So how are you guys using the new turrets?

[Ser Kitteh]

I am still stuck in my B18 ways by having a basic killbox that's basically a long rectangle with a hallway of death littered with deadfall traps. The traps are no longer the easy peasy place-and-forget type of deal so I'm trying to augment my defense with mini-turrets, lining them by the side of the rectangle while the other end my colonists rain down lead on any idiot that tries to get to them.

I am now planning to install mini-turrets around the perimeter while having the autocannons and the slug-thrower facing the open desert plains. Wiring is gonna be a bit of a pain but I'm sure I'll manage. My biggest hiccup would be supporting these turrets. Not only can they be costly to build, the need to replace the barrels can also eat a lot of resources. I don't mind the resources I have enough for now, but why should I really when I can build a long firing line and throw my Imperial Guardsmen behind some sandbags and let them do most of the damage?

Maybe I'm missing something but other than cannon fodder for the odd psychic ship, what is the best way to use turrets?

[NiftyAxolotl]

I am playing an animal swarm game and experimenting with how to mix traps and turrets in with my 45 alpacas. My current design is to put a mini-turret in a little bastion. The walls force enemies to bunch up if they want to shoot at it, which makes the turret spray more effective.

The turret is meant to be sacrificed to buy time. It costs 100 steel and 3 components, but the wreckage has 1 component and 3 steel slag chunks, so the net cost isn't so bad. I don't know if the turret ever downs enemies, but the IED traps sure do. I'll probably plant some trees for enemies to hide behind.

[attachment deleted due to age]

[MoronicCinamun]

I am playing an animal swarm game and experimenting with how to mix traps and turrets in with my 45 alpacas. My current design is to put a mini-turret in a little bastion. The walls force enemies to bunch up if they want to shoot at it, which makes the turret spray more effective.

The turret is meant to be sacrificed to buy time. It costs 100 steel and 3 components, but the wreckage has 1 component and 3 steel slag chunks, so the net cost isn't so bad. I don't know if the turret ever downs enemies, but the IED traps sure do. I'll probably plant some trees for enemies to hide behind.

How much damage do those IEDs do to your walls and sandbags? I'm trying to use them effectively but they keep not getting triggered because I have no clue to place them, i'm a bit scared about putting them near my walls.

[erdrik]

Im about 3 years in and only recently started using turrets.
I use them partially as a distraction/fodder and damage dealer.

For non drop pod attacks I am using an outer wall to delay the attack and a doorless inner wall to funnel them into my turret's and colonist's line of fire. The inner wall is positioned so as to force even snipers into the turret's range. I have not used any traps.

This is my current setup:





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[NiftyAxolotl]

When the IED goes off, usually one wall section ends up rubble. The IED isn't enough by itself, but other missed shots finish it. The sandbags almost always survive unless there's a second explosion.

[Syrchalis]

In my extremely defensible mountain base with a long narrow entrance turrets are nothing more but an AI herder to prevent sappers from mining through too much mountain. Traps work pretty well, I have spikes as well as IEDs.

In previous games with open bases I used the large turrets, mainly because their range makes them useful. Naturally sniper turrets are best for a truly open base, just because of the range and because they don't need to have constant line of sight to deal DPS, a few shots when enemies move between buildings is nearly as good as if they could fire all the time.

[Zombull]

Not using turrets. Too inaccurate and slow for their cost and maintenance.

Traps trump turrets.

[giltirn]

Not using turrets. Too inaccurate and slow for their cost and maintenance.

Traps trump turrets.

Even post-nerf traps? I'm finding them quite hard to work with. Not a fan TBH as I never liked turrets for the same reason you stated.

[zizard]

inside killboxes!

[Zombull]

Not using turrets. Too inaccurate and slow for their cost and maintenance.

Traps trump turrets.

Even post-nerf traps? I'm finding them quite hard to work with. Not a fan TBH as I never liked turrets for the same reason you stated.

Traps weren't nerfed, they were buffed quite substantially. They're cheap now and do a ton of damage. And you can uninstall and move them if you need to. My only complaint about them is the auto rebuild won't use uninstalled traps from storage. It will always build new. Nonetheless, I use them heavily.

[giltirn]

Traps weren't nerfed, they were buffed quite substantially. They're cheap now and do a ton of damage. And you can uninstall and move them if you need to. My only complaint about them is the auto rebuild won't use uninstalled traps from storage. It will always build new. Nonetheless, I use them heavily.

They are single-use, very resource heavy (you say they are cheap, but they are only 50% of the resource cost they were in B18), and have to be placed so far apart that they become next to useless for anything more than acting as a minefield for unlucky raiders. In my experience I lose so many to random wildlife and manhunting rodents that they become too resource-intensive to manage; and that's just with wood traps. No-one in their right mind would use steel or plasteel for traps now, and stone is far too precious to throw away until you get deep drilling. Used to be that you could place them strategically with careful wall placement to funnel the enemy, but now they are just a spray-and-pray largely mindless affair and a massive burden to keep operating. Not a fan at all.

[Zombull]

Traps weren't nerfed, they were buffed quite substantially. They're cheap now and do a ton of damage. And you can uninstall and move them if you need to. My only complaint about them is the auto rebuild won't use uninstalled traps from storage. It will always build new. Nonetheless, I use them heavily.

They are single-use, very resource heavy (you say they are cheap, but they are only 50% of the resource cost they were in B18), and have to be placed so far apart that they become next to useless for anything more than acting as a minefield for unlucky raiders. In my experience I lose so many to random wildlife and manhunting rodents that they become too resource-intensive to manage; and that's just with wood traps. No-one in their right mind would use steel or plasteel for traps now, and stone is far too precious to throw away until you get deep drilling. Used to be that you could place them strategically with careful wall placement to funnel the enemy, but now they are just a spray-and-pray largely mindless affair and a massive burden to keep operating. Not a fan at all.

They're not too resource intensive to manage. Plenty of players manage them just fine. They're not supposed to be a totally self-sufficient, set-it-and-forget-it base defense. If that's what you wanted, I can see why you're upset by the change. To each their own.

I typically use stone traps since they're now about as good as steel used to be. I like to place them where I can predict attacking enemies will seek cover. Behind trees or rocks or at natural corners. Sometimes if I'm flush with stone (mountain base) I do the trap tunnel, but of course that just prompts Cassandra to send "tactical" raiders and sappers and sieges and base drops instead. Sometimes I just do bunkers and lay traps near it to take out meleers.

[Ser Kitteh]

So I built a little wall around the sides and back of my auto cannons. Does it block much because they don't seem to fire very well with them and maybe I should use sandbags instead.

[erdrik]

So I built a little wall around the sides and back of my auto cannons. Does it block much because they don't seem to fire very well with them and maybe I should use sandbags instead.

I don't use walls to protect the turrets.
I use them to block the explosion they create when they are destroyed.
That way I can mitigate collateral damage, and have colonists shooting from behind the turrets in relative safety even if the turrets are destroyed.

[Ser Kitteh]

So this is my current setup. Things to do: put corridors by the side so you can run through em quick and NEVER EVER run through the middle and get caught in friendly fire.

Suggestions?

https://imgur.com/a/l63OLDv