| This is the article on the ship used by the Kadeshi. For the ship used by Kiith Somtaaw, see Multi-Beam Frigate. |
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The Multi-Beam Frigate was a Capital Ship used by the Kadeshi as a primary weapon against capital ships in Homeworld. They were developed as a final line of defense against those who dared to intrude on the sacred Garden of Kadesh.
Background[]
In spite of its small size, the Multi-Beam Frigate is one of the most efficient capital ship killers ever encountered; It was armed with four ion cannons, two mounted on each side of the hull. The Kadeshi used these deadly frigates in groups of three or more to utterly devastate their opponents. When Multi-Beam frigates attack, they frequently perform a barrel roll, most likely to distribute damage across the target's hull, but also probably for better heat distribution. Even the largest of warships to be produced through galactic history would suffer catastrophically at the hands of just a single formation of these frigates, further fueling to the fear of those across the galaxy who would not dare approach the Great Nebula.
During the Homeworld War, the Mothership Fleet passed through the Great Nebula, immediately encountering the Kadeshi who were intent on eradicating the intruders when they declined to remain in the region and join the Kadeshi. After trapping the Kushan inside the nebula with their hyperspace inhibitor technology, the Kadeshi sent multiple formations of Multi-Beam Frigates to destroy the Mothership. Despite the extreme damage sustained, the Kushan were able to repel these attacks and fight their way out of the Kadeshi's trap, capturing or destroying all of the Multi-Beam Frigates sent to finish them off. The Kushan suffered serious losses at the hands of these frigates combined with the infinite waves of Swarmers that encroached their fleet, but would greatly increase the lethality of their arsenal with those frigates that were captured as they escaped the Nebula back into known space. The Kadeshi were eventually forced to break off when these assaults failed and themselves believed to be annihilated after the Kushan's surprisingly stubborn and vicious counterattack.
Overview[]
A Multi-Beam Frigate fires a full volley of its fearsome array of Ion Cannons.
The size and color of the Multi-Beam Frigates is very similar to the Fuel Pod, which are also encountered on the same levels. As the most efficient ship killer in the game, the capture of any number of these frigates can greatly enhance the player's combat effectiveness for the remainder of the campaign. It takes 2 Salvage Corvettes to capture one Multi-Beam Frigate. Building many salvage corvettes in the previous missions allows the player to steal entire attack wings of these ships at a time. Multi-Beam Frigates are relatively ineffective against salvage corvettes, particularly if they are distracted first by other ships.
Like other ion-beam ships, Multi-Beam Frigates are most effective against ships that are frigate-sized or larger, but the fact that they fire four separate beams at once and rake their targets by spinning on their axis, means that they have a chance to get lucky and score hits against fighters and corvettes. Such ships caught in the crossfire are destroyed quickly.
Trivia[]
- In the original Homeworld, 19 ships could be captured in total: 17 were found in the Great Nebula and another two in the Sea of Lost Souls. Due to the scaling difficulty of Homeworld Remastered, the number of ships present may be higher in Mission 08, though there are always only two in the Sea of Lost Souls.
Bugs[]
- Rarely, it is possible for the beams to get stuck at odd angles, resulting in the beams raking the target at different places, or missing the target entirely.