The only thing I can think of if you're speaking of the Unity at the Colorado gate just before you run into the smuggler, "Cosmo" ..
I think I've tried it just for the fun of it, but the game would force a reset since I fired on a "friendly".
But, if you're refering to the one which blocks the tradelane to West Point while you're trying to escape, (I don't remember if that was called the Unity) but I've taken it out in a modded ship.

Yes, I'm talking about the Unity battleship blocking the trade-lane to West Point during the flight from Manhattan at the beginning of Mission 4.

It's fairly easy to "destroy" it, whether you have modded your ship or not. You can take it all the way down before Walker shows up. But its destruction triggers are funny -- which is precisely the issue.

The question is:

Can anyone definitively certify that it's possible to get "battleships killed" credit for the Unity kill?

It helps to have an 8.33 refire weapon- that's by far the best way to steal any battleship kill. You can't stop shooting it when it starts to explode; you need to continue shooting the center section of the battleship until it vanishes completely and can no longer be selected. You could actually completely ignore the Unity until its health bar is depleted and it begins to fall apart; so long as you manage to land the last hit before the center section disappears you will get credit for any non-solar battleship kill.

*edit: some battleships appear as ships, and some as solars (i.e. stations, storage depots, weapons platforms, etc). Any battleship which the game lists as a ship and not a solar will count for a battleship kill (click your ships tab; if your target is listed under ships you're golden) if you manage to land that last shot. The problem is that usually you also have several allies shooting the same battleship- which is why you should go for a high-refire weapon or two if you really want those battleship kills.

Edited by - NukeIt on 4/27/2007 11:08:28 PM

I've killed her in a modded game...nice volley of quick fire Quantum Torpedo's and she went bang rather nicely.

However don't expect the game to like it very much...had a few stalled games,even after i killed all the enemy AI lol

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I'm pretty sure it registers as a battleship kill.
I've racked up quite a few battleship kills during the story line.

Edited by - Rankor on 4/28/2007 5:00:56 AM

Wanna try something neat? Once Walker appears, watch where his main weapon-shots hit the Unity, then get directly between him and the Unity. He stops firing because you are in the way, and that makes it easier to get the kill.

Beware pirates bearing gifts!

I've never gotten it to die. I've always gotten it's health to zero, but it just refuses to explode...:S

Maybe it's the story that triggers the death of the unity. But you can get multiple battleship kills during the storyline. Just have a full load with missiles and torpedoes.

Two points: the first point, about the timing, is a relatively simple one. You get credited for a kill if you fire the shot that takes the hit points down to zero. Larger ships have a "delayed death" -- and they can even shoot and say things while they're exploding. But the kill happens earlier. (At least that's how all the other cruisers/battleships work.)

So *if* the Unity can count as a kill, you have to hit it between when its invulnerability drops and when its health bar flatlines. It will live for several seconds after that, but the kill has already been determined.

Ok, as for the more complicated issue of correct loadout:

8.33 refire is good, but more precisely you want to maximize the number of impacts per second.

This means you want to mix all refire speeds and all projectile speeds. -- And choosing higher refire when you have to make a choice.

How damaging they are doesn't really matter, so you want to use lower-class weapons to avoid depleting your gun battery.

That's the theory. In practice it's a balancing act. My analysis finds the following loadout for the Unity:

Mule
guns:
1: Scorpion -- 699/4
2: Barrager Mk I -- 600/8.33
3 and 4: any two of these three:
- Brave Mk I -- 650/4
- Dragoon Type 1 -- 700/3.03
- Pyros Type 1 -- 600/4
turrets:
5: Justice Turret Mk I -- 700/8.33
6: <irrelevant: doesn't fire forwards>
7: Gunslinger Turret Mk I -- 750/8.33
8: Dragoon Turret Type 1 -- 701/4

Again, I've flown this dozens of times against the Unity, and never got a kill credit. I beginning to think the "Unity killshot" was just a rumor. I've tried to block friendly shots like Conzul recommends, I've got the optimal loadout and the correct timing.

I've heard lots of implications that the Unity killshot is possible, but I haven't heard a definite positive....

NukeIt, Conzul: have you ever notched a kill for the Unity? I'm beginning to think there's a wrinkle in the script that absolutely prohibits getting credit for the Unity.

try this:
activate the beam weapon mod in your FLMM just to test the "kill theory" .
Just the beam weapon and not the "Advanced Beam Weapon" .
You'll get the kill.

Thanks Rankor -- great idea.

Yeah, You're welcome. A Starflyer with 3 beam guns will take you through most of the whole game. But if you can, carry three extra beam guns when you're ready to pick up an Anubis.
Also, if you want to have a little fun with whatever you're flying, activate the "nearly invulnerable shield" mod. You'ld have to go flying through the zone-21 mine field at full speed to see any shield drop.

Ok, with Rankor's help I'm pretty sure I've disproven the "Unity Killshot" rumor.

I've tried about 10 times to nab that supposed elusive battleship credit, this time with a cheat loadout of "beam" weaponry. No dice.

I fired continuously into her middle, from a time-point before the Unity bottomed her health bar, through to the point of her total disappearance (where she's no longer selectable, and her middle has exploded).

I'd be grateful if anyone could confirm this. If you're up for it, all you need to do is download the FL "Mod Manager" at the following address...

https://www.lancersreactor.com/t/downlo ... asp?id=927

... and activate the 'beam' mod. Then just load up the "Mission 4: Manhattan" campaign savegame, and buy a 'beam' weapon from Manhattan before you depart. Try to take down the Unity with it however you can -- try anything -- and let me know if you get zero results.

And *please* let me know if you register a battleship kill.

Please check your current battleship kill stats before you start. (Press F8 -- "Battleships Killed" is the last stat on the readout.) Then check it again after the Unity has been demolished.

Note of course that it's possible to score battleship kills on the LNS Twilight and LNS Rampart, the two nearby cruisers. -- So for the purposes of this experiment just focus on the Unity.

Thanks very much to anyone who wants to help confirm or disprove the Unity killshot.

no kiddin?
Try one more thing..
and this one I know I cannot even kill the assault cruiser that take out Benford Station..
Try setting the hull damage to -1 (admin power) .
In the meantime, I'll give that kill shot a try with the unity.
I could very well be wrong.