Guardian SLFs. Where do they stand? Nobody can deny they look REALLY cool, but is that enough?
Here's what you need to know.
Be sure to check what materials are required for the unlock BEFORE leaving the bubble.
The Lance is the AX guardian fighter. It uses a Gauss Cannon, which has the highest armor piercing of any of the options. This is irrelevant against human enemies, since it's so much higher than even the highest Armor Hardness in the game, but it makes it the best option against Thargoids.
The Lance was quite bad when it was first released, as the heat caused it to rapidly overheat until destruction, but it was since rebalanced and now is able to fire regularly without issues.
How effective is it? The Lance, when piloted by an Elite npc, is fully capable of exerting a Basilisk thargoid interceptor. It can also single-handedly take down multiple scouts, as long as their attention is on something else. Against human enemies, it will not be as effective as a beam laser fighter, but is still better than the gimballed weapon fighter variants - at least, while in the hands of a reasonably-leveled NPC.
2. Trident
The Trident is the Anti-Human guardian fighter. It uses a plasma autocannon which does pure absolute damage, unlike the human plasma fighters, which do a 50/50 thermal/kinetic split. This counterbalances the fact that it does significantly lower raw DPS than the human plasma fighters.
Doing the math, the Trident becomes the superior DPS option once the target has over 35% average resistances. Against these targets, it is the most powerful fighter in the game. This means that against lower-ranked enemies, it is better to use a standard fighter.
It has relatively slow projectile speed, which makes it more difficult to hit interceptors and scouts. It can be moderately effective against thargoids, but nowhere near as potent as the Lance.
This is the only Guardian SLF without limited ammo.
3: Javelin
This fighter is no longer bad! In fact, it now competes with the lance for AX effectiveness! The Javelin uses a Shard Cannon. This weapon theoretically does the most raw damage of any of the guardian SLFs, but its slow projectile speed and wide spread makes it difficult for NPCs to hit with. All things considered, it has great burst damage, but in the end, ends up doing about the same amount as the lance. A great option for either ax or human combat.
Every time a heart is destroyed, a new swarm will deploy and destroy the fighter. This is generally a good thing, as it distracts the swarm for long enough to allow even slower ships to get out of range before taking down the swarm via flak. Furthermore, it refreshes the ammo stockpile of the fighter. Generally speaking, by the time the swarm is destroyed, the fighter bay will have rebuilt the fighter.
Lastly, large swarms will often start in a difficult to destroy 'ring' formation. However, flying over the fighter will often swap their formation to a much easier to destroy spiral, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to destroy the swarm.
They can be of great use in ax conflict zones, where they will often be ignored for long enough by the Swarm to be useful. They can save substantial amounts of ammo over the course, saving on synthesis costs and helping a lot in the long term!
This is more powerful than it seems, because of the experimental weapon limit of four hardpoints, and the Thargoid regeneration. Against a Hydra, for example, four gauss cannons can do about 42 DPS, which is reduced by 12.8 by the regeneration to around 29 DPS. The gauss fighter can increase this by about 7, or about a 25% increase; roughly the equivalent of carrying another gauss cannon, even if the player is flying perfectly. In addition, the SLF flies the same regardless of how poorly the player flies, so worse pilots will get a larger benefit. For example, if the player is missing 25% of their shots, reducing their DPS to 19, the fighter is now boosting your DPS by 40%. If the players fire rate is just 33% below optimum, the SLF will be like carrying two additional gauss cannons, but with no extra heat, no added distributor draw, and no need to aim.
It's up to you whether or not this is worth sacrificing hull reinforcement for. It's important to remember, however, that the faster you destroy the thargoid, the less damage you will take.
There are also several bugs currently applying to Guardian SLFs.
Currently, Fighters that use ammo will only have one round of ammunition, and then run out. This breaks them completely. Hopefully, it will be fixed in the next patch, but it's been broken since Odyssey released, so who knows.
2. Fighters will sometimes just run away once deployed. This same bug can also happen to NPCs controlling your ship. Swapping to the fighter and back can fix this problem. Try ordering the fighter to hold position, swapping to the fighter, swapping back, and then ordering it to attack. It's annoying, but it doesn't happen too often.
3. Some players experience lag when NPC SLFs are deployed in multiplayer instances. This is inconsistent, but can be a dealbreaker. However, in multiplayer instances, players generally have more than enough DPS to quickly take down thargoids anyway, so their value is muted. They can still be fun for Multicrew use(especially for newer players!), as multicrew generally doesn't cause this lag, but be sure to check with other players present first, or they might preemptively destroy the fighters, thinking they're controlled by NPCs.
Hopefully, this helps you decide if you want a guardian SLF. They can be helpful and fun, if used with the correct expectations. They look VERY cool, and they're fun to fly, to boot.
My personal recommendation is to give them a try and see for yourself!
Here's what you need to know.
What are Guardian SLFs?
Guardian Ship Launched Fighters are fighters that can fight both Thargoids and Human targets. They strike a balance between all the human fighter types; not as fast, agile, or tanky as the best of any of them, but better at any of those things than average. They are the best fighter option against Xeno targets.How do I get Guardian SLFs?
Guardian SLFs must be unlocked, by visiting the Guardian Fighter Sites, as well as the Guardian Beacons. The closest Guardian Beacon is in IC 2391 Sector FG-X b1-9 , about 500ly from Sol. You will need a thermal weapon to activate it. Once activated, you can collect the Guardian Key, and scan the Beacon to get directions to a nearby Guardian Fighter Site. Complete the site(there are a number of guides on this available online), and you will get a Guardian Vessel Blueprint. These can be used at any Guardian Tech Broker to unlock one of the Guardian Fighters.Be sure to check what materials are required for the unlock BEFORE leaving the bubble.
Guardian SLF Types
1. LanceThe Lance is the AX guardian fighter. It uses a Gauss Cannon, which has the highest armor piercing of any of the options. This is irrelevant against human enemies, since it's so much higher than even the highest Armor Hardness in the game, but it makes it the best option against Thargoids.
The Lance was quite bad when it was first released, as the heat caused it to rapidly overheat until destruction, but it was since rebalanced and now is able to fire regularly without issues.
How effective is it? The Lance, when piloted by an Elite npc, is fully capable of exerting a Basilisk thargoid interceptor. It can also single-handedly take down multiple scouts, as long as their attention is on something else. Against human enemies, it will not be as effective as a beam laser fighter, but is still better than the gimballed weapon fighter variants - at least, while in the hands of a reasonably-leveled NPC.
2. Trident
The Trident is the Anti-Human guardian fighter. It uses a plasma autocannon which does pure absolute damage, unlike the human plasma fighters, which do a 50/50 thermal/kinetic split. This counterbalances the fact that it does significantly lower raw DPS than the human plasma fighters.
Doing the math, the Trident becomes the superior DPS option once the target has over 35% average resistances. Against these targets, it is the most powerful fighter in the game. This means that against lower-ranked enemies, it is better to use a standard fighter.
It has relatively slow projectile speed, which makes it more difficult to hit interceptors and scouts. It can be moderately effective against thargoids, but nowhere near as potent as the Lance.
This is the only Guardian SLF without limited ammo.
3: Javelin
This fighter is no longer bad! In fact, it now competes with the lance for AX effectiveness! The Javelin uses a Shard Cannon. This weapon theoretically does the most raw damage of any of the guardian SLFs, but its slow projectile speed and wide spread makes it difficult for NPCs to hit with. All things considered, it has great burst damage, but in the end, ends up doing about the same amount as the lance. A great option for either ax or human combat.
Use against Humans
Against Human targets, they are best against single powerful targets. Lacking the utilities that can make human SLFs so resilient, they can quickly die against multiple targets, and their damage tends towards being best against highly resistant targets. Use them against Imperial, Federal, or Independent Captains in Conflict Zones for the optimum experience.Use against Swarms
Fighters in general are flimsy under fire. Compounding this, Thargon Swarms will prioritize attacking SLFs in the area. While the Taipan AX fighter can survive for slightly longer under attack, neither fighter can survive long. Functionally speaking, the swarm must be destroyed before an SLF can be used against thargoids. On the flipside, thargoid interceptors will not attack fighters unless no other target is available, so damage against Interceptors(once the swarm is destroyed) is generally consistent.Every time a heart is destroyed, a new swarm will deploy and destroy the fighter. This is generally a good thing, as it distracts the swarm for long enough to allow even slower ships to get out of range before taking down the swarm via flak. Furthermore, it refreshes the ammo stockpile of the fighter. Generally speaking, by the time the swarm is destroyed, the fighter bay will have rebuilt the fighter.
Lastly, large swarms will often start in a difficult to destroy 'ring' formation. However, flying over the fighter will often swap their formation to a much easier to destroy spiral, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to destroy the swarm.
They can be of great use in ax conflict zones, where they will often be ignored for long enough by the Swarm to be useful. They can save substantial amounts of ammo over the course, saving on synthesis costs and helping a lot in the long term!
Use against Thargoid Interceptors
Once the Swarm is destroyed, use becomes straightforward:- The SLF will do small but consistent DPS to the thargoid.
- They will not attack the hearts, other than by accident.
- The Gauss fighter does approximately 75% the DPS of a Class 2 gauss cannon.
This is more powerful than it seems, because of the experimental weapon limit of four hardpoints, and the Thargoid regeneration. Against a Hydra, for example, four gauss cannons can do about 42 DPS, which is reduced by 12.8 by the regeneration to around 29 DPS. The gauss fighter can increase this by about 7, or about a 25% increase; roughly the equivalent of carrying another gauss cannon, even if the player is flying perfectly. In addition, the SLF flies the same regardless of how poorly the player flies, so worse pilots will get a larger benefit. For example, if the player is missing 25% of their shots, reducing their DPS to 19, the fighter is now boosting your DPS by 40%. If the players fire rate is just 33% below optimum, the SLF will be like carrying two additional gauss cannons, but with no extra heat, no added distributor draw, and no need to aim.
It's up to you whether or not this is worth sacrificing hull reinforcement for. It's important to remember, however, that the faster you destroy the thargoid, the less damage you will take.
Downsides
The standard SLF downsides apply. They take some of your income, and half your combat XP. If you care about leveling up your combat rank quickly, you should not take an SLF. Income is a more flexible variable, as while they do take some of your credits, they can easily improve kill times beyond the loss(as shown above).There are also several bugs currently applying to Guardian SLFs.
Bugs
1.2. Fighters will sometimes just run away once deployed. This same bug can also happen to NPCs controlling your ship. Swapping to the fighter and back can fix this problem. Try ordering the fighter to hold position, swapping to the fighter, swapping back, and then ordering it to attack. It's annoying, but it doesn't happen too often.
3. Some players experience lag when NPC SLFs are deployed in multiplayer instances. This is inconsistent, but can be a dealbreaker. However, in multiplayer instances, players generally have more than enough DPS to quickly take down thargoids anyway, so their value is muted. They can still be fun for Multicrew use(especially for newer players!), as multicrew generally doesn't cause this lag, but be sure to check with other players present first, or they might preemptively destroy the fighters, thinking they're controlled by NPCs.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this helps you decide if you want a guardian SLF. They can be helpful and fun, if used with the correct expectations. They look VERY cool, and they're fun to fly, to boot.
My personal recommendation is to give them a try and see for yourself!
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