The Duat is a bit of a strange old DropShip. Dare I say, it is the biggest raiding platform in the game? The ship’s write up makes it even strange suggesting its unusual cargo bay arrangement was a later addition, leaving the Comguard platform strangely configured for such a large ship.
The Duat is a mystery DropShip, built for the Comguard then later adopted by the Republic of the Sphere. At 8,500 tons the Duat is Overlord-like in size, yet supposedly carried a mere 6 BattleMechs and 36 battle armor. Republic modifications converted much of the cargo bay into 6 makeshift ‘Mechbays suitable for storing and supporting superheavy ‘Mechs, though unloading would be no faster than a standard cargo bay.
Capable of pulling 3G the Duat is relatively mobile for its size. Armor is impressively heavy, able to ward off most capital weapons. Laser AMS in three arcs provide additional defence. Defensive weapons are typical for a Word of Blake/Republic ship. Gauss Rifles, MMLs and VSPs are carried in bays of three or four. Not the most efficient weapons available but functional. The long reaching Gauss Rifles are particularly dangerous. Short ranged, the VSPs can largely be ignored while the MMLs are typically weak outside of very short range. The big surprise is the three Cruise Missiles in the nose arc. These are somewhat frustrating weapons, too small for much damage and lacking the ammo for extended fire support it makes one wonder if the cargo bay was originally intended to support them instead. Unusually the Duat is fitted with a Drone Control system for 6 drones. This clearly matches the six standard ‘Mech bays. The makeshift ‘Mechbays have enough space for a 200 ton ‘Mech and a mobile repair base. An infantry bay seems to be intended for use by the ‘Mechs’ pilots and support crew. The 600 ton general cargo bay is relatively spacious given the low number of units carried.
Tactics for the Duat seem blindingly obvious. Land. Deploy battle armor and drone ‘Mechs while the super heavies unload. Use the lighter ‘Mechs to establish a scouted perimeter while the heavies smash. Use the cruise missiles to slow down any attempts to interdict the raiders. Retreat.
The Duat should be able to penetrate any system with ease. The scale of its armor means most fighter squadrons will struggle against it while the defensive weapons will get consistent kills. The Gauss bays will fatally threshold an Eisensturm 80% of the time (the nose bay 72% and the side bays 92%) suggesting the Duat can kill a squadron in six turns. That said the Duat is relatively weakly armed and should not be used as a combat platform.
The armor makes killing a Duat a challenge. Anti-ship missiles are attractive for their crit seeking abilities though the LAMS are problematic. The aft arc is somewhat vulnerable given it lacks long range weapons, but it represents a single hex alley which can’t be reliable targeted. If you aren’t willing to risk losing fighters, the best option is probably a big assault DropShip or multiple small ones. These have the toughness to survive initial contact and retreat when damaged. Otherwise you will have to commit a full wing to safely down a Duat, a luxury a defender may not be able to afford.