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Hovers aren't disposable, they are expensive and get move critted very easily. Who cares about maintenance? We are talking about a unit that has a short shelf life. Most of the time when invading flat zones, pegs and plainsmen get move critted after 2-3 fire phases. I'd rather lose something I *don't* care about. These units wouldn't be stored for long periods of time. They are kamikaze units designed to take out zones with 100 Hunters and 50 IDF towers. 3 batts and everything in the zone should be mangled. Heck, you might even get central and kill the IDF towers if there is a path of buildings blocking LOS.

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Yes they get move critted, but often its an air skirt for -1 move which still makes them still alot faster than strikers. And who cares about maint. I do... unless you think you can reasonably just keep then stored in the armoury and break them out and commission them in time? You can do that with ABR troops, but with this unit I would think you need them when you find the type of zone and cannot wait for them to get through the obligatory training time when commissioning. Maint. is the overriding factor to deciding your empires force composition. Maint. for the money it costs and SP for OMT consideration. You want the most bang per Maint. dollar (or most bang per Support Point).

As for the economics of it. Hrrrrmmm I see you point, and its one alot of folks have, and I never look at it that way. Let me explain. I don't care too much about the initial cost of a tank. Once I have decent defenses, the issue to me is efficacy per dollar spent in maintenance. To keep a healthy economy, one needs to have the best bang per buck NOT in initial cost but in maint. per day. There is also the factor of having the best tanks so you get the most out of your low skill gunners. But looking at it purely from an economic standpoint I want the best tanks I can get for the maint. I hate Snipers for example, I use them because you must, but 70tonne wheeled pisses me off I am currently replacing Snipers with Beh-IDF as they Beh is less maint. Will still have to keep some snipers though for the extra range. But I digress.. the point is your offensive forces (that are not just ABR formations) that you plan on piloting I don't care how much they initially cost as much as I care what they are costing me per day. So that is why I see these Hovertanks as much more effective. It not like I would keep alot of them. A company or so for offensive ops with perhaps another company in storage to replace losses. As an offensive component they are only effective in certain situations, flat-like zones with little trees, then they would be effective.

Now are you suggesting these STR-03's would be ABR troops you use in Battalions? You seem to suggest that, or are you saying you would bring them in on AI using battalion orders? I really have been thinking you intended on using them as quick strike forces you controlled in order to try and reach and destroy high value vehicles/towers through IDF. In effect I thought you were saying to try and get through to hit the IDF towers or past the line to the Snipers?

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