To understand combat and damage in SR2, you first must first begin to think in about the hex map of your ship. In all designs there is no forwards or backwards so-to-speak. Whatever hits your ship it will always damage through the flat sides of the hexes. Likewise, your weapons/engines will only function through the flat sides of empty hexes. We will get to what this means for the placement of systems in the section on design, but here is an example of where we are going.



As for damage, when a weapon damages a hex it will apply enough damage to destroy that hex then move one deeper and repeat until all its damage is spent.

After understanding the hex map you will need an understanding of how ship systems function (and what happens when they break). While all the details can be found in the wiki/tooltips I will do a quick summary here.

Control (Bridge and Crew)
This system is the heart of your ship and if they all die the ship dies. Also the more crew you have the faster the ship auto repairs. A minimal amount of control is required for your other systems to function.

Rating: Absolutely Critical

Supplies
The ammo that your fleet's weapons require to function. Loss of this system can lead to your fleet being crippled mid fight.

Rating: Critical

Support
The coordination that allows your fleet to move as one. Loss removes control over a portion of your support ships.

Rating: High

Energy Systems
Provides energy for you flagship and boosts your resupply rate.

Rating: Low

Weapons
The pew pew pew of space warfare. The core is the point of exit while the rest of the system buffs its power. Only by losing the core does it stop functioning.

Rating(Core): Critical
Rating(System): Low

Propulsion:
How you get from point a to point b (sometime rather quickly). Engines are tricky and their value depends on your design. If you are a slow ship already they aren't all that important as you couldn't run anyway, but if you rely on speed they are more important. Again the core is the most important part.

Rating (Core): High
Rating (System): Very low to medium.

Equipment/Modifiers
I won't go into detail on all of these but as a whole, if they are a core they tend to be of high value and if they sit in a system they are less so.

Armor
How you stop all the nice things from breaking. A quick and dirty of the armor is that plate tries to stop everything, ablative stops small arms fire, and reactive is anti-missile. Each have their place in a ship and we will discuss placement/use in the design section.

So you want a build a spaceship. Well, what do you want it to do. The possibilities are endless though there are three main combat archetypes: Carrier, Support Killer, and the Flagship Killer. Lets go over the weapon options and we'll look at how they work with each of these three designs.

Rail Gun
A very nice rapid fire weapon that deals decent damage. It is very good at hammering away the armor on flagships (as they are large and rather hard to miss) but is also very adept at mowing down fleets of support ships as they cluster around a flagship. Overall a good weapon to have on hand although its needing to face the enemy can be a weakness on carriers. Best on Flagship and Support Killers.

Lasers
Very much a weapon for support ships as it cannot easily get through armor, has a limited firing arc and requires a fair amount of energy if on a flagship. That said, a powerful one can easily rip through the innards of a ship ripped open by heavier weaponry, and/or melt smaller support ships space dust. Best on Support Killers.

Missiles
A nice longer range weapon that is good a poking through even the best of armor. Can be used with a rear facing turret leaving no gaps in your forward armor. Can be built as one big system for flagship killing or with multiple weaker tubes to kill off supports. If their target is killed they will also choose a new target. Best on everything (use # of tubes to fit the role).

Rockets
Yet another rear facing weapon that is good at piercing armor. This weapon shines when used against flagships or heavy supports as it cuts through them to hit their critical systems. One disadvantage against lighter supports (in general) is that rockets have a limited range and will often not have time to relock on a target before they expire. Best on Flagship Killers and Carriers.

Torpedoes
Rule #1 don't be fooled by their low DPS. This weapon is a lethal threat to both supports and flagships as it's damage is applied to everything in it's radius. It also affects multiple hexes across the side of a ship meaning that it can and will find gaps in the armor (that is if it hasn't been blown away by a previous hit). The key to torpedoes is size. Each additional hex not only increases damage but also radius and being that two torpedos often track the same target (thus nuking the same poor supports twice), I have found it better to always have one large tube. Best on Support Killers and Carriers.

Carpet Bombs
Anti-Planet weapon. Best used on a carrier or as a small system on other ships so that you aren't defenseless.

So now you have an idea of what you want. Now lets talk safety. Without armor you are dead. With improperly placed armor you are slow and dead, so remember back to what we said regarding the hexes and the value of systems. Because damage is predictable you can plan for it.



Go ahead and open up the picture and as you do, I want to draw your attention to the central command core. Now follow the hexes in every direction and you will see that it has been heavily armored from the front, anti-missile armored on the sides (the most likely type of damage you will receive on the sides given the hammerhead design, and lightly armored from the rear. This kind of armor thickening allows you to place your armor that was interior on the outside of your ship, thus freeing up more interior space for things like guns. And mentioning guns, notice how the rail guns are protruding while the rockets are internalized. Due to the way the hexes work, the rockets can fire out the side without being dangerously exposed and the rail guns can fire directly forward yet are guarded by the hammer. One additional benefit of this is that armor can be placed behind the turret while still being exterior (thus helping to armor the rocket launcher and supplies at no extra interior cost).

Another design to consider,



On this design the engines are in the front as this slow lumbering beast couldn't care if it got slower or stopped, also the command has been moved to the outside where it is heavily armored. Even an attack from the rear would take considerable time to knock it out (note the armor against missiles). What I want to draw your attention to is the composite armor pattern in the front. This pattern is developed to prevent any one type of damage from piercing it, and the fact that it is switched up means that at no time will it come crashing down due to any type of fire. This makes it more efficient and survivable than if the armor had been laid down in layers. Without going into details, it has to do with providing rest to the various types by spreading the damage so they can be repaired more effectively.

A tactical overview wouldn't be complete without at least mentioning the various FTL specific techniques.

Hyperdrive:

By far the easiest to use (and potentially the most dangerous to fight against). Ships that use this will be weaker due to interior space dedicated for the hyperdrive but this is more than compensated for by their agility and speed of quick hit and run attacks. A natural counter to fixed structure systems (gate and fling).

Gate:

Works best when turtling as any fleet is only a gate jump from any gated system. There are also many unique ways to use gates (looking at you tractor beams and planet ships) that mean that you always have a fleet where it is needed.

Fling:

A nice balance between hyperdrive and gate. You get all of the mobility of a hyperdrive (at home) and the convenience of stronger ships. You do lose the instant distance functionality of the gate but the abillity to be anywhere quickly is well worth it.

Slipstream:

A very nifty system that is a tad on the expesive side but with the abillity to go from anywhere to anywhere reliably and quickly. Be aware that pinpoint FTL tactical maneuvers are not this methods strongest side.

Sub-Light:

Tricky is an understatement. Be prepared to have long, thought out, tediously calculated plans and to play submarine warfare in deep space. However, by fortifying you can typically buy yourself enough time to get a reaction fleet to any point of attack. Be equipped with Ion cannons for pinning enemy fleets in place.

So you want to shoot something. Here are some basic rules and tactics to help you out.

Rule #1

Keep your armor facing your opponent and have your weapons placed so they can fire.

This can be the front, a broadside, or the rear of your ship (useful for raiders who do a lot of running).

Rule #2

Always have a Plan B.

This can take the form of a planned escape route, a fresh fleet that you have on standby for when things get hairy, or a jump drive for when you really need to hurry. If you commit everything you simply let your enemy know exactly where you are and exactly how strong you are.

Rule #3

Watch your supplies (and your enemy's).

The best fleet can become mince meat if they run out of ammo.

Rule #4

Friendly fire isn't.

In this case there simply isn't friendly fire so feel free to encircle or flank thy enemy.

Rule #5

Shoot the enemy where his armor isn't.

Use multiple fleets to bring down a larger one by harassing them from all angles.

Rule #6

A well armed planet is a viable death machine if protected enough.

Seriously, this one is fun!

Rule #7

Watch your size.

Size matters in space warfare and a weak looking ship can tear you to pieces if you don't see how you compare first.

Rule #8

Have !FUN!

No design is perfect and you will often go through many versions until you have a completed design. If your ship is dying watch it and see how. You'll learn a lot this way.