Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser Ingame
The Dreadnaught-class Heavy Cruiser, or simply the Dreadnaught, is a heavy frigate available to the Imperial Remnant and Zsinj's Empire in Eras 1–5. It carries an armament of 30/6 Turbolasers and 20/2 Dual Turbolasers.
History[]
The Dreadnaught was designed by Rendili StarDrive for the Republic Judicial Forces some 80 years before the Clone Wars. It was based on the larger Mandalorian Kandosii-type Dreadnaught from the Mandalorian Wars. After being commissioned, it was used to end several major conflicts, but its shortcomings soon became obvious. The most glaring flaw was its enormous crew requirements (16,000 were needed per Dreadnaught). In order to rectify this, the Galactic Republic military installed a full-rig slave circuitry into a fleet of these ships, reducing the crew requirement to 2,200. The fleet, christened the Katana fleet, was lost on its first tour when the crew was infected with a fatal hive virus, slaved the ships together, and made a random jump to hyperspace before the crew died.
In addition to galactic organizations, the Dreadnaught was also utilized by local forces, who found smaller designs more affordable than larger warships. During the Clone Wars, Dreadnaughts saw heavy use in many key battles, including the Battle of Coruscant. Because the more advanced assault ships and Star Destroyers were manned by clones or highly dedicated Republic crews, planetary security forces and volunteer militaries of the Republic made heavy use of the Dreadnaught-class.
Dreadnaughts saw heavy use in the Imperial Navy due to their abundance. They were fitted with a faster hyperdrive and cargo space was converted into a hanger with room for one squad of TIEs. They now saw use as patrol ships, maintaining order over primitive or unimportant worlds. The Rebel Alliance, and later the New Republic, used donated, captured, or stolen Dreadnaughts throughout the Imperial Civil War. Many were converted into the more modern Assault Frigates, which were less manpower intensive and more heavily armed. Formally decommissioned by the New Republic Defense Fleet upon the success of the New Class Project, the Dreadnaught would be called back into active duty once again during the devastating Yuuzhan Vong War as powerful ships became a valuable commodity.
Use In-game[]
The much more deadly Katana Dreadnaught variant.
The Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser is a very reliable, if not somewhat outdated, warship that sees frequent deployment throughout the post-Endor galaxy. Its heavy weaponry, uncharacteristically fragile frame, and decent firing arcs make it a viable and relatively frugal option for escorting larger ships, filling out picket fleets, or providing support fire in direct offensives. As long as they don't start drawing enemy fire, the Dreadnaught cruisers can deal a respectable amount of damage to targets while more threatening warships such as the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer or Lucrehulk-class Battleship keep enemy forces occupied.
Aside from the Dreadnought Cruiser's low damage tolerance, it provides very little fighter support of its own, making it vulnerable to a concentrated fighter/bomber blitz when on its own. The Dreadnaught also lacks any kind of ion weaponry by default, making it more of a finisher than a general hard-hitter. The Dreadnaught was a prolific and long-lasting starship model that spawned two helpful variants:
- Katana Dreadnaught Cruiser - This model includes 2x20/4 ion cannon banks, improving its performance against shielded targets so it can act more as a mainline support fire unit.
- Dreadnaught Heavy Carrier - This model sacrifices a small amount of firepower to hold a more size-appropriate fighter complement.