Important MessageYou are browsing the archived Lancers Reactor forums. You cannot register or login. |
Whats with the ships?
This is a free discussion forum on Freelancer. This is the place to discuss Freelancer issues NOT covered by the other boards!
28 posts
• Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
Tue Aug 19, 2003 12:34 am
I know, I know, lots of posts have gone before, but I'd sure like to see a series of posts about the "best" ships at various levels in single player.
E.g. in Liberty, you need to upgrade, but should you go for the heavy fighter, the civilian ugly critter, or the bird-name series? What effect does getting a Rogue ship have (i.e. does it affect faction rating?)?
Are drails good enough to be worth spending a little time getting them from kills or not?
I know, old hat to most people.
But unlike Privateer 1, where the choices were pretty obvious (or Righteous Fire where there were no questions), this is more like Privateer II, which had lots of useless ship side-tracks that only cost you credits and wasted time.
Anyway ....
Dire Wolf
http://adrr.com/wing
http://adrr.com/story
E.g. in Liberty, you need to upgrade, but should you go for the heavy fighter, the civilian ugly critter, or the bird-name series? What effect does getting a Rogue ship have (i.e. does it affect faction rating?)?
Are drails good enough to be worth spending a little time getting them from kills or not?
I know, old hat to most people.
But unlike Privateer 1, where the choices were pretty obvious (or Righteous Fire where there were no questions), this is more like Privateer II, which had lots of useless ship side-tracks that only cost you credits and wasted time.
Anyway ....
Dire Wolf
http://adrr.com/wing
http://adrr.com/story
Tue Aug 19, 2003 1:56 pm
Ok, to start off, ANYTHING is better than the Starflier, which has the weakest guns, armor, and shields in the game, and isn't all that much more maneuverable than its heavier brother the Startracker.
You have five choices for a ship to switch to before you leave Liberty: the Patriot, the Startracker, the Rhino, the Defender, and the Dagger.
Defender: This is the heavy fighter available from Liberty battleships. It can mount two level 3 guns and three level 4 guns, plus a turret and a torpedo launcher (note that you will be unable to purchase a torpedo launcher until after you have left Liberty). With five main guns, you can afford to devote one hardpoint to a missile launcher and one to a pulse weapon (Adv. Stunpulse). However, the Defender is not very agile.
Rhino: This is Liberty's freighter. With five turrets and two main gun/missile hardpoints all capable of mounting level 3 weapons, you have plenty of gunpower, but it turns like a pig. It also has more cargo space, which is good if you like to do cargo runs. If you buy this, remember to trade it in for something faster before you race Hovis in mission 6!
Startracker: This fighter is the bigger brother of the Starflier that you start out with. It has more armor than the Defender, and it can take two level 3 guns and one level 4 gunn, along with a level 4 shield (which you can't buy until after leaving Liberty--Level 3 is the highest you can buy till then).
Patriot: This fighter is cheaper than the Startracker, which means that you can buy it before playing mission 2, and it can handle four level 3 guns, giving it higher attack power. However, it has about 1/3 less armor than the Startracker and can only take shields up to level 3, plus it has a smaller cargo hold.
Dagger: This is my reccommended fighter. It has as much armor as the Startracker, it has the largest cargo hold of any non-freighter available at this stage in the game, it can mount two level 3 guns and two level 4 guns, AND it has a single turret! A turret on a light fighter! This fighter is powerful enough to last you until you meet the Order, where you should switch to something stronger. The drawback is that you can not buy it till you are at level 4 (after Mission 2), and you have to be decently friendly with the Liberty Rogues. The easiest way to get friendly with the Rogues is to shoot down a few police fighters--the police will get friendly with you again when you start Mission 3.
You have five choices for a ship to switch to before you leave Liberty: the Patriot, the Startracker, the Rhino, the Defender, and the Dagger.
Defender: This is the heavy fighter available from Liberty battleships. It can mount two level 3 guns and three level 4 guns, plus a turret and a torpedo launcher (note that you will be unable to purchase a torpedo launcher until after you have left Liberty). With five main guns, you can afford to devote one hardpoint to a missile launcher and one to a pulse weapon (Adv. Stunpulse). However, the Defender is not very agile.
Rhino: This is Liberty's freighter. With five turrets and two main gun/missile hardpoints all capable of mounting level 3 weapons, you have plenty of gunpower, but it turns like a pig. It also has more cargo space, which is good if you like to do cargo runs. If you buy this, remember to trade it in for something faster before you race Hovis in mission 6!
Startracker: This fighter is the bigger brother of the Starflier that you start out with. It has more armor than the Defender, and it can take two level 3 guns and one level 4 gunn, along with a level 4 shield (which you can't buy until after leaving Liberty--Level 3 is the highest you can buy till then).
Patriot: This fighter is cheaper than the Startracker, which means that you can buy it before playing mission 2, and it can handle four level 3 guns, giving it higher attack power. However, it has about 1/3 less armor than the Startracker and can only take shields up to level 3, plus it has a smaller cargo hold.
Dagger: This is my reccommended fighter. It has as much armor as the Startracker, it has the largest cargo hold of any non-freighter available at this stage in the game, it can mount two level 3 guns and two level 4 guns, AND it has a single turret! A turret on a light fighter! This fighter is powerful enough to last you until you meet the Order, where you should switch to something stronger. The drawback is that you can not buy it till you are at level 4 (after Mission 2), and you have to be decently friendly with the Liberty Rogues. The easiest way to get friendly with the Rogues is to shoot down a few police fighters--the police will get friendly with you again when you start Mission 3.
Tue Aug 19, 2003 2:01 pm
Regarding Drails, they are the most powerful laser guns you can get before you reach Kusari space, and the most powerful guns overall that you can get in Liberty with the exception of the Lavablade Mk. IIIs. Liberty Rogue laser guns have damage and power consumption nearly equal to guns a whole level higher--the Drail is almost equal to the Vengeance Mk. 1 (the Liberty level 4 laser), and you can mount it on a Level 3 hardpoint! I would say that if you have any intention of using laser guns before reaching Kusari, then you should pick up four or so Drails as loot.
Tue Aug 19, 2003 2:19 pm
Ok, now we've covered the early ships in my earlier post, and somebody covered the Very Heavy Fighters, so here's a breakdown on the mid-game ships. By the time you meet the Order, you should be flying one of the following: Drake, Dragon, Baraccuda, Hawk. If you aren't, then you should buy the Anibus from the Order--the Anibus is clearly stronger than any ships available up to this point in the game except for the above four ships. All of these ships are capable of mounting level 5/6 weapons.
Drake: This ship has the least armor of the above, but is the most maneuverable. Choose it if you prize maneuverability over the extra firepower of a heavy fighter.
Hawk: This ship has more armor and cargo space than the Drake, but is not quite as maneuverable.
Dragon: With decent maneuverability combined with a heavy fighter's six gun/missile hardpoints and torpedo launcher, the Dragon is a decently balanced ship for those who want flexibility. Be aware that it has no turrets, unlike most heavy fighters.
Baraccuda: Slightly less maneuverable than the Dragon, the Baraccuda has greater cargo space and a slightly stronger powerplant. Like the Dragon, however, it has no turrets.
Anibus: This Heavy Fighter has more armor than any ship available up to this point in the game, and as much cargo space as the Rhino freighter, to boot! It can mount two Level 5 guns and four Level 6 guns, as well as a turret that can fire forward (for an effective 7 guns), and it can mount a torpedo launcher as well. However, it is also less maneuverable than any of the above ships except possibly the Baraccuda. Buy an Anibus if you do not have one of the above ships by the time you meet The Order--by that time your opportunity to buy one of them has passed until after you complete the single player campaign.
Drake: This ship has the least armor of the above, but is the most maneuverable. Choose it if you prize maneuverability over the extra firepower of a heavy fighter.
Hawk: This ship has more armor and cargo space than the Drake, but is not quite as maneuverable.
Dragon: With decent maneuverability combined with a heavy fighter's six gun/missile hardpoints and torpedo launcher, the Dragon is a decently balanced ship for those who want flexibility. Be aware that it has no turrets, unlike most heavy fighters.
Baraccuda: Slightly less maneuverable than the Dragon, the Baraccuda has greater cargo space and a slightly stronger powerplant. Like the Dragon, however, it has no turrets.
Anibus: This Heavy Fighter has more armor than any ship available up to this point in the game, and as much cargo space as the Rhino freighter, to boot! It can mount two Level 5 guns and four Level 6 guns, as well as a turret that can fire forward (for an effective 7 guns), and it can mount a torpedo launcher as well. However, it is also less maneuverable than any of the above ships except possibly the Baraccuda. Buy an Anibus if you do not have one of the above ships by the time you meet The Order--by that time your opportunity to buy one of them has passed until after you complete the single player campaign.
Tue Aug 19, 2003 4:55 pm
and the most powerful guns overall that you can get in Liberty with the exception of the Lavablade Mk. IIIs.
Crunch the numbers on Scorpions. Pay attention to damage per second and energy per second.
There's some useful spreadsheets in this site's DL section too.
"Got anything for me?" - Trent, A.K.A. 'Mr. Eloquent'
Edited by - Frobozz on 19-08-2003 17:57:35
28 posts
• Page 2 of 2 • 1, 2
Return to Freelancer Discussion