You often see posts where people have mentioned how much power this or that ship has. I have yet to really be able to determine, from a list, what ships have the most power. The pilotable ships list only has 5/6 or 4/5 etc. What does this mean? Is this the optimal and max class of weapons? We know how much energy a weapon uses, but how do we know how much energy a ship has to use? I have found that when loading some high energy weapons, I run out of ship energy too fast. I then need to go and remount some lower energy weapons.

I say all of this to get to this point. If you load out at the max class of weapons but are using all high energy weapons, you would be better off with the lower class of weapon that doesn't use as much energy. This would give you a longer durration of fire power before you need to run and hide.

I know you can buy both high and low energy weapons in each class. This is only one thing to consider.

OT, does anyone know of a list that shows the list of ships with the max energy for each ship?

I do not know of any such list but I have looked up the a couple of ships in order to plan weapon loadouts for a maximum-fun campaign:

<pre><font size=1 face=Courier>ship capacity recharge nickname
-----------------------------------------------------
Starflier 1000 95 ge_fighter_power01
Patriot 1300 126 li_fighter_power01
Defender 1500 157 li_elite_power01
Dagger 1800 183 bw_fighter_power01
Crusader 2500 248 br_elite_power01
Drake 2900 290 ku_fighter_power01
Barracuda 3400 345 bh_elite_power01
Dragon 3400 345 ku_elite_power01
Anubis 4000 395 or_elite_power01 </font></pre>

As regards your statement about having a longer duration of fire with weak weapons: let's say a loadout with maximum-class weapons drains your powerplant within 10 seconds; a loadout with 'optimum class' weapons will then take 20 to 30 seconds to do the same damage at the target. Why would anyone want that?

The longer you have to shoot at your enemy the longer your window of exposure. Also, unless you fly a ship that is much more agile than the target you cannot fire continuously; instead there will be a window of opportunity where you can hit your enemy and then you have to manoeuver again to produce another opportunity. During the window of opportunity you normally want to do the maximum possible damage; the powerplant can recharge during the rest of the time. If you use weaker guns then you have to fly more passes against the target.

Note: gun efficiency ranges from 2.66 (Rheinland Stealthblades) to 6.00 (FA Vultures); although this is somewhat related to the topic it is still a different battlefield.

Ok, point taken. I havn't completed to top level yet and am just playing with different weapons now that the campain is over.

BTW, I take it that the info on the ships came from an ini file, could you pass on which one it is? That is the kind of info I'm looking for.

The ships are sold as packages that combine a ship hull (the ship as such) with various equipment pieces, like running lights, engine, powerplant and shield. The packages are in equipment/goods.ini, and the powerplant data is defined in equipment/misc_equip.ini.

Look at my post in the thread Engine'ID not match Ship's ID? for a rough overview how things fit together.

Great points, Sherlog.
I've used Optimal as a general indication of power only .
After I found this Spreadsheet:

http://www.lancersreactor.com/t/downloa ... asp?id=215

Prime consideration became energy efficiency.

I will max out a ships hardpoints, but depending on the optimal classification,
that will determine if those guns are max DpS or max efficiency.

Of course, throw in Pulse guns in weapons groups and everything changes.

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'

Yes, pulse weapons are a fine addition to any loadout and they reduce the amount of energy needed to fry a ship considerably. Pity that there are so few of them, though ... It is sometimes difficult to find a pulse weapon that matches the speed of the main guns, especially if your ship does not have a turret hardpoint. Sometimes it is impossible and then you have to do without a shield buster gun or use a different type of main gun and accept the drawbacks of those guns. For example, the only pulse gun suitable for the Drake is the Borroco but it does not match the speed of the Xenos guns and so you have to use the slower Outcast Pyros guns in order to get a good mix.

Here is a list of the standard powerplants for all buyable ships. The list is sorted by powerplant capacity, ship level and ship name. I have added some extra information that might be useful for choosing a ship.

<pre><font size=1 face=Courier>ship power regen price lvl hold armour hardpoints powerplant
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starflier 1000 95 6000 0 20 1100 223 ge_fighter_power01
Patriot 1300 126 6600 1 25 1300 3333 li_fighter_power01
Rhino 1300 126 7900 1 80 1600 333/33333 li_freighter_power01
Bloodhound 1500 157 10400 2 35 1900 344/4 pi_fighter_power01
Defender 1500 157 10400 2 30 1600 44333/4 li_elite_power01
Dagger 1800 183 15300 4 35 1800 3344/4 bw_fighter_power01
Piranha 1800 183 15300 4 35 1800 4433 bh_fighter_power01
Startracker 1800 183 15300 4 30 1800 334 ge_fighter2_power01
Clydesdale 1800 183 18360 4 125 2200 344/33443 br_freighter_power01
Mule 1800 183 18400 4 90 2200 4433/3443 pi_freighter_power01
Cavalier 2100 213 22000 6 30 2100 5544 br_fighter_power01
Crusader 2500 248 31400 8 35 2600 554455 br_elite_power01
Legionnaire 2500 248 31400 8 35 2400 5544 co_fighter_power01
Drone 2700 265 53400 10 175 3600 66/666555 ku_freighter_power01
Drake 2900 290 44500 10 35 2800 6655 ku_fighter_power01
Dromedary 2900 290 53400 10 275 3600 566/56656 bw_freighter_power01
Barracuda 3400 345 63200 13 45 3600 666655 bh_elite_power01
Dragon 3400 345 63200 13 40 3600 666655 ku_elite_power01
Hawk 3400 345 63200 13 45 3300 6655 ge_fighter4_power01
Wolfhound 3400 345 63200 13 40 3600 55666/6 pi_elite_power01
Anubis 4000 395 1000 16 70 4200 666666/6 co_elite_power01

Banshee 4700 465 127000 20 45 4500 7766 rh_fighter_power01
Stiletto 4700 465 127000 20 45 4900 777766 bw_elite_power01
Humpback 4700 465 152000 20 250 5800 77/677766 rh_freighter_power01
Valkyrie 5400 545 172000 22 50 5800 88778/8 rh_elite_power01
Falcon 6400 645 227000 24 60 6200 88778/8 ge_fighter5_power01
Hammerhead 7400 750 298000 26 70 7900 999988/9 bh_elite2_power01
Centurion 8900 890 388000 28 45 9200 999988 co_elite_power01
Eagle 10400 1040 505000 30 70 9900 AAAA99/A ge_fighter6_power01
Sabre 10400 1040 505000 30 70 10800 AAAA99/A bw_elite2_power01
Titan 11900 1190 658000 32 70 12600 AAAA99/A co_elite2_power01
</font></pre>

Edited by - Sherlog on 08-07-2003 17:13:38

---

It is sometimes difficult to find a pulse weapon that matches the speed of the main guns

---

So don't bother. I had a Falcon with two Debilitators in the class 7 slots
and three Kraken Type 1 in the class 8 slots. I figured out the buggy
weapons groups (sort of), my '2' key for Pulse & '3' key for Kraken.
Switch from one to the other without even losing my sight picture.
I'd never want to fire all five at once anyways - dead battery FAST.

I stuck a Adv. Debilitator on the (NFF) turret; maximize the Mine damages.

Thanks for the powerplant table!

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'

nice work...

but there's 1 thing what isn't right.... why does a fighter have a max weap class, while a class 1 weap is as big as a class 10 weap... if a class 10 weap is a few times bigger then i would say; yeah, on a starflier can't be set that big weap. but now... every weap have the same size, with div grafics.

u can say they have a optimal weap class or say how big the energy core and energy recharge is, but about the max weap class on a fighter isn't right if all weap have the same dimentions.

Frobozz, I agree - on some ships you can simply use pulse weapons as an extra weapon group and then the speed difference does not matter. In that case power utilization is most effective as well and so you can fry more enemies before the powerplant is depleted.

However, there are two aspects that make mixed loadouts look good in some cases.

First, light fighters can only mount 4 guns total. If you use separate weapon groups against hull and shield then it will take relatively long to take out the enemy shield (loadout with one pulse gun) or the hull armour (loadout with two pulses). IOW, such a configuration does not allow you to take out a single enemy faster than a loadout without pulse guns but it makes more efficient use of the powerplant and so it can give you an edge against groups of hard enemies.

Second, if you use both pulse guns and main guns against the enemy shield and switch off pulses after the shield is gone then you can fry the enemy in the shortest possible time (at the expense of increased power consumption, of course). This can give you a tactical advantage, especially if the enemy ships are much more agile than yours, e.g. Crusader against swarms of Hawks or Barracudas/Hammerheads.

That's true. I haven't flown any Light Fighters lately.
(except for the Starflier I flew to Ape/Robot system )

I've been doing MP lately, and been using Pulse weapons much more than in SP.
I actually consider the Pulse guns first, then the Hull guns. Not into missiles,
but load Torps. (Not tried them out yet in PvP) The ships I've been flying:

Dagger, Mule, Dromedary, Falcon, Hammerhead

These ships have abundant hardpoints for the Pulse gun groups. But I plan on a LF
character next, fly a Patriot then Drake. May be 1st time MP without my Pulse guns...

BTW: Ship prices not quite right, but not that important. Add Turn Rates!

"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'


Edited by - Frobozz on 08-07-2003 21:27:18

It looks like on paper that a Drake fitted with 2 lv.5 Pyros and 2 lv.6 Pyros would produce more damage than any other combination. But the endurance would suck. It could make for a very effective fighter against 2-3 ships, but I don't know how enjoyable that would be at Tekagi's Arch. I might have to try this, though I think I would put less energy hungry weapons in it when I know I'll be facing a battleship.

A Drake maxed out with Xenos/Outcast particle guns is one of the most survivable ships in the game. It can take out enemies up to level 16 regardless of how many there are ... It is possible to fight level 18/19 ships but it is hard and I would not recommend taking on more than 2 or 3 at a time.

The Xeno guns have better projectile speed but the Outcast guns are perfect for mixing with a Borroco.

The campaign is a cakewalk in the Drake, and it can easily kill all required targets. The only drawback is that it cannot use torpedos and cannot mount missile launchers in addition to a decent set of main guns, so it is not very good at battleship killing - that takes a while with just guns and mines. In a Barracuda with 4 x Pyros Type 3, Starkillers and 20 Ripper mines I got 4 battleships and 3 cruisers during the skirmish in Sigma-13. The Drake cannot compete with that.

Frobozz, congratulations for the Iron Man. The ship prices are correct; the price shown at the ship dealer is higher because it includes the shield.

Edited by - Sherlog on 11-07-2003 12:25:53

VHF + 4 x Nomad weps + 2 x Skyblast b's + Skyblast b turret = fire forever (almost) & lots of dead hostlies.

That's my 2 penneth.

Nil Illegitimi Carborundum

Ok, so what would be a good weapon loadout for a Banshee?

I currently have 3 Vulture 3's and an Eliminator. Picked up the Eliminator in a fight and am trying it out.

I don't know that I like the rate, I'm headed to Omega 41. I get the impression from this topic that I probably don't have the best loadout.

I just picked up the Banshee, was still in the Anibus prior to this.

Well, what do you think?