Matrix Games Forums

Just to clarify, if I set a ship stance to, for example, defend the sector around it's home planet, do I also need to put the fleet on autopilot, or is just setting the stance enough to make it defend the area?

A mission like patrol I am pretty sure will be maintained until you give it another order like to refit. Automating it will cause it to be given other orders.

ORIGINAL: Zygon

Just to clarify, if I set a ship stance to, for example, defend the sector around it's home planet, do I also need to put the fleet on autopilot, or is just setting the stance enough to make it defend the area?

I will generally automate my defensive fleets by assigning them a base, setting their posture to defend, then define their desired range (system, nearby systems, or sector). This seems to work fairly well as they will engage any targets within range, then return to base when finished. I found if you don't automate them, they'll just sit at the last place they engaged the enemy rather than returning to base.

HTH

If i remember right, a ship stance to defend a sector don't exist. The biggest range for ship stance are current system.
And yes a ship with the stance current system will engage all enemies in that system even on Manaual after they become idle (so long there are no bug to prevent the ship to do this).
But after all system enemies are destroyed or gone, the ship becomes idle just at the place it is.
If you want that the ship fly back to a special place you need to give it a patrol order.
But when the ship runs out of fuel it will head for the next refueling point for refuel and stay there.
If you want that the ship continuous defend/patrol a place you need to form a fleet. Set the homepoint of that fleet to the place you want to defend. Don't forget to set the fleet stance too. Then put the fleet on automatic.