Judgement

From Galaxypedia

The Judgement is a Shield-oriented Support/PvP Dreadnought. It is an extremely good ship for the destruction of large ships.

Description

The Judgement is a sturdy Dreadnought that deals high long-range Turret damage and has massive Shield health, making it useful for shield tanking and sieges.

Appearance

The Judgement is white, with neon blue near it's wings. The U.N.E logo can be seen on its sides, as well as the text "Judgement-class Dreadnought" on both sides of the mid-bow of the ship. The entrance teleporter leads to a tall room with several displays in front of the seat, with three of them being mounted on a desk; representing a personal computer. Behind the exit teleporter (which is a small, embedded yellow square) is a door (presumably of that which represents an elevator) that leads to a much larger room that houses the ship's reactor, which pulsates a light, neon blue color. The walls of the room have black stripes running all the way across as well as U.N.E insignias; and the floor has a lightly checkered appearance.

Advantages

  • Highest shield HP of any dreadnought.
  • Long range turrets can be effective for sieging starbases while taking little damage.
  • Can tank very effectively against kinetic weaponry due to the high shield health.
  • High alpha damage is useful for scaring away players and destroying low health ships very quickly.
  • High total health for a Dreadnought (15,500 total HP).
  • Warping under small ships can almost guarantee a kill.
  • One of the best normal dreadnoughts for destroying crippled ships due to the high alpha damage and high health.
  • Two or three of these in a group can be devastating from the sheer alpha damage alone, allowing you to easily cripple or finish off large ships.

Disadvantages

  • Amazingly low Hull health makes it incredibly weak to anti-shield weaponry (and shield breaker-type ships, by the same token), putting it lower than all Dreadnoughts except the SR-71.
  • Very sluggish.
  • Has a huge blind spot underneath the ship, which cannot be easily countered by turning due to the slow turn speed.
  • Very large profile when not facing head-on, allowing even very inaccurate turrets and spinals to hit with ease.
  • Inaccurate turrets can make it difficult to strike small ships outside of close range, and the turrets have a long reload time.
  • Due to most of its health being Shield-based, this ship struggles to tank Starbases from below, where a Starbase's turrets have the least lines of sight but also where the Starbase's heavy laser armament is focused. This makes the Judgement worse for using as a tank in sieges than almost any other Dreadnought, most of which have high Hull health or a good balance between Hull and Shield health.
  • On paper the Judgement seems useful for sieging, and while it is able to siege, it doesn't do so very well in practice thanks to the mediocre damage output, shield-based health, and lack of defense against small ships.
  • Unsuitable for most close-range brawling situations thanks to the poor mobility, long turret reload, and large bottom blind-spot. Best suited to hit-and-run tactics.
  • Expensive compared to other Dreadnoughts.

Strategy

  • This ship can tank most other Capital Ships without good shield breaking weapons, so make sure to know which are shield breakers before choosing to attack.
  • Punishers stand no chance against your lasers and high health, kill all the aliens and kill the Punisher afterward. This is an easy way to gain money, considering that you also have 355 cargo hold. Be careful not to tank Outriders while fighting Punishers.
  • Avoid heavy shield breakers, especially the Sagittarius, Zeus or Jupiter.
  • Use this to counter Sieges from your own base(s) with its long-range weapons.
  • Watch out for Pirates that may attempt to attack your ship after a siege.
  • Can be useful against the Decimator with its high shield, but be careful, as being hulled while fighting the Decimator can be a death sentence. Try to stay close to the rear of the Decimator so it's forward facing weaponry cannot shoot you. Make sure to bring a ship with accurate turrets to support you, or the smaller aliens will be a problem.
  • Get under starbases and open fire on them to slowly drain the health away, and tank incoming fire so other ships in your fleet can open fire on the starbase. Beware of the fact that starbases do a lot of shield damage.
  • Avoid tanking to Hull at all costs, as the hull health is so little that it is a death sentence if you get hulled. As a general rule of thumb, start retreating when you have 1,000-3,000 Shield HP remaining (depending on the firepower you are being targetted with) to avoid being hulled.
  • If your other teammates happen to have a Judgement, always try to use it in a group of at least two or more of the same ship. This allows you to ambush enemies with a combined alpha damage that will instantaneously cripple most normal battleships, if not destroy them; as well as having enough health to get away without being destroyed.
  • If you find a slow Battlecruiser or a Miner like the Commercial Miner, warp under them and unleash your alpha damage. Two salvos will usually be enough to destroy them, provided your turrets don't miss. Keep in mind that the reload time may give them plenty of time to escape.
  • Always utilize hit-and-run tactics where possible to minimize losses to your health, while still getting the most out of your weaponry.
  • If you see a crippled capital ship attempting to retreat to its base, chase it down and destroy it with your heavy-hitting turret armament. Your Shields should be able to hold up against any defending ships and the Starbase for long enough for you to safely escape without being hulled. However, do not take the risk of warping into a very powerful defense fleet alone; and only do so with support.
  • Never brute force targets, always micro-warp under them repeatedly to get out of their line of sight and unleash your high alpha.

Version History

  • Hull increased from 2000 to 2500 and Turn Speed increased from 0.08 to 0.1 in .65b.
  • Shield increased from 12000 to 14500, Hull increased from 2500 to 3000, granted a third Heavy Railgun and Turn Speed reduced from 0.1 to 0.07 in version .65b
  • Nerfed in version .66b - Shield reduced from 14500 to 12500, turn speed reduced from 0.07 to 0.04.
  • Replaced Heavy Lasers with Heavy LR in version .66b
  • Price lowered in version .66b
  • Turret loadout changed in version .72c20
  • Shield lowered from 12500 to 11000, Hull increased from 3000 to 4000, description changed and received a loadout change in version .72c30.
  • 3 Heavy LR Lasers changed to 3 Super LR Lasers and 2 Heavy Railguns changed to 2 Heavy Siege Railguns in version .73c10.
  • 2 Super LR Lasers changed to 2 Heavy LR Lasers in version .73c10.
  • Received a model retexture, and granted an interior in version 74b14.
  • Interior removed in unknown version.
  • Turret loadout changed from 1 Super LR Laser, 4 Heavy LR Lasers, 2 Heavy Siege Railguns, and 1 Heavy Railgun to 2 Super LR Lasers, 2 Heavy LR Lasers, 3 Heavy Railguns, and 3 Heavy Siege Railguns in version .75a5.
  • 3 Heavy Railguns changed to 2 Medium Railguns and 1 Heavy Railgun, 2 Super LR Lasers and 2 Heavy LR Lasers changed to 1 Super LR Laser and 3 Heavy LR Lasers, and model collisions adjusted to allow for better line of sight on the side mounted turrets in version .75a5.
  • Explosion Size 225 ----> 740 .75a12
  • Shield HP increased from 11,000 to 14,000, Hull HP decreased from 4,000 to 1,500, 2 Medium Railguns replaced with 2 Heavy Railguns, and one additional Heavy LR Laser added (3 Heavy LR Laser, 3 Heavy Siege Railgun, 2 Medium Railgun, 1 Super LR Laser >>> 4 Heavy LR Laser, 1 Super LR Laser, 3 Heavy Siege Railgun, 2 Heavy Railgun); as well as a revamp of the current model (interior changed, trails changed, minor exterior appearance adjustments) in version .75a20.
  • Medium Cannon/Laser --> Heavy Cannon/Laser respectively .76d28

Trivia

  • The previous Judgement model resembled a similar looking Ammarian ship from Eve Online called the Revelation.
  • The current model is similar in appearance to the Raven.
  • The original model was much smaller than the current model in-game.
  • The Decimator was added over a year after the Judgement was added, despite it being mentioned on the Judgement's old build menu description.
  • Many use the ship for its alpha damage and tank capabilities; similar to the Astraeus.
  • Can quite easily solo a Punisher if you stay below it, but beware of the supporting fleet, if any.