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.

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.

Common Stats The following are statistics that are common to all ships, and thus are not mentioned in ship profiles
 * Marine Armour: 40

Manticore Class
Overview: 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. The Nemesis, however, is far superior at scouting, and has the ability to shut down enemy subsystems with its hacking.

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.

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.''