Does anyone use Zenith Chameleons?

[Wingflier]

I tried this bonus ship type for the first time on a recent 9/9 game.  Everything was going fine, until about 4 hours in, I unlocked T3 and T4 of the Chameleon, and started using them in battle.

See, when the AI had used them against me, they seemed very effective.  As long as they weren't moving, it took forever to kill them.  So I figured I'd try a defensive strategy with them, and as long as they weren't moving, I'd have a very tough, durable, and powerful unit.

That's until I started noticing that they were dying in droves.  It took me a while to realize that the Flak Starships were killing even the MKIV Chameleons in 1 volley.  I realized that because of this one guardian, these ships were practically useless for my purposes.

Has anyone else found a good use for the Chameleons?

[Moonshine Fox]

Hmm, aren't Chameleons supposed to be rather tanky? Sounds wierd that they got instagibbed by a Flak Guardian. Granted, the Flak Guardian is fearsome, but not THAT fearsome...

[Wingflier]

Yeah and that's with a full squad of T1 and T2 armor boosters there as well.  Maybe it was the "low" caps?

[Moonshine Fox]

That sounds.... weird. Very, very, weird. Paging Keith.

[Minotaar]

With the 8x Close-Combat multiplier, I don't see anything wrong with that, really. Even a mk1 flak could almost one-shot a mk4 chameleon.

[zoutzakje]

Chameleons seem good to me. Using them in a 9/9 crosshatch game and  they pack a nice punch (without dying to fast). It's just to bad that chameleons don't have such good counters as bombers.

[Wingflier]

With the 8x Close-Combat multiplier, I don't see anything wrong with that, really. Even a mk1 flak could almost one-shot a mk4 chameleon.

So what are you supposed to do, pick off all the Flak Guardians before using your Chameleons?

[Cyborg]

With the 8x Close-Combat multiplier, I don't see anything wrong with that, really. Even a mk1 flak could almost one-shot a mk4 chameleon.

So what are you supposed to do, pick off all the Flak Guardians before using your Chameleons?

Yes. Have you tried starships? A lot of this game is about unwrapping multiple layers of each puzzle. Positioning, which fleet attacks what, and sometimes trickery.

[Wingflier]

Thanks

[Wingflier]

I'm kind of confused here.  It says that Chameleons "take on the appearance of junk, and is unassailable, when not moving."

Does that mean not moving and firing?  Or just not moving?

The description is a bit confusing to me.  Do Chameleons get some kind of bonus armor when not moving?

Also, what is the point of "taking the appearance of space junk"?  It doesn't seem to have any practical value whatsoever (as mentioned on the wiki page).

http://arcengames.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Zenith_Chameleon

I don't really understand this bonus ship.

[zharmad]

The ship description is indeed somewhat misleading. It's meant to be a "cloak when not moving or firing." - should be perfectly de-cloakable by tachyons. I commented on this in the ship usage section.

[Wingflier]

Then what's the point of it taking the appearance of space junk?

[TechSY730]

should be perfectly de-cloakable by tachyons. I commented on this in the ship usage section.

Actually no, being camofluaged is considered different than being cloaked. As such, tachyon beams cannot detect them. In fact, there are no "de camouflage" beams in the game currently. Not even tachyon warheads can sniff out camouflaged ships.

That is why their gimmick, when micromanaged properly, can actually be useful.

[keith.lamothe]

Then what's the point of it taking the appearance of space junk?

Not being seen.

And no, the chameleon's camo cannot be defeated by tachyon, even a tachyon missile or tachyon pulse.

It's not a very big deal, it's just a bit of flavor on what is basically just a solid bomber-like.

[Wingflier]

Interesting..

Okay thanks!