Homeworld 3 fleet command explained: Control groups, formations & stances

❘ Published: 2024-05-12T15:02:24

Blackbird Interactive

Homeworld 3 offers a vast number of spaceships to command, but learning how to control them properly can be tricky. So here’s everything about fleet command basics, including control groups, formations, and stances.

Homeworld 3 has surprised fans of RTS games with lots of content to explore and detailed fleet command strategies. But getting the gist of controlling your ships can be complicated at first.

So, here’s everything you need to know to command your fleet in Homeworld 3, including control groups, formations, and more.

Contents:

How to use group controls in Homeworld 3
How to switch groups in Homeworld 3
Homeworld 3 formations & stances explained

How to use group controls in Homeworld 3

In Homeworld 3, you can select a certain number of ships and add them to a control group by pressing the Left Ctrl Key + one of the numbers from 1 to 10.

Keep in mind that by selecting various types of ships in a group, the ships’ ability appearing in your command interface will be automatically selected according to the number of ships present in the group.

If you want to issue an order to use only one of the other ships’ abilities, you’ll need to do it manually. So it’s better to select several ships of the same type and assign them to the same control group to handle ability commands more easily.

How to switch between groups in Homeworld 3

To switch between groups in Homeworld 3 simply press the keys from 1 to 10 to select your desired control groups. You can also select them by clicking the number in the hotbar.

This way, you can manage various groups of ships and issue orders for them to navigate, find resources, and engage in combat.

Different ships work better with certain formations. Fighters are better at Delta and Claw formations.

Homeworld 3 formations & stances explained

In Homeworld 3 formations and stances allow you to set a flight pattern and behavior of the fleet you are controlling.

Formations will not only determine the pattern of flight of your ships, but also how the AI will direct their attacks toward the targets. There are eight different formations:

Delta Formation: A standard fighter formation in a ‘V’ shape, useful for smaller fighters and skirmishes.
Claw Formation: An aggressive formation useful for focusing fire on enemy ships. It’s a good formation for bomber groups against capital ships or corvette groups against fighters.
X Formation: A vertical ‘X’ shape formation, ideal for concentrating fire in a wide area.
Broad Formation: A straight line formation, ideal for frontline ships like frigates, and corvette class ships.
Wall Formation: Similar to the X formation, but spread in a wider area, ideal for large quantities of vessels in the same command group, and to avoid concentrated fire.
Sphere Formation: A formation to surround targets in a sphere pattern, ideal for concentrating fire against large targets like capital ships.
Trail Formation: Several lines of ships aligned with a distinctive trail pattern. Ideal for exploring and moving towards a target.
Mixed Formation: A formation that combines several types of shapes according to the type of ships in the control group, ideal to move greater fleets in a singular attack formation.

Finally, stances set the behavior pattern that your fleet will take during combat, and there are three different stances you can choose from:

Aggressive: The pilot AI will tighten the current formation and will make no attempt to evade enemy fire, focusing solely on directing fire to the enemy.
Evasive: The pilot AI will loosen the current formation, take evasive maneuvers when shot, and use opportunity fire on targets.
Neutral: A balanced stance between aggressive and evasive, taking evasive maneuvers when needed, and focusing fire when there are available windows of opportunity.

And that’s what you need to know to command your fleet in Homeworld 3. For more information on the latest launches for this year, you can check the guide sections below: