What are you using 500-1000ton ships for?

[Mor (OP)]

Like the title says, I am trying to understand what are the common use for 500-1000ton ships?

[Iranon]

That size can fit most roles.

Scouts with passive sensors.
Boarding craft.
Missile boats and their spotters.
In-the-field supply vessels (tanker/collier).

I rarely use them for beam warships - stealth from small size is of limited usefulness, and they don't get the fighters' fire control and commander bonuses. Others swear by them though.

[TT]

I love fighter sized geo and grav survey ships. I use efficient size 2 engines and have years of deployment time. They are slow but cheap and easy on the fuel. Plus they don't take up a shipyard.

I also usually make a 500 ton tanker or two.  It can be used to deal with fuel emergencies or unload fuel harvesters.

[Mor (OP)]

I rarely use them for beam warships - stealth from small size is of limited usefulness, and they don't get the fighters' fire control and commander bonuses. Others swear by them though.

Interesting, I forgot about the Fighter Operations Bonus, but since fire control is for beam only, what about the prospect of bombers i.e. missile box FACs with twice+ the armament with box launchers. Which will be loaded with AMM initially and then ASM.

Boarding craft.

Its likely that any hit would take them down. Wouldn't several smaller fighters in the same role be better, for redundancy sake?

[0111narwhalz]

I use FACs to carry my diplomatic/geo teams around and as rescue ships to pick up lifepods.

[Iranon]

@ Mor:

My missile FACs wouldn't be simply upscaled fighters even if both use box launchers.
I like a single big missile on 150-300t fighters. Enemy will be limited by number of fire controls rather than number of PD weapons, may as well make use of this.
If I multiply everything including fire controls, I gain very little but am much easier to spot and shoot at. If I don't... as the target was limited by fire controls, I lose the salvo dispersion that made it work.

If I make box launcher FACs, they tend to carry numerous smaller missiles, often size 1 (AMM, ASM or dual purpose). If we rely on volume rather than dispersion, we benefit from less overhead in fire controls.

For boarding craft: When carrier-based, fighters are definitely an option. If I want a cryo drop module, decent deployment time and enough engines to safely board semi-crippled ships, 500t are insufficient.

[linkxsc]

Rarely do I bother trying to do 500-1000t beamships as they've lost the fighter beam fire control bonus . Though with the new particle lance, I might consider it.

The 500-1000t range for me consists of a spattering of missile ships.
Some "high endurance" passive scouts. Usually about a size 6-8 sensor, moderate speed, long enough maintenance/crew time to operate alone (or in pairs) for months
Rescue shuttles/team transports (for assorted teams and whatnot)

[TheDeadlyShoe]

I often like to use railgun FACs, particularly earlier on; they can fit the largest railguns and therefore dont suffer any range problems relative to any other low-tech beam vessel.  They can usually also fit a barely adequate sensor for detecting low tech missiles; you only _need_ MCR 100-150k or so as long as you arn't heading into the barrage.

[Pixel1191]

I use FACs as "electronic warfare". Thermal reduced engines, cloaking and as many high powered microwaves as will fit. Get in close, hopefully undetected, use the high speed to avoid any point defense (can't really escape res 1 actives that good ), nail them with the microwaves and buzz out. Those strikes are then followed by another FAC, armed with box launchers and large, slow, short range, armored (against CIWS) missiles/torpedos, to obliterate the "blinded" ships with their massive size 36+ warheads. Or alternatively, by a boarding vessel. I had quite a few successful attacks like this. Obviously, the bigger the enemy fleet, the harder it is to pull off, because there's more sensors going around, that can protect any crippled ships.