Date sent: Tue, 5 May 1998 16:33:30 -0400 From: Steven W Rushing Subject: [B5W]: RE: Narn Centauri Battle Report To: "INTERNET:babylon5-wars@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU" Send reply to: babylon5-wars@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU Robert asked: Did you feel this was a fair battle and the Centauri lost due to mistakes or do you feel the battle was lopsided for the Narns and the Centauri couldn't win? There was not one mention in the long post battle discussion or the emails before and after indicating imbalance or unfairness. Coming into the battle , we saw it as a traditional firepower vs maneuverability issue. The Centauri player did not analyze it as well. After the game, we discussed it at length and the Cnetauri player realized turn 2 was his big error. He went for the offense without looking at the expected result. It was a fair game decided by play and tactics, not dice or imbalance. ALL AGREED. The centauri player listed his mistakes as... a> Concentrating heavy long range guns on the ships that can take it. He fired 8 battle lasers at ONE GQuon on turn 1, stripping a side. No great loss. Had he went 4 BATS at each of two rongoths, he would LIKELY have removed the fronts from both. This eliminates the Rongoths as a threat. ALSO it eliminates two of the three units that are AS maneuverable as 7/9ths of his fleet. He passed up a BIG opportunity there. MORAL: A maneuverability advantage (initiative edge) is the equivalent of HIGH GROUND and close to air superiority. Its allows you to get the most out of your potential. Work to accomplish this. With this in mind, your primary target (barring other concerns) should rarely be the biggest slowest thing out there. b> Turn two was the debacle. He should have swung wide and flanked us, playing for NOT GIVING US SHOTS, instead of exchanging fire. Also, he swapped fire at sides of capitol ships for fire at HCVs. NOT A GOOD TRADE. He should have and could have easily dropped three of our Rongoths instead of dropping one Rongoth and two GQuon sides. Poor tactical choice. MORAL1: Maneuver for more effective shots rather than just settling for what you can get now. Centauri got creamed by settling on turn 2. Tloths killed three ships by waiting and patiently pursuing good shots. MORAL2: Dont take "kills" (kills are anything that eliminates the ship as a threat. Any side loss to a HCV does that, losing any rear side.) to give "pains" (pains create problems for your enemy. GQuon losing a port/stb side) MORAL3: Whe your opponent underestimates a ship like the Tloth, make him pay!! Steve Rushing swrushing@compuserve.com