Elite / Frontier Ship Preference
- Thread starter Panserbjorn
- Start date
Probably the finest of large freighters. Personally I'd use one with 4MW's on turrets, 20MW as primary weapon and mining laser mounted on aft. Add all the equipment on might ever need, 70 shield generators and 10 cabins, and there will still be enough room for two jumps worth of fuel or same amount of cargo.
Still I prefer smaller ships.
Hmm, i never really used turrets.
I know what you mean about smaller ships, in fact my second choice would be the Asp Explorer - the assassin's ship of choice!
I was a specialist base buster/photographer for the Empire, so i needed a large ship with lots of space for fuel - it could mean 6 or 8 jumps between refuelling, so i had to make do with the 1 laser, no cabins, 50 shields (ish) and sometimes an energy bomb for some fun as you approach a base with tons of enemies.
Lately I've been using an Asp with all the essentials, Class3 hydrogen drive (more versatile fuel-wise than military one), fuel scoop, tractor beam cargo scoop, radar mapper (useful in combat and necesary for collecting bounties) and HS cloud analyzer (just in case, I don't enjoy fiddling with calendar necessary for assasinations), single 5MW pulse laser (cooling booster optional), Naval ECM, 8 shields and energy booster.
5MW pulse is surprisingly effective if you can aim properly and 17t (3 extra shields plus energy booster) lighter than 4MW beam, and extra shielding buys me all the time I need when attacked by multiple attackers.
This leaves room for missile and over 18t of fuel/cargo, I can always refuel en route by fuel scooping if I need more.
Also, back when I used Class 3 Military drive (and 4MW beam) and was doing classified missions (still working on my rank to be able to do normal photographic/bombing runs), I developed foolproof approach technique saving me the hassle of fighting the intercepting craft during final approach. You can either try flying low (100-1000m) at about 20000km/h or adjust your trajectory while still high above the planet, to pass just above planet's surface at the objective, and approach at 20000-30000km/h. There is no way you can be intercepted by ships launching from base when approaching at this speed.
5MW pulse is surprisingly effective if you can aim properly and 17t (3 extra shields plus energy booster) lighter than 4MW beam, and extra shielding buys me all the time I need when attacked by multiple attackers.
This leaves room for missile and over 18t of fuel/cargo, I can always refuel en route by fuel scooping if I need more.
Also, back when I used Class 3 Military drive (and 4MW beam) and was doing classified missions (still working on my rank to be able to do normal photographic/bombing runs), I developed foolproof approach technique saving me the hassle of fighting the intercepting craft during final approach. You can either try flying low (100-1000m) at about 20000km/h or adjust your trajectory while still high above the planet, to pass just above planet's surface at the objective, and approach at 20000-30000km/h. There is no way you can be intercepted by ships launching from base when approaching at this speed.
Love the CobraIII still, but it does lack some of the accessories space of the asp, which i now use as ship of choice. I like the combat runs/assinations, often jumping into dangerous space with hyperspace target selected for quick escape, and sit there with some expensive goods on board, floating at approx 123kms waiting for easy pickings, errm pirates.
have been elite
3 times in elite BBC
twice on amiga elite
twice on pc elite
3 times on frontier
once on FFE.
NOW getting back into it with glffe.
I've done the trading ploy, combats, had the imps, cobras, boa's, lions, pumas. Like the huge ship with top/bottom turret pulse lasers (30mw) and stacks of shields, then jsut cruise and let the poor saps float in my xhair while i trounce them in short order.
The best ship i had was completely accidental.
Had an imp courier, stacked for combat, doing the jump into dangerous space thing, made it to a space station with about 30% hull left, and the auto pilot crashed me into the doors, leaving me with about 5% hull and no engine. Luckily i'd jumped to saftey at a high tech planet, which sold larger hyperdrives. So i fitted the class 6 (meant i had to loose some shields) but a courier with the explorers drive fitted. That was fantastic range. I must of tried 100's of times since then to repeat the hull damage and smash the drive so i could by the class6 again but never been able to repeat it.
I'm now playing for a bit of fun with the asp startup ship in Nic's version of GLFFEa, where the missiles weigh nothing, the cargo space is a bit bigger, and a class4 military is the pre-fitted engine, its a damn good alrounder, although i've fitted passenger cabins, rather than relying on trading to gain the extra pennies for running costs, between assassinations.
I do prefer beam laser, although i use it like a pulse, it fires when i want, rather than waiting for recharge, so if i JUST miss, i can re-fire.
have been elite
3 times in elite BBC
twice on amiga elite
twice on pc elite
3 times on frontier
once on FFE.
NOW getting back into it with glffe.
I've done the trading ploy, combats, had the imps, cobras, boa's, lions, pumas. Like the huge ship with top/bottom turret pulse lasers (30mw) and stacks of shields, then jsut cruise and let the poor saps float in my xhair while i trounce them in short order.
The best ship i had was completely accidental.
Had an imp courier, stacked for combat, doing the jump into dangerous space thing, made it to a space station with about 30% hull left, and the auto pilot crashed me into the doors, leaving me with about 5% hull and no engine. Luckily i'd jumped to saftey at a high tech planet, which sold larger hyperdrives. So i fitted the class 6 (meant i had to loose some shields) but a courier with the explorers drive fitted. That was fantastic range. I must of tried 100's of times since then to repeat the hull damage and smash the drive so i could by the class6 again but never been able to repeat it.
I'm now playing for a bit of fun with the asp startup ship in Nic's version of GLFFEa, where the missiles weigh nothing, the cargo space is a bit bigger, and a class4 military is the pre-fitted engine, its a damn good alrounder, although i've fitted passenger cabins, rather than relying on trading to gain the extra pennies for running costs, between assassinations.
I do prefer beam laser, although i use it like a pulse, it fires when i want, rather than waiting for recharge, so if i JUST miss, i can re-fire.
The only problem is that 4MW beam still doesn't match the power of 5MW pulse when fired in short bursts and is already almost 7x larger.
Ships smaller than Sidewinder are a bit of a problem when using pulse armed ASP, but they can still be shot with relative ease when doing their attack runs, if you give all the power to retros.
Anything larger can, with little skill, be outmaneuvered, aproached from their six and poked with laser.
I never really liked IC/IT. They look very stylish and majestic, they can accomodate big guns and a lot of equipement, but they turn too slugishly for crafts with only forward firing weaponry. Also, they can't be fitted with fuel scoops and I like having one of these with me. Asp in combat configuration may only have space for 9t of cargo if you jump at maximum range (plus anything you catch en route to destination), but you can still make some profit without having to reconfigure your ship if you find the right system, especially if you factor in the captured loot.
One question, how did you get your Thargoid laser onto the Griffin?!!
But, to answer the question... At the moment I'm loving the Thargoid ship. I'm slowly working my way up the Fed Mil career ladder (currently at Sgt.Major) so the strength of the lasers and the number of missile pylons def come in handy! That and the drive of course!!
Here's a question for anyone who has reached the top end of the military career: Does it ever really kick off between the Feds and the Imperials? I'd love a nice full scale war with capital ships and the like! That should definitely be in Elite IV!