Well, it isn't just style. Both the Drake and Barracuda can fly all the missions quite well, both in the campaign and all the way up to $240,000. It's the agility that sets these ships apart from their contemporaries in the Hawk and Dragon.

The Cavalier's real problem is the Defender. The ships are actually equally maneuverable, and have about equal firepower. The Cavalier's class advantage is more than matched by the Defender's extra hardpoints (its turret fires forwards) and torpedoes. So with the Defender available cheaper and sooner, there's no real reason to buy a Cavalier.

To add further insult, the Cavalier is also inferior to the Corsair Legionnaire which has more powerplant and armor. Finally, the Dagger is also just behind the Cav in firepower and ahead in agility.

The Crusader is inferior to the Barracuda in every category, but at least it does have enough firepower to sometimes be worthwhile over the Defender. In the campaign, it's useful for killing cruisers in Tau-29.

I'm not quite sure myself why people like the Rheinland ships other than the Falcon. That bird is as maneuverable as the Banshee, and outclasses the Valkyrie in EVERY way (except price). It's my usual choice for flying high-end missions on my way to a VHF (the Hammerhead is too expensive.)


Anyway, I'd say the best equipment for a guns-only Crusader would indeed be the Pyros guns. Both models are at the top of their class in damage and have very good efficiency. The only competitive option is Farmers' Alliance Vulture guns, which have the best energy efficiency in the game (17% better than the Pyroses).

Other loadout options for a Crusader are pretty simple: either a Catapult missile or Corsair Borroco shield-pulser or both.

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Edited by - T-hawk on 22-11-2003 21:14:10

Edited by - T-hawk on 22-11-2003 21:15:28

I was really only comparing Light Fighters, so a few of the points you've made are hardly fair, more along the equivelant of: Lets compare the Starflier with any VHF. I think the Cav is slightly more manueverable than the Defender.

It has a bit more armor than the Defender, for what it's worth. The Defender is 1600, while the Cavalier is(I think) 2100. That means it does a bit better in radioactive areas. It also mounts a better shield.

Because it has fewer mounts than the Defender, with approximately equal firepower, I think the Cavalier drains the reactor a bit slower when usinga full gun loadout. The Defender, when using only guns, runs out of juice a few seconds into combat, and winds up firing only two or three of its six guns.

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"Although I do not consider myself a member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild, I find that their goals and mine often follow the same path. I will aid them when I can...if they give me a percentage of the salvage from whatever they frag along the way. But god help them if someone puts a bounty on THEIR heads, for I don't care who I hunt for, as long as their live capture(or untimely death) can get me enough credits to buy a decent sized mug of my favorite drink."- A Freelance Bounty Hunter.
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Anub- damn, what IS the plural for that? Anubii? Anubises? Anubice?

I was really only comparing Light Fighters, so a few of the points you've made are hardly fair, more along the equivelant of: Lets compare the Starflier with any VHF. I think the Cav is slightly more manueverable than the Defender.

What is "Light Fighter" after all? Just a label. The Defender and Barracuda, HFs, are actually more maneuverable than the Startracker and Bloodhound LFs. Real agility tells the story, and Defender-Cav comparisons are quite fair.

If you must compare to other "Light Fighter" ships, the Cavvy still doesn't fare all that well. The Dagger is more maneuverable and has an extra hardpoint, the Legionnaire of its own class is superior in all categories, and the Drake's maneuverability makes it far outshine any other LF.


It has a bit more armor than the Defender . . . I think the Cavalier drains the reactor a bit slower when usinga full gun loadout.


The armor/shield and powerplant are in the Cavalier's favor, yes. However, the Defender is still able to deliver more damage all told than the Cavalier. The two extra hardpoints can hold a shield-pulser and missile launcher, and with those the Defender can deliver more damage with less energy. The Cav has to take severe restrictions on its gun loadout if it wants those weapons.

The Cavalier would probably be slightly preferable overall if not for the torpedo hardpoint on the Defender. Starkillers can take out any AI ship up to Stilettos and even Valkyries in a single head-on shot. Takes practice to aim with them, but once you get the hang of it, you can kill ships as fast as you can lock on to them.

I've got nothing personal against the Cavalier. There just aren't any situations where it's a better option than the Defender, Crusader, or Drake.

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i flew a few times with the cavalier myself... but to say that it is a good/medium/bad fighter... it is a middle classed, nice armor and power, but a little less agility if u ask me...

i flew 245k missions with the defender and even with the dagger... so i don't use ships anymore that r buyable outside liberty space... the dagger has a hardpoint more, like t-hawk already said, and that hardpoint is very usefull, so i have sometimes 2 missile launchers on my dagger...

if i buy the defender, i like to do 1 thing with that ship... bombingruns with torps and missiles... it's very destructive and i blew up myself also lots off times in the bombing run... and i know that thus bombing runs r highly expensive... but who cares if u have more then 5m in spare...

the cavalier... is a nice light fighter for n00bs who wanna came further then only liberty and bretonia... i wonder who off the pro-fighters still use the cavalier... i think that the most still use a vhf... but they don't improve their fighting ability anymore... i used div fighters.. and i do also pvp in a low level fighter, co'z it's just fun, just like cruising to a planet entry dock, do engine kill and let the fighter bounce against the planet survace and come out the docking ring, while exploding

i think that their is a good outload possible for the cavalier... their is a class 5 non-stalker missile launcher and a class 4 emp-missile launcher... and 2 great outcast guns, type name is pyros. i wonder it is possible to do 245k missions in a cavalier... never tried that... i did it only with the drake, the defender and the dagger... but u know, drake have better agility and better weaps for use... the defender have more weap hardpoints and a torp launcher... the dagger, i think it have about the same or maybe a little better agility, and a weap hardpoint more...

If u c some1 in a dagger make fireballs from hunters it can be me

I like the little anchovy looking Cavalier, first run through the game I got it in New London and used it right up to the Anubis. Its agility, defense and offense were satisfactory for what I wanted it for and it rather suited my flying style. I wouldn't know the best loadout for it though, I'm not very knowlegable about the weapons and there stats.
All in all it was a decent ship to get it you ended up getting driven from Liberty before you changed your Starflier. Cost effective to.

Attack, Engage, Destroy, Survive