Advice on building a starter fleet

[thezenix2]

Greetings Testers.

I'm very new to SC in general and have just figured out how to pilot my Aurora. Now I'm looking into extending my fleet abit, without spending a load of cash. The idea is to upgrade my Aurora into a Reliant Kore and cash in a P-52 Merlin. That would be a total of like 65€ and I'd have a nice small cargo ship and a Merlin for racing/dogfighting in the AC.

The Reliant seems to be a perfect ship for what I want to do when the game goes live. Running small hauls of high-end, perfectly legal, cargo.

I have tried the Merlin in AC, and it seems to be an ok racer... and I can solo dogfight a few waves of pirates in it. But I would eventually get a proper fighter I suppose.

Question is: I have read mixed review of the Reliant. Is it worth getting now, or should I stay cool and wait for 3.0 and see if there are more and better options for light freighters?

 

[Kaz]

Question is: I have read mixed review of the Reliant. Is it worth getting now, or should I stay cool and wait for 3.0 and see if there are more and better options for light freighters?

3.0 is only a few weeks away now, so i doubt we will see any new light freighters by then. As of today i personally think that the Cutlass Black and the Freelancer Max are the best starter haulers with the ability to bite back if needed. They are both a bit more costly though. Just my opinion :)

 

[thezenix2]

3.0 is only a few weeks away now, so i doubt we will see any new light freighters by then. As of today i personally think that the Cutlass Black and the Freelancer Max are the best starter haulers with the ability to bite back if needed. They are both a bit more costly though. Just my opinion :slight_smile:

Both Freelancer and the Cutlass seem to have about the same cargo space. Assuming those numbers are accurate. Besides those, the Hull B or C seem to be very nice options.

 

[Flik]

Hey Zenix, you have a starter package with a ship and the core game is included, so that's all you really need to spend money on to support the game. Please don't forget that all of the ships that are available for real money, you will be able to earn in game using in-game currency that you earn. So you shouldn't feel obligated to spend more of your real money on getting that bigger ship.

Whilst it's completely up to you, I just wanted to remind you of this fact.

See you in the verse!

 

[marcsand2]

The idea is to upgrade my Aurora into a Reliant Kore

The Kore does fine as a mini hauler

and a Merlin for racing/dogfighting

The Merlin is fine for racing, for light dogfighting you are better of with an Avenger or a Delta.

 

[makute]

That would be a total of like 65€ and I'd have a nice small cargo ship and a Merlin for racing/dogfighting in the AC.

You don't really need a ship for AC as you can always rent one. Also, remember that the Merlin line doesn't have Jump Drives, and you'll be locked on your starting system unles you tow it to a different one.

 

[Aleph0Null]

He wants to spend only 65$... funny, well the next concept sale isn't too far now...

OK, The Kore is ALRIGHT ship, but not fancy, I'm waiting for the Mako, I think using the Reliant flight module can give it a good advantage getting to diffract places.

 

[mindfart]

Yeah for 65e you are quite limited in options, next to the kore you'll have an option for an aurora or a mustang. The merlin alone is not advisable because it doesn't have a jump drive like @makute said. But remember that it probably wont take you ages to get together enough UEC ingame to rent or even buy better ships. Also remember TEST has a superlarge fleet, and if ur nice to someone, or just yell in chat 'I need ship, plox halp' they will probably loan you a ship ;)

 

[I_MIKE_I]

Greetings Testers.

I'm very new to SC in general and have just figured out how to pilot my Aurora. Now I'm looking into extending my fleet abit, without spending a load of cash. The idea is to upgrade my Aurora into a Reliant Kore and cash in a P-52 Merlin. That would be a total of like 65€ and I'd have a nice small cargo ship and a Merlin for racing/dogfighting in the AC.

The Reliant seems to be a perfect ship for what I want to do when the game goes live. Running small hauls of high-end, perfectly legal, cargo.

I have tried the Merlin in AC, and it seems to be an ok racer... and I can solo dogfight a few waves of pirates in it. But I would eventually get a proper fighter I suppose.

Question is: I have read mixed review of the Reliant. Is it worth getting now, or should I stay cool and wait for 3.0 and see if there are more and better options for light freighters?

1. Which Game Package do you have and does it have LTI on it?

2. In the budget you have, I'd suggest going for 1 Ship with LTI. If you value LTI, then further explanation isn't needed I guess, if you don't value it, you can easily sell it to another Player that does (like me) and get enough UEC to get a better Ship.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Question is: I have read mixed review of the Reliant. Is it worth getting now, or should I stay cool and wait for 3.0 and see if there are more and better options for light freighters?

I used to be in love with the Reliant line, especially the Tana, but the things that spoiled it for me are the poor handling and explodiness. They do not maneuver well and cannot take a hit. Combined with their short range and sub-par weapons load-out, I think they make great targets. It looks like it will be great fun to fly, but I would look to upgrade to something sturdier as soon as you can afford it.

 

[thezenix2]

Thanks for good input.

Realized racing in AC is "free" if I keep renting a ship. The Merlin is so cheap too... And even I have managed to win races in it so it must be pretty fast. :)

For a small hauler I will definitely wait for 3.0 and see if I can get a feel for the cargo system. Most likely I will just cash in a Freelancer. They look pretty solid.

With a good hauler I can earn in game cash and grab myself a good fighter. As a former X-wing and Tie Fighter junkie I definitely need a good fighter too.

What is LTI?

 

[I_MIKE_I]

What is LTI?

It's "LifeTimeInsurance" so rather than just X-Months of insurance it will have the Hull and Stock equipment insured permanently.

LTI can only be obtained via real money and by either buying a Ship on concept sale or upgrading a Ship with LTI. Since it's kind of a rare token (well... not so rare, I bet 90%+ of the ships people bought have LTI), prices of Ships with it will be higher than normal ones.

 

[AntiSqueaker]

It's "LifeTimeInsurance" so rather than just X-Months of insurance it will have the Hull and Stock equipment insured permanently.

LTI can only be obtained via real money and by either buying a Ship on concept sale or upgrading a Ship with LTI. Since it's kind of a rare token (well... not so rare, I bet 90%+ of the ships people bought have LTI), prices of Ships with it will be higher than normal ones.

Just want to add on and say that CIG has said multiple times that LTI is a convenience and Standard Hull Insurance (aka 6 month insurance most ships start with) will be a pittance compared to the running costs of Fuel, Ammo, Repairs, Upgrade insurance (not included in LTI), Cargo insurance (not included in LTI) and also upgrades on your ships.

Also 6 months of insurance is 6 months of game time, that only ticks down while you are logged on. So 6 months SHI insurance is a year and a half of game time, assuming you play 8 hours a day, every day, without fail.

If you can't afford a SHI payment after a year and a half, you might want to find a different game :upside_down:


Back on topic: @thezenix2 regarding your ship choices, there are a few "light freighters".

Avenger Titan is a good blend of Fighter with a cargo hold, and can hold her own pretty well against anyone who's not in a Super Hornet/Sabre. Not a great cargo hold, but it's a hell of a lot better than an Aurora in just about every way. Same price as a Reliant too- bonus.

Reliant: is......okayyyyy. It's not great by any means, but it's not completely bad. Wouldn't recommend to be honest.

Hull A: 60 bucks, pure cargo hauler. Not very defendable but can haul the ever-living pants out of the Avenger, Reliant, or Aurora.

Also note the Merlin is a snub fighter, that cannot operate independently. It has no Quantum Drive nor Jump Drive, so it's very very limited (and is designed to operate from a Constellation) in terms of the area it can go. If I were in your shoes I would upgrade your Aurora to an Avenger Titan and maybe hold onto the cash you were going to spend on the Merlin for something else.

 

[I_MIKE_I]

Just want to add on and say that CIG has said multiple times that LTI is a convenience and Standard Hull Insurance (aka 6 month insurance most ships start with) will be a pittance compared to the running costs of Fuel, Ammo, Repairs, Upgrade insurance (not included in LTI), Cargo insurance (not included in LTI) and also upgrades on your ships.

Also 6 months of insurance is 6 months of game time, that only ticks down while you are logged on. So 6 months SHI insurance is a year and a half of game time, assuming you play 8 hours a day, every day, without fail.

You mean like CIG also said that the Cutlass will be a nimble dogfighter...? :P

I realize it's not going to be one of the main running costs, but it's something you couldn't avoid either.

In terms of Ammo for example, I'd never even consider running anything besides Energy Weapons... one of the reasons I don't have a Avenger Titan.

AFAIK Game time will be speed up by a noticable amount, altough CIG has gone back and forth on that issue... personally I'd much prefer RL Time = Game Time, tough.

 

[AntiSqueaker]

You mean like CIG also said that the Cutlass will be a nimble dogfighter...? :P

I realize it's not going to be one of the main running costs, but it's something you couldn't avoid either.

In terms of Ammo for example, I'd never even consider running anything besides Energy Weapons... one of the reasons I don't have a Avenger Titan.

AFAIK Game time will be speed up by a noticable amount, altough CIG has gone back and forth on that issue... personally I'd much prefer RL Time = Game Time, tough.

In one of the 10FTC last year, CR explicitly said that insurance time would be unrelated to any time dilation in the game. And honestly if they tried to change that the flak they would catch from the enraged community would be MUCH MUCH more trouble than it would be worth.

Although I'm one of the people that thinks every cash purchase before Beta should have LTI, but what the fuck do I know.

 

[thanatos73]

Ok, so, like has been stated already, you don't have to spend any more real money.

However, if you absolutely need to, go with a Cutlass Black. As it stands at this exact point in time, it's a pretty decent ship. Plus it's getting a rework done, so figure it's an upgrade for free.

I've had a Cutlass since almost the beginning of my SC career, and I can't complain. It's gotten me through AC Vanduul Swarm matches, and about halfway through Pirate Swarm with a bunch of people who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside. And in the PU, it's almost gotten me through all of the ICC missions (I can't say all the way cause of game crashes).
As for cargo, it can carry cargo, but we don't know how much h yet.

 

[thezenix2]

Ahhh LIT. My Aurora got 6 months. But, knowing how reckless I am, I wouldn't ever fly anything without basic insurance. :)

I like having a Merlin on rent in A.C. doesn't matter much there if it lacks the quantum drive. But I won't cash one now.

Looked at the Titan too but cargo space seems pretty limited. Freelancer Max seems to be what I'm looking for. Or can settle for a basic Freelancer or a Cutlass.

 

[thanatos73]

P.S. so far, the best load out for the Cutlass, that I like, is 3 gimbaled Badgers. And rented weapons do show up in the PU, unlike ships.

 

[marcsand2]

P.S. so far, the best load out for the Cutlass, that I like, is 3 gimbaled Badgers. And rented weapons do show up in the PU, unlike ships.

It is even better, I rented a bunch of weapons with earned REC. The weapons have a 7 day rental period. Every day you play in AC, 1 new day of your rental period gets started, however, if you don't fly in AC, the rented weapons keep their 7 days rental period. Since I started participating in Combat Flight Night, flying sorties with RU Legion TEST / Eastern Block TEST in PU and building my TEST simpit BEST simpit, I simply didn't have any time left to play AC. Thus, since beginning 2017 I have my REC rented weapons for free. This probably will change when 3.0 gets released.

 

[thezenix2]

It is even better, I rented a bunch of weapons with earned REC. The weapons have a 7 day rental period. Every day you play in AC, 1 new day of your rental period gets started, however, if you don't fly in AC, the rented weapons keep their 7 days rental period. Since I started participating in Combat Flight Night, flying sorties with RU Legion TEST / Eastern Block TEST in PU and building my TEST simpit BEST simpit, I simply didn't have any time left to play AC. Thus, since beginning 2017 I have my REC rented weapons for free. This probably will change when 3.0 gets released.

Great advice! Bit even if the 7 days start to tick, it's pretty easy to race for REC enough to keep a few canons permanent... unless ofcourse REC gear stops showing in PU.