The main advantage of strike craft is that they have an attack range of 250, which is higher then anything but some T class weapons. We are all aware that Stellaris ship design has had a massive rebalance, and with that the combat system and the overall pace of the game. if you were to run the 0. Stellaris Defence Platform designs will be analysed to find out how well they perform. #shorts #stellaris #howto #tutorial #tips #guide I'm always on Discord: Join and help build the community. And all/most of the defense platforms get destroyed any time there's a fight, so its a decent amount of alloy and. Starbase auras are still great, but defense platforms are a waste of alloys. Jump to latest Follow Reply. Hazard Feb 23, 2018 @ 7:02am. By mid game they aren't really worth building any more, though if you can get a fleet battle to happen on top of them they can be help for a bit since the AI seems to go after the. Age of Wonders 4 Empire of Sin Cities: Skylines 2 Crusader Kings 3 Europa Universalis 4 Hearts of Iron 4 Hunter:. Fleet academy, crew quarters, shipyard modules. This mod adds three tiers of builds which unlock the "Create Orbital Defense Platforms" decision, with the final tier unlocking the "Create Orbital Ion Cannons" decision. Make a hanger bay defense platform design and build those along your trade routes and you won’t need to use up starbase slots. 9 the game used to have three tiers of defensive platforms all the way up to fortresses, currently only the smallest one of those is available for construction. Give the starbase the + 50 % range module, make sure there's at least one hangar module on there if you have it, park your fleet about halfway between the system edge and the base from where the enemy will pass. Just check the box as you do for ship designs and they will automatically upgrade (exceptions, if any, are the same as for ships). Additionally, weapon range is the most common determinant of engagement range, and it can be very useful to combat-lock a fleeing enemy from across the system. Unfortunately, the original authors have not updated it for a long time. This is as it should be as they are really easy to hit because they can't evade so. This can be used on planets and habitats. Currently Starbases and Defense platforms suck, I recommend we brain storm many changes to improve their performance. Munqaxus. Exept FE/Crisis of course, with their 100k+ fleets, but against the "normal" AI empires it worked quite well. Chazman_89 • 4 yr. Defense platforms are like a stationaryvfleet, each has its own hull, shields and armor values. I can design the defense platforms and pick what weapons they have, thats fine. This is incorrect, without mods, you have to manually select each station and click upgrade. TheOtherBridge • 1 min. Outposts can be fitted with defense platforms. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. 0 unless otherwise noted. If you are going to use them, Hangars are by far the best option and completely outclass every other type of platform. Defensive play in Stellaris is just much less fun. I find that, in Stellaris, the best defense is a good offense. ago. Honestly when im making my chokepoints I use all the modules that give me more/buffed defense platforms, then I usually go with the disengage. At the start, your Outposts can only support 3 platform slots. ") Then from there I'll build defense platforms, 1 of each, usually situated with equal parts gun/laser, with a missile platform, and PD platform for anti missiles. Warning: ALL Defense Platform Cap bonuses are COMPLETELY broken post update! Bug. Three Platforms on an Outpost is less effective than upgrading to a Starbase and building a defensive module, but again going over starbase capacity is expensive. I have figured out how to do it for ships in the fleet manager, but the only options seem to be 'inspect', upgrade, and disband for defence platforms. Rather invest in bastions on border planets, rush to star hold, add a few defense platforms. Just swap the artillery core for the carrier core and leave everything else the same. The only defense platform worth building is the Hanger one, here's why: Every ship has a max deployment limit. The other platform sections just don't get enough weapon slots to be competitive with 1 hangar. . The only difference between a 10k station base station and a 13k defense platform station is that the 13k cost a lot more. But adding in just one can be useful if you're using Strikecraft as well, since it will cause them to launch much earlier due to the range of Ion Cannons. In mid game when I have unlocked all 6 slots I set up my base with 4 gun battery and 2 missile, meanwhile defensive platform filled. Save Game CompatibilityBy default, this mod only works on newly created military stations (defense platforms, etc. Stellaris. Defense Platforms use special rules and will most commonly use M slots to avoid range issues. Inadequis. 9. In a huge galaxy, it could be 999 systems. 1 - New "Tactician" computer available from the start that allows the player to issue real-time commands during combat. Reintroduces the medium and large military stations which can be build at starbases just like defense platforms. Defense platforms do not generate any trade protection outside their own system. Defense: Any 1-1 combo of armor and shields to maintain flexibility. Something I didn't realize until just yesterday, you can build defense platforms in star systems where you haven't upgraded the starbase. Honestly when im making my chokepoints I use all the modules that give me more/buffed defense platforms, then I usually go with the disengage. Authority has minimal ability to be best. Ion Cannons are mediocre in comparison to L-Slot Defense Platforms because they cost roughly 20x as much to build and take up 8 defense platform slots. You can setup none, some, or all of the options. Paradox Staff. Ancient Shield Overcharger's value depends on what weapons the enemy is using, but can really help against Torpedoes, Lances, and Neutron Launchers. Note: Your empire has a Star Base capacity. throwayohay • 5. You can go really high with starhold + traditions + ascension perk + module. On battleships, late in the game. the later the game goes the less of an impact defensive starbases have. t2: 20% tracking 30% fire rate. Really depends on your play style. Defense platforms with hangar bays only Advanced fighters One single Ion cannon to bog them down at range The communication jammer starbase building The defense platform supercomputer starbase building The uplink starbase building Gateway adjacent And a mod that makes it so that defense platforms don't explode, they just get disabled. Preferably id like an upkeep trait, a increased hitpoint trait and a fire rate trait. All it should be doing is buying you time. 9. It's like they decided to put in good ideas that were not tested. 5. The purpose of the Maginot line is to defend France by forcing Germany to attack through Belgium. RELATED: Stellaris: Best Origins It is always worth building 2 to 3 Science Ships to explore and survey nearby star systems to gain information and potential planets to colonize. By: Wolfie. You can have 60 defense platforms, but good luck actually building 60 defense platforms in a reasonable timeframe - and then you lose them when it gets into a fight and now you need to rebuild them for the next ten years. How do you achieve defense paltform construction ?. Full loadout of gun batteries, build defensive platforms. Starting with. Not if you aren't using it, it's not. This is IMHO insane. And in that game I didn't have the Unyielding-tradition. Stellaris. Hull components are useless, Defense Platforms have naturally high hull and the crystal plating adds relatively little. One corvette sitting on the bypass node will engage combat including your starbase. When did defensive platforms get so strong? In a recent game of unmodded 3. The Angry Hive - Hanger components on both. Add bookmark. Then ideally you want any enemy fleets to be under fire from both the defense platform as well as your. >Hyperlane Registrar Sounds nice but it's effects are pretty negligible and almost irrelevant. Stronger defense platforms. 2. Missiles have better tracking, giving them an edge against high-evasion targets (corvettes). Scirocco16V. Bozidar Radulovic. ago. You can go up to 28 platforms per starbase with an ascencion perk or 23 without. Upload. maybe makes sense. The reason for 4 templates is because it gives the best ratio (1/3 - 2/2, 4) and still allows 50/50. In mid game when I have unlocked all 6 slots I set up my base with 4 gun battery and 2 missile, meanwhile defensive platform filled with Torpedos. 0. #2. 6. The starbase itself is where I put all the hangars. If you're up against a Battleship fleet and aren't worried about enemies getting too close, Kinetic Artillery + Neutron Launcher is an interesting possibility. Hangars seem to work better in that situation because really all they have to do is help hold the line for a bit until you can get reinforcements in place. Hanger Platforms only have 2 fighter slots each, so they deploy very fast. Back in 1. When you take the Reanimators civic, you are creating a society led by necromancers, where your soldiers rise from death to continue defending. Starbase Defenses Extended. . Thread starter Verx90; Start date Oct 10,. Equal cost spent on Defense Platforms vs Fleets, has the platforms absolutely trash a fleet with barely any losses on the platforms. They have their own shield - which is also weak 3. Defense Platforms are a waste of Alloys and Energy and need their cost reduced or their stats buffed to better reflect their actual effectiveness/cost. This also affects every modded-in "Defensive Platform" like structure, because the build speed modifier for Defense Platforms is based strictly on its ship type classification. Balanced shield/armor. Ie: Defense platforms in pulsar systems (no shields) are all protected by heavy armor with guns that are weak only against shields. r/Stellaris. Second priorities are anchorages and trading bases. Finally, in late game I upgrade my. Pocket Sand - Both point defense/flak battery components. Thank you very much, I. Weapons aside, I usually go with 5 small/small, 5 medium/medium, and 10 large/large. Flexibility. Platform 238 minerals. Keep in mind that starbases fight way below their listed fleet power. There is a Defense Platform damage repeatable, and it's great, at 10% per level. ago. The remainder is split on a roughly 1:1:1 ratio between PD/missile, hangars, and a 1 KA and 1 NL station type. CryptoPatrolling a few corvettes along your trade routes will eliminate the piracy, and is a decent way to level up admirals when you’re not doing much real warfare. They can protect your battleship fleet from torpedo corvettes. Ancient Shield Overcharger's value depends on what weapons the enemy is using, but can really help against Torpedoes, Lances, and Neutron Launchers. Give the starbase the + 50 % range module, make sure there's at least one hangar module on there if you have it, park your fleet about halfway between the system edge and the base from where the enemy will pass. No surprise there, offense outscales defense in Stellaris combat at higher tech levels. You need to zoom in closer when looking at all the planets in a system. Yes. Thought I was safe behind the top of the line base and defense platforms. You can use your starbases early game by having at least some token fleet on it. 67. Ion Cannons are both better than defense platforms, and also do not benefit from the hull upgrade (they're glass cannons with long range; if they're getting shot at, they're already dead anyways). Focusing on alloys (and minerals) is key. If you're up against a Battleship fleet and aren't worried about enemies. Something that is puzzling me in 2. Hull components are useless, Defense Platforms have naturally high hull and the crystal plating adds relatively little. Full loadout of gun batteries, build defensive platforms. Thread starter TrotBot; Start date Feb 12, 2022;. Starbases and Defense platforms can be brutal if, and only if, you have a fleet in the system that they can support. Specialist_Growth_49 • 1 yr. So I always build a couple Ion-canons and put like for every canon 2-3 defense platforms in with either artillery, Torpedos, hangars and at least 1 picket platform against missiles and carriers. Unfortunately, the original authors have not updated it for a long time. So moving to the actual post. Content is available under Attribution-ShareAlike 3. Mine are usually 3x Guns, 1x Missle, 1x Hanger, then I do a few hanger/pd platforms and as many icon cannons as I can. I have internal trade security SBs with no defense platforms, and their trade protection value is higher because they have 6 hangars, whereas my chokepoint SBs have missiles and guns instead, even though they have 23 points of platform including ion. Each can be damaged or destroyed. If you're that intent on building defense platforms, it's best to ignore ion cannons in favor of L slot platforms with nothing but neutron launchers. Defense platforms do have one niche use case. Instead of a bunch of ion cannons and defense platforms, you could just have a "home defense fleet" that will do about 400,000 times better If you're that intent on building defense platforms, it's best to ignore ion cannons in favor of L slot platforms with nothing but neutron launchers. I've got the economy to support just about anything and I parked a citadel over it, but now I'm wondering if my defense platform mix is correct. The repeatable defense platform techs are actually really strong because they scale non-linearly with 10% instead of 5%, and they also benefit from physics techs ie energy weapons damage/attack rate. In 3. Come join me live at 8PM ESTThis Stellaris video is a challenge to all the experts out there regarding defense platforms. 1 day ago · Guarded by multiple powerful defense platforms. While having a constructor selected, click in space. Had a decent sized fleet too, all equipped with ion disruptors. also remember lanchester's laws. Starbases (and defense platform autodesigns) probably shouldn't mount the following: Torpedoes (Range 30) Autocannons (Range 35) Disruptors (Range 40) Any idea if weapon slots can be coded to only accept weapons of a specific type? If so, missile batteries could be changed to 4xS which only accepts missile components. The build cost is 100 alloys and an additional influence cost on top of that. In my experience, Shard can usually be handled by a fully loaded Star Fortress (Lv. 0 unless otherwise noted. 8. Autocannons are also probably one of the best weapons at slaughtering corvettes with their high ROF and tracking. Have one guy do all point defense, and the other guy do all missles. In the base game defense platforms are expensive and somewhat underpowered. Defense platforms and starbases are very strong in the early game, if used well. They don't cost alloy upkeep at very least, but their cost to performance is absolutely abysmal. Defense platforms are smaller military stations that are deployed around the starbase and act as weapons platforms. It’s all about research and exploration, having a boost to science in the early game can. The best build would be anchorages and a fleet. Endgame is battleship X energy weapon with fullhouse L neutron launchers stacked up with energy weapon repeatables up to the moon. . " It scales better into the late game, due to missile weapons having decent range and inflicting hull damage, and in the early game, missile corvettes are the best way to take down starbases until Carrier Cruisers. Ships now better keep their distance from the enemies at maximum weapon range. early to mid game just stack as much hangars as you can. They can generally tie any enemy fleet up for a few volleys of my defense platforms. 2; Reactions: Reply. They are accessible early on in the game and will also increase the amount of defense platforms. Disruptors have high tracking to ignore evasion and completely ignore armor and shields, making them one of the best anti-Corvette weapons in the game. Jun 5, 2021. 1 base game which buffed the power output of the reactor on the crisis's corvette ships. Charybde. Use the torpedo computer, and fill up free slots with missiles. Best rocket/strike-craft defense is not allow enemy to make more than one-two salvos, so just kill them first. No more micro mangement replacing destroyed defense platforms. Option should say move here or build defense platform. In this video we will look at a variety of defence platform builds to. >Target Uplink Computer Maybe gives one or two hits per. Stellaris 50401 Bug Reports 30701 Suggestions 19114 Tech Support 2881 Multiplayer 377 User Mods 4629 Stellaris AAR (After Action Reports) Console edition 1213 1 2It does not. Stellaris > General Discussions > Topic Details. Because the overall design was bad (unbalanced) So AI not using such a feature basically leads to a "human-player"-only feature in game which in my opinion is like a cheat. It adds back the defense station and defense fortress that were removed after 2. +33% starbase/defense platform hull/damage +50% defense platform cap is actually hilarious. Well, I had a feeling I was gonna feel like a dumbass after someone answered. There are only so many entrances to a system which are all known to the defending station and the exact location and time of the arrival is known due to the blue effect at the exit points, someone who is building a defense station would target these. In the base game defense platforms are expensive and somewhat underpowered. If you are going to spend Alloys on Defense Platforms, the Hangar is by far the best selection and completely outclasses every other weapon you can outfit. HerewardTheWayk • 1 hr. The other platforms mostly depends on. T4 Station, six offensive modules, debuff auras + Defensive Grid Supercomputer, one ion cannon + defensive platforms up to the limit (the cap on platforms was around 55 iirc). The technologies required to unlock them are back. I had always just assumed you needed to upgrade the starbase before you could build platforms, but even level 0 starbases can have some platforms. I have figured out how to do it for ships in the fleet manager, but the only options seem to be 'inspect', upgrade, and disband for defence platforms. 5/10 (seriously, PD platforms are a joke and a newbie trap). i'm not sure they will have the best DPS , cruiser will probably not have the advantage, as they will have 3 G slots as main form of dmg , frigate will probably have better DPS with a spam of torpedo . Jul 7, 2021. The other platforms mostly depends on. Second priorities are anchorages and trading bases. L-Gates operate a lot like Gateways, in that they let you travel vast distances in a ridiculously short amount of time. They could even make their own defense section in the ship design. Defense Platforms haven't been worth building in years / ever besides for RP. You have encountered the great Blorg Collective, resistance is futile, and we will be friends. It’s generally recommended not to finish the Rubricator archaeological site until you can field that. Showing 1 - 8 of 8 comments. They can be upgraded to support more as you convert them into larger Star Bases. I really think that any viable late game fortification would need sturdier platforms in order to withstand the initial alpha and not be completely obliterated, as it is currently, building ordinary defense platforms is pretty. #8. 5. Defense platforms now have double hull (1000 -> 2000) and 30% range always. A lot of point defence, flak and ALL armor (just unequip shields) Fighters might be usefull against their bombers, but flak and PD should be enough. Some intelligence on systems, including fleets and colonies, can also be gained via sensors (fleets, starbases, or colonies). They'll fizzle out from a single impact of a late game purifier energy beam, but that's a high damage shot the starbase did not take. For design instructions and descriptions of parts, please visit: Combat and Ship Design: A Comprensive Guide. Oligarchy start is real good due to agendas, and because it has meritocracy, a great finisher. 0 unless otherwise noted. (If you are all missles then create two ships that are point defense only. Personally, in early game I prefer to build my starbases with the following setup: gun battery, DP hangars and some Point Defense station. What's not so great is that they're both Engineering techs, where they compete with about 10 other great techs. 6 adding PD also makes them a lot stronger since the AI uses missiles a lot. Wooden-Many-8509 • 1 min. 0. Right now, i got 2 patrol fleets of 20 corvettes just to hold up those pesky pirates. Vote. Defense platforms have some pretty big issues, including that you can only build one at a time per station. The resulting grab will take them over a month to get out of the system and jump. Best design is pure strike craft. Stellaris Defence Platform designs will be analysed to find out how well they perform. My reasoning being that you can double down on stronger repeatable techs for strike craft damage/attack speed, and stronger repeatable techs for defense platform damage. 3 starbase + full defense platforms specced for shields + anti-armor), but that. I love playing the TEC Loyalists (A defense-sepcializing faction for those who haven't played) in Sins and just digging in, turning my entire territory into a nightmarish galaxy-spanning uber-stronghold. Corvettes primarily rely on evasion and armor for protection. Having fleet will stop them from declaring war at all. Fortifying our Starbase to ensure its survivability in the event of an attack. 1000 and that should enable the functionality on all existing military stations. If done by different players, whoever destroys the starbase will gain the system. You can go up to 28 platforms per starbase with an ascencion perk or 23 without. They buffed torpedos amd missiles, so you gonna need more pd. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile viewPro Tip Four: Combining tips Two and Three, you can make a Defense Platform for as cheap as 82 alloys per platform, before discounts. Defensive Platforms with hangers and crystal plating (cheap). Stellaris 50521 Bug Reports 31038 Suggestions 19184 Tech Support 2912 Multiplayer 377 User Mods 4633 Stellaris AAR (After Action Reports) Console edition 1219 U unmerged(625695)RELATED: Stellaris: Best Origins It is always worth building 2 to 3 Science Ships to explore and survey nearby star systems to gain information and potential planets to colonize. Intel automatically increases or decreases towards the intel cap for the target empire. p: Defense platform designs are just another ship designs. Allowing for. I usually end up with 2-3 ions with split shield/armor and the rest with cloud lightning. Which is better depends on the target. I'd go so far as to say ACs are a better defense than offense. You are usually better off leaving the alloys in the bank so you can queue up reinforcements at your shipyards after a battle. Oligarchy is something all democracies should switch to. Lategame if you build the strategic coordination center and take the +defense platform perk and use a Defense Grid Supercomputer you can get something like 50 defense platforms per starbase. Though, platforms are mostly extremely bad because of the way they function: 1. t1: 15% tracking 25% fire rate. Missiles are somewhat better against point defense, by dint. Let say the scourge appeared on one side of the galaxy. 560. Noticing that Hangar Bay is supposed to provide +1 to the defense platform cap, while Ancient Rampart is supposed to provide +2 - the actual cap provided is however bugged, with Ancient Rampart providing 1 less cap than the Hangar Bay. The Tracking and Range, however, look irrelevant. A disruptor fleet can absolutely wreck an artillery/torpedo fleet 4x its fleet power, but defense platforms can wreck a disruptor fleet 2x its fleet. They build twice as fast (120 -> 60 days) The fire rate and tracking is tied to combat computers. Hi, I'm just playing through my first game of Stellaris (2. There's a Defense Platform Hull repeatable too, also for 10% per level. I posted a bug report on the Stellaris forums. If you are going to use them, Hangars are by far the best option and completely outclass every other type of platform. Artillery/Carrier remains a powerful fleet design in 3. gekp78 Second Lieutenant. Starting with. Besides defense stations are bad designed. build ships. huh. Their main offensive tactics involve their building and colony ships, so if they spawn in your territory put a lot. Overall you get +50% upgrade speed, -50% starbase upgrade cost, -20% upkeep, +50% defense platform cap, and +33% defense platform health and damage. Because for all intensive purposes a starbase has that fleet power however since a starbase is a single thing weapons that deal a high damage are extra effective and don’t suffer from nuking something. Defensive Platforms and Starbase Modules exist to be a deterrent. So I figured, well, I know defense stations. It's just a border station with defense platforms for border defense. Plus the fighters can keep attacking after the platform is destroyed and the earlier the platforms engage the better since their life expectancy isn't very long. You should have a list of possible platform designs on the right-most screen of the defense tab. Defense platform modifiers [edit | edit source] Defense platforms have +30% Weapons Range. The fleet will likely kill that corvette, but once combat is engaged, the enemy has to finish or ftl retreat. Late game the longest range weapons you have, but they'll still die pretty easily. There actually aren't any other modules that have useful in-combat effects, so there really isn't any competition from other options. You should use armor piercing weapons exclusively. ago. Regeneration is useless since the starbase already provides repair services to the defense platforms out of combat and the in-combat healing rate is very. Defense platforms now cost upkeep equal to 1% of their build costs in energy credits and roughly 0. Theutus Dec 9, 2021 @ 10:24am. It's wormhole stations that need to be built outside of gravity wells. Defense platforms cost no upkeep at all, but the weapons added to them still require upkeep like a normal ship would (meaning Defense. Later game, carriers are solid because they can send missiles and. Pirate Patrol Scout 1 sensor, 1 hyperlane Detection, 10% sublight Light Skirmish Trickster-15% emergency FLT damage risk, 25% disengage Light Combat Gale Speed +5% Evasion, +20% Sublight Speed Mixed Skirmish Cautious +20% Weapons Range Mixed Combat Aggressive +5% Fire Rate, +10% Sublight Speedfire rate Heavy. Step 2: still doesn't stop a near-peer neighbor and you have to manually click the defense platform build button 4060 times. 798. Now as for defense platforms, I can see a case to be made here. The reason for 4 templates is because it gives the best ratio (1/3 - 2/2, 4) and still allows 50/50. This mod makes all military stations (defense platforms, ion cannons, and anything modded in the same class) behave like starbases. 6) Since you'll be criminal heritage, get your gold income to like 2-3k per turn and then begin buying reliquiaries because they are. Unfortunately I already blew up the galaxy and turns out that wipes your defense platforms blueprints as well :( They were autogenerated though. This platforms are pure amoeba flagella in this case. The best Defense Platform is the one you never build. You can use your starbases early game by having at least some token fleet on it. Now that said, I do agree that defense platforms need a lot more love. ago. Not the best idea, even though it sounds really good. sapient: 25% tracking 35% fire rate, 10% accuracy psionic: 35% tracking and fire rate. Darvin3 • 3 yr. Stellaris ship designer had so much potential, and what we got? Basically one universal meta, unchanging from 1. though stuff like Hydroponics can have its uses, same with heritage sites. Used on battleships, titans, and defence stations. Let say the scourge appeared on one side of the galaxy. eggzcaliber99 • 4 yr. ago. . 1 day ago · Guarded by multiple powerful defense platforms. A place to share content, ask questions and/or talk about the 4X grand strategy game Stellaris by Paradox Development Studio. Please give the game at least a day for the option to show up under Edicts. They just killed defense platforms. You can just build a ship instead with those alloys and get the same thing, but better in basically every way. on account of being a very fat Defense Platform (same downsides) with Perdition Beam (imagine a Tachyon Lance that deals 5 times the damage but takes 3 times as long to reload, thus suffering from overkilling enemies in a major way) for a low, low. If you take control of the L cluster, then ion cannons are absolutely crucial for preventing empires you're at war with from just leap-frogging through Terminal Egress to any other L-Gate willy-nilly. From there, you can enter one of the other L-Gates to another. Defense Platforms are underpowered, there really are no good designs. They are accessible early on in the game and will also increase the amount of defense platforms that starbases can support slightly; enough. The resulting grab will take them over a month to get out of the system and jump. Target Uplink I do not actually know. ; About Stellaris Wiki; Mobile view Pro Tip Four: Combining tips Two and Three, you can make a Defense Platform for as cheap as 82 alloys per platform, before discounts. Yes, for the reasons you stated: they don't use up naval capacity. Shield disruptor, range, combat disengagement, and defense supercomputers for buildings. This page was last edited on 8 December 2022, at 22:04. 599. 6 adding PD also makes them a lot stronger since the AI uses missiles a lot more often. Anything smaller than the L slot will be outranged by any player-controlled fleet that just stays at 150 range with carrier computers and a Cautious admiral (for Neutron Launchers to have >150 range). They. I would advise you build a Planetary Defence Nexus from a Planetary Dockyard first. g. Stellaris has a rather cheap upgrade system, where its easy to switch designs. There is a hidden catch. sumelar. But against any mixed AI comp the best option is Defense Platforms with 2 L slots, Neutron Launchers and the +50% range from the starbase building.