Ships Federal Assault Ship - I love and hate it...

TD Bauer

TD Bauer
What can I say, I have been looking forward to the new Federal Assault Ship. I like the handling, like the speed, I like the hard points, I like pretty much everything about it, except the wimpy shields. Fun to fly, and fun to battle PVE, but you really need to be careful even when flying with a couple SB and SBC, because you can literally blink and the next thing you know your shields are stripped and you are taking hull damage. Good thing this baby has some speed to get away, because last night I would have died twice without that awesome boost speed.

I had an a-rated Asp I flew for a long time, and I swear that thing could take a beating compared to the FAS.
 

Arry

Arry
They say that it needs the plastic princesses pretty shields to really make it work. It took out a same ranked NPC FAS the other day in my Courier. I use beams and so the shields just melted in seconds, the hull was another matter. I had to use all of my SCBs (4) and took some damage, as they can really dance. I would say that the FAS is on a par with the Clipper, not an identical fight, but very similar opposition.
 

TD Bauer

TD Bauer
McCaffrey said:
How many boosters are you running?
Click to expand...


just two. Was thinking about trying a third.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, I would say it is close to the Clipper. It just 'feels' wrong putting prismatic shields in it though. But that would help.

I just need to learn to fly better in combat. /shrug
 

Cliffson

Cliffson
I'm curious myself about what's better more Shield boosters or more Chaff, I'm leaning towards chaff as it works on nearly all NPCs and (a fair few Cmdrs) run gimbles.

I've just taken mine out for it's first spin (tried it briefly in Beta) and it's as nice as I thought it would be after flying a vulture for the last few weeks. It handles pretty much the same but skids a lot more so you need to take better care of your speed especially when boosting.

My build is this:
http://coriolis.io/outfit/federal_a...54.Iw18cQ==.CwBjYRhCdyCZjAMzKA==?bn=Fed AssMC

Took it undermining it handled very well against NPCs only lost shields against a wing of 3 vultures and that's because I rammed the last one of them by 'accident'.

Ended the session with PvP vs a shield cell chugging, Prismatic shield monstrosity of a python. Did okay as I could run away when my shields dropped, recharge and then come back (had a wingmate in a cobra to keep him distracted). The FAS handled well, it was pretty easy to keep sights on and I could stay out of it's fire arcs reasonably well (for me). Couldn't get through his shields though :/ and mine were so weak that if I made a mistake they dropped fast.

The problem I have is I don't know what to put on the C2 mountings. The beam and PAcc drain the capaciter well enough on their own. I've tried turreted beams but they drain the cap and produce too much heat though they are useful for those annoying little ships. Multicannons work alright against NPCs for hull shredding. Might try gimbled pulses next.
 
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Cmdr. Numa

Cmdr. Numa
I was on the receiving end of a FAS for the first time today. Even backpedaling I couldn't reliably keep it in the sights of my Tradeconda. My turrets didn't share that problem though, so it melted away.
 

KayAitch

K
I've been trying rails on those C2 mounts, but they generate too much heat. Same problem with beams or PA on the C3. Weirdly it reminds me of the Courier - heat is the limiting factor, rather than power like the Vulture.

I need to A rate it and get some serious armour on it - I suspect it will be a beast even with its weak shields because it takes a lot of damage even without them, and weak shields come up fast. The FAS is the first ship I've had where the shields have gone down and I've been able to keep fighting, recover them and only have lost 5% hull.
 

Alex J

A
I like the ship a lot, my preferred now, coming from Vulture, FDL, Python and Anaconda. Shields are weak .... Fully A kitted with three A shield boosters engaging an Anaconda you must have shields and sys at full strength ... Started with 2 class 3 gimballed beams - they allow an acceptable fire time - and 2 imperial hammers - very interesting now because when npc chaff you can use these fixed hammers. Against bigger targets maybe the hull damage of the 2 beams isn't worth it ... so I 've just replaced them with two gimballed class 3 pulses ... back to the RES now to test.

Fun ship to fly: agile, lots of firepower. This ship to me is far more enjoyable than the Vulture, FDL or Python. It is a fast and efficient killer. Because of its agility also my preferred choice now to undermine in PP.

For sustained fights in high conflict CZ Vulture or FDL might be preferrable because of shields.

Ah .... and don't ram this ship with other ships, docking gate or asteroids ... severe impact. I consider upgrading to military composite armour .... would be my first time on a ship in ED ever.
 
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Alex J

A
Cdr Voorheez said:
Is it worth getting? I am considering purchasing.
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Yes it is, having flown all ships I prefer this one. With 2 large pulses you can fire almost unlimited in time with 3 pips into weapons, holding 3 pips in systems ... compensating for the weaker shields, while having a shield cell bank active. The power plant is very generous to outfit this ship the way you want it.
 

Cdr Voorheez

Cdr Voorheez
If I get one of these I would be replacing my Python, and I'm not 100% sold at the minute.
I would probably go with A rated gear and mil grade composite armour. X4 shield boosters for those cruddy shields. Hard points would be L x2 pulse and M x2 Multicannon.
Only thing that puts me off is the limited jump range.
 
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Cliffson

Cliffson
Cdr Voorheez said:
I will probably go with A rated gear and mil grade composite armour. X4 shield boosters for those cruddy shields. Hard points would be L x2 pulse and M x2 Multicannon.
Only thing that puts me off is the limited jump range.
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It's about the same Jump range as a vulture, though you do have the internals for a good Fuelscoop so travelling is not too bad (I have a 4A fuel scoop in mine)
 

paganpenguin

paganpenguin
Earlier I decided to cash everything in and "try out" the FAS - although I didn't spend too much time with it (my youngest daughter took offense to my attention being on anything other than her), my initial impressions lead me to believe that I will stick with it for a while.

My first loadout consisted of 2 x C3 gimballed pulse and 2 x C2 gimballed MCs although it took a lot of getting used to the hardpoint layout. Thinking of running C3 + 2 x C2 pulses (might go fixed) and a gimballed C3 cannon on top - mainly because I love cannons. Keep one SCB and swap everything else for hull reinforcements, two boosters and two chaff launchers. A rated shield and mil grade armour to finish things off although I should really drop the boosters and run another chaff as I generally prefer the fast shield recharge time over extra shields as it seems the FAS is armoured enough to take the odd punch or three.
 

CMDR Qboid

C
loving my Federal Funbus, its the natural follow on from a Vulture.
Strength is in the hull. let the shields melt and stick around to have fun with it.


edit: Just want some decent paint jobs for it now FD!
 
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CATPAIN KIRK

CATPAIN KIRK
Cdr Voorheez said:
If I get one of these I would be replacing my Python, and I'm not 100% sold at the minute.
I would probably go with A rated gear and mil grade composite armour. X4 shield boosters for those cruddy shields. Hard points would be L x2 pulse and M x2 Multicannon.
Only thing that puts me off is the limited jump range.
Click to expand...

Really depends on what you want to do with it. For me it's not a replacement for the Python as I use it as a multipurpose mission runner and the FAS doesn't have the internals to be viable at that.
Perfect replacement for the FdL though - however I don't PvP much, so I can't make a qualified comment on how it fares at that - at least the jump range isn't quite as abysmal as the FdL's.

Found the shields to be viable for PVE (mainly tested it in assassinations, SSS and HazRES) without maxing them and the armour is good enough to stick around when the shields fail even with lightweight alloys.

I'm considering a shieldless silent runner with armour though.
 
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Cdr Voorheez

Cdr Voorheez
I committed to one of these tonight, I am very impressed with it so far. I've got to say on first impressions visually I wasn't that impressed. Ugly bird.
Then I got inside her, and took her for a spin to a Nav beacon.
I wasn't let down. She flies beautifully and has a good punch. With SBs and a SCB you are safe enough.
Yes the shields are weak but with a 5A shield generator and 4 SBs you are ok.
Running with 1 large beam and 3 multi cannons and she definitely flies like a butterfly and stings like a bee.
Just limited on module space. But I'm guessing as its a ship who's primary role is combat (assault ship) then it's designed to sit at CZs Nav beacons and RESs and dominate/kill.
If you are after a ship which will do that then the FAS is a good choice imho. Mitigate weak shields with hull reinforcement packs and A spec her and I'm guessing this is going to be a fine hunter killer.
 
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Joe Akeem

Joe Akeem
I stepped down from the Gunship because of the FAS agility. Definitely a good choice. And it sports the looks of a "Dig a hole, plebians! Military business!" vessel alright. Did I mention I love it?
 

paganpenguin

paganpenguin
Cdr Voorheez said:
Is it worth fitting hull reinforcement packs on these things or rely on its already good armour?
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I've stuffed as many hull reinforcement packages in as I can (only running one SCB as I really don't like relying on shields) - although I have yet to lose my shields by being careful in a HazRES. While I'm still getting used to the ins and outs of the FAS, to me it flies like a larger version of the DBS (my go to and favourite ship of all time)... could it be like a DBS/Vulture lovechild that has for some reason been left in the greenhouse too long?
 
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