Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock/Colonial Ships

Colonial vessels are straightforward, crude, and uncompromising. What they lack in speed and finesse, they make up for with heavy armour and very powerful weapons.

There is a statistic unlisted in this section of the guide: Marine Armour, which improves the survivability of Marines when fighting off enemy boarding actions. All Colonial ships have a Marine Armour value of 40 by default, which is improved by taking a defensive posture and reduced with an offensive posture. As all Colonial vessels share this statistic, it is unlisted in the section below.

Postures
Colonial vessels can operate from one of two stances, or postures. An Offensive Posture will redirect strength away from the Armoury, Hangar, Engineering, and towards Fire Control. A Defensive Posture will redirect strength away from Navigation and Fire Control and towards Hangar, Engineering, Tech Bay, and Armoury.

The power of these postures is dependent on the rank and skills of an attached CIC officer. Without an officer (and by extension, in Skirmish and Multiplayer), your ships can go to +4 Offensive to +4 Defensive. Adding a CIC officer will allow your ships to adopt more extreme stances, going as high as +9 or +10 to either offensive or defensive stances, making ships extremely powerful.

Offensive stances are powerful once your ships are in position, but the reduction in diving abilities (especially important as most Colonial ships have their guns aimed upwards) makes adopting offensive stances risky in multiplayer. A neutral stance provides the best manoeuvrability in turns, and the best vertical mobility necessary in multiplayer. Adopt a defensive stance when:
 * Your ship is under heavy attack; a defensive posture increases the power of the Engineering subsystem, which provides a damage reduction.
 * The ship is using flak to damage enemy fighters or missiles: flak effectiveness is determined by the Armoury subsystem.
 * To fight off boarding parties: the Armoury subsystem increases the number of Marines on your ship, as well as their Armour stat.
 * To increase scanning range: although a ship in a defensive posture will not move as quickly, a defensive posture will improve scanning range; allowing you to see the enemy before they see you.
 * To resist and counter Cylon hacking attacks: the Tech Bay subsystem determines the strength of your ship's Firewall, which Cylons must reduce to zero before hacking your subsystems.
 * To repair damaged subsystems: as with hacking, if at any point you need a crucial subsystem (like Navigation or Fire Control) repaired, adopt a defensive stance to get it repaired quickly.

Finally, there is also a Boost Thrusters option. Turning this on will reduce the effectiveness of all subsystems, but sharply increase your ship's speed. Thruster boosting reduces your ship's mobility, scanning range, and firepower, so use it only outside of battle.

Manticore Class
The Manticore Class is a swift corvette, with a strong emphasis on speed and its DRADIS range. This makes it the most effective Colonial scout ship. As guided weapons like missiles cannot be fired until targets have been identified, this makes the Manticore pair well with missile-oriented ships.

Compared to the Cylon Nemesis, the Manticore easily outguns its Cylon counterpart. By redirecting power to its tech bay, however, the Cylon Nemesis can have a DRADIS range in excess of 10 km - making it the superior scout in spite of its slower speed and greater fragility.

While the Manticore's guns aren't very accurate, their high rate of fire means that even if the shot misses, the next shot will already be on its way.

Campaign: As mentioned above, the Manticore is more than a match for the Cylon Nemeses you'll find early game. They will begin having problems against the Talon, which is more heavily armoured. Manticores quickly retire from the front lines to the support role, replaced by Adamants, Berzerks, and finally Battlestars.

Multiplayer: Most Colonial fleets, if they have enough points room, will employ at least one Manticore to quickly scout the enemy fleet and make them visible for missile attacks.

Official Description: ''Predominantly used for hit-and-run tactics and scouting missions, the Manticore also serves well in larger strike groups as a flanking element. Long range compatible missile tubes and an uncommon aft-facing turret configuration makes this a versatile fighter.''

Adamant Class
The Adamant class is a heavily armoured escort frigate, equipped for broadside engagements.

Essentially a mini-Battlestar, the Adamant provides exceptional durability for its cost. Its multitude of light weapons are effective at supporting friendly Vipers against enemy fighters, and at engaging smaller enemy escorts like the Nemesis class and the Cerastes class.

All of the Adamant's weapons are mounted to the side with firing angles facing upwards, making them unable to respond to attacks from the front, rear, or below. Keep your Adamants below enemy vessels to maximize their effectiveness.

Campaign: Adamants will remain at the forefront until you unlock the Artemis class Battlestar, which will often be used as a command ship with the Adamants backing it up. Despite their small size, they remain quite durable even into the late game. They remain a good counter to smaller, nimbler ships like the Cerastes which Battlestar Artillery will have problems hitting.

The Adamant class blueprint becomes available after Mission 3.

Multiplayer: Adamants are often relegated to a support role on multiplayer matches. Players prefer the Berzerk class' notable hangar bonuses if bringing a squadron is necessary.

Official Description: ''Designed by Sinon Quade a decade before the start of the Cylon War, the Adamant carrier and cruiser combo has become the cornerstone of many Colonial Fleet groups. What it lacks in speed, it makes up with its constant presence and firepower on the battlefield.''

Minotaur Class
The Minotaur Class is a gunship that fulfills the role of a gun cruiser. An Aerilon design, the Minotaur has many, many guns of varying size. This makes it highly effective against both smaller ships like the Cerastes and the Nemesis, as well as larger ships that it can train its guns on.

It is reasonably durable, while also being able to keep pace with your battlestars. It is also notable for being one of the few Colonial ships with ventral guns, giving it a fighting chance against ships below it. Being above its target, however, does limit the ship's broadside. At great distances, the Minotaur can get its dorsal, ventral, and port or starboard guns all firing at a single target.

The primary weakness of the Minotaur is that guns are all it brings. With no Vipers and no point defence ability, lone Minotaurs will find themselves chipped away by long range missile barrages, enemy fighters, and most notably, Cylon Heavy Raiders. Use Minotaurs to support battlestars, carriers, and missile ships to have their weaknesses covered.

The Minotaur Class becomes available after Mission 7.

Campaign: By the time this ship is unlocked, players will have access to the Artemis class Battlestar, which one or two Minotaurs can support with their additional gunfire. They make poor centerpieces for fleets, given their aforementioned weaknesses.

Multiplayer: Human players will exploit the Minotaur's weaknesses to a greater extent than the AI, making bringing a Minotaur a questionable proposition. As with the single player campaign, Minotaurs work best supporting the rest of the fleet.

Official Description: ''The Minotaur warship is a testament to the pragmatic nature of the Aerilan people; you build a ship, give it plenty of armour, and fit every other spare inch with guns. It is a cost-effective fixture for fleet groups looking to bulk up their firepower.''

Atlas Class
The Atlas class is a dedicated carrier with a better than average Squad Evasion stat. While its Squad Evade stat isn't as high as the Berzerk's, it brings along more craft and is exceptional at absorbing hits than the Berzerk. The Atlas' support squadron slot can only be filled with Raptors, Assault Raptors, or Sweepers.

While it is far from helpless, the Atlas' weapons are not as strong as a Battlestar's, and relegates it to a support role.

Campaign: Using Atlases in the campaign is not too different from using the Minotaur: it is a question of taste. Bringing along multiple squadrons with only one capital ship is helpful, but some players prefer the firepower, mobility, and squadron survivability of Berzerks. Atlases generally make poor choices for command ships, though having a CAG officer in one can prove helpful.

Multiplayer: Most players will either have the Atlas perform on the front lines and have it absorb damage, or in the rear with its squadrons. While Raptors and Assault Raptors are both helpful for their boarding and target painting skills respectively, Sweepers stand out for their ability to stall missiles.

Official Description: WIP

Defender Class
The Orion Class will be released along with the Ghost Fleet DLC. This page will be updated when the DLC releases. It is known that the Orion will have at least one fighter slot and at least one munition slot.

Unique to the Orion will be its Stealth Mode. While it can still be shot at and physically seen, missiles cannot be launched at it while under stealth, nor can the ship be the target of focused fire.

Campaign: Unreleased content.

Multiplayer: Unreleased content.

Official Description: Unreleased content.

Orion Class
The Defender Class will be released along with the Ghost Fleet DLC. This page will be updated when the DLC releases.

Similar to the Cylon Gorgon, the Defender Class is a support vessel, being an alternative to the Celestra. The Defender has an underslung hangar with an extremely fast repair rate, and damaged squadrons can either return to their home base or land at the Defender for faster repair.

The Defender also features a Technical Support Raptor that improves allied ship's subsystems.

Defenders also sport a special contingent of Marines that can be deployed to friendly ships and have them fight off enemy boarders.

Campaign: Unreleased content.

Multiplayer: Unreleased content.

Official Description: Unreleased content.