Praetor Mark II-class Battlecruiser Ingame
The Praetor Mark II-class Battlecruiser is a battlecruiser available to the Imperial Remnant in Era 3 and the Pentastar Alignment in Eras 1-5. It carries an armament of 84/14 Turbolasers, 30/6 Quad Turbolasers, and 84/14 Ion Cannons.
History
The Praetor II was designed in the early days of the Galactic Empire, as a follow-up on the smaller Republic-era Praetor-class Star Battlecruiser. However, they were less fear inspiring than the upcoming Star Dreadnoughts and proved to be less versatile and more costly than the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, leading to production being halted.
Due to this, the Praetors in existence were used to defend key Core worlds. Because of their size and strength, others were used in particularly dangerous missions on the fringes of Imperial space. After the Battle of Endor, Admiral Sander Delvardus used a Praetor, the Thalassa, as the flagship of his warlord splinter faction.
Use Ingame
The Praetor II is the largest ship available to the Pentastar Alignment, and the largest ship, without a build limit, for the Imperial Remnant. As it is available to the Pentastar Alignment for all five eras, it is much more commonly seen in PA hands. A large and slow ship, a single Praetor is generally fielded as the centerpiece of a task force, with various support ships providing backup. The Praetor's weaponry has extremely long range, allowing it to attack most ships and Golans before they can retaliate. Their high population count (9) means that, only in rare situations, you see more than one in a battle (groups of four have been known to engage SSDs, however).
The main weakness of the Praetor is its high population cost for what you get. For 9 population points (6 less than an SSD) the Praetor is a third as powerful, only carrying 13 squadrons with a max of 6 at a time (the Executor-class Star Dreadnought has 30 with 9 at a time providing long-term fighter support while the Venator-class Star Destroyer carries 12 squads for 3 population points). However, the strong armor and shields of a Praetor make it an excellent frontline unit and guardian for important planets. In short, the Praetor is a heavy capital ship that provides a high rate of fire, a damage sink, and fighter support.