Hephaestus Class Attack Platform
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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 other planet (as any other ship) or deployed to an open planet slot. In its undeployed state, it behaves as any other ship, including the capability of passing through a Warp Gate.
Once deployed to 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.
Any ships docked 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".
Unfortunately, once you deploy a Hephaestus, it can never return to a planet. Consequently, the owner must either have adequate hydrogen infrastructure to resupply the Hephaestus or raid frequently to keep it stockpiled.
Evaluation
ADVANTAGES
The Hephaestus Class allows you to move a fleet from one place/slot to another while only paying the fuel cost for the Heph, in much the same way an air-craft carrier can move air craft from one place to another without the aircraft using any fuel. It also acts much like a planet, in that fleets may be launched to or from it. It allows a player to roam around the Universe without the need to colonise a planet and "use up" a planet slot, so in theory a player could have an unlimited number of them.
DISADVANTAGES
The Hephaestus is by far the most expensive unit in the game. It's slow and consumes a lot of hydrogen, which would make it a bad choice for players who do not have extremely large fleets. It may also be scanned by Probes, and if it is destroyed whilst fleets are incoming or outgoing from it, all ships in the fleets (incoming/outgoing) are lost. The Hephaestus can not manufacture new ships, so the only way to replenish losses are to deploy replacements to it from a planet.
SPOTTING
Apart from the obvious, probing a target and seeing that it is a Hephaestus, they are easy to spot.
If a suspected Hephaestus is within range of your IPBM's they do not show the "initiate missile strike" 
icon on the galaxy page.
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
Time and Fuel Costs
(based on Warp 9, one way)
Planet-to-moon 00:24:47, 257 hydrogen
Next Planet 5:20:38, 51,686 hydrogen
Maximum in-system (slot 15 to/from slot 1) 5:30:50, 55,029 hydrogen
Next System 8:54:36, 143,741 hydrogen
Next Galaxy 23:49:46, 1,028,560 hydrogen
Size Issue
There have been many arguments whether or not the Hephaestus is larger than the Zeus. The Hephaestus has two large spherical shields on the side, and the Athena looks minuscule in proportion to the Hephaestus AND Zeus, leading to the assumption that the two spheres on the side of the Hephaestus may be storage for two Zeus ships.
See Also
Ship List
Ships in Starfleet Commander |
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| Other Utility Ships |
Dionysus Class Recycler - Gaia Class Colony Ship - Genesis Class Solar Satellite Helios Class Solar Satellite - Hermes Class Probe - Shadow Probe - Triton Class Recycler - Zagreus Class Recycler |
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| Transports | Atlas Class Cargo - Carmanor Class Cargo - Charon Class Transport - Hercules Class Cargo | |
| Starfighters | Artemis Class Fighter - Apollo Class Fighter - Empusa Class Fighter - Erebus Class Fighter - Magnon Class Fighter - Mantus Class Fighter - Vortex Class Fighter | |
| Light Capital Warships | Cirrus Class Cruiser - Curetes Class Cruiser - Poseidon Class Cruiser - Typhon Class Cruiser | |
| Medium Capital Warships | Athena Class Battleship - Hades Class Battleship - Moros Class Battleship | |
| Heavy Capital Warships | Prometheus Class Destroyer - Thanatos Class Destroyer | |
| Other Warships | Ares Class Bomber - Hephaestus Class Attack Platform - Pallas Class Bomber - Zeus Class | |
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