Freelancer - Ship Discussion

Games
1

OK, so I’m enjoying multiplayer a ton and have tried out a number of ships. Here are a few of my thoughts about the ships I’ve flown:

Starflier: piece of junk - upgrade away from it as soon as you can

Patriot, not bad for a super cheap ship - if you like maneuverability over firepower, upgrade to this ASAP

Defender - the best ship available in Liberty space hands down - if you can stomach it, hang onto your starflier and dont buy weapons (use looted stuff) until you can buy a Defender - you can usually get into a Defender after just 3 or 4 missions from start. The Defender turns like a garbage scow and has the nimbleness of a tank but for early in the game it can pack a vicious punch, and has good survivability, especially if you buy a class 4 shield.

Crusader - a pretty good ship overall, more manueverable than Defender, with 1 class better weapons. A fine ship for low to mid range missions - you can survive in the Border worlds relatively well and explore all of Bretonia and Kusari with a little care. For their potency these are quite cheap - the hard part is getting to a Battleship in Breton space to buy one.

Dragon - a very sweet ship IMO. The most maneuverable of the heavy fighters (its pretty damn nimble, close to a light fighter) with a good gun setup and its very small (hard to hit) with good survivability. I played a LONG time in a Dragon, taking on tough enemies in Rheinland, the Independent worlds and even the Edge Worlds. Since there is a battleship selling these in Shikoku (just a 3 system hop from NY) its easy to get a Dragon, as soon as you have 71K. Also the Dragon looks damn good :0.

Hammerhead - a very good and IMO underappreciated ship - For a Very Heavy Fighter, it has good maneauverability (only a bit worse than Dragon) and has massive offense with good defense. It comes standard with a level 7 shield and I havent been able to buy better yet. Offensively with 6 guns and a turret all in a forward facing pattern with a tight spread, this ship lays out an intense stream of fire. If you can make the 350K and survive the trip to Freistadt station in Omega 7 then this is a great ship.

Eagle - A very good ship, the most maneuverable of the VHFs. It has one weakness: the turret faces the rear which means you get little use of it. However, since you can carry up to level 10 guns, the six gun slots pack plenty of punch. This ship can use up to a level 10 shield but I havent found one yet. I am still using the level 7 shield that came stock. This is a good looking ship, also small like the Dragon and hence hard to hit. By comparison when I dogfight the other VHFs like Sabers and TItans they seem slower and larger and easier to hit. Balut has a Saber which he loves (its turret faces forward) and Sabers DO look good. The Titan is the heaviest armored ship but seems to turn like a snail. Plus I can never get good Corsair faction to buy one :).

Anyhow those are my thoughts on ships. Ships not mentioned I havent flown. I havent tried the light fighters much so I cant really compare them. My two real tips are: go for a Defender, and then a Dragon, as soon as you can manage - those are two sweet ships for the level.

What do you other FL fans think?

Dan

2

Right now I’m flying a Dragon, and she is incredibly sweet. When I finished the SP campaign, I was flying the Anubis, which is a VERY sweet Very Heavy Fighter.

3

I haven’t really gone back since finishing the solo game. I found the heavily armored, slower-turning ships better, probably because the enemy AI isn’t designed to be that challenging.

4

I think people go for what they can afford, really. Any ship that’s better than what you have, is, well, better than what you have. In my solo-MP game, I’ve only upgraded ships/traded in systems that I had explored or bought info on. I also tried to explore in a manner I would if I didn’t know which systems sold what. Just some self-imposed limitations to make things last a bit longer, and a bit of character development. I’ll probably try a ‘life of crime’ character as well. At least a ‘friendly with most criminals’ type.

I felt too constrained in what ship to buy next in the campaign. They should start you out more neutral in MP, though.

As for light fighters, I’ve flown them exclusively in the campaign so far (in Kusari now), though I’ll likely switch pretty soon. The game runs out of light fighters after the Hawk. They are quick, but a couple of extra hardpoints means you kill enemies that much faster.

5

Lemme fill in some gaps in the ship reviews:

Rhino: Only cargo hauler available in Liberty, so if you want to be a Trader this is your only real choice. Turns like a slug, but has decent armor and lots of gun mounts. Has 3 hardpoints and 5 turrets so even though it’s weapon class levels are low, it can sure pack a punch due to sheer volume of firepower. It’s reactor can’t handle that much firepower, though, so in combat it’s best to either: a) run away, dropping mines and countermeasures, or b) charge head on firing full bore to kill the enemy as quickly as possible.

Clydesdale: Bretonian Freighter. Ups the cargo capacity to 125. Looks like a big metal beetle. A natural upgrade from the Rhino, it’s better in armor, shields, and weapon capability. Still turns like a slug, although a slightly less lethargic slug than the Rhino. Has a big profile, though, so makes an easier target to hit, unfortunately. I used this ship to rack up several hundred thousand in credits doing Denver-to-Honshu and Honshu-to-Denver trade runs.

Valkyrie: Rheinland Heavy Fighter. Strong armor, excellent weapon class levels (optimal 6, maximum class 8 ), and looks decent. Since I only used freighters prior to this, it obviously has better maneuverability than the Rhino and Clydesdale. Still feels a little outclassed in maneuverability in some dogfights. Its sole turret is pretty much useless as it’s mounted on the rear of the ship, oriented vertically. Cargo capacity 50 means it’s decent at trade runs as well, and a hell of a lot better at defending itself against lane jumpers and the like. Oh, and for some reason its engines sound somewhat “noisier” than other ships.

Sabre: Borderworlds/Red Hessian Very Heavy Fighter. Sits somewhere between the Eagle and the Titan in capability. More armored but less maneuverable than the Eagle, less armored but more maneuverable than the Titan. Excellent placement of gun mounts - they’re mostly clustered around the central axis of the ship so you get a fairly tight firing profile. The ship itself looks pretty cool, IMO; akin to a Tie Fighter gone horribly wrong after merging with a B-Wing, if that makes any sense. The turret is mounted on top of the ship, right behind the cockpit, so it has a terrific firing arc; the only area the turret can’t reach is the area below the ship. Cargo capacity is 70 so it can haul freight just as well as the Rhino, only about a hojillion times deadlier in combat.

Right now I’m still debating whether or not I want to trade up for a Titan Very Heavy Fighter. It looks pretty neat, and packs more armor, but I’m not sure how well it’s gun and turret mounts will compare, and if it’s maneuverability (or lack thereof) is that much of a detriment in battle. Also, you have to get in good with the Corsairs, but this is easy after you’ve been jumped 6.022x10^23 times by their arch-rivals, the Red Hessians. Another benefit: the Corsairs sell very high level equipment at their bases.

Anyone else out there to fill in some more gaps?

6

Having flown both, I prefer the Sabre to the Titan. The Titan has more armour and can carry more potions, but the Sabre is way more maneuverable and has a turret capable of firing forward, effectively giving you seven forward firing guns compared to the Titan’s six. Also, the wings can be blown off a Titan, causing you to lose the weapons mounted there permanantly. The Sabre has no such problem.

7

Yeah, I guess I might as well actually contribute.

Startracker: Has more armor than both the Starflier and Patriot, but only three Hardpoints (and only one of them Class 4). It’s questionable whether it’s ‘better’ than the Patriot. Though It can mount Class 4 Shields, an extra hardpoint goes a long way.

Cavalier: Four hardpoints gives it a definite edge over the Startracker, and it can mount two Class 5 weapons as well as Class 5 Shields. It’s a good early game buy.

Drake: Four hardpoints, similar to the Cavalier. The weapons are mounted in over/under pairs on each wing. It seems to turn faster than the Cavalier; about the same as a Patriot. A more advanced power supply lets you mount up to Class 6 equipment.

Barracuda: Six hardpoints, all facing forward. Mounting up to Class 6 equipment, this is a solid upgrade from the Bretonian ships. The question is really whether you go for this or the Dragon. The price is the same, as are most of the other aspects. The only real advantage for the Barracuda is a slightly larger cargo hold. Two of the guns come off of the wings in front of the cockpit (making them shoot directly ahead), and the other four are over and under on the hull.

Falcon: Six hardpoints, but one is a rear-mounted turret. Sure, it can be Class 8, but will you get much use out of it? I threw a Reaver on there and do use it occasionally. Usually I’m more interested in turning the other five guns on an enemy. Still, five front-facing hardpoints and a power supply that can handle Class 8 guns is tough. I upgraded from a Barracuda, and it’s definitely an upgrade. Three of the Hardpoints are left/right cheek and top of cockpit, and the other two are at the upper midpoint of each wing. Large cargo capacity (the Barracuda has 75% of the Falcon’s cargo capacity).

8

Try the Titian, you can get it at Corsair bases. It is the best combat ship around. It only costs 750k credits though.

9

Personally, I prefer the Tintoretto. :P

10

Try the Titian, you can get it at Corsair bases. It is the best combat ship around. It only costs 750k credits though.

See my previous post for why I prefer the Sabre over the Titan.

11

While the Sabre has more maneuverability and arguably, firepower (yes, it can use the turret, but they both can only hold four level 10 guns, and I haven’t really found any good turrets late in the game, so the firepower is about equal in my opinion), I just hate how it looks, and went for the Titan. The problem of the Titan having big wings with guns that can be blown off easily is addressed by having a bigass level 10 shield (Advanced Brigadine, IIRC), putting the less important guns on the wings (they only take level 9 weapons), and having the firepower to prevent people from shooting your wings off in the first place. With four Nomad weapons, I never had to worry about my wings being blown off, since I kill most everything in about three hits.

12

Rather:

  1. Try the Titan.
  2. Grumble over the rear-facing turret
  3. Scream after getting a wing blown off and losing half of your level 10 guns.
  4. Load a previous save game.
  5. Buy the Sabre.
13

Hmm, I’ve now fought quite a large number of VHFs including Sabers, Titans, Eagles and Hammerheads, all while flying my Eagle.

Based on that experience I have to say you guys are giving the Eagle short shrift. All 3 of the top VHFs (Eagle, Titan and Saber) have the same power supply and same ability to use level 10 shields - all 3 also have 4 slots for level 10 guns. The only real diff is that Eagle has armor of 9800, Saber 10,600 and Corsair 12,400 IIRC. In my opinion, most of the time you are going to rely on shield not armor to survive - given that a Titan can lose a wing (and weapons) after taking 3000 or 4000 hull damage I’d argue that a Titan is LESS survivable than a Saber or Eagle. Also, the Eagle is smaller and more maneuverable than the Saber, making it harder to hit.

Bottom line is, assuming weapons and pilot skill are equal, I find Hammerheads and Eages harder to fight than Titans and Sabers. Of the 4 top ships, Titans are actually the least dangerous IMO - though are hard as heck to kill, they are not all that dangerous offensively due to slow turning rate. Hammerheads on the other hand can be vicious buggers, and Eages are downright nasty especially if its a Zoner with those nasty level 9 weapons.

I was tempted to try Saber and Titan but after lots of fighting, I’m sticking with my Eagle. A touch less armor and a useless turret, but quick, maneuverable, hard to hit, and IMO the best overall package. If Sabers didnt have that fat “shoot me in the ass” profile they’d be the best ship but as it is, once i get on a Saber’s six, hes all done. He can’t outturn me, and with his big rear profile I can shoot the bejesus out of him in a few seconds. And Titans are only dangerous in head on passes and now that I know how to pump out the missile salvo in a head on pass, even that’s not so tough.

Bottom line: don’t diss the Eagle. Its the sweetest ship overall IMO.

Dan

14

I also wanted to chime in about the Patriot. She’s an excellent little light fighter with fantastic maneuverability and a really good weapons loadout. I used a Patriot for much of my multiplayer game, even against increasing enemy odds, and would usually survive with little or no damage. I was almost upset to replace her with a Dragon, but it was worth it.

15

I think its all about the Rheinland Humpback myself. 250 cargo, onlt 25 shy of the Dromedary, and better guns and armor to boot.

For the single player campaign, I went…

Starflier -> Defender -> Crusader -> Barracuda -> Anubis

Never had a problem with any missions.

Here’s a question – how many of you keep the ship in free-flight mode when playing vs how many use the hold-down-left-button? I never used the hold-down-left version because it just, well, was slow.

16

I only used mouse flight in combat. Any other time I just clicked on the waypoint/tradelane/jump gate and clicked F2 for goto. I never used the “hold down left button” method.

17

At first, I never used the hold-down flight, but now I ONLY use it. It really does give me more options because I can fire as a ship is going past me. And if there are multiple ships I can hit them all as they go by. Sometimes I also switch to rear view and fire at the ships behind me with my turrets, but that’s mainly just for fun. There’s no real tactical advantage in this (actually, you have less firepower back there). I really think the designers could have done a lot more with the turrets’ 360degree motion.

18

I actually like the Eagle a fair bit, and was just countering the rampant anti-Titans out there. Sure, it’s not as nimble as an Eagle, but it’s maneuverable enough for me to line up my level 10 guns and kill within three hits. And for every complaint about the wings being blown off, I simply say that you must have been drunk or something, to let someone blow off your wings. Even fighting a swarm of Nomad ships (which is a moment that I consider the extra armor a boost, since their weapons knock down shields so fast), I never got my wings shot off. The only time I got a wing blown off was when I wasn’t paying attention, and I ran into an area that had three separate factions with “kill on sight” rep all converge on me. If I had stayed and shoot, I would have easily survived, but my laziness made me try to flee, and they eventually shot stuff off.

Really, any of the very heavy fighters is a good choice for whatever you want to do, there’s no clear dominating fighter in my opinion.

19

When in combat, I use the mouse flight option, as my left mouse finger starts to hurt after a while otherwise. Using the space bar to switch back and forth between the two modes really works well.

20

In the singleplayer game, I just got to Bretonia and with the money I received I made my way to New London’s shipyard. The choices were a freighter and two light fighters - Crusader and Piranha. As my old ship was pretty beaten up I’d ended up spending some change on bots and bats along with physical repairs. The obvious choice of ships was the Crusader as it had a few hundred more structure points and could carry more, heavier, weaponry. It also cost nearly a 10000 credits more. I ended up short thanks to the money I’d spent. The Piranha looked cooler anyhow and I was kind of glad to have an excuse to get it.

In play, I noticed a few more things about this lesser craft that made me very glad of my choice. Unlike the Crusader or the Liberty Heavy Fighter (my previous), the Piranha has a very slim profile and no ‘external’ parts that can get shot away (like wings or spoilers). This means all the damage points are packed into the wafer thin, hard to hit, body and one won’t end up losing weapons installed on wings and whatnot. This cuts down on expenses as all structural repairs can be handled by nanobots. It also makes dodging fire a real breeze. The extra five (out of 35) cargo slots compared to the Crusader gives just that much more space to pick up salvage or dropped goods. Crusader might last longer in a stand-up fight against many opponents or capitol ships but for my purposes The Piranha is awesome. I’ll be looking to upgrade to something similiar when the time comes.