Darshu's OFFICIAL Best Ships...

[pjknibbs]

Is it just that fighters use 5, all others use 10 or does every ship class has it's own efficiency concerning energy cells?

Oh well, another entry on my todo list for the next game session

All fighters (M3, M4, M5) = 5 per sector
Freighter class ships (TS, TP) = 10 per sector
Station haulers (TL) = 20 per sector

I haven't yet got an M1 or an M2, but I would imagine they use 20, just like the TL does.

[EDITED TO CORRECT THE FIGHTER CLASSES--D'oh!]

[-TD-13-]

(my Elephant is my "working ship", obviously)

Speaking of which, Brianetta, how the heck close are you to buying that TL already! You were still working on its weeks ago!

Well, I've been missing precious X2 hours working on the fifth edition of the Argonopedia. It's nearly ready, but while Jon "Mapman" Handby has his computer in the shop, I can get some playtime in.

I am nowhere near the TL. I have a station, and I have my vulture, my discoverer and my new scorpion, with an iguana doing the EC fetching for the factory. Bearing in mind that I am not trading, my sole real income is from open cast mining. It's slow, but fun because it's unique.

I did all the trading and capturing in X-Tension. It's nice to have some real alternative career paths!

I actually prefer this this way as well.... a laid back approch to X2.
I've been so caught up in X2's economy and SPP building that after a while the game can fade into the background, and all you notice are the numbers, menus, and factories. So, after setting up my last batch of SPPs in ROT (thanks PJ for that! ) I've decided to rough it and get into mining. All I can say is that it's great..... although a lot of work at times, and slow going as well, it allows you to really admire the sheer beauty of X2 and get back in touch with the meaning of "space exploration"

[Achatos]

I agree with most of Darshu's choices, except for the M3!!

I strongly prefer a Paranid Perseus over a Nova, because the Perseus is faster and is also compatible with PSG lasers to attack the Khaak. In a Nova you are helpless when you encounter the Khaak!

Secondly, the Persues can also hold HEPT's. It is the ideal fighting ship.

[CT3]

Good show laddie!!

very informative,

alrdy knew most points about ships good and bad but still it was a good read...

[Micuryath]

@pjknibbs

jep you need double on e-cells for a jump,
but compared to a nova (with a cargobay of 236) - (2xBHEPT = 12,+ 1xGPAC,=3 + 2 Ion = 20, 3x25M shields=30,all 65) leftover space for jump-cells are 171 == 34 Jumps and the Iguana (450) (3x GPAC = 9, + 2 Ion = 20, 2x25M shields=20; all togehter 49) leftover space for jump-cells are 401 == 40 Jumps ...

not to mention the extra money to uprade the cargo space...

[Darshu]

@explorer112

Well, while you have some good points, there's a few things I'd like to mention. First, an M3 NEEDS to be a versatile multi-role platform IMHO. Interception is for M4/5s, so speed is nice but not primary.

Second, the M3 is a GREAT capturing platform. Sure the Iguana is nice too, but unfortunately its MUCH larger and handles like a dog compared to a Nova. You're more likely to ram or be rammed in an Iguana than a Nova, in my experience.

The turret on the back with an AIRE is a great missile deterrent, allowing even 'n00bs' to live through difficult encounters heh.

Fourth, the Perseus may be a good fighter, but its cargo bay is just too small to be useful as a primary Player ship, unless you plan on docking to a cap ship after every engagement, in which case, firepower's not an issue!

Fifth, I have utter contempt for PSGs. I mounted them once on one of my ships, saw what they did and how they worked, and then immediately sold them. Just the idea of a 'laser shockwave' is preposterous, but oh well. Also, the Perseus can ONLY mount AHEPTs, not the Beta version, so you lose quite a bit of power there.

For these multitude of reasons, I still say Nova rules for multi-role usefulness, with the Mamba coming in 2nd as the ultimate dogfighter. That's just my opinion though.

[pjknibbs]

@pjknibbs

jep you need double on e-cells for a jump,
but compared to a nova (with a cargobay of 236) - (2xBHEPT = 12,+ 1xGPAC,=3 + 2 Ion = 20, 3x25M shields=30,all 65) leftover space for jump-cells are 171 == 34 Jumps and the Iguana (450) (3x GPAC = 9, + 2 Ion = 20, 2x25M shields=20; all togehter 49) leftover space for jump-cells are 401 == 40 Jumps ...

not to mention the extra money to uprade the cargo space...

Yeah, but like I said, the Orinoco has a 374 unit cargo bay, and is one of the most versatile M3s out there--it's the only one which can mount both Ion Disruptors and PSGs, is faster than a Nova (albeit not by much), and has a pretty nice cockpit view as well. I captured one with shields intact last night and have been using it to take down Khaak clusters and the like--I like this ship a lot, even though dual AHEPTs aren't as powerful as the BHEPTs on the Nova!

[Drastic]

In a Nova you are helpless when you encounter the Khaak!

I agree with this, if by "helpless" you mean "victorious." Which is an odd way to use the word, but language is constantly evolving. :)

Honestly, a Nova has no problems with the standard Khaak M3+M5s running around the map. Even a full cluster is rare a problem--the trick is to simply quickly reacquire and kill the core M3 when all the little guys peel off when you approach; usually a single pass with ion disruptor + b-hept will work just fine--if you're pressed for time (or there's another M3 in the area breathing down your neck), ion disruptor to strip the shield followed by a single silkworm launch at point-blank works just fine, too.

Then it's just a matter of cleaning up the little guys. When it's a full cluster's worth, you might occasionally have to go into full-spiral-jinking-strafe-tapping evasion mode till shields recharge, but once a few get knocked out they cease to even threaten you.

Nova is goodly.

[o1derfull1]

I'm just wondering here guys why everyone loves thier PSGs? To be honest I haven't amassed enough credits yet to outfit my own heavy fighter, but when I do I'm going for GHEPTs all the way. If you refer to the weapon's chart it's pretty clear that the PSGs, especially alpha and beta do miniscule to insignificant hull damage compared to almost anything else. While the gamma PSG can put a bad hurt on your opponent's sheilds, it's still no match for what a GHEPT can do. Is there something I don't know? Like khaak hulls vibrate at the precise resonancy of a AHEPT blast so one shot and they're toast? Otherwise... I dont get it.

[Darshu]

The reasoning is simple.

A GHEPT "bolt" does its listed damage no matter what it hits.

A PSG "shockwave" however expands. What this means is that the larger the enemy vessel, the more times it gets "hit" by the same shot as the wave expands through it.

A GPSG can take down most fabs shields in short order, usually 5 or 6 shots. It does take longer to knock out hull armour, but its still faster then HEPTs.

The only place it slacks is engaging enemy fighters, which curiously it was "designed" for according to the manual. Small fighters will only take one or at most two hits from a single shockwave if they're coming at or flying parallel to you. If they fly away from you, a single GPSG blast can usually obliterate an M3 easy.

The weapons are silly overpowered and a bad concept IMHO. Its designed as a crutch for people who are bat at dogfighting methinks, since the expanding wave makes it much easier to hit your targets.

[Momaw]

>> Is there something I don't know? <<

There is a bug in the way PSG's work. They continually check for hits along the entire area of the wave, and for the entire lifetime, meaning that ships get hit multiple times. The bigger the ship, the more it gets hit by the same shot. The wave does not lose power, no matter how many ships it hits, nor does it become weaker at any one point as it expands. It's also a HUUUUGE blast, it easily encompasses an entire Khaak cluster. You don't need to be accurate at all, just aim vaguely somewhere in the general direction of your enemies and fire.

These things, combined, means that PSG's can kill an entire cluster of Khaak and damn near anything else, swiftly and with little effort.

[Ronin44]

Do PSG's still have the same effect in in the latest patch, 1.2. I thought this was "fixed".

[pjknibbs]

I'm just wondering here guys why everyone loves thier PSGs? To be honest I haven't amassed enough credits yet to outfit my own heavy fighter, but when I do I'm going for GHEPTs all the way.

I don't love PSGs--in fact, I refuse to use them because they're cheesy and almost tantamount to cheating, IMHO. However, good luck finding a heavy fighter which can mount GHEPTs, because there aren't any in the game! The smallest ship which can use THOSE beasts is the corvette class (M6).

[o1derfull1]

Thanks for the edification gents. At least now I can same some creds on outfitting my ships with PSGs instead. If it works as you all claim, then I believe it to be a crutch too, but my computer runs the game very slowly, especially with more ships involved on screen so I can't exactly dogfight with proper reaction and timing, I'll need the PSGs to be effective. Much obliged.

[CT3]

In a Nova you are helpless when you encounter the Khaak!

I agree with this, if by "helpless" you mean "victorious." Which is an odd way to use the word, but language is constantly evolving.

Honestly, a Nova has no problems with the standard Khaak M3+M5s running around the map. Even a full cluster is rare a problem--the trick is to simply quickly reacquire and kill the core M3 when all the little guys peel off when you approach; usually a single pass with ion disruptor + b-hept will work just fine--if you're pressed for time (or there's another M3 in the area breathing down your neck), ion disruptor to strip the shield followed by a single silkworm launch at point-blank works just fine, too.

Then it's just a matter of cleaning up the little guys. When it's a full cluster's worth, you might occasionally have to go into full-spiral-jinking-strafe-tapping evasion mode till shields recharge, but once a few get knocked out they cease to even threaten you.

Nova is goodly.

heh i once had one of those really big clusters jmup right in front of my centaur so i started to blast away (my turrets too) and went right trough the middle at full speed, took out the M3 and the turrets took out half the M5's best fun i ever had

[Darshu]

Do PSG's still have the same effect in in the latest patch, 1.2. I thought this was "fixed".

I know that Ego increased the amount of energy required to fire the GPSG, and I think they may have decreased the damage across the board, but not by much.

If you think about it, the concept of the weapons means that they would make excellent anti-cap weaponry. The ONLY way I could see to fix these would be to give the shockwave an overall, arbitrary damage cap, each corresponding version (A,B, and G) could have a TOTAL damage output of say three to four times that of its HEPT cousin.

Now before you flame, this would allow the weapon to still be an effective fighter deterrent, like it was supposed to be, and if it is used against cap ships/stations, then when the wave's total damage output is used up, it dissipates, doing no more damage.

Although they may be cheesy, and I don't use them (the Osprey is my one weakness hehe) their concept and execution makes sense in that an expanding wave passing through a station would of course do more damage than a single bolt from a HEPT.

The other alternative would be to make shields of any object cause the shockwave to mold with it, so rather than the wave passing through the object, it envelops the target, doing damage to the outside, instead of magically passing through to the middle, bypassing shields and then expanding through the enemy craft.

[PhineasGage]

I have a question about the fast Orinocos you may capture in mission2. Is it in 1.2 still possible to get one? An Orinoco with a speed of >300 would be the best M3 I suppose.

[Darshu]

I believe you can capture them, but I've never tried. I prefer corvettes myself, and so I'm used to slower speeds, considering my main two ships are a Nova and an Osprey.

[Ravein]

true, the osprey is a great ship, for the reasons that Darshu pointed out (namely, better sheilding, as I remember, and thus less equipment losses). It also looks the best of the M6's. Like a hot-rod Nova that has been streamlined. Nova's also are the best all-rounder M3, for the same reasons (cargo, missile defence rear turret, carries 2XBHEPT 2X Ion)

[Sorasil]

For M2s i like the teladi pheonix the most, mainly for the extra shield. And it looks cool , i also use it as my personal ship worked my butt off to have nuff cash to purchase it so no way im letting AI fly it.

a lil slow though but that dosnt matter cus whenever i go anywhere anyway i use the jumpdrive.