Space Choice: Data Analyzer – Some thoughts on how to beat the levels

Guide for Space Choice: Data Analyzer – Some thoughts on how to beat the levels

Chose your weapons

Ships in SC:DA use a variety of weapons. During your playthrough you will be presented with a choice to upgrade the damage of a weapon type permanently. The way to go here is to focus on 3-4 weapon types. I went mostly with lasers, beams, bullets and rockets as you can see on this screenshot. 
 
 
 
When chosing your ships, try to select your favorite weapon types. After 5-6 levels their usual dps will surpa*s the dps of the other choices, from then you need to check the dps value only. 
 

Chose your fleet composition

The fleet composition or the type of ship you chose during the battle obviously greatly influences the outcome of the batte. Here you have to big choices, which derive themselves from the two big naval battle doctrines of the past and present conflicts: (if you played HoI, you will recognize them) 
 
“Fleet in being” – This battle doctrine emphasizes big ships. In its origin a fleet compromises of big battle ships escorted by frigate/destroyer cla*s small vessels. 
Translated to this game it means that your main picks will be the ships with the most Hitpoints on them with medium- and long range weapons and small “slow” ships with anti-fighter weapons/point defense. Use this one when the enemy fields a lot of guns (shield penetration) against you. The hp-ballons will soak up the incoming damage while your smaller ships go for the kills. 
 
“Base attack” – This battle doctrine emphasizes on the usage of carriers and frigates. Since the game does not have carriers, we simply select the choices which give many small fighters. Speed is here the key as “slow” fighters can be shot down easily. Throw in hull- or shield repair ships from time to time. Use this tactic when the enemy does not field many point-defense and aoe weapons or to regain/maintain fighter superiority. 
 
In short: 
Bigger ships: more HP, less total DPS 
Smaller ships: less HP, more total DPS 
 

Chose your battle

Most of the levels can be beaten very easily by selecting the right choice concerning the enemy fleet composition. Here some thoughts on selecting your battle wisely: 
 
– avoid “balanced enemy fleet”. This means the enemy fleet will not have any disadvantages you can exploit. Chose this only when the other choices are worse 
– get “no shields” or “stronger shields”, avoid “stronger armor”. This one is almost a no brainer. Enemies with no shields will be shot down easier. Enemies with stronger shields can be defeated by using shield ignoring damage types. Enemies with lots of additional hitpoints can turn the tide in a battle 
– get “only medium/large ships” or – if you dare: “many fighters”. All these selections can be beaten by using huge swarms of fighters. The bigger the enemy ships, the less focus damage your fleet will get and the easier to overwhelm the enemies with lots of fighters. If you go for huge enemy fighter swarms then i will be a race between you and the enemy on who will field the bigger swarm first. As soon as your fighter swarm becomes larger, the remainder of the battle becomes almost a piece of cake. 
– avoid bosses with untargetable nukes – this one is self-explanatory 
 

Decisions…

So you set up the composition of the enemy fleet, have already an idea on your favorite weapon types and are thrown into the battle on your first set of decisions. What now? 
 
Here a checklist on your decisions: 
– always(!) take “4 upgrades in short order”. This one can quickly decide a battle just by piling up numbers and DPS on your side 
– Do you have a “defends mothership” fielded? if no, get one. Give it short range weapons as it will start near the center of the battlefield and be mostly busy with enemy fighters and the front line of the enemy ships 
– your favorite damage type +25%? take this one 
– your favorite ship size life/shields increase? take this one 
– Do you need dps quickly? Get a bunch of smaller ships – check the hitpoints: if there is a “x2” to “x20” behind the number, then this is your way to go. Do not bother with range, just give them the weapon with the most DPS. favour “fast” over “slow” 
– Do you need a damage sponge? Get a dreadnought or a battleship: Its usually the one with the most Hitpoints. 
– Especially on hard difficulty: strap some cannons on your mothership 
– “20 seconds double x damage” – take it, if you have some/lots of ships with that damage type on your side 
– avoid: “destroy 15 fast moving ships”, “enhance tracking on weapons”, “slow down all ships” when fielding huge fighter swarms. On the other hand: when the enemy starts overwhelming you with his fighters, these choices can save your day. 
 
everything else can be fun to play with, but will not have as big impact as the choices in this list 
 

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