Even as someone who is not particularly a hardcore combat pilot, i can say for sure that i did observe the Alliance ships came and went without much fanfare at all. Since their release, i have barely met anyone who talks about them, hell, i think people barely even acknowledge they exist.
And it is sad because they are in fact very pretty ships, and they look great inside and out. But after the Chieftain, which is a pretty nice maneuverable fighter, you can for sure say it takes a dive down from there. The Challenger (and Crusader especially) take significant losses in speed, agility and jump range, all things that the Chieftain is quite nice at, for... nothing really worth it.
All their internals and utilities stay exactly the same, but they gain a tiny bit of shields and health. Hardpoints are switched around in size and moved around the ship, and the external slots change in size, but you can pretty much safely say that they are all an downgrade from the first one.
Most egregious is the Crusader, as while it gets the ability to use a fighter hangar, it gets such a massive decrease in speed that it's pretty much a Federal Gunship with slight improvements in maneuverability, but with much worse firepower.
I don't even know what the deal is with the Challenger, honestly. I can barely tell any difference with it other than that it's a litttle bit slower and has different hardpoints, but a bit more health and possibly more slots for reinforcements.
You can definitely argue that what they do offer is being cheaper and not requiring a rank requirement... but i feel like that is an unfair positive to give, as in the end, if you have the choice between the two ships as they are, this stops being relevant.
I do personally think that the Chieftain is fine as it is, but that the Challenger and Crusader need something extra to set them apart and genuinely make them good.
Looking at the fact that these two ships were created as an Alliance response to Thargoids, I think it should be taken into consideration when trying to create roles for them. And while the Chieftain definitely fills in its role as a fast, agile big medium fighter, the Challenger and Crusader are a bit more unclear.
My idea is that while the Chieftain is a "air-superiority" fighter, the Challenger should be a real heavyweight tank with bigger guns, and the Crusader a more supportive-multirole ship.
In reality, the Challenger is a larger and heavier tank than the Chieftain, and the Crusader was a (relatively) small light tank from world war II, used mostly in Africa.
Therefore, what I would like for the Challenger is to make it a real frontline fighter, a challenger that's quite good at fighting up front, by add a noticeable amount of armour to it, and possibly another hardpoint, a better power distributor, or more utility slots.
The Crusader however, fitting in with its name, should be a ship that can lead a fight far into enemy territory.
Thus, while it will keep its fairly slow speed, it will receive additional external slots and a better frameshift drive, making it much more suitable for additional roles, like repairing/decontaminating other ships, delivering cargo or refugees from stations, and using its fighter hangar to cooperate with other players better.
This is much unlike its current role, which is a very slow heavy fighter with no jump range or speed, and would make it stand out better against the Gunship, which is arguably better other than the rank lock and jump range.
Do you agree? Are there things i have missed about these very underrated ships? Secret advantages that people don't know much about?
And it is sad because they are in fact very pretty ships, and they look great inside and out. But after the Chieftain, which is a pretty nice maneuverable fighter, you can for sure say it takes a dive down from there. The Challenger (and Crusader especially) take significant losses in speed, agility and jump range, all things that the Chieftain is quite nice at, for... nothing really worth it.
All their internals and utilities stay exactly the same, but they gain a tiny bit of shields and health. Hardpoints are switched around in size and moved around the ship, and the external slots change in size, but you can pretty much safely say that they are all an downgrade from the first one.
Most egregious is the Crusader, as while it gets the ability to use a fighter hangar, it gets such a massive decrease in speed that it's pretty much a Federal Gunship with slight improvements in maneuverability, but with much worse firepower.
I don't even know what the deal is with the Challenger, honestly. I can barely tell any difference with it other than that it's a litttle bit slower and has different hardpoints, but a bit more health and possibly more slots for reinforcements.
You can definitely argue that what they do offer is being cheaper and not requiring a rank requirement... but i feel like that is an unfair positive to give, as in the end, if you have the choice between the two ships as they are, this stops being relevant.
I do personally think that the Chieftain is fine as it is, but that the Challenger and Crusader need something extra to set them apart and genuinely make them good.
Looking at the fact that these two ships were created as an Alliance response to Thargoids, I think it should be taken into consideration when trying to create roles for them. And while the Chieftain definitely fills in its role as a fast, agile big medium fighter, the Challenger and Crusader are a bit more unclear.
My idea is that while the Chieftain is a "air-superiority" fighter, the Challenger should be a real heavyweight tank with bigger guns, and the Crusader a more supportive-multirole ship.
In reality, the Challenger is a larger and heavier tank than the Chieftain, and the Crusader was a (relatively) small light tank from world war II, used mostly in Africa.
Therefore, what I would like for the Challenger is to make it a real frontline fighter, a challenger that's quite good at fighting up front, by add a noticeable amount of armour to it, and possibly another hardpoint, a better power distributor, or more utility slots.
The Crusader however, fitting in with its name, should be a ship that can lead a fight far into enemy territory.
Thus, while it will keep its fairly slow speed, it will receive additional external slots and a better frameshift drive, making it much more suitable for additional roles, like repairing/decontaminating other ships, delivering cargo or refugees from stations, and using its fighter hangar to cooperate with other players better.
This is much unlike its current role, which is a very slow heavy fighter with no jump range or speed, and would make it stand out better against the Gunship, which is arguably better other than the rank lock and jump range.
Do you agree? Are there things i have missed about these very underrated ships? Secret advantages that people don't know much about?
