This is going to be a highly subjective post, and many of you will have different opinions on the matter. If you disagree with me, that’s great, but please also post your thoughts on the matter so a great discussion and guide to others can form.
Trying to decide what ships to get in SC is one of the biggest debates out there. However, please remember that you ONLY NEED TO BUY A GAME PACKAGE WITH AN AURORA OR MUSTANG TO PLAY THE GAME.
Now, if after careful consideration and deliberation, you want to get either a bigger, badder, ship, or a second ship, here are some things to consider when you decide to upgrade/get a second or more ship.
Set a budget. It can be $X/month, $X per year, or $X total. Don’t go over the budget you set. If you do, you may find yourself spending thousands of dollars on this game. That’s ok for some, but not for all.
Don’t spend money you can’t afford. Many people buy ships, then get into trouble and try to ask for a refund. CIG is not a bank. They use this money to pay salaries and rent. CIG may also go under and be unable to deliver the game (less likely now after OCS, but something could come up that derails it.). Never go into debt to buy a ship. Every ship can be purchased in game for in game currency. There is no need to pay large credit card interest on pixel spaceships.
Know your friends. If you can’t get the people to crew that Javelin you purchased for $3,000 USD, you could have just thrown that money away.
You will not be able to deploy fleet of ships under NPC control from your hangar. You can’t fly more than one ship at a time, so there is no need to have every ship in the game unless you want to support game development.
With that being said...
If you are just going to have one ship, make sure it’s an all rounder. Aurora, mustang, 300 series (not the 350 or M50 though), Cutlass Black, Freelancer base, Connie Andromeda, and Mercury StarRunner are all good all rounders. My suggestion would be to stop at the Cutlass/Freelance base if you go this route. Connie’s are great, but to be really effective you need a crew of 3. The Mercury is also good at a few things, but combat is not one of them. I would not suggest running a combat mission in a Mercury. The reason for a general purpose ships is that while single purpose ships are great at the one thing they do, it really limits what you can do outside of it,
If you get 2 ships, I would keep one as an all-rounder and the second be a more specialized ship in the area of your interest. For combat, a fighter or other military focused ship like the Retaliator. For repairs/refueling, the crucible, starfarer, or Vulcan can work depending on your budget. Note that the more expensive ship ship, usually the more crew it takes. For Salvage, the reclaimer or vulture. For mining, get the the prospector or Orion, etc.
The more ships you buy, the more I would suggest diversifying your fleet by capabilities.
Don’t buy two fighters unless you have a ton of other ships to support your play style. Don’t buy two of the same profession , like an Orion and a Prospector for the same reason.
For fleets with less than 5 ships, you don’t need LTI. Standard hull insurance should be plentiful and cheap even if you don’t play that often.
For fleets with more than 6 ships, or a few VERY expensive ships, LTI is useful. If you have more than 15, be sure to have LTI on most of your ships.
Trying to decide what ships to get in SC is one of the biggest debates out there. However, please remember that you ONLY NEED TO BUY A GAME PACKAGE WITH AN AURORA OR MUSTANG TO PLAY THE GAME.
Now, if after careful consideration and deliberation, you want to get either a bigger, badder, ship, or a second ship, here are some things to consider when you decide to upgrade/get a second or more ship.
Set a budget. It can be $X/month, $X per year, or $X total. Don’t go over the budget you set. If you do, you may find yourself spending thousands of dollars on this game. That’s ok for some, but not for all.
Don’t spend money you can’t afford. Many people buy ships, then get into trouble and try to ask for a refund. CIG is not a bank. They use this money to pay salaries and rent. CIG may also go under and be unable to deliver the game (less likely now after OCS, but something could come up that derails it.). Never go into debt to buy a ship. Every ship can be purchased in game for in game currency. There is no need to pay large credit card interest on pixel spaceships.
Know your friends. If you can’t get the people to crew that Javelin you purchased for $3,000 USD, you could have just thrown that money away.
You will not be able to deploy fleet of ships under NPC control from your hangar. You can’t fly more than one ship at a time, so there is no need to have every ship in the game unless you want to support game development.
With that being said...
If you are just going to have one ship, make sure it’s an all rounder. Aurora, mustang, 300 series (not the 350 or M50 though), Cutlass Black, Freelancer base, Connie Andromeda, and Mercury StarRunner are all good all rounders. My suggestion would be to stop at the Cutlass/Freelance base if you go this route. Connie’s are great, but to be really effective you need a crew of 3. The Mercury is also good at a few things, but combat is not one of them. I would not suggest running a combat mission in a Mercury. The reason for a general purpose ships is that while single purpose ships are great at the one thing they do, it really limits what you can do outside of it,
If you get 2 ships, I would keep one as an all-rounder and the second be a more specialized ship in the area of your interest. For combat, a fighter or other military focused ship like the Retaliator. For repairs/refueling, the crucible, starfarer, or Vulcan can work depending on your budget. Note that the more expensive ship ship, usually the more crew it takes. For Salvage, the reclaimer or vulture. For mining, get the the prospector or Orion, etc.
The more ships you buy, the more I would suggest diversifying your fleet by capabilities.
Don’t buy two fighters unless you have a ton of other ships to support your play style. Don’t buy two of the same profession , like an Orion and a Prospector for the same reason.
For fleets with less than 5 ships, you don’t need LTI. Standard hull insurance should be plentiful and cheap even if you don’t play that often.
For fleets with more than 6 ships, or a few VERY expensive ships, LTI is useful. If you have more than 15, be sure to have LTI on most of your ships.
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