Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars
                                
                Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ
                                
                         by Kasey Chang
                                
                   Released December 31, 2002

0    Introduction

This section is "about the FAQ". Feel free to skip this section.

Happy New Year. :-)

If you like the FAQ, send me $1.00. :-)  See [0.3]


0.1   A word from the author

A quick browse through the gamefaq.com shows that there is no FAQ
for this Star Trek game. So here's my version.

This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. You won't learn how to play the game
with this document, and I'm NOT about to add it to ease the life
of software pirates.

This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version
that I have (and exist, as far as I know).

Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and
XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others.

This FAQ is dedicated to all who lost their lives in the
terrorist attacks on the US East Coast (except those terrorists,
who deserves much worse for causing all those innocent deaths).
If you find this FAQ helpful, go give blood at your local blood
donation centers or donate to your local Red Cross.


0.2   Terms of Distribution

This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2001-
2002, all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the
disclaimer section.

This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the
following conditions:

1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of
this document: "Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2001-2002
by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as noted in the
disclaimer."

2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner
without prior permission of the author with the following
exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different
file format or archive format, with no change to the content,
then no permission is needed.

2a) In case you can't read, UNMODIFIED means just that:
UNMODIFIED. No banners, no HTML borders, no cutting up into
multiple pages to get you more banner hits, and esp. no adding
your site name to the site list. (Someone actually did that to
one of my FAQs.) [Small exception: a small toolbar above the FAQ
is acceptable.]

3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged
for its distribution. Free is preferred, of course. Sale of this
information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling
this guide, drop me a line at [email protected].

4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source,
else it is plagiarism.

5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right
to archive and link to this document to share among the game
fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed.

Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract.
If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you
in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If
you don't follow them, then you did not meet the statutory
contract conditions, and therefore you have no right to display
this document. If you do so, then you are infringing upon my
copyright. This section was added for any websites that don't
seem to understand this.

For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation. This FAQ is dedicated to the victims of the
terrorist attack on the US East Coast. If you find this FAQ
helpful, go give blood at your local blood donation centers or
donate to your local Red Cross. And may God (whatever his name)
bless you.


0.3   Voluntary Contribution

Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.

However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be
very appreciated.

If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00
worth of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk
Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA".

If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I
collect stamps too.

For the record, out of ALL the FAQs I wrote (33 at least count)
over the past six years, I've received exactly 7 dollars and 2
sets of stamps, as of release of this guide. So I'm NOT making
any money off these guides, folks.


0.4   How and When to Contact Me

PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark,
mistakes, and thereof... If you find a question about this game
that is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me at the address
specified below.  I'll try to answer it and include it in the
next update.

Please do NOT write me for technical support. That is the job of
the publisher.

Please do NOT ask me to send you a list of controls, the manual,
etc. If you borrowed the game without borrowing the manual, blame
your own stupidity. If you bought the game without a manual,
blame your own stupidity. If you copied the game without copying
the manual, you're not only scum, but STUPID scum.

Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that have already
answered in this FAQ/guide. It makes you REALLY idiotic.

I will NOT answer stupid questions like the ones above unless I'm
in a really good mood. If you send questions like that, do NOT
expect a reply.

The address below is spelled out phonetically so spammers can't
use spambots on it:

Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT
Yankee-Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike

To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word
except for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "military
phonetics" or "aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering.

This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97. Some editing was
done with Editpad (editpadclassic.com).


0.5    The Author

I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the
ones I find don't cover what I want to see.  Lots of people like
what I did, so I kept doing it.

Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for
XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing
Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I)
Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4,
Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed,
The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics, Starfleet Command Volume
II, DS9: The Fallen, DS9: Dominion War, Driver, and a few more.

To contact me, see 0.4 above.


0.6   Disclaimer/ Copyright Information

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Dominion Wars is a trademark of Simon
& Schuster. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine copyrighted by Paramount
Corporation. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Dominion Wars is designed
by Gizmo Industries (Gizmo Games).

This USG is not endorsed or authorized by Simon & Schuster,
Paramount, or Gizmo.

Most information compiled in this USG has been gathered
independently through the author's efforts. If it appears similar
to tips offers in any other FAQ or guides, it is probably because
we came to the same conclusion. Some information or tidbits have
been gathered through the various DomWar forums, such as the one
on gaming.startrek.com. Thanks to all the participants, who are
too numerous to list here.


0.7   Spoiler Warning

The USG contains spoilers about all missions in STDS9: Dominion
War (hereby referred to as DomWar). Only get enough help to get
past the hump, so you don't spoil the sense of accomplishment.


0.8   Release History

11-SEP-2001         initial release

31-DEC-2002         updated for V1.04 and unofficial V1.05 info


0.9   The Most Frequently Asked Questions

Some information here are excerpted from Annika's DomWar
Technical FAQ. Go to http://gaming.startrek.com, then message
boards, then Dominion Wars, then FAQ, and you'll see latest
version of her FAQ. Thanks!

General Questions

Q: Can you send me Dominion War?
A: Why should I?

Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: Ditto.

Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?

A: Read the manual, which is that little booklet in the inside
cover of your CD case.

Q: What are the key commands?
A: Read the manual, or look in the game under preferences /
keyboard.

Q: What's the latest version?
A: The official patch is 1.04. However, there is a patch 1.05 out
there. You can see the version number in the lower right hand
corner of the "main menu". Go to the link at
http://gaming.startrek.com, then pick forums, and you should see
the link to the patch. There are FOUR versions, depending on
which version is on the CD and where you got it. Please use the
right one, and read the FAQ.

Q: My box did not come with Star Trek: Starship Creator Warp II!
A: The non-US version (different distributor) did not include
this bonus disc.

Q: How do I change screen resolution in the game? How about
gamma?
A: The game ONLY runs at 800x600. The manual is incorrect.
V1.04 added a "gamma" slider. .

Q: Any mods? Editors?
A: Nothing yet. Supposedly a mission editor may become available
later, but it's NOT official. See http://www.ussmetaloid.4mg.com/
for more info.

Q: When I load a saved game my ships will no longer fire. Why?
A: Apparently when save game is loaded, all ships were issued
"hold fire" command. Try ordering them to shoot again.

Q: How do I change the difficulty level?
A: Use the option slider.

Q: What does that actually do?
A: If you turn it to one side or another, that side (easy side =
you, hard side = enemy) gets a combat bonus in both starship
combat and marine combat.

Compatibility Questions

Q: Is the game compatible with WinXP?
A: It *should* work in compatibility mode, but it's not
supported. Try it?

Q: Does the game work with video card _______?
A: If it that card supports DirectX and Direct3D, it should work
fine. Please download and try the latest video drivers for your
specific card.

Q: I have problems with ATI Rage series card.

A: Please search for "RageMan" 3rd party drivers. Those seem to
help when the ATI drivers didn't.

Q: Game loads 75% and freezes...
A: This seems to happen with some "built-in" (onboard) sound
cards. Try turning down the DirectSound acceleration.

Q: Game crashes when launched
A: If you are running desktop at extremely high resolution (at or
higher than 1280x1024) this can be a problem. Please switch to
1024x768 or below and try again.

Fleet Setup Questions

Q: How do I use device ______? What devices should I use?
A: See the device section. V1.03 and later, all the devices are
automatically equipped onto the ship at beginning of the mission.
Previous versions may require you to right-click the device to
"equip" the ship with it.

Q: Can I save my fleet setup?
A: Hit EXIT button. The menu should pop up allowing you to save.

Q: I can't figure out the save interface!
A: Click on one of saved games (or even AUTOSAVE). Hit backspace-
key until the name at the bottom box is gone. Enter new save game
name (no space allowed). Hit enter-key to save. To overwrite
existing game, don't change the name.
WARNING: overwriting existing game may CRASH the system. Delete
extra saves when you exit the game.

Q: What do the different crews do?
A: Security: capture enemy ships, or guard against capture.
Engineering: repair damage to ship (cannot repair destroyed
components)
Command: allow ship to go above 1/4 impulse.

Q: What are those "medals"?
A: They add a slight bonus to each captain in the different
areas. I didn't find them to have any significant effect. I also
don't see how captains receive them. They seem to be random
depending mainly on the number of kills.

General Mission Questions

Q: My shields drop for no reason!
A:You probably entered a nebula. The computer should have warned
you "entering nebula". Shields don't work in the nebula.
Sometimes ion storm is also referred to as a nebula.

Q: One of my ships just stopped responding to commands!
A: If you captured enemy ship(s), this can sometimes happen. The
only way to regain control is to destroy the captured ship(s)
until you are back to six ships (or less).

Q: What is that triangle with rounded corners on the screen/map?
A: That's one of your objectives. Remember the briefing screen?

Q: What's that tall thin box with a little head and tail on the
screen/map?
A: That's a patrol point. You have to reach (fly near) all of
them in the mission to accomplish one of the objectives, usually
patrol.

Q: Some of my ship's items are inoperative no matter the number
of engineers!
A: Destroyed items cannot be repaired.

Movement Questions

Q: I ordered warp speed then one of the ships just blew up!
A: Your ship had a warp-speed collision with something else. Next
time, turn the ships to the right heading, let them spread out a
bit first, THEN order warp speed. And make sure there's nothing
in their way. Order warp speed for each ship separately may help.

Q: My ship just keep popping into and out of warp!
A: You ordered it to attack a target AND warp speed. It's trying
to do both. Instead, click near your objective to set the
destination. After the ship(s) come out of warp, THEN order the
attack.

Q: I can't issue accurate movement orders by clicking in the 3D
screen!
A: Try clicking the location on the mini-map (scanner map)
instead. Zoom in to be more precise.

Q: My captured ships won't go above 1/4 impulse!
A: You need to beam over some Command (red) personnel.

Specific Mission Questions

Q: How do I beat the Defiant/Argolis mission?
A: Take on ONE ship at a time, and take out BOTH generators
before you start on the OWPs. If you still have problem, read the
mission walkthru.

Q: How do I rescue Tom Riker? Which ship is he on?
A: The Keldon he's on has crew of 960 instead of the regular
200+. Get between the prison planet and Cardassia Prime (the
planet in the northwestern corner) and take on all the Keldons
that come along. If you still have problems, read the mission
walkthru.

Q: I can't finish mission ______! I've destroyed or captured
everything!
A: In some missions you must destroy the objective instead of
capturing it. This particularly applies to the Dominion missions.
Engage the self-destruct (see the cheat section) on the item in
question should solve it. See also bug list.

Misc. Questions

Q: What's with the micro-quantum torpedoes on the Achilles? I
never see them shoot!
A: Apply the V1.04 patch.

Q: What's this about importing Starship Creator Warp II ships and
captains?
A: They can only be used in Multiplayer games. You can choose to
allow those special ships and crews in the game setup.

Q: Where are the cheat codes?
A: See last section

Q: Can I play the movies outside the game?
A: The game uses the popular BINK video format. You can download
a player from http://www.radgametools.com. The movies are on the
CD in the VIDEO subdirectory and should also be in the install
directory on the HD.


1    Game Information
Dominion War is a real-time starship tactical combat simulation
in a 2D world that simulates starship combat in the world of Star
Trek: Deep Space Nine, with 3D perspectives.

The game is set during the Dominion War, when the Federation and
the Klingons attempt to defeat the Dominion invasion. You can
play either the Alliance or the Dominion.

Your first mission start you off in the Badlands, and progress to
either defeat of the Dominion and invasion of Cardassia Prime
(Fed side) or conquest of Earth (Dominion side).

There are two single-player campaigns of 10 missions for each
side. The campaigns are strictly linear. You must finish one
mission to advance to the next one.

There is no resource building or gathering during the mission. In
this aspect it is similar to Myth. Instead, you are allocated
certain amount of credits. You use these to outfit your fleet
with captains, ships, devices, and/or additional crew.

Once your fleet setup is complete, you launch the fleet into
combat into 3D combat, through the movement is only 2D (just like
Star Trek).

All the ships have the appropriate weapon arcs and special
equipment as such. Several of ships have been created just for
this game. The ships range from class 1 (really small and weak)
to class 5 (battleship type) and are nicely detailed. All the
weapons emanate from the appropriate positions on the ship though
occasionally, when ships are firing AND maneuvering, you may see
ships firing through portions of itself. You can use transporters
to beam over marines to capture other ships, or beam anti-matter
charges onto other ships and so on.

At the end of mission, the captain may gain (or even lose)
experience, and perhaps be promoted (demoted?), and thus eligible
to command different ships. They can also receive commendations,
which adds to their effectiveness in certain areas.

There is no "difficulty level" per se. There is a difficulty
multiplier bar that adjusts some AI factors like weapon hit
percentage, sensor range, and such.

Multiplay is supported through Windows DirectPlay with both host
and client possible, esp. through GameSpy service. There are a
variety of game types. Please see your README file for details.
You can also play through Gamespy Arcade (free copy included on
CD).


2    The Ships
Here we discuss the ships available to each faction. Keep in mind
that you usually don't get that much of a selection in the game
until the very end.

Previously I've reported that SP and MP have different ship
stats. This is not quite right. There is a bug in the game that
causes the fleet setup display to show random numbers for the
ships.


2.1   General Comments

In general, two ships of one class are about equal to ONE ship of
the class above it. For example, it takes two class 1 ships to
match one class 2 ship, and so on. That's assuming shields and
all such are working, and not counting any devices. As ships
aren't that expensive, it does pay to upgrade.

Info here is going to be somewhat different from the manual or
even the website, as these are the info that actually made it
into the game.

In general, class 1 ships are useless. You really want class 2 or
better.

The ships are listed with their stats like this: shields /
weapons / impulse speed / cost.

Please note that the ship stats seem to have some bugs in them so
I can't be absolutely sure of the numbers.


2.2   United Federation of Planets (Feds)

In general, the Feds have the best ships all around. Their ships
are a bit slow, but nicely shielded, and good firepower. Feds use
photon torpedoes (with quantum torpedoes on some ships or as
upgrades) and phasers, though some use pulse phasers. Their ships
carry decent amount of marines, esp. the larger ships. However,
their lack of Class 4 ships is a concern.


2.2.1     Sabre (Class 1) [3/3/6/2000]
Sabre is like cannon fodder. Its weapons will barely scratch a
bigger ship. Even right at the very beginning you should use
Steamrunner instead.


2.2.2     Steamrunner (Class 2) [5/3/5/4000]
Start with this ship. It is not bad for its class, but a little
low on firepower compared to Escort-class, but you get plenty of
these vs. ONE Escort-class.


2.2.3     Oberth (Class 2) [5/1/6/2000]
Oberth is a research ship that has virtually no weapons, but VERY
good sensor range. It would work well as a scout, and can get
away from most threats. It is not useful in single-player, but
can be useful in multiplayer games, esp. in "find the founder" or
similar scenarios.


2.2.4     Escort (Class 2) [5/6/5/6000]
Many people think of this as the Defiant-class. It's not QUITE
the overwhelming superior ship you see in the episodes, but it is
the best class 2 ship. There's only one of these ships available.


2.2.5     Troop Carrier (Class 2) [1/1/3/2000]
Also known as the transport or freighter, this ship allows you to
carry a lot of troops for massive invasions. You should not need
to buy one ever. If a mission calls for one, one will be
provided.


2.2.6     Akira (Class 3) [6/6/4/6400]
Akira heavy cruiser is a good heavy cruiser. Which is about all
there is to say. :-)


2.2.7     Achilles (Class 4) [9/10/4/10000]
This ship comes into play late, the only ship of her class, and
experimental (according to the plot). It is worth the wait
though. Think of it as the bigger brother to the Defiant would
not be far off, as it has pulse phasers, quantum torpedoes, AND a
spine-mounted phalanx-array of EIGHT micro-quantum-torpedo
launchers. It can defeat any other class 4 starship, and is a
good match with class 5's. (Previously listed as 9/8/4)


2.2.8     Galaxy (Class 5) [10/9/4/12000]
Battleship of the Federation, this ship has the highest weapon
rating in the game (not alone though) and shields to take a LOT
of damage (one of the highest shield rating in the game) so it
can "take a lickin' and keep in kickin'". It can be a real ship
killer with the quantum torpedo upgrade and phaser range
extenders.


2.3   Klingon Empire (Klin)

Klingon ships all come with cloaking device, less shields, and
faster speed under impulse. Klingons use disruptors and
torpedoes, though some ships use pulse disruptors.

Klingons can apparently use quantum torpedo devices, so if you
have the money, add them.


2.3.1     B'Rel (Class 1) [2/2/7/2000]
Cannon fodder, just like the Sabre. This one has even LESS
shields and power than the Sabre!


2.3.2     K'tinga (Class 2) [3/3/5/4200]
You need quite a few of those to hit a class 3. Don't even think
about taking on a class 4. Even within Class 2 it's under-
matched.


2.3.3     K'Vorcha / K'vort'cha (Class 3) [5/6/5/6200]
Pretty balanced ship. For a Klingon. Not a bad match for the
Akira. Slightly inconsistent spelling.

The game is not very consistent on the spelling, which is why you
see it listed twice here.


2.3.4     Vorcha (Class 4) [6/6/4/9000]
This attack cruiser will be your only Class 4 ship for a while,
and it's actually not bad. Just remember it carries less shields
than your equivalent Fed, so remember to rebalance shields more
often, and pull it out of battle if need be. And of course, it's
nowhere NEAR as good as an Archilles class starship, but you get
plenty of these, vs. only one Archilles.


2.3.5     Negh'Var (Class 5) [7/8/3/12000]
The Klingon battleship, it's actually LARGER than the Galaxy-
class, but not quite as well shielded or armed.  There's only one
of these around, so don't use these up too fast.


2.4   Cardassian Union (Card)

Cardassian ships are quite weak overall, and require numbers to
overwhelm their enemies. They have even LESS shields than
Klingons on the average! However, they do carry a bit of
firepower.

Note: these ratings have been revised from the previous release
significantly due to some ship stat display issues in the game.


2.4.1     Hideki (Class 1) [1/2/8/2000]
Your Cardie cannon fodder. Don't use at all. It's VERY fast so it
can chase down some freighters, but won't survive in battles.


2.4.2     Norin (Class 2) [2/3/5/3800]
Cardassian answer to the Defiant, it still can't stand up to one
in a fight. It may last long enough until help arrives.


2.4.3     Tonga (Class 3) [3/5/3/6000]
As all Cardie ships, this one is weaker than average.


2.4.4     Galor (Class 4) [4/6/3/8000]
Your typical Cardassian ship. Weak shields, good firepower.
(Previously listed as 4/3/3)


2.4.5     Keldon (Class 4) [5/7/4/9000]
Keldon is improves somewhat upon Galor. (Previously listed as
5/4/4)


2.4.6     Hutet (Class 5) [6/10/3/13500]
This ship is so huge, it's over 60% longer than a Galaxy-class!
However, its shields are quite wimpy, and it cost too much for
the money. (Previously listed as 6/6/3)


2.5   Dominion / Jem'hadar (Dom)

Jem'hadar ships tend to be slightly weaker than Federation ships,
but it's quite balanced. They tend not to have much command crew
around though, so capturing ships and using them may be a problem
unless you have big ships.

Most Jem'hadar ships have two names, a short name and a full
name. Both are listed.


2.5.1     Attack Ship / Fighter (Class 1) [2/3/6/2200]
Actually not too bad for a class 1. May be a match for Sabre.


2.5.2     Strike Cruiser / Cruiser (Class 2) [3/4/4/4200]
Not too bad for a class 2, but can't match the Feds, esp. the
Defiant.


2.5.3     Battlecruiser (Class 3) [5/5/4/6200]
Pretty good, now the ship gets firepower and shields that are
average.


2.5.4     War Cruiser / Warship / Super Cruiser (Class 4)
     [7/7/3/9000]
Warship is actually quite good for its class, but has too many
names.


2.5.5     Super Carrier / Carrier (Class 5) [10/8/3/10500]
The only Class 5 that can stand toe to toe with a Galaxy-class.
And it's cheaper. It also carries more marines and crew, very
useful when going after other ships, esp. when you get shield
transport device.


2.6   Ship Table (Single-Player)

The best weapons and shield ratings in the class are listed in
bold. Keep in mind that the bigger the ship, the slower they
turn.

Level       Faction         Name      Cost     Shields   Weapon   Speed

1    Fed    Sabre           2000      3        3         6

     Klin   B'Rel           2000      2        2         7

     Card   Hideki          2000      1        2         8

     Dom    Fighter         2200      2        3         6

2    Fed    Steamrunner     4000      5        3         5

     Fed    Oberth          4000      5        1         6

     Fed    Troop Carrier   2000      1        1         3

     Fed    Escort          6000      5        6         5

     Klin   K'tinga         4200      3        3         5

     Card   Norin           3800      2        3         5

     Dom    Strike Cruiser  4200      3        4         4

3    Fed    Akira           6400      6        6         4

     Klin   K'vort'cha      6200      5        6         5

     Card   Tonga           6000      3        5         3

     Dom    Battlecruiser   6200      5        5         4

4    Fed    Achilles        10000     9        10        4

     Klin   Vorcha          9000      6        6         4

     Card   Galor           8000      4        6         3

     Card   Keldon          9000      5        7         4

     Dom    Supercruiser    9000      7        7         3

5    Fed    Galaxy          12000     10       9         4

     Klin   Negh'var        12000     7        8         3

     Card   Hutet           13500     6        10        3

     Dom    Supercarrier    10500     10       8         3

As you can see from this chart, pattern is clear: the Feds have
the best ships around, and Cardassians have the worst.


2.7   Other ships

Some other ships can appear in the game as enemies or friends, or
you can choose them in multiplayer.

(Any one has REAL stats for these ships?)

Class 1: Maquis Raider (3/3/5?)

Class 2: Bajoran Patrol Ship (2/3/5?)

Class 3: Ferengi Marauder? (4/8/4?)

Class 4: Breen Assault Ship (can be chosen in some Dominion
missions) (8/9/4?)

Class 5: Romulan D'deridex "Warbird" (10/9/3?)


3    The Captains
I'm not going to list all the captains here because there is not
enough room, and their stats change as you play the game, so
listing them here would be useless.

You need a captain that is rated at least the class of ship you
plan to assign him/her to. You can put Sisko (starts as Class 4)
on the Defiant (Class 2), but you can't put Dax (starts as Class
2) on the Achilles (Class 4).

As each captain fights, they will gain experience, and grow in
rank and ratings (and cost more credits). It is possible for a
captain to LOSE experience and rank, usually by losing the ship.

Captains don't die in this game. One that lost his/her ship
usually lose some experience points. Depending on how much
experience that captain had, that might be enough to get him/her
DEMOTED.

Your objective, ultimately, is to get at least SIX admirals to
command six different class 5 starships by the final mission. As
you only start with three or four admirals (and not all of them
are good), you have to "grow" a few captains into admirals.

Look at ALL the possible candidates before making your choice.
Some may have higher ratings than others may yet costs nearly the
same credits. Consider that before choosing who to "groom for
promotion" from the lower ranks.

Sometimes, it's good to "downgrade" one of the captains to save
some money for the devices and such.

Captains can win commendations after completing certain missions.
Those commendations can mean bonuses performing certain tasks,
like repair, attack, defend, scan, and so on. The formula to
generate these commendations has not been revealed by Gizmo yet.
.


4    The Devices
Some devices are race specific, while other devices may work for
their allies as well. How they interact is not clear.

You CAN add MULTIPLE devices to the same ship. Some enhancements
appear to be cumulative (i.e. the device is "stackable"). If you
add five retro thrusters the ship will turn on a dime. Add five
fast shield devices and shields regenerate in seconds. Add five
phaser extenders and the ship will fire phasers at extremely long
ranges.

Questions that need to be answered: do different devices stack?
For example, can harden shields work with meta shields? How about
boarding party enhancements like Phaser Rifle and Bat'tleh? So
far no answer from Gizmo yet.

As of V1.03, all the devices you include on fleet setup screen is
"automatically" equipped. Version prior to V1.03 you'll need to
"equip" the item manually from the cargo screen by right-clicking
the item.

Please note that the EXACT workings of these devices have not
been revealed by Gizmo yet. As there is no official strategy
guide, these numbers will probably remain unknown.


4.1   Devices for All Races

Anti-Matter (8000c) - start the 10 second count down and beam
this over to the enemy ship for a 80-isoton surprise! Load one
into the transporter, then click on it to start the count-down.
You better beam it out before the countdown reaches zero!

Detect Cloak (8000c) - allow you to detect cloaked ships in your
sensor scan. You need to use the sensor scan button, not the scan
item button. Not needed if your captain has the "detect cloak"
skill.

Shield Transport (10000c) - a.k.a. "transporter shield
penetrator", allow you to beam through enemy shields. Becomes
available very late in the game (mission 8 or 9). Best combined
with marines and/or anti-matter.


4.2   Federation Devices

Phaser Extender (1500c) - increases phaser effective range (by
???). Can be stacked.

Very useful for the ships that has the regular phasers, like
Akira, Galaxy, etc. Just watch these ships stab their phaser beam
into the void for a long-distance barrage! Use multiple and see
those phaser beams fly REALLY far! May work for pulse phaser
also.

Meta Shields (500c) - i.e. metaphasic shielding, increases your
shield's effectiveness.(by ???)

Definitely get it as it's cheap. Seems to help recharge rate? Can
be stacked.

Retro Thrusters (500c) - increases your sublight maneuverability
(turn-rate?) (by ???)

Not sure of how useful this can be. It may help smaller ships
evade torpedoes. Can be stacked. Helps with turn rate, so can be
useful in joust or hit-and-run tactics.

Type B Phaser (500c) - increases effectiveness of Fed
marines/boarding parties (by ???)

The only Fed marine enhancement, definitely get it. (Should be
Compression Phaser Rifle)

Combat Triage (500c) - decrease crew casualties when ship takes
hits (by ???)

Unknown effectiveness, get it if you have spare credits.

Quantum Torpedo (2000c) - twice as effective as photon torpedoes

Definitely get it when you can (available by mission 7?). If your
ship carries multiple torpedo launchers you need multiple
devices. The forward launchers get the enhancements first.
Putting these on Defiant or Archilles is a waste or your credits.
These should also work on the Klingon ships.

Nanotech Virus (6000c) - when beamed into enemy ships, shuts them
down for 5-15 seconds

Equivalent to all the other "disable" weapons. Use those few
seconds to pound the target to pieces. On the other hand, I find
disabling weapons pretty useless.


4.3   Klingon Devices

AI targeting (600c) - increase weapon hit probability (by ???)

Unknown effectiveness, may help if the captain has low tactical
skills. Can be stacked. Should also work on Federation ships.

Super Disruptor (1400c) - increase disruptor effectiveness (by
???)

Supposedly increases damage. or range? Can be stacked?

Bat'tleh (300c) - increase Klingon boarding party effectiveness
(by ???)

Obvious uses, and cheaper than the Fed version.

Harden Shields (300c) - increase shield effectiveness (by ???)

Or does this really means shields won't be destroyed as easily
even if beaten down? Can be stacked?

Anti-personnel (4000c) - beamed onboard enemy ships to disable
their security personnel for easier capture

Equivalent to the Cardie metagenic weapon, it may be cheaper to
just buy more marines.


4.4   Cardassian Devices

Fast Shields (500c) - regenerate shields faster (by ???)

It's not known how fast do these shields regenerate, but get them
nonetheless. If you want REALLY fast regeneration, get several.
Can be stacked.

Phaser Rifle (500c) - increase Cardassian boarding party's
effectiveness (by ???)

Typical marine enhancement.

Power Drain (6500c) - when beam onboard, drains ship's power for
5-15 seconds

Yet another of the disabling weapons. Boring.

Metagenic Weapon (4000c) - beamed aboard enemy ships to kill crew
for easier boarding

May be cheaper to just load up more marines.


4.5   Dominion Devices

Breen Weapon (6500c) - when hit, the enemy ship powers down for 5-
15 seconds (???)

Another disabling weapon. This is never seen in single-player?
May only work if one shield is down. Need multiple devices for
multiple weapons.

Shield Enforcer (500c) - reinforces shields (by ???)

Unknown effectiveness. Try combining it with fast shields.

Advanced Warp (1000c) - increase warp speed (by ???)

Pretty useless, IMHO. Can NOT be stacked.

Ketracel White (500c) - increase Jem'hadar boarding party's
effectiveness (by ???)

Typical marine enhancement.


5    General Tactics

5.1   Concentrate firepower

Concentrate all your ships to fire on one target at a time.
You'll destroy that ship much sooner.

If you have multiple targets, go after the biggest one first.
Your ships will use the rear weapons and such on other targets of
opportunity.

Also see [5.9] for one exception.


5.2   Select Fewer but More Powerful Ships

You want the captains to gain kills and captures, and thus more
experience and promotions. As there are only so many enemy ships
in each mission, the fewer ships you bring the more for each
captain.

Of course, don't bring so few ships you can't get things done.


5.3   Don't Quit the Mission at First Opportunity

As soon as you completed all primary objectives, you get the
option to end the mission. Do NOT accept. Instead, stay in the
mission and complete all secondary objectives, as well as get as
many kills as you can.


5.4   Go for Capture

Capturing an enemy ship not only gets you its firepower and
shields, it also gives you extra credits for your performance at
the end of the mission in single-player (esp. after 1.03 patch).
This is even MORE effective at lower difficulty levels as the
odds are in the attacker's favor.

When you get transporter shield penetrator device, load up on
marines and go! If you don't have it, just tell your ships to go
for the shields first. If you're short on marines, you can send
over just about any body. Including engineering guys.

Remember to STOP shooting (hold fire) when the shields go down or
you may destroy the ship and lose all those marines!

Remember to send some command crew (red guys) onboard the
captured ship or the ship won't be able to move faster than 1/4
impulse (except going to warp). You also need to send over some
engineers if the ship's damaged.


5.5   Try No Tactics at All

Strangely, one of the more effective fight tactics I have is
"none"! Really, I have NOTHING highlighted on the tactics panel
at all. The ship just sits in place and fire at will.

This is really helpful if you reinforce forward shields.


5.6   Aim for Specific Parts of the Ship

If you want to blow up enemy ships, go for engines or none (shoot
at everything). If you want to capture enemy ships, shoot the
shields.  Remember to stop shooting when you get the shields
down!


5.7   Engage as few enemies possible at a time

This is better known as "divide and conquer". Your ship(s) can
defeat any single enemy ship, but not when they group together
and mob you!  Instead, achieve local superiority and take out ONE
ship at a time.

This may involve a bit of "teasing" and maneuvering to lure one
enemy ship out of a group. Lure it until you can engage it
without fighting the rest of the group. Kill it, and repeat until
you kill them all.


5.8   Know when to split your forces

Sometimes, the objective requires you to split your forces.

In general, it's better to put captured ships in a separate group
apart from your regular ships unless you can fully crew them with
excess crew you brought.

If you need to protect multiple objectives, like multiple groups
of ships, multiple starbases, and so on, then definitely split
forces.


5.9   Kill the Breen First

If you see a Breen ship, kill it first. The Breen carries the
"disabler" (i.e. the Breen weapon). If it hits one of your ships
while that ship's shields are down, that ship will become
disabled for up to 15 seconds, during which it can't move and
can't shoot, and thus a really juicy target.

When you see a Breen, ignore everything else and kill it first.


6    Federation/Klingon Alliance Campaign
The Fed/Klin campaign is more difficult than the Dom/Card
campaign. If you want easier time, try the Dom/Card campaign
first.


6.1   Errands of Mercy

OBJ: Eliminate Cardassian threat, escort Marquis transports out
to exit point.

Pick Dax and one more Lt. Commander (both Class 2) and two
Steamrunners (Class 2). You should have JUST enough credits for
both, exactly.

Upon start, group both starships to one group. Look at the map
and you'll see two rounded triangles. Those are your objectives.
You should go for the one on the left first. Click on it to set
destination (yellow circle), then hit WARP and you'll warp to the
edge of the nebula. Your ship will continue on at 3/4 impulse.
Note that shields don't work in the nebula.

When you get close, you should detect one Cardassian Hideki
fighter. Send both ships to attack, any tactic, and the Hideki
should be toast in no time. When you see the freighter, don't
attack it! That's the ship you're supposed to escort out. Follow
it until it makes it to the exit point.

Now head for the other objective. When you get near, three
Hidekis will attack you. You will see a freighter near the
planet. Destroy the three Hidekis and follow the freighter
closely (use guard if you want). When you get near the second
objective triangle, another Hideki or two should attack. Take
them out, escort the freighter to the exit point, and you win!


6.2   A Calculated Move

OBJ: Escort the transports to evacuate DS9, and eliminate
Dominion attackers.

You should choose three Steamrunners with the respective
commanders. You can keep the two from the previous mission.

When you start, you should see five different transports near
you. They will approach DS9 one at a time. They will move by
themselves; you can't control them. Once they load up, they warp
out of there. However, if enemy starts to harass them, you need
to keep them safe.

One transport will leave for DS9 immediately. Send ONE of your
Steamrunners to the half-way point between you and DS9. Make sure
you send it AFTER the transport left so they don't run into each
other.

After the first transport leaves DS9, some Dominion ships will
show up ("Warp signature detected"). Two Hidekis and one
Jem'hadar fighter should attack the station. You can help out
with your Steamrunner, but keep the other two WITH the convoy.
DS9 is heavily armed and should take care of the attackers by
herself.

More enemies warp in. More Hidekis and other Dominion ships. Then
a Strike Cruiser comes after your convoy! Send both Steamrunners
that stayed behind after it. It may take a while but that Strike
Cruiser is toast. Keep the third Steamrunner protecting
transports and shoot enemy ships as necessary. After that there's
no more threat to the convoy so send all the Steamrunners to help
DS9. Look carefully when the transport leaves. Sometimes one of
the attackers (Norin / Tonga) will follow it and try to shoot it.
In that case chase down the attacker yourself with the
Steamrunners.

After a few more kills you should get the "eliminate Dominion
attack" complete message. When the last transport warps out,
you've completed the mission.


6.3   A Hero's Task

OBJ: Take Defiant and take out the Argolis Sensor Array.

As you can only choose the Defiant, there's no reason not to
choose Captain Sisko to go with her. Add any device and crew as
you see fit, but you don't need to use any marines. On the other
hand, some people like to use them.

(Question: any one knows what is the "time limit" in the briefing
about? Probably nothing.)

This one can be tough if you do it wrong. It's quite doable if
you do it right.

Basically, you need to kill ONE enemy ship at a time. Most of the
guards are class 1, so you can kill them with no problem as long
as you do them one at a time. You also outclass most class 2's.

Engage cloak, then look around the sensor map to see any
"loners". Pick on those with no one nearby to help. If he's too
close to other ships, use the "tease" move to lure him out of
range of the help, then take him out. Repeat, kill. Repeat, kill.

If you like, you can capture the enemy ships, but you don't
really have enough marines to go around, nor the command crew to
get full performance out of them.

Take out each loner, and take out the two shield generators (east
and west of asteroid field), and the OWPs should blow up.

To the south of the array is a single OWP. If you take out that
one (easy after practice) the array should be for the taking.

Destroy the array, and you can go home.


6.4   On Swift Wings

OBJ: Get a ship to the Klingon OWP at the planet to warn the
Klingon Fleet, keep the relays up (the more of them the faster
the fleet will return), and protect OWP from Dominion attack.

You should be able to afford 3 Akiras and 2 Steamrunners if you
did well in the previous missions. Assign the appropriate
captains and crew as you see fit.

Upon start, note the RAPID-MOVING asteroid field in the middle.
(Some of those asteroids move at WARP SPEED!) Do NOT warp through
it. You'll lose ships. Send your 3 Akiras to the middle relay
over to the left, while send your 2 Steamrunners west, then north
to the waypoint to warn the Klingons.

Once the Steamrunners get there, the Akiras should start taking
out the Cardassian attackers (a few Norins, Hidekis, and Tongas)
at the relays. The Steamrunners can then head for the nearest
relay and defend that as well. That leaves one relay undefended.

Keep defending the relays and kill Cardassian ships (you may not
kill that many, don't worry) until you get "warp signature
detected", and you see those are Dominion ships. When you see
that, warp back to the planet with all ships and start defending
it. The Klingon fleet should arrive any moment now. So keep
killing enemies and wait for the cavalry to arrive and you win!

You can kill the rest of the attackers for bonus credits if you
think you can handle them with Klingon help.


6.5   Homecoming

OBJ: Return Tom Riker to the Federation, and destroy all the
Keldons

You don't have access to any Class 4 ships, so you have to use 4-
5 Class 3 Akiras. On the other hand the Keldons aren't that
difficulty to handle with that many Akiras. Load up on all the
marines you can get, and add the type B phaser. You'll be doing a
lot of boarding.

Upon start, note the planet in the middle, and another planet to
the northwest corner. That's Cardassia Prime, where Tom Riker
will be executed. You need to get between the two planets and
whack every Keldon that comes along.

Remember to aim for shields, until shield goes down. HOLD FIRE.
Beam over enough marines and engineers to capture.  By that time
the next Keldon should be in range. Repeat.

It's easy to tell which Keldon has Tom Riker. That ship would
have a MUCH bigger crew (like 960 or 1200?). You can capture or
destroy all the other Keldons, but I prefer capture, as you get
to use the weapons against their owners. Just leave enough to
capture the one with Tom Riker on it.

(NOTE: many people have reported that when they clicked cargo,
then the Riker icon, the mission fails immediately. This is hard
to reproduce, and may be due to the fact that the wrong ship is
selected as destination. The surest way is to capture the entire
ship.)

Once you got Riker, you may want to bring him onboard one of
Starfleet ships, or you can send the ship he's on away from the
conflict to make sure you don't accidentally use it (and lose
it).

You may encounter other ships such as Hideki or Norin as patrols.
They may come after you. But they're weak. Even if they do come
after you, your Akiras (hopefully by now supplemented by a few
Keldons) will deal with them easily.

If no more Keldons are coming, you need to go to the planet to
find the last few. Feel free to blast all the defenses around the
prison planet as well for your secondary objectives.

Once you got Tom Riker, send the ships to the exit point, make
sure you blasted or captured all the Keldons, and you win!


6.6   A Fatal Flaw

OBJ: Destroy Ketrecel White facility and OWPs, destroy sensor
grid and defenders

You can do this mission with 4 Class 4 ships (C4's), or 1 C5 and
3 C4's. Just bring your best along.

Upon start, you should notice that you start at the southern edge
of the map. The target is WAY to the north, inside the asteroid
field. You probably want to go along the eastern edge of the map
and approach the asteroid field from the east. If you go in from
the west you have to get through the OWPs protecting the planet.
You can't split forces here as you don't have enough ships.

Approach the asteroid field from the east, and take out the
shield generator first. Now run back out and defeat any guards
that come chasing. Those should only be a few Hidekis or
Jem'hadar fighters though, maybe a Norin or two. If you see
bigger ships, just head outside the asteroid field and deal with
them there. Wait for repairs to finish, THEN head back in to
attack.

When ready, head back to starting position. Approach the field
again, this time from the west, to take out the other shield
generator. Approach carefully and take out one OWP at a time,
move away, repair and recharge as needed. Deal with any patrols
first.

When you take out the shield generators, the OWPs are easy kills.
Take out all the OWPs around the KW factory, then kill the
factory.

If any enemy ships come calling, lure them OUT of range of the
OWPs so you don't fight both at the same time.

Now it's just a matter of patience as you slowly move south and
wipe out the sensor array with its OWPs. When you do them all,
you win!


6.7   Second Wind

OBJ: Take back DS9, destroy Dominion counterattack, DS9 must
survive

You should have 2 to 3 Class 5's and 2-3 class 4's ready to go.
Either Fed or Klingon ships are okay. You don't need to worry
about those two transports. They will be provided free of charge.
Just worry about your ships.

Upon start, set your warships to group 1, your transports to
group 2. Send the transports out to the east, out of the fight.
You move the warships slowly north and take out all comers.
Lesser ships may surround you. Do NOT panic. Just head south and
try to open the range, and your ships will keep firing. If you
have enough marines, capture some of the higher level ships like
level 3 Tongas or Supercruisers.

Once you cleared the way to DS9, more enemy ships will warp in.
Keep engaging enemy ships until the area is down to one or two
ships. Remember, small engagements, local superiority. You have
help, so try to fight near other friendly ships. If overwhelmed,
move away and draw enemy ships out, then kill them one by one.

When area is clear, target shields, then send your ships to
attack DS9, while sending the transports in. You should need only
one to capture the station, the other is a backup, so bring in
one of them (warp in). When the shields go down, hold fire, and
start transporting. When you're done, send the transport back to
the "holding" spot. If you need more marines, bring in the other
ship as well. Now be ready for the counter attack.

Jem'hadar ships will start warping in around the station, along
with a few Cardies, and they'll bring bigger ships. Mainly class
3's and occasional class 4's. You should be able to defeat them
easily with the ships you have. Once you take them all out, the
mission ends.


6.8   Forcing Our Hand

OBJ: Destroy shipyard, and destroy sensor net.

You should be able to sortie 3 Class 5 and 3 Class 4 ships by
now.

Upon start, you are at the southeastern edge again, while most of
the enemies are to the west. Some patrols are to the east.

Start by going west almost to the edge. Make short hops only to
the edge of sensor range as you don't want to run into something
unknown. Take out any OWPs, shipyards, sensors, and such you can
find. If ships come after you, get out of range of the OWPs then
fight the ships. You can wear them down after a while.

Keep moving slowly north and blast shield generators, OWPs, and
more space docks. You'll see more ships, but as long as you stay
out of range of the OWPs and concentrate your firepower you
should have no problem blasting all those ships.

Eventually you'll make it to the sensor net, and more ships and
OWPs will defend. Blast them all, and you win.

This mission is more about patience than strategy. At the end of
this mission one of your captains will probably demand a HUGE
salary due to the HUGE number of kills racked up in this mission.


6.9   A Line in the Sand

OBJ: Destroy Dominion invasion fleet, protect Earth from
Jem'hadar invaders, protect Starbases and defenses.

You should have all class 5's by now, with all the nifty devices
you can get, and max crew. If not, just fill up on the best and
the brightest you got.

Upon start, split forces into two groups. Keep one group near
Earth at ALL times. That group doesn't go further than the middle
of the map. That's your reserve force. The other group will
perform mobile strikes.

The initial attack wave is mostly Class 3 Tongas and
Battlecruisers with a few Breen assault ships. They are going
after the starbases, so send the mobile force to help them. Go
after Breen ships first.  You should have transporter penetrator
now, and the quickest way to take a Breen out of the fight is to
capture the ship(s).

You'll see a second wave going after the starbases, while a third
wave comes in a minute later coming straight down the eastern
edge.

If you see any Dominion Supercarriers (probably second wave),
take those out first. Those are the invasion ships. Try to
capture a few of those to add to your firepower.

After that you can send your reserve force to help mop up any
enemies left in the system.


6.10  The Final Thrust

OBJ: Capture Cardassia Prime, defeat all defenses

This mission is actually pretty simple, believe it or not. Just
bring your best and the brightest, all class 5's with all the
gadgets. Make sure everyone has all the marine bonus devices,
transporter penetrator, and max marines. Add quantum torpedoes,
phaser extenders, AI targeting, and shield enhancers as needed.

Upon start, immediately group all ships into a single group, and
send them slightly north at impulse speed. You'll be escorting
this group of SIX transports that will be landing troops on
Cardassia Prime. Fortunately they are quite slow, but there's a
long way to go.

Do NOT use warp to jump ahead of the convoy. You may cause a warp
collision, and you don't want to lose any of the ships.

Take out the OWPs in the convoy path immediately, but don't stray
too far, because Cardassian and Jem'hadar ships will be attacking
very soon, from all sides. You get a constant stream of ships.
Start with 6 Fighters, then 2 Norins, 2 Galors, 2 Supercarriers,
and then ones and twos all the way to the planet. You don't have
time to go after the shield generators unless you use captured
ships or willing to detach a ship or two.

You can do this the lazy way: assign one of your ships to guard
each transport, but that likely won't get you anywhere as the
enemy will just swarm all over you.

If you see any level 4 or 5 ships attack, send some marines their
way. Kill everything level 3 or lower. You probably don't even
need to designate targets specifically, just move the units to
the right place and they'll engage automatically. Designate
targets to kill them faster. Use captured ships to perform mobile
strikes.

Keep the escorts ahead of the convoy unless the enemy penetrated
your screen. In that case the guards would stay right next to the
convoy.  When the threat is past, the guards should resume
leading position.

When you hit the final set of OWPs before getting into orbit
around Cardassia Prime, be ready for a big fight. The Cardassian
final reserves, consisting of 4 Hutets, 4 Galors, and some misc.
ships will pay you a visit. Use the marines to take care of them.

Once you're taken care of the ships, you need to do a circle
around the planet to destroy any OWPs remaining in order of
Cardassia Prime before the troop transports arrive.

When the transports reach Cardassia Prime and leave, you win!

(Note: the ground war on Cardassia is treated as a boarding
action. On higher difficulty levels you may need to bring along
additional troops and send them down WITH the marines in those
transports.)


7    Dominion/Cardassian Alliance Campaign
V1.04 improved the AI somewhat by introducing more trigger points
and "reaction force" fleets that will chase you all over the map,
even if you go into warp. It's still vulnerable to "tease"
attacks though.


7.1   Rally the Wolves

OBJ: Patrol the Badlands, destroy Marquis evac freighters.

Killing Marquis is easy. Destroying the freighters is hard.
Somehow these freighters move FASTER than 3/4 impulse in the
nebula. This is one of the cases where having a fast Hideki can
help catch the freighters, though 1 Norin and 1 Strike Cruiser
will work as well.

You should see the two sensor arrays upon start. Send the faster
of your force to the patrol point to the left array, and the
slower one to the right array.

The force on the left should encounter a Raider as you enter/near
the nebula. Destroy it. Continue toward the patrol point, and you
should see a freighter. Kill it too.

The force on the right should encounter 2 Raiders. If you send a
Class 2 ship they should be no problem at all.

Put the fast force slightly south of the remaining patrol point
as the anvil. Have the slow force enter the nebula and get to the
remaining patrol point as the hammer, engage any Raiders you
find.

When you get to the patrol point, you should find a Raider
accompanied by 2 freighters. You MUST destroy those freighters.
Have the slow force hit one freighter while you send your fast
force after the other freighter. Once one freighter is dead you
can send the free force after the Raider. Once you destroy them
all you win, hit all the patrol points and you win!


7.2   Business of Betrayal

OBJ: Rescue Founder from Klinzhai system onboard a K'tinga, and
transport him across the Romulan border.

WARNING: Do NOT engage warp when going through that asteroid
field among the planets. It's easy to lose a ship in there.
Impulse only!

By now, you should be able to afford 2 Class 2 ships and 1 class
1 ship. Load up on marines if you want to use the capture
strategy. Try to use Jem'hadar captains as much as possible.

You start at the northern edge of the map. The Klinzhai system
has three planets, and you'll need to cruise them to find the
ship you're looking for. Capture as many ships as you can for
extra credits, even the freighters roaming the system.

I generally go to the planet to east first, then south, and
finally west, moving clockwise.

You may run into the occasional B'Rel. If you have class 2 ships
they can't do you much harm, even if you can't see through cloak.
Capture as many Klingon ships (including the freighters) as you
can for more credits, but do this AFTER you grab the K'tinga.

When you're midway between the south planet and the west planet,
you should run into the K'tinga. Capture it or just beat down the
shields and beam over the Founder. Send the ship with Founder
back to the northern edge of the map and you're done.

(Note: some people have big problem rescuing the Founder by
beaming him off. The surest way is to capture the ship.)

You may want to stay around and capture a few more freighters or
shoot some more B'Rels for more points.


7.3  The Hunt

OBJ: Take out Fed sensor array around DS9, and destroy mine power
generators.

By now, you should have enough credits to include 2 (or even 3)
Class 3 vessels with captains. Try to use Jem'hadar captains
whenever possible. Load up on marines and "White" to capture
ships for extra credit.

You start at the southern edge of the map. There's a line of
sensor arrays across the middle of the map. Bajor is on the
western edge, DS9 is to the north and the mine generators and the
wormhole is to the northeast.

Start by warping to the westernmost sensor array and blast any
defenders, and work your way across. You'll run into 2 Bajoran
Patrol vessels on the westernmost sensor, then one or two
Steamrunners and Sabers as you move east, and even an Akira. You
outgun them all with your group so take them out one by one.
Capture as many as you can.

Do not get close to DS9. It's surrounded by several Akiras and if
you get too close they'll come after you.

Once you took out all the sensor arrays, it's time to take out
the power generators. There's a waypoint to the north/northeast
of the map, right on the edge. Warp near there. When you get
close, you'll see it's 4 generators accompanied by 4 Fed OWP.
Take out the OWP's first, then the generators, and you win!


7.4   Eye of the Storm

OBJ: Destroy the invasion force hiding inside this ion storm, and
protect the sensor arrays in place.

You should have at least four Class 3 vessels by now with
captains. Again, try to use Jem'hadar ships and captains. As
you're in an ion storm marines are useless. Consider adding a
faster Class 1 or 2 ship to the mix, as you'll be chasing down
some freighters.

You start in the southwest corner. Immediately assign your ships
into roughly two equal groups. Send one group to the middle
sensor array, and the other one to the eastern sensor array.
You'll need to send the eastern force to a dogleg south so they
don't have to fly through the ion storm.

You can see the enemy ships separate into two groups of 2
Steamrunners and 3 troop transports each. The troop transports
just run, while the Steamrunners are going after your sensor
arrays. Fortunately you should get there in plenty of time. Take
out all four Steamrunners should satisfy the "protect sensor
array" objective. Then send your ships after the freighters. Or
you can split into FOUR groups, if you want a slower but surer
victory. Two of them take out the freighters (the fast ships)
while the other two take out the Steamrunners.

Once you destroy all the freighters, the mission should end,
through you can stay and take out the THREE Akiras hiding just
outside the eastern and western edge of the storm for bonus
points. Look for FAINT purple dots, or just let the sensor array
do the work for you. There's another Akira right in between the
two visible ones, in the spot where sensor can't reach.


7.5   Welcoming Committee

OBJ: Destroy Achilles prototype, destroy Fed space docks, and
destroy Riker's Galaxy-class vessel.

You should have enough credits for 4 Class 4 ships and 2 Class 3
ships, along with their captains. You don't need to split forces
on this one. Add marines as you see fit, as there will be chances
to capture a few ships. You may want to choose captains with "See
Cloak" skill as you'll be fighting a few Klingons.

As soon as you start, 6 B'Rels will swoop in, but your ships
should take them out even without you directing the attacks. It's
followed by 6-8 Steamrunners, but they come in singles and pairs
so they pose no threat to you at all. Eliminate them now as
they'll chase you all over the map.

Once the area is clear, you can see that there are several space
docks in a diagonal line from NE to SW. Start with the SW one,
and work your way to NE. When you destroy two of them, 3 Akiras
will pay you a visit, but you still outgun them significantly.
Clean out the space docks and any OWPs that defend them. Remember
there's one more space dock around the planet. If you don't get
"destroy space docks" complete, you probably forgot that one.

Now head south and see that last space dock at the waypoint. Go
near there and start blasting. Achilles will leave the dock and
try to stop you. Kill it. When it's gone a Galaxy and 3 Akiras
will come by. Take them out too, and you win!

You must NOT capture the Galaxy or the Archilles. You must
destroy them. If you've captured either (or both!) by accident,
use the self-destruct cheat (see last section) to destroy them or
the mission will never end. See also the bug list.


7.6   Crumbling Foundation

OBJ: Escort Troop Transport to AR558, escort them back to exit,
and wait for reinforcements.

You can only pick Jem'hadar ships and captains from now on, which
is why you should have concentrated on Jem'hadar personnel early
on. You should have enough for 4-5 Class 4 and their captains.
Fill the rest with Class 3 ships and captains.

You will be escorting 3 transports, and you need to do both
active and passive protection. Set two ships to guard two of the
three freighters. Take the other four and assign two groups of
two each. You should be able to see the different enemies as
"fuzzy contact" on the scanners. Put the groups on either side of
the path, but AHEAD of the convoy, and just take out threat after
threat as you stay AHEAD of the convoy and attack things until
they go away. You'll see mainly Klingon ships attacking, but
there will be an Akira and other Feds in the mix.

You need to get to the planet before the convoy does and take out
those 4 OWPs. Then the troop transports will beam down their
cargo.  Now, protect them on the outbound trip also. If you see
some WHITE group transports coming in on the outbound leg,
DESTROY THEM. Those are Federation marines trying to land so
don't let them. A few B'Rels will attack you on the way out, but
they're no problem at all with your fleet.

Once all troop transports leave, move yourself AWAY from the exit
point, until you get "Cardassian ships are targeting you". Warp
beyond the planet to your west, and a minute later the mission
should be over.

If you want you can stay and smash the Cardassian fleet, which is
composed of 2 Hutets, several Galors/Keldons and Tongas.


7.7   A Dish Best Served Cold

OBJ: Destroy DS9, destroy Gul Dukat's Hutet, and destroy all
defenders.

By this time, you should be able to field 4 Class 5 ships with 2
Class 4 ships. Adjust budget and such until you can fit them in.
Your goal is to have more than six admirals. Take the best
captains and give them good ships. Take the best Lt. Cmdrs and
give them good ships too, and hope they grow into captains and
admirals fast enough.

You start in the northwest corner. DS9 is to the southeast. Warp
midway between your starting position and DS9, and you can see
there's a "tripline" of ships between you and DS9. Those are only
Class 3 Tongas though, so you can go through them. On the other
hand, why take chances? Start from one end of the line and work
your way across, destroy them one at a time.

When you kill the second Tonga, a Galaxy escorted by two
Steamrunners will show up. Destroy them with your massed
firepower, then sweep up the Tongas.

NE of DS9 you'll find some Klingon ships. Gul Dukat and his Hutet
is south of DS9, escorted by 2 Keldons or Galors. You should go
south and take care of Gul Dukat immediately. Dukat is known to
leave while you tackle DS9/Terok Nor. With your 4 Class 5's he
stands no chance. Do NOT capture him though. His ship MUST be
destroyed. Such is the wish of the Founders.

Now you can clean up all the enemies around DS9, or you can just
attack DS9 itself and see all the enemies come in one at a time.
Do NOT capture DS9. Destroy it. When you do that, and wiped out
all the enemy ships, you win!


7.8   The Time is Now

OBJ: Escort Breen ships to exit points, Destroy the Romulan and
Klingon fleets, and Destroy Gowron's Negh'Var and Worf's Vorcha.

By now you should have 5 Class 5 ships with 5 admirals. Just pick
the best you got, and pick the best captains for the few class
4's you have around as training vessels. You should have
transporter shield penetrators now, but you don't have time to
use them, as you can't beam into a cloaked vessel. If your
captain doesn't have "See Cloak" capability, add "cloak scanner"
device to the ship to compensate.

Upon start, immediately divide you your ships into two groups,
and send one chasing each Breen group. You can probably send the
weaker group after the Breen to the left (west). The one to the
east encounters more enemies.

The Klingons and Romulans won't be able to do you too much damage
as they are too busy decloak and recloak to really shoot at you,
but the Breen ships are pretty weak shield-wise. Just follow each
group and let the AI do their job. You'll run into a LOT of
Klingon ships and OWPs, but those are just class 1 to 3. There's
an occasional Class 5 Romulan Warbird, but they're no threat to
your ships. Just concentrate on one as you go. Constantly check
back and forth between the two groups (remember to hit F to
change scanner focus to the group), zoom in if you need to.
Engage the biggest threats quickly until the Breen ships reach
their respective exit points. Remember NOT to end the mission!

Once that's done, start using your scanner to detect cloaked
vessels, and destroy them, along with any other OWPs you haven't
destroyed before. After a while you should see the message about
destroying Gowron and Worf. Warp to about the middle of the map
and you should see their warp signatures. Send the weaker group
after Worf and the stronger group against Gowron. Once they are
destroyed, you can end the mission or continue clearing out the
map.


7.9   Fish in a Barrel

OBJ: Destroy Starbase 234, break enemy line of defense, destroy
Admiral Ross' Galaxy-class ship.

By now you should have 6 Class 5 ships with 6 admirals to conn
them. Try to fit max crew and transporter penetrator on every
ship, along with Ketracel White and fast shields. You will be
capturing a lot of ships on this mission, and hopefully most
without damage!

You start in the North of the map. There's a sensor post to your
south (the waypoint), and a few more sensor posts in an E/W line.
Start from one end and take them all out. Akira and Steamrunner
patrols will probably come to interrupt you, but they'll fall
under your guns easily. Take out the sensor post at the waypoint
and you've broken the enemy line of defense.

Start scanning for cloaked ships, as there's a few of them about,
Klingon and Romulan. You can also take out the few remaining
sensor posts on the map. Just warp all over the map (except to
the planet on the SW edge of map). When you see a Galaxy-class,
put every ship to hold fire, then use the transporter to beam
over about 200+ marines. You should capture it in no time. Kill
any other smaller ships you run into. Remember to add command
crew and engineers to captured ships to get full speed and repair
any damage.

Once you've cleared the map of all the enemy ships you can see,
it's time to wipeout the Starbase. The Starbase is covered by 3
OWPs, and it is quite nicely armed itself. On the other hand, by
now you should have enough ships that blasting the SB should be
no problem at all.

Once you've blasted the SB to smithereens, move over to the
planet, and you'll see the remaining Fed ships, should be a
Galaxy or two and several Akiras. Destroy all of them and the
mission should end. If the mission doesn't end, you probably
captured Admiral Ross' ship already. If that's the case, choose
the Galaxy's you've captured and commit self-destruct on them
(select it, focus, then repeat Ctrl-Shift-Delete until it blows
up). Repeat for each until mission ends.


7.10  All Good Things.

OBJ: Destroy both starbases, destroy Earth and Mars orbital
defenses, destroy all enemy ships, and finally, destroy Sisko's
Defiant.

You better have six different Class 5 ships now. If you do this
mission is easy, esp. with shield penetrators. Max the crew and
add the good devices. You probably don't need antimatter or
metagenic weapons. If your captains don't have "see cloak", add
"cloak detect" device to your ship(s), though you only really
need one of them in the whole fleet.

Upon start, your forces are split. The first three ships are to
the northwest just behind Mars, while the other three are to the
north. There are two starbases along the NE/SW diagonal line with
some sensors long the lines, and Earth is to the SE.

Group your first three ships as group 1, second three as group 2,
and all ships into group 3. Any ships you capture go into group
4.

Send group 1 to wipe out the OWPs around Mars, while group 2 goes
after the sensor array to its south. Keep wiping out the OWPs and
sensor arrays with both groups until you notice some warp
signatures start to show up.

(With V104, you'll get hit by a whole slew of B'Rels and
Steamrunners right at the start, followed by a few Galors and
Akiras, then the Galaxy's show up.)

The Defiant and a Galaxy will visit the western group, while 2
Galaxys come to pay tribute to the northern group. You may also
encounter some misc. ships like Steamrunners and Akiras. You
should wipe them out with no problem at all, though try to
capture the Galaxys, as they add to your firepower nicely. If you
have problems, unite the two groups (group 3, remember?) and use
the concentrated firepower. You may end up capturing SIX
Galaxy's.

After you take care of the visitors, go after each starbase
deliberately. Some Akiras and Galaxys may pay you a visit, but
you should destroy/capture them with no problems. Wiping out both
Starbases is simple if you do them one at a time with that many
ships.

By this time, you may want to start scanning for cloaked ships,
as the Klingons and Romulans are still around, though often they
just hide behind Earth and wait for you to come to them. Some
Romulan ships may move around, take them out.

Once you wiped out both starbases, and dealt with all the
Starfleet ships, it's time to visit Earth. The remaining Klingon
fleet (Vorcha, 2 K'vort'chas, K'tinga, and B'rel) with a few
Romulan Warbirds are probably around Earth, though some Warbirds
will be roaming the Sol system. Take out any single Warbirds you
encounter. Go to Earth with your entire fleet (remember to
redistribute crew and fix any damages first) and wipe them out.
You may want to tease them away from the OWPs in orbit around
Earth first. Once you destroy all the ships, destroy all the
OWPs, and you win!

Congratulations, you've conquered Earth for the Founders. Victory
is life.


8    Multiplayer
Some hints for your multiplayer enjoyment.

Use the shipyard - your shipyard can repair your ships!  DS9 is
considered a shipyard as well.

Steal devices - knocked down other people's shields and you can
steal their devices! (at least SOME of them, like antimatter
charges, metagenic weapons, etc.)

Use the sensors! - Oberth has one of the best sensor ranges of
any ship, so it can be quite useful in games like "Find the
Founder".  Even better if you put a sensor specialist onboard.


9    Misc. Info

9.1   Cheat

As documented in the key guide, you can damage anything you are
viewing by hitting CTRL-SHIFT-DELETE.

This is often used as a "self-destruct" feature, though it also
works on enemy ships. However, using this during the mission may
make some of the missions HARDER as the escorts assigned to that
object will move to a different objective to protect.


9.2   Bug List (as of V1.04)

Note: this is NOT a hardware compatibility list. For that, see
the official Gizmo FAQ on DominionWars.com.

Please do a CLEAN reinstall when patching. You need to
DELETE/RENAME the existing directory AFTER you uninstall the game
as the uninstaller will NOT delete the directory as not to wipe
out your savegames. Then reinstall and patch, THEN copy back the
save games (NOT the options.ds9 file though!)


9.2.1     Fed Commendation Bug
Playing as Feds, by mission 7 some of my captains and admirals
have Dominion commendations!  It's REALLY funny to see a
Federation captain with a commendation as "Founders Elite One",
or "Klingon Expert"! This doesn't happen for the Dominion side.
With V1.04, this has been reduced, but NOT eliminated.

Workaround: none needed


9.2.2     Commendation Typo
On the Fleet Setup screen (both Fed and Dom), Commendation was
misspelled as "Commandation".

Workaround: none needed


9.2.3     Occasional Freeze
Sometimes, when playing 6-10 missions in a row, the game would
suddenly freeze. With V1.04 the ships started behaving weird, but
this is caused by NOT completely removing V1.03 files. If you
start with a FRESH install the problem is mostly eliminated.

Workaround: none


9.2.4     In-game save useless
You can bring up the escape menu to save a game while in a
mission, but loading such a saved game has all the objects STUCK.
Nothing responds. You get voice confirmation of the order, but
the ships don't move at all. The only thing you CAN do is to
restart mission.

Workaround: don't use in-game saves. Save only at the fleet-setup
or debrief screen.


9.2.5     Objects must be destroyed, not captured
On several missions where you must destroy certain ships (Gul
Dukat's Hutet, Tom Riker's Galaxy, Deep Space Nine, etc.)
capturing them doesn't count. The objective must be DESTROYED.

Workaround: use the "self-destruct" cheat (see above under CHEAT)
to destroy the objective


9.2.6     Crew Credits bug
On the fleet setup screen, one should not be able to buy more
crew when one is out of credits. However, you CAN still get crew
even when your credit is zero. If you save the game after you
zeroed your credits and maxed the crew, then reload that game,
you can "sell" the excess crew back and get extra credits. This
also works for devices, though crew are the cheapest items.

Workaround: self-control. This is an exploit/bug, so you don't
HAVE to use it.


9.2.7     Archilles Micro-Quantum-Torpedo bug
Archilles never fires those micro-quantum-torpedoes. This is
fixed in V1.04.


9.2.8     Lost Command to Ship
After capturing some ships, one of the original ships may stop
responding to commands and behave like an AI ship.

Workaround: Destroy your captured ship(s) (use self-destruct
cheat above) and the "rogue" ship should come under your control
again.


9.3   Custom Missions

For custom mission patch, more captains (mainly for Starship
Creator), more ships, and so on, try
http://www.ussmetaloid.4mg.com/



-- THE END --


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