Discussion question: where's the most effective point to intercept a landing?

[Cannonshop]

By 'effective" I mean the point of greatest danger to the dropship and/or their cargo, is it in vacuum, upper atmo, lower atmo?  If you're defending with Aerospace, (and don't have nukes) what point is the enemy's oncoming landing craft the most vulnerable to being lost with all hands?  How do you maximize your chances of turning an oncoming Overlord into a selection of "Regret to inform you" letters?

[Weirdo]

I believe that a unit that enters the space/atmosphere interface while out of control is auto-dead, so immediately before reentry seems the most efficient time to crack the egg. Downside is that you have to hit it with big stuff that can threshold it so you can force control rolls. Regular hits don't force the lawn-dart until you're in atmosphere. So  AC/20s, Heavy Large Lasers, Anti-Ship Missiles...if you've actually got a DropShip of your own, this is the time to use it. I forget which hit chart had the best odds of Control Roll crits, but that's what you want. Pepper the ship in lots of hits just big enough to threshold...in an Overlord that means 2-points Capital up the tailpipe, and 3 Capital anywhere else.

If it makes it through reentry, then don't worry about thresholding, unless playing with the rule where only threshold-capable hits count toward lawn-dart checks. At this point you want to keep harassing that Overlord all the way down. Keep hitting it with something, anything every turn, keep going for that lawn-dart. Heck, Overlords aren't that tough, if you just keep up a sustained barrage there's a very real chance you'll crack it the hard way before it can land.

If you've still got stuff that can threshold, go for side hits(you'll likely be forced into this anyway by dead zones), and hope for Door crits. You break a door, that's one less the ship can use to drop mechs before the egg cracks, and will also slow down offloading when on the ground, giving you more time to kill the ship while there's still mechs inside.

Moral of the story: To quote Jellico, just shoot the damned thing. Lots.

[Daryk]

Entering the interface out of control isn't an auto-kill, but it can result in a LOT of damage (250 points per point of velocity, only 50 if velocity is 0).  Pages 78-79 in TW have the rules.

[The_Caveman]

In the unlikely event that an OoC unit does survive passing through the interface hex, there is a good chance it will still smack into the surface and be destroyed that way.

Best procedure is definitely to hit them early and often. Even if a DropShip can't be destroyed it may still be driven off-course, which is almost as much of a win for the defenders.

[Daryk]

Oh yes, I should have said that too.  The best way to deal with incoming DropShips is to hit them as often as possible, starting as early as possible.

[Weirdo]

Agreed. Constant pressure, and you want to spike that pressure during reentry, and when the target hits Altitude 7 AGL, since that's the point where failed lawn-dart rolls can become fatal. (Remember, if you go out of control, you can't try to recover until the end of the next turn, which means that during that turn's movement phase you cannot spend thrust so a spheroid will fall an additional level.)

[Scotty]

Entering the interface out of control isn't an auto-kill, but it can result in a LOT of damage (250 points per point of velocity, only 50 if velocity is 0).  Pages 78-79 in TW have the rules.

I think this was subject to errata when it was pointed out that there were 'Mechs capable of just not bothering to conduct re-entry with a DropShip; pretty sure Weirdo's right that it's an instant kill now.

[Daryk]

No, I'm looking at the most recent printing, and the most recent errata (v5.01) is silent on pages 78-79.  Granted, those pages are for aerospace units, so it might still be an instant kill for a ground unit (i.e., 'mech).

[Jellico]

Load a small craft with an AC20 and sent it on a multi day intercept course. Multiply physical damage by 4?

80 point hits suck. We don't talk about it very much. Other options include rocket launchers up the wahzoo. 24 RL10s. 120 missiles hit. 480 damage...

Obviously there are some navigational and sensor challenges to deep space intercepts. But the payoff can be spectacular.

Otherwise reentry is fun. Overlords have a squadron of ASF for a reason.

One thing that needs to be stressed is proportionality. You don't expect a Locust to kill an Atlas so why expect a single 100 ton ASF to kill a 10,000 ton DropShip. Send a force appropriate to the target.

[Hellraiser]

And this is what those 2 wings of Light Fighters attached to planetary defense are for.

Swarm them with 36 Seydlitz, Owl-2s, & Defenders as soon as they enter the atmosphere.

Rocket Pods AWAY !!!!

[Warship]

I may be interpreting the question wrong, but would say wait until the dropship has committed to the landing.  That is to say, landing gear out, thrust dropped for just what is needed to safely land, everything inside is still locked down for the landing, and etcetera.  In just the last few meters, a Death Commando launches a surface to  air missile right into one of the landing gear compartments and while not blowing up the whole ship, makes disembarkment difficult enough to allow your forces to grab everything.

[Cannonshop]

the base question is "When is a dropship the most vulnerable to interception/destruction?"

My own guess is that deep space interception probably isn't it-because the ship can manuever and isn't fighting either gravity or atmosphere, thus has the ability to use its full maneuvering power to bring any weapons in shadow out of shadow, or turn (spin) to present fresh armor facings.

but that's MY guess.

[Weirdo]

I still hold that if you can force control crits, reentry is the best time, due to the sheer messiness of an uncontrolled reentry.

If you don't have that much raw punch, then atmospheric is best. The precise moment is tricky to gauge, because the lower is better in that up to the actual moment of landing, the lower the altitude, the higher the odds that a failed lawn-dart roll proves fatal.

On the other hand, the whole point of intercepting a dropper is so you don't have to deal with the ground troops. A DropShip captain gets the idea into their head, they can drop mechs out the door even at low altitude, letting some or all of their troops get to the ground before you can vector interceptors on them.

It's a judgement call, really.

[Daryk]

Messy doesn't even begin to describe it.  I ran a quick simulation of a Union failing its reentry, and scattered the survivors over an area 200km in diameter.

[Sharpnel]

By 'effective" I mean the point of greatest danger to the dropship and/or their cargo, is it in vacuum, upper atmo, lower atmo?  If you're defending with Aerospace, (and don't have nukes) what point is the enemy's oncoming landing craft the most vulnerable to being lost with all hands?  How do you maximize your chances of turning an oncoming Overlord into a selection of "Regret to inform you" letters?

I would think that right before or right after it transitions into upper atmosphere as manueverability would be at its weakest.