Sins of a Solar Empire
Sins of a Solar Empire
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Corvettes are a new type of ship in Rebellion, that bridge the gap between Strike Craft and Frigates.

Overview[]

Corvettes are very fast light combat vessels. They trade durability for agility and versatility, and carry a light but diverse armament and a minimal crew. Corvettes can target anything, strikecraft included, but they can also be targeted by all weapons, though many are ineffective and miss. Corvettes should be deployed in swarms, and hit and run tactics are most effective since they can outrun anything except fighters and other corvettes, while focusing a lot of fire on important enemy assets such as capital ships or titans.

Because of their low cost and low research requirements, corvettes are a great unit early in the game, where they are a hard counter to long-range frigates and other light-armored units, while being countered themselves by flak frigates and, to a lesser extent, light frigates. They are useful for expanding early on as they excel at killing light-armored Javelis and Krosov militia and supporting fleets of light frigates should the enemy deploy long-range frigates. However, they are not as cost efficient or supply efficient as light frigates in direct combat, and take full damage from them while doing reduced damage back. Hence they will lose in a straight-up engagement against an equivalent fleet of light frigates.

Corvettes remain useful later in the game as well, where they benefit substantially from their notable trait of not being affected by powerful Titan area-of-effect abilities such as Chastic Burst, Scattershot, Explosive Shot, Nano Leech, or The Maw, which would devastate normal frigates and cruisers. Corvettes can however hit mines, and are not effective in assaults against fortified structures such as starbases.

Corvette killers[]

Some of the most effective weapons against corvettes are flak frigates, light frigates, and fighters. Capital ships and titans also have broadside and rear-facing batteries that can start picking corvettes off, much like flak frigates, without the ship having to divert any real attention from its main target. Abilities that slow targets down can be valuable as well, exposing corvettes to fire for longer durations as they make attack runs.

For the Advent, Defense Vessels are the strongest overall counter to corvettes, but simply deploying Disciple Vessels is highly effective as well in the early game when fleets are smaller. Illuminators can also fight back against attacking corvettes despite having light armor, because they have bow and side mounted beam cannons which deal severe damage, but they can still be outnumbered and overwhelmed by their smaller, cheaper foes. Advent fighters also do well, and can hunt down corvettes with their superior speed. The Eradica Titan and Radiance Battleship's area-effect abilities (Chastic Burst and Cleansing Brilliance respectively) cannot target corvettes, but other Advent AoE abilities like Meteor Storm, Mass DisorientationMalice, Psionic Scream, Fracture and Vertigo can, and these may be used to suppress or destroy them. And finally, the Iconus Guardian, once equipped with Repulsion, can be used to outright deny large areas of the gravity well to corvettes, rendering them harmless.

Garda Flak Frigates are the hard counter to corvettes for the TEC, but again, massed Cobalt Light Frigates also work perfectly well early on. TEC capital ships' broadside batteries can also rip apart corvettes as they make their attack runs, and this is especially true for a high-level Kol Battleship when Finest Hour is activated, which grants its cannons splash damage. TEC can also deploy fighters to intercept and destroy enemy corvettes, and they have a few area-effect abilities, such as the Radiation Bomb and Missile Barrage on the Marza Dreadnought and the EMP Charge of the Dunov Battlecruiser, that can help destroy corvettes in large clumps.

The Vasari can use the Junsurak Sentinels to protect their assets from corvette attack. Sentinels are slightly less effective than the other factions' flak frigates early on but with Phase Missile upgrades and Charged Missiles they can become rather deadly. Another form of defense is the Sivuskras Ruiner, which can deny areas of space to corvettes using its mines and destroy them if they are not careful. Additionally, the Vasari's signature Orkulus Starbase is extremely effective against any corvettes foolish enough to engage them, as they take little damage while dealing huge amounts back. Later in the game, fighters also act as effective counters, and in terms of AoE options, the Jarrasul Evacuator's Gravity WarheadStilakus Subverter's Distortion Field and Kortul Devastator's Volatile Nanites are particularly effective against large numbers of corvettes.

Corvette Types[]

Within each faction, both the loyalist and rebel corvettes will have the same stats and only differ in special abilities.

TEC[]

Loyalist[]

Main article: Shriken Corvette

Rebel[]

Main article: Stilat Corvette


Advent[]

Loyalist[]

Main article: Acolyte Corvette

Rebel[]

Main article: Vespa Corvette


Vasari[]

Loyalist[]

Main article: Tosurak Corvette

Rebel[]

Main article: Sulsurak Corvette
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