Battlefleet Gothic Armada 2 Ship Guide

Ship Classifications and Roles

There are six tiers of ships, and each one is a trade-off between speed, tankiness, firepower, and cost. If you don’t know where a ship sits on this spectrum, you’ve already lost.

Escorts

Small, fast, and totally expendable. Escorts can’t be flagships, can’t use boarding actions or Lightning Strikes, and can’t take admirals. That’s a lot of “can’ts,” which tells you their job: they are support, not the main event. They’re great for scouting, capping zones, and acting as a meat shield against torpedoes. Their Silent Running stance (also on light cruisers) makes them invisible unless they open fire. Use them like submarines – sneak them onto the flanks, pop your scanners to spot the enemy, and let them soak up incoming fire before it hits your big ships.

Also, those spurs on Imperial escorts? They boost ramming damage by 300%. If you’re going down, take someone with you.

Light Cruisers

The middle ground. These sit right between “fragile escort” and “slow cruiser.” They still get Silent Running, so they’re great for sneaky plays. They pack real heat – torpedoes, lances, or bays – without being as slow or expensive as the heavy hitters. Use them to flank, harass carriers, or just act as a mobile torpedo platform. They can be flagships in a pinch and carry enough troops to actually make a boarding action stick.

Cruisers

The backbone of your fleet. Cruisers are the perfect balance of guns, health, and speed. Most of them are packing broadside macros, torpedoes, or Nova Cannons. They have enough troops to be a serious threat in boarding, and they make solid flagships. There’s a ton of variety here – some are snipers, some are carriers, some just want to brawl. This is where the real strategy happens.

Battlecruisers

Heavier than a standard cruiser but cheaper and faster than the massive stuff. Battlecruisers usually bring launch bays or special weapons on top of their standard guns. They hit harder than a cruiser but won’t bankrupt your point total like a battleship. Think of these as “premium” cruisers. Take them when you need more punch but can’t afford to be slow.

Grand Cruisers

Huge, slow, and loaded with guns. These are just one step below battleships. They’re way tougher than cruisers and usually feature massive broadside arrays or launch bays. They cost a lot of points, and losing one is a massive blow to your momentum. Use them as second-line heavies. Let your cruisers get in close while these things provide overwhelming fire from mid-range.

Battleships

The absolute units. Battleships have the biggest guns, the most troops, and the thickest hull. But they are slow as hell. Most of them have Low Maneuverability, meaning they can’t do High Energy Turns. A battleship is a massive investment. If you bring one, it is your strategy. Protect it, anchor your line with it, and for the love of the Emperor, don’t let it get caught alone.

Class Comparison Table

Common Ship Systems and Stances

Before we talk factions, you need to understand these mechanics. They apply to almost everyone.

Plasma Reactor Maneuvers

If your ship has a Plasma Reactor, you get three main moves:

• All Ahead Full (AF): Boosts speed by 200% but burns 4 combustion points a second. It also breaks stealth immediately. Use it to close the gap, line up a torpedo run, or run away when things get hairy.
• High Energy Turn (HET): Boosts turn speed by 200%. This is your “snap-turn” button for lining up broadsides or dodging. It’s expensive (10 points/sec), and Battleships can’t use it.
• Burn Retros (BR): Slams on the brakes. You stop moving forward but can still spin. Perfect for when you overshoot a target and need to stay in broadside range.

Stances

Stances share a cooldown, so you can’t just spam them. Picking one is a real tactical choice.

• Lock On: Gives you +4.5km range, +20 accuracy, and +50% crit chance. This is how you maximize damage. Use it for long-range sniping or when you need to strip shields fast.
• Brace For Impact: Cuts hull damage by 25% and makes your defense turrets actually hit things. This is your “don’t die” button. If torpedoes or bombers are incoming, pop this.
• Reload: Cuts cooldowns for weapons and maneuvers by 25%, makes macros fire 40% faster, and refills your combustion gauge quicker. Use this before you launch planes or fire a Nova Cannon to get them back online faster.
• Silent Running: Escorts and Light Cruisers only. You go invisible. Firing your guns breaks it. This is what makes escorts scary – they can sit on objectives or flank without the enemy knowing they’re there.

Scanner Skill

Reveals everything within 13.5km for 45 seconds. Marked ships can’t go back into stealth. This is the hard counter to sneaky fleets. You need at least one ship with this.

Troop Transfer

Sends 1 troop to a nearby ally (within 9km). It won’t go over their max, and it puts your boarding skills on cooldown. It’s niche, but it can save a ship from being turned into a drifting hulk.

Line-Ship Commands (Cruisers and up)

• Emergency Repairs: Fixes light crits (the orange ones) and puts out fires. Do not let fires stack – fix them immediately.
• Call to Arms: Cuts incoming boarding damage by 50%. The catch? Your speed drops by half, your guns take twice as long to reload, and your shields stop regenerating. It’s a “survival at all costs” button.
• Summary Execution: Restores 400 morale, 30% shields, and 50 combustion. It costs you 1 troop. If your crew is about to mutiny, shoot someone to remind them who’s in charge.

Weapon Types and Characteristics

How you position your ship depends entirely on what guns you’re carrying.

Imperial Torpedo Launcher

• Damage: 110 per torp
• Armor Shred: – 25 on hit
• Crit Chance: 27.5%
• Bypass: Goes straight through shields.
• Interceptable: Yes, fighters and turrets can shoot them down.

Melta variant: These start fires. 2 hull and 4 morale damage per second for 45 seconds. If you can’t crack their armor, just set them on fire.

Light Macro Turret

• Damage: 7 per hit
• Range: 9,000
• Accuracy: Drops off hard. At 4.5km it’s 80%, but at 18km it’s only 20%.
• DPS: ~1.2 – 2.4

Macros are useless at long range unless you’re in Lock On stance.

Light Lance Artillery

• Damage: 15
• Range: 9,000
• Special: Lances never miss. 100% accuracy, always. They also pierce armor.

If the enemy is kiting you at max range, lances are the only way you’re going to hit them.

Heavy Lance Artillery

• Damage: 24 – 32
• Crit Chance: 12 – 16%
• Special: Bigger, meaner lances. Usually found on the big boys.

Nova Cannon

• Reload: 60s
• Damage: 400 center / 200 edge
• Special: Massive AOE skillshot.

The Nova Cannon is a game-changer. One good shot can ruin a whole cluster of ships. Pro tip: Cruisers with Nova Cannons are often better than battleships because you can bring more of them for the same price.

Launch Bays & Squadrons

• Interceptors: Your shield against torpedoes and bombers.
• Bombers: Reliable damage against slow targets.
• Assault Boats: Boarding from a distance.

Star Pulse Generator (Necron)

The ultimate “get off me” tool. It deletes incoming torpedoes and fighters and shocks nearby ships. If you’re fighting Necrons, don’t rely on bombers.

Imperial Navy Ship Classes

The Navy is the most versatile faction. You’ve got torpedoes, carriers, lances, and Nova Cannons. They’re slow, but they hit like a freight train and can take a beating.

Escorts

• Cobra: Pure torpedo boat. Fast, cheap, and dangerous.
• Widowmaker: Scout. It doesn’t do damage, but it sees everything.
• Sword: The best brawler escort. Great broadside damage.
• Falchion: A solid mix of torpedoes and macros.

Light Cruisers

• Dauntless: Has a front-facing Heavy Lance. Great for long-range poking.
• Endeavour: The broadside king of light cruisers.
• Defiant: A “mini-carrier.” Great for harassing Orks.

Cruisers

• Dictator: Pure carrier. No lances, just planes.
• Gothic: All lances. Needs someone else to strip shields first.
• Dominator: The Nova Cannon king. Use it to control the map.
• Tyrant: A brutal close-range brawler.
• Lunar: The perfect all-rounder. It does everything well.

Battlecruisers

• Overlord: A Tyrant with more lances. Very mean.
• Mars: A Nova Cannon carrier. Probably the best flagship in the fleet.

Grand Cruisers

• Avenger: Has nearly 19 DPS per broadside. If you get in range, it deletes things.
• Exorcist: A massive fleet carrier. Keep it protected.

Battleships

• Retribution: The broadside king. Faster than other battleships and hits harder.
• Emperor: A massive carrier with huge sensor range.
• Apocalypse: Has Overload Lances. In Lock On stance, its range is insane.

Asuryani (Craftworld Aeldari)

Aeldari don’t brawl. They dance. They kite you at range, hit you with perfect accuracy, and fire torpedoes that ignore your armor.

The catch? They are made of glass. If you catch them, they die. They use holofields instead of shields, which are great until someone drops a Disruption Bomb.

• Shadowhunter: Your basic harassment escort.
• Wraithships: Light cruisers that act as carriers or torpedo boats.
• Dragonships: The cruiser versions. The Starfall is a legendary torpedo threat.

Necron Ship Classes

Necrons are the tech gods. Their ships repair themselves, have heavy armor, and can teleport. They have tiny fleets, so every loss is a disaster.

• Dirge/Jackal: Fast escorts.
• Shroud: A stealthy carrier. Very annoying to deal with.
• Scythe Harvester/Reaper: These carry the Star Pulse Wave. Essential for stopping torpedo spam.
• Cairn: A 500-point battleship. It’s a monster, but if it dies, you lose.

Space Marine Ship Classes

Marines play by their own rules. They are immune to morale. You can’t make them run. They also have the best boarding in the game.

• Strike Cruisers: Tougher than Navy cruisers and carry way more troops.
• Battle Barges: Boarding monsters. They carry 25 troops and can launch Thunderhawks to board you from across the map.
• Boarding Torpedoes: These don’t just do damage – they deliver Marines. And Marine torpedoes home in on you.

Pro Tips & Counters

How to beat the Navy

• Stay mobile. They are slow. Don’t let them choose the engagement.
• Target engines. A stationary Navy ship is a dead Navy ship.
• Dodge the Nova Cannons. Don’t cluster your ships.

How to beat Aeldari

• Disruption Bombs. This kills their holofields. Once the fields are down, they melt.
• Close the gap. They want to kite. Don’t let them.

How to beat Necrons

• Focus fire. You have to outpace their regeneration.
• Target engines. If they can’t teleport, they can’t escape.

How to beat Marines

• Do NOT board them. You will lose.
• Keep your distance. They want to get close and send in the Terminators. Deny them that.

The void doesn’t care about your feelings, but it does care about your stats. Use this info, pick your targets, and stop watching your fleet burn.