Posted by: Jorgen_CAB
« on: November 09, 2016, 12:03:03 PM »Versatility, mostly. Speed is key to many things in Aurora, I have been recently surprised by a FAC-heavy spoiler race with overwhelming numbers and if I had slow-ish escort frigates I would have lost the entire fleet. Instead, I gave them some fighters to chase while running for the jump point, and it worked. I lost my fighters, but my fleet will fight another day.
Fighters are cheap to build and replace, can be built anywhere by throwing a bunch of factories on a planet, and their speed is a valuable asset.
I'm not saying I don't have escort frigates with turrets as dedicated PD, just that all my major fleets have a couple carriers as well.
Yes, this is the reason I always have some interceptor type fighters in a fleet. I usually only need a few of them since whatever they go up against are generally defenseless against them. A super fast fighter with a 15cm laser (usually reduced sized one) have the range and speed to stay at range and eat most FAC/fighter type crafts for breakfast for very few losses.