So mostly been playing PVE and up to Rank
6 8 Imperial Navy. That's access to 1 BB, 2 BC, 3 CAs, 4 CL plus Escorts. Matches are typically around 400~700 points. 600 is a pretty good spot for a BC level game I like to rock a Mars, 2 Cruisers (typically a Dominator and Tyrant), 1 Dauntless and 3 Swords.
So first off, its a very, very pretty game, the Devs really nailed the aesthetics of the ships perfectly, the map backgrounds are zany and interesting if a bit busy. Sound is overall pretty good but I wish the kinetic weapons could be a bit more punchy(I mean they are lobbing shells the size of a
Fenris), music is the standard 40K fair and voice acting is OTT all the time with some awkward dialog.
Gameplay is very micro intensive, you need to be hands on to keep ships maneuvering and engaging to best effect. Coupled with all the special abilities each ship has it can be easy to let things slip and I don't trust the ship AI to make the best choices. That said I probably need to get better at using the Tactical Cogitator ability that dilates the time for issuing commands. Its definitely not a macro style blob your assets together, assign a formation and attack move RTS. I'm not sure how large your deployable fleet will get but I can see it getting a little unwieldy. In a way its too bad it wasn't turn based.
The upgrade/customization options on your ships seem pretty interesting, its fun to tweak and improve the capabilities, though I wonder if it might skew multiplayer matches since stock ships will be at a disadvantage. Still it adds little RPG elements that add character to your ships and should be especially fun in the Campaign.
Of the ships I have access to so far the BC,CA and CLs are all pretty fun but I feel Escorts got the short end of the stick. They probably should compose a good portion of your fleet but instead I have a few points left so I take a Sword or Firestorm that mostly gets ignored during the match. I think they probably should bought as squadrons instead of single ships. That would up their capabilities and make the micro worth it. That and torpedoes seem pretty crap which is a shame since its an Imperial Specialty. Nova Cannon is superior but I can see stacking your deck with them maybe a little OP.
I'm currently running:
Battleship:Emperor Class Bastion -Lots of Assualt Boats, very tanky and surprisingly potent Macro batteries. If you let it support for most of the match it can then be very decisive in close action during the endgame.
Battlecruisers:Mars Class Temeraire -Nova cannon and Assault Boats all damn day.
Overlord Class Argonaute -Sorta a beefed up Lunar. It's fun if you have the spare points but I think the Mars offers more flexibility.
Cruisers:Dominator Class Brutal Cannon -Probably the best overall Imp cruiser in game with a mix of Nova Cannon and powerful batteries.
Tyrant Class Achates -Lots and lots of Macro batteries fairly tanky.
Gothic Class Conquérant -Paired with a kinetic cruiser to knock down void shields this thing can lay down some hurt. Lances also pin down escorts.
Light Cruisers:Dauntless Class Phalarope-Nice all rounder. Good prow Lance and dependable batteries. Can be configured as a scout/pursuit to keep Chaos from kiting.
Dauntless Class TurbulentDauntless Class Zornhau Dauntless Mk2 Undine -Similar to the regular Dauntless only with meh torps instead of a Lance.
Escorts:Cobra Class -Fast and fragile torp boat, too bad torps are meh. If you assigned the IN Favor to a bunch of ships you could theoretically spam a bunch of them but its way too micro intensive for my taste.
Sword Class -Macro battery gunboat. Fully upgraded
I think they are a effective autonomous skirmisher. In packs of 3-4 can they can chase and focus down other escort and CLs plus force multiplier on heavier ship engagements.
Firestorm Class -Sword with a prow Lance. I've upped to Lance range and have them back line snipe, it seems to keep them out of trouble.
Anyway that's my impressions so far. Not perfect but its got potential.
After some more play tonight I'm starting to get the hang of juggling all the micro and it is pretty fun. Now that I'm topping off my Imps I'll probably try the Spiky lot next.
Did I mention its pretty: