Planetary Defense Against Pirate Raids/Attacks

[Dereck]

Can pirate raiders/attackers get through a Planetary Shield?

Or is there other defensive facilities needed to protect colonies from pirate raiding?

Thanks

[SirHoraceHarkness]

A planetary shield keeps you planet from getting bombarded but does nothing against raids or invasions. You want a fortress for the defensive bonus to troops and lots of troops if you want to keep raiders from establishing a base or an empire to take over. Tractor beams on you space station can also push pirates away to keep them from dropping pods too and defensive bases give a bonus from having space control of the orbitals. There are also dedicated planetary defence troops who shoot down drop pods before they land though I find the expenditure of research time to make them effective is put to better use simply training better troops.

[Aeson]

Can pirate raiders/attackers get through a Planetary Shield?

Raiders, as in the raiding forces deployed via boarding pods on pirate vessels, cannot. Attackers possibly can, depending upon what you mean by "attackers;" troop transports can deploy ground forces normally despite the presence of a planetary shield, a planet killer will still kill the planet, and space ships will be able to engage space stations orbiting the colony without any issue, but bombardment weapons will not be able to harm the planet as long as the shield is up.

A planetary shield keeps you planet ... does nothing against raids

That's wrong, actually. Pirate ships with boarding pods can be ordered to raid a colony and will make a run at the target but will not actually launch pods or land any raiders if the target has a planetary shield generator.

Or is there other defensive facilities needed to protect colonies from pirate raiding?

Depends on what you're trying to protect. A Planetary Shield Generator renders the colony upon which it is built immune to raids from the time the generator is completed to the time it is destroyed (I'm not sure how the completion of a Planetary Shield Generator affects raids which are in progress at the time the generator is completed, but I doubt that it'll protect a colony from raiders who are already on the ground, and it's possible that it won't stop raiders whose pods have already launched or who are in the process of landing on the planet), but be aware that the generator protects the colony and nothing else; any orbital structures (space port, research facility, defensive base, etc) are vulnerable to pirate raids and attacks whether or not you've built a Planetary Shield Generator at the colony. That being said, there aren't really any other planetary facilities that do any better; the Giant Ion Cannon is about the only planetary facility that I can think of that might help protect orbital structures or nearby ship traffic, but it's really not going to do much on its own. Also be aware that pirate raids can sometimes destroy planetary improvements, including incomplete ones, and an incomplete Planetary Shield Generator will not stop a pirate raid from landing.

Note that defending against pirate raids does provide your army with experience and doesn't require invasions of independent or imperial colonies (which damage your reputation and may get you into a war with one or more empires), so if you want to train up an elite corps for your army, or if you want to have some highly-experienced infantry to clone, it can be a good idea to have one or more colonies in areas where pirates are active that do not have Planetary Shield Generators.

[SirHoraceHarkness]

Cool. Didn't realize planetary shields blocked pirate raids. I suppose by the time I get around to them the local pirates have been long eradicated.

[Uncle Lumpy]

Aeson, Thanks for the info regarding troops gaining experience battling pirate raids. I wasn't aware of that. I did know they gained experience by attacking pirate bases, fortresses and criminal networks on your worlds. It's always a bonus in my game play to gain troop experience by invading an independent, and then gain additional experience by attacking any pirate installations on the newly conquered colony. Now I see I can leave a colony a bit vulnerable (little or no fleet protection) in a highly pirate dense area of my early empire and garrison it with just enough troops to fight off a pirate raid. With a little luck, they might fend off a dozen raids and gain a ton of experience. Then when I research Cloning, I'll already have a highly experienced troop core to clone. Less expensive option, too, as less need for an invasion fleet(s) early game. Way cool!! [8D]