I was just passing through looking for information, and want to make a drive-by statement 'bout the game ...

Other people may have their particular reservations or particulars about taste and design specs, but .. after all was said and done, I just couldn't fly the VHF's .. I became alluringly drawn to the German ships .. with their heavy-hitting green beams o' doom and their grim and menacing dark-steel exterior and their green pulsed inductive thrust designs. Basically, to me, everything Rhineland gave the impression of 'mysteriously foriegn and superior technology' ... so I gave up the Titan for the Valkyrie and went around doing crazy stuff just to show that I could. I think all the ships can be cinsidered ugly in their own particular ways (house vehicles ugliness ratings start at Rhineland with lowest ugly up to Bretonia at highest ugly, in my personal opinion ...

So I really wish you could design your own ships. Man, I do .. I really, really do. Choose frames, wings, color, structure, engine color and noise .. But I'll take what I can get. I also like the Dagger. Mmm.

Essentially conversations into the matter go like this...

IM: Hey, where's your Titan?
Me: I gave it up for this fine piece of proven German military technology. Mmm, panzer.
IM: But it is inferior in every way ..!
Me: What are you talking about? Look at those engines! They are so very .. very .. very GREEN!
IM: Uh, what? That does not .. um, mean your ship is cooler.
Me: Of course it does. You are just jealous because your pathetic non-Rhineland faction does not understand the complex military secrets of our amazing green engines. You wish you had them too, but you do not. The mysterious BMW racing-logo ish flywheel energy generator on the rear of my ship houses the COMPLEX energy drive that your pathetic inferior ship designers cannot comprehend.
IM: Um, all ships go the same speed, no matter what.
Me: Oh, jealous that your prototype GREEN engines blew up? Forced to use the reddish-white engines instead? Guess what, if you blow me up, the EXPLOSION is even green. Top that!
IM: You are crazy.
Me: And you can't have my cloaking device, either.
IM: Your ship doesn't have a cloaking device.
Me: Does too.
IM: I've never seen you use it.
Me: That's kind of the POINT of a cloaking device, is not to be seen. If you could SEE me using it, that would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?
IM: ARGH!

So there you go for your entertainment. By the way, it would ROCK if they released a ship development mod. I can dream, can't I?

I want a cloaking device.

And btw, cloaking is visible, those flashy blue and purple lights circle around the ship a few times.

I didn't like the Banshee much. Seemed as maneuverable as the Anubis (not particularly). The Humpy is fun because it's so different than the other ships.

I haven't tried a lot of the ships though. Probably should when I get really bored.

I like the Startracker a lot, though

ER

The Kusari Drake is my favorite! Awesome looking ship! Loooove the maneuverability.

Now if we could just have a light fighter with the guns to contest some of those heavies out there...

Anubis is my personal favorite...not only because it's so cheap, but because it's still actually challenging to kill some enemies with it.

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

A fun and kinda challenging thing to do is to take a lvl 43 mission on multiplayer by yourself with a drake. Lol, took me on average 20 minutes to beat those missions since my guns were so weak compared to the ships I was fighting. Not to mention if I stayed still too long, they'd cut my shields down in an instant. What's even harder is fighting nomads with the drake. Two hits and no more shields! lol.

I'm pretty settled on the Drake now. I've dubbed it "best ship in the game." A friend of mine was oohing and ahhing over his Sabre when I made that statement. "What about the Titan or Eagle?"
"Indeed. What about them?"
"Aren't they more powerful?"
"Not in the least."
He's fairly new to the game, so he just let it go. I suspect people here might want more validation of that statement. I quietly offer the following example:
The two of us jumped into Omega-5 from Omega-11. We were immediately set upon by more Corsairs than I could count. My Sabre friend died in mere seconds, I ducked and weaved through the light show. I continued to evade them while my friend made the short trip back from Omega-11. He died again. I evaded their attacks for about ten minutes, during which time I scouted out the central region of the sector.

My friend stayed inside the base, asking for updates. I was quiet as I worked on avoiding fire. I finally told him I was coming back during the worm-hole cut scene as I returned to Omega-11. I was immediately set upon by about eight Stilletos. I decided I'd had enough of running away and turned to fight. I defeated them all, single handedly, while also being ravaged by the radiation field. Best fighter in the game, I say. He died twice, didn't kill anyone. I controlled every fight from start to finish.

It's maneuverability allows it to evade incoming fire, including missiles and mines, while sticking on the tail of any other ship in the game. The bigger the ship, the easier my job gets for staying on their but and drilling through their hull. You might think it takes longer to kill a ship with fewer, weaker guns, but my ability to keep a target consistently in the crosshairs really evens the playing field.

Simply put, I mock the silly people posting how one VHF or another is the best.

*mock* *mock* *mock*

I too, am fond of the drake. While I've enjoyed flying much larger ships, and sometimes delight in the awesome firepower of a heavier vessel, the drake's nimble performance, decent firepower and seductive good looks suit my play style more than anything else I've tried so far. I loved finishing SP in one, and as I continue to explore the level 38 universe, I continue to enjoy the edge-of-your-seat experience that the drake offers. Flying the drake is like dancing on the edge of a knife - always a mistake away from death, always in motion. Of course, the great thing about Freelancer is the fact that there are tons of 'best' ships out there - I still haven't tried out the Dromedary, and it's likely that I'll love that one too. Its refreshing that the game doesn't force people into a very few 'best' ship choices in order to complete the SP, or to stay competitive in higher level play.

Anik

I think a bit of the problem may be your friend sucks. He's flying a sabre yet dies twice without killing anyone? Did he load it with level 1 weapons and shields? Did he figure out the F and G keys?

I'm in a Sabre and happily taking on the $100,000 plus missions available in the border worlds over on the right. Never have too much trouble even when I'm jumped by enough fighters to put a scroll bar on the hostile ship listing.

I'm not saying the Sabre is the best out there, but it is way better than your friends behaviour lets on!

"I do so relish these times of peril"

I would love to have seen a few more civilian ships. Rather than just the bird ones (hawk, etc). I'm think more in the line of sporty scout ships. Maybe just 1 or 2 guns, and can't carry much, but ships with great lines and fast as a ferret on amphetamines. It would only really work though if the ships had variable speeds. I think giving every damn ship the same set of speeds was a big mistake.

"I do so relish these times of peril"

I think a bit of the problem may be your friend sucks. He's flying a sabre yet dies twice without killing anyone? Did he load it with level 1 weapons and shields? Did he figure out the F and G keys?

Hehe. He's not a bad pilot. He has, afterall, saved up enough money to afford his own Sabre. He doesn't have class 10 equipment yet, which was why we were heading out towards the Omicrons. He was simply overwhelmed. I meant it when I said there were too many enemy to count. I ran away because of it. My enemies list did scroll off the screen. At a guess, I'd say there were a dozen ships; Hessian and Corsair heavy fighters. The Drake's ability to evade saved me his fate. His Sabre couldn't get away from all of the incoming fire fast enough.

THE BEST SHIPS WELL LOOKING ARE:

1st Daggor

It looks SWEET first time i saw it i nearly sold my eagle for it. So i started a new charaicter and got it and i never regreted it.


2nd Valk

Looks nice but got great power.Gotta love it.

Coolest looking ship in the game is the Hawk...No contest. If I could load even 2 class 9 weapons on it, I'd never use anything else.

Since I cant, the next best is the Eagle. On looks alone, the Sabre comes in a close 3rd. I also like the ship that looks like a titan without the retarded top fin...forgot what it's called.

The Dagger does look kinda cool too, but a little plain...

Yeah, flying a loaded Eagle I was taking on 8+ NPCs in Titans and still coming out on top easily...anyone who cant fight with a Class 10 ship cant blame the ship.