While ships are used for offensive actions, there are defensive structures for defensive players to protect their planets from other players. They are built the same way as ships and from then on are always ready to fight against attacking ships. Depending on how many defenses one builds, one can defend more or less resources from other players, as a big defense makes attacks unprofitable for other players.
There are also some players who systematically attack heavily-defended planets (also called turtles).
Balanced buildup
When building a fleet there are some major points you have to pay attention to. The same goes for defenses. The amount of defensive structures should always be matched with the needs of the planet/moon that the defense is built on.
If your goal is to just save the resources you produce over night it would be overkill to build a huge turtle worth hundreds and thousands of points.
However, if you want to defend your whole fleet (at least for a while) you obviously need a much bigger defense. The right mixture of the different defenses is very important too.
Similar to small ships, small defensive-units later take the role of "cannon fodder", while you build the big guns for the big bang.
But no matter how strong your defense is and how well thought-out its design is, the best defense is the one that's never used. When you're unprofitable for even the strongest players in your universe you're almost 100% sure to not be attacked.
Exceptions are:
- above mentioned "turtle-hunters". They'll smash you to pieces just for fun.
- You play in a special universe where a certain % of the defense-cost goes to a debris-field when its destroyed (def-to-DF-unis). In such unis a big defense is like a free BBQ for all players with a strong fleet, as defense can't run away from an attack. An example of a .US Defense-to-Debris is Draco.us, which is 30% Ships and 30% Defense to Debris
Chance of reconstruction
As said, defensive units can't fly or magically disappear, so they can't be saved from attacks. But if they are destroyed during an attack, it is not the end. In ogame every type of defense has a chance of 70% to be repaired after it was destroyed during an attack. If you use the premium-feature "engineer" the chance is 85% (see Premium features).
This feature doesn't allow your enemies to wipe out your defense in just 1 run. They have to fly numerous attacks against your planet before everything is gone.
Another way to destroy defense is by using interplanetary missiles.
The different defensive units
Even though all defenses have the same purpose, to protect your planet from enemy attacks, some units are more specialized then others. It is basically the same with ships. All units play their own important part, but only when combined with the others are they the most effective.
Rocket launcher
The first available defense-unit in OGame is the rocket launcher. It's the cheapest unit too. It is especially used in the later game-stages as cannon fodder.....huge masses of them spread enemy fire and give the big guns a better chance to survive and hand out damage.
Its biggest disadvantage is, that some ship-types (especially cruisers) have a very high rapid-fire against them. So you should combine them with Light Lasers.
| Technical data:
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| Hull:
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| Shield:
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| Weapon:
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| Costs:
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| Metal:
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| Crystal:
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| Deuterium:
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Light Laser
The light laser is the second cannon fodder-unit. Slightly more expensive then the rocket launcher, it has a bit better stats and cruisers don't have rapid-fire against them.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
200
|
| Shield:
|
25
|
| Weapon:
|
100
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
1.500
|
| Crystal:
|
500
|
| Deuterium:
|
0
|
Heavy Laser
The heavy laser is too expensive for the role of cannon fodder, but it still shouldn't be missing in any good defense. They are especially good against light fighters as each shot of a heavy laser can kill 1 light fighter.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
800
|
| Shield:
|
100
|
| Weapon:
|
250
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
6.000
|
| Crystal:
|
2.000
|
| Deuterium:
|
0
|
Ion Cannon
No defensive unit has stronger shields then the Ion cannon, making it very durable. Its high crystal-costs in addition with its low attack-strength make it less popular then Heavy Lasers or Gauss Cannons.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
800
|
| Shield:
|
500
|
| Weapon:
|
150
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
2.000
|
| Crystal:
|
6.000
|
| Deuterium:
|
0
|
Gauss Cannon
Long before you have access to the Plasma Turret you'll be able to build Gauss Cannons, the second-strongest defensive-units. Their good attack power makes them especially good against cruisers and battleships.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
3.500
|
| Shield:
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200
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| Weapon:
|
1.100
|
| Costs:
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| Metal:
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20.000
|
| Crystal:
|
15.000
|
| Deuterium:
|
2.000
|
Plasma Turret
The biggest gun with the highest price. The needed researches alone are a fortune for players in the early days of their career, and the turret itself is pretty expensive too. But what you get in return is the strongest gun, powerful enough to fend off even big ships like destroyers or deathstars. It is most efficient when you add cannon fodder to protect it as long as possible to allow it to deal out huge amounts of damage.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
10.000
|
| Shield:
|
300
|
| Weapon:
|
3.000
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
50.000
|
| Crystal:
|
50.000
|
| Deuterium:
|
30.000
|
Small Shield Dome
Shield domes do absolutely no harm to enemy ships (except probes), but that isn't their purpose anyways.
In the earlier game-stages even 1 small shield dome alone can fend off a whole enemy fleet, which usually consists only of cargoes. That is because those ships lack the attack strength to penetrate the shield itself and thus can't destroy the dome.
You can only build 1 small shield dome per planet.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
2.000
|
| Shield:
|
2.000
|
| Weapon:
|
1
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
10.000
|
| Crystal:
|
10.000
|
| Deuterium:
|
0
|
Large Shield Dome
What goes for the small dome goes for the large dome too....but just in a bigger scale. In a hit with only light fighters, no matter how many are used, they can't do any harm against the large dome and have to fly home empty-handed.
You can also build only 1 large shield dome per planet.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
10.000
|
| Shield:
|
10.000
|
| Weapon:
|
1
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
50.000
|
| Crystal:
|
50.000
|
| Deuterium:
|
0
|
Anti-Ballistic Missile
Anti-Ballistic Missiles are a special type of defensive units. They're not designed to fight enemy ships, but instead to shoot down incoming Interplanetary Missiles. Each anti-ballistic-missile can take out one interplanetary missile. See
Interplanetary Missiles for more.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
800
|
| Shield:
|
1
|
| Weapon:
|
1
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
8.000
|
| Crystal:
|
0
|
| Deuterium:
|
2.000
|
Interplanetary Missile
With Interplanetary Missiles you can clean an enemies planet from defense without launching a single ship. They destroy the defense without rebuilding, so when using them you can wipe out entire defenses completely. See
Interplanetary Missiles for more.
| Technical data:
|
| Hull:
|
1.500
|
| Shield:
|
1
|
| Weapon:
|
12.000
|
| Costs:
|
| Metal:
|
12.500
|
| Crystal:
|
2.500
|
| Deuterium:
|
10.000
|
