How do you deal with sappers?

Started by Jan2607, April 11, 2016, 04:08:37 PM

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Jan2607

How do you deal with sappers?
I mostly build an old school base with one entrance and a few turrets to defend it. But that doesn't work very well when sappers try to get access from the back of the base.
How I deal with them is to send my colonists in their back to shoot them. But that's a bit difficult when the enemy has more snipers or rocket launchers than my colony.
So I'm considering to change my tactic. Can you give me a few advices?

DFKabuto

Give them a direct path into your base with no door blocking them, so they feel no need to bomb their way in. Make it a long, narrow corridor.

Line it with deadfalls.

mumblemumble

A sort of staggered shell setup is usually effective for most, but for sappers even more so.

What I mean is a wall sequence setup like so


WWWs_sWWWs_sWWWs
____________________
___sWWWs_sWWWs___
____________________
WWWs_sWWWs_sWWWs

With this, the walls are walked past, but the stagered walls limits line of sight meaning enemy snipers and rocketeers are less dangerous. Putting these around your base instead of solid walls in 2, or maybe 3 layers works incredibly well, giving you a place to fight at pretty much anywhere, and if you have routes to cut them off, preventing them from sapping at all in a reasonably dependable spot.

Its resource intensive making this setup, but extremely effective, giving you great flexibility in the fight without necessarily needing a choke point. Though really, every gap acts as a very small choke point, which is cool.
Why to people worry about following their heart? Its lodged in your chest, you won't accidentally leave it behind.

-----

Its bad because reasons, and if you don't know the reasons, you are horrible. You cannot ask what the reasons are or else you doubt it. But the reasons are irrefutable. Logic.

Jan2607

It would be nice, if you could post a screenshot :)

Sorenzo

Go out and ambush them. They kinda don't seem to understand how to deal with that.

I expect that's a bug, though, although so are a few other solutions...

Second option, much more lore-appropriate, is to pick up a bunch of clubs and wait for the sappers to enter your domain - usually they don't carry melee weapons.

Negocromn

Quote from: Sorenzo on April 11, 2016, 04:44:50 PM
Go out and ambush them. They kinda don't seem to understand how to deal with that.

I expect that's a bug, though, although so are a few other solutions...

Second option, much more lore-appropriate, is to pick up a bunch of clubs and wait for the sappers to enter your domain - usually they don't carry melee weapons.

I was about to say that, just rushing them seems to work the best because mostly they seem to not respond very well to it, some will stop and fight you while others keep on going. I think this depends heavily on the map layout tho.


Limdood

as soon as a sapper raid shows up, i draft my whole army and race to meet them...they get real dumb while WALKING to your base.

Use corners (cliff/wall) to help eliminate the sniper threat, or lead with personal shielded melee pawns, shifting who is in front as shields weaken or collapse.

christhekiller

I usually keep a small defense around where they're trying to break through and rush out to attack them from behind. If they do manage to break through then they end up getting trapped between both of my forces and I manage to kill/ capture them all

jaeden25

Treat them the same as a siege. Go and get them.

sadpickle

Quote from: jaeden25 on April 11, 2016, 05:59:23 PM
Treat them the same as a siege. Go and get them.
This. I dealt with a seige today and it was a stunning success. We were matched in pawns but my shooters were seasoned on a year's worth of hunting and we slaughtered them with only one survivor. Now my two best marksmen have sniper rifles.

HartfulFlash

I build in somewhat the same style so the way I combat enemies like that is to just have TONS of turrets really. Sappers don't attack for awhile (unless you like Randy), so you have plenty of time to have power lines branch off into the open with 2 or 3 turrets connected. Also, walls have different amounts of health so know what you build with. Slate walls are pretty cheap and can take a lot of damage. Sappers will also attack thinner walls instead of thicker ones so you can build an extra layer of wall along some of your base to outsmart their pathing.

Listy

I have two solutions for it.

1) Delay. A wall/space/wall perimeter will slow them down long enough for your to react. heck if you're really lucky (and I've seen it happen a couple of times) the Sapper will try to grenade the inside wall while him and his mates are standing in the space.

2) Psychic artefact the sappers. At most you need 3-4, but that's rare, most of the time you just need two.

Robovski

The deadfall death maze. They sometimes attack it with grenades but they inevitably charge through what's left.

ChimpX

Sappers and sieges are the reasons why you've been training your corps of élite kamikaze boomalopes.

Listen1

Usually wait for them to break in and rush my melee killers with shields.

Melee is OP on closed Quarters.