Summary
- Attacks
- Damage
- Resolving Attacks
- Missing
- Combat type
- Special effects
In a basic sparring game (see other Game Formats) the goal of Dog Fight: Starship Edition™ is to destroy all enemy capital ships. This is done by reducing a vessel's Hull points BELOW zero by inflicting damage. To inflict combat damage you must play ATTACK type cards.
Damage
There are two basic types of damage (attempting to reduce Hull):
- combat damage – caused by attacks
- effect damage – caused by something other than attacks
Damage is calculated to verify its success at a ratio of 1 point of Attack strength of the attacker (or effect damage of an effect) to 1 point of Hull to the target. Hull damage results only if Hull is actually reduced.
To attack a target, that vessel must satisfy these conditions:
- it must be in your vessel's Range
- it must be in Line of Sight
- you must play a card which declares an attack
If a target is not in Line of Sight it is not in Range.
When an ATTACK type card is played (flipped face up in a tier, or discarded from hand to the Discard Pile, etc.), its card text states your vessel can attack. In such actions, your vessel's Attack power (plus/minus any modifiers) translates to combat damage inflicted upon the target (if the target is determined to be in Range).
You must select a valid vessel when initially declaring an attack (the target). You are never required to attack a friendly vessel when declaring a target (though this is optional).
Next, the target gets a chance to respond. Perhaps an equipped card provides an effect which mitigates damage, or a Star card in hand can be played to reduce or avert the damage entirely. What ever the case, if the attack breaches the targets defenses, and damage not absorbed by mitigating factors becomes Hull damage, and the target's Hull is reduced by that amount.
Once an attack is initiated it is not optional and cannot be stopped unless a card text states an attack or a card effect is Nullified. Do not switch targets once declared.
Even if an attacking vessel is destroyed during combat, all declared attacks must be resolved.
Finalize Your Move Rule
When playing an action, you must finalize that action before moving on to another. For example when attacking, if you have any modifiers, apply ALL you wish to apply (such as increasing your Attack power) before continuing (before calculating damage). Other players (i.e., the target player) may then respond with other reactions and must finalize all their actions also. You may not alter your instigating action any further.
Resolving Attacks
When an attack is declared (such as when a Star ATTACK card is discarded or a Normal ATTACK card is flipped face up), a combat action is instigated. The target must be declared at this time; no new target can be selected unless card text specifically states so.
Once the target is known, any modifiers from the attacker must be applied according to the Finalize Your Move rule. Then other players may respond with other effects or modifiers.
Next, damage is calculated. The Resolution of an attack follows these steps in order (see the Combat Sequence card).
If you have no valid target, your attack will miss. Some card effects also make an attack Miss, meaning it hits no target.
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| Missiles ATTACK card: Projectile |
--Special Effects
With vessels frequently moving on the map, some attacks may find no valid target. Hiding behind obstructions is a common way of making an attack miss, but there are ways around this issue.
Some cards state “ignore obstruction limitations” which means you can see a target as if there are no blocked spaces in the way. “Missiles” is commonly used to attack targets hiding behind an obstruction.
--Missing
An attack is declared but hits nothing, and no damage is inflicted. An attack that misses is still an attack, just not a “successful” one. Attacks can miss by preemptive causes (i.e., line of sight issues) or afterward (i.e. player's effect card).
--Combat Type
Attacks have combat type. They can be Projectile, Energy, or Objective (neither projectile nor energy) type.
