Mon Apr 07, 2003 5:30 pm by NukeIt
I will say this:
I have tried the sabre, and then I switched to an eagle. I'm keeping the eagle.
My reasoning is this:
With a sabre and a class 10 shield and 4 class 10 weps(supplemented by a buckshot turret, advanced thruster, hornet/sunslayer, drillers, adv. countermeasures, and two wyrm 1's), I was consistently beating the crap out of hoardes of Corsairs in Titans, while losing no more than a quarter of my shields, and taking no armor damage other than from radiation in the area. The only(ande I mean the ONLY) enemies I was having problems with were ones that were more agile than myself and capable of mounting equal firepower(Eagles, nomad fighters).
On a whim, I took a trip from Malta to nearby Freeport 9, and plopped myself in an eagle. Immediately, I ceased having problems with agile enemies. I have yet to experiment with nomads again, but I have taken several 100k+ missions against Eagles, and ended up with no more than 5k in repairs after each one(most due to radiation, and significantly lower than the 10k+ repair costs I was getting in identical missions in the sabre, with the same equipment).
After seeing those improvements in the Eagle, I have concluded that the Titan must be to the Sabre what the Sabre is to the Eagle: a chunkier, slower, more vulnerable vessel. And after seeing what happened to my repair bills, I never intend to try the Titan.
This is my breakdown, you may or may not see it differently:
The Titan is not meant to be a dogfighter. The Titan should be used mainly in an operation when you KNOW WHERE THE ENEMY WILL BE, and will not need to move around much. Examples of this would be laying an ambush at a jump hole, or camping on a base waiting for a certain ship to arrive. In those roles you can simply pop the enemy on the approach with your superior firepower, without moving around much. It is also a good ship for base attacks, when used with, and I stress, WITH ESCORTS TO TAKE CARE OF THE FIGHTERS.
The Sabre is a middle of the road ship. It is capable both as a dogfighter and a ambusher, but it excels at neither. It lacks the weaknesses of the Eagle and Titan, but it also lacks their strengths. The Sabre should be used when you don't quite know what you're up against. Its average maneuverability and average armor are usually good enough to pull you through most situations. It is, as was said before, a good explorer.
The Eagle is a dogfighter. It should be used where fighters will be the main threat. It does not have the armor for a head-on pass at a heavily armed and armored station(with escorts, weapon platforms, whatever). It is meant to use its maneuverability advantage to get an edge in dogfights, occasionally snapping off a torp at the heavier stuff when there's a gap in the battle. It is made to dodge fire, use obstacles as cover, and when the opportunity presents itself, pick off the enemies one at a time.
Naturally, all of that is dependent on a few things...namely the region and what factions inhabit it. Naturally, if you're facing Liberty Rogues in New York, it won't matter WHAT VHF you have(even the Anubis), they won't be able to beat you. Pilot skill also plays in, but it has a way of being counteracted by the ships themselves(wile a good Titan might kill a dumb Eagle, a good Eagle will beat a good Titan).
Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless
Officer: "Freelancer, what happened to the transport you were escorting?"
Me: "He told me my ship looked wierd...I invited him to have intimate relations with my SunSlayer"
