Hephaestus Class Attack Platform
The Hephaestus Class Attack Platform is the latest in planetary assault technology. It can be deployed into orbit in a solar system and act as a mobile base for your fleet. This ship is currently available for both versions of the game.
Description
The Hephaestus Class is a roaming attack platform. A player may only have one of this ship. When first built in your shipyard, it orbits the planet on which it was constructed, however it then may be sent to any open planet slot.
Once in a planet slot, it acts much like a planet. The owner may deploy other ships to it. The Hephaestus itself may be moved (as long as it has no fleets going to or from it) and all ships deployed to it will move along with it for free.
The Hephaestus functions like any other ship in battle. If it is destroyed, all ships deployed to it or on tasks originating from it are lost in space. Resources it holds will contribute to the resulting debris field.
Any ships parked on the Hephaestus when it is attacked contribute to the battle for the defense of the ship. For this reason it is recommended to have a few Zeus Class on your attack platform as mobile defenses.
While a Hephaestus Class Attack Platform is en route to a new location, it's prior colony slot will state that it is "Unavailable".
Evaluation
ADVANTAGES
The Hephaestus Class allows you to move your entire fleet from one place to another for one hydrogen cost. It acts much like a planet, in that fleets may be launched to or from it, allowing you to roam around the Universe without destroying colonies that could be used for mining instead.
DISADVANTAGES
The Hephaestus is by far the most expensive unit in the game. It is slow and consumes a lot of hydrogen, which would make it a bad alternative for people who do not have extremely large fleets. It may also be scanned by Probes, and if it is destroyed while fleets are incoming or outgoing from it, all ships in the fleet will be destroyed as well.
Statistics
Specifications
Hull Rating: 4,000,000
Shield Rating: 150,000
Weapons Rating: 0
Cargo Capacity: 1,000,000,000
Base Speed: 90
Hydrogen Consumption: 450,000
Engine Type: Warp Drive
Cost
Requirements
Shipyard 13
Foundry 3
Armor Tech 12
Weapons Tech 12
Shield Tech 12
Particle Tech 10
Warp Drive 9
Expedition Tech 8
