Looking for a very specific game playstyle. Anyone got any suggestions?

[Man_Over_Game]

I was a really big fan of the Star Trek MMO's space combat. Positioning, momentum, loadout, strategy, and even understanding the enemy's class/ship were all equally important. It felt like an Action and a Strategy game merged into one, with live-action PvP.

Does anyone know of anything that fits quite like that?

I've played a lot of MOBAs, which kind of fit that itch, but having to spare 20-40 minutes without a break is rough, and having your success be determined by the coherence of a randomized team can be frustrating.

What PvP games would you guys recommend, with a bit more emphasis on Strategy over Action?

[Gnoman]

You might like World Of Tank/Planes/Warships or War Thunder. Tank engagements in both are entirely defined by positioning, planning, and strategy - the part where you lay your gun on the target and fire is little more than a "did you do everything else right so you can aim at the right spot" check. Air battles are more actiony, but there's still a ton of positioning involved.

[zlefin]

world of tanks is very action heavy; if you want more strategy warships is better for that.

eve might also fit your criteria, but I don't know enough about it to say more than that; I do'nt know how long battles actually take in it, and it's a fairly intensive game in general.

[Man_Over_Game]

Solid suggestions. I'll take a look at them.

I would prefer a game with shorter engagements, though. 20 minutes, max, before being able to step away from the game.

I loved the old PSP Dissidia games, in how their action was more focused on strategy than reaction time. I might check out the new one that came out for the PS4.

[Gnoman]

World of Tanks battles are hardcapped at 15 minutes, 10 in Assault modes. You also get only one life, and can leave the match without penalty when you die. Matches end early if one team wins (which usually happens).

[Otomodachi]

Elite: Dangerous has, in addition to the sandboxy normal game, a sort of arena combat mode to. It is a sci-fi flight sim with pretty darn good physics simulations. You'll need to master both "traditional" flying instincts and also get good at using maneuvering jets and such to rotate your ship against your direction of travel; it's tricky, but fairly fun to learn, and I think will probably feel like a direct upgrade from STO's space combat.

Small cavaet- it's gonna be a lot easier to play with a flight stick, or at least a controller, than with mouse and keys.

[Man_Over_Game]

Elite: Dangerous has, in addition to the sandboxy normal game, a sort of arena combat mode to. It is a sci-fi flight sim with pretty darn good physics simulations. You'll need to master both "traditional" flying instincts and also get good at using maneuvering jets and such to rotate your ship against your direction of travel; it's tricky, but fairly fun to learn, and I think will probably feel like a direct upgrade from STO's space combat.

Small cavaet- it's gonna be a lot easier to play with a flight stick, or at least a controller, than with mouse and keys.

Besides standard flight simulator technique, is there an element of strategy to its combat?

[rooster707]

IIRC Fractured Space was kind of similar, at least back when I played during the beta. It's F2P, so it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. (And possibly Dreadnought, which I know nothing about but is mentioned on the Fractured Space TV Tropes page.)

[Brother Oni]

Further to other suggestions (Fractured Space mentioned by rooster707 pretty much looks like it's exactly what you want, although I'm not sure on the match lengths):

You might like Battlefleet Gothic, which is essentially tallships combat in space, but might be a bit too RTS-y.

Skull & Bones is a forthcoming Ubisoft MMO, which is basically the pirate ship combat out of Assassin's Creed Black Flag, complete with wind direction, fire arcs, ammunition types and boarding actions.
If you can't wait for that, then there's AC:Black Flag itself, which should be very cheap these days.

[GloatingSwine]

Further to other suggestions (Fractured Space mentioned by rooster707 pretty much looks like it's exactly what you want, although I'm not sure on the match lengths):


Fractured Space matches are 5-10 minutes. Not long at all.

It is, however, out of active development which means the playerbase is probably draining away (and wasn't particularly high to start with). (It might come back as World of Spaceships, since Edge Case are part of Wargaming.net now).

Dreadnought is even deader and was worse anyway, massive tier disparity making low tier experience painful, whereas Fractured Space was flat progression and it was quite possible to dominate matches in the starter ship because it was basic and practical.


If you want "PvP but slow and planning really matters", World of Warships is probably the go to right now.

[Man_Over_Game]

IIRC Fractured Space was kind of similar, at least back when I played during the beta. It's F2P, so it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. (And possibly Dreadnought, which I know nothing about but is mentioned on the Fractured Space TV Tropes page.)

I actually really liked Fractured Space! I didn't like how long it took to get into a match, though, and I don't foresee it getting any better. The battles only took 10 minutes, but it took you an hour to get into it.

[Sean Mirrsen]

You could just go with ye olde Bridge Commander. :P
Not MMO, but checks the rest of the boxes.


Otherwise, if you want an MMO with shorter battles, emphasis on positioning and knowing your enemy over twitch reflexes, etc, then you should probably check out World of Warships. It's all in a 2D plane (the ocean, natch) but everything else checks out. It starts out simple, but as the tiers get higher you need to start keeping track of which enemy ships can carry radar, which destroyers have what type of smoke, etc, in addition to the detection ranges and torpedo ranges and whatnot.

Your success is still very reliant on whether the enemy team can out-potato your teammates, but unlike MOBAs of various kinds it's quite possible for a single good player to turn a very bad game around, exactly because it relies less on precision and reflexes and more on being in the right place at the right time and knowing when to do what.

[Man_Over_Game]

You could just go with ye olde Bridge Commander. :P
Not MMO, but checks the rest of the boxes.


Otherwise, if you want an MMO with shorter battles, emphasis on positioning and knowing your enemy over twitch reflexes, etc, then you should probably check out World of Warships. It's all in a 2D plane (the ocean, natch) but everything else checks out. It starts out simple, but as the tiers get higher you need to start keeping track of which enemy ships can carry radar, which destroyers have what type of smoke, etc, in addition to the detection ranges and torpedo ranges and whatnot.

Your success is still very reliant on whether the enemy team can out-potato your teammates, but unlike MOBAs of various kinds it's quite possible for a single good player to turn a very bad game around, exactly because it relies less on precision and reflexes and more on being in the right place at the right time and knowing when to do what.

It doesn't have to be In Space, and it doesn't have to be an MMO. I'll definitely check out both of those, thank you!

[Brother Oni]

Your success is still very reliant on whether the enemy team can out-potato your teammates...

As a primarily Japanese Destroyer captain, don't I know it. :smallsigh:

[Otomodachi]

Besides standard flight simulator technique, is there an element of strategy to its combat?

I guess this is hard for me to answer because people use strategy and tactics so interchangeably and I kinda have trouble interpreting exactly what anyone ever means. I don't have a TON of experience with the mode, either- I'm more of a "get high and fly around space lookin' at stuff" kinda person. I'll try to elaborate best I can.

There's loadout options, from equipment to weapon types, activatable and permanent modifers- so there are meaningful choices to be made both before and during the battle. There is team communication.

It might be a moot point though, cuz I did a little checking before I wrote this and it seems the Arena scene is kinda dead.

Can put another vote behind World of Warships- fun pacing that is exciting without being an adrenaline-fest, same situation as Elite where there are plenty of choices to make before and during combat... you'll enjoy it a lot more once you build up a friends list and use voice chat, if possible, though.

[Man_Over_Game]

I guess this is hard for me to answer because people use strategy and tactics so interchangeably and I kinda have trouble interpreting exactly what anyone ever means. I don't have a TON of experience with the mode, either- I'm more of a "get high and fly around space lookin' at stuff" kinda person. I'll try to elaborate best I can.

Strategy is what you do before everything goes to ****.

Tactics is what you do after.


Planning your loadout for some kind of high-shield, hit-and-run actions to harass the target without letting them break past your shield is strategy. This is your plan.

Learning how to deal with someone who can ignore your shields or has some tool to prevent your escape is tactics. This is what you do when your plan isn't perfect.



I prefer tactics over strategy, and action/strategy games usually involve some level of tactics.