IMHO you have the best ship for your level right now. Hang on to the defender until you're out of liberty space.



I don't really run this place but I have an understanding with the people who do.

alright, thanks

Once you get OUT of Liberty, though, your poor defender will get ripped to pieces. Look to upgrade ASAP once you leave Liberty.

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

quote: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

I love it.

I too am in the same position. I am lvl 6 and have a Defender but I'm trying to find a better ship. I can travel out of the Manhattan system but can't travel beyond the that. All other jumpgates outside of Manhattan denies me access. What can be done about this?

I dunno, in the pre-Kusari missions I only upgraded to that other light fighter... what was it, startracker? starsomething. The $17k one with 3 guns. Anyway, it's all about speed. Don't immediately panic when your shields get down and use the batteries straight away. I usually keep on running and evading, and if the damage continues to eat at my hull then only I use some. By that time you should be able to reduce the number of fighters to a manageable (i.e. they aren't constantly whittling away your shields) number.

Here's a little starter tip... when you're left to your own devices in New York, try to whack a Xeno at the Detroit Munitions, sometimes they'll drop one of their class 2 scorpion particle guns. Yay. 2 light lasers for whittling damage and that one as the main should last you a bit.

I think I'll stick with my defender right now. I have 5 guns and a forward shooting turret. Mmmmmmm nice. I think all but two of my lasers and my turret were picked up with my tractor beam. I always try and tractor after blowing a ship up coz you get loads of gear to either use or sell.

Stick with the Defender. It's a solid ship. I continued through the next several storyline missions with it and only upgraded cuz I was getting bored with it.

yea i kept my defender, its serving me well. i just souped up the guns and shield, now i have a kickass ship

I had 8 ships...not including the 2 freighters I bought since I finished the campaign.

I had the Starfloater...er, flier, until the end of mission 1(you know the enemies are pathetic when they can't kill a starflier...lol). Then I grabbed a Rhino and made some cash from cargo runs. Then I switched to a Patriot just because I like how it looks(it kinda resembles the alliance fighter in the intro). Then I got a Defender. The Defender one of my longest-lived ships. The only reason I traded that in was because it started showing its wear(I kept losing wings every mission, and it was getting too costly to replace the guns every time).

Then I grabbed a Clydesdale. I didn't use it as much as a freighter as a gunship, I made it through a ton of jobs and a mission with it. I would have used it for longer, but I just couldn't do the race with it. Then I got a Cavalier, and had great results with that. I traded that for a Hawk once I reached Kusari. Finally, I bought an Anubis and beat the game with that.

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

The best fighter while still stuck in liberty is the Dagger, but I'm not telling you where to get it.

Go for the Startracker, so long as you've picked up a few drails or scorpions.

Unfortunately, the best shields you can get in Liberty space are Class 2, so you can't even max out the STARFLIER's shield capability, much less the Defender.

The Startracker has the same wonderful maneuverability of the Starflier, allwowing you to increase your lifespan against agile enemies. It also has the same power ratings and cargo capacity as the Defender AND MORE ARMOR, just less weapon mounts.

But it's not as if the Defender can actually support more than three high-powered drail or scorpion weapons. The other weapons are usually just wussy laser pop guns to give you more firepower at minimal cost.

So take off the pop-guns, put your big guns on a Startracker, and kick ass.

"nothing" is correct - you can buy a Dagger in Liberty space. It's a light fighter with a little more armor/power than the defender - nice ship. I just played SP a second time (being *lots* smarter than I was first time), got the Dagger and then used it in Breitonia util I got the Corsair ship.

The big trick to getting the Dagger is you have to get neutral with the Liberty Rogues, which is hard if you've been taking missions from the Navy/Police/LSF to blow them away.

Starflier -> Defender -> Cavalier -> Barracuda

That was it for me. Worked well too.