy.
MISSILE CARRIER Armor: 2500 DPS vs. ships: 60 DPS vs. fighters: 30 Special ability: Missiles
In addition to the usual railguns and laser cannons, the Carrier is equipped with a battery of four missiles, which it can deploy
to deal significant damage to all enemies in
a small area. This barrage can destroy most
ship types in a single turn.
SHIPS
These “noncaps” are the standard ships that usually form the bulk of your fleet. They have less armor, less firepower, and a shorter range than capital ships, but they can be very useful for escorting, defending, or supplementing their larger cousins.
DESTROYER Armor: 500 DPS vs. ships: 10 DPS vs. fighters: 30 Special ability: None
Bristling with laser cannons, the Destroyer is the most efficient means of dealing with
enemy fighter squadrons.
CRUISER Armor: 500 DPS vs. ships: 20 DPS vs. fighters: 15 Special ability: None
The Cruiser has average armor and firepower, but its blaster has the extended range of a capital ship’s railgun. It can stay back at a safe distance and deal damage
while other ships take the brunt of the
enemy assault.
IRONCLAD Armor: 1000 DPS vs. ships: 10 DPS vs. fighters: 10 Special ability: Shield
The Ironclad has twice the armor of other ships, making it great at soaking up damage. What’s more, it can deploy a
temporary shield, which allows it to protect
nearby ships by taking damage meant for them.
MISSILE FRIGATE
Armor: 500 DPS vs. ships: 20 DPS vs. fighters: 15 Special ability: Missile
The Missile Frigate carries a single oversized missile on its back, which can
damage all enemies within a certain radius.
These missiles are particularly deadly
when used in groups.
FIGHTERS
Fighters are deployed in squadrons of 8, and they behave a bit differently from other ship types. Firstly, they can only attack at very short range, but they compensate with greater speed. Secondly, as a squadron loses individual fighters, its total damage output decreases over time. Lastly, and most critically, they have the ability to distract and incapacitate the enemy: when a ship is under attack by a fighter squadron, it can’t follow orders or continue firing its main guns until the attacking fighters have been destroyed. This makes fighters especially useful for dealing with enemy capital ships.
INTERCEPTORS Armor: 500 DPS vs. ships: 5 DPS vs. fighters: 30 Special ability: Afterburn
Interceptors are designed with one purpose in mind: to engage and destroy other fighters. Their afterburn ability allows them to get a temporary speed boost,
letting them catch up to any target.
BOMBERS Armor: 300 DPS vs. ships: 75 DPS vs. fighters: 5 Special ability: None
Bombers are the least-balanced ships in the fleet. On the one hand, they are remarkably flimsy and nearly incapable of engaging other fighters. On the other hand,
nothing else is so effective at dealing damage
to larger ships. They are almost always the
enemy’s first target, and with good reason.
SCRAMBLERS Armor: 1000 DPS vs. ships: 10 DPS vs. fighters: 10 Special ability: None
Scramblers are not well equipped to actually destroy an enemy, but their armor and agility makes them uniquely proficient
at distracting and incapacitating larger ships.
A squadron or two of scramblers can prevent
an enemy capship from ever entering the
rest of the battle.
PHANTOMS Armor: 500 DPS vs. ships: 15 DPS vs. fighters: 15 Special ability: Cloak
Phantoms have the ability to temporarily become invisible to the enemy. When cloaked, they cannot be attacked or targeted
by the enemy, making them very
difficult to intercept. The enemy can only
guess where they might reappear. They are
your secret weapon.
