iluminatae

Question about Ships and defence in Galactic Civilizations II Stardock Forums

I am a new player to this game and have been having a lot of issues trying to figure out how to properly equip my ships for attack and defence. Basically I like to have one ship orbiting all my planets, seems to keep the other races from attacking my planets. But, When I am forced into battle I am getting hosed big time. I can't seem to get my fighters to survive any combat. All are shot dead in all combats. I have been thinking of making three small ships in a fle