Need advice on ships to buy for Support operations (Directly supporting the KRAKEN)

[Capt. Decker]

Primary focus will be supporting fleets outside primary mission directives, which would be the maintenance of the Kraken, other ships under us, weapon and gear upgrades, tuning, and R&D.

I have considered the SRV, butI'm yet to be sure what role it would play outside one function. I may buy it in-game.

However this is the state of my current TEST squadron.

See Attached below,

 

[Bambooza]

I have a feeling the SRV given its tug boat mechanics could help with salvage, moving ore from the Orion to the Hull E and help in ship recovery/towing from legal and not so legal means.

 

[Zookajoe]

I note that the Vulcan is missing from your lineup. Frankly, the first ship I think of when "Support" is mentioned is the Vulcan. Refuel, Repair, Rearm.

 

[Capt. Decker]

Vulcan is a great suggestion. SRV is too. What do you fellas think about the Mercury or A2 Hercules? I'm thinking about the Sentinel, as well. As much as I want dedicated objective-based ships, I'll be running a Squadron or Organization that is self-sustaining and combat-focused.

I'll need to be able to generate materials, weapons, revenue (mostly checked). (KRAKEN, ORION, CARRACK, RECLAIMER, possibly ENDEAVOR)
Transport those materials to areas where support is needed.
Supporting these ships will be how the cycle continues.

Defensive ships or vehicles? (Maybe Sentinel and Ballista, for sure)

 

[Bambooza]

A2 Hercules is a great transport ship, especially when moving goods to ground stations or LZ's. In space, the Hull series would make for a better transport ship (besides vehicles ) but the Hercules is no slouch.

Vulcan is a great service vehicle allowing for a mid-sized fleet support ship. I can easily see it being used far more often especially for small to mid-combat groups. Even in large fleet engagements given its smaller size and multi capability, it would be able to repair, rearm and refuel fighters and bombers near the front lines which would be useful. Paired with a Kracken, several cutlasses and hornet/buccaneer and you have yourself a great mercenary force.

The Mercury is a great solo/small team ship and probably the closest we currently have to the Millenium Falcon in both shape and functionality. I have a feeling its going to be one of the more enjoyable mission ships given the current direction the missions are taking with picking up a mission contract at a bar and heading off on a multipart adventure in both space and on the ground. And to think it can carry a bike. As for data running... not much is known.

The Vanguard series as much as people love it continues to just be outperformed on all fronts. While this can easily change in the future it suffers from being to big to be an effective combat ship and to small to really be used for anything else compared to ships like the Freelancer MIS and Cutlass Black and possibly even the defender. It's still a useful ship and looks good just has never really had a nitch to fill and very lackluster in most things much like the Constellation ships.

Honestly looking over your fleet unless you are planning to provided ships to other mates you have more ships then you'll really be able to handle over a 20 to 40 hour game week. Given the game is really about doing something you enjoy to generate revenue so you can continue to push the boundaries I would suggest you figure out what kind of games you like playing and what role you enjoy playing in them and then build off that. The other option is to just collect them all.

 

[Capt. Decker]

I had a great reply detailing what I envisioned, but after taking your advice and my laptop crashing, I decided to update the Fleet Management Diagram.

Feel free to let me know if I missed anything.

 

[Hybus]

Don't forget a Starfarer, all those things will need gas.

 

[Bambooza]

So you currently have a Freelancer, Caterpillar, Carrack, Sabre, and Reclaimer. Not sure I'd go to a Freelancer Max as you already have the Caterpillar unless you take the Caterpillar to a Merchantman. The one thing about the Merchantman that is a dev comment about the Merchantman having a kiosk or allow trading which could open it up to being a player market vendor which would allow for great use of the Carrack and Reclaimer. But at this point its speculation and not something I would invest heavily in.

The Freelancer, 350r and Sabre have the potential of being great starting ships as the current PU shows lots of mission types available to these ships currently and that list continues to grow. The Carrack and Reclaimer also offer a great pair with the Carrack being able to find possible salvage and then being able to collect on that information. Or working together with mates in joint operations gives you the ability to pick one or the other role as needed. I fully expect that the Reclaimer is going to be a great source of high-end modules and while the player population starting cash is going to be scarce at first it should pick up quickly and those modules will only increase in worth. Player inflation will vastly outstrip any of the marketing models they plan on implementing and so ways of being able to find and sell to players will often yield the highest return.

The Eclipse is an interesting ship but the issue is it's very specialized and I have a feeling while not costly to operate it's going to be costly to utilize in any sort of battle and will require lots of support.
The same goes for the Valkyrie which has a very unique role of player troop transport for ground operations on a large scale. So far the infiltration missions we have seen is perfect for a small strike force of a few players but this doesn't mean that in the future base attack missions wouldn't require 20 or more players plus the NPC's if we can hire and bring them along. But the Valkyrie, Hercules A2, and Tank are really gameplay elements intended for large scale assaults and we currently do not know enough about what that could possibly be like or even when it will be implemented. Right now we can play around with some of these elements and do play missions/training but there is nothing to fight over to give it real purpose.

The Nova Tank also fits into the above statements in that we really have no purpose for it at the moment. We don't know if they are planning on scaling up the NPC outposts and allow us to storm in and take over or missions that require a large team to liberate them. But we are talking Battlefield 4 scale ground combat and in fact, we currently have most of the vehicles needed for it just lacking the justification.

The Orion has the potential to be a true juggernaut in the industrial complex. The only issues I see with it is given its size it's going to take a while to get into position to start harvesting ore and it will require a large enough scheduled block so that a group of players can meet up for multiple hours at a time and really cash in on its potential. It's not something you'll want to just take out for a 15 to 20 min spin to grab a few rocks like you could with a prospector. So you'll want to make sure you have a hauler or two and several escorts before heading off to crush asteroids into cash. And then make sure you bring the music or topic of conversation as it will be a grind.

 

[Capt. Decker]

Great analysis Bambooza, I couldn't agree with you more. It's a delicate balance of careful foresight for potential gameplay, and then the need of the here and now. I could see this becoming a juggling act, but my main concern is commonality of use and the utility of LTI in the face of heavy, consistent losses. The Eclipse, for instance, is as of right now-- a revenge tactic.

I'll be a fresh citizen in my Carrack, scanning for data to sell, in a trigger happy world. SOmEoNE comes along and antagonizes my operation, so I pull out the size 9's and lay waste to their legacy a few times. That's about it. I see it being destroyed a lot attempting this, but hey, it'll be worth it to see a John D-bag get 9'd a couple times.

The Nova tank is just flavor right now, I may keep it around because I don't foresee CIG stopping anniversary sales anytime soon, so I can melt the CCU if needed.
Same goes for the Valkyrie, honestly. I prefer the look and feel of it, but it's nothing more than an A to B for me, at the moment.

I'm waiting to CCU these until the need arises, but eventually, I would like all these to play a role in my fleet in the future.

The Gemini is an excellent option. Added.

 

[Capt. Decker]

Fleet Management edited

 

[Richard Bong]

Is your Lancer your game package?

 

[Richard Bong]

Just some observations.
The Tonk and the Ballista are very specialized and limited in scope. You are likely to be happier with a Cyclone TR and a Cyclone AA, and possibly a base cyclone. Much faster, harder to hit and easier to deploy.

The Eclipse, Arrow, Saber and Lightning are Carrier birds. While you have a Carrier, they would need to be manned seperately. The Eclipse is going to be limited in target selection since a size 9 is not designed for small to medium ships. The Harbinger might turn out to be a better "Revenge" ship since it isn't limited to carrier operations.

 

[Mich Angel]

I got the Vulcan, SRV, Prospector, hawk, Vulture, Sabre, getting the Crusible and Sentinel, and as cover ship the Polaris, Nautilus.
As extra fast transport I got a 315 for fast trips down to surface to check out before taking it down and 315 got some cargo room and tractor beam.
Think those are my primary support ship for Kraken.

CHEERS!

 

[Bambooza]

Cyclone

As long as its wheels stay on. As for the last two patches, it has an issue with losing wheels to little rocks.

 

[Richard Bong]

As long as its wheels stay on. As for the last two patches, it has an issue with losing wheels to little rocks.

In the real world, so did the Hummer.

 

[Deroth]

If you're going with a fleet like that then you may want to consider upgrading the Caterpillar to an Hull-E as well as pick up an Hammerhead for fighter defense and a Javelin.
Keep in mind, in the real world all the most powerful aircraft carriers have an extensive entourage of heavy hitters so the carrier can maintain standoff.

 

[Thalstan]

If you have a kraken, then you need people with the following ships
Starfarer x2 to keep your fleet fueled
Orion
Prospectors x2
Ships to find gas and ore deposits
Crucible to fix everything. May want two for redundancy
Vulcan to use to go out and not risk your big ships to refuel/rearm/repair your smaller damaged ships
Vultures to strip wrecks to replace weapons and component stocks
Endeavor for food
Apollo for respawns
Cat to hold your supplies
H2 to take runs back and forth to major commercial areas to buy supplies you can’t make or acquire, and sell valuable stuff you can’t use