Base defenses are already massively disadvantaged versus attacking fleets, there's absolutely no reason why they shouldn't gain VXP.
Massively disadvantaged??
One the plus side - You can funnel enemy towards a kill zone and prevent flanking, or kiting. You have 12 armoured long range high dmg turrets to assist you. You might not need as much speed as your attacker, so you can load on on more armour and weapons. The time limit works in your favour
On the negative - You cant use a pinch
If you want to rank your guard fleet do what everyone else does.
- Dont put armour on the ships until they are ranked.
- Take advantage of the VXP weekends.
- Roll some salty dog crews.
- Hit lots of salvages
- Consider a ranking build. Sometimes, especially with ships that are only going to carry countermeasures, You need to fit a few missiles or cannons so u can rank first, as countermeasures do no dmg, therefore get no vxp
With a guard ship, you may plan to have heavy plate 3, lots of armour and no engine.
If you wanted to rank this ship easily you may choose to first build the hull with no armour, eng3, HB3 and a few cannons. After a decent level of rank is achieved (doesnt have to be skulled) You can then add armour, remove the engine and add heavy plate3.
Often the extra shipyard time is much better than struggling for 3 weeks to rank a difficult ship
One the plus side - You can funnel enemy towards a kill zone and prevent flanking, or kiting. You have 12 armoured long range high dmg turrets to assist you. You might not need as much speed as your attacker, so you can load on on more armour and weapons. The time limit works in your favour
On the negative - You cant use a pinch
If you want to rank your guard fleet do what everyone else does.
- Dont put armour on the ships until they are ranked.
- Take advantage of the VXP weekends.
- Roll some salty dog crews.
- Hit lots of salvages
- Consider a ranking build. Sometimes, especially with ships that are only going to carry countermeasures, You need to fit a few missiles or cannons so u can rank first, as countermeasures do no dmg, therefore get no vxp
With a guard ship, you may plan to have heavy plate 3, lots of armour and no engine.
If you wanted to rank this ship easily you may choose to first build the hull with no armour, eng3, HB3 and a few cannons.
After a decent level of rank is achieved (doesnt have to be skulled) You can then add armour, remove the engine and add heavy plate3.
Often the extra shipyard time is much better than struggling for 3 weeks to rank a difficult ship