Air Superiority Tactics

Master air combat in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri! Learn how Air Superiority ability transforms units like Needlejets and 'Copters, and how ground/naval units can engage threats.

Alright, let's talk about dominating the skies in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri! This is all about the Air Superiority special unit ability. You'll need the Doctrine: Air Power) tech to get it, and it costs 1 production point. Basically, this ability equips your units with the missiles needed to shoot down enemy flyers, like Needlejets and those pesky Locusts of Chiron). Here's how it changes things: * For Needlejets and 'Copters: They become 'Interceptors' (or 'Tactical'/'Interceptor' for Needlejets, and 'Lifter'/'Rotor' for 'Copters, depending on their weapon tech). They lose about 20% of their range and won't cause pacifism drones anymore when inside your territory. On offense, they get a massive +100% attack bonus against non-Interceptor air units. However, watch out – they take a -50% penalty when attacking ground units. When defending against air attacks, they use their weapon value (without the +100% bonus) instead of armor, and can even scramble to protect nearby units. * For Non-Flying Units: If you give this ability to units that don't fly, they just gain the ability to attack air units using their normal attack power against both air and ground. * For Artillery and Naval Units: Ground units with the Heavy Artillery) ability and naval units need Air Superiority to hit flying targets. This is a really solid way to deal with Locusts of Chiron) because it bypasses psi combat and can damage the whole stack at once. When ground and naval units get this ability, they'll be labeled with the prefix "SAM" (surface-to-air missiles). Pretty neat, right?