Light/Heavy/Medium Fighters

[BlackWolff]

For me,

Light: Mustang Delta, Khartu-Al, 325A
Mostly used for scouting, perhaps swarm type of fighting. They can hit but are not made for serious dog fighting.

Medium: Sabre, Bucc, all Hornets, Avengers, Gladius
These to me are the ones that are the ideal fighter. They are able to box with the big boys, take a lickin' and keep hitting. The best all-arounders.

Heavy: Vanguard, Hurricane
Heavy are very polarized ships. Putting the main emphasis on one or two things such as, firepower or being a damn space tank while sacrificing a great deal of other things such as speed, maneuverability, etc....



All others do not count since they are bombers, industrial, haulers, and what not - they are not fighters.

 

[Blind Owl]

I would classify things a bit differently than what has been said already, but I can certainly see the logic people are using.

Short range
These ships are carrier based or planet/station based. They can be heavy hitters or mass produced (cheaper) ships that give you the needed firepower for the craft/base size/mission/importance. Short ranged craft might need to fuel between planets once or twice, and multiple times going between star systems. Needs infrastructure in place or carriers to use. Infrastructure would be built up capability, or brought along such as Polaris, Starfarer, and Crucible support ships. Most fighters and single person ships are in here

Medium Range
Can go planet to planet and then back again easily, take a jaunt to the next star system, and in general, are sufficient for most escorting duties. These can also go into the star system between planets and explore for wrecked ships, mineral rich asteroids, etc. Freelancer, Connie Andromeda, Vanguard, Hull A (might be short ranged), B, and C and similar are here.

Long Range
Goes into the deep black between star systems, can looking for a new wormhole, and then through it to explore the system on the other side. Good crew facilities, possible medical bay, etc
Javelin, Idris, Polaris, Carrack, Caterpillar, Endeavor, Hull D, E, BMM, Connie Aquila (maybe), 890 Jump are ships that might fit this bill.

Light fighters
Cheap lightly armed craft with minimal armor. Often faster and more maneuverable than other ships. Often called interceptors.
Example: Gladius. Note, I would not classify the 300 series as a fighter, but if it was, it would be here).

Medium fighters
Moderately armed and armored ships. Slower than light fighters, faster than heavy fighters. A good balance of maneuverability, firepower, armor, and speed. Hornets, Sabres, Super Hornets, etc live here.

Heavy Fighters:
Heavily armed and armored fighters. Trades speed and maneuverability for firepower and armor. Vanguard Warden, Defender live here. Maybe the F8

Specialty Fighters:
Things that have specific uses or do not fit easily in the other categories. The Hurricane for instance is a light fighter except for the heavy armament. The Buccaneer would also fit here.

Light bombers/torpedo bombers:
Fighter types or size equipped with bombs. These are almost always short ranged ships and operate from carriers. A Gladiator is a light bomber

Medium bomber:
Craft designed to hit targets further out or carry a heavy payload than a light bomber. Can operate from carriers or bases/stations. An example might be a Vanguard Harbinger. Depending if you put a specialty bomber category in or not, the Eclipse might also be a medium bomber. Medium or short ranged

Heavy bomber:
Larger ship designed to launch multiple torpedoes/bombs. The Retaliator would be a good example of a Heavy bomber. These are often long range ships, but at the very least, they are medium ranged ships.

Multi-role:
These ships can do a lot of things. Explore, fight, bomb, smuggle, etc.
Aurora Connie, Cutlass, Endeavor, Freelancer, and Retaliators are good examples

Cargo Ships
Designed for cargo runs. Can be of any range. Caterpillar, Connie Taurus, Freelancer Max, Hull Series, BMM

Industrial ships:
Mining/reclaiming/fueling/repair ships go here. Examples are Orion, Starfarer, Prospector, Reclaimer, Crucible, etc.

Other:
Most includes specialty ships or ships that don't fit other roles. Reliant Sen, Genesis, combat drops ships, scout ships, snubs/parasite ships, etc, fit here.

Awesome sauce. Thanks. I've added ranges to my list of "roles" on my spreadsheet.

Now, that being said, how can we tell what the range is on your average ship? I'm thinking Herald, Redeemer, etc: ships that don't immediately fall into carrier based or long range categories.

 

[Thalstan]

Awesome sauce. Thanks. I've added ranges to my list of "roles" on my spreadsheet.

Now, that being said, how can we tell what the range is on your average ship? I'm thinking Herald, Redeemer, etc: ships that don't immediately fall into carrier based or long range categories.

I think your average ship will be the Connie, Freelancer, Cutlass types. Able to be worked solo or with groups. I think those are all medium range ships.
If you broke out fighters, the average fighter is Super Hornet/Sabre/Bucc/Gladius...so I would call them short ranged.

How to tell. Look at the load of quantum fuel they have. This is the first indicator.
Second indicator will come in 3.0 to 4.0 depending on when they start opening up other planets in the Stanton system. I would call any ship that can make a round trip interplanetary journey on one fuel tank a medium range ship. That also means that they can go to a jump point, jump to another star system, and then make it to a planet within that star system.

That said, it might be that ships like the Aquila will absolutely need to be longer ranged than that. They need to jump to a new system, explore a new world/new worlds, then get back. So medium ranged ships might need to be able to cross whole star systems multiple times on a single tank of quantum fuel. In that case, Short, Medium, Long, and Extreme long range categories might be needed.

 

[Blind Owl]

I think your average ship will be the Connie, Freelancer, Cutlass types. Able to be worked solo or with groups. I think those are all medium range ships.
If you broke out fighters, the average fighter is Super Hornet/Sabre/Bucc/Gladius...so I would call them short ranged.

How to tell. Look at the load of quantum fuel they have. This is the first indicator.
Second indicator will come in 3.0 to 4.0 depending on when they start opening up other planets in the Stanton system. I would call any ship that can make a round time interplanetary journey on one fuel tank a medium range ship. That also means that they can go to a jump point, jump to another star system, and then make it to a planet within that star system.

That said, it might be that ships like the Aquila will absolutely need to be longer ranged than that. They need to jump to a new system, explore a new world/new worlds, then get back. So medium ranged ships might need to be able to cross whole star systems multiple times on a single tank of quantum fuel. In that case, Short, Medium, Long, and Extreme long range categories might be needed.

So basically there's nothing on the ship specs page or in the write up that states what a ships range is, unless it specifies "long range" or "carrier based", such as the Warden and the SH.
For the average ship, we have to assume range basically based on its size. Small ship = short range, medium ship = medium range, large ship = long range. Most fighters will be short range craft, relying on a mothership of some sort for logistics (as it should be), medium sized ships need to have enough range to be useful (Connies and Freelancers that can't make it around a system are useless) and large ships need to be able to cross decent spans of the verse without having to refuel (a javelin that needs to stop in each system it passes through to refuel would be a burden. A Hull E that can't run it's long range route would be too time consuming and expensive to utilize).

 

[Thalstan]

I would still look at quantum fuel loadouts. They will be the first indications of intended range. I think 3.0 will bring better balancing, but 4.0 will be where we know for sure.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

. . .how can we tell what the range is on your average ship? I'm thinking Herald, Redeemer, etc: ships that don't immediately fall into carrier based or long range categories.

Indeed, apart from the fact I think the Redeemer deserves a pair of S5 turrets, its range is going to determine its functional value. No guess on this.

How to tell. Look at the load of quantum fuel they have.

Yeah. Someone in this forum has noted several times he prefers the Tracker over the other Hornets because it has extended range. Would be very enlightening to look at the difference in the tanks. IIRC, one of the Reliant series has extra tanks it can add, but I think it was in place of missiles.

So basically there's nothing on the ship specs page or in the write up that states what a ships range is, unless it specifies "long range" or "carrier based", such as the Warden and the SH.

Nope. And till now it hasn't much mattered, but if they are going to open up more space, 3.0 might be the time to start range dynamics in general. I think though it is fair to expect we will have to be planning trips carefully, or one will find themselves floating, out of go juice, and having a miserable experience. Is going to require more forethought.

 

[Blind Owl]

I would still look at quantum fuel loadouts. They will be the first indications of intended range. I think 3.0 will bring better balancing, but 4.0 will be where we know for sure.

For the ships I have or are flyable, this works. I wonder if the Redeemer shows it from the cockpit in the Hanger. Jesus, am I about to load the game? *shudders* scary . . .

Indeed, apart from the fact I think the Redeemer deserves a pair of S5 turrets, its range is going to determine its functional value. No guess on this.

No guess yet. And nothing I have found online either.

Nope. And till now it hasn't much mattered, but if they are going to open up more space, 3.0 might be the time to start range dynamics in general. I think though it is fair to expect we will have to be planning trips carefully, or one will find themselves floating, out of go juice, and having a miserable experience. Is going to require more forethought.

Indeed. I've made a point of buying mostly long range ships. In as much as one can. Harbinger/Sentinel/Warden, Defender, my larger ships - which should all, by their very nature - be long range. Redeemer, Cutlass, and Herald are my only unknowns really.

 

[Miasmic]

I feel like the Bucc is a class of its own. It is kind of analogous to a welterweight position in my book. It is still my favorite ship so far. I finally tried out the Sabre after seeing all its praises on the forums, with many people saying it outclasses the Bucc. I feel like its shields are much weaker than the Bucc. The hull, I am not too sure on because I haven't gotten destroyed yet. But in the Sabre my shields drop all the time, in the Bucc I can keep them active almost always. Ill drop to critical maybe once or twice throughout an entire round of Vanduul swarm in my Bucc.

That may be down to its acceleration/speed/maneuverability and my play style though, because everyone else seems to think the Sabre is much stronger than the Bucc. As I said though, I think the Bucc is in a class of its own right now. I wouldn't put it down into the light fighters.

I feel much lighter on my feet with the Bucc vs the Sabre, and it also punches far above its weight class with the ballistic cannon on top. I fly it with 2x panthers 2x longswords, and the cannon (stock missiles), and I can be much more effective with it over the Sabre.

I think we've got a lot of grey area in between classes. I don't know where to put the Sabre. Its not a light, doesn't have the firepower to be a medium. In my opinion it is not as effective as a Bucc. So somewhere between light and welter?

 

[Blind Owl]

I feel like the Bucc is a class of its own. It is kind of analogous to a welterweight position in my book. It is still my favorite ship so far. I finally tried out the Sabre after seeing all its praises on the forums, with many people saying it outclasses the Bucc. I feel like its shields are much weaker than the Bucc. The hull, I am not too sure on because I haven't gotten destroyed yet. But in the Sabre my shields drop all the time, in the Bucc I can keep them active almost always. Ill drop to critical maybe once or twice throughout an entire round of Vanduul swarm in my Bucc.

That may be down to its acceleration/speed/maneuverability and my play style though, because everyone else seems to think the Sabre is much stronger than the Bucc. As I said though, I think the Bucc is in a class of its own right now. I wouldn't put it down into the light fighters.

I feel much lighter on my feet with the Bucc vs the Sabre, and it also punches far above its weight class with the ballistic cannon on top. I fly it with 2x panthers 2x longswords, and the cannon (stock missiles), and I can be much more effective with it over the Sabre.

I think we've got a lot of grey area in between classes. I don't know where to put the Sabre. Its not a light, doesn't have the firepower to be a medium. In my opinion it is not as effective as a Bucc. So somewhere between light and welter?

Yeah, I agree with you about the Bucky kicking some major ass. I walloped VS my first time flying it. I feel they may nerf it though. *sad face*.

I just re-added a sabre to my line-up. I'm trying to ascertain what I want for my final fighter line-up. Bucky and Vanguard are staying. Sabre/Hurricane/Super Hornet/Defender are all in the mix for the third (and maybe 4th) position. I'm currently working on a spreadsheet to list all the merits of each ship. as per the information I've gathered from this thread.

 

[Miasmic]

I hope they don't nerf her, but I can't say I would be surprised if they did. That ship is an absolute joy to fly.

I still need to try the Vanguard out. It is next on my list of "need to rent".

 

[Blind Owl]

I hope they don't nerf her, but I can't say I would be surprised if they did. That ship is an absolute joy to fly.

I still need to try the Vanguard out. It is next on my list of "need to rent".

She's a slug right now. Takes a beating, but hard to dogfight in. I do fine in VS and PS, but AC against Sabres and SHs with living pilots, I get torn apart. I may just be a horrible pilot too though. Ha

 

[Miasmic]

She's a slug right now. Takes a beating, but hard to dogfight in. I do fine in VS and PS, but AC against Sabres and SHs with living pilots, I get torn apart. I may just be a horrible pilot too though. Ha

Having not flown it, I look at the Vanguard as much more of a "fly by the side" type ship. By that I mean heavy escort on longer flights, sticking close to what it is escorting. At the same time,from the store page/model, I feel like it could be picked on by the smaller faster ships if it separated too far from what it is escorting (which then puts the escorted ship in a danger close scenario). I just don't really know where the vanguard is supposed to "fit". I see it as a heavy beside the escorted ship as a last line of defense, with smaller/faster ships taking on the brunt of defense. My opinion will likely change once I have the chance to fly her.

 

[Blind Owl]

Having not flown it, I look at the Vanguard as much more of a "fly by the side" type ship. By that I mean heavy escort on longer flights, sticking close to what it is escorting. At the same time,from the store page/model, I feel like it could be picked on by the smaller faster ships if it separated too far from what it is escorting (which then puts the escorted ship in a danger close scenario). I just don't really know where the vanguard is supposed to "fit". I see it as a heavy beside the escorted ship as a last line of defense, with smaller/faster ships taking on the brunt of defense. My opinion will likely change once I have the chance to fly her.

From what I understand she'll be getting an overhaul, as most ships are. Once that turret is slaved to the pilot, and the maneuverability is passed over, she should be a beast. For the price point, she must have a purpose, and if she can't hold her own against smaller ships in that escort role, then what good is she? Don't get me wrong, I love mine, and will not be getting rid of her, but she needs some live from CIG.

 

[Miasmic]

From what I understand she'll be getting an overhaul, as most ships are. Once that turret is slaved to the pilot, and the maneuverability is passed over, she should be a beast. For the price point, she must have a purpose, and if she can't hold her own against smaller ships in that escort role, then what good is she? Don't get me wrong, I love mine, and will not be getting rid of her, but she needs some live from CIG.

I am sure they will (or have already) carve out a niche for it. Like I said, I haven't flown her, but if it is tanky enough, being picked on by the light/mediums may not be too much of an hassle. The most important aspect to an escort (imo) is survivability. Tankiness will likely rein supreme here, unless you are severely outnumbered. As an escort you don't necessarily need to be able to "beat" your enemy outright. Your main goal is/should be to "scare" people off. You are a deterrent. Pirates will prefer weak targets. Having one tanky Vanguard by your side may be more of a deterrent than having 2 or 3 dedicated fighters if Vanguards are time consuming to destroy.

 

[Blind Owl]

I am sure they will (or have already) carve out a niche for it. Like I said, I haven't flown her, but if it is tanky enough, being picked on by the light/mediums may not be too much of an hassle. The most important aspect to an escort (imo) is survivability. Tankiness will likely rein supreme here, unless you are severely outnumbered. As an escort you don't necessarily need to be able to "beat" your enemy outright. Your main goal is/should be to "scare" people off. You are a deterrent. Pirates will prefer weak targets. Having one tanky Vanguard by your side may be more of a deterrent than having 2 or 3 dedicated fighters if Vanguards are time consuming to destroy.

True story.

For me, the BUKs are where she really shines. I think the Sentinel will be one of the most useful ships in game. And the Harbinger...Mwaahahaha. The name alone is worth having her.