Help me spend my money wisely!

[Marknado]

Thank you all - I was very inspired by your inputs, and will try to make an investmentplan before next big sale.

What I ended up with was the Scoundrel Pack (Caterpillar, Mercury Star Runner, Cutlass Black, Anvil Hawk, Dragonfly Black and Tumbril Ranger CV) and so far I've upgraded none of them, so I can get a proper feeling of them. I am still wondering if the Cutlass Black should be converted to a Freelancer MIS - and what some of my many LTI land-vehicles should end up as. I also have a Carrack with the upgraded Pisces and also bought the new upgraded Pisces (for future LTI-upgrade slot).

Dunno about my to Xi'an craft - so far I can't really get my self to melt them, as I kinda dig their strange looks and what I imagine they'll play like.

So a substantial upgrade in number of ships, and some added versatility. I think Shadow Reaper is on to something, and I do believe I need to dabble in making a stealth-strikecraft as he suggests, but in order to keep a bit of economy for christmas gifts to the kids, I think I'll wait a bit

 

[Chip Hazzard]

Thank you all - I was very inspired by your inputs, and will try to make an investmentplan before next big sale.

What I ended up with was the Scoundrel Pack (Caterpillar, Mercury Star Runner, Cutlass Black, Anvil Hawk, Dragonfly Black and Tumbril Ranger CV) and so far I've upgraded none of them, so I can get a proper feeling of them. I am still wondering if the Cutlass Black should be converted to a Freelancer MIS - and what some of my many LTI land-vehicles should end up as. I also have a Carrack with the upgraded Pisces and also bought the new upgraded Pisces (for future LTI-upgrade slot).

Dunno about my to Xi'an craft - so far I can't really get my self to melt them, as I kinda dig their strange looks and what I imagine they'll play like.

So a substantial upgrade in number of ships, and some added versatility. I think Shadow Reaper is on to something, and I do believe I need to dabble in making a stealth-strikecraft as he suggests, but in order to keep a bit of economy for christmas gifts to the kids, I think I'll wait a bit

Sounds like you have a good plan my friend
I think the Scoundrel Pack is a great choice, gets you a cool variation of ships (bounty hunting, cargo hauling, data running, smuggling), so you can dabble in everything, and the Tumbril Ranger looks cool as!

If you did have some spare store credit, I would pick up a CCU to a rarer ship if your choice (Eclipse bomber maybe), but they are normally available to buy when they are released I think?

 

[Marknado]

(Eclipse bomber maybe)

I do have a soft spot for the stealth-craft and the Eclipse Bomber, but I worry that the 3 torps might be too little. That might just be because I have a Polaris with more Torps than sence... I haven't played a lot, does anyone have any idea of how killy a Eclipse is, and how much punch these 3 size 9 torps packs? Are we talking about killing a Carrack with 3 hits, or? I've seen a few youtube reviews where they do focus a lot on the small amount of ordinance.

 

[at-2500]

I can confirm it - but living in the EU the 20% discount basically evens out the 25% VAT(!). Still, got a fair amount of ships and there also is a bit of a discount in the packages compared to buying every single ship.

Wait, is there vat on purchases with store credit? That money already got taxed!

 

[Marknado]

Wait, is there vat on purchases with store credit? That money already got taxed!

Nono - not on store credits. If you melt stuff and use the storecredit I believe you avoid it. Don't have much experience in melting stuff, as I seem to just continiously buy new stuff and then proceed to not fly it :-D But when you add new money to the mix, then you get hit by the VAT. So all new ships I buy cost 25% extra just because of VAT... No wonder some people look to the grey market...

 

[at-2500]

Nono - not on store credits. If you melt stuff and use the storecredit I believe you avoid it. Don't have much experience in melting stuff, as I seem to just continiously buy new stuff and then proceed to not fly it :-D But when you add new money to the mix, then you get hit by the VAT. So all new ships I buy cost 25% extra just because of VAT... No wonder some people look to the grey market...

Puh... it is 19% for me, but we get awesome roads and free universities for that money so I am not concerned

 

[Shadow Reaper]

I think Shadow Reaper is on to something, and I do believe I need to dabble in making a stealth-strikecraft as he suggests. . .

The Sentinel frame is very special. It's not just a strike craft. Consider it the best infiltration craft. High speed and good maneuverability, great firepower, awesome missiles, excellent range, stealth and S5 missiles, EMP or strike team equipped, this is going to be hard to beat. It's just what they're billing it as--the thinking man's ship.

I'm in love. Just need to paint it black and yellow.

 

[Marknado]

The Sentinel frame is very special. It's not just a strike craft. Consider it the best infiltration craft. High speed and good maneuverability, great firepower, awesome missiles, excellent range, stealth and S5 missiles, EMP or strike team equipped, this is going to be hard to beat. It's just what they're billing it as--the thinking man's ship.

I'm in love. Just need to paint it black and yellow.

Well, you had me convinced good Sir. I burned my new C8X (have one through my Carrack and upgraded that one), burned my Ranger TR (has a Ranger CV through a previous package) and upgraded my Xi'An light-fighter to the Vanguard Sentinel... So I even managed to trim my list :-D

Now I just need to experiment with the Sentinel and those upgrade-packs you spoke of :-) Quite hyped about the decision even if I ended spending a bit more this sale then first expected... :-)

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Well, you had me convinced good Sir. I burned my new C8X (have one through my Carrack and upgraded that one), burned my Ranger TR (has a Ranger CV through a previous package) and upgraded my Xi'An light-fighter to the Vanguard Sentinel... So I even managed to trim my list :-D

An excellent choice!

Quite hyped about the decision even if I ended spending a bit more this sale then first expected... :-)

'Tis always the way.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Well, you had me convinced good Sir. . . to the Vanguard Sentinel.

I'd love to see the sentinel fighting with ballistics, and with upgraded stealth. If you make any changes, please copy us some vid. I'd really like to see how close you can get tio targets with stealth operational, and what those ballistics do to targets.

 

[Knusum]

I'd love to see the sentinel fighting with ballistics, and with upgraded stealth. If you make any changes, please copy us some vid. I'd really like to see how close you can get tio targets with stealth operational, and what those ballistics do to targets.

My personal experience with default vanguard Sentinel (apart from a ballistic loadout) is this -I ousually do a straight run at my targets. My player targets havent yet reacted to my approach until i open fire. How i open fire depends on the target. Small ship, i just attack with guns and medium ships i open with a barrage of missiles. Large ships i leave alone as they are too hard to kill on a single pass, or they have time to jump away before i can do any real damage.
There are ofcouse situations where i have crept up on people until i was within the 6 km range of my S2 missiles before i hit them with a barrage- and in many cases they didnt even maneuver before getting destroyed.

The more you change around on the loadout of the Sentinel, the more you reduce its stealth. Sure, there are shields out there with more HP, but what do they do to your Electronic signature?
Going ballistic may be the only way to reduce the signature of a default sentinel, and it it is what i recommend as well - at least until distortion weapons get another iteration.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

There are several changes to the Sentinel that should improve the stealth. First of all, if you place a small signature reactor as primary and a large, powerful reactor as secondary, and leave your shields and secondary off during stealth, you'll find you can get much closer before you're detected.

Secondly, energy weapons have the highest signature and require the most power. Replace them with ballistics and you will be stealthier, and require a lower power budget.

I have still not seen anyone flying the Sentinel with ballistics, but it is an obvious match. I'm sure they put that laser on the nose so people would pay for a better weapon. I do suggest try a Reveneat and 6 Scorpions. Hardpoint suggests you will kill targets in half the time that way, and you will be better able to maneuver for stealth missile shots. You'll also be able to get closer to use the EMP.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I'm sure they put that laser on the nose so people would pay for a better weapon.

I'd disagree with you here. The distortions are what I am going to run my whole ship with once they get them working properly and they start breaking components rather than just stripping shields.

A crippled ship drifting in deepspace is going to cost my foe more time and resources to recover rather than just claiming for a new hull on LTI. Oh yes, I have been thinking about this a lot.

Also, energy weapons only give you a higher EM while you are firing them. Once you begin your attack, I find it rarely matters if you have a high or low sig they are going to be trying to hit you back at that point although I will grant you a low sig would make missile lock-on harder for them... so I will concede that point :)

 

[Cherokeedog]

Well, seein' that the sale is over, I'm definitely late for this party, but just a few pointers I use to shape my own fleet:
- Stay away from anything cheap that you'll be able to buy in-game after an hour or a day of playin'. That includes all bikes and small ships.
- Stay away from dogfighters, especially light ones. Their short range will make them end up just gathering dust in your hangar most of the time.
- Get yourself something to help you make money decently fast. Trading in large quantities was a sure way to do that in any game I ever played. So I recommend a Cat.

Another row of small comments:
- The Scoundrel pack is around 150$ cheaper than it should be (if you check the ship prices). So it would be a good investment, especially since it comes with LTI and can be bought with store credits.
- Stay away from the Mercury. It's going to be a pirate magnet. The moment you drop out of QT in that one, every player and their grandmother will suspect you're smuggling something in those 3 very well hidden compartments that everybody knows about (dumbest idea I've ever heard from CIG).
- The Sentinel was a beautiful choice.

 

[Talonsbane]

Well, seein' that the sale is over, I'm definitely late for this party, but just a few pointers I use to shape my own fleet:
- Stay away from anything cheap that you'll be able to buy in-game after an hour or a day of playin'. That includes all bikes and small ships.
- Stay away from dogfighters, especially light ones. Their short range will make them end up just gathering dust in your hangar most of the time.
- Get yourself something to help you make money decently fast. Trading in large quantities was a sure way to do that in any game I ever played. So I recommend a Cat.

Another row of small comments:
- The Scoundrel pack is around 150$ cheaper than it should be (if you check the ship prices). So it would be a good investment, especially since it comes with LTI and can be bought with store credits.
- Stay away from the Mercury. It's going to be a pirate magnet. The moment you drop out of QT in that one, every player and their grandmother will suspect you're smuggling something in those 3 very well hidden compartments that everybody knows about (dumbest idea I've ever heard from CIG).
- The Sentinel was a beautiful choice.

Picking up small / inexpensive ships are great for purchasing to use as LTI upgrade tokens in cases of the ships you want more but can't / couldn't afford at the time of their concept.

The Scoundrel Pack as well as the Explorer Pack are great values for what you get within them.

IF pirates start actively hunting Mercury Star Runners each time they are away from safe areas, then they can be used as excellent bait for those groups that are hunting pirates for the Advocacy. It would be such a shame if a band of space pirates were captured or killed over their greed pouncing on 3 hidden cargo crates of "Waste" material. Catfish (bottom dwellers) are usually attracted to the stench of strong smelling things.