Drake Buccaneer

[Floating Cloud]

I do remember them saying it's basically a replacement for the Cutlass since it didn't turn out to be what people wanted.

Unless that's a recent quote it may no longer be the case. In February Mat Sherman posted:

<snip>
• Single-Pilot craft with no interior.
• Fast and Maneuverable, under a pure racer in speed, but handles well at high speed.
• Roughly the same size as a Sabre.
• Pairs well with the Cutlass or Caterpillar as an escort fighter.
• Extreme reliability, exceptional ease of maintenance.
</snip>

So if that still holds true then we are looking at something complimentary as opposed to replacing the Cutlass.

 

[Grimbli]

So if that still holds true then we are looking at something complimentary as opposed to replacing the Cutlass

Pretty much true. That's what the original Cutlass was supposed to be. A nimble fast fighter. Although it had a bit of interior room. I'm thinking they removed that so it wouldn't compete with the Cutlass now, otherwise almost everyone would melt it.

 

[Black Sunder]

I'm not interested in it but if it grabs my attention.....sorry wallet.

Even if I don't get the ship myself I will be doing a Ship Talk Commentary writeup for it.

 

[I_MIKE_I]

Pretty much true. That's what the original Cutlass was supposed to be. A nimble fast fighter. Although it had a bit of interior room. I'm thinking they removed that so it wouldn't compete with the Cutlass now, otherwise almost everyone would melt it.

On the Cutlass, they actually went overboard with their initial Design, making it a good fighter with big cargo and the ability to board others, then they realized that if it's able to do that much, it can't be a good fighter and nerfed it.

Same sorta went for the Avenger, which still had 13 SCU and was faster than Hornets and so on, meaning you'd be able to get away from almost everything and do high-risk freightruns.

The Buccaneer is said to be "slower than dedicated racers", and has the Ability to carry Cargo externally... while we don't know exactly how much that's going to be, I feel like it still gets some versatility packed on it's back which will ultimatively prevent it from being a top-end fighter.

I expect it to be some sort of Gladius-Fighter version..

So... while almost everyone on the official Forums is ranting about the Cutlass, I wouldn't trade it in (well, if I had one) too fast, after all it does have a pretty good shield and SCU just below that of a Hull A, which isn't even that far away price-wise. And at some point I think a pirate-ship becomes useless if it can't carry a reasonable amount of stuff from a successful raid.

 

[AntiSqueaker]

What a rollercoaster, tacked onto the giant salty roller coaster that is the Cutlass.

Buccaneer was supposed to be the "OG Cutlass" (nimble pirate fighter more focused on agility than dakka or armor, but can haul a small amount of cargo) to placate the salty original owners who are vocally dissatisfied with what they see as a bait and switch. Ben said it would be an equal price point. Okay, cool, I can dig it CIG. Admitting fault and trying to move on, while making both sides of the Cutlass drama satisfied.

And then like 2 weeks ago it was said to be 90$, which meant no CCUs at all. Oooooooookay.


And now it's more expensive? So all the salty Cutlass owners have to shell out an extra 10 bucks to get what was the "original Cutlass"?

Unless they are raising the price of the Cutlass Black to 110 to fit into the Freelancer/Hornet triad, then this is a bad idea IMO. Asking people who are already butthurt to shell out more money for a ship they (whether you agree or not) feel they should have already had, is asking for some more salt on your prosciutto.

I have enough credit that it does not affect me personally, but man oh man it's like CIG gets schadenfreude off of Cutlass drama.

 

[Stoutman]

Can't wait to see what this ship will look like. Hopefully its something fresh and new!

 

[Phantomoftruth]

I'm going to take a leap, with zero corroborating evidence, that Drake Buc will see Concept sale on 27th. possibly aggressive estimation on 2.4 drops to PU on 20th, with relevant Starfarer and Reliant sale.

 

[Bigcracker]

Meh Sabre best fighter.

 

[I_MIKE_I]

Meh Sabre best fighter.

For now it is, but I kinda doubt it will stay like that.

Balance wise, having a Stealth-Type Fighter at the top of the food-chain is quite unhealthy... so I wonder if it won't get some Cutlass-like treating or simply will be surpassed by the F8 Lightning etc.

 

[Blind Owl]

Meh Sabre best fighter.

I think I agree.

For now it is, but I kinda doubt it will stay like that.

I hope it stays the way it is. I rather like it. That being said, if they nerf it, I wonder what will end up being the "premier fighter". I want a medium or heavy fighter that can take and dish out a beating, but still flies half decent.

 

[I_MIKE_I]

I hope it stays the way it is. I rather like it. That being said, if they nerf it, I wonder what will end up being the "premier fighter". I want a medium or heavy fighter that can take and dish out a beating, but still flies half decent.

The F8 Lightning would be the prime candidate... lore-wise it replaced the Hornet and is going to be a Military-Exclusive (meaning you gotta steal one from UEE or maybe if you get a high enough rank).

Personally, I'd prefer something like a Heavy Fighter with high speed and heavy concentrated firepower, meaning a single or two large weapons with enough power to annoy even large ships. Vanguard would sort-of fit the bill offensively, but size 2 Shields on a rather sluggish fighter is quite meh and it's WAY overpriced.

 

[Dalarast]

The F......

Agreed. But with that logic the super hornet should be the number one fighter available to civilians with the Sabre right behind it.... The drake Buccaneer...... I'll decide when I see pictures.... I love shiny things. But I already got three dedicated fighters (super hornet, saber, and gladius).... So don't see the point of another one.

 

[Blind Owl]

I'd prefer something like a Heavy Fighter with high speed and heavy concentrated firepower, meaning a single or two large weapons with enough power to annoy even large ships. Vanguard would sort-of fit the bill offensively, but size 2 Shields on a rather sluggish fighter is quite meh and it's WAY overpriced.

I think the same way. The speed and firepower. I did like the vanguard when I flew her. I'll probably take another spin around the sun in her to see if I prefer her to the Sabre.

I haven't spent much time in the SH, but there's something about it that just doesn't click with me.

I wonder what the Redeemer will end up flying like.

The drake Buccaneer...... I'll decide when I see pictures.... I love shiny things.

Me too. Lol. Really, I'd like one dedicated fighter. But if I can't get what I want out of one, I'll do two. A heavy and a fast/maneuverable (whether that be a light or a medium).

 

[AstroSam]

Meh Sabre best fighter.

I yesterday had a dogfight, me in my pimped 350r against a Sabre, within Arena Commander. After I challenging fight I won. When he respawned, boy, he was *pissed*! Didn't take a second when he was behind my back, blasting all on me he had - sad story: AC fight ended before he had finished his blood rage :( :D
The score table then showed that he was No.#01 of the fighters. Let me guess: some of *those* Sabre pilots can't handle it to be shot ;) After all, after jumping into that session with only 10 Minutes left I managed to fight my way onto score place No.#07 which isn't so bad after all - 350r is a beasty little thing.

 

[Stoutman]

It really boils down to the particular fight and the pilot's skill. Ship type does play a factor, but not as much as many people like to think.

 

[AntiSqueaker]

It really boils down to the particular fight and the pilot's skill. Ship type does play a factor, but not as much as many people like to think.

Doesn't help that the hit registration, netcode, and client desynching are so bad that you can have half your shots are nothing more than pretty lights. Balance is really hard to judge when the game stability varies so much from match to match, or even different areas of the Protoverse.

 

[Crymsan]

Not sure there is a real need for another small/mid fighter but I am sure from a development perspective it doesn't matter how long the list of ships yet to be flyable gets.

 

[AstroSam]

It really boils down to the particular fight and the pilot's skill. Ship type does play a factor, but not as much as many people like to think.

Ah, yeah, partially; but imho every pilot has different skills which don't fit on every fighter. Therefore it seems - to me - indeed does matter which ship you fly.

 

[Blind Owl]

Ah, yeah, partially; but imho every pilot has different skills which don't fit on every fighter. Therefore it seems - to me - indeed does matter which ship you fly.

Concur. This is exactly what I refer to when talking about trying to find the right fighter. It's not the best fighter in the game, but rather, the best fighter for me.

 

[AstroSam]

Yes, triple-like :D