Amateur's Guide to Tier 9

Cyrus Leung

Introduction

This guide is designed for those who currently own a full fleet of (Mk I) Switches. If you do not, please refer to my Beginner's Guide to Fast Progression on how to obtain such a fleet from scratch.

In this guide, you will learn how to progress through Tier 9, starting with only this fleet.

Scroll to the bottom to view the changelog.

You can discuss about the guide and ask questions in this thread: https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/768734

Table of Contents

1. Overview of Tier 9 Technologies
2. Overview of Tier 9 Events
3. Fleet Setup
4. The AI
5. Maxing out your Switches
6. Obtaining Core Technologies
7. Obtaining Extra Technologies
   

Overview of Tier 9 Technologies

First off, here is an overview of what you are going to obtain by the end of this guide. Tier 9 technologies can be classified as follows: core, dreadnought and trigger.

Regular Technologies

This is the main content of Tier 9. Each month, the following items are released:

• A generic or Carrier-class ship (e.g. Switch)
• A non-weapon (e.g. Blaze Phantom)
• A weapon (e.g. Rife Missile)

*The first month of Tier 9 additionally released Shockwave Barricade Shields and Graphene Armor.

Tier 9 ships can be obtained as blueprints. Once the blueprint is obtained, you can construct the ship as many times as you want. In order to upgrade a ship, you need to obtain enough materials, craft the upgrade credit in the Workshop, and apply it to a ship of the previous level (e.g. you can only apply a Mk IV credit to a Mk III ship). For Tier 9, there are a total of 6 levels, ranging from Mk I (omitted from ship name) to Mk VI (Elite).

Tier 9 equipment have 3 levels, the first two levels being blueprints while the last being reusable items. Reusable items are unlike blueprints, in that you can only have a limited number of them equipped at the same time. In order to obtain reusable credits for the level III version, you have to combine its fragments in the Workshop.

At the moment, Tier 9 core technologies can only be obtained through weekly PvE events.

Extra Technologies

These technologies are released on a separate schedule. So far, none have been released yet, but you can expect to see the following:

• A Dreadnought-class ship (e.g. Torus Dreadnought)
• Trigger credits (e.g. Halt Revenant)

Dreadnoughts and their upgrades can be obtained through farming challenging targets that appear regularly within the Liberatus sector (the latest release also appears in the Residential Sector). Crafting materials for successive levels are introduced every month.

Trigger credits are limited-use items that can be equipped to the Trigger slot of a ship. Refer to this post on how to use them. While they are very powerful, they are also quite difficult to obtain (see below), and thus should be used sparingly. Targets that drop such items appear regularly within the Liberatus sector (the latest release also appears in the Residential Sector). These targets are very challenging and meant to be taken on with maxed-out fleets. Successive levels of a given trigger are introduced every month.

Overview of Tier 9 Events

Many Tier 9 technologies can only be obtained through the weekly PvE events (mentioned in the Beginner's Guide). Here are additional details about them, in order of appearance:

Monthly Main Event

Each monthly main event is uniquely named. Through broadcasting "What's New" messages before, during and after each event, they collectively form the narrative of VEGA Conflict and are thus regarded as the core of the game.

Technology-wise, monthly main events represent your first chance at obtaining the latest ship in the game, as well as level I-II blueprints of the month's regular technologies.

Mobilization

Mobilization occurs one week after the monthly main event. It introduces targets that drop Mk II-IV upgrade materials for the new ship, as well as the level III version of the month's regular technologies. Other than that, this event is almost identical to the monthly main event.

Decimation

Decimation is one week behind Mobilization and introduces Mk V and Elite upgrade materials. As a result, it is considered as the most advanced event in the game.

Fleet Setup

Switch

As mentioned in the introduction, you will be starting with your Switch fleet. In case you did not read the prequel of this guide, here is the initial fitting of each ship:

• 3x Rife Missile I
• 3x Shockwave Barricade Shield I
• 4x Graphene Armor I
• 1x Harmonic Chase Thruster III
• 1x Blaze Phantom I

Fleet Commanders

Derrin Clay is the best fleet commander for any fleet that uses exclusively Explosive damage (such as the above Switch fleet). Otherwise, Tatiana Demina is generally a good choice since she provides a decent bonus to shield energy as well as a health damage bonus. If you want massive explosions, Victoria Onin provides an excellent AoE Radius boost.

The easiest way to quickly upgrade fleet commanders is to attack Pharmakon Matrix (150) in the Pharmakon Sector using your Switch fleet on full auto. Despite its level, it is actually very easy to defeat. Since fleet commander XP gain is based on the difference between the enemy's fleet level and your commander (not fleet) level, you can quickly obtain a large amount of XP for minimal damage taken.

The AI

Before moving on, you should expand your understanding of how the AI actually works. As the AI in this game is quite predictable, knowing how to manipulate it can easily turn the tide in your favor.

Movement

In general, movement behavior has three distinct modes: dummy, rush+strafe and flank. Dummy mode is only used for low-level cargo fleets. The rush+strafe mode is used by the AI of frigates, cutters, destroyers, dreadnoughts, as well as ships with the Fighter and Ranger role. On the other hand, the AI of corvettes, cruisers, battleships, carriers, flagships, as well as ships with the Titan role apply flank mode. Here is an outline of the hierarchy of rules governing each mode:

Dummy
1. Let X be a proportion of the ship's maximum range (usually around 0.75x.)
2. Repeat the following every fraction of a second:
2.1. If the distance to the target is greater than X, attempt to travel directly towards the target.
2.2. Otherwise, remain in place and face the target.

Examples:

• The orange circle has a radius of X.

• The green dotted line indicates the heading of the target.

• The yellow arrows indicate the instantaneous velocity of the ship.

 
This behavior is identical to using the "pursue and attack target" command with AI turned off.

Rush+Strafe
1. Let X be a proportion of the ship's maximum range (usually around 0.75x.)
2. Repeat the following every fraction of a second:
2.1. If the distance to the target is greater than X, attempt to travel directly towards the target.
2.2. Otherwise, attempt to circle towards the rear of the target by strafing.
2.3. Perform the following:
2.3.1. Update whether to circle clockwise or anticlockwise.
2.3.2. If the distance to the target is smaller than X, increase the backward component of strafing in an attempt to restore the distance X.
2.3.3. Face the target.

Examples:

• The orange circle has a radius of X.

• The green dotted line indicates the heading of the target.

• The yellow arrows indicate the instantaneous velocity of the ship.

Point 2.3.1. is most important, as it implies that the heading of its target will influence the direction of strafe - every time the heading of its target passes through the ship, the ship's direction of strafe will readily change.

Flank
1. Let X and Y be proportion of the ship's maximum range (usually around 0.75x and 1.25x respectively.)
2. Repeat the following every fraction of a second:
2.1. Attempt to circle towards the rear of the target by moving forward.
2.2. If this is the start of battle, or if the distance from the target is equal to some variable Y:
2.2.1. Update whether to circle clockwise or anticlockwise.
2.3. Repeat the following every fraction of a second:
2.3.1. If the distance to the target is equal to X, attempt to face the direction that is perpendicular to the line from the ship to the target.
2.3.2. Otherwise, adjust the above direction to be more parallel to the line such that moving forward would change the distance to be closer to X.

Examples:

• The orange circle has a radius of X.

• The green dotted line indicates the heading of the target.

• The yellow arrows indicate the instantaneous velocity of the ship if they circle in the clockwise direction. For the anticlockwise direction, the pink arrows instead apply.

Point 2.2.1. is most important, because, again, it controls the direction of circling of the ship. Unlike in the rush+strafe mode, the direction of circling can be somewhat sticky and hard to change if the distance is not close to Y. You can also take advantage of fleet formations in order to set the direction of circling at the very start of battle.

Targeting

This is pretty straightforward. Just remember the following points:

• The AI will never target unarmed ships (not base modules) unless they are the only ones left.
• The AI sets its target primarily based on threat value, which is a function of mainly distance and, to some degree, the setup of the ship.
• The AI has a small degree of randomness that affects its target selection.
• The AI has sticky targeting, meaning that it tends to lock on to the same target for at least a while.

The most important takeaway here is that decoys must have a weapon equipped to be effective - even a Pulse Ray can work!

Predictive Aim

Destroyers, base modules, as well as certain weapons have the ability to aim ahead of its targets, thus improving their accuracy. Technically, this is not really AI because it is just simple extrapolation of the target's movement. It is also important to note that the relevant calculations are done shortly after, not when, the next burst of projectiles is fired.

Predictive Aim makes smaller adjustments to the trajectory of the fired projectile if:

• The target is close to the maximum targeting range
• The speed of the projectile is slow relative to the target's speed

This brings out two methods to avoid such aimed shots:

1. Stay near the edges of the enemy's outer firing arc and travel in a straight line.
2. Move closer to the enemy, but change direction just before or shortly after the burst is fired.

Cyrus Leung

Analysis of Liberatus Ships

To advance through the Spectre faction, you will have to attack a lot of Liberatus ships. As these ships are much more specialized than our ships (i.e. having overpowered stats), knowing their strengths and weaknesses is just as important as understanding their AI.


Buckler

Stats

• Role: Titan
• Firing Arc: 270 deg
• Effective Range: 0-4,800 m
• Overdrive: Fortify+
• Shield Recharge: +20% energy/s
• Recharge Delay: None
• Shield Can Recharge When Depleted
• Counter Chain: 3
• Counter Pierce: 3
• Counter Ricochet: 3

Rating

• Durability: 5/5
• Damage: 4/5
• Speed: 2/5
• Annoyance: 4/5
• Actual threat: 3/5

Description
The Titan of the Liberatus faction, this ship has an overdrive that mimics the Altairian Ajax's Fortify overdrive, granting it immunity to most damage types and regenerating its shields at the cost of reduced ship speed every time its shields take enough damage. Coupled with heavy damage output, this ship is a huge pain to take down, potentially lasting for minutes even when your entire fleet focuses their weapons on it.

Strategy
While deadly at close quarters, the ship is rather slow, so you can run away from it and take out all of the other Liberatus fleets before finally dealing with this one.

When the time comes to take it out, kiting tactics are recommended. If you do it right, this ship will never get to fire at your fleet due to the fact that its overdrive slows it further.

In order to speed up its destruction, you can try using shield bypass and/or shield disruption, which reduces its effective shield defense, enabling more of your damage to pass through the shields even if you never manage to deplete them. If you want to deplete the shields with brute force, weapons with a high damage per shot are recommended as they can deal extra damage over the overdrive's damage threshold before it activates.

The Breaker can inhibit its shield regeneration as well, making the ship less of a hassle to destroy.


Broadsider

Stats

• Class: Battleship
• Firing Arc: 90 + 90 deg
• Effective Range: 7,000-20,000 m
• Overdrive: None

Rating

• Durability: 1/5
• Damage: 2/5 (+ 5/5 from spawned ships)
• Speed: 1/5
• Annoyance: 5/5
• Actual threat: 4/5

Description
This Liberatus ship differs from the traditional battleship - instead of providing raw firepower, it has the ability to warp in a massive amount of spawned ships (known as Pikes) soon after the start of combat and respawns them throughout the battle. Its huge range generally keeps it safe from harm even when handled by the AI, bombarding the player from afar.

Pikes have a 65-degree firing arc and have the AI of a cutter. Compared to player spawned ships, they are significantly slower, have more shields, and possess next to no armor.

The number of Pikes that are spawned varies from target to target, ranging between 6 and 18. Pikes are spawned in pairs and can have one of three setups: 3x Heavy Surge Beam + Resolute Shield; 3x Heavy Bombardment Torpedo + Resolute Shield; 3x Prime Vulcan + Resolute Shield.

Strategy
The main danger of the Broadsider is in its spawned ships, which can quickly swarm and take out a player fleet, especially since it is common for a Liberatus fleet to have multiple Broadsiders, easily resulting in over 50 Pikes attacking you at once.

An easy way to avoid that damage is to keep moving away from them: if you also move a little bit off to the side, the vast majority of the the Bombardment Torpedoes and Prime Vulcans will miss your ships.

Alternatively, you can use shield bypass or shield disruption to take them out in one shot. Weapon abilities that enable hitting multiple enemies, such as AoE, Chain, Piercing and Ricochet, are indispensable at taking out the swarms of Pikes.

The Switch is the natural counter to the Broadsider as it can regularly control its Pikes, turning its greatest asset against itself.

When attacking the Broadsider itself, do not chase it from behind, or else you will be forced to run straight into its weapons and Pikes in order to catch up to it. Instead, exploit its battleship AI and fly in the same direction as it is travelling, gradually closing the distance. Due to its huge minimum range, it will likely be unable to fire weapons at you once your ships start opening fire at it.

An effective strategy is to use your own spawned ships to bait the Pikes, then sending your main ships to attack the Broadsider while it is unprotected by Pikes. Do not attack the Pikes with your spawned ships as this will cause the Pikes to respawn right in your face!

Fighters can also outspeed the Pikes, so you can potentially run in a huge circle and take out the Broadsiders with the Pikes still behind you.


Kopis

Stats

• Class: Hunter 
• Priority Target: Dreadnought
• Firing Arc: 67.5 + 67.5 deg
• Effective Range: 0-4,200 m
• Overdrive: Lock On+

Rating

• Durability: 2/5
• Damage: 4/5
• Speed: 5/5
• Annoyance: 1/5
• Actual threat: 2/5

Description
Also nicknamed the Liberatus Dread Hunter, this ship specifically chases after dreadnoughts if present, ignoring other enemy ships until it is destroyed. Whenever an enemy is in both of its firing arcs, its forward and turning speeds are tripled.

Strategy
Its overdrive, while unique, is more of a hindrance to itself - it becomes so fast that it tends to overshoot the enemy because its movement AI could not update fast enough.

While the Kopis is a complete pushover in some targets, it is generally very fast and can deal massive damage once it manages to get in range. It is advised that you either take it out before it opens fire. They are also vulnerable to spawned ships because of their limited firing arc, causing them to waste a lot of time turning around every time they switch targets.


Plumbata

Stats

• Role: Ranger
• Firing Arc: 55 + 55 deg
• Effective Range: 4,000-8,000 m
• Overdrive: Bloodthirst+
• Shield Recharge: +2% energy/s
• Recharge Delay: None
• Shield Can Recharge When Depleted

Rating

• Durability: 2/5
• Damage: 5/5
• Speed: 2/5
• Annoyance: 1/5
• Actual threat: 3/5

Description
The Plumbata is the ranger hull of the Liberatus Armada, with a dual firing arc and ramping damage just like the player Valrayvn. It also has minor shield regeneration capabilities.

Strategy
The Plumbata has a high damage output, but its narrow firing arc can be easily baited by spawned ships, allowing your main fleet to shoot it from behind. Moreover, fast, agile ships such as the Breaker can get inside its minimum range quickly and take it out with little return fire.

However, be warned that the Plumbata can gain its ramping damage much faster from destroying your spawned ships due to dealing more health damage after depleting their shields.


Gladius

Stats

• Role: Fighter
• Firing Arc: 65 deg
• Effective Range: 0-3,000 m
• Overdrive: Scramble+
  

Rating

• Durability: 2/5
• Damage: 5/5
• Speed: 5/5
• Annoyance: 3/5
• Actual threat: 4/5

Description
The Gladius acts as the Liberatus Fighter, with an overdrive similar to the Wendigo's, granting the ship extra speed when in an enemy's weapon arc. Like other fighters, it has short range but very high speed.

Strategy
The Gladius is extremely difficult to kite due to its overdrive, however it is relatively fragile and can be taken out relatively quickly. Crowd-control weapons such as the Rife Missile are recommended when dealing with large numbers. If you seek to take as little damage as possible, use spawned ships as a delaying tactic to destroy them while they are distracted.


Preceptor

Stats

• Role: Carrier
• Firing Arc: 360 deg
• Effective Range: 0-12,000 m
• Support: Agility Field
• Overdrive: Rebolster, Disengage
  
• Shield Recharge: +10% energy/s
• Recharge Delay: None
• Shield Can Recharge When 

Rating

• Durability: 4/5
• Damage: 2/5
• Speed: 3/5
• Annoyance: 4/5
• Actual threat: 2/5

Description
The Preceptor (Carrier) is the most powerful ship in the Liberatus armada, boasting strong shield regeneration capabilities and two defensive overdrives - the first essentially recharges its shields to full when depleted, while the second grants a massive speed boost when the ship reaches the 75%, 50% and 25% health thresholds, escaping the reach of your ships.

Moreover, it generates a passive Agility Field which speeds up its allies significantly.

Strategy
While difficult to take out due to its defensive capabilities, the Preceptor has relatively weak offense. It is recommended that you stay well away from this ship at the beginning to get the rest of the enemy fleet out of its Agility Field (they usually outpace the carrier), destroy those other ships, before finally taking out the carrier (and probably stray Broadsiders).

Cyrus Leung

Maxing out your Switches

The first step to mastering Tier 9 is upgrading your Switch fleet to Elite and fitting them out with the best equipment. This section will walk you through on doing just that.

Be reminded that the following NPC targets are generally only available during the weekly PvE events.

Upgrading your Switches to Mk IV

With the right strategy, you can obtain Mk II-IV materials from Liberatus Locust (113-117) using only the aforementioned Mk I Switch fleet. In order to reduce the amount of grind necessary, it is recommended that you only attack the level 115-117 for Mk III-IV materials - use the points you have earned to buy Mk II Switch patterns from the event store.

Strategy for Liberatus Locust (113-117) (video)
At the beginning of combat, move into a compact box formation and select the fleet by group so that they stay together. Move the fleet towards the upper right and target the nearest Kopis. Once your Blaze Phantoms circle around to the top, activate offensive mode using the button next to the "Select All" button so that they lock on to the Kopis.

Throughout the rest of the battle, target the farthest enemy inside your spawner range (except the Pikes, you should keep them alive in avoid respawns). If it gets out of range, target the nearest Broadsider and revert to the farthest enemy once it reenters your spawner range. This should keep the Kopises, Bucklers and Pikes far enough away from your Switches that you do not have to worry about them targeting your main fleet.

Circle your fleet clockwise in order to close the distance to the Broadsiders that happen to circle anticlockwise (right into your ships) and take them out. Afterwards, circle your ships anticlockwise and take out the remaining Broadsiders that are circling clockwise (again, into your ships).

Once all of the Broadsiders have been destroyed, move your fleet towards the huge mass of ships and take out the Kopises and Pikes, keeping as much distance as possible so that they continue to aggro your Blaze Phantoms. Then, focus fire one Buckler at a time, which should eventually overwhelm its shields and destroy it soon after. Keep your ships close together in order to make sure that all of your ships are firing at the same target (do not worry, the enemy missiles do not have enough AoE to hit multiple Switches). If done correctly, you should be able to defeat the target within the 5-minute limit. Even if you fail to do so, you can make a second attack and destroy what is left of the fleet for the crafting materials.

Obtaining Graphene Armor III (and Barricade Shield III)

Meanwhile, you can also obtain level III armor from Liberatus Beetle (110) with your Mk I Switches to later fit onto your Mk IV fleet. For the Elite fleet, you will also need to farm a bunch of level III shields, so you should go for that once you have farmed enough armor pieces.

Note that even after completing your Elite Switch fleet, you will have to attack this target for the rest of Tier 9 because these items are used on every Spectre hull.

Strategy for Liberatus Beetle (110) (video)
This is basically identical to the strategy for Liberatus Locust but with the Kopises out of the picture.

Refitting your Mk IV Switches

Once you have upgraded your Switches to Mk IV and obtained 24x level III armor, you can refit them to the following build:

• 4x Rife Missile II
• 3x Shockwave Barricade Shield II
• 4x Graphene Armor III
• 1x Harmonic Chase Thruster III
• 1x Blaze Phantom II

Note that you need Fleet Bay XVI to launch the full fleet of 6 ships.

Upgrading your Switches to Elite

Once you have all 6 Switches upgraded and fitted with respect to Mk IV, you can take on the Liberatus Locust (119-121) to gather to Mk V and Elite materials. The fleet setup is otherwise the same as above.

Strategy for Liberatus Locust (119-121) (video)
Again, keep your ships in a compact box formation for the entire combat.

Put your spawned ships in offensive mode at the beginning of combat. Pilot your ships to take out the three Kopis at the top while keeping the enemies distracted using your Blaze Phantoms. Afterwards, ignore the Bucklers and attack the Broadsiders at the bottom. When the Kopises from the far left enter your spawner range, set any of them as your primary target so that your Blaze Phantoms keep them occupied. Meanwhile, take out any Broadsiders circling anticlockwise by getting up close with your Switches.

Once that is done, circle your ships anticlockwise around the Bucklers and take out the Broadsiders that are circling clockwise. Then, destroy any Kopises and Pikes still remaining while they are distracted by your Blaze Phantoms, and finally destroy the Bucklers one by one.

Obtaining Rife Missile III and Blaze Phantom III

Your Mk IV fleet can also take on Liberatus Dragonfly (116-118) for the level III versions of Rife Missile and Blaze Phantom. However, it is recommended that you only start farming the level 118 once some Switches are maxed out on level III Rife Missiles (see the build in the next section), else you run the risk of not being able to defeat the fleet within 5 minutes, which would cause the Liberatus Dragonfly to regenerate all the way back to full health when out of combat due to the fact that it is a Blitz target.

Note: The type of Phantom dropped by the Liberatus Dragonfly (118) may change between events.

• Chase Phantoms really excel when enemies have difficulty taking out your spawned ships, because you can pile up twice the number of spawned ships, using them as meat shields.
• Blaze Phantoms are preferred for the more damaging targets due to their AI's tendency to avoid incoming shots - since meat-shielding is not very effective, your priority should be to distract your enemies.
• Scope Phantoms are not really good against NPC targets because range is not so much of a factor. Do not bother with them.

Strategy for Liberatus Dragonfly (116-118) (video)
Start in a compact box formation and set your spawned ships to offensive mode. Initially, rush towards the enemy and target the Kopis in the far center, then move your Switches away from the incoming ships. This should cause all enemy Broadsiders to begin circling clockwise.

Keep your distance from the Kopises, Pikes and Bucklers (occupying them with your Blaze Phantoms) and circle anticlockwise to meet the Broadsiders. Take them out with your Rife Missiles.

Destroy the Kopises and Pikes which should still be distracted by your Blaze Phantoms before focusing down the Bucklers one by one. Keep in mind that the Bucklers' shields are really hard to take down, so it will take you around 2 minutes just to destroy the 4 Bucklers.

Refitting your Elite Switches

Once you have upgraded your Switches to Elite and obtained 30x Shockwave Barricade Shield III, 18x Rife Missile III and 6x Blaze Phantom III, refit to the following setup:

• 3x Rife Missile III
• 2x Rife Missile II
• 5x Shockwave Barricade Shield III
• 4x Graphene Armor III
• 1x Harmonic Chase Thruster III
• 1x Blaze/Chase Phantom III
  

Congratulations, you have just earned your very first Elite Tier 9 fleet! You can now begin to conquer the rest of Tier 9 step by step.

During events, focus on obtaining the core technologies for the Spectre faction as the relevant targets are generally only available at this time.

Outside of events, do not leave your fleet lying around doing nothing. Instead, you should work towards the Torus Dreadnought and upgrade it to Mk II between events as it will open up many more options and make farming much easier in the future. The Mk II build is as follows:

• 2x Spectral Barricade Shield II
• 2x Breach Cannon III
• 4x Caliber Driver III
• 3x Graphene Armor III
• 1x Blaze/Chase Phantom III

If you are having a lot of trouble landing hits with your Caliber Drivers, take some time to review the knowledge you have learnt about the ships' AI and figure out how to orient your ships such that the enemies would not switch their direction of travel before the projectiles reach them.

In general, trigger credits are helpful but completely optional. It is up to you whether you want this extra content.

Obtaining Core Technologies

Blueprints

The blueprint targets should be easy enough that your Elite Switches can defeat them with little effort, so this guide will not go into more detail about them.

Mark Upgrades

Breaker Mk II-IV Materials: Liberatus Alkaline (113-117) (video)
Use your Elite Switch fleet with Derrin Clay as fleet commander, in box formation.

At the start of the battle, target the left Plumbata and put your spawned ships in offensive mode so that they will pursue it. While the Plumbata to the right is distracted, move in and take it out with your Switches. Then, attack the Kopis and Broadsider to the right of your fleet with your Switches.

Ignore the rest of the first group and move on to trigger the second group of enemy ships, taking out yet another Kopis and Broadsider while keeping the rest of the enemy fleet busy with your spawned ships. Then, sneak behind the distracted Plumbatas on the right side and take them out, as well as any enemy ships that get in your way. Pursue and destroy the remaining Broadsider before dealing with the rest of the fleet.

Breaker Mk V-VI Materials: Liberatus Alkaline (119-121) (video)
Use your Mk II Torus Dreadnought and pair it with one of your Elite Switches so that you get more Phantoms to distract the enemy with.

During the first wave, snipe at the Plumbatas until the Kopis are about to enter your weapon range, at which point you should move away from the Plumbatas and focus on the Kopis until they are destroyed. Afterwards, clean up the rest of the first wave before repeating this strategy against the remaining half of the enemy fleet.

Throughout the battle, be sure to keep your Switch close to your Torus Dreadnought such that it could protect your dreadnought by using its Prime Shift Active ability to disrupt the beams of the incoming Kopis which can deal serious damage to your dreadnought.

Deadeye Mk II-VI Materials: Liberatus Nitrous (113-121) (video)
Use your Elite Switch fleet with Derrin Clay as fleet commander, in box formation.

This is pretty straightforward - once the enemy ships get somewhat close, set your Phantoms to offensive mode and use them to distract the enemy ships while your Switches shoot at the enemies from the edge of their firing arc, prioritizing the Gladius and Kopis first as they have the tendency to rush past your spawned ships right into your main fleet.

Note: The Bucklers in this target have a bug where their overdrive does not provide resistance to the hull and reduces their shield defense, making them much easier to take out.

Comandante Mk II-VI Materials: Liberatus Servitor (117-125)
TBD (Requires Torus Dreadnought)

Arc Mk II-VI Materials: Liberatus Synthesizer (113-121)
TBD

Reusable Items

Breach Cannon III Fragments: Liberatus Nuclear (116) (video)
Use your Mk II Torus Dreadnought and pair it with one of your Elite Switches, as is the case for the Liberatus Alkaline target.

Position your Switch towards the left of your Torus Dreadnought (to guard against incoming Kopis) and move your fleet anticlockwise. Prioritize the Kopis, then the Plumbatas, before attacking the Switches and Broadsiders.

After the first main group is defeated, attack the last two enemy ships which are still dormant towards the upper left of the battlefield.

Caliber Driver III Fragments: Liberatus Swift (116) (video)
Use your Elite Switch fleet with Derrin Clay as fleet commander, in box formation.

The strategy is exactly the same as for the Liberatus Nitrous, but the Bucklers are not suffering from the bug.

Inferno Squadron III Fragments: Liberatus Athame (120) (video)
Use your Mk II Torus Dreadnought and pair it with one of your Elite Switches.

At the start of battle, put your spawners in defensive mode to avoid triggering the enemy ships. Instead, circle your ships around the enemy and move towards the left pair of Gladius. Destroy those Gladiuses before kiting the pair of Plumbatas at the edge of your firing arc, dodging any incoming shots. Your Switch should be positioned in a way such that it would not receive hits from the Plumbatas firing at your Torus Dreadnought, yet not so that the Plumbatas would hit the Torus Dreadnought by firing at its spawned ships.

Afterwards, gain distance from the other enemy Plumbatas and take out the Bucklers and remaining Gladiuses from long range. Finally, kite the Plumbatas and Preceptor Carrier with your Torus Dreadnought.

Slug Torpedo III Fragments: Liberatus Splicer (116)
TBD

Spectre Resistor Fragments: Liberatus Cloner (120)
TBD

Fold Drive III / Tachyon Thruster Fragments: Liberatus Transporter (118-120)
TBD

Rife Missile Turret III / Blaze Sentry III Fragments: Liberatus Fortress (118-120)
TBD

Obtaining Extra Technologies

Dreadnoughts & Mark Upgrades

Torus Dreadnought Fragments: Liberatus Dynasty (140) (video)
Use your Elite Switch fleet with Derrin Clay as fleet commander, in line formation.

Split your fleet in two and move each group towards either side, away from the enemy fleet. Then set your spawners to offensive mode and turn on AI. This target is so easy that no further input is required - just let the AI do its job, and do something else while you wait for the battle to end.

Note: The Bucklers in this target have a bug where their overdrive does not provide resistance to the hull and reduces their shield defense, making them much easier to take out.

Torus Dreadnought Mk II Materials: Liberatus Dynasty (150) (video)
Use your Elite Switch fleet with Derrin Clay as fleet commander, in box formation.

Group up your ships and send them to the left side, taking out the first wave consisting of Kopis and Bucklers, without getting too close to the rest of the fleet in order to avoid triggering them too early. Afterwards, work your way clockwise and take out the groups one by one as they arrive. Be sure to use your Phantoms as meatshields throughout this fight! Chase Phantoms are much better compared to Blaze Phantoms at tanking the Volt Drivers from the Plumbatas for this target.

Torus Dreadnought Mk III Materials: Liberatus Dynasty (160)
TBD

Trigger Credits

Halt Revenant I Fragments: Liberatus Halt (140) (video)
Use your Mk II Torus Dreadnought and pair it with one of your Elite Switches.

At the start of battle, rush your Torus forward and open fire on the Bucklers so that you can start charging up your Prime Shift as soon as possible. Then, turn away and kite the Bucklers and Plumbatas. Buy as much time as possible to charge up your Prime Shift before the Gladius gets in range. Once Prime Shift is active, allow the Gladius to get in range, which will trigger your Irradiation Field, wiping them all out. At this point, the rest of the fleet should be trivial.

Cyrus Leung

Changelog

August 19, 2020

• Added build for Mk IV Switch fleet. No level III shields are required at this stage.

August 22, 2020

• Updated information on Broadsider and Kopis.
• Added progression towards, and the build for, an Elite Switch fleet.

September 6, 2020

• Updated information on Buckler. Added information on Plumbata.

September 12, 2020

• Begin work on the Obtaining Core Technologies section, starting from Breaker Mk II-IV.

November 11, 2020

• Updated the Overview of Tier 9 Technologies.
• Added information on Gladius and Preceptor.
• Updated the conclusion of the section Maxing Out Your Switches.
• Continue work on the Obtaining Core Technologies section, adding guides for Deadeye Mk II-VI as well as Caliber Driver III Fragments.
• Begin work on the Obtaining Extra Technologies section, starting from Torus Dreadnought Fragments.
  

December 1, 2020

• Add recommended build for Mk II Torus Dreadnought.
• Add strategies for Liberatus Halt (140) and Liberatus Dynasty (150).

December 17, 2020

• Add strategies for Liberatus Alkaline (113-121), Liberatus Nuclear (116) and Liberatus Athame (120).

Cyrus Leung

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: How do I obtain a Mk I Switch fleet?
A1: Refer to my Beginner's Guide, which is essentially the prequel to this one.

Cyrus Leung

Discussion

Refer to this thread: https://www.kixeye.com/forum/discussion/768734