Created Tuesday 23 November 2021
Raptors start the war with a strong close-combat advantage. And their subsequent efforts are mostly focused on increasing this advantage. It's a high-risk/high-gain strategy, but they're also not the most flexible in their thinking.
But it is a pretty big advantage. They have the mass and strength bears (albeit very lanky bears) and their toxicity makes even overoffing planetary combat dangerous.
Less so for unearthly planets where humans already have deep protections against the elements. But even there, it matters: You simply can't populate unearthly planets with that many humans (the per-human costs are inherently steeper) and costs also tend to make those humans clump around bases. Infect those bases and the humans suffer mightily.
So, yeah, robots help a lot for planetary combat.
Anyway, their weaponry tends to be short-ranged. Even underoffing short. With mines, traps, and projectiles dominating.So, yeah, robots help a lot for planetary combat.
They also have melee weapons, but since they're already so dominant in physical combat, what they start the war with pretty much suffices.
- Crazy-long, telescoping spears and long-range javelins.
- Swords that are hard to see and cut through many materials.
- And, of course, poinsoned weapons
So, yeah, one of the worst jobs for humans turns out to be heavy infantry. They struggle mightily. (The other is far jumpers. The pioneers and couriers.)