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Star Wars: Squadrons Fleet Battles guide: how to destroy Capital Ships with easeHow to win Fleet Battles: a definitive guide
How to win Fleet Battles: a definitive guide
Fleet Battles is the main game mode inStar Wars: Squadrons, and it’s a pretty tricky mode to wrap your head around. There are Capital Ships, there are Flagships, there are AI ships and player ships, there’s Morale and you’re constantly switching between attacking and defending… OurFleet Battles guidelooks to straighten things out once and for all, explaining exactly how Fleet Battles work and also clearly illustrating how to take down Capital Ships with ease.
In this Star Wars: Squadrons Fleet Battles guide:
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Star Wars: Squadrons Fleet Battles overview
Fleet Battles in Star Wars: Squadrons are pretty complex, and it’s easy to feel lost and have no idea what’s going on when you’re fighting in one. Let’s go over how Fleet Battles work as clearly as possible.
Objectives and Capital Ships
Morale, Attack and Defence
A match will dynamically adjust between different phases of attack and defence based on each team’sMorale. Killing enemies earns Morale, while losing ships will cost Morale. If a team fills up theMorale Barat the top of the screen, then the phase of the battle will change. If you were previously defending, you’ll now be attacking - and vice versa.
A Fleet Battle always starts with a Dogfight in the centre of the map. Win that dogfight to get the chance to attack the two enemy Frigates/Cruisers. Once they’re both destroyed, the Flagship can be attacked. Capital Ships don’t respawn: once they’re destroyed, they’re never coming back. If both Capital Ships on a side are destroyed, then the other side’s Capital Ships will advance, closing the gap. If both sides' smaller Capital Ships are destroyed, then the two Flagships will get close enough together that they’ll actually start firing directly at one another.
How to keep track of what’s happening
The other key thing to check constantly in Fleet Battles is the Morale bar at the top of the screen. Not only will it tell you the current phase and objective of the battle, but it will also warn you when the tides are about to turn. This is very important, because Capital Ships are far, far more powerful whenbehindthe front line than when they’reonthe front line. So if you’re busy attacking a Capital Ship, and suddenly the battle shifts and your team is on the defensive, and you’re caught beyond the front line, then you’ll almost certainly be torn apart.
Capital Ship subsystems explained (with diagrams!)
These subsystems can be individually targeted and destroyed to make the Flagship more vulnerable in specific ways. Here’s what happens when you bring down each subsystem:
Below is an annotated screenshot of the various subsystems of the MC75, the Republic Flagship:
Here is a similar diagram illustrating the locations of the same subsystems on the Empire’s Flagship, the Star Destroyer:
While it is possible to bring down a Flagship through brute force and damage without any care towards the subsystems, targeting those subsystems will give your squad a far easier time attempting to win the match. There are no hard rules on the order in which you should target these subsystems, but I’ve found great success with the following strategy:
How to win Fleet Battles quickly
Now let’s go through a few key tips and tricks on how to win Fleet Battles in Star Wars: Squadrons quickly and decisively.
That’s everything you need to know about winning Fleet Battles in Squadrons - but if you’re after more handy tips and strategies, be sure to check out ourStar Wars: Squadrons tipspage!
