Let me see if I can synopsize this particular discussion:
Advantages for Reapers:
1. More military experience in one Reaper than in all the civilizations in the current cycle.
2. Better shields, weapons, flank speed and communication.
3. No supply lines, industrial bases or communication hubs.
4. Non-negotiable, will not be distracted from task.
5. Able to assess and assimilate data at AI-on-steroids-speed.
6. Creators of the technology used by all galactic races.
7. Able to go anywhere in the galaxy.
Advantages for Galaxy/Alliance:
1. First cycle to foil the Citadel trap, granting extra time.
2. Already possess weapons developed from Reaper tech (Thanix cannon, Quantum Entanglers).
3. United completely, unlike any other cycle.
4. Built and keep Crucible, which identifies each and every Reaper and Relay in existence, w/o touching the Citadel.
5. Specialists that devote their time solely to design strategies and weapons.
6. Already killed a Sovereign class, and two Destroyer class Reapers.
7. Able to build the Crucible (massive energy system) within months of receiving data.
8. Geth are united behind galaxy.
9. Rachni are ready to rock.
Disadvantages to Reapers:
1. Confidence; constantly surprised at organic subtlety, Shepard especially.
2. No concept of guerrila tactics, constant barrage and overwhelming forces.
3. Reliance on captured enemy units for infantry.
4. Require extended periods of time to rebuild Sovereing class/Destroyer class units.
5. Do not have ability to track every Relay, although possibly have contact with each existing Reaper (doubtful).
6. Lack of cleanup protocol; dead Reapers all over (IFF, Leviathan).
7. Originally started by flawed organic programming.
8. Cerberus.
9. Geth are united.
Disadvantages to Galaxy/Alliance:
1. Outgunned, and overwhelmed.
2. Inferior technology.
3. Lack of military experience.
4. Unity and cooperative agreements only recently achieved.
5. Distrust within ranks.
6. Cerberus.
7. Quarian/Geth are either dead, or very very careful.
8. Rachni might be dead, or impeding progress.
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It seems to me that the only real advantages the Reapers have is experience, communication, and massive overwhelming force. This is good as a tactic, but not as a strategy (Gen. Von Clausewitz states a tactic as being limited to a battle/engagement, while a strategy is the overall war plan).
Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, but lost because he didn't bring along a defensible supply line, and invaded just before "General Winter" arrived. Reapers do not need supply lines, but they can overextend themselves.
Tactic 1.
The Reapers need enemies to be dead, or captured (hence delivered into Reaper controlled areas) so they can develop husks, cannibals, marauders, brutes and banshees. No capture/kills, no infantry.
This can be used by equipping all soldier units with thermonuclear warheads (or similar weapons), getting captured and going off within the enemy stronghold (Miracle of Palaven...Reapers didn't see *that* one coming).
Premise 1:
Assuming that the Reapers are in contact with the Relays, they have accurate counts on how many ships come through, and where and when. However, unless the Reapers have FTL sensors (detecting data from FTL space), the Relays are limited to lightspeed sensory recording. Going from Jupiter to Earth at lightspeed still takes more than 40 minutes; from Pluto it would be a minimum of 5.6 hours at the minimum.
Fact 1: It is known that Alliance ships, and their colleagues, can travel at FTL speeds w/o a Relay (Arrival DLC pegs Reapers Alpha shortcut blowout as a 2 year delay at best Alliance speed).
Fact 2: Light is a constant, always traveling at 300,000 km per second (rounded). Traveling faster than the speed of light eliminates the detection of FTL by lightspeed measures.
Fact 3: The Crucible has a Realtime position on all Reapers and Mass relays.
Conclusion: Ships can journey from Charon to Earth in under 6 hours, knowing where the Reapers are positioned to the third decimal point. The Reapers will know that ships have arrived, but will not know where they are positioned, or from which direction they will ultimately arrive.
Tactic 2:
Assuming the Reapers have spotters/w QE's between the Relay and Earth, Alliance ships will be generally located. However, any Reaper vessels in those positions would be already known, due to the Crucible.
Therefore, isolated Reapers (required for sentry duty) could be overwhelmed, increasing the repair needs and/or replacements which are slow for Reapers.
Premise 2:
Fact: FTL engines have built in safeguards that shut down when in presence of another high-gravity location. Assume this is ingrained to the engine, a gift from the Reapers' technology that organics build upon.
Fact: Geth followed their own technological pattern, but possibly had FTL drives derived from the Quarians.
Fact: Geth also take up the least amount of space, and require neither air or gravity.
Fact: Newtons First Law of Motion (quoted in ME2) indicate that an object in motion will stay in motion, unless acted upon by an outside force.
Therefore, simple mass requires no FTL engine to maintain motion.
Tactic 3:
Two fleets depart for target system, first fleet arriving to remove sentry units in-between Relay and target.
Place masses with minimal life-support required for Geth (keep costs down) and direction change boosters within holds of freighters or larger warships in the second fleet. Use Relays to reach Earh, Palaven or Thessia (all target rich environments) and depart the relay at FTL speeds.
Stop at location where the FTL speed still passes the lightspeed data reaching target and activate the masses (asteroids, wrecked fighters, eezo bombs, ad nauseum). Maintaint FTL protection (bulges in ship hull to contain the masses within the ships FTL field), and deploy apx 2 lightminutes out from target.
Use ships mass to haul secondary masses close to lightspeed (0-lightspeed exemplified by EDI/Joker in ME2 escaping the Collector), and release.
Masses can engage multiple countermeasures, deploying chaff, separating into multiple sections, EM pulses,etc.
Fleet may then engage, flee or continue other mission objectives (rescue, etc).
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Overall strategy:
1. Keep bodies away from Reapers, or sabotage the bodies if they must be captured. No bodies=no infantry.
2. Suicide missions are made incredibly more efficient and cost-effective when the individual carrying out the mission survives. Geth can download themselves much faster than an escape pod, and have the highest likelihood of survival. Lacking Geth, advanced VI's or volunteers would be needed.
3. Form fleets away from Crucible, and keep Crucible in hiding. Do not store fleets or supplies near Crucible; use Crucible for Reaper data and as a central R&D think tank.
4. Find the link that connects all Reapers (relatively) and try to plug in the Crucible, set to override. Reaper cores must contain eezo, overriding them would cause self-destruct. wait...
EDIT: for spelling, grammar.
EDIT 2: Experience counters for a lot, but it didn't counter Sovereign, or the Miracle of Palaven. It also didn't counter the Battle for Rannoch, or Tuchanka. In war, experience only lets you gain the advantage at the beginning on occasion, and in part permits faster tactic planning (on the fly, as it were). It also allows accumulation of useless data which must be sorted through (do the Reapers really need the data on the slug-species from cycle 3,402 that reacted/w salt?). All that data would take time, even for a supercomputer.
Modifié par V-rcingetorix, 02 août 2012 - 06:30 .
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