Thinking of investing in a Vanguard. Help?

[B1KBRD]

Before hacking me to bits for my noobness, I’d like to know if buying a Vanguard would fit my style of gameplay. Allow me to elaborate-
I have a 315p, a Terrapin, a DUR, and a Carrack as it currently sits and I’m going for nearly 100% exploration, both in the org and individually.
That being said, I’m toying around with the idea of a long range fighter to fly escort for any other explorers in the org or the 5 friends I’ll have playing with me, should they desire to fly into more dangerous systems. I’m not a dogfighter, nor do I have any interest in doing so. What I’m looking for is range and firepower

Thoughts?

 

[Sintha]

I didn't read the post figured the title said enough... just buy more ships

 

[Pander]

Range check
firepower check
flying tank check

Vanguard is perfect fit for you as an escort ship having one of those around will put people off engaging and because of the modules at its disposal you can tailor it to fit your play style too!

Emp module or enough missiles to make any engagement costly for the enemy seems like a good fit as an escort

As an added bonus its not really a dodging dogfighter its more point and shoot so less to learn.

 

[marcsand2]

I’m toying around with the idea of a long range fighter to fly escort

should they desire to fly into more dangerous systems.

I’m not a dogfighter, nor do I have any interest in doing so.

OK.... you want to do escort missions.... in more dangerous systems..... but you don't want to dogfight.... :thinking:

You will have to fight when you encounter hostiles, otherwise the escort is pointless

What I’m looking for is range and firepower

Long range is the Defender, the Warden and maybe the 125A.
Firepower

• Warder: 4x S2 + 1x S5 + 1x turret 2x S2 + a shit load of missiles
• Defender: 4x S3 + some missiles
• 125A: 2x S1 + 2 missiles

so range and firepower would be the Warden or the Defender

 

[Printimus]

Sure, why not?

 

[Crymsan]

Hmm for its purpose i.e. mostly gunboat with a bed there is also the defender which is a little cheaper. The vanguard has the variants which cost more but add more gameplay. There are other so called combat ships with beds though i.e. 325a and perhaps even the cutlass black. Your comment really comes across as I am not into combat convince me to spend 250USD on a combat ship. From a mechanic view point we do not know enough how individual ships have speed and range to escort.

I totally understand you desire to go exploration but given the breadth of activity available in star citizen do you really know now that exploration is all you will want to do? So one solo explorer say the terrapin, and one multicrew explorer with rover the carrack. You have the DUR for multirole but I would probably switch this to the cutlass black or base free lancer if it was me you do not really need the exploration option. At the very least for combat I would upgrade the 315p to the 325a again as you have exploration well covered.

 

[SullyQuindarius]

Yeah, buy the Vanguard Warden. Beautiful ship, looks like the child of a Retaliator and Sabre. Fun to fly, can carry a buddy, has full living accomodations for really long trips.

 

[Kenlee]

My thought is, the Vanguard is sexy but not worth the price of 250 dollars. Seeing you have all those ships already and really does not seem interested in fighting, spending 250 dollars on a fighter seems like a bad deal to me. You have the exploration ships already, let your friends act as an escort in the beginning, and you can always have a Vanguard as one of your first in game goals.

If you REALLY want the Vanguard, I would melt the 315p and the Terrapin and then buy it. You still have the Dur for small scale exploring, Carrack for larger scale, and then a warden as Escort.

 

[Wolfy]

Vanguard looks to be the perfect long range escort. I debated getting a sentinel for this purpose for my Ewar fleet back when I had one.

 

[marcsand2]

At the very least for combat I would upgrade the 315p to the 325a again as you have exploration well covered.

https://testsquadron.com/threads/some-starfarer-relief.13337/#post-250577
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/16517-The-Shipyard-Fuel-Mechanics

• Combat (Short Range) – The in-game equivalent of a carrier based ship, such as the Gladius and Hornet. These ships will not come with nor have the ability to equip Fuel Intakes.
• Combat (Long Range) – These ships, like the Vanguard and Retaliator, will have Intakes as their role requires them to traverse long distances.
• Exploration – These ships will have Fuel Intakes by default. Their very nature dictates that they can travel long distances, well away from the nearest refueling location.
• Industrial & Transport – Typically, these ships will have Fuel Intakes by default, as again they are required to travel long distances.
• Support – Naturally, the Starfarer and most other ships in this career will retain them as they’ll often be expected to execute long distance and extended duration missions.
• Competition – These ships will vary depending on their type. Some ships, like the Razor, feature technology that allows them to refuel, whereas others, like the M50, deal with the issue differently by having larger fuel tanks.

I would keep the 315p but equip it with the hardware of the 325a. The 315p has by default a better range then the 325a, but when using a 315p or a 325a, you should do more dogfighting, while the Warden has to depend on firepower and missiles.

Yeah, buy the Vanguard Warden. Beautiful ship, looks like the child of a Retaliator and Sabre. Fun to fly, can carry a buddy, has full living accomodations for really long trips.

And of course the multi purpose. Too bad that the Warden has no transport module. Ah well, the Retaliator has cargo modules.

 

[Deleted member 6105]

if you're looking for range in both engagement and travel, how about a freelancer MIS? tons of missile support and probably a good travel range, also cheaper

 

[hardroc77]

If you can and do want it, buy it. I melted my 315 to get credit to offset a Sentinel's price. I chose that variant because E-War play intrigues me. I then melted that to be able to that package with the Carrack and Terrapin. As soon as the improvements come for the Vanguard, I'll buy back. I like the long range aspect of it.

 

[hardroc77]

OK.... you want to do escort missions.... in more dangerous systems..... but you don't want to dogfight.... :thinking:

You will have to fight when you encounter hostiles, otherwise the escort is pointless


Long range is the Defender, the Warden and maybe the 125A.
Firepower

• Warder: 4x S2 + 1x S5 + 1x turret 2x S2 + a shit load of missiles
• Defender: 4x S3 + some missiles
• 125A: 2x S1 + 2 missiles

so range and firepower would be the Warden or the Defender

Wisdom to ponder from our resident ship evaluater. Is that a word???

 

[hardroc77]

https://testsquadron.com/threads/some-starfarer-relief.13337/#post-250577
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/16517-The-Shipyard-Fuel-Mechanics


I would keep the 315p but equip it with the hardware of the 325a. The 315p has by default a better range then the 325a, but when using a 315p or a 325a, you should do more dogfighting, while the Warden has to depend on firepower and missiles.


And of course the multi purpose. Too bad that the Warden has no transport module. Ah well, the Retaliator has cargo modules.

As I said before. Words of wisdom.
Would you consider the Vanguard to be a bigger tankier Hornet?

 

[Pander]

OK.... you want to do escort missions.... in more dangerous systems..... but you don't want to dogfight.... :thinking:

You will have to fight when you encounter hostiles, otherwise the escort is pointless


Long range is the Defender, the Warden and maybe the 125A.
Firepower

• Warder: 4x S2 + 1x S5 + 1x turret 2x S2 + a shit load of missiles
• Defender: 4x S3 + some missiles
• 125A: 2x S1 + 2 missiles

so range and firepower would be the Warden or the Defender

Just curious do you mean 325A? as that has had a major buff with a fixed size 4 on the nose and 2 size 3s on the wings all fixed i just upgraded to one for interdiction that I can still walk around in at least i think this is still in place. plus a rework soon too!

Makes for a mean interceptor with 3 gatling guns on there and cheap too,

 

[Pander]

As I said before. Words of wisdom.
Would you consider the Vanguard to be a bigger tankier Hornet?

Vanguard has roughly 4800 hp and the hornet has around 4000 both should be pretty well armoured and armed,

But on the flip side hornet has a smaller profile so can more easily dodge and recover but they are both tanks at the end of the day just one is slightly lighter

 

[marcsand2]

Just curious do you mean 325A?

Nope, with long range I meant the 125A. It is supposed to be very fuel efficient, has fuel scopes and a refinery. The 325A is the combat version of the 300 series. I don't know if it has fuel scopes and a refinery.

For combat the 325A has good weapons, but it's size and shield / armor aren't that good. If I must fly escort, then a ship which is tanky like the Hornet is preferably above a ship that relies on it's speed.
I tried the Gladius and 325A in VS and PS. The Gladius is more agile, a better CS and better armor / shields. The 325A has one heavier gun, but is more vulnerable for incoming fire.

The 300 series are build with focus on comfort

http://starcitizen.wikia.com/wiki/325a

 

[marcsand2]

As I said before. Words of wisdom.
Would you consider the Vanguard to be a bigger tankier Hornet?

Not exactly

Vanguard has roughly 4800 hp and the hornet has around 4000 both should be pretty well armoured and armed,

The Vanguard has better shields and power plants, if only the guns also were proportional bigger, although, one concentrated hit of 4 S2 guns works better then a spreaded hit from 3 S3 guns.

 

[Pander]

Nope, with long range I meant the 125A. It is supposed to be very fuel efficient, has fuel scopes and a refinery. The 325A is the combat version of the 300 series. I don't know if it has fuel scopes and a refinery.

For combat the 325A has good weapons, but it's size and shield / armor aren't that good. If I must fly escort, then a ship which is tanky like the Hornet is preferably above a ship that relies on it's speed.
I tried the Gladius and 325A in VS and PS. The Gladius is more agile, a better CS and better armor / shields. The 325A has one heavier gun, but is more vulnerable for incoming fire.

http://starcitizen.wikia.com/wiki/325a

That makes more sense I keep forgetting about the new origin series

Hoping the 300 series rework will give them more utility such as scoops and other kit and bring them up to a better spec for a luxury tier 2 ship that is supposed to go toe to toe with other fighters haha.

But for the ability of being able to log out in a bed that the 300 series is a major plus in my book for a long range exploration escort and can be used as a drop ship on a dangerous world or as small jump point scout in jump points still work they did like 2 years ago lol

 

[Shadow Reaper]

For a long range escort, you need a long range fighter. None of these are actual dogfighters, so as marcsand2 notes, you need a plan for when things go badly wrong.

Personally I think the guns on the Vanguard are about the best you'll find for a sniping machine. It carries the only S5 gun mount in a fighter. You need to practice shooting at distance where you're lack of maneuverability is not as important. The turret isn't great at distance but I am hoping it will work well for anti-missile duty. If we can shoot down incoming with a pair of Jokers or some such, that makes this an amazing distance fighter.

The Vanguards have the fastest missile lock system in game, and very few fighters carry S3 missiles. If you want to out-think opponents, and perhaps even cause them to avoid what you're escorting, a Sentinel might accomplish that for you, and you waste no ordinance. If you want to punch hard, the Harbinger can be loaded with all S3 missiles, and there is nothing that moves as fast and can carry that missile loadout.

So yeah, if you want to fly long range escort for exploration, I doubt you can do better than the Sentinel or the Harbinger. Just you need to practice fighting styles that play to the strengths of the big gun, especially range. Learn to fly backward.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRXTqMj4TC4